EBay Concerns

damn, sorry to hear about the burn. we hope it sells for more than the commisioned price.

If they are a large volume seller then this is obviously a business and they should have a set of scales (which are not real expensive) to weigh their items on. And looking at the USPS web site they know the postage on the box size so they can get a price with little trouble. Wouldn't take many trips to pay for that scale...

John

Were I buying 20 kits I'd expect there to be some manner of charge as thats part of shipping since its an abnormal purchase, unless you had one you got free and simply wanted to rip me off. Thats far different than for one kit which as I said should be built into the price of the item.

It has nothing to do with a handling charge. If I were buying a 200lb lathe then I'd expect one, but I'd also expect a price for that handling too. Selling one stinking model car kit and charging for handling is BOGUS!

John

According to my local Post Office, recycling Priority Mailing bixes as allowable. I've done it many times with NO hassle.

I guess you have to weigh that against the sellers who treat you honestly and fairly or more. I one an auction on an OEZ kit from somone in the UK and he dramatically underquoted the shipping. Not only did he live up to it, I had no idea until I got the kit and saw what it cost him to ship. I also had someone that shorted me a canopy once, he told me to keep the kit and refunded the all the money I paid, including the shipping.

Thanks, it'll probably sell for less actually but at least it's something. The dirtbag in question is a Prince George's County cop too....

That's as it should be, rarely do I eboxes, I don't have room to keep empties around gathering dust. Normally single kits go in the free Priority Mail boxes and I don't charge for those.

And what part of I charge actual cost for crating didn't you get? What part of heavy items that need to be crated get and exact weight quote didn't you get? Nowhere do I hide those costs, nowhere did I say I hide them. Those costs however have nothing to do with an auction price, they are post auction costs. Simple concept there.

My PO says it's not.

Yeah, I check in advance now if I suspect something is oversized. My point was that not all eBay sellers are ripoff artists...

That's why I *always* require 50% payment up front before I'll even start working on a commissioned build. Not that I do all that many anymore since most potential customers aren't willing to pay enough...

The comments by a number of the E Bay traders who have replied to this forum discussion only validate some of our group's experiences with EBay sellers who treat the buyer as a "rube."

Most buyers only want to utilize the online auction houses as a legitimate marketplace. The issues I initially brought up were the unscrupulous practices carried out by sellers who do not accurately state the total costs incurred in shipping as well as the dubious methods of enacting penalties on the unwary buyer when a small or inadvertent error takes place in the transaction.

My contention was that both buyers and sellers should abide by reasonable and commonsense behaviour. The seller should provide "true" costs in shipping- listing mailing and shipping/handling if appropriate. Listing rules or expectations is acceptable but dealing in aggressive and abusive language, "bullying" or labelling is not.

(The one buyer I referred to has immediately called any seller with complaints a "deadbeat" even though one of the issues revolved around a shortfall of 30¢. The upshot in that case, was that the seller kept the monies sent, resold the item and sent in negative feedback. The 17 or more negative feedback leave a trail of similar instances. Yet there are hundreds of positive feedback reports so the seller does have a history of good business.)

My other contention is that buyers do not have much recourse against an unscrupulous or "abusive" seller. The invariable retaliatory negative feedback cripples a newbie or first-time EBay user. The long-time user can weather the occasional "crazy" who comes and goes on EBay. (I had been given negative feedback once when I asked about picking up the auction good in person since I happened to be in that locale on a trip. I waited for an answer but did not receive one, instead I was astonished to see a negative feedback report issued the next day. Even after I sent in the payment as originally demanded on the auction site, the seller steadfastly refused to remove the negative feedback.)

Perhaps the only real way to deal with the buyers who act irresponsibly is to circulate a list of people not to avoid. The "hit" on their pocketbook may be the only way they will change.

I didn't think it was legal. In the instance I cited, it thee seller sent the tunic in a brand new priority mail box that he took apart, turned inside out and put back together again so he could get a box for free. Some of the boxes I've seen recently have the words "Priority Mail" (or something similar) printed on the inside of the box, I suspect to stop misuse of priority boxes.

I always figure if the local PO doesn't have a box big enough I should check. My point all along has been how clueless the whiners are...not all sellers are ripoff artists, postage can vary by weight, cube and destination and some "handling" charges are in fact valid...such as crates, bought boxes, etc. The clueless and lazy still don't get it.

I require a 50% non-refundable deposit up front as well. I'm getting so I only accept commissions from vets who served on a ship or museums.

Yep, that's exactly why they do that now.

wrote

You'd be allowed to reuse them so long as you paid PM rates, wouldn't you? I've put on new To/From labels and removed/covered the old postage sticker on PM boxes and sent them elsewhere without problems. I don't know why they would be limited to one use.

KL

Yes, I'm sure you can reuse them if you send the boxes Priority Mail again. What the Post Office doesn't allow is using the free Priority Mail boxes and sending the stuff by Parcel Post, or other non-Priority mail services. However, I'm not sure it is "illegal" as in a criminal offense, but they probably can refuse to accept it unless you pay the Priority Mail rates.

Dave

Having tried it once I can say that the latter policy is in effect here. Some employees are regular Cliffs - they can quote regulations at you. Others are a bit more laidback.

Bill Banaszak, MFE