WTH ebay scam

[chrislehr]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-...em300204344019

The cost you are bidding on is the shipping. The price of the item is the shipping.

Im sorry but what the hell kind of scam is THAT?

[1LoC10]

he explains it right in the ad

[1LoC10]

69-70 GM OUTER GRILL SHELL GM 3985054, Ships in the original GM boxes oversize insured DHL, 579.00 SHIPPING. DUE TO THE EBAY FINAL VALUE FEE FOR SELLERS WE ARE FORCED TO SWITCH THE SHIPPING AND COST OF THE ITEM TO SAVE YOU AND US MONEY, THE TOTAL PRICE IS 623.00. CALL OR EMAIL IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

[chrislehr]

Yea, that seems retarded.

[Shane]

he may have explained why he charges that way, but ebay will also ban accounts for things such as that ... not real smart to put that in his listing description.

[724x4a/cchevy]

Yea, ebay has increased their final payment fees. So if you can find some way of keeping the bid down, but still getting your money, then the fee ebay charges is less. I believe that's what he's trying to do.

[71chevytruckguy]

atleast he put its there, i rember once comany on there i was lookin at the did the same thing but didn't say a thing bout it. chris.

[1LoC10]

the only prob i see him having, is if someone wanted to pick it up, or wanted to pay actual shipping... technically...someone could win it for for $45 and be in the right to own it for that, if they took it that far... you cant deny someone the right to pick it up

[David Flores]

Originally Posted by 1LoC10

the only prob i see him having, is if someone wanted to pick it up, or wanted to pay actual shipping... technically...someone could win it for for $45 and be in the right to own it for that, if they took it that far... you cant deny someone the right to pick it up

sure you can.

[lks dcvn]

Yes - you can deny whatever you want...

I was looking at a set of NOS 67/68 front grill lights (housings, wiring, lenses) and the auction was for $2.99 with shipping being ~$60.

I asked if I could pay actual shipping or pick them up - I could have spent less on gas for my Blazer to drive there to pick them up...and it was hours away...

His reply - "...shipping is what is stated in auction and no picking up of the items..."

Err - okay...

Somebody bid on them and might have been surprised to hear their total...

I ALWAYS ask for a shipping total before I bid - if it isn't mentioned - if it is outrageous - I pass.

I understand the principle, but when another ebayer asks to pay the actual shipping or pick the item up - and you deny them or refuse local pick up - that's just mean...

There is a place near me that has an ebay store and they were selling engine hoists, etc. for decent prices with $100 shipping to anywhere (it is less than 15 miles from me) - in the auction it states that if you pick it up - you are accessed a $20 pick up fee - WTF. Good luck with that. Never bought that item or anything else from them.

[Classic Heartbeat]

It's not a scam, just someone that is tired of all the fees that ebay has attached to the auctions. (Especialy the final value fee) The reason they will though is because they do not want to be seen in a bad light by the people who use their site. You are right, once ebay cathes on to these auctions, they will cancle them, however I understand why the sellers would want to sell this way. If he gets charged a final value fee, then he will have to pass it along to his customers, and you both loose that way. A strange way to sell, yes, however he is honest about it. I do not know about all sellers and their tactics. If you agree what the final price is, after shipping, pickup fee, or whatever they charge, then who cares how they word it.

Something that a lot of people do not understand, (and I will probably get slammed for this) but when you are in business, you must make money on every dollar you spend, reguardless of where you spend it. If they are not charging it directly, it is being charged indirectly somwhere else. Also some companies charge more for shipping than others because their shipping discounts are larger than others. A good example of that is Goodmark charges now $125.00 for truck freight to a business anywhere in the US and $150.00 to a residence. (This is because of the volume of shipments they make.) I can tell you from personal experience there is no way that I can do that. It cost me over $350.00 to ship a hood across the country, this is why I would drop ship that item from Goodmark. Does this mean that Goodmark is not making money on the shipping? No, not directly anyway. As importers they pay way less than we do for the parts, and charge in most cases more than we do for the sale of the part. My point is, the formula in the end is every dollar spent is a dollar that a certain amount of money has to be made. Otherwise you are out of business in a hurry. WES

[TonyJohnson]

If he doesn't like Ebay, he shouldn't use their service. To me, he's stealing from Ebay. If he'll steal from Ebay, why would I trust him not to steal from me? There are lots of sellers who do the same, it's just a little more subtle. Personally, I try to not do business with them.

[clean71]

He's not stealing from EBAY!!! He is not following EBAY's rules but he's not stealing from them. At least he's honest about what he's doing. They make billions a year from their "service", if you want to call it that. However, if you are not selling hundreds or thousands of items a month, you do NOT receive the same "service". This is why people try to circumvent the system with higher than cost shipping fees.
For many people, this is the only place they can make a profit with EBAY. Not to mention the fact that once you add up the EBAY and PayPal fees, you are paying close to 15%. By the time you pay the fees and calculate the risk you are taking from scammers, (again EBAY/PayPal won't help you unless you are making them tons of money) you need to do everything you can. I don't mind paying EBAY's fees and following their rules IF I get the same service as their Powersellers. I dont, so screw them. Bottom line is that people need to shop based on the price they're willing to pay, not what the shipping is compared to the price of the item itself. If I buy something on EBAY, I look at the total price and not the individial components of the cost. If it adds up, then I buy. If not, I don't. On the other hand, the sellers that calculate their shipping AFTER the sale to pad their profits are the one's you have to watch out for.

OK, I'm off my soapbox.

[Classic Heartbeat]

You can bet he is not trying to steel from ebay. If that were so, he wouldn't be so blatent about it. My feeling is he is just trying to make a point. Ebay like a lot of other large companies is starting to get outragously priced and he is voicing his frustration publicly. You can bet that once ebay sees this auction, he will probably be suspended. But my feeling is he won't care, because he will have aired out his frustration with them. I don't agree with his tactics, I just can understand why, and he is up being front about it. Who will be the looser in this, ultimately the consumer. He should have worded it something like the grill is $623.00 shipped plus $100.00 for ebays final value fee. (I know thats an exageration of ebays final value fee, but it is the point that I was trying to make.) Now the grill just cost $723.00 WES

[72Levi]

I would buy from him in an instant. Ebay's fees are ridiculous now. They must satisfy the need of being a public company. I used to buy and sell on ebay, not much anymore. They are out of control with their fees. I applaud his guts to indicate ebay's higher fees.

[Shane]

When one circumvents rules in order to keep from paying selling charges then it's stealing. Regardless of how much you disagree with the charges.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by Shane

When one circumvents rules in order to keep from paying selling charges then it's stealing. Regardless of how much you disagree with the charges.

If you don't like how ebay runs things.... don't sell on ebay.

[Classic Heartbeat]

I agree with TonyJohnson about the stealing. I just don't think that is what is going on. If so it would have been a lot more subtle. I just would have worded it differently. More like what I discribed above. Grill $623.00 with shipping and $100.00 for ebays final value fee. Whitch would probably get him suspended anyway.

I'm with 72Levi for how as for the way I deal with ebay. I just don't use them much any more. WES

[TonyJohnson]

So if I think Starbucks charges too much for coffee, I can just plunk down a $1 tell everyone what I'm doing and walk out of the store? I guess I'm not stealing, I'm making a political statement? Yeah right.

People justify stealing all the time. As long as it's a corporation or the government, it's just fine. I don't buy it. This particular seller probably wasn't really trying to steal, I agree. But he's the exception.

If you don't like their charges, then don't use their site. Protest enough...

I was a power seller for awhile and I didn't get any extra service, except maybe a lot more emails from them encouraging me to sell more.

[clean71]

Maybe I didn't make point clear enough about the stealing. If EBAY does not provide me the same service as a Powerseller but I pay the same fees, then maybe they are stealing from me(him)?? Powersellers don't pay additional fees for additional service, they generate more revenue. Bottom line is that small time sellers are not getting what they are paying for. If EBAY doesn't want to promote fair competition, then it is reasonable to expect that people will level the playing field with what, arguably, might be less than ethical methods but is not stealing. They cannot steal something which EBAY did not own in the first place. The seller paid his listing fee for EBAY's service, therefore he is NOT stealing. Anyway, we can agree to disagree.

IMO, EBAY should raise their listing fee and not have a FVF. Why should they profit from something other than the service they provide. Newspapers charge for the listing, not for what you make on it. Their current model is legalized stealing anyway. I still use them as a necessary evil but they are getting a little out of control.

If you were a Powerseller, then you know that if you had any issues, you would have had a much easier time getting them resolved vice a canned response email directing you to the FAQ that didn't answer your question or solve the problem.

[Shane]

It's still remains an act of stealing. Same way a real estate agent will sell a house for 6% commission based on the selling price ... but once the house sells, the owner decides that he will only pay the real estate agent 3% of the selling price simply because in his mind he shouldn't have to pay the real estate agent the full price because after all, the real estate agent is already making more than their fair-share on OTHER deals.

Well, those "other deals" are really none of anyone's business other than the real estate agent.

When one agrees BEFORE HAND on the terms of sale then it is non-negotiable. And that is what takes place when you join eBay.

Again, if you don't like the rules then don't play the game. Simple enough.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by clean71

....If EBAY doesn't want to promote fair competition, then it is reasonable to expect that people will level the playing field with what, arguably, might be less than ethical methods but is not stealing. They cannot steal something which EBAY did not own in the first place. The seller paid his listing fee for EBAY's service, therefore he is NOT stealing. Anyway, we can agree to disagree.

IMO, EBAY should raise their listing fee and not have a FVF. Why should they profit from something other than the service they provide. Newspapers charge for the listing, not for what you make on it. Their current model is legalized stealing anyway. I still use them as a necessary evil but they are getting a little out of control.

Exactly. It's like having to pay taxes on a used vehicle that's already had taxes paid on it . . ....

[TonyJohnson]

I'm sure there are many reasons to hate Ebay, just like there are reasons to hate Microsoft, Blockbuster, Best Buy... the list goes on... I don't blame sellers (or buyers) for being frustrated by pricing and lack of service. In the ebay/paypal model, 15% is a healthy chunk of change to pay for selling your stuff. If you can't make a profit at that pricepoint, you'll probably have to resort to craigslist or yard sales.

On the other hand, 15% is not that bad when considering the overhead and cost of selling ANYTHING to the public. Ask someone who owns a brick and mortar store about their costs. Then there is the cost of accepting credit cards, etc.

As far as getting the same service as a powerseller, I didn't see any extra service while I was one, but I never really tried to get their attention. Realistically though, no business treats individual customers the same way they treat their best customers/distributors. Usually the smaller customer pays a higher price and gets less attention when they complain. If you need attention, you need to deal with smaller, service oriented businesses that charge more.

[Classic Heartbeat]

The guy that is selling you something for $20.00 and charging $60.00 for shipping is hiding the fact that he is circumventing the system. I don't agree with either tactics, the one guy is just being honest about what he is doing. Thats all.

I agree, if you don't like the way it taste don't eat it, but sometimes you have to, to survive.

I don't do business that way, I just understand his frustration. WES

[TonyJohnson]

Lastly, Ebay can get what they charge because they provide buyers. With any advertising the cost is based on the effectiveness of the advertising medium. The more qualified buyers that see the ad, the more you'll pay for it. It's pretty simple. Ever wondered why it's worth it for folks to pay so much to Barrett-Jackson? They deliver the buyers...