OK…let me explain my thinking first.I’m Canadian and quite regularly buy on Ebay,occasionally striking a very good deal but most time I’d say fair.However,I might buy more if sellers wouldn’t,inconsciously I guess,turn me off.
First there are those who absolutely don’t want my business as they won’t ship outside U.S. I wasn’t born on the right side of the border so…shame on me.However,I can understand this somehow.
Then you have those who will only accept Paypal…I don’t have a Paypal account and don’t want one.I always pay with canadian postal money orders,which by the way cost me more,on top of converting currency.A seller once told me that Credit Union wanted to charge him a fee to cash it.It was not confirmed to me in the end so I’m not sure if they’re free to cash in the U.S. but anyways,it probably isn’t worse than Paypal fees and unless the canadian postal service went under,they’re good as cash.
And what about the sellers who will ask you $10 to ship a $15 item.Right before you even think of bidding,you have to take this into account.I’ve had locos shipped in the past for as little as U.S. $2.90 so am I to bid on a lower priced item?Never as these shipping fees make them outrageously expensive right from the start.I’m not one to argue with sellers so I simply pass.
And last but not least,the sellers who don’t bother answering questions.OK they’ll probably sell anyway so why bother?But what about ethics?
I’m sure there are very lousy buyers on Ebay and I try my best not to be one of them,but there are also lousy sellers.May be I’m lucky so far as I’ve always had nice transactions with the sellers I’ve dealt with.I’m just sorry that interesting items fly away from me because of “U.S.shipping only” and/or “Paypal only” listings.After all,more bidders usually means better sales,isn’t it?
There are all kinds out there. I only deal with those who do accept Paypal or provide me some other way of using a credit card (such as a dealer who will take the payment directly). Although I can’t prove it, those who only accept money orders or cashier’s checks seem to get less for the item, on average, than those who accept a wide range of payments. If true, probably has to do with limiting the pool of potential bidders, in effect a small scale version of supply and demand. Same may be true of those who only accept Paypal. I understand everybody has their reasons, some good, some not. If I can’t live with the seller’s payment options, I just don’t bid.
The shipping fees are often the same way. I certainly factor that in to what I am willing to bid. I’ve turned away from several items lately because of high shipping charges. If the seller can find somebody willing to pay it, more power to him or her, but I hope he’s not counting on me being the buyer.
I’m yet to have a problem with a seller answering a question or two. Some take a little time to do so, but I assume they are busy people, too. I’m not sure failing to respond to a question has anything to do with ethics since the person sending the question has the option of simply not bidding.
I always assume the sellers have a reason for what they do. Whether I bid or not is determined by some combination of my desire for the item, the going price vs. what I can buy it for elsewhere, the general availability of the item (can I wait and pick it up later), the seller’s feedback and the seller’s policies (including shipping).
Let me add one pet peeve to your list: a page-long description of the seller’s policies. I saw one guy who posted that in all caps and red letters, if I remember correctly. The US tax code was more succinct. Sorry, Charlie. I deal with enough policy-happy people, and while I am all in favor of clarity and self preservation, if you are that much of a pain before I even decide t
Hello from a fellow Canadian ebay buyer, I too had one seller whose bank was going to charge him a service fee to cash a Can Post money order because the teller had never seen a Can Post money order ( plus there is quite a bit of mail fraud occurring with money orders). As far as not allowing foreign bidders I have emailed these sellers about bidding in their auctions and have been denied only twice out of about five auctions with that limitation (to be fair to one of the gentleman I had only two feedback ratings at the time so he didn’t want to chance it).
Well, once I sold a brass loco internationally and wound up having to pay $5.00 to get the international money order cashed so I can certainly understand someone else’s reluctance to accept them. The shipping rates quoted on the USPS website inidcate much higher, and typically slower, shipping to Canada. Normal services such as verified delivery weren’t listed as available to Canada last time I checked so that’s another negative. I recently sold some Loco Profiles on Ebay to a Canadian buyer and it was $7 U.S. for priority mail which was almost twice the cost for that service inside the U.S. “Normal” mail to Canada was about $5.00 and listed as 3-4 weeks for delivery. If you had a loco shipped for only $2.90 from the U.S. the seller must have subsidized the shipping charges substantially. As a seller, I would always prefer the convenience of receiving PayPal payment if they didn’t charge my account 3% for the transaction fee. As a buyer, I always pay with PayPal if the seller accepts it.
I don’t like high shipping either. I saw a new Rivarossi Challenger with a few passenger cars on eBay a little while ago. They wanted $40 for shipping!! And people were still willing to make a high bid for it!![%-)]
My pet peave is people selling model trains ECT,ECT that know nothing about the item
To day was looking through E-BAY and found some one selling an athrean B.B.GP 38 #4823 and calling it “VENTAGE” I have two of them and they are still avable at the LHS.
As Canadian who buys on E-Bay regularly to get models British and Japanese I can’t get in my local hobby shop a couple of comments.
First the US banking system is the most parochial in the world.
As a freelance writer I am often paid in US dollars from US clients in cheques drawn on US banks. My Canadian bank has no problem cashing those cheques,
I also had no problems with US cheques when I lived a year in the UK (although I was using a UK branch of a Canadian bank),
On the other hand the US always demands US funds drawn on a US bank, hardly a case of reciporicity in the world economy. It certainly is a problem for small businesses in the US…and likely another one of those small things that gets the rest of the world irritated by the US.
That’s why I always use Paypal when I can, no paperwork hassles. (although I now have a US -based bank account).
As for shipping, the only real problem I had was with a Candian seller based in Vancouver who charged me more for shipping to Toronto than some sellers based in the US. Last time I checked, which was a year or so ago, a Express Post envelope from the US to Canada was $7 US, and that envelope can hold a N scale freight car.
I think to sellers “vintage” means made before 2000. I go through eBay alot, so I don’t remember everything I see, but I think I have seen a few “vintage” Spectrum diesels.
FIrst off, I have sold and shipped locomotives to canada with success using the Air Parcel Post which is like 8 bucks shipping. No insurance on the green customs sticker allowed.
I as a seller wont accept paypal. -Dont ask. I would like a money order (International in US funds) and will ship priority mail. I insert a shipping calculator after I weigh the package that is being sold on ebay. I might eat a dollar or two on shipping.
For those who think that they can charge 10 dollars shipping on a 15 dollar item… It must be a iron safe that is worth 15 dollars at the end of auction to the high bidder.
Now 40 dollars shipping on a challenger is obviously “Gold digging” incase of low bid amounts. Padding the bottom line. That is a no no.
Spectrum from Bachmann is not “Vintage” I consider any Varney, Cox etc… of that nature vintage. Not today’s offerings in the last 10 years.
These are just my opinions when I go on ebay.
Ultimately the seller’s use of short, good description and good pictures might get my bid.
Pages of warnings, do-not’s, policy against this and that and reams of rules or rants against previous bad feedback etc… Bleah… I dont want any part of that.
1- Product, Price, Answers to questions and decent packing/fees
I saw an E-Bay store selling air impact wrenches for $4.99. I checked the shipping and it was $60!!! I know those things weigh a bit but $60?!? I guess that’s how they make their money. I bought some decals for $2 and the shipping was $3 because this LHS shipped everything DHL. A DHL truck would have to come about 60 miles to my house. I told the guy to put it in an envolope and stick a stamp on it and use USPS and keep the differance. Their decals. They’ll live.
I don’t get the not shipping to Canada.I can see over seas, but Canada?Makes no sense.
Do you know of any Canadian online hobby shops that have a good selection of CP Rail stuff? Our US shops are usually out of stock. I’ve been told to try your stores up there but I don’t know of any.
Where I used to work, we used to occasionally ship printed materials to Canada, typically via UPS, Airborne, or FedEx. All three required a special form, and UPS (and Fed Ex as well, IIRC) required five copies of a declaration, on company letterhead, explaining what was in the package. (I do not know if or how the rules might have changed since NAFTA.) This experience is enough to make me wary of shipping merchandise outside of the US, even to Canada.
(I seem to remember that if an item was sent via USPS to Puerto Rico, it was the same as US domestic mail, but if you were shipping via UPS or Airborne, you had to use either second-day or overnight, and the shipment was treated as if it were going to a foreign country.)
Some years ago, a UK religious writer urged his US readers to subscribe to a periodical, or to buy a book offered by an organization in the UK. The writer requested that people send cash, because UK banks charged a fee to cash US checks and the like.
If I were dictator of eBay, I would prohibit the use of the words “vintage” and “rare” in item descriptions.
There’s a few things that, if I see them, will lead to my not bidding. One is the seller that puts their own “rules” such as “if you have less than x feedback you must jump through my hoops”. Were they never new ebayers? At time of writing, I have a feedback of 3 (all positive). I’m not sure if I’ll buy from those people even after I get up to 5, 10, or whatever their arbitrary limit is as it annoys me.
These guys also often put a whole page of “terms and conditions” on the listing - again, not likely to attract my custom. They come across as being officious and obnoxious (maybe they’re not, but they seem so judging by their listings and phrasing). I’ve seen plenty of sellers with excellent feedback ratings and over a thousand sales that don’t feel the need to do either of these, so why do others? It just puts off buyers who don’t like being lectured about arbitrary “rules”.
Finally, I agree with Dan, The use of “Vintage” and “Rare” annoys me too, especially on items that are obviously neither. Can I also suggest no more listings along the lines of “Athearn like Walthers Proto Hornby”?
Hello, as an ebay seller, let me answer some of your questions. I regularly sell and do offer shipping to anywhere. I accept money orders, or paypal. I also answer all questions addressed to the item of sale. I would say that some sellers prefer paypal because of instant positive payment. A lot of bidders will bid on an item with no intent to pay. With paypal, it is a lot easier. As a buyer, by you NOT having a paypal account, I think you are limiting your buying skills. The easiest way is to open a separate checking account that you will use ONLY for ebay. This will provide paypal with the information they need and give you the ability to send and receive money into your account. Paypal will make deposits directly into your account also, free of charge. As far as international shipping, I don’t have a problem with it, I just have the buyer pay the shipping fees, and in my listings I state that international shipping may be more. This way I am covered, since it will be different amounts for different places.
Best of luck, and enjoy it. Ebay has become my favorite store!!!
E-Bay has rip off sellers and rip off bidders. People pass fake checks, fake money orders and fake international money orders. Sellers with lots of conditions and terms of sale have usually been burned. This is one way sellers attempt to protect themselves. Fortunately, as a buyer, e-bay has become so big, that for most items there is a choice. Sooner or later that item you just have to have will show up again on e-bay. The advice posted by others above is invaluable. If the seller seems the least bit shady, avoid them. Watch for over the top shipping fees, bad descriptions, -ve feedback. I have noticed that some of the sellers in the MRR arena have become quite big, and I think that there comes a point when it is difficult to manage the volume of business and mistakes happen. Anyway, a little caution goes along way to a safe e-bay experience.
I’ve done a lot of buying on Ebay. I’ve done a little selling. I have a rule that I don’t break for buying. I don’t bid on items whose seller has a feedback rating of lower than 99.5%. That sounds tough, but let me give you an example. Some Ebay sellers are huge, having feedback score past 20000. 99% of 20000 is 19800. That means that that seller has 200 feedbacks that are NOT positive. To me, that’s excessive, and there has to be a reason. I’ll stay away from that seller. Maybe those 200 were bad apples? I don’t want to make it 201. Knock on wood, it’s worked for me so far. As for your other issues, I can relate to some of them. I only accept Paypal. I also try to deal exclusively with sellers who accept Paypal. Why? It’s simple and easy, and I’m lazy. It also is added insurance, because I can use Paypal’s buyer protection plan, if I choose to, although I never have. I have ONE negative feedback comment in my feedback record of more than 320. A guy sent me some cracked Chevy big block exhaust manifolds that he represented as good, and wouldn’t stand behind them. I left him negative feedback, and he retaliated. He was a difficult person, to say the least. He’s also no longer a registered user. I’ve bought things from sellers in Canada. They were some of the best transactions I’ve made on Ebay. Shipping took awhile…but HELLO? I’m in Georgia. I’d also sell to someone in Canada, but no other country. Just too much trouble for me.
[quote]
QUOTE: Originally posted by Jacktal
OK…let me explain my thinking first.I’m Canadian and quite regularly buy on Ebay,occasionally striking a very good deal but most time I’d say fair.However,I might buy more if sellers wouldn’t,inconsciously I guess,turn me off.
First there are those who absolutely don’t want my business as they won’t ship outside U.S. I wasn’t born on the right side of the border so…shame on me.However,I can understand this somehow.
Then you have those who will only accept Paypal…I don’t have a Paypa
I will tell you why I do not ship to Canada. I have done so a couple times with no problem. The last was a multiple item buy. I had to take it to the post office 3 times to get the customs forms filled out to the US post office satisfaction. The buyer wanted it shipped as gift so no duty. The PO would not allow that because of the weight (6# I think.) In the end, they would only take it with specifying model trains - # of pieces and the buyer was PO because he had to pay duty, I understand his not liking the expense but it wasn’t my problem but Canadian Customs that wanted their money.
While I agree that some shipping charges on the ebay listings seem high. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but if I’m buying a Stewart locomotive, a $10.00 winning bid and $40.00 shipping seems like a better buy than a $41.00 winning bid and $10.00 shipping. Am I missing something?