Question
I listed some masks for sale on eBay. They should have brought strong bids, but instead the bidding was sparse and I kept getting really annoying questions from bidders... like "what are you trying to make up the bid in shipping, because this should only cost $4 to ship".
Yeah, I guess, if you take a $400 mask and wad it into a ball and shove it in a priority box it would cost $6 with no insurance... but if you stuff it and double box it and ship it right, it will cost about what I quoted...
Or "so how much do you want for this?"... when the auction started at 99¢ with no reserve... and had no bids.
and that's just a couple of them...
Forget about it... not gonna sell them on eBay. Don't need the aggravation. God I hate eBay buyers...
Answer
TR, I feel your pain. I ended two auctions early this week because I just couldn't stand the questions (which 99% of were very plainly answered if they had read the description) and the offers to buy offline. Heck they were relists and I started them at 99 cents and I still couldn't get bids. I took them both to my mall booth yesterday where the owners/personnel can get asked the stupid questions.
The primary reason I list on eBay any more is for a little cash flow to buy more stuff.
Answer
NOT saying that YOU were inflating shipping to avoid fees (I certainly trust your professionalism to know that your cost was to pack/ship them CORRECTLY!) BUT, I have noticed an increase (probably could be tracked to eBay fee increases) in the 1 penny - 99 cent (or cheap) opening bids with OUTRAGEOUS shipping charges...Like 1 cent opening bid and $35.99 for shipping PARCEL POST (and I'm not talking large/bulky/fragile items...I'm talking typical $5-$6 shipping costs <- should be!)....
Maybe you just got some folks who've been noticing the same thing...Maybe it's common in that category???
Answer
Does anyone remember the threads that used to be???
The ones where everyone would relate stories about the IDIOT customers in
their Brick and Mortar shops?
And how happy they were to close them and sell on ebay?
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!
Perhaps it is NOT the customers with the problems!!!!
Answer
after being in business for over 20+ years
it IS the customers....and it doesn't matter which business one is operating, they all have a version of these same customers.
TR, sorry to hear this........eastwest used to have all the problem customers from selling these same types of items, these just attract those ones.
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I sympathize. I had someone ask me if I'd ship a $2.99 book to Germany, even though my terms say "sorry, no international sales or shipping".
Answer
Originally Posted by larruone
Does anyone remember the threads that used to be???
The ones where everyone would relate stories about the IDIOT customers in
their Brick and Mortar shops?
And how happy they were to close them and sell on eBay?
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!
Perhaps it is NOT the customers with the problems!!!!
Well, I had a brick and mortar shop that I closed to sell on eBay, but I never started one of those threads. Not all eBay buyers are idiots, but certainly some are... and some types of items seem to draw them out in greater numbers.
Gabs, actually, this is nothing like what eastwest sells/sold.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5974473514
Vintage 60s monster masks that sell for $300 - $500 and up each.
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I've never been one to believe in "karma' but maybe it has some substance?
God I hate eBay buyers...
May be what the person you bought from during the outage was thinking.
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Sometimes it's the buyers, and sometimes it's the sellers. I can go for weeks without a problem, and then it seems they come in bunches.
I did retail for a decade as most of you know and was never happier than the day I closed my operation. It takes a certain kind of masochist to actually enjoy "serving" the public.
Selling in some categories is just asking for trouble. I recently got out of one that drew 'em like flies,, and my life is much more serene.
Larry
Answer
Originally Posted by BarbNY
I've never been one to believe in "karma' but maybe it has some substance?
May be what the person you bought from during the outage was thinking.
Why would that seller think that?
Because if I hadn't gotten in a bid, the item would have sold for $74 less... and I bought another item from the same seller for a total of $250... and I pushed the bidding on another non-outage item of his...
and communicated and paid promptly... so why would that seller have a problem with me? And what "karma" am I due for it?