When ebay started it was mostly just folks like you and I and they did their best to send stuff in a timely manner, they are polite, answered e-mails etc etc.

Now there are plenty of these so called 'Business types' listing hundreds of items and do not seem to have time to answer e-mails, ship in a decent timely manner and do not seem to care about ther feedback scores.

I would like to see ebay split into two different sites....one for the regular joe and one for the BIG folks who don't care.

I need to vent:

I won an auction earlier today for an item that I have been looking for a very long time....It's an Ohio Art toy from the late 60's called Astroscope, its like an electric, lighted laser image thing...my older brother had one and I remember really digging it....anyways.....Now I'm usually very careful about this stuff with an 100% positive feedback at 260 items.....I did not look to see who the seller was, check thier feedback rating and especially the shipping charges! HOLY CRAP! 39.00 bucks FED-EX!!!! and I know this thing does not weigh much at all! So I e-mailed them and asked if there was any other shipping options and explained that I sale as well as buy on ebay and I know that I could send that same item to New York from Seattle using USPS three day priority mail for around 12.00 to 14.00 bucks. I also explained that I would rather take a chance and get a negative hit than pay 39.00 for shipping and yes its from inside the US.

I have not yet recieved a response for they are on the east coast...I will let ya'll know what happens. I know that its my problem for not checking....but using Fed-Ex...man! that is the most expensive method that I can think of!

yeah that sucks, however I did have someone actually back off and send something USPS instead of UPS and credited back $5.95 so there are still a few good people out there...

That was cool of them. I have even given folks good feed backs when others may not have just to keep things cival and I have given cash back when a shipping error or something of that nature occured.

After thinking about they probably use Fed-Ex cuz they have an account or something.....but GEESH!! I have never charged for packing and handling.

Fluke,

One of the bigger scams on ebay of late is to sell something for a rock-bottom price (maybe even at what you'd consider a loss) to avoid ebay's fees and they charging out the @ss for shipping (which ebay gets no percentage of nor can they collect fees on it) so it's all profit going into the seller's pocket.

Anybody interested in a $8.75 Guitar from China...at $375.00 shipping?!!? I kid you not...look thru their musical instruments section sometime.

Hiya Ol' buddy! whats up?

I know what you mean!

Ebay should really crack down on individuals/companies that are charging excessive shipping to get around thier fees. I understand they want to make a profit but I dont think their fees are too unreasonable. After all some of these home town companies that list on ebay charge people 40% of the amount the item sold for.

I bought a USB/IDE cable converter on ebay last week, the guy charge $5.15 for it plus $10 shipping (priority shipping from california). On his web site he is listing the same thing for about $0.50 less than he is selling it for on Ebay (total cost).

How about, Ebay should do somthing about fees so sellers do not have to charge extra to make up for the exessive fees. Paypal takes 3% of the sale too. Why does every one always make the sellers out to be the bad guys?

-- Elliot

I don't think sellers are "bad guys" or I wouldn't buy from them.

I think sellers who try to beat the system are scum and I DON'T buy from them.

Most of the folks I do business with are fair in their shipping policies...I just avoid the ones that are trying to jack me around with a $50.00 shipping fee on an item that weighs all of 3 ounces.

I sold a car on ebay 2 years ago and it only cost me $130 to sell a $4300 automobile (listing fee + their percentage of the sale). I don't think it's ebay causing the problem...it's the sellers trying to get over who are ruining things.

Besides, ebay is begining to have some competition. Sell.com isn't as extensive in what's offered, but there's some decent stuff over there too.

I kn ow what you mean. I have bought a few"good deals" on ebay to exorbant shipping prices. ! item I bought was $15 and shipping was $45. I have bought enough items on ebay to know shipping prices based on weight. The realistic shipping cost was $15 including insurance.People have been brainwashed to believe in the get rich quick scheme.I just hate people who try and justify thier shipping cost by having to take a 10 minute walk to a postal outlet and spending $6 on a shipping package only turn around and charge you $50 for thier time. Who do they think they are? Wallstreet executives?


Improvise,adapt and overcome.We are the brotherhood of modelers.

... and standing in line at the Post Office for 35 minutes on your lunch break. As a seller, I charge honest shipping fees and actually lose money on shipping about 15% of the time. But I think people who have never sold on eBay sometimes don't understand the amount of work, time, and material costs that go into the process - especially for a regular seller of multiple listings. I don't agree with inordinant shipping fees - but as long as the shipping fees are listed up front - then it's Buyer Beware.

Zorro,

Absolutely agreed, however I JUST received a Rickenbacker 4001 bass from an ebay seller.

I won the auction for $840.00

I don't know exactly how much the guitar weighs, but it IS a heavy bugger!

It arrived in an oversized shipping carton (maybe 5 ft long X 3 feet wide).

Including packing material, the entire package weighs in at 18.4 pounds.

I paid $28.00 shipping costs.

Do I feel this was fair? Yes, I do. Given the size and weight alone, not to mention the time it took to safely package a musical instrument, I feel this seller was honest and fair about the shipping charge.

Would I feel the same way had I purchased a collectable postage stamp that had been thrown into an envelope and paid $28.00 shipping for? Not likely. But I have seen that kind of ridiculous shipping stuff go on...

Gongrats on the bass. You know, until about 2 years ago I had always thought that Rickenbacker was a German company. From the sound of the name, I just always assumed that The Beatles had found those instruments while playing in Hamburg and had introduced them to the wider world. I was totally flummoxed when I discovered that Rickenbackers are and always have been made in California.


Totally agree about the stamp thing. Just sayin'.

Yep, the Rics are out of California. McCartney found the Hofner bass (which IS German and at the time was considered a cheap hunk of crap :eek: ) and revolutionized (pardon the pun!) pop music with it.

BTW: I've had my Hofner about 8 years and truthfully by traditional standards, it IS pretty poorly constructed but nothing else sounds like it.

Just to keep things on topic, NO I didn't get it from ebay!!! :D

I had a Teisco Del Ray electric guitar when I was in seventh grade. Took me all summer to pay off the $45.00 total on lay-away. Sold it to a pawn shop a few years later for $15.00. It didn't sound real good but it sure was purty. I oughta' see if I can find me one on eBay. ;)

I bought my Rick (plus hard shell case) back in 1979 for $495+$25 extra for the mahogany finish. Although I've played many other basses over the years, the Rick 4001S was the only one I kept after all these years. It doesn't have the sustain nor grunginess of my 2nd favorite (my Fender Precision), but I always loved the tone and thin neck of my Rick. (It's my BABY!)

That $28 dollars you paid seems like an outstanding price for shipping considering the size and weight. Even though the Rick is light compared to most basses, it's still a solid body bass.....and they're all fairly heavy.

The exorbitant prices some eBay (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&PID=1606754&mpre=http%3A//www.ebay.com)ers charge is just another caveat us buyers need to look out for when buying on eBay (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&PID=1606754&mpre=http%3A//www.ebay.com). One of the basic things many newer eBay (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&PID=1606754&mpre=http%3A//www.ebay.com)ers neglect doing is to do their homework. Find out what a fair total price (item cost + shipping) is FIRST by doing a quick search of on-line, local shops, and completed auctions on eBay (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&PID=1606754&mpre=http%3A//www.ebay.com) (if possible). Then make sure you don't get caught in an auction bidding frenzy with another eBay (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&PID=1606754&mpre=http%3A//www.ebay.com)er. The chances are that most items advertised as "rare" are rarely just that. Many times similar items will be offered in other auctions. Sometimes, it just requires a little patience to attain what you desire for a fair price.

Hey Phrank!

A Mahogany Ric?!!? Talk about heavy! This one's maple (at least the "wings" and outside sections of the neck are...center may be walnut) and it weighs a ton!

Seriosly, the wood your guitar or bass are made of have a lot to do with the sound. Mahogany doesn't sustain as long as maple will, but it has a warmer tone. Maple is very bright. That's why I bought this baby. I always liked Chris Squire's sound.

I think you hit it on the head with the shipping...know what a fair and reasonable charge would be BEFORE you start bidding. And I find communication with the seller usually goes a long way too.

Zorro, there's LOTS of nice guitars available on ebay that won't cost you your first born child. Just have to shop smart!

You know what? I must be getting old!

My Rick is MAPLE!...(I think it was called something like Maple-Glo when Henry Jayes in Calumet City ordered it for me.).....I don't know what I was thinking when I typed mahogany earlier!

I was always a fan of Paul McCartney's bass playing. Originally, I had planned on buying a Hofner, but he'd also played a Rick which I liked just as much, if not more. The fact that Geddy Lee and Chris Squire played Ricks helped me decide to go for that one instead of the Hofner. (I loved the sound they got out of theirs too.)

Actually, it wouldn't surprise me to find that there are a few (maybe custom ordered) mahogany Rics out there. I was just thinking that my Les Pauls are pretty hefty (and they're all mahogany except for the carved maple cap)...I could just imagine an all mahogany Ric!

Safety tip: put your hernia truss on BEFORE the guitar strap!!! :D

By contrast, my Hofner weighs almost nothing. In fact, I can't let go of the neck even if I'm not playing at the moment because the headstock & tuning keys weigh more than the body and it'll drop like a stone. The Hofner sounds almost like an upright bass if you play it unprocessed (not too surprising), but I always use tons of compression when I'm recording it. I end up with a really funky woody tone with massive sustain.

I wanted a solid-body for a while and when I saw the Ric, I knew I'd found the one I wanted. I certainly can't complain about the price or the condition either (it's a '76 Fireglo)...try finding a vintage instrument under a grand nowadays!

If you've evr heard Chris Squire's solo album "Fish Out of Water," THAT'S the sound I'm looking for. Now if I could only find the pedals he used...

Hey, I've got it! EBAY!!!

I bought 100 led's off ebay for $.99 cents plus $16.00 shipping. I recieved a package with $2.50 worth of stamps on it!
Still a good deal. Those led's sell for 3 bucks each locally.

[QUOTE=Zorro]... and standing in line at the Post Office for 35 minutes on your lunch break. As a seller, I charge honest shipping fees and actually lose money on shipping about 15% of the time. But I think people who have never sold on



I understand where you are coming from. I try to communicate with all my ebay buys or potetial buys. I ask how much shipping is outside the US and usually get a response within 3 days. If the price is to high I don't buy.Some sellers say US shipping only and I try to work with them. Some people are decent and work with me and others are downright rude. The ones that I find funny are the ones that accept paypal but not from Canada????:confused: kinda a oxymoron(sp?) One item I bought many moons ago was something that weighed about 1.5 lbs yet I was charged $25 shipping.:mad: I just like to be treated with respect as a customer not a victim of auction profiteering. BTW what do you sell?

Basically, I've been selling off my own collection of toys and models amassed over the past 15 years (we're talking lots of stuff here). I actually haven't sold anything in 8 or 9 months. Just taking a break. I'll start selling again when the mood strikes me. I also have a 4 year-old nephew who covets a lot of those old Batman toys I bought on speculation and kept boxed and carded. I've been parsing out the ones that aren't really worth much and he gets a big damned kick out of 'em.

Cool, what sort of stuff do you have??


improvise,adapt and overcome. We are the brotherhood of modelers.

Vintage Aurora figure kits boxed and built, some vinyl and resin kits, 60s Batman toys (not a lot of those left but still have my MIB Corgi Batmobile), reams of superhero toys of all types from the 80s and 90s, die-casts, busts, some vintage comics, odds and ends. Not much sci-fi to speak of. I've probably sold off two thirds of my collection at this point. What's left are a small number of primo items and a whole lot of stuff that probably isn't worth a lot more than I paid for it - hence not really worth a lot of time and effort on eBay. I'll say this though - for a long time there, I was making a very nice profit on my original investments. Prior to eBay, that wouldn't have been possible. I would most likely have had to sell to collectable toy dealers - and would have made a small fraction of what I made by cutting out the middle-man and selling on eBay. And prior to eBay, I never would have amassed such a nice collection in the first place.

You know, you bring up a very interesting point Zorro. As I mentioned earlier, I sold a car (a '97 Doge Avenger...which in itself is basically a rebodied Mitsubishi Eclipse), which had a lot of custom work. The original 4 cyl was swapped out for a 6 that came out of a 3000GT, 5 speed, custom cold air intake, Magnaflow exhaust, etc. A real head turner...

I had that thing in our local paper, considered selling it at auction (NEVER do THAT!!!) and it sat for 5 weeks collecting dust (it was my second Avenger & I found myself driving #1 more often than not). The few people that came to look at it were afraid of it (what, kids can't drive a stick these days :freak: ?), or said, "No, that's too much car for my son/daughter to handle."

Well, then the light went on...e bay. I posted it for auction and it was gone in 3 days - at almost a grand more that I expected for it! The buyer drove from Kearny NJ to Atlantic City to pick it up so there was no shipping involved with this transaction, but had it not been for e bay, I probably would've had a helluva time selling it. Sometimes e bay really IS your best option whether buying OR selling.

The bottom line is still "An educated consumer is a smart consumer." And generally everybody wins because you not only know what you're looking at, you can tell whether you're being rooked or not. The seller's happy because he moved his merchandise and you're happy because you got that collectible greebly you've been searching for!

I know a seller who confided in me about the Low selling prices and the outrageous Shipping Charges. They do that because if they keep the the actual ending auction price low but then cover the actual price of the item through the shipping charges, then thier ending auction fees aren't as much, they try to jip ebay on the final auction charges.
What I am saying is that they do a 100 dollar item for a buy it now of 5 dollars then charge 95 for shipping, The final auction value fee is alot lower for a 5 dollar sold item than a 100 dollar sold item, so therefore they are gettting over on ebay and still making what they want for the item.
Hope this explains it.
I hate it myself.

Yeah, and it defeats the point of BIDDING. I can't say I've never used the "Buy It Now" option, but the scenario you mention leaves you no choice but to pay the minimal "But It Now" fee along with the extortionate "shipping" or pass on the item. I think we're all aware that these are not actual shipping fees, and the seller is just getting over on e bay, but it sucks never the less.