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 Posted - January 06 2012 : 10:29:54 PM
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I had a chance to bid on another- yes ChrisC, ANOTHER AHM center cab diesel, this time because it was pretty much the original- in far better condition- than the one I rehabilitated recently. Just for the fun of having a version of what I started out with- and it was cheap, and no one else really wanted it. Luck was a lady and I have it on the way in the mail. Then, I came across someone else selling from a "Maryland " estate, who had a wide array of stuff, from an old Penn Line decapod thru several brass items. I saw an old Bachman Niagara, of which I already have one, but decided to bid- and it started out cheap, but automatic bidding son passed me by, even with a few $1.00 increases here and there on my part. That I am out of the running is not too great a disappointment, but I checked the shipping on several items, than did some surfing around at other seller's offerings and saw that in many cases, the shipping price effectively doubled the true cost! A lot of these sellers are charging expedited shipping, so I am wondering what's up with these add-on costs, when shipping by regular parcel post is far less expensive?
Any of you guys more experienced with this stuff?
Siouxlake/Ron
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Posted - January 06 2012 : 10:46:04 PM
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Some buyers prefer to get their items quick, hence Priority shipment. Others ( like me ) are OK with Parcel post or cheaper alternative shipping and don't mind the extra wait. But one reason Priority is chosen is because the Seller can track it, you can NOT track Parcel Post. So if the seller is trying to protect themselves from scams, they'll use Priority so they can then track the (expensive) item in shipment. It's just one of several things you have to figure into your bidding, always look at the shipping first. And since Sellers can't charge separately for insurance now, they just use this as a means to protect themselves as well. all part of the game now. Can't blame them, since the burden has been foisted on Sellers the last few years, so they are just trying to protect their investment. It just costs the buyer more.
Jery
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - January 07 2012 : 08:26:13 AM
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As a regular seller (and buyer), I must chime in here.
Parcel Post is rarely much cheaper than Priority for most items under ~two pounds. If it is, the difference is usually less than $1. Only on very heavy items is Parcel Post cheaper, unless it can fit into one of the priority flat rate boxes.
Parcel post takes up to 9 days to deliver and it is machine handled the entire way.
Priority takes 2-5 days to deliver is is handled by human hands and never machine, the entire trip. Yes it is trackable too, but the shortened travel time and the method of handling make it much less likely to to arrive damaged.
For me, it is less about protecting my bottom line as it is about protecting the item. As a buyer, I request Priority over any other form, even UPS, for that very same reason.
I have had ~10,000+ transactions on eBay. Of those, I have averaged nearly 1 purchase (collection, lot, or small group of items, parts or pieces) purchased every day for over 4 years. The rest of those transactions are selling off all those items I did not want to keep. I rarely purchase one singular item unless it is listed badly or incorrectly.
There are some sellers that try to make money on the shipping, I am not one of them. I also purchase boxes that cost ~$0.40 per box and recently, eBay has been charging fees on the shipping cost. Paypal has already been taking their cut out of the shipping paid by the buyer, now eBay is doing it. The real enemy here is eBay and their greed. There is no reason why they should be charging fees on the shipping. What they are trying to do is prevent people from charging inflated shipping in order to offset the fees charged for the final value of an item. Many buyers do not realize, with all the fees now charged by both eBay and Paypal, you can expect to pay up to ~25% of the final sale price in fees. That is a lot of money to pay out. As a buyer, you pay NO fees, so you do not see this.
All of this additional cost must be transferred to the buyer however. If it were not, there would be no incentive to sell anything if the seller had to pay all of the fees out of their pocket. I associate it to part of the cost of bringing things to market. We see this everywhere in the market place. The cost of our groceries rises shortly after the cost of oil rises. The difference is.. There is not a shipping charge visible with the purchase of the groceries, as there is with the items on eBay.
Sean
"If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!" - Mario Andretti!
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Posted - January 07 2012 : 11:00:37 AM
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...what Sean said....
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Posted - January 07 2012 : 11:52:02 AM
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| Sean hit it right on the head! I recall reading somewhere that Ebay takes 11% of what the buyer pays for shipping. Ebay and paypal fee's are just insane, yet where else can a seller find such an exposure to buyers? Sellers surely have a love/hate relationship with ebay these days.
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Posted - January 07 2012 : 1:49:53 PM
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I understand the point, but as a very occasional buyer, when I see an HO item priced at, say- $10.00- and then priority shipping for another $9.50, what incentive do I have to bid or buy? If the item was over $50.00, then the shipping costs begin to approach some level of reasonability (again, for me as a casual buyer).
The low ticket items I would want become less attractive, making the periodic local railroad flea market in town a better deal, where my only walk away costs are the price of one gallon of gas to and from the location, beyond the bargain I struck with the seller.
Not that I was trying to start an argument, but then, as I said , I only go to EBay if I am looking for something particular.
Siouxlake/Ron
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Posted - January 07 2012 : 1:56:32 PM
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I have sold and bought multiple items on EBay. While the fees end up being around 10% of the final auction bid there is an upside. In most cases the Items I sell on EBay sell for more than if I attempted to sell them via Creigs List or other method. There is also the ease or use factor. Post and item, collect the funds via Pay Pal and mail it. There is not the time required to meet with the buyer.
As for the shipping cost I require that anything I sell goes by a traceable method. If a buyer claims it did not arrive Pay Pal requires proof I shipped it. By purchasing the shipping label through EBay I get two benefits, discounted shipping and the required proof sent to Pay Pal. I did have this happen once were a buy claimed not to receive an item and the tracking information stated otherwise. Pay Pal stood by me.
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Posted - January 07 2012 : 5:58:45 PM
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My Advice after being on evilbay for 13 years is buy everything from Sean. His prices are fair, his shipping is fair and eventually almost any HO thing you could want passes through his hands! 
-Gareth
PS: If you can buy it from him direct. He saves money that way and if you use Paypal's Friends & Family payment method PP won't charge him either. 
"A is A"
-Aristotle
Law of Identification
Edited by - romcat on January 07 2012 6:00:17 PM
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Posted - January 07 2012 : 7:53:46 PM
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| I try not to bid on anything if the shipping is out of this world-unless it is something I cannot find anywhere else.
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