Ebay rant

Optimus Sledge beat me to it.

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He always beats us.

Originally Posted by Janitor "I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop a you don't stop..." Rapping Fallen is kickin' mad flava!

First of all it's not like e-bay lets you know who's going to rip you off. Best chance you have is to check their feedback and even that isn't always accurate.

And for another thing it isn't specific sellers it's all of them. They're all overcharging drastically, not just for the estimated market value of the items in their condition, but just the shipping process.

Reguardless of what extra proceedures ebay forces sellers to take, it doesn't change the fact that they're blatantly ripping people off. When I order from another other store on the net (as I mention, Amazon, Gamestop, Hasbro, etc...) they never charge such rediculous rates, even for larger items. Edit: And they still include shipping insurance, order tracking, express delivery, etc...

E-bay sellers (and not just regular users but the 'stores' to) are just content to charge everybody the kind of shipping as if to assume the item in question is a complete Fortress Maximus in the original case hugged in bubble wrap and surrounded with packing penuts in a box big enough for a war vet to live out of. Instead they take an incomplete figure who's missing vital peices that he/she failed to mention, wrapping them in an old shopping back, and stuffing them in an old, wet cardboard box stuffed with crumpled newspaper. Then they wait a week to ship the 'express' item (or sometimes just until you e-mail them wondering if they forgot about you) and when you bring up the poor condition of the item they shrug you off.

I'll repeat it because I know most people will ignore it for convenience. There isn't another online store you'll find that charges such outrageous rates overall and still have generally very poor condition. It's just Ebay, the users and the stores.

The ranting serves no purpose but blind venting. The people who run e-bay aren't checking this forum. The sellers who do visit here aren't going to change their methods because they continue to sell and in the end what choice do we buyers have but to put up with it? All ranting is good for is venting, and that's what the internet is for. Everybody's been screwed by a seller at one point or another, might as well give them a place to blow some steam.

However, continue to watch as international rates drop and the home market continues to rocket and sooner or later everyone's going to be ordering from China because they are just plain tired of being ripped off.

E-bay sellers are not stores.Only like 10% have a actual store and the rest are casual sellers/power sellers.

There is a max postage you are allowed to ask for on nearly all categories.

And postage rates have increased by 20%+ over the past year.

The sellers are basically being raped by fees and buyers right now so if your pissed at someone be pissed at the Company

Yes it does. I ship First Class and Parcel Post all the time with tracking, usually printed from Paypal.

@ The OP -
You don't seem to understand whats involved in shipping. Since few sellers on eBay are big retailers (buy.com is one) they don't have the large profit margins and product quantities to take a hit on shipping.

Here's a shipping breakdown:
A 1lb - 1lb 15oz package sent coast to coast via Priority: ~$10, tracked (required by Paypal)
Same weight as above via Parcel Post $9, tracked
Insurance: $1.75
Handling: Usually $1 - $3 (as it's always typically been)

Also, international shipping has continued to increase along with domestic shipping.

If other post offices are like the ones around here, they no longer carry variable rate Priority boxes, so unless the seller orders boxes from USPS online, sellers have to us the Flat Rate Priority boxes which costs a little over $11 tracked.

It adds up fast but if you look at the postage printed on the package (or the weight which you can then calculate the cost at usps.com) you'll probably see the seller's aren't taking the big cut you assume. If they are, contact them or reflect shipping abuse in their feedback or star rating.

I don't know what you're talking about regarding the auction descriptions. I've noticed an improvement in descriptions since eBay took away sellers' ability to neg bad buyers. I'm thinking you're expecting too much. If the auction doesn't say something is complete and the pictures don't show it, why would you assume it is? You can always ask questions before winning.

Website | Want List | Junkion Feedback

Mine doesn't if you walk in but online does

A post office not offering USPS advertised services??? Srsly crazy, yo!

Website | Want List | Junkion Feedback

Quoted for truth. Maybe I'm just lucky, but the ones I find usually state the condition they are in, and if they are complete....

Originally Posted by Janitor "I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop a you don't stop..." Rapping Fallen is kickin' mad flava!

My 2 Ebay Peeves:

1.) China. I see an item for a GREAT price- Classics Hot Rod for $14!- and then i notice the seller is from China. So the shipping and the wait makes it not really worth it, IMO.

I don't hate China, i just hate that a lot of things I am looking for, are only available from there.

2.) The pics/descriptions are sometimes awful, and the "WYSIWYG" descriptions are annoying. i saw an auction for a G1 Whirl with that term, and the pics were of the bot mode- front and back, but you couldn't see anything.
IMO, WYSIWYG is as bad as or worse than, "I don't know what the hell this is, but you can buy it anyway for 40 bucks over Lee's Price Guide"

I suppose i am a captialist pig because i like to believe that if you can work smarter, not harder and profit from it, you are doing it right. if ya got 2 lumberjacks, one with an axe, the other with a chainsaw, who should make more in a day?

But i do disagree with outright financial rape of a customer base. No way should a G1 UM cost 35 dollars or more to ship from NJ to Ohio.
in the end, it is as Optimus Sledge said, you don't have to buy it.
enough people pass on an item, the prices will drop in time.

My rant - not only do I have to offer free shipping for DVDs already, but now books, comics and magazines as well!?! (and some of those are heavy!)

Yes, yes, I know the standard response - "just included it in your starting price, why are you moaning etc." Well, to include it in my starting price (I normally start all auctions at 99p - e.g. free insertion fee) I then have to start at, say, a few quid, which means I've automatically moved into the "must pay ebay just for the privelege of listing this thing" bracket.

Which of course, is what they wanted all along. I know they are a business to make money, but at almost 10% FVF as well, it's just not worth listing there anymore unless you're guaranteed your item is going to sell for £10+. I heard a rumour a while ago that ebay were trying to force the regular joes from selling on their site, and only have "professional" sellers/shops (so they can charge more for their services)... and it seems to be bearing fruit.

All good for the buyers though right, so how dare I complain...

Bring back Yahoo auctions, all is forgiven.