MLU FORUM - That's it, I'm done with e-bay

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- - That's it, I'm done with e-bay (http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=24331)

Darrell, I have no issue whatever with the vendors (well, some are hose bags) but most bend over backwards to accommodate the purchaser. The villain here is ebay that ups the cost to the point where the seller can't sell an item because of the 'mandatory' doubling due to shipping, and the purchaser walks away, not willing to be 'all in' double what an item is worth. One item that's being talked about on another threads is Corbin padlocks. At any given time there are a half dozen listed on ebay for less than $10 US each. But the glo-bull shipping adds another $26 US or so (!!!??!!?) to the price and with our 70 cent Trudeau dollar it makes it a $50 CDN item.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darrell Zinck (Post 252820)

Hi

Kindly bear in mind that it's not always the sellers.

I sell on ebay. I'm an infrequent seller but have been at it for 11 years now. Some of you have bought from me so I can honestly say this. First off, I sell in order to make money to buy and keep things that I like to have. Stuff in my "theme". I certainly am not an expert on everything that I buy to sell but try to learn enough to be dangerous (to myself) and usually get things cheap enough to sell on for a bit of profit. Sometimes I'm lucky and there more profit to be made. I have my own set limits; I don't deal in MVs, large bits or weapons, and try to stay with Commonwealth uniform and "accessory" Militaria. Antenna's to Force Z patches. That sort of thing. I do not make my living this way but also do not use my household income to fund my hobby.

Everything that I sell, I clearly and honestly describe, list a starting price usually not far above what I paid for it and most often well below retail/market (if I know) and offer a winner shipping costs. These are based on experience over time. I do not subscribe to their Global Shipping Program. I put a Domestic, US and "everywhere else" shipping price in the sale details. Tracked and insured in almost every case. Domestic and US Letter (so a cloth badge or something flat like a document) I usually send for free. Airmail letter abroad only if the value is negligible. Even then I don't allow sales/shipping to some countries. In fact I use the exclusion lists and do not ship to many parts of the world. Italy, Russia, China and S. Africa among them. Too many burned me in the past saying it never arrived. Packages or Parcels go Tracked and Insured. Anything listed for or likely to make more than $75 goes tracked and insured anywhere.

Very labour intensive and requiring a certain amount of familiarity with shipping options based on package sizes and weights. Lots of communication with Buyers. I also do not live next door to a Post Office. If I overcharge, I refund to the half dollar. If I undercharge, I eat it. May as well; my fault and I probably did just make money from the person.

I don't think that I'm like the sellers you all are talking about and believe me, I'm almost giving up on ebay too but as a seller. Fees (ebay, Paypal, Shipping, GSP etc etc) aside, dis-honest buyers was always my biggest turn off. I'd like to help out my buyers with cheap shipping but too often that is recipe for failure. One guy paid me in stamps, once long ago, because I never specified that I would not take stamps!! Many begged for cheap un-tracked shipping and then "it never arrived" and I send back all the money cuz Ebay says so. Even when I show them the begging emails!! I learned that unless I know you, you get squat for consideration.

IMHO, ebay always favoured the buyer but now, due to seller "protections", it's the sellers that are forced to not offer in-expensive shipping. Sure many overcharge and eBay's GSP it a cash-grab but I guess that's the beauty of a free market economy; you don't have to buy it. Ebay is not a mom and pop operation anymore and little guy sellers like me have a hard time dishing out 17+ % of any profit back to fees as much as these buyer complaints above but at least I sleep well at night know that I go out of my way, as a seller, to not screw over a buyer.

regards
Darrell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim White (Post 252808)

Has anyone received the Siskens law firm letter re: the class action suit against
UPS? I have, anyone who was ever raped for brokerage fees is apparently a part of the class. A bit off topic, but we Canadians have been severely bent over by UPS.

Hmmm, just bought a smallish item from a US vendor as it seems unavailable in Canada......but shipping doubled the price-

Still, I need it, so ok pay up...
UPS finally came to the door, (when Im at work of course) and left a note saying i owe another big amount...unexplained. but possibly customs???
anyway, the small item -when i finally get it-- will be triple the actual cost.

Im not enthusiastic about buying anything from the US anymore...with the Trudeau buck doing badly, excess customs costs, excess shipping...its getting to be worth it to get an ugly, inaccurate, but inexpensive Cdn Tyre item,

(PS i wanted to buy an item on ebay earlier this year, but seller only does paypal... which i dont and won't and had said so prior to actual purchase....couple emails back and forth, wouldn't accept mastercard...bit of a tiff,..ebay got involved...finally resolved..but PITA....so end of epay for me too.)

Still alive and vertical.....

Hi Marc

I suppose I should ignore the email asking for money to pay for your ransom....?

did not send any anyways!!!!!!

Bob C.

UPS charges that ridiculous brokers fee. I get stuff sent USPS and the brokers don't get anything.

Update: UPS left a note with no contact info.
It seems an interesting fact of current life that you MUST have internet to deal with them in order to find things out like phone #.
Calling them got me an answering service that was difficult to understand, English quite obviously being the second language after possibly spanish?

Anyway, UPS now wants another cut $ to redirect to my work address. The alternative they say is to go pick up at their distribution centre which is entirely the other side of the city, and which I couldn't possibly get to during working hours and which would cost $ in gas, and at least a couple of hours travel round trip even if i could.

The package might get sent back to Calif. or not.
Guess Im out $100 and the rubber strapping. what an experience.

Google ‘ siskinds UPS’

I agree with the ebay situation when it comes to collecting. That said, Ebay has become a great help to me with everyday purchases of household items now that I can’t drive, and shopping in the brightly lit stores makes me a basket case.

Not to muddy the waters, but I discovered this weekend that Kijiji is a fully owned subsidiary of eBay. Now I am curious if it always has been, or is something eBay purchased to keep control of that market?

David

eBay is buying up local competitors. Marktplaats.nl is the biggest platform in the Netherlands. The site was started as a circular economy / 2nd hand swap marketplace. They became so successful that eBay paid 225 million euros to take it over.

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Dunlop (Post 253537)

Have not bought anything for quite a while from e-bay. Last year I put a German knife from 1920's on Kijiji. They pulled it and when I enquired they said someone complained. I said it was not Nazi related so why would it be offensive. It was a knife they replied. There are lots of knives on there I replied. They said they would shut me down if I tried to relist it. On the live auction front was at an auction where I was the last bidder. Thinking I had won then the auctioneer himself outbid me. The second time he did this I just said Goodbye loudly.

Kijiji was started by a Canadian woman working for Ebay at the time, so in that respect it was always Ebay....... but as it became popular Ebay spread first from Quebec to canada wide, and from Canada expanded worldwide, it has of course changed certain policies making it a bit more complicated than it was originally both to communicate with seller to buy, and for seller.

EBay also bought Kruse Int'l the big classic car auctioneer, PayPal, Craigslist, StubHub, and at least 20 others, mostly in the US but also worldwide.

PS- got an update from US seller... UPS contacted him and asked if he wanted the package returned to him.. then said they'd charge him $42 dollars...so UPS probably binned it, Im out $100..

Expensive lesson learned...Never use UPS..

Back to ebay/global shipping: I recently bought a WW2 panoramic sight from ebay for the top of the priest here at the museum. Buyer ships through global shipping, and I got notice the other day that they consider it a restricted item, so it is "seized', and they refunded all my money. I suppose that technically a 75 year old panoramic sight would fall under ITAR as fire control systems/components, but really?

On one hand I can understand ebay not wanting to be party to international trade restrictions. The fines can be quite harsh. But a 75 year old optic?

I'm pissed!!.

I've also had a similar experience with the GSP. I got all my money back (incl shipping), the seller got paid in full (less the expected sale fees), and Pitney Bowes kept the item and disposed of it. And we both got automated positive feedback!

I wonder how long they can they can keep that up financially? Especially when I continue to keep ordering the same item?

Rob, is there no recourse for you? ie contacting and explaining its for an historic heritage mv resto...at a registered museum?

I hope the seized item isn't destroyed ! One less virtually irreplaceable item

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Montgomery (Post 260729)

I don't think there is any recourse. Ebay/Pitney Bowes does not make the money they make by having thousands of help desk people waiting to hear your problems.

This was an actual M12 panoramic, which is correct for the Priest. It goes on display in a month, so I'll likely just stick in a similar scope like an M12A7S (off the C1 howitzer) in it's place.

There was a discussion last year on a radio forum regarding ITAR. Not many people were aware that it is an American set of rules for the US only. It has no legal basis outside of the US except for items of US origin that were under an agreement. One example of this was the destruction of RT524 radios at CFB Wainright. It was cheaper to crush them than to ship back to the US.

There are exceptions to ITAR. One category that was exempt were items that were in the public domain. Could we argue that gov surplus sold to a dealer to sell to the public qualifies.

The problem with Ebay is that it is an American company that tries to apply US law worldwide. On auctions I've followed that the item is "no longer available" I used to think it was a way to avoid Ebay fees but it also gets around the Ebay shipping policy & restrictions.

Then again I've seen military radios shipped as amateur radios so maybe an optical sight could be a telescope? :)