[78-L] Hoo-Ha shipping costs and wacko buyers

[Cary Ginell]

Domestic shipping costs are limited to $4.00. When I send a 78 out, it generally costs me $2.77 in postage. The box and packing materials probably are about $1.40 total so I just about break even. One way around this is to just start the bidding a little higher - say $10.99 or $11.50 instead of $9.99. You'll have to pay another dime for the listing fee, but that should cover your extra shipping costs. As for international shipping - I would say that at least half of my eBay sales are from out of the U.S. I had charged a flat rate of $16.00 for shipping, with the usual postage rate for sending one 78 being $14.20. For some countries - Germany, France, or Australia, for example, the charge is somewhat higher, but eBay's "Turbo Lister" allows you to specify particular rates for specific countries. All in all, it works out well, but I'm still ticked that eBay gets you coming and going: they hit you for the initial listing fee, a percentage of the final selling price, plus another hit when paid through PayPal. Despite the constant nipping at my profits, I still consider eBay the best and fastest way to reach the greatest amount of people. And think about this - if the reputable dealers get fed up with eBay, all that will be left will be the miscreants, thieves, and amateurs. Someone has to keep them honest!

I recently dealt with a character from Japan known by the tag "bookofballard." Well, Mr. Bookofballard didn't agree with the condition of a 10" jazz LP I sent him. My description of "wear around the edges" wasn't good enough for him. He thought the seams were split (they weren't) but didn't accept a refund, even though I offered him one. Instead, he demanded I send him a perfect copy. I guess he thought I advertised the "good one" and sent him an inferior copy on purpose. Of course, I only had one copy of it and thought I had described it accurately. I offered him a refund, but as eBay rules clearly stated on my listing, the buyer is responsible for return postage. Bookofballard refused and hit me with a rather childish and exaggerated negative feedback ("Liar! Wrote NO SPLITS but cover is many splits, No responsibility! Worst person!"). I could only post a calm rebuttal, to which he responded with more broken English insults ("Can't grade record. Poor mind and crazy!") I appealed to eBay, but they won't delete any negative comments unless they are profane or racist. So I have to suck it up for a year with this moronic response on my record. My sales won't suffer and I blocked him from bidding on my further auctions. Incidentally, Bookofballard makes his own feedback comments private - he's allowed to, so long as he doesn't sell anything and is only a buyer. So there's no way anyone can know what people have said about him.

I find it infuriating that sellers have no recourse until they are victimized by these people. Sellers are not allowed to post negative feedback on customers, which serves to make sellers powerless to protect themselves until they have been attacked by a disreputable, unschooled, dishonest, or insane buyer. 

Cary Ginell

> Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:59:11 -0500
> From: dlennick at sympatico.ca
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Insurance
> 
> Interesting. I've never claimed through P**pal, only through AMEX which is 
> linked to my account. I had a similar instance, someone in North Ontario 
> selling transcriptions...someone apologized on her behalf at one point, citing 
> family or personal difficulties, but there were no further replies, no further 
> sales, she disappeared from eBay and AMEX reimbursed me and said they'd try and 
> go after the seller (obviously they got no further than I did).
> 
> A few other instances of broken records resulted in immediate refunds, while 
> others were ignored..those sellers were never visited by me again. One moron 
> accused me of buying records and taping them and returning them (in fact I did 
> not return them, and they're still here, broken). Another imbecile claimed that 
> I didn't know what I was talking about because all his friends agreed that the 
> LPs I returned (which weren't fit to put on the wall, let alone try and play) 
> sounded fine. That was when I stopped looking at eBay entirely. I now hear from 
> a lot of dealers who refuse to list there anymore, citing ridiculous limits on 
> shipping costs..in the UK I understand, shipping cost has to be included in the 
> selling price.
> 
> dl
> 
> DAVID BURNHAM wrote:
> > I had an instance about 4 or 5 years ago where I ordered a couple of sets on e-bay and paid for them, (as I always do), as soon as I had won them.  These sets never arrived and all e-mails were ignored.  I finally contacted pay pal and was re-imbursed.  Several weeks later the seller contacted me and apologized for not sending the items, telling me something about a death in the family or whatever.  She asked me to pay for them again and she would send them to me.  I told her to ship them to me and I would pay for them as soon as they arrived, (pointing out that I had a 100% rating and was reliable).  She refused.  She lived in Spokane, Washington, and as I was passing by her front door a couple of weeks later I paid her a visit.  The people living there told me she had moved away months ago and that many people had been contacting the new owners about undelivered items.  Although Pay Pal did cover the amount, they did point out that this was
> >  the only claim I could make for a certain period - I think it was a year.
> > 
> > db
> > ______________________________
> 
> 
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