pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on wed 21 jan 04
a general 'e-bay' caution for 'new' items listed on it...
Hi Steve, all...
Something I had noticed as well, when looking at some new
Tools I did not want anyway, but curious about the
super-cheap prices...
Was that for some little 'no-name' made in red china of
small electric disc-grinder...
One could buy the grinder for a few dollars, but...BUT...in
the somewhat 'fine print' of the auction's terms, was the
fixed, non negotiable shipping-and-handleing charge of
$30.00...
Not so good...
Anyway, moral of the story...remember to scan the terms of
the Auction especially when it is a 'new' item being hawed
by some retail business.
I have never seen any gouger 'terms' from private sellers,
selling used things, but it could happen. Although sometimes
they can be a little heavy on their
"shipping-and-handleing', whereupon, if I had prevailed in
their Auction to find that out afterward, I tend to ask them
if I may just send a pre-paid fed-ex label (trying to use my
account so I can win that 'Bicycle' etc.) and to let me pay
them their 'handleing' charge and Auction price, and they
have tended to just waive all their charges but for the
Auction price itself...nice enough...
As a seller myself (as well as a buyer) on the 'ebay', I try
and save lucky winners of my Auctions on the cost of
shipping via my use of my commercial fed-ex account,
adviseing them to find a Business address they can use for
reception of heavy items, or in lieu of their P.O.Box and so
on for medium heavy things...
I used to just ship everything to Auctiojn Winners with
made-up Business names I would invent for their addresses,
but that did not work, and I got charged the residential
rate...or even had the item returned because fed-ex driver
said it was not a 'Business'...oh well...sigh...
On small light things, it does not save anything over the
Post Office, but from a pound and up, it does...and on
twenty five or sixty pounds, it really does...over seventy
pounds and up the parcel must go to a Business and may not
go to a residence anyway.
If one intends to buy something heavy from far away, see if
you can get someone as has a fed-ex Commercial account to
help you. And someone as has a Business address to recieve
the item. It can save a lot on the shipping charges...
Most sellers will agree to accept a pre-paid shipping
label...or, I have no memory of anyone as did not agree
amiably to do so.
Anyway...
Phil
Las Vegas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Slatin"
If you do so, and do well, great. My experience with
following
e-bay auctions is the prices look good until the last 4
hours of
the auction. Then, like in a cried auction, the prices go
up
fast, often to levels higher than those you would pay
otherwise.
The brand new items are typically carried by dealers. They
put
low prices on, but high reserves. I followed one kiln
auction
carefully and checked for when it finally passed the reserve
price. It was less than $20 from the "Buy it now!" price,
which
was higher than my local dealer's sale price.
Also, shipping from half way across the country can run you
quite
a bit. Some of their shipping/handling charges will be
greater
than those for regular mail order (or internet) dealers.
Some of
the E-bay dealers also have on-line sites competing against
their
own auctions. Often the auction price exceeds the catalog
price
(when shipping is included).
-- Steve S.
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