[78-L] Convenience fees/only pay pal accepted

[D P Ingram]

I have been away and thank the correspondents for their insightful  
comments. I also thank those who sent private email with their  
opinions (majority where "against" but I guess that is understandable  
as who volunteers to pay more :)

One correspondent points out that this auctioneer is not charging fees  
for sub USD100 transactions.  Sadly the postage charge for our typical  
transaction is normally many times this, and likewise the customs fee  
at the receiving end is several times this threshold.  In fact, I'd  
argue that smaller transactions might cost more to service than larger  
transactions (of course, size of shipment and the marketing aspect of  
"taste testers" need to be factored in.

Of course, it is not the seller's problem that some customers are  
overseas and the extra costs (to them) of shipping and customs fees  
(plus bank fees, even if they have to make a bank transfer which still  
costs them: In many European countries it is still common to pay for a  
regular Visa/Mastercard due to competition issues).

I certainly am not advocating cutting one's nose off to spite the  
face, and neither will we be boycotting the vendor. Another 4% (and a  
bit with the customs)... maybe means 50-200USD extra per typical  
transaction. Might just mean putting a few things back from the  
shopping cart.   That's the problem with all auctions though.

As for a seller's premium, many auction houses are selling on  
consignment and double dip that way rather than owning the stock. Of  
course, the more barriers to sale you place the less "common" sales  
occur.

Happy collecting.

Darren

On 15 mar 2009, at 16.58, David Weiner wrote:

> This policy has been in place for at least a year - I had several  
> auction
> listings bounced when I mentioned I could take checks or money  
> orders -
> personally, the convenience of Paypal as both buyer and seller is  
> well worth
> the fees charged.
>
> Dave W.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
> [mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of don ward
> Sent: Saturday, March 14, 2009 8:04 PM
> To: 78-L Mail Lis


¦ D P Ingram ¦ Ab Ingram Oy ¦
¦ darren at ingram.fi ¦  www.ingram.fi ¦
¦
¦ +358 6 781 0275 (FIN) ¦ +46 8 5511 4995 (SWE) ¦ +44 203 014 3839  
(UK) ¦
¦ extn 8001
¦