What do you guys like/not like to see in a Vintage Seller?

[BobC]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

They shouldn't be, but eBay certainly charges me tax on all S&H fees. I'm amazed they've been getting away with it for so long. It's criminal, no?

Just so you know, sales (and use) taxes vary from state to state. Five states do not charge any sales taxes at all, and for the rest, some charge sales tax on some things, and some on others.

Some states may also include and charge sales tax on the S&H fees while others don't. I live in Ohio, which does charge the sales tax on the cost of cards I may buy on Ebay, plus also on the S&H costs to have them shipped to me. Some other states may not charge sales tax on the S&H feels. You have to look at the laws in effect for the state in which you have items you purchase off Ebay shipped to, to see if they're also going to charge you sales tax on those Ebay shipping fees. Hope this helps explain.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by BobC

Just so you know, sales (and use) taxes vary from state to state. Five states do not charge any sales taxes at all, and for the rest, some charge sales tax on some things, and some on others.

Some states may also include and charge sales tax on the S&H fees while others don't. I live in Ohio, which does charge the sales tax on the cost of cards I may buy on Ebay, plus also on the S&H costs to have them shipped to me. Some other states may not charge sales tax on the S&H feels. You have to look at the laws in effect for the state in which you have items you purchase off Ebay shipped to, to see if they're also going to charge you sales tax on those Ebay shipping fees. Hope this helps explain.

I was aware of most, but not all of that. Thanks. Being Canadian, I'm forced to ship many things to U.S. addresses because American sellers can't, won't or don't know how to ship up here. Either that or they refuse to stray away from the colossal eBay scam that they've cutely named the Global Shipping Program. $20 S&H for a 99 cent item. I have things shipped to a few different states, all of which charge tax on the shipping.

[perezfan]

Describe the card - not the slab. Don't just say something like "PSA 4" and be done with it. Wrinkles/creases often do not show up in scans, and returns are a pain in the ass for both parties.

Reinforce the card with cardboard when packaging/shipping

Combine shipping cost on multiple purchases

Use blue painters tape on the toploader

[BobC]

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

I was aware of most, but not all of that. Thanks. Being Canadian, I'm forced to ship many things to U.S. addresses because American sellers can't, won't or don't know how to ship up here. Either that or they refuse to stray away from the colossal eBay scam that they've cutely named the Global Shipping Program. $20 S&H for a 99 cent item. I have things shipped to a few different states, all of which charge tax on the shipping.

I hear you, and completely understand the thinking, and the unfair position it can put sellers like yourself in the middle of. It sucks, but there isn't a lot any of us can really do about it unfortunately. And I've yet to hear anyone say something totally positive about the GSP.

And then getting stuck having to pay sales tax in some cases on those GSP charges is just adding insult to injury. It throws an unfair disadvantage at sellers, like yourself, when competing against other sellers that don't have to saddle their potential customers with such GSP charges, and then tack on the added sales tax charged on those GSP fees as well.

[Exhibitman]

As far as the GSP goes, it is all defensive. I don't like it as a seller, but it is a lot better to lose the sale than having to eat chargebacks from unscrupulous international purchasers. Unfortunately, we in the states don't have a cheap, trackable international shipping mechanism, so you either use the GSP or you risk being defrauded. The honest folks get lumped in with the dishonest sacks of dung.

It does make for some weird outcomes. I had a buyer from Japan take down 25+ lots of cards I had then have a cow over the shipping costs. I even offered to refund him 90% of the costs since it was all going to go into one box anyway, but he refused to close and I had to file over two dozen non-paying bidder claims against him to get my eBay fees back.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

As far as the GSP goes, it is all defensive. I don't like it as a seller, but it is a lot better to lose the sale than having to eat chargebacks from unscrupulous international purchasers. Unfortunately, we in the states don't have a cheap, trackable international shipping mechanism, so you either use the GSP or you risk being defrauded. The honest folks get lumped in with the dishonest sacks of dung.

It does make for some weird outcomes. I had a buyer from Japan take down 25+ lots of cards I had then have a cow over the shipping costs. I even offered to refund him 90% of the costs since it was all going to go into one box anyway, but he refused to close and I had to file over two dozen non-paying bidder claims against him to get my eBay fees back.

I completely understand the need for security on larger-priced items, but I'm not sure how an $18-20 S&H fee can be justified for a nothing item valued at less than the GSP cost to ship. Both eBay and the seller are basically thumbing their noses at a section of the customer base, however small it may be. Might as well not accept international bidders rather than offending them. For low value items, just run the risk and send without tracking or don't ship internationally at all if you're worried about being scammed. Include verbiage in your listings indicating how much time sending regular mail between the countries can sometimes take. Believe me, all Canadians are already aware of this to begin with, but put the verbiage in there just to cover that base. That's my perspective. Then, there's the incredibly inflated "Import Fees" imposed by eBay on pricier GSP shipments. Combined with the shipping cost, the total has sometimes exceeded 40% of the cost of the item(s)! One guess where all that extra money is going. GSP items are sent through the USPS, so there are no potentially staggering brokerage fees as you sometimes deal with when using UPS and the like.

Also, I certainly hope that most international buyers do understand that a nice amount of that inflated GSP S&H charge goes directly into eBay's pocket. It's yet another money grab. We know that it doesn't cost that much to ship something small like a card to Canada via USPS, even with tracking. Let's not even begin to speculate what sort of discount shipping price eBay has negotiated with the USPS for GSP items, either.

Forgive the derailment from the subject at hand. As is easily seen, this is a sore spot.

[Leon]

I can't count the number of times, in my business career, I have seen shipping charges be major profit centers. When I was in straight commission IT sales, many moons ago, we sometimes got paid on that profit we made. I think most/many businesses look at shipping as a profit center, but not all.

And as for what I want to see in a vintage seller? Again, big, clear scans of front and back. A description of any imperfections not seen on the screen or anything relevant to the aesthetics of the item I need to know. What I don't need is to know that Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs or Ty Cobb is the all time batting average champion.

Originally Posted by BillyCoxDodgers3B

I completely understand the need for security on larger-priced items, but I'm not sure how an $18-20 S&H fee can be justified for a nothing item valued at less than the GSP cost to ship. Both eBay and the seller are basically thumbing their noses at a section of the customer base, however small it may be. Might as well not accept international bidders rather than offending them. For low value items, just run the risk and send without tracking or don't ship internationally at all if you're worried about being scammed. Include verbiage in your listings indicating how much time sending regular mail between the countries can sometimes take. Believe me, all Canadians are already aware of this to begin with, but put the verbiage in there just to cover that base. That's my perspective. Then, there's the incredibly inflated "Import Fees" imposed by eBay on pricier GSP shipments. Combined with the shipping cost, the total has sometimes exceeded 40% of the cost of the item(s)! One guess where all that extra money is going. GSP items are sent through the USPS, so there are no potentially staggering brokerage fees as you sometimes deal with when using UPS and the like.

Also, I certainly hope that most international buyers do understand that a nice amount of that inflated GSP S&H charge goes directly into eBay's pocket. It's yet another money grab. We know that it doesn't cost that much to ship something small like a card to Canada via USPS, even with tracking. Let's not even begin to speculate what sort of discount shipping price eBay has negotiated with the USPS for GSP items, either.

Forgive the derailment from the subject at hand. As is easily seen, this is a sore spot.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Leon

I can't count the number of times, in my business career, I have seen shipping charges be major profit centers. When I was in straight commission IT sales, many moons ago, we sometimes got paid on that profit we made. I think most/many businesses look at shipping as a profit center, but not all.

Very true. And I understand that position. In the case of eBay/GSP, though, it's the level of greediness in those huge fees that infuriates me. With the amount of business they do in this regard, they could pad the charges to a more palatable level and still make bank.