[78-L] eBay cross-border

[David Lennick]

If you're in Calgary, why not get the goods shipped to the nearest available 
address in the States? I'm in the Toronto area and I've been using the post 
office in Lewiston NY since 1994 (inherited it from a syndicator I was working 
with..one morning he dropped dead and I waited a discreet thirty seconds before 
asking if I could take over his mailbox). I still run into the odd seller who 
blocks all non-US bids..sometimes he can be reached before cutoff time, 
sometimes he'll sell anyway if there were no bids.

As for time zones, either I'm viewing at a different site (direct access to the 
US) or something's changed, because I've always seen PST displayed, and more 
recently it seems to be that the "time remaining" has been in constant 
countdown. And there's always eSnipe.

dl

Stephen Davies wrote:
>         Thanks for the comment about eBay and PayPal sometimes conspiring 
> to hold up a transaction.  Since my seller is new, and it was a 
> cross-border transaction, I can understand how we got singled out for 
> being held up until I gave feedback.
>         It's too bad about the smashed record since it was one that I 
> REALLY wanted and it appeared to be in excellent condition until it was 
> shipped.  But it was only a buck, so what can I say.
>         I have had other issues with eBay, tho, as a Canadian.  When I 
> view auctions I am presented with different timezones.  Supposedly, there 
> is one timezone used as a standard, but in Canada it's EST, and in the USA 
> it's PST.  Why not harmonize?  Moreover, why isn't it *MY* timezone that 
> appears?  especially since eBay keeps telling me my postal code in every 
> transaction.  How hard could it be to figure out what time it is in my 
> neck of the woods?
>         Secondly, there are many U.S. sellers who don't allow their stores 
> to be viewed by Canadians, I guess because they won't do international 
> shipping.  But eBay keeps sending me links to their goods based on my 
> saved searches, etc.  I often find the disc I want at a reasonable price 
> only to find it's really a dead end.  I can neither buy the disc nor view 
> the seller's other items.
>         And the ton of email I get from eBay is pointless.
> 
>         Finally, I felt ripped off after committing to buy an item and 
> only then getting to see what the shipping rate would be.  I was very 
> discouraged to find myself billed with an exorbitant amount.  But I 
> coughed up anyway.  And then .... yesterday I found a partial refund from 
> two sellers based on the fact that they had overcharged for shipping!  How 
> wonderful is that?
> - Stephen D
> Calgary
> 
>