Anyone had dealings with ebay?

[AB8RU]

I had a nameless person who was a real jerk 1st. insulting me and then argued over the shipping, I wound up contacting ebay, they sugguested after monitoring the person I was ( which I did ) Blocked him from future auctions. ever come accoross odd people like that ?

I won't post his username unless the Hurricane blew his house away http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif still wont post it here.

[K8ERV]

I have bought a lot of items thru Ebay with generally very good results. Have not sold there, I use these ham trading sites.

But I have a friend (ham) who does a lot of selling and he has some stories to tell. Probably the ratio of gud/bad guys on Ebay is not much different than anywhere else.

If he complained about ship costs, maybe you were charging too much? I don't think ship should be a profit item, and I always ship at exactly my cost. I get annoyed at high "flat rate" charges, or an insistance to use UPS for small light items that can go first class for MUCH less. Once had a guy try to charge about $7.50 UPS for a memory card!! We compromised on a buck for a 37¢ actual cost.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[KC0W]

After getting ripped off on shipping for a Vibroplex I bought on eBay, I decided to check out what a baseball card ships for.

A lowly baseball card, you can't send anything lighter than that.

Most guys want $5 or more to send you the card.........What a bunch of gouging fools!!!


Buyer beware,


Tom kcØw

[KD6NIG]

The shipping is usually set high simply because people don't pay attention to it. Thats how they make a little extra cash.

I've had a few issues where people tried to change the shipping, etc, but the bottom line is, if they don't follow what the auction says, report them to Ebay. Don't feedback them, etc, just file a dispute and don't pay or ship until Ebay gets back to you.

Most of them will try stuff off of Ebay and threaten you with feedback, etc, to get you to cave. They figure most people fear negative feedback so they get people to comply. Don't go for it, especially since usually when you're selling/buying something the terms are stated clearly. Also, if you decide to take payments/make a deal off Ebay, they can do it, then report YOU for doing so, then you get in trouble.

I've had it happen a few times. My response to them was basically that they had 24 hours to live up to the terms of the auction as stated. Out of the 3 I've had, 2 decided to follow the terms, one "called my bluff" and I reported him-emails and all, and Ebay suspended him, and the person with the next highest bid got the item from me.

Mostly though, its been pretty good for me. If I see something that is too good to be true, I assume it is, and I don't touch it. Probably have passed on some major bargains, but I'd rather pay a bit more than have trouble also.

[kl7aj]

Most of the sellers have already sold their soul for the lowest bid, so they have to make it up on shipping.

eric

[K8YS]

interesting, sounds like a guy on ebay called "deervalley27".

I'll post deervalley27 email address when I find it again. I know it is an upstate NY.rr.com

I bought a book, he claimed to be in excellent condition. He charged me Priority Mail rates. When it arrived, the paper wrapping was torn, he did not put it in a box. The book is NOT in excellent condition, and he shipped via Media Mail.

He did offer to refund my money, but I would have to absorb the shipping, and that is where he made his money.

I left NEUTRAL feedback only because I was being nice. I could have left negative because he was deceptive in his post.

He was offended that I left neutral feedback, and left NEGATIVE feedback to me, and post a lie.

I should also mention that I paid him via PayPal within MINUTES of the end of the auction, not like he had to wait for the money.

He said he complained to eBay, so I beat him to the punch and filed a complaint too.

Square Deal has reported that the seller DEERVALLEY27 has not responded to them.

After a little research, I found that anyone that leaves neutral or negative feedback gets negative from deervalley27 as revenge.

This is against ebay policy..


Oh, and to top it off, deervalley27 sent me an email, he has decided to ban me from any of his auctions... oh the humanity, the humanity...

[AG3Y]

You have to be real careful about shipping and handling costs. I do a lot of trading on E-Bay, and always tell my buyers that I will never charge more than the actual cost from my zip code to theirs. It involves a bit more figuring, but pays off in good relations between buyer and seller. In fact, in just the last day or so, a buyer sent me a few dollars extra, just to help me cover my costs for packing material!

BTW, shipping internationally can be a huge "rip-off" in itself, and it isn't the seller doing the "ripping off" !

I priced Shipping for a Vibroplex ( 7 lbs. ) to Europe via United Parcel Service . They wanted $135 to send it "expedited" . USPS Air Freight, on the other hand, only charged $38 ! ! ! Now, can someone tell me why one service wanted nearly $100 more than the other, just to mail a 7 pound, 1 cubic foot box ? ? ?

73, Jim

[W3GER]

Quote[/b] (kc0w @ Aug. 30 2005,07:41)]A lowly baseball card, you can't send anything lighter than that.

Most guys want $5 or more to send you the card.........What a bunch of gouging fools!!!
Recently I was looking for a network interface card for a laptop PC. #

I found some on eBay with a buy-it-now price of $0.01.
Yes, ONE CENT!
(And $12.95 for shipping.)

73 de W3GERry

[W0LC]

Anyone ever deal with N2NRL? Paul Lionardo? I have seen some postings of gear for sale and also some bad dealing experienced with him.....

[wa9cwx]

I am not sure that some people posting here about shipping costs have any IDEA of what they are talking about.

Has anyone posting so far sent any large, heavy yet DELICATE equipment through the mail/UPS ??

To send a $1000.00 plus radio, that is 50 plus pounds, and say you will ONLY charge what the ACTUAL cost is .....??? Do you mean the MAIL ONLY CHARGE???

Unless you are counting in the cost of the packing materials, and the HOUR it takes to pack it, custom fit foam, pad corners and insure it 'floats' in bubble wrap, then double box it, and transport it to the shipping company and wait in line, #you must have a worse opinion of the value of your time than your worst enemy...
I have sold and bought on eBay for four years, large and small, expensive and cheap, I have 100% positive feedback, have never threatened, nor BEEN threatened. Met ONE jerk, called him on the phone, realised he just did NOT read correctly what he was buying, mended the situation. ALL the rest have been 100% satisfying, fun, and entertaining. I do not ALWAYS make a profit, but I have never been screwed, either.
I ALWAYS pack well, and charge for it.
WHY wouldn't I http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif
As far as a SET fee, it is easier to simply list a set fee, than pack, take to the shipper, with the right address, wait in line, get it weighed, take it home, eMail the guy, ask permission ito see if he REALLY wants to pay that 32 cents more than he THINKS it should cost....
This hasn't happened to me, but if I EVER had to sell to someone who thinks like THAT.....I think I would never have started.

[N6KX]

BTW - no, N2NRL in the database. I believe you mean N2RNL.

Howie N6KX http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[WB2WIK]

Quote[/b] (AG3Y @ Aug. 30 2005,08:26)]I priced Shipping for a Vibroplex ( 7 lbs. ) to Europe via United Parcel Service . #They wanted $135 to send it "expedited" . USPS Air Freight, on the other hand, only charged $38 ! ! ! # Now, can someone tell me why one service wanted nearly $100 more than the other, just to mail a 7 pound, 1 cubic foot box ? ? ?
Sure, I can.

USPS does not provide tracking for this kind of shipment. They give you a receipt with an article number -- go try to track that on line for an international shipment. I've tried, and almost always it fails. The number shows up in their system as a "mailed from" and mailed "date," but absolutely no other information until the parcel is delivered. So, you have absolutely no idea where it is, if it's en route or if it will ever get there.

The more expensive common carriers including UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc all have very accurate tracking data, all free and on line or available by calling an 800 number 24 hours a day. You can find out exactly where your parcel is at any moment, while it's en route. This is a very expensive system which requires multiple bar code scanning at multiple locations, sometimes a dozen or more locations, every time the parcel is moved. It costs many millions of dollars to maintain that service, and the personnel involved with running it.

Most of my "international" USPS shipments, other than to Canada, have taken a very long time to reach destinations, and some never did make it. For the ones that don't, USPS requires you to wait a full 30 days to file a claim, and then about 30 days later (after the claim's filed) you might -- or might not -- know what happened. My last USPS international parcel post claim took more than 150 days to settle.

WB2WIK/6

[n8yx]

Quote[/b] (K8ERV @ Aug. 30 2005,06:31)]I have bought a lot of items thru Ebay with generally very good results. Have not sold there, I use these ham trading sites.

But I have a friend (ham) who does a lot of selling and he has some stories to tell. Probably the ratio of gud/bad guys on Ebay is not much different than anywhere else.
My experiences mirror Tom's. Was burned once over a low-dollar item (never showed up) but other than that I've had good results when buying things from eBay.

Pay attention to seller feedback (though it CAN be somewhat deceiving), market price for items you're interested in and bidding trends for recently sold items. You can then gauge whether or not that "deal" really is.

Anyone who consistently elevates shipping on items and has a poor feedback rating should probably be avoided.

[w8znx]

Hello Gang
been buying and selling for
abt 8 months

sold 50 year old mobile transmitter

right in posting stated

" from estate of W8
no power supply, dirty, some rust
has not been run in over 20 years,
bet it does not work "

sold to guy in NY state

turns out it does not work
HELLO
22 dollar mod driver transformer is shot
he is all pissed off

am was surprised that was only thing
wrong with it

" we payed good money for this
and expected better "

checked his feed back
seems he cherry picks for resale

and then gets nasty if radio
does not work
even when seller properly notes condition

dit dit dit

on shipping
there are some that rip you off
on shipping
mostly on small things

gotten so
I always check shiping cost before biding

packing radios
can take up better part of a afternoon
boxing up radio to arive safe

after little while
run out of cheep/free boxes/packing materials

if radio realy worth money
you got to dbl box it
good packing materials cost money

shiped radio worth over a grand
to Fla. few months ago
had to use/buy new boxes

could not find any good boxes
right size in dumpster

had to ship now
not next week after
rooting around for boxes in dumpsters

packing materials, insurance,
ups ship cost
came to over 60 bucks
made no money on shiping
lost money on shipping
major pain in butt

yours truly
Mac

[W0LC]

Quote[/b] (N6KX @ Aug. 30 2005,09:46)]BTW - no, N2NRL in the database. #I believe you mean N2RNL.

Howie N6KX http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif
Yeah, I typed it wrong....

[KG4CGC]

If anyone knows of any resources for learning about ebay and all the little ins and outs of doing business on ebay, could you please post a link here or send me a PM.
Thank You.

[wa9cwx]

They have all the info you need right there,
On eBay.

[VE7TKO]

I have purchased more than 20 times on eBay. I thought it was great until I got burned. I had 2 bad experiences. One got resolved and the other didn’t. The one that didn’t get resolved just seemed to disappear from the face of the earth. His eMail was shut down and his phone number was not in service.

When I complained to eBay, they told me to get in touch with my credit card company, American Express. They said that they should protect me against fraud. American Express told me to get in touch with eBay to resolve the problem, because they were only a billing company. By this time more than 30 days had elapsed.

The seller was bared from eBay and black listed. There is no way to get in touch with eBay by phone. I wanted to ask them if the seller collected his money. If he didn’t, I was going to ask eBay to send the money back. Sad to say, eBay takes total control of how you communicate with them. If you do manage to get your problem resolved with eBay, they take a 25% cut in your losses. This is on the purchase price, and does not cover shipping charges.

I never got my money back. I cut up my American Express credit card, yet 8 months later; I received an other bill from them for my COSTCO membership. I had told them earlier that I no longer wanted their credit card.

I will no longer deal with eBay or American Express. Once burned, twice shy.

Jan van Vugt – VE7TKO

[W0LC]

One thing that I will state about ebay. Pictures DON'T tell a story. I have seen lots of pictures of equipment and when you get it, you find rust, etc. in and on the item when the pictures don't show it. Of course, how many of use think to ask every conceiveable question to a seller. When they state it is working etc., I have to assume the item works. I have received a good number of items that didn't work, yeah, they powered up dial lights, but that was it.

Be very careful of guys that state "I have no way to test this transmitter" and the Seller is a ham! Come on!

I try to ask questions but many times, I get no response prior to the end of the bidding (days later) so I have to assume it must be junk.

Also, another caveat I don't like seeing is "as is". That blankets just about everything and you get into a pee-ing contest about whether the shipper damaged something or the seller sold you a door stop. Usually, if the shipper damages something, you can see it. Shaking and vibration within limits won't make something not work unless something comes loose. Bad tubes, burned out transformers, etc., don't happen during shipment as I have gotten burned.

I try not to use eBay very often. I find too many people that find "grandpa's" amateur gear in the attic, "dad's old radio off a shelf" that all "worked last time it was used" which was probably during WWII.

Ask a boat load of questions, ask for additiona pictures of the sides, back, inside, etc.

Ebay is a gamble to be sure, then again, so are many of the swap sites.

[KG4CGC]

Quote[/b] (wa9cwx @ Aug. 30 2005,14:13)]They have all the info you need right there,
On eBay.
Thanks, but I was looking for something more telling. Ebay sugar coats everything.

[W7DJM]

This is not an amateur radio related technical question. Why are you asking about something so subjectiver here? We know nothing of YOUR honesty, or what YOUR part in the deal was.

[K2HN]

I've done busines on Ebay for several years now, mostly with the Ham radio equipment. The major problem I've found is receiving equipment that is not in as good condition that was advertised. I say this although it is quite rare. I have no problem with the shipping thing, I charge shipping cost only and bite the bullet on time spent packing etc.. Most of the time the price you receive covers that. I NEVER deal with anyone who charges handling costs etc.. All in all I would recommend Ebay especially for ham radio gear. You can save a lot of money and many times resell the article for as much or more than you paid for it. Cheers!

[w2vw]

Quote[/b] (AG3Y @ Aug. 30 2005,08:26)]I priced Shipping for a Vibroplex ( 7 lbs. ) to Europe via United Parcel Service . They wanted $135 to send it "expedited" . USPS Air Freight, on the other hand, only charged $38 ! ! ! Now, can someone tell me why one service wanted nearly $100 more than the other, just to mail a 7 pound, 1 cubic foot box ? ? ?

73, Jim
Avoid UPS for internationals. The paperwork will kill you. USPS is much better. Their tracking isn't too good unless you use airmail though.

[WA9SVD]

MY Mamma done told me...

Never trust a stranger for a business deal, epsecially if it sounds too good to be true, and

Never venture to bid (or gamble) more than you can afford to lose, and

Never buy anything from strangers. And some of the people you think you know can be the strangest of all.

She was VERY wise!

[AG3Y]

Quote[/b] (wa9cwx @ Aug. 30 2005,12:39)]I am not sure that some people posting here about shipping costs have any IDEA of what they are talking about.

Has anyone posting so far sent any large, heavy yet DELICATE equipment through the mail/UPS ??

To send a $1000.00 plus radio, that is 50 plus pounds, and say you will ONLY charge what the ACTUAL cost is .....??? Do you mean the MAIL ONLY CHARGE???

Unless you are counting in the cost of the packing materials, and the HOUR it takes to pack it, custom fit foam, pad corners and insure it 'floats' in bubble wrap, then double box it, and transport it to the shipping company and wait in line, #you must have a worse opinion of the value of your time than your worst enemy...
I beg your pardon. I have also been trading on E-Bay for a good long time, and maintain that my policy is not to charge anybody more for "shipping and handling" than what it costs me to ship it to them.

The biggest item I have ever sent to an E-Bay customer was a Fisher tube-type FM tuner. Interestingly enough, the tuner was also purchased by an international customer. Yes, it was heavy, and yes, it was delicate, and yes, I packed it myself, double boxing and the whole nine yards. Did it get there in one piece, and was the customer happy? Read my 100% positive feedback profile if you want to know the answer!

Oh, I almost forgot a Heathkit SB-200 that I sent to a fellow ham radio operator. It was also a "home-brew" packing job!

I personally would never try to sell something as big, delicate, and expensive as you describe on E-Bay, unless I was absolutely sure that the person bidding on the item understood completely the risks involved in completing a transaction.

I have had only one less than totally satisfactory transaction on E-Bay, and the person I bought the item from stumbled all over himself trying to make the transaction right!

Finally, in conclusion, if the item was only worth $60, I probably wouldn't want to spend over $130 in shipping costs, but if I had paid over a thousand dollars for it, that same $130 would just be a "drop in the bucket" !

73, Jim

[K8ERV]

Not sure, but think there may be a "dummies" book out on Ebay dealings. Check the Dummies site.

RE: Packing costs. Cartons and tape are free from the USPS for Priority shipments. Cartons are free from the supermarket and Wal-mart, and other stores. Also from dumpsters. Tape from the yard sales. I have more free bubble wrap and peanuts than I can ever use, free, I save all incomming. You can get unlimited large cartons (to cut up to make smaller ones) from appliance stores, they are glad to get rid of them. I just can't see charging a "handling" fee to pack. It takes about 2 minutes to print a mail label and pack a small item.

The only price that interests me is the delivered price. I won't pay a mark up on shipping. And I let the seller know this, have it in a macro.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[n0xas]

I've bought some and sold a lot on eBay over the past few years. Had a couple of bad deals, neither of which were ham gear. In fact, the only time I've ever felt truly screwed on a ham to ham deal was on something I bought from an ad posted by a W8 right here on QRZ.com. Fortunately it was only a coax switch - advertised as being in great shape, but arrived looking like it had been mounteds outside for several years; corroded, faded paint, marginal connectors. I'd have paid $5 had I seen it first, not $18 plus shipping, but my good experiences with hams on eBay lulled me into thinking it was safe to deal with the guy.

I don't buy a lot from eBay sellers, because most of the stuff goes for way, way too much money. I also don't buy from people who don't take PayPal (just a convenience thing), or charge ridiculous amounts for shipping, or who seem to have no clue what they're doing. That narrows it down quite a bit.

In all of the things I've sold, and there have been hundreds, my only real complaint is the people who don't leave feedback. I always post positive feedback as soon as I ge tthe money. Probably 30% of the buyers never do, even after I send polite reminders asking them to do so or to contact me if they have any problems or questions. But, hey, you can't win them all.

As for shipping, if I need to buy materials, I charge for them. If I'm going to have to ship it from the post office, there's gas and hassle involved. So I may charge a buck or two more than the post office is getting directly; that's life. I don't gripe when someone else gets a buck or two extra either. Some sellers jack up the shipping because the eBay commission is calculated based on the selling price, and doesn't include shipping - so it minimizes eBay's cut.

In short, eBay is a great place to sell stuff. It's occasionally a good place to buy, but not nearly as often. And you've got to be careful, make sure your payment method allows you to dispute a deal if you need to, and make darned sure you don't let anything get more than about 3 weeks out before raising the alarm with eBay, PayPal and/or your credit card company.

[KI4LFG]

I do some ebaying trying to get ham equiptment cheep because I am an minor and do not work. People on ebay tend to want losts of $$ for their listings but raise the shipping price to defeat the ebay fees. I know it does not cost 5$ to ship a card unless it was in a hard plastic cover, bubble wraped, doubble boxed and shiped certified overnight airmail http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[n0xas]

Quote[/b] (KI4LFG @ Aug. 31 2005,06:33)]I know it does not cost 5$ to ship a card unless it was in a hard plastic cover, bubble wraped, doubble boxed and shiped certified overnight airmail
Well.... nope. Priority Mail for a small item, even using a free box from the post office and some old newspaper for cushioning, is $3.85. Overnight starts at around $12, I think -- check www.usps.com for current rates. If you have more than a mmile or so to drive to the post office, you're going to be burning gas to get there. If you use a padded envelope, there's another $.65 to $.90 at least. If your item doesn't fit in the post office's box and you have to go buy one at Office Depot or somewhere, there's another couple of bucks. Ditto for bubble wrap, etc.

In short, you're either going to spend money or time getting something packed and shipped. If you consider your time to be worth nothing, then great, but if you ship often you start to realize that packing and shipping stuff is not free.

[KD7WHQ]

Depends on zone, for that $3.85 ;)

UPS may be a hassle for the paperwork on international (it really isn't that bad), but best to use them than FedEx.

UPS holds the package until the duty, GST et al is paid. FedEx delivers it with an invoice.

If they don't pay it, FedEx will invoice you for what should have been paid by the recipient.

Found this one out the hard way. Now FedEx gets all the domestic, UPS gets Canada and Alaska. Alaska is for different reasons.

I've done well on eBay. Friday, a microprocessor controlled lead acid charger will be on its way to me, new in the box, for a third of what you'd pay in a store.

And those guys that charge $50 to ship a 2# item...HAH ;)

[n0xas]

Quote[/b] (KD7WHQ @ Aug. 31 2005,16:48)]If they don't pay it, FedEx will invoice you for what should have been paid by the recipient.
They did that to me... I told them to take a flying leap at themselves. It was their responsibility to collect that from the recipient; if they didn't, tough for them. Only had to tell them once and they went away, and I think then billed the recipient.

All this was AFTER they were a couple of days late because they couldn't figure out where to deliver to one of those really oddball Brit addresses, adn called *me* to ask where it was. Like I knew, Now USPS does all my overseas deliveries, unless the guy on the other end wants to set something else up.

[K8ERV]

Quote[/b] (KD7WHQ @ Aug. 31 2005,15:48)]Depends on zone, for that $3.85 ;)
No, the $3.85 is for all zones. Zones start if over one pound..

CGC: the latest (sept) issue of PC World has about 4 pages on how to use Ebay, and Dummies has 7 books. May find them at your library.

TOM K8ERV #Montrose Colo

[wa9cwx]

3Y,

Huh ?

All I can say is you know more about the value of your time than I do.

As for the comment about the communication and understanding before buying, the complaint was from a guy who did NOT read what was posted, I can NOT study up on the comprehension levels of all buyers. The COST of the item was under $20.00 as I recall...the total ship/handl charge was probably $5.00, HE didn't read.
Not something that rare.

And I suspect MOST sane people are happy to have things they BUY, packaged well, not left to chance by the post office/ UPS.
MY packing fees usually run from $1.00 to $5.00 for small items, for larger radios I charge about $15.00, For the REALLY heavy stuff, the shipping people come to the house and crate or box it. That charge from me is Zero, but the total from the shipper is added to the item charge. I have had only two items picked up that way, both were expensive and heavy rack mount gear.

Frank

[AG3Y]

Frank, I have a small scale, and the major shippers have tables published on the internet giving their cost for the various "zones" vs the weights of the packages I normally ship. My post office is about a mile away from my house, and since the accident, I have been pretty much housebound. So when I get a chance to get out with the Wife, we buy some gas, get an ice cream cone, and stop by at the Post Office! It might seem like an inconvenience to you, but I rather look forward to those occasional trips!

Oh, BTW, my estimates are usually within a few cents of the actual costs involved, and most buyers are more than willing to "round up" to the next dollar when I send them the invoice !

73 Jim

[ky5u]

I bought a rig from Paul Lionardo and had no issues. The rig was exactly as advertized and shipped quickly, cheaply, and packed well.

Yes, beware of the "no way to test" rigs unless you're a good radio tech. If you have a question, ask. If it feels wrong, don't buy. I have bought many items over ebay and did not have one bad experience. I am sure it can happen, but I am so leary of things that my over cautious nature helps. Yes, watch out for shipping scams.

There are bargains if you know what to look for. Don't pay more for something than you really want to just to "win". Ebay can be alot of fun.

[w0wls]

Out of over 100 transactions, I've only been frauded once. #I was lucky, it only amounted to $17. I came real close to being frauded with a TS-440 purchase. Seller ripped off every buyer after me before being shut down. #One gentlemans loss was over $600.
#One earlier poster mentioned seeing an auction priced at .01 and shipping of $12.99. #This is simply a ploy to beat eBay out of their share of the pie. #These sellers should be reported. #It's still $13 to me no matter how you slice it but if they will cheat eBay than they might just cheat me as well. #I only bid on auctions where the seller has near perfect feedback and I always check out negative remarks.
73

[K8ERV]

Sure wish Ebay had a way to display only the negatives. Too hard to wade thru the many messages to find the bad ones.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[K8ERV]

WLS, my memory is better than yours. It is "in the hearts and MINDS of men".

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[N1XHF]

Quote[/b] (AB8RU @ Aug. 28 2005,21:02)]I had a nameless person who was a real jerk 1st. insulting me and then argued over the shipping, I wound up contacting ebay, they sugguested after monitoring the person I was ( which I did ) Blocked him from future auctions. ever come accoross odd people like that ?

I won't post his username unless the Hurricane blew his house away http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif still wont post it here.
I had the same issue just sometime ago with an individual who keeps his feedback private. Likes to complain about shipping costs after he receives the item. Threatens, insults and demands the costs back. Don't give it to them its a common scam.

[G3OZN]

I've been using e-bay for over a 2 years now, and I have increased my collection of first edition rare books (many signed by the author) tremendously, also ephemera and archival pictures of the "Garden City Movement" often in both cases at a fraction of the cost one would pay at a trade fair.
Many coming from USA and other locations outside the UK.
Using PayPal I have every confidence in paying money to anyone anywhere in the world.
Deffinately I know e-bay is a thorn in the side of traders for such artefacts.

[W7WV]

I no longer do any business on EBay whatsoever. It was, in my opinion, never a good place to buy anything. If you were looking for a “deal”, this is not the place for many things. To much panic bidding on ham equipment by many that knew nothing about what they were bidding on it anyway. The prices were high in many cases. Amplifiers are a good example. I have seen people pay twice what an older amp is really worth and then complain about the shipping when they find out what the “actual shipping charges” are, as quoted by the seller.
As a seller, the fees could get very high. And then you sell to someone who does not know the equipment, and in many cases are not licensed to use it, that think you sold them something that was defective.
In one instance, I bought a transceiver for the price it should have sold for. I paid the seller, another ham, right away for it as he required via PayPal. I did not get a shipping number right away and I contacted him serveral times about it. He said I was putting him under pressure and he did not have time to ship it yet. I finally threatened him with a report to EBay and he shipped it, after nearly a week of playing games and told me I was lucky to get it that quick.
The merchandise was in good shape and I gave him good feedback with a minor note that he ships a little slowly. The seller did not provide feedback for me until I filed mine and then he left me a negative feedback stating I pressured him and cost him more money for shipping.
EBay would not remove the negative he left me which I thought was poor business practice. I closed my accounts with EBay and PayPal.

[ai4ep]

I LOOK at what is for sale on ebay, but I aint registered and I have never bought or bidded on any item...just always amazed at what I ( and you ) do see for sale...especially the " fine line items " like 10 meter radios, cb amplifiers, and such. It amazes me that some of these folks are amateur radio operators and state " I dont know if this 2 meter radio works or not " (duh ).

{ not as an insult to NCT, but what kind of rocket scientist does it take to hook up power and an antenna to a ordinary 2 meter radio ? }

But then you have to realize the types of folks you are REALLY dealing with, and go from there.

AI4EP

[WA7KKP]

Caveat Emptor -- Wayne Green used that for his classified ads in 73 magazine.

I prefer buying face to face -- E-pay or E-greed is for stuff I know I can't get anywhere else. Too many people with too many dollars and little sense -- common or otherwise.

And there's always someone out to chisel the system.

Gary WA7KKP

[KI6ADA]

I was bidding on a couple Keys and in fact I was winning a bid until some fool came along and doubled my bid. The price the fool paid could have gotten them a new key and free shipping. I don't know if I will ever bid on e-bay again unless its non-ham related. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif

[vk3pjb]

I have bought heps of QSL cards off ebay and i have been the problem a few times. The stupid paypal plays up sometimes.

Nearly all buying is from the US

ajn example of shipping fees

$26.70 US for about 100 cards .

Shipping to Australia a killer.

I don't blame some sellers for putting a few bucks on postage ,,By the time they go to post office etc it all adds up especially when they only get $2 us for a card.

Some sellers require a money order, It costs me $8 australian just to get one done at post office,then i pay exchange rate etc then i pay $1.80 aus to send payment.

I did get my fingers burnt with an australian girl
I sold her a ticket to a play.top seat.She got it for half price..
She phoned me up and then said she didn't want ticket.
My wife and i were going to the play and the ticket was the ticket for my son.ut he couldn't come

The girl as going to pay us at the theatre,so i was stuck with ticket i couldn't get rid of..as i had no time.

But being a nice bloke i bore the cost,

That is the only problem i have had except for pay pal problems.

The folks i still owe money to ..being hams have been great,,Peter VK3PJB

[WS2L]

I have been very fortunate using eBay for the past 5 years and to date have not had any problems. I just can't understand why some people will turn around on you after the fact when everything is spelled out in the auction. If there is ever a shadow of a doubt the person should have the common sense to send an email with any questions.

[N1XHF]

I have only had one problem on ebay in the 4 years that I have been on there. I sold a handheld to a gentleman from canada and he was totaly bent out of shape due to the cost of shipping.(which was not much). He sent threating emails and everything. I suppose you are going to run into a nut every now and then. Other than that things are good from a selling and a buying stand point. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[K8ERV]

I have had very good luck on Ebay. But even if you don't buy/sell, it can be a great source of tech info.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo