E-bay digs itself a deeper hole
 

Not exactly a fan of ebay I do go there from time to time to check prices, see what's up. Beyond their 'glo-bull' shipping that charges three times the item price for shipping (right now there are $5 cap badges that require over $20 to ship) I noticed something else.

It's barely an auction anymore, rather a 'buy it now' online store. When I look at "Original WW2 Canadian Militaria" I get 535 'auction results' and 8,240 'buy it now results'. And some of what those vendors are asking.....JUST WOW!!!!!

They are also policing the goods thru the global shipping network. I have had a few purchases taken and destroyed. The first was a WW2 panoramic telescope for a priest self propelled gun. More recently it was an airpac brake booster for the military 5 ton. Had the booster been painted black, it likely would not have raised an eyebrow, but being olive green, it becomes controlled military goods.



In both cases they refund my purchase price, but the seller does not get their goods back, and I have no idea if they get to keep the sale proceeds.



As to their shipping prices, yes, the global shipping is crazy for the small stuff. But I can't complain on some of the medium size to larger stuff. It beats the surprize one can receive from a UPS or fedex shipment when they do the brokerage.

ebay policies
 

Timely conversation

I have to list and sell a number of smalls (not necessarily HMV related), and my first thought was to go thru ebay. But the last time I sold anything there was a decade ago. Am I tied to their shipping and sending policy and tied-provider?

Ebay shipping
 

I received some parts that I ordered from Ebay last week and they came by Canada Post. The parts came to Ontario from Manitoba. The global shipping may be only for parts originating in the United States.

Paul

Hi

As far as I know, you must now provide eBay with a Bank Account in order to sell. Paypal no longer cuts it for Sellers. Once I got that msg from them, I stopped selling there. I may, repeat may, open a separate account and sell on eBay again, mainly due to a lack of Shows to sell at, but have not made that decision yet.

As far as Global Shipping Program, I elected not to use it as a Seller back when it was rolled out and do not buy from any Seller who does use it. Sometimes I contact them before I bid and ask if they will ship at cost themselves. Some do and some do not. Many are surprised that a cap badge cost $30 to ship!! The Seller who uses GSP does not see the shipping/GSP costs to the Buyer in the auction the same way Buyers do. As far as new Sellers, I am unsure if eBay mandates its use or not. Not sure where in your account that you'd select it or not.

regards
Darrell

Well, from this side of the globe, Global Shipping from the US/Can/UK is about 60-75% of the seller using Postal or Parcel companies, and can save even more when combining items. I don't know how they do it so cheap. They will usually be delivered to me by Australia Post.

What is funny is watching the tracking. 2 items can be bought from different sellers in the same area of the US, and both arrive on the same day at Pitney Bowes sorting center in Erlanger, Kentucky. One parcel will go via Kentucky>Florida>New York>Amsterdam>Australia, the other one will go Kentucky>Texas>California>Tokyo>Australia. And they both arrive in about a week or two, the same as USPS International Priority coming direct, because I see by the USPS tracking the item sits in Syracuse NY for a week.

Global Shipping must get the cheap rates by using the last remaining space before they close the door on the truck or container heading in the general direction of the destination, despite the number of legs on the journey.

They may well do what amazon does. They will fill a truck with stuff just going to Canada, they bring it up to Canada and dump it off on the postal system where they get a volume discount. Same for the other countries.....they have their routes, and get it to the proper country using their means.

I note when Amazon ships stuff to me from within Canada, be it from the East or West, it does not track until it is given to Canada post in Winnipeg. I am guessing Amazon finds it cheaper to fill a truck, ship the stuff to the proper region, and then have it delivered as local mail.

eVay sucks. I haven’t used their services for years. Much better to advertise to buy or sell items within the various Forums on the internet. Prices stay more consistent and fair, and for the most part guys are more honest.
Too easy to turn your name to mud on community Forums so might as well be upfront and decent.
I think eBay turned many into greedy people who just knew that the allure of auction would drive selling prices crazy.

Many blokes have gone to the Facebook pages to sell....and then tried SHIPPO - gives decent shipping discounts and shows the comparison rates....I have used it for international too. Hate EPAY….when they asked for an account I gave them the one-digit salute and quit selling entirely…..Use EPAY to buy but hardly ever at an auction – lots of overpriced stuff but if you use search tool from lowest to highest price you can usually get the lowest cost offered and closest location to you to reduce shipping time.
EPAY got greedy and maxed their potential profit and raised prices – they lost my business.

"Paying tax on eBay purchases"?!?
 

I noticed they have started collecting taxes on sales - ref. https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/pay...chases?id=4771

I have heard there are some changes in international tax laws, but I think it is ridiculous that eBay as a company is now collecting taxes on sales done between individual businesses (not eBay themselves) and their customers. If collecting taxes is an outsourced activity, done on behalf of governments, I will ask our ministry of finance to downsize.

I bet you that upon arrival here, I will have to pay VAT on top of the taxes already paid :bang:

Along similar lines of Foot Abuse, I received an email last week from PayPal advising if my account was inactive for a period of time, with cash in it, they would charge a Service Fee on the Inactive Account. This is supposed to start here in Canada in a couple of months.

The examples they gave seemed to indicate the Fee they charged would match the value of the account, thereby clearing the account. Most interesting. I stopped keeping cash in my PayPal Account a number of years ago because I got fed up of funds instantly exiting my Bank Account when I added them, but taking several days or more to get deposited into my bank when requested.

David

Just got a morning email from eBay advising that as of 01 July 2022 they will be collecting all Canadian Federal and Provincial Sales Tax on all purchases by Canadian members, regardless of the current tax registration status of any Canadian Sellers or Purchasers.

If you end up double taxed, it will be up to you to apply to the appropriate Canadian Federal or Provincial Tax Departments to apply for refunds.

David

What is this 'eeb-bay' you speak of? I have a fuzzy, long ago recollection about something like that. Gone now...oh well.

Hi

Well, as per my previous post in this thread, I did get back into selling for a little while. It was going OK but I had noticed US Buyers were getting Tax added to their totals when processed their wins. Only some though. It was very State dependent. I remained aloof from their Global Shipping Program and sent at cost. That part continued to go well.

I got that email today as well and it is a blanket nation-wide application of GST/HST/PST on each and every item. Pity...that is the end of me on Ebay then.

I wonder "what's next" in this Country? Proposed Tax your own firewood or Federal Tax enforcement at Flea Markets or Yard Sales? Probably. Someone has to pay for Govmt largesse.

Anyone have the plans for that charcoal fired Automobiles that the Germans had twds the end of WW2? :)

regards
Darrell

I don't believe the collection of taxes is something that ebay is in any way in control of or wants to do. But with miliions (or possibly billions) of dollars of transactions that are well documented, of course the Liberal government wants their piece of that pie.



I had dealt with some ebay sellers in the past that said they were collecting Manitoba provincial tax. I asked one what his Manitoba PST tax number was and did not get a response. Personally, I think it was just another way to skim 8% in profits.

Cashless society is next. Covid (all that dirty money) may have sped it up but it was inevitable anyway. Soon every transaction will have to go through the bank/tax/track/collect your personal information grinder. But you'll have sworn promises of confidentiality, fair taxation and only absolutely necessary (but ever increasing) transaction fees once they have a lock tight monopoly. What could go wrong?

Bruce: You must trust that your government would only do what is in your best interest. It's not like they would freeze your accounts if you gave money to a cause that did not align with what the ruling government believes is best for Canadians.

Bruce, maybe you could investigate Bitcoin?

Winston Churchill contended that a government that tried to tax its way into prosperity was akin to a man standing in a bucket and trying to pull himself up by the handle.
I can well picture my govmint and yours clinging to that one to the bitter end.

Anticipating that, our government is investigating its own version of bitcoin, a version that looks remarkably like digital currency. They promote it as trustworthy (vs. that wild west of crypto) so, once again, just 'trust us'.

Oh, and that Churchill guy? One of our politicians was called a misogynist for quoting him (the line about speeches being like skirts, they should be long enough for substance but short enough to catch your attention). I can't believe we've actually come to a place where quoting Churchill can get you in trouble.