Ebay Commandments

[mazeta]

Do so some people in this forum sell in such a high volume that the seller and PayPal fees add up to that much?
In 2008 A.D., checks, money orders, concealed cash, and other paper instruments are an ass-backwards way of paying for anything, and even the people I deal with in third-world countries now look down on such payment methods.

If a few extra dollars (or Pounds) spent on shipping/eBay fees/PayPal fees is the straw that will break your back, maybe some serious personal financial planning is in order.

 

[shanghai joe]

Seven auctions pulled and you are not ebay persona non gratia?
Wow, it only took two of my auctions to be pulled (one which I agreed to, the other met all their conditions yet they made up some rule at their whim, not listed in their policy, to justify the pulling of the second auction) and got handed a two month red card.

I've never sold anything on ebay ever since, and I never will now. Private selling all the way for me.
But buying is fine - ebay seems to protect the buyer more than the seller. Though they can always wash their hands of a buyer saying "private treaty between buyer and seller, we're just the advertising medium" thing.
I use ebay as a research tool as much as anything else - keeping tabs on the average moving price of X item, and you do get the occasional knowledgable seller who puts lots of good educational info in their auctions - you get to recognise and know these and sit up and take note when they do appear.
Sometimes, just sometimes, the right item comes along and you pounce on it. Thats what I do anyway.

Paypal is another matter for me - I've never had any problems with PP. I consider their fees and not so generous exchange rate the 'cost of doing business'. We're remote from the rest of the world where most items are bought (USA and Europe) and I have to expect there is going to be a cost in sending funds from my local currency to another location in another currency.

The only hint of a problem I've had with PP is a seller who refuses to send the item until the PP funds (which he has confirmed he's received) clears out into his personal bank account - three weeks and waiting.

paypal should clear in the same number of days as a financial instrument ie chq......mine cleared within 3 working days.....hey maybe the ebay goddess is smiling on 'ole joe

 

[asiamiles]

hey I thought ebay was a place to offload your unwanted items, not an entrepreniul project to make profits??? Now, that would be business......

I think for quite a lot of people eBay has become the platform of their businesses, and eBay markets itself quite aggressively for such sellers. Of course, it depends on the goods, but even many who have shops can sell more of their wares on eBay that in their actual store.

Do so some people in this forum sell in such a high volume that the seller and PayPal fees add up to that much?

Actually, I think it's the low-quantity sellers who are more affected by the fees. Those who sell in bulk just take such expenses in their stride and have already taken them into account with regards to their pricing of their goods, but it's the individual who, say, sells an unwanted book for $15 and only gets $12 for it that feels more aggrieved.

 

[asiamiles]

The only hint of a problem I've had with PP is a seller who refuses to send the item until the PP funds (which he has confirmed he's received) clears out into his personal bank account - three weeks and waiting.

That's definitely not in order, and even if your item arrives as described your feedback should reflect this seller's practice.

 

[deeb7]

The only hint of a problem I've had with PP is a seller who refuses to send the item until the PP funds (which he has confirmed he's received) clears out into his personal bank account - three weeks and waiting.

Three weeks!!

That's crazy Jason, there is no clearance on electronic payments. If he wants a few days to see it in his account, then maybe ...

But now it's time to look for a refund.

 

[a2 fng]

A lot of sellers are now charging SKY HIGH over the odds postage prices in order to claw their fees back :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[shanghai joe]

A lot of sellers are now charging SKY HIGH over the odds postage prices in order to claw their fees back :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

unless you desire the item so badly to want to pay the sky high pp...........maybe communicate to ask seller to be reasonable....I've done that a few times and I've got good replies.....

 

[shanghai joe]

hey I thought ebay was a place to offload your unwanted items, not an entrepreniul project to make profits??? Now, that would be business......

I think for quite a lot of people eBay has become the platform of their businesses, and eBay markets itself quite aggressively for such sellers. Of course, it depends on the goods, but even many who have shops can sell more of their wares on eBay that in their actual store.

Do so some people in this forum sell in such a high volume that the seller and PayPal fees add up to that much?

Actually, I think it's the low-quantity sellers who are more affected by the fees. Those who sell in bulk just take such expenses in their stride and have already taken them into account with regards to their pricing of their goods, but it's the individual who, say, sells an unwanted book for $15 and only gets $12 for it that feels more aggrieved.

agreed....what better platform than to have max exposure with no overheads in terms of shop overheads......

don't want to take the heat.........stay out of the kitchen.........no free lunches? probably.

I'm not pro-ebay.........reality sucks but ces't la vie, messieurs!

 

[shanghai joe]

Do so some people in this forum sell in such a high volume that the seller and PayPal fees add up to that much?
In 2008 A.D., checks, money orders, concealed cash, and other paper instruments are an ass-backwards way of paying for anything, and even the people I deal with in third-world countries now look down on such payment methods.

If a few extra dollars (or Pounds) spent on shipping/eBay fees/PayPal fees is the straw that will break your back, maybe some serious personal financial planning is in order.

yep........hang tight or hang loose..........freedom of choice.

 

[Andrew]

Do so some people in this forum sell in such a high volume that the seller and PayPal fees add up to that much?
In 2008 A.D., checks, money orders, concealed cash, and other paper instruments are an ass-backwards way of paying for anything, and even the people I deal with in third-world countries now look down on such payment methods.

If a few extra dollars (or Pounds) spent on shipping/eBay fees/PayPal fees is the straw that will break your back, maybe some serious personal financial planning is in order.

The fees are not insignificant on a single item if it's of a high value such as a good jacket.

I added the cash option about 5 years ago because I got tired of answering yes to all the enquiries from guys in the States asking if they could post greenbacks to me.
I have only just received an email from another buyer who after winning now says he doesn't have a Paypal account and that he's sending me cash even though i've deleted that from the listing. I'd be surprised if as a Seller you haven't come across this.

Thanks also for the free financial planning advice!!

 

[Roughwear]

Andrew from experience it can be very frustrating when buyers send cash from abroad and you wait weeks for it to come only to discover it may have been lost in the post. I had to open a non-payment dispute with the buyer through Ebay and eventually he accepted the situation and the transaction was terminated enabling me to relist the jacket. From end of auction to relisting took 6 weeks! I now no longer accept accept cash from abroad.

 

[Andrew]

Andrew from experience it can be very frustrating when buyers send cash from abroad and you wait weeks for it to come only to discover it may have been lost in the post. I had to open a non-payment dispute with the buyer through Ebay and eventually he accepted the situation and the transaction was terminated enabling me to relist the jacket. From end of auction to relisting took 6 weeks! I now no longer accept accept cash from abroad.

Andrew, it's been a while since it last happened and i've never a problem with it.

I think Paypal is an excellent service for international transactions, but the main issue for me was that Ebay insists that if you accept it for International then you must also for local. The logic is obvious but if there's a simple cost free alternative then i'd prefer that but you are not permitted to give a preference.

 

[shanghai joe]

Do so some people in this forum sell in such a high volume that the seller and PayPal fees add up to that much?
In 2008 A.D., checks, money orders, concealed cash, and other paper instruments are an ass-backwards way of paying for anything, and even the people I deal with in third-world countries now look down on such payment methods.

If a few extra dollars (or Pounds) spent on shipping/eBay fees/PayPal fees is the straw that will break your back, maybe some serious personal financial planning is in order.

The fees are not insignificant on a single item if it's of a high value such as a good jacket.

I added the cash option about 5 years ago because I got tired of answering yes to all the enquiries from guys in the States asking if they could post greenbacks to me.
I have only just received an email from another buyer who after winning now says he doesn't have a Paypal account and that he's sending me cash even though i've deleted that from the listing. I'd be surprised if as a Seller you haven't come across this.

Thanks also for the free financial planning advice!!

cavaet: cash in post at buyer's risk..............

 

[Roughwear]

cavaet: cash in post at buyer's risk..............

Absolutely. When will people learn!

 

[a2 fng]

In order to be covered by Paypoos protection you have to as a seller send items a trackable method which in itself puts buyers off as quite rightly they want the cheapest postage method.

 

[Jason]

In order to be covered by Paypoos protection you have to as a seller send items a trackable method which in itself puts buyers off as quite rightly they want the cheapest postage method.

That may hold true for domestic postage, but for international I learnt my lesson a long time ago. Surface mail (being the cheapest) is NOT the way to go - saving USD $20 is not worth the 4-5 month wait! And if I've spent any more than USD $100 on an item where it has to pass through all sorts of corruption-rife countries' mail handling centres - including our own country! - on its journey to me on the other side of the earth, a few extra dollars for tracking is not going to worry me at all, and is worth the extra cost.

But I guess it depends on what level of risk the buyer is prepared to take. And how much they trust the seller too - some sellers may insist on sending via a 'trackable' or 'express' mail method - and then send ordinary mail and pocket the difference. Had that happen to me a few times, thankfully only on low cost items.

Oh, and my "three week wait until it clears into my private bank account" guy confirmed yesterday that he has the funds in his bank account and will send on the next non-public holiday when he's not on night shift and back at home - another week or two apparently. I'm starting to smell a rat. Though his past feedback is excellent.
Time to read the riot act I think. He has one week to get it to me - even if that means he has to send at a higher postal cost - or I make a claim on paypal.

I made a mistake of trusting a seller on another purchase recently - a SD memory card arrived, low cost item USD $10 - but was faulty. The seller told me to take it to my local computer place they would fix it for me. Oh yeah? And who will pay for it? After much to-ing and fro-ing he eventually decided to take the card back and replace it - I had to pay USD $10 more to get it back to him via his required method on the promise that if genuinely faulty he'd recover all postal costs for me. But weeks turned into months with excuses like "we have to send it back to our supplier for testing, that can take 3 months for the report to come back to us" - and by the time my patience wore out, the time period for me to make a claim had run out - both with paypal, ebay and my credit card company.
Let that be another lesson - if you're unhappy, don't bite your lip and wait. Say something to the sender early (I'd suggest 2 weeks max), and get noisy with ebay/paypal/credit card company after 3 weeks.

 

[asiamiles]

Andrew from experience it can be very frustrating when buyers send cash from abroad and you wait weeks for it to come only to discover it may have been lost in the post.

I have to say, in 9 years of international transactions I've never had a single case of money being lost in the post. Of course, people very rarely send cash these days but even so. Until recently I don't recall ever having an item going missing either...stuff getting damaged, well that's another matter entirely!

 

[asiamiles]

Oh, and my "three week wait until it clears into my private bank account" guy confirmed yesterday that he has the funds in his bank account and will send on the next non-public holiday when he's not on night shift and back at home - another week or two apparently. I'm starting to smell a rat. Though his past feedback is excellent.
Time to read the riot act I think. He has one week to get it to me - even if that means he has to send at a higher postal cost - or I make a claim on paypal.

You should claim now! The seller is clearly delaying sending you the item for no good reason.

 

[mazeta]

Oh, and my "three week wait until it clears into my private bank account" guy confirmed yesterday that he has the funds in his bank account and will send on the next non-public holiday when he's not on night shift and back at home - another week or two apparently. I'm starting to smell a rat. Though his past feedback is excellent.
Time to read the riot act I think. He has one week to get it to me - even if that means he has to send at a higher postal cost - or I make a claim on paypal.

You should claim now! The seller is clearly delaying sending you the item for no good reason.

Agreed. The guy is stringing you along.

 

[ausreenactor]

Bought a Blood Chit repro from eBay last year. Got excuses about selling more than he had(eBay rule number one, you must have the item to sell it), then quality issues, then Christmas period. 45 days and the Paypal protection had expired. More excuses then eBay feedback ran out. After that no responses to emails. THEN he lists the item, I elect to buy it a second time, with access to a fresh eBay feedback. And overcharged $21.50 for shipping. Now? Do I leave a negative or hit him up for the overage, then leave a negative?? Paypal should not have an end date for unreceived item or item not as described. And the hoops you have to jump through are insane. Three times I have needed them, I have been bounced around the FAQ's and offered an apology. I should have acted sooner. So now, no second chances. While I will not claim for an item not as described, keep the thing and get my money back. In the event I am "done dry" again I like to think the Buyer Protection will protect the buyer..

Over three ID's across the years, thousands of trades both ways, I have only had three items not arrive. A photo of Melissa Joan Hart(dont' ask), a USMC cover and a set of HBT coveralls. Had the seller of the coveralls email last month to say they had come back. 14 months after they were shipped. Paid for a second trip across the ocean and should arrive soon. So two things astray, no payments lost(cash I always sent registered), and still keen as ever to pay USPS more than the item cost in some cases. In Australia, if you want US WWII stuff, you have to go to the source!!

Ask my wife...eBay is the Devil incarnate..But I love it, she loves me and we have an understanding. As long as the kids are fed and the savings move forward I am good to 'splurge' as I see fit.