On Line Trading

I haven't seen that, Art, but I don't swap in here as much as I used to. I just go to ebay more than anything else with online stuff. I remember the old RMS days (when there'd be 100 posts in the morning and 100 more after dinner), and the WWI list I used to belong to... it seemed like I was either sending or getting a cool parcel every week without money exchanging hands!

Best of luck Art; you're one of the great ones.

--- Stephen

I haven't run into that problem but something that gripes me is people that ask for parts, sending me digging through my parts boxes, and then never responding when I advise them that I have the parts they need.

Conversely, it irritates me when people say they'll send me parts I need and then never follow through... :(

Haven't noticed this, but I do know there was a rash of bad trader alerts on the net (basically a couple of guys cheating many). I've gotten more cautious when dealing with total strangers (i.e. guys who I don't know by name on sites). RobG

I get that all the time from my disposal list, Art. I even used to prepare the packages for mailing but know better now.

MJ Rudy wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Yeah no kidding Sister Mary. In God We Trust, all others pay cash. Money first then pack.

Had that happen a couple of years ago here. Not a common poster here, though.

Had it all packaged up, labeled, contacted hm with the total including actual postage, never heard from him again and never saw him on RMS again.

On the bright side I sold it for twice the amount at a local contest this year to a very happy modeler.

On the other side of the coin I confess to forgetting to dig into the MAI Library a couple of times after telling someone that I would see what I could find. Rebuilding the house sometimes prevents me from getting to the library, whch is now behind piles of boxes of models. I'm usually pretty good about it, especially when reminded gently. :-(

Tom

Tom

I do something similar with E-bay sales. I pack the item but don't put the shipping label on until the money arrives. I learned early on not to. It's a potential waste of labels.

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

then...nothing!

Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Naah Naahahhhhh! :-) And an early HO HO HO!

-- Chuck Ryan Springfield OH

Oh I agree, the only time I've sent anything ahead of payment is to known-good payers. A few of them are posters here, others were "frequent buyers" over short periods over the years.

Unfortunately I often have to "dry-pack" (sort of like dry-fitting parts) to estimate shipping. Ever since Priority Mail adopted the sliding-scale fees I haven't just been able to say "oh, about 7 bucks" or whatever, I have to know the zip code and approx weight.

I'm doing the same right now answering overseas shipping questions on the stuff I've posted on eBay this week (shameless plug, see below), but at least these will probably go through (at least with high-feedback winning bidders).

Sister Mary,

Good to hear from you. You mentioned another reason it irks me. I also prepare the packages for mailing as soon as a deal is struck. The details are fresh in my mind and it prevents me from procrastinating. But recently packaged kits have been piling up because of the problem I mentioned.

I guess I'll just quit packaging in advance and wait 'til payment. Kind of takes the fun out of it.

BTW, coincidentally I was perusing your website and model list just yesterday looking for an old 1/48 Testors T-33. Didn't see one.

Hope all is well with you.

Art

Bill,

Interstingly, I've never had that problem with e-Bay sales and never that I remember with RMS; only Hyperscale. No indictment of Hyperscale intended. I just think because Hyperscale reaches so many, the odds of a misfire increase.

Art

Sister Mary,

I've gotten nicked a few times by the sliding scale myself lately. I just ate the cost and moved on. I used to know by heart what a kit would cost to mail. No more.

I learned a valuable lesson lately. I picked up a B-29 at a Hobby Lobby 1/2 price sale for a guy in CA. That kit just barely, and I mean *barely*, passes all the required USPS dimension parameters (if "x is the longitude of Bisslefest, Herzogovina"" then "y divided by the circumference of the earth" leads to "z the square of a hexagon multiplied by the specific gravity of cow manure"). I had to re-pack it three times. Still cost an arm and a leg to send it via Priority Mail. And here is the puzzling thing - using the aforementioned "simplified" postal formulas, it cost less to send Priority Mail than it cost to send Parcel Post, by a wide margin. Go figure.

Art

I've run into that one a time or two also. Then there're the parcels to Canada; quite often it's cheaper to airmail them than sending them surface. They also get there faster "according to the website".

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.