Rant: Annoying e-bayers!

F

freezergeezer

Joined
Oct 29, 1999
Messages
539
Dammit, I hate it when I spot a real nice knife & the :jerkit: **** :jerkit: selling it says it's their policy not to ship out of the U.S. :mad: I'm in the U.K. for Pete's sake!! We're supposed to be allies! It's not like I'm in effing Russia or something!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

It's a really nice looking trader style damascus fixed blade too!! :grumpy:

Sorry guys, I've had this reaction a few times just recently & it's getting to me.
 
I think that the postal service needs revamped - wouldn't an "international postal service" be nice? I'm sure that they'd have to fit Customs in there somehow, but an international carrier that distributes to local hubs would be great.

Also, my mother in law lives in Russia and sends us stuff w/ no problems!
 
you're probably right... Its going to take like 2 weeks for my Busse CGFBM to get here from Canada, which is a whole 100 miles North... Customs... I actually talked w/ a Customs agent today at this Career fair they had at the University. I should have asked him what was up!
 
pogo said:
I think it has to do more with the Customs Hassle myself.
Click to expand...

Yeah but that's up to the buyer, not seller; sellers who actually have a clue simply add a disclaimer stating something along the lines of "I cannot possibly be familiar with your country's regulations so you're on your own once I ship the item; make sure everything is OK when/if your item gets to customs" and it makes perfect sense.

It is hilarious to see shmucks trying to peddle same product on eBay everyone else does (Spyderco knives for example) except that they're the only one who doesn't ship abroad, thereby severely limiting their potential customer base. They are obviously unaware of the fact that Americans can buy those knives even cheaper at Wally's so vast majority of buyers comes from foreign countries. I had a chat with a friendly seller a couple of months ago and he mentioned ~90% of his eBay business (he's selling knives) is outside the US.

This being said, sometimes (say in 20% of cases) sellers will ship outside US if approached correctly before placing a bid ... at least that's my experience. Y'know, there are some dumb UK-based sellers on eBay.co.uk who wouldn't ship to other EU countries too ? :D
 
FG.

Anytime there is something I can help with along those lines, I will be glad too.

Gus
 
Thanks Gus, that's a kind offer.

So, here's the item.

Anyone reckon it's worth over $100.00, which is what I'd have bid to? I suspect it'll go for well over that but until I contacted the seller & asked if he'd be willing to ship to me (hence this post!), I was keeping quiet in hope! ;)
 
Maybe. Darn nice knife. :)

Wouldn't it work, since Bastid mentioned being willing to help (hoping I'm not presuming too much, Gus. :) ), for you to buy it and have it shipped to him? Then he sends it to you? I've heard of things like that working before.
 
Well, I was thinking of asking SunnyD if he'd help. No offence to Bastid, but I know he doesn't do PayPal, & trying to get funds to the U.S. by any 'normal' method is a nightmare! (Yes, I can do a direct transfer but few people are willing to do that due to the concerns about identity fraud)
Since the chap already turned me down on the shipping, I guess that any bid I make will be null & void, so I'd have to get someone to bid, & PP them if I win. Makes life a little complicated, eh?
 
So want me to put a bid in on it?

At least the paypal scheme defendant that paypal would do nothing about until the F.B.I. got involved obtained a few years in prison and a nice big fat fine.

Paypal is wonderful, until there is a problem. In my case they turned their back enabling a person to rip off a few more people to the tune of almost a million US bucks. :thumbdn:

BTW. Wire transfers and identity fraud. LOL. People should not be concerned there at all. No reason to be. I wrote a check for girl scout cookies a few weeks ago.
The girl scouts now have all the information they need (from the check) to transfer money to my account. That does not mean they can take money out of it. :D.
 
Yes please mate! :) I can go a bit over the $100 mark, if it needs it.
Much more than that, and although it's likely worth it, I have other things I need to be funding. ;)

So, anyone heard of the chap?

Thanks a lot!
Matt
 
Matt, you could still bid on it from over there, e-mail and tell the seller that you will have it shipped to a US address, I did the same recently on the E-bay UK website, had it shipped to my fathers address in the UK, he then in turn shipped the knife to me in the US, usually the seller does not mind doing that, then at least you can feel better about how much and how high you would bid, without getting anyone else involved, No offense to anyone who offered to help you out, I would do the same if you are stuck, I can also do PAYPAL.

Rusty1
 
I haven't sold anything on eBay, but I have a few small things to maybe offer in the future. As a beginner seller I don't intend to offer international shipping. Why? It's a PITA, or at least has the potential to be. Determining the extra cost of shipping, the exchange rate, extra-secure packaging, and customs/shipping delays. I think it would be particularly unwise for a new seller to try mailing cutlery or knife products overseas.

Just my 2c,
-Bob
 
Not to mention that there have been a number of scams with off-shore bidders buying items with bogus money orders, etc. It was a big deal a year or so ago. I was selling an $800 bass on Craigslist and got a hit from one of these guys. I could tell from his contact email, but I was on the lookout for it due to all the warnings.

-- Sam
 
freezergeezer said:
Yes please mate! :) I can go a bit over the $100 mark, if it needs it.
Much more than that, and although it's likely worth it, I have other things I need to be funding. ;)

So, anyone heard of the chap?

Thanks a lot!
Matt
Click to expand...

Is the chap you talking about the maker? I have one of his knives that I bought last summer at the Vincennes Rendezvous. He's a pretty good bladesmith and my knife was sharp as hell and of similar design, but not damascus. I did look over his damascus though and it's all good. I have his card with a phone number if you want to see about buying directly from him if the ebay deal falls through.
 
freezergeezer said:
Dammit, I hate it when I spot a real nice knife & the :jerkit: **** :jerkit: selling it says it's their policy not to ship out of the U.S. :mad: I'm in the U.K. for Pete's sake!! We're supposed to be allies! It's not like I'm in effing Russia or something!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

It's a really nice looking trader style damascus fixed blade too!! :grumpy:

Sorry guys, I've had this reaction a few times just recently & it's getting to me.
Click to expand...

Many folks are afraid of being blamed and getting bad feedback if customs confiscates the knife (very common prob with Canada, Italy, Netherlands, etc...). Others just don't want Nigerian jokers bidding on their ads. As odd as it may sound, I've seen folks out of all sorts of 3rd world countries registered with US, UK, and Aussie accounts.

I recommend emailing the seller. If you approach them in a gentlemanly manner before bidding, they will often work something out. I did this all the time, with a high success rate, before I was using PAYPAL (and they only accepted PAYPAL), and I've even got some Europeans to ship to the US when they advertised that they wouldn't.

I have disclaimers in all my ads disclaiming all liabilities, especially those for uninsured items lost in transit.

I will ship anywhere I legally can- unless eBay policy says US only (ie gun stuff).
 
For an e-bayer to be really successful they MUST do international trade! Paypal makes it much more secure for everyone and as for calculating extra international postal charges is concerned,proper traders have it already on their site for the buyer to see.

Customs MAY be a problem esp if large quantities are concerned but that is the buyer's responsibility to check.

I'm having probs with a trader in Washington who has had 160 dolls out of me and no knives in return, but Paypal are investigating so I'm hoping for a result(any advice?) He seems to persistently let down clients in the EU scammer anyone?

Yet buying knives from the US is generally much cheaper than buying in the EU. Buck knives are very costly in the EU but more bizarre is Fällkniven. They are made in Sweden (next door to me) but buying them from Sweden or here or elsewhere in the EU costs a lot more than from the USA! Maybe Wallmart is responsible for these cheaper US prices too?

GRIPE Radioshack refuses to ship to the EU even using Visa or Paypal the fogging dirtbags! I want one of those 10 dollar mini microscopes to examine blade edges but can't get hold of one WHINE! Help??
 
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