Ahh E-bay you gotta love it .

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
Or .....not . My minimum bid won . Well before that I sent the seller two messages pertaining to shipping costs . I also asked about the possibility of another purchase as shipping was free on second item . No response after two days . All I got was a bill for $ !.25 purchase cost and 18 $ shipping . This is a very light item and I had one shipped from close to him last week for $1.85
Can this gentleman charge whatever he wants for shipping to make up for the low price of my win ? This knife isn,t coming from China . It is North America to North America . Is there a way this issue can be addressed or should I just bite the bullet with the lesson learned of not bidding on items where sellers won,t list shipping costs ?
 
I'm no Ebay expert but if the shipping price isn't listed, I don't bid. (Along with that, if the shipping price is insanely high, I don't bid.)

My advice? Ask for less shipping costs under the threat of negative feedback; that seems to scare a lot of people for some reason. If that doesn't work, leave the feedback and mention what happened.
 
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-shipping.html

Perhaps this will help.

I personally have two rules for Ebay, I won't get into a bidding war. I won't bid unless I know the charges for shipping, unless they say actual shipping costs. I can verify that pretty easily.

Sometimes you can find things on ebay cheaply, even if you figure in the shipping cost, other times you can't.

I like it better than flea markets for sure.
 
I just read a note from an e-bay exec a few days ago reporting that they are cracking down on this practice. I think that if you write to the seller telling him that you think the shipping charges are unreasonable and would like to cancel the transaction rather than reporting it to e-bay, he would be happy to oblige.
 
Howard Wallace said:
I just read a note from an e-bay exec a few days ago reporting that they are cracking down on this practice. I think that if you write to the seller telling him that you think the shipping charges are unreasonable and would like to cancel the transaction rather than reporting it to e-bay, he would be happy to oblige.
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O:K: Howard as you can tell from the title I am jocularly opposed to your reasonable idea . It is hard for me to be reasonable with unreasonable people . It has been my experience they will still be unreasonable . Of course there is the stick you mentioned with that carrot . A talk with good old E_bay .

This gentleman has already proven uncommunicative . I placed a couple of interesting offers to him as regards to multiple purchases . No Response . I will keep your idea of a reasonable solution in mind . I may just have a discreet chat with E_Bay as well .
 
caveat emptor.

this is one of the ways that less honourable e-bay sellers use to improve their profits as the fees they pay are based on the minimum price the seller sets, so if they set a zero price and an 18$ shipping charge, they pay ebay less in fees than if they set a $16 min with 2$ shipping - it also attracts the less knowledgeable who don't notice and are 'bargain hunting' . always check shipping and where the item is actually coming from, you always have the chance to include 'high shipping charge' in your feedback (always check seller feedbacks). if you are not pleased and want to return such an item, they only re-emburse you for the cheap bid, NOT the original postage, that's if you ever hear from them at all.

99.9999% of the items coming out of china are like that, 'win' a wonderful ancient chinese ming dynasty housecarl sword of ancient damascus steel, only .99 (plus $90 shipping) and (possibly) recieve your brand-new antique artfully aged in cow-flop and acid etched 'damascus-style' mild steel blade, made last week by our skilled 18 year old son.

after all, it's illegal to export real chinese antiques without a permit from the beurocracy, but the same beurocracy encourages export of 'replicas'. ebay should clamp down on them as well.

i have been tempted on occasion, but wondered if they were real or not. they aren't. luckily i've never actually succumbed & bid on anything remotely of chinese origin for my collections.

they also mis-represent their location, i've seen a lot of locations listed as "shanghai, united kingdom" or teeny print on items listed in as london, UK that says 'item will be shipped from our warehouse in hong kong'

while there are quite a few bargains to be had, there are also quite a few unscrupulous sellers out there as well, so if it looks like a 'bargain' let it raise the hackles of your neck & be extra cautious, especially if they use the postage scam & don't be overly surprised if occasionally you get took. happens to all of us. you do occasionally win.
 
It is a fairly common practice to cover your eBay fees with inflated S&H. It's sort of like the inflated fees that hospitals charge someone with insurance. Only a small portion of what you pay is actually for the services rendered to you. The rest is to cover the services rendered to people who can't pay.

I once bought a $2 item that had a $10 S&H. The only reason I bid on it was that the seller offered me 3 more of this item for the one $10 S&H.

If the S&H isn't listed, find out what it is before bidding.
 
Dave Rishar said:
I'm no Ebay expert but if the shipping price isn't listed, I don't bid. (Along with that, if the shipping price is insanely high, I don't bid.)

My advice? Ask for less shipping costs under the threat of negative feedback; that seems to scare a lot of people for some reason. If that doesn't work, leave the feedback and mention what happened.
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Excellent advice!
 
I concur gentlemen in the respect that bidding on an item without knowing shipping is only looking at half the offer before offering a bid .

Very often the shipping/handling price given is to the Continental U:S: only . This is often due to the fact the seller is not a large well established one . They cannot afford the necessary structure to include automatic worldwide estimation of fees . On the big sellers I just punch in my postal code and out pops the result .

I sometimes go by the sellers U:S: fees which in this case were less than half what he is trying to gouge me for . I concur the ultimate responsibility lies with me . I have taken steps to ensure this does not happen again with this particular seller . Thanks to the links provided by my most excellent brethren of the Cantina I have launched a scathing letter to E-bay that shall rock it to its core . Several minions will become one heads length shorter and the scurrying by those left alive to do my bidding will make a satisfying slither heard all the way to the sellers abode . Whether he has the good sense to respond in kind is anyones guess . At least it has taught me to never buy from a seller with the name of " Reali-blond " L:O:L
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16044&item=300001214947

Kevin,

I have a few additional approaches you might use to zap the seller.

He/she has links in the ad you bought from to non-eBay stores.

2seduce and Martial Arts Gear.

I am 99% certain that eBay frowns upon this practice. They have no problem, of course, if the seller has a link to his "other items" or his "eBay Store." BUT he is using eBay to advertise his non-eBay sites?!?! BIG no-no!

Another way to screw with a seller is to open a dispute with eBay and/or PayPal (if you used PP) that the item you got was "not as decribed" or "not received."

They even give you multiple choices to zap the seller. Stuff like: "I received an empty box," and other fun stuff.

Just scoll down on your "My Ebay" page to the lower left --- dispute console --- and have fun. You may be able to get a refund if you did not receive the item. Hmm, did it really come? Did they have delivery confirmation? If so, was it an empty box?

Have fun on eBay and if you really want to get heavy, click here.

http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=2250985&tstart=0&mod=1058554218285

With your low feedback (less than 10, you don't want to hit them with a negative as they will probably zap you back. However if they have already left you feedback..... and some sellers leave + FB when you pay .. . . . . then it is "open season."

Hmm, you live in Canada and the seller is in California? That make sit an INTERNATIONAL transaction. You might want to inform Interpol. Should be a link above.

Good hunting my friend. AND keep us informed! :D :D :D

Perhaps my tag line is appropriate here?
 
Bill ? Remind me to never Pi$$ you off . L:O:L

Referring to negative feedback ? What are the ramifications of a poor rating for a buyer ? As far as I can tell money talks as far as E_bay is concerned . As long as I have always paid in a reasonably timely fashion I would think all sellers referencing my data would be reassured .

Thanks for the great advice . Interpol ? You gotta love it . I can just see a couple of hard heeled international types busting down his door .
" This is from the Cantina ." they whisper as he is shown the dark side of...
"The Delight of The Razor . "
 
Kevin the grey said:
Bill ? Remind me to never Pi$$ you off . L:O:L
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"Nothing personal, just business." ---- Varoius Godfathers.

Kevin the grey said:
Referring to negative feedback ? What are the ramifications of a poor rating for a buyer ? As far as I can tell money talks as far as E_bay is concerned . As long as I have always paid in a reasonably timely fashion I would think all sellers referencing my data would be reassured .
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The problem could be with seller. Many sellers often don't like to deal with buyers of 10 FB or less. They know that newbies can be more difficult to deal with; sometimes do not follow through, and a newbie is more likely to give negative feedback or a neutral which is also considered negative by a seller. Often I see sellers have, in their ads, "If you have 10 FB or less, email me before bidding."

Kevin the grey said:
Thanks for the great advice . Interpol ? You gotta love it . I can just see a couple of hard heeled international types busting down his door .
" This is from the Cantina ." they whisper as he is shown the dark side of...
"The Delight of The Razor . "
Click to expand...

And using the Dispute Console to report a "Non-Performing-Seller" (NPS), can cause them problems and be great fun if you can get a seller, "into it." You can message them back and forth, call them names --- a liar and a coward, on and on, threaten them with Interpol and fraud. THEN file a claim for the return of your money! Shipping and item cost. You can keep the empty box if it ever showed up. They have to prove that you got the item!

Also get them in trouble with PayPal. Their major negatives FB now is from buyers who got the wrong item, misdescribed item, or junk item.

I know about these things because I buy a lot on eBay. The great majority of the sellers are good, honest people. BUT I have had sellers claim they sent it and I never got it. I know how to rasie a stink, because I have had to fight them. This has been rare, but rewarding when necessary. And I hope that when they are done with me, they will be a little more polite, honest and straighforward to others in the future.

YEAH!
 
kronckew said:
99.9999% of the items coming out of china are like that, 'win' a wonderful ancient chinese ming dynasty housecarl sword of ancient damascus steel, only .99 (plus $90 shipping) and (possibly) recieve your brand-new antique artfully aged in cow-flop and acid etched 'damascus-style' mild steel blade, made last week by our skilled 18 year old son.

after all, it's illegal to export real chinese antiques without a permit from the beurocracy, but the same beurocracy encourages export of 'replicas'. ebay should clamp down on them as well.

i have been tempted on occasion, but wondered if they were real or not. they aren't. luckily i've never actually succumbed & bid on anything remotely of chinese origin for my collections.
Click to expand...

There is some neat Chinese stuff on e-bay. You are right to be skeptical that it really is "Gengis Khan's favorite bow." Most of the "antiques" are for fooling foreign devils. However, you can still find neat stuff. If you really want old Chinese stuff look for older items in the US or Europe. Not from people with a lot of recent Chinese imports but from estates, etc. Some real antiques may be found there.

UffDa said:
It is a fairly common practice to cover your eBay fees with inflated S&H. It's sort of like the inflated fees that hospitals charge someone with insurance. Only a small portion of what you pay is actually for the services rendered to you. The rest is to cover the services rendered to people who can't pay.
Click to expand...

An interesting counterpoint. My insurance company negotiates lower fees with hospitals. They'll charge $400, and then the fee gets reduced to $125 per the negotiated agreement. Some homeless guy off the street gets socked with the entire inflated $400 charge. Then they scream when he defaults. Honest people without insurance who pay the inflated medical charges could be said to be supporting the insurance companies. In my opinion the common practice of inflating medical charges for the uninsured should be illegal.
 
The Chinese are masters of faking antiques. Been doing it for thousands of years.

Some of it is quite good. Some is just misrepresented, for instance, I have a nice Jian sword that was probably an early Qing dynasty reject from a really good swordmaker. It has all the right stuff in the blade, but some forging flaws that would have precluded it being a salable blade in the early Qing. $227 on eBay.

Also got an interesting and very good Jian that started life as a "Horse Killing Jian." Originally a very long Jian with a two handled grip, about 18" of the blade tip was broken off and the tip reground. Then the entire piece was resheathed and rehandled to look like a staff.

For a while I had visions of a wandering Chinese guy hiding his blade and suddenly surprising a rich merchant --- but I showed it to one of the top Chinese sword experts in the USA. He told me it probably started life as the "Horse Killer" and if complete, and unbroken, would be very rare and valuable, but as it was would have been unliklely as a real weapon, but I like it. The metal is incredible. $178 on eBay.

I rarely buy fine pieces on eBay anymore unless I know the dealer.

Another friend who is also a top guy in Chinese weapons and armor was in China about three years ago and saw a perfect 17th c Tibetan / Chinese helmet in a stall. He ran to pick it up and the only giveaway was that the holes in it to hold the leather lashings were drilled -- and therefore round. It should have been punched for that period of time. Then he saw a truck unloading dozens more in the back of the stall.

If you see two identical Chinese swords, he told me, you can bet they are fake.

BTW I got one of these helmets, knowing it was fake. $200 from an American dealer. If it had been real, a London dealer I know would have sold it for about $30,000. It is really cool. One of the few fakes I have bought, but it has a good story. I never represent it as real and usually tell this story when people see it.
 
Bill is that staff sword completely dirsguised as a staff ? It just looks like a length of carved wood ?

It is hard to judge another country which has different morals and ethics .
We are appalled by their human rights issues and other questionable practices .
They on the other hand find us barbaric in other ways .
 
You did not agree to pay his outrageous S&H fee (Couldn't since he did not disclose - for obvious reasons). At worst, you agreed to pay a "reasonable" fee.
 
Thomas Linton said:
You did not agree to pay his outrageous S&H fee (Couldn't since he did not disclose - for obvious reasons). At worst, you agreed to pay a "reasonable" fee.
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Well expressed Thomas . As has been said E-bay is trying to address the issue .
It is hard for them to get it done when they are busy making money hand over fist . It has been pointed out that this is one issue in their own best interest to fix .
 
Kevin the grey said:
Well expressed Thomas . As has been said E-bay is trying to address the issue .
It is hard for them to get it done when they are busy making money hand over fist . It has been pointed out that this is one issue in their own best interest to fix .
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Open a dispute for NPS. Non Performing Seller. It will help.

Hate to sound so vindictive, but I hate -- worse -- sellers who try to advantage of people. I feel that these people need to be taught a lesson in manners.

I have usually had very good results buying on eBay, but the bad and PITA sellers turn me into an Avenging Angel!

I feel that these people are really trying to take advantage of Kevin and that makes my blood boil!
 
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