How long do I wait before I bring the doom?!!

[MarkusTay]

My E-Bay experience

I sold my comic collection on E-bay. My wife handled the business-end (Paypal, mailing, communications), while I did the item background, pics, and minimum bid. At first she was loathe to sell overseas, but we realized we got MUCH better prices from foriegn bidders. In fact, the only dissatisfied customer we had was from the U.S.! After receiving the merchandise the guy decided it wasn\'t in as good condition as we claimed and wanted 1/2 his money back! I had a website that contained many pics 1200x1200 so people could judge for themselves. It turned out the guy owned a comic store and just wanted a better price. I gauranteed satisfaction or your money back in my auction, and offered his money back. He didn\'t want it, he wanted to keep the merchandise and get 1/2 back! My wife was willing but I refused to be hoodwinked, so he eventually mailed back the 5 comics and I promptly refunded his money! He left negative feedback, but I had nearly 50 auctions with VERY satisfied customers, so obviously the condition of the books was accurate. It makes me wonder how many people fell for his scam and gave him back 1/2? Moral of the Story: I would MUCH rather sell overseas then within my OWN COUNTRY!

I can only now talk about this after two years...all those lovely comic books...gone...GONE!!! (well, the wife said it was either them or the D&D stuff, so what was I supposed to do?!) I could never sell my minis...they\'re my friends.

 

[Astonia]

Hm, that story brings up a question I\'ve always wondered about: why does so many people refuse to ship somewhere else that their own country? This goes mostly for US/UK residents, and I have seen so many minis pass me by just becasue I live in Sweden ( just a little while longer )? Why not offer shipping worldwide and thus get more bids, since the buyer pays for the shipping anyways??? Just something I\'ve been frustrated over a couple of times...

 

[TAB Studio]

Well the best response I have on that is because in the US you must hand deliver the item to be shipped to the post office with a customs form intact. I causes the time factor to increase compared to a shipping in US that you can print the postage on the puter and shove it in the mail box to be picked up.
I love the international shipping and charge cost only I actually go to the post office with the packed item and get surface and air coast come home email the buyer the cost they pay and I ship that day or the next if in the evening. Why because I have seen so many others take advantage of the postage cost I feel this is my way to help defer that ripped off feeling. Anja you want anything email me I can indeed and would be happy to help I can bid for you here then ship to you or get new minis and ship to you.

 

[Astonia]

Thanks for the answer TAB Although I don\'t have anything in mind at this particular moment, I might take you up on your kind offer in the future

 

[BigJim]

Originally posted by TAB Studio

I love the international shipping and charge cost only I actually go to the post office with the packed item and get surface and air coast come home email the buyer the cost they pay and I ship that day or the next if in the evening. Why because I have seen so many others take advantage of the postage cost I feel this is my way to help defer that ripped off feeling.

Now this guy\'s The Man.
I\'ve only ever been a buyer on ebay myself, although I\'ve packed off & posted a few items my brother was selling, on ebay and through private deals, and for a few timesmyself trading on forums (like Potent & Dysarted, not \"commercial\" forums like Bartertown, Ebay\'s forums, etc..)

I\'ve always used recorded delivery, & taken the chance to scan the reciept & attatch in the confirmation email.

I\'ve seen & heard so many people say things like \"just bump up the shipping\" & the like, just to cover a minor inconvenience like having to actually go to a Post Office
(if you want to send a parcel by Royal Mail, you\'ve always had to go to the post office, none of this just leaving it outside business ).

In the end it\'s just an easy way to show there\'s no abuse of postage going on; I\'m sure it probably happens less that most people imagine, but when you live in another country & have no idea of how the seller\'s country\'s postal service works, then it can make you nervous about possible burnings from postal charges.
There\'s no end of stories & urban myths out there about people having to pay extra charges on the recieveing end of a package, & it only takes one or two of them to make people start to feel that it\'s more trouble than it\'s worth.

Having said all that, the best trades & deals I\'ve ever been part of have been when I\'ve dealed with fellow members of forums I\'ve been part of.
So far I\'ve probably been lucky & have never really been burned on ebay (except for the dude who mixed in a bunch of 2Ed Terminators in his two lots of RT-era Termies, bah!), but although forums will naturally have a much smaller market (for want of a better word), they\'ve always imho been the best deals I\'ve participated in.

Much freindlier, informal & generally less of this retaliation bs when things get mixed up than on ebay, where pretty much everyone\'s a stranger.. [/peach n\' love voice]