I'm looking for a cellphone because I hate my current one... GSM, unlocked, Cingular service, etc etc...

I keep coming up with "Buy it now" results for "hot" phones at what looks like a gargain price... then look a teeny bit to the right and the shipping varies from $30.00 to $45.00 by USPS.

Do people fall for this?

I've sold on eBay and have only every charged actual shipping costs.
Maybe an extra buck if I actually had to buy a box.

eBay commissions are based on the price of the article, excluding S&H. Many sellers offer very low prices and recover their cost in S&H. Some states require tax on items sold on line. There are many reasons why it is done that way around and as far as I can see, there are no eBay rules against it.

Best advice is to decide how much you are willing to pay TOTAL and go from there. One thing to keep in mind is if you have a problem, the seller is usually willing to refund the amount of the auction but not the S&H. Buyer beware!!!

Dave

I bought a new first hand SD Memory 4GB card with USB stick Adaptor in ebay for total amount of 84 € (Buy now, paypal mode) including shipping cost from USA (40 €) to Spain (Europe) + Shipping Inssurance (2€), the more interesting thing is that the letter came by normal UPS service and on the letter was marked 1€, even the letter did not have reception check and no warranty and instructions. :frust:

They did that procedure to put their product in the beginning of the list ordered by low price, due to ebay does not take into account the shipping cost + Insurance, so currently to buy in ebay is a financial engineering activity.

Therefore Calculator is now mandatory in Ebay

Anyway the price was good for me.

Regards..

:biglaugh:

To me it's a simple matter of comparison pricing. If I want to buy something and it's for sale on ebay (caution - I have never bought or sold anything on ebay) and oddcircuits has it for an equivalent price when shipping is included, I'd go to the cheapest overall.

But - Typically I will pay a bit more to buy from an established business in case anything 'goes wrong'. I want a phone number I can call and get an answer at, I want a physical address, and I want to pay by VISA credit card. I'm not a paypal person, either. Western Union, check, money order and cash are all definite 'No Go's' for me.

eBay commissions are based on the price of the article, excluding S&H. Many sellers offer very low prices and recover their cost in S&H. Some states require tax on items sold on line. There are many reasons why it is done that way around and as far as I can see, there are no eBay rules against it.

Best advice is to decide how much you are willing to pay TOTAL and go from there. One thing to keep in mind is if you have a problem, the seller is usually willing to refund the amount of the auction but not the S&H. Buyer beware!!!

Dave

Yeah - you and I understand that but still, to me it's borderline fraud and I won't buy from a seller who does that. I can see maybe a $5.00 markup for "handling". But be honest and make the price of the item the price of the item.

Yeah - you and I understand that but still, to me it's borderline fraud and I won't buy from a seller who does that. I can see maybe a $5.00 markup for "handling". But be honest and make the price of the item the price of the item.

I agree, :agree1: but there are many "A" power sellers with that procedure, basically all

Are there eBayers dumb enough to pay outrageous shipping? In my oppinion they don´t, they add all the cost and compare with the price of the product in the market.

To me it's a simple matter of comparison pricing. If I want to buy something and it's for sale on ebay (caution - I have never bought or sold anything on ebay) and oddcircuits has it for an equivalent price when shipping is included, I'd go to the cheapest overall.

But - Typically I will pay a bit more to buy from an established business in case anything 'goes wrong'. I want a phone number I can call and get an answer at, I want a physical address, and I want to pay by VISA credit card. I'm not a paypal person, either. Western Union, check, money order and cash are all definite 'No Go's' for me.

Mark, the tracking of the product is good in ebay, they provide an email and phones numbers (if Power Sellers) to call them, and paypal (Paypal is Visa provided to an enterprise instead of an stranger) is a great mode of payment Via Internet, the only bad point is what Discordian claimed

I look at the TOTAL price including shipping. Just bought a USB Wireless G adaptor for work, the bid price was $9, the shipping $12.95. Total price was $21.95, cheaper than the local stores by about $10-20 so it was worth it.

I always mention in the feedback though about outrageous s/h charges, but w/ a positive rating... (This one in particular didn't even use another box! He put a USPS label on the product box & sent it on! Checked USPS online for the zipcodes, he spent a whole $1.35 on postage, no packaging costs...

When I sell, however, I get the weight & check USPS online, then add a few $ to cover the box, wrapping, getting to the post office, and if I get the weight wrong & I get charged extra by the government:notme: .

Jerry

I can see maybe a $5.00 markup for "handling".

I've sold maybe 10 things on eBay and this is what I have done - figure out what shipping will be and add a couple bucks for packing materials.

There may be people who fall for a cheap-price, high-shipping rap (I hadn't thought about the sales tax point) but I won't buy without knowing the total price. It's available more often than not now, so I feel there's no excuse. Buyer beware.

Mark, the tracking of the product is good in ebay, they provide an email and phones numbers (if Power Sellers) to call them, and paypal (Paypal is Visa provided to an enterprise instead of an stranger) is a great mode of payment Via Internet, the only bad point is what Discordian claimed


I buy an awful lot of stuff on eBay, but beware, PayPal does VERY little to help you when a seller screws you. There are a couple emails back and forth, and if it is a reputable seller, they can help a bit. But I get NO satisfaction or help when the seller intentionally games the system.

I have had numerous emails back and forth the few times there was a problem, and even their email replies were useless. Then, the "forward it to the proper desk for assistance" and it disappears from sight...:mad:

Fortunately, most sellers are honest, but I will no longer buy from sellers with few feedbacks or recent entry date. (sort of a preventive action?)

Yeah - you and I understand that but still, to me it's borderline fraud and I won't buy from a seller who does that. I can see maybe a $5.00 markup for "handling". But be honest and make the price of the item the price of the item.


It is devious, but if it is clearly posted, it's certainly not fraudulent. If not posted, I will ask the seller. Otherwise, I won't bid, not worth the risk.

I read 2600 magazine & there's a story from someone that got screwed thru PayPal. Sold a laptop, the buyer asked if he had any more. Seller said no sorry. Then Paypal freezes his account when the buyer disputed the charge thru his cc company for false description of the laptop.

Then apparently the cc refunded the buyer, so PayPal took the $600+ back out of the sellers account & says he owes them $. Now the seller is out a laptop & the $ too...

I understand there's MANY complaints of PayPal online & sites dedicated to their bad practice. So far I've been lucky, only had one buyer that sent me the $, then PayPal a WEEK later froze it because the buyer used something fishy. Ended up being a new account or something, but PayPal took their sweet :ca: time to say anything about it...

Jerry

I read 2600 magazine & there's a story from someone that got screwed thru PayPal. Sold a laptop, the buyer asked if he had any more. Seller said no sorry. Then Paypal freezes his account when the buyer disputed the charge thru his cc company for false description of the laptop.

Then apparently the cc refunded the buyer, so PayPal took the $600+ back out of the sellers account & says he owes them $. Now the seller is out a laptop & the $ too...

I understand there's MANY complaints of PayPal online & sites dedicated to their bad practice. So far I've been lucky, only had one buyer that sent me the $, then PayPal a WEEK later froze it because the buyer used something fishy. Ended up being a new account or something, but PayPal took their sweet :ca: time to say anything about it...

Jerry

I've been noticing more and more auctions stating something like:
SORRY BUT NO PAYPAL!
CHECK AND MONEY ORDER ONLY!
(and the personal checks have to clear before the item ships)

I understand there's MANY complaints of PayPal online & sites dedicated to their bad practice. So far I've been lucky, only had one buyer that sent me the $, then PayPal a WEEK later froze it because the buyer used something fishy. Ended up being a new account or something, but PayPal took their sweet :ca: time to say anything about it...

Jerry


I've had several complaints about PayPal myself, from the Buyer side. I get ripped off and they won't do anything to help. They just send me a series of lame boilerplate emails telling me about their great policies....

Even when they were total scams they didn't help.

I like the idea of PayPal holding money in escrow, but it shouldn't be returned to the buyer either, until there is resolution. I simply don't understand why they can't figure out how to do this in a proper manner.:nope:

So far, no other PayPal problems. I haven't sold anything in about a month or two, and only a few purchases in that time. Have some stuff I need to list...

Before I started using PP, if I were buying something <$30 and he had a good feedback, I'd just send cash. Yeah it was risky but we're talking $10-20 stuff like small computer items or a camera lense filter. If he's THAT desparate for my $20 bill, then maybe he needs it more than me.

I never got stiffed on that either. Of course bigger purchases called for money orders...

Jerry

So far, no other PayPal problems. I haven't sold anything in about a month or two, and only a few purchases in that time. Have some stuff I need to list...

Before I started using PP, if I were buying something <$30 and he had a good feedback, I'd just send cash. Yeah it was risky but we're talking $10-20 stuff like small computer items or a camera lense filter. If he's THAT desparate for my $20 bill, then maybe he needs it more than me.

I never got stiffed on that either. Of course bigger purchases called for money orders...

Jerry


I always use PayPal. Never send cash. I really don't have any "trouble" with Paypal, and rarely with a seller. I was just saying that when there is a problem with a seller, PayPal doesn't do squat to help. So, about 5 times out of 300 I got stiffed, and PayPal would not help.

A cost of doing business, I guess...