More EBAY insanity!

[danmckee]

Guy charges me $7.50 shipping, doesn't answer my email asking why and item arrives with $4 postage in a brown small envelope not bubble. I go to leave a neutral due to the postage theft and I now get this message from ebay:

"You cannot leave negative or neutral Feedback for this PowerSeller within 7 days of the transaction.
In the mean time, email the seller or request additional contact information, such as a phone number, to resolve any issues"

If the guy won't return my email I am not going through the hassle of calling him. So after 7 days I can leave the neutral?

I don't get this system ebay has at all. Also, I left a seller a 4 recently in the star category for description as it was horribly graded. And it shows a 4 as reasonable. So if they are booting sellers for a rating of 4.3, then that is just more insanity.

[slantycouch]

I agree. It's pretty much absurd. And $7.50 shipping for a brown envelope is unreal.

[Mrc32]

With eBay's and paypal's high fees, and lousy service it is a wonder that a viable alternative has not launched where people can list and sell. Craiglist has done this for a lot of things.....but it sure would be nice to have another place to list and buy cards.

[martyogelvie]

In lieu of neutral, I guess you could leave 1 star on Shipping...

but in this case, neutral may be warranted.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by Mrc32

... but it sure would be nice to have another place to list and buy cards.

Folks might want to check out this thread from the B/S/T:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=112683

Judging by the comments left there, Frank's innovative and creative thinking might have hatched a viable alternative to eBay, right here on Net54.

[slidekellyslide]

Yesterday I won a lot of 6 baseballs on ebay and the lady charged me $15.50 to ship them. It will be interesting to see how much it really cost when the package arrives.

[HRBAKER]

We seem to have this discussion every few months or so. What do most people think is a reasonable amount to charge for handling part of shipping and handling? Most businesses charge some kind of upcharge over and above what the actual postage is to cover time, materials, gas, salaries, etc. It is very obvious that some sellers attempt to make the S&H a profit center to help defray part of their listing and final value fees, particularly those who seem to charge what seems to be a ridiculous amount for the second and third and such item. As someone who does not sell on ebay, what is fair?

[slidekellyslide]

I almost always lose on shipping and if I accidentally collected too much then I always refund the difference through paypal back to the buyer. I really don't have a problem with what people charge for shipping if it's stated up front....like the baseballs I bought off ebay yesterday I knew the shipping prior to the end of the auction so I really have no problem with it...it was high enough that maybe it even scared away some bidders??? It will be interesting to see what kind of shipping my $15.50 bought me though.

[Kehfee]

Way to pick your fights Dan.

[HRBAKER]

A seller who charges $7.50 to ship a card and does not respond to e-mails in light of the new ebay 5 Star rating system is asking for trouble. You can argue back and forth about whether it is too much or whether you have a grievance after you have essentially agreed to pay it by bidding, but to charge that much and ignore customer's e-mails about it is not very wise IMO.

[danmckee]

uh oh, who did I pick a fight with? Dan.

[Exhibitman]

Just not worth the headaches of trying to please so many disparate personalities by trying to engineer a perfect price.

As long as shipping is stated up front I now just treat it like vig in a real auction and bid accordingly. Then I get mad only when the item isn't properly packed.

[prestigecollectibles]

I print all my postage online or I use the automated postage machine in the lobby. The only time I stand in line is to send Registered packages.
It is cheaper to print the online postage anyway.

[danmckee]

Adam, you are so damn level headed, you would make a great lawyer!

Dan

[danmckee]

He got a + FB and I starred him up instead of the neutral.

[Kehfee]

Originally Posted by danmckee

uh oh, who did I pick a fight with? Dan.

What I mean is that years ago you took PSA and Joe Orlando to court. These days you're rattling sabres over being taken for a few bucks on shipping.

On the bright side it sounds like you got the card. Just give him a poor rating on shipping and move on.

[rhettyeakley]

I agree with most on this forum when they say that if shipping is specified in the auction I anticipate that price when calculating my bid, and bid accordingly. While it irks me when I spend $5-6 on shipping only to have the item arrive in a 2-cent envelope with a a few stamps thrown on it, as long as the item isn't damaged I just chalk it up to experience and move on.

On the other hand, if the seller could leave crappy feedback for unreasonable buyers (much like the old system) there didn't seem to be as many issues as there seems to be now. Ebay is so one-sided now towards the buyer that it makes it too utterly frustrating to use as a seller.

This is coming from someone that hasn't sold an item on ebay in upwards of 2-3 years. At one time I used ebay very regularly but count me as one of those that just can't justify spending my hard-earned time to do all the work writing descriptions, uploading pictures, running to the post office, etc. and then in the end paying ebay 12% of the final value (once paypal is taken into consideration) when I can consign to a reputable auction house who will do all the work and will sometimes even have the item graded, etc. and I don't have to do anything and often have 0% sellers commission.

-Rhett

Also, a recent pet-peave of mine is that I saw an item last week and threw out a snipe and it ended on Thursday evening, I then left on Friday morning for the weekend and didn't even realize I had won it until I opened my email this morning and I had 16 emails from the seller ranging from invoices to private messages wondering why I hadn't paid for the item yet. I expect a couple, but 16!

[drdduet]

It's a confederacy of dunces I tell ya.