eBay Ratings - PWCC
 

Question - has anyone else noticed the option to give a star rating for shipping costs and/or communication on eBay to PWCC has been removed? On my most recent - they got an automatic 5 stars on each despite their new inflated shipping rates of late and not responding to questions.

Nobody else gets that .. that I am aware of (unless shipping was free)

$25 ship on 6 cards on most recent, then then they show up in a cheap, flimsy $7 USPS flat rate envelope. :mad:

Rank hath its privileges.

$25 for what six cards? I just bought a lot of over 20 cards, and my shipping was nowhere near $25.

Yeah .. $25 for the 6. I know it’s based off price and noted in their auction, but still ridiculously inflated IMO. Regardless, expected to be shipped in small box, not jammed in a flat rate envelope. 5 stars as I recall was for “very reasonable” feedback. Hardly the case here .. but again, that option has been removed.

You know what’s interesting to me is that as I recall you’ve always had the option to leave star ratings for PWCC .. until now .. and since the recent fat shipping change padding. Knowing that many would not be inclined to leave that 5 stars (regardless of whether or not they post it, logic would say few would find it “very reasonable”) and the likelihood that would drop them below a 4.8 - it seems that eBay just removed that option.

Indeed rank does have its privileges

I bought a card from them 3 days ago and I just clicked on the feedback option and it allows me to give them stars for everything including the shipping.

I don't think those ratings matter anymore. Ebay bases discounts off of giving free return shipping, shipping on time and handling returns to their satisfaction.

I'm pretty sure that PWCC is so big that they can call the shots with Ebay. Do you really think Ebay wants to lose someone that is paying them 6 figures a month?

I noticed the same thing.

$30 to ship me three cards, I think it saved me like $4-5 versus just paying for all of them individually. I was going to ding them a star or two for the increased cost, but it wasn't a choice.

This is second time I've been disappointed with their shipping costs. Other was for some mini-helmets I won which they charged like $30-40, something like that to send me three of them. They could have sent me a dozen for less than that.

Now they do a great job combining on smaller dollar stuff, when I used to win several graded commons for sets the combined shipping discount was pretty meaningful. Now it's all tied to the value of the auctions.

They're definitely charging more, there's is no disputing that. They upload the shipping info quickly after payment as well. However, a week to get three cards from Oregon to Texas with UPS? Color me skeptical.

I don't think that's true at all.

First, eBay is a multi-billion dollar company. Even if they "lost" PWCC, it wouldn't change anything eBay does.

Second, where exactly would PWCC take their business? eBay is a brand pretty much everyone in the world is familiar with. PWCC is a brand only us collecting geeks know anything about.

Maybe wait more than 7 days to leave feedback. I know on Power Sellers you can't leave them a negative for 7 days. Maybe the same with stars?

Agreed. In all these years nobody has yet come up with an auction site that touches ebay.

In that case, you're probably paying for insurance. I don't see a problem with it, especially since they are upfront with shipping costs. Just price shipping into your bid. Simple.

That's nothing, Heritage got me $30 for a single $1300 exhibit in that same envelope.

SSuckow

I think if PWCC chose to NOT sell on Ebay and move their business to a catalog auction house like Hunt and Huggins & Scott, they would be just as successful.

I don't know...they move a LOT of product. I think that if they could make a viable business on their own, they'd have done so by now. Brent seems pretty savvy, so if there was a chance he could cut out the eBay commissions, he'd have done it. He pays eBay every month because he sees value in it. Personally, I don't think they'd make as much money on their own.

No question they have the following but I am not sure I see them doing as well outside of ebay. I think it could get more expensive and due to the sheer volume of product I think it would not move as efficiently especially if they went to a printed catalog.

The volume of material they sell, and the types of consignments they get for the most part, are not compatible with a catalog auction.

I haven't read them lately but E-Bay rules clearly state(d), Do not charge more for shipping that what it actually costs.

Either those rules aren't enforced or some have immunity.

Well, consider what PSA charges in shipping for even low $ cards. To top it off, they require every type of service be sent with separate orders. So, if you have a regular submission, a review, and a crossover, you're paying high shipping costs THREE separate times.......and both directions. I'm not entirely sure why it's such an operational anomaly requiring separate shipping; One of their 18 graders is going to look at all three and do essentially the same thing.

PWCC seems like a bargain in comparison.

Shipping costs also include packing materials and labor costs. It does take time to properly package a shipment.

As for the feedback on communication I believe this is only an option if you asked a question related to this purchase. I have received a quick response any time I've contacted pwcc and have never found their shipping costs to be unreasonable.

++ this. It's not 1984. No one works for $3.50/hour any longer. If PWCC stayed in CA, it would be double that. The days of doing anything cheap in America are over; China does that for us.

I am not sure how charging $25 dollars for shipping then having your pkg show up in a $7 envelope equates, but I guess some are OK with that it seems.

People aren't really mentioning the insurance aspect. 6 cards could be $50 or it could be $2,000. Insurance is a real cost. That's where the majority of PSA's return shipping comes from, not the boxes or weight themselves.

Yep, insuring a $2,000 card is well over $25 without even considering the actual shipping charge.

I am not sure if I had ever looked in the past at PWCC's feedback, but today, for some reason, I decided too.

I was surprised to see the amount of neutral and negative feedback but I guess, being as big and popular as they are, I should have expected to see some.

What's not surprising, however, is most talk is about the cost of shipping and how their cards were packaged.

Has there always been this amount of negative/neutral feedback before or has it increased as of late?
https://www.ebay.ca/usr/pwcc_auction...p2047675.l2559

I think 76,500 positive vs 22 negative is pretty good. It's actually
funny when you read some of the negative responses one person
left five of them. On an auction that ended on July 31 he left feedback
and said they "continuously shill their auctions". He left the same feedback
for a card he won on August 30 on an card he won on august 22 he left
off the "continuously" and just said they shill their auctions.

What is PWCC's alternative auction website though...? I agree ebay fees are outrageous, but PWCC likely needs ebay as much as they need him.

I'm sure PWCC loves to quote "insurance" as one of the reasons why they overcharge so much for their shipping, but it's a huge lie - don't buy into it!

They have a private collectibles policy that covers them for any and all shipping losses as long as they ship using an approved method, with signature confirmation after a certain $ level.

They DO NOT pay for insurance on any packages that they ship!!!

So a private collectibles policy is *not* insurance? Thanks for the clarification.

What I'm trying to say is that they don't shell out $25 to insure a $2000 package.

Yes, a private collectibles policy certainly has costs associated with it, but spread out over thousands of packages per month, it's a minuscule amount to fully insure each package - plus it also covers them in the event of a fire, flood or theft at the location where their merchandise is stored.

You can ship all your orders together, and have them returned together, if you ask them to do so AND are willimg to have everything returned to you at the slowest turn around time of everything you submitted. Also, if you create a FedEx account and provide them the #, they will ship it using your account (and therefore your insurance), which makes things cheaper.

Lol, those "outrageous" fees are less than any other auction house you can sell with...by a considerable margin.

Yup, their private collectibles policy is free to them. I'm sure the insurance underwriter sees millions of dollars worth of product being sent out each month and insures each transaction for free. Use your head. :rolleyes:

My point was mostly the Negative/Neutral feedback about shipping their shipping fees and the "real" amount it costs them. Also, as you can see for yourself, not many are happy with how their cards were packaged.

What I have also noticed is their fees have jumped again already.
One thing I have read quite frequently on here, in the past, was that their packaging was always very good but that also seems to have changed based on the feedback.

There is no doubt in my mind, like I have said numerous times before, they are banking large with their shipping fees. Just because some auction houses may charge more sometimes, it still doesn't make it right, and each operation, which isn't an apples to apples comparison, is different from the next.

That is not necessarily true, in fact some of the advertisers on here, as well as a few others, charge 0% sellers fee, depending on item. You can list items on ebay for less yourself. Granted you or I may not get the bids/and or watchers they get.

And that is the part I don't get. Ebay is supposed to level the playing field. Do buyers REALLY want to pay double the price through an auction, when a lesser "no-name" seller is selling the exact same card in the exact same grade (sometimes in better condition) for less?

Oh, you're one of those people... if ebay/pp only charged buyers a fee of 13% instead...
:rolleyes:

I never claimed their policy was free. I'm just saying they don't shell out for extra insurance on each package that they send. Perhaps you should use your head??? :confused:

Right, but they charge a buyer's premium which comes straight out of the consigner's pocket. Do the math. eBay is by far the cheapest place to auction cards.

They pay for insurance. Each parcel costs them something. You're a fool if you think they aren't "paying extra insurance". By definition, their insurance policy is "extra insurance". Look, I run multiple businesses and have first hand knowledge of how this works. You clearly don't know what you're talking about.

Spaeth
 

Always Waiting in the bushes. Do you work, Peter?

Unreal.

Surviving the storm,

CV

Given all the drama, I'm curious why anyone ever bids with them, it's almost as if they only want to bitch AFTER they've purchased what they want....:rolleyes:

Agreed, and that’s part of the point of the original post. Someone else noted as well. I recalled their packaging used to be far more secure. Really disappointing to see it show up in a basic flat rate USPS cardboard envelope.

The other part of the issue was I did not have the option to star grade shipping cost, it was given an automatic five stars. This wasn’t five stars and really was a bad experience, but eBay took that option to leave feedback away here. First time I’ve seen that for anyone unless it’s free shipping. Perhaps a unique benefit to PWCC since they do so much business through eBay? Given that, I really couldn’t see eBay charging them extra if they fall below 4.8, I guess this is one way to ensure that doesn’t happen :mad:

And I get it’s not 1984 and shipping costs have gone up. I don’t begrudge anyone charging actual shipping costs factoring in labor, materials, etc. but let’s be real here – some/many also see this as an open territory to overcharge as they wish. It’s really not governed and a great opportunity for you to pad your bottom line. That’s really what PWCC (and others) are doing here. We could go back-and-forth all day on insurance, costs, overhead, etc. but the bottom line is this is seen as a revenue stream. For many of the AH’s as well - I’m sure you all love getting your two cards, $500 value along w/a $29 shipping excuse/box.

It is what it is and it’s not going to stop me from looking at PWCC listings and doing business with them – but I will also factor that into any bid/consideration. Whether that has an a real effect, who knows and for most, who cares. Although obviously less competition means better prices. As a consignor or potential consignor though, that’s something I would at least think about. One reason I have not consigned anything with Mile High or Memory Lane for example (they are amongst the highest buyer premiums and shipping rates) I guess it leaves the question of your consignment take with PWCC and has it gone up accordingly since these changes ... or just their own bottom line?

I'm starting to think the "play" on here is to convince people PWCC is terrible in order to reduce the number of bids and bring some of the astronomical prices down.

I can't imagine spending thousands of dollars on a card and getting hung up on the shipping charges (considering the cost of insurance). But, that's just my opinion.

Well, from my perspective I just started this by asking the question of has anyone else seen the star grading disappear where shipping charges were applied? And, of course, $25 and getting it in a $7 envelope. I don’t think PWCC is “terrible“, I don’t think anybody is really – just something that was disappointing I guess. I agree with you in that it really wouldn’t factor in much on thousands of dollars, but if it came down to a basic card or two I wanted, relatively low cost .. that might factor in to some degree.

The cost of shipping a card:

• Postage
• Packing materials
• Insurance
• Labor
• Rent, interest, property taxes, etc.
• Utilities
• Machinery and equipment
• Inventory management software/IT infrastructure
• Risk

PWCC has a facility, which I'm sure has a large dedicated shipping & packaging area. The proportional cost of the facility, the utilities and the equipment are all shipping costs. The IT infrastructure that they have to monitor inventory and ensure packages go out quickly and accurately is a shipping cost. The labor is a shipping cost.

Why are shipping prices increasing? Their business is growing. Their current auction has 18,000 lots. Shipping 18,000 lots over a 2-3 week period requires infrastructure and investment.

Claiming that PWCC is screwing you for charging $25 for a "$7 envelope" is an insult to small businesses around the country. This is hard work.

Nah...I have not been on this forum too long but I am shocked by how many people complain about shipping here...either the cost or how something was packed. Seems there are other things to complain about in the hobby, if ya wanted to complain. Shipping would not be one of them for me, at least.

Cuz just like Arby's PWCC has got the meats! I have not bought from them but seems to be the consensus that they are the only one running auctions on ebay for graded material and in massive quantities. And I don't buy from them for a lack of trying. I never win. Typically I can get the same thing they are selling cheaper, many times, out of an ebay store or if I am patient, from almost any other auction house. They seem to do exceptionally well for their consignors.

Get over yourself, Jason .. I never claimed PWCC was "screwing" me .. I asked about eBay feedback policy changing for this one seller. Has anyone else seen/experienced this? And then added that yeah, $25 to ship in a $7 flat-rate envelope was "disappointing". Beyond the cost issue it wasn't protect well, not a good/job service IMO. So I asked a question and shared my opinion and experience.

You disagree? Fine. I totally respect that. You're insulted? So be it .. but speaking for others (".. is an insult to small businesses around the country") and/or putting words in my mouth to try and accentuate your point is poor form.

Except when I seem to consign something. But therein lies the rub.

Here's my recent experience from their last auction. I am not trying to be positive or negative, I am trying to be factual.

Keep in mind I am in Canada, which (depending on the seller) can range from normal ($3) to outrageous.

As usual, I was looking at several cards, and ended up winning only one. I think I won the card for $117. Shipping was advertised as being $20, which I took into consideration when bidding.

Invoice came in, and shipping was charged at $40. I sent a note, and within 24 hours I received a reply, and a change back to $20. I then asked if I get it sent to a US address, how would that affect shipping? Again, within 24 hours, I received a reply saying it would be $4 to a US address.

I asked for the invoice to be updated, changed the billing address, and received an updated invoice.

I paid the invoice, and was then left positive feedback by PWCC. I have not yet left feedback, as I will wait for the package to arrive before doing so.

That's all you could come up with for small business costs? ....you forgot seeking council from an oracle regarding sales. :D

My apologies Ed. I must've forgotten it was Friday, I should've been in a better mood. You're correct, you were fair in your feedback on here.

I get frustrated reading these shipping price threads trying to dig into whether auction houses are profiting off of customer shipping. It's expensive shipping these cards - a lot more goes into it than an envelope and postage.



I should've included the Christmas bonuses PWCC probably gives to those poor Lake Oswego USPS men and women. ;)

Ah yeah I feel your pain. I have not consigned a whole lot but no matter who I give stuff to it always seems like it is the wrong stuff at the wrong time. Not talking about 68 Topps commons in 7 holders either. Apparently when I am bidding in auctions the consignor seems to be doing very well. I guess only when I am buying do I have good taste because when I go to sell it would appear my taste is not so great.

*claps* excellent post, thank you.