Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Login to Like
this post
"The OP was questioning the reasoning behind eBay requesting a California Prop 65 warning for something as harmless as stamps."
Aside from California being the land of loonies, eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories and requiring absolutely insane information that has no relation to the items being sold.
For instance when I list something in the postcard category, it requires all kinds of irrelevant and redundant information. In fact things nobody would ever search by. These are when I'm listing a postcard from an American town....
There is no person or character!
Get down a little further and your historic town postcard from 1911 is assumed to be related to some frickin cartoon superhero!
And the redundant...
the form asks for City, Country and "Region" instead of state.
Get down the listing quite a bit later and it demands you input Continent! Um, can't this major corporation's software... once I've input "country" fill in the continent field itself? Aside from the fact that nobody searches for postcard by "Continent".
Likewise, the form asks me to identify the year three different times... "Year of Manufacture" (1970), then "Time Period Manufactured"(1970-1979) and then "Era" (Post-War (1945-Now)) Gee, Once I've entered "1970" can't their software figure out the rest, if indeed it's even necessary?
The listing forms are absolutely not user friendly, ask redundant information that have no bearing on the items being sold... it's obvious that non-English speaking people who have never collected anything put this mess together.
Let's just ask what this major corporation has to sell? THE USE OF THEIR SOFTWARE! Then shouldn't the friggin software perform flawlessly?
My major problem right now is shipping charges! I charge $1 shipping per order. I've put in my "Default Shipping" that additional items will be shipped for free. When eBay does the automatic relist of items, it creates a new shipping category that charges $1 per item.. for each and every item.
Then when customers use eBay Checkout, no matter what the individual auctions say.. it charges them $1 per item AND charges you a 12% commission on it. So someone has ordered 10 items. I get a paid order where a customer has paid $10 shipping. I then go in and refund $9 shipping AND EBAY KEEPS THE COMMISSION ON THE $9 IT HAS FRAUDULENTLY CHARGED MY BUYER! That's $1.12 from my sale. Because their software doesn't work correctly. Figure if that's what they're screwing me on one sale.. this software gap is worth millions to them! That's called fraud! Where's the class action suit?
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
I doubt someone can prove fraud. I made 2 purchases from ebay last month and did not encounter any issues with shipping costs. I got both for the shipping of one item.
Login to Like
this post
09:58:05am
"I charge $1 shipping per order. I've put in my "Default Shipping" that additional items will be shipped for free. When eBay does the automatic relist of items, it creates a new shipping category that charges $1 per item.. for each and every item."
Tom,
Have you set up the shipping rule "additional items free" as the default at the account level? (So that it takes effect on automatic relistings).
If not, go to "My ebay >> Account"
>> under "Selling", choose Shipping Preferences
>> Under "Allow combined payments and shipping" choose "Flat shipping rule" >> Edit
>> Drop down to "Add an amount for each additional item"
>> Select "Add Profile": Enter Add > 0 and give it a profile name > Save (I think clicking on "Free shipping" does the same thing)
Now, when you use the "Sell item" form, at the end of the shipping fields (before "international Site Visibility"), you should see a new section labelled "combined shipping discounts", along with a checkbox "Apply my flat shipping rule with profile name:" and a drop down box with your shipping rule profiles. Check that box and it should remember the rule for auto relistings.
The only caveat in all of this is that these account settings may only apply to stores.
Hope that helps.
Roy
Login to Like
this post
Hi Roy-
Thanks for attempting to help.
I do have a store. When I go to My eBay and click on SELL, I wind up at Seller Hub.
Take a look at my post on eBay's board...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Seller-Tools/Frustrated-With-Shipping-Policy-eBay-Keeps-Adding-A-New-Policy/m-p/32564293#M36785
Login to Like
this post
02:18:34pm
The access to what I described above is not through Sell Hub.
Click on "My ebay" (top right menu line)
Choose "Summary" from the drop down list
Choose the "Account" link in the line "Activities / Messages / Account"
Then you can start with my instructions above.
Roy
P.S. Sorry, if you are using "Business Policies", I don't use them, so can't help. They are something different and not required.
Login to Like
this post
Tom that has always been the case. One of the reasons I went to free shipping on my postcards and stamps. For the buyer it really isn't free as I raise my price s accordingly just as I will due to eBay sending me a 1099k. I now will change what I accept as a best offer to include the tax. Everyone will be doing that. I used to always refund but only after deducting what eBay kept.
Greg
Login to Like
this post
Thanks Roy! I just went through your process, as difficult and confusing as eBay makes it, and I see the policy I created. "Pay One Shipping Fee". The terms are exactly as I set them before as "Default Shipping Policy". Let's see what happens.
And Greg is correct... the companies I buy from in the USA/Covers/Historic Covers category all state you should send them a message for an invoice to get combined shipping. I've tried to pay them through eBay Checkout and it refuses to acknowledge combined shipping. Like Greg they've all given up and go to extra work to create invoices.
And one of the problems is that customers don't read! I have the same disclaimer in all of my listings... Message me for an invoice! And every day I'm refunding postage.
Both Greg and I have IT backgrounds. If eBay's system is so mired in incompetence that the average person cannot navigate it, and eBay profits from it, it indeed amounts to fraud under US law.
I'm currently working with a major US pharma company on distribution of computer equipment to employees. I just documented $500,000 in lost productivity due to confusion on one decision point in their internal computer request form. I went to one meeting, showed my information, and they've got people immediately fixing what I found. That's the way it needs to be!
The fact that eBay's system is a total unnavigable mess is totally unacceptable. Do you know there are still pages advertising Turbo Lister in their system? The links on it are all dead, but they don't even know the pages exist.
Login to Like
this post
"And one of the problems is that customers don't read! I have the same disclaimer in all of my listings... Message me for an invoice! And every day I'm refunding postage. "
Part of the problem is that at the end of an auction, the buyer is sent a message from Ebay "you won, pay now, click here" or words to that effect. How many folks just click on the link rather than going to ebay and looking at the purchase history before paying.
A further problem arises when you win an item but others from the same seller, that you are bidding on, do not end for a while. Messages then need to be sent asking the seller to hold off for a week or so if combined shipping is to be applied. With the expectation you win the other items.
At the end of the day I'm happy to get the items, not worried about getting postage refunds, but appreciated if it happens.
Login to Like
this post
07:22:27pm
Good, I hope it works for you.
However, if they pay for each item individually, instead of using the "Add to Cart" button, none of this will work. It only works "ON THE SAME INVOICE". And once they have paid, you can't uncombine and recombine the invoice.
My listings include the following in the description:
---------------------------------------------------------
Only one shipping charge on our individual stamp lots.
All additional purchases on the same invoice are added with free postage
To be eligible for shipping discount, items MUST be on the same invoice.
If you are not using the "Add to cart" button, please do not pay for multiple items separately -- request a Combined Invoice.
-------------------------------------------------------------
In the event they don't read and pay individually, I refund with postage at face value and include the following little flyer:
(Of course, this is for Canadian customers.)
Since you are buying discount postage, you are still making money on this (but I am actually generous with the refund and send a bit more than face value).
Roy
Login to Like
this post
Refunding in postage is a great idea Roy! Just as folks are happy when you use an array of old commemorative stamps on their order, they'd probably like to get mint old stamps.
As I refund those dollars through eBay's payment system, I think it's only a matter of time until they decide that excessive refunds (in some arbitrary number like 3!) is now a seller defect!
Funny thing though... nobody ever says "Thanks" when you refund them!
Login to Like
this post
"Part of the problem is that at the end of an auction, the buyer is sent a message from Ebay "you won, pay now, click here" or words to that effect."
And then eBay keeps on badgering them to pay up! I deal with a number of vendors in the postal history category who tell you to save up your small purchases and pay every three weeks (eBay cuts off your ability to pay for an item around 4 weeks)
An inside joke between my wife and I is that when I get a sale, my phone jingles! The message says "Ship NOW!" We can be at my daughter's house in New Jersey and I tell my wife, "We need to leave! eBay says I have to ship NOW!"
Still, I get eBay nagging me pay in emails constantly! Sellers need a button that says "Don't hassle my buyers!"
The problem overall is that eBay is a "one size fits all" venue where they try to have the same treatment whether the category is stamps or shoes. A while back someone suggested that eBay split. Call it's collectibles company "Classic eBay" and the consumer junk store "eBay".
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
I believe that the problem that ebay and other sites have is that they do not have users working in the application process, not do they have real users in the testing process. At least ebay does not move something into production and then test it. Case in point in addition to postcards - vinyl. They recently put in a change where you need to put an sign number for listing vinyl. Most low do not have an sign number. So people fudge it or if they get lucky like I did. Find some o!d listing that someone got listed where it says non applicable. And do a list same as. Still you still need to manually enter the title and artist which was already entered in thevtitle. Makes no sense. Likewise when you list stamps it asks you if you have a certificate and from who. Who would pay for that for a dollar stamp? I'll bet that people are just taking the top entry in the drop down and ignoring it. They have category issues well as they cannot be consistent with British colonies and the carribean. Just makes everything take longer. The best thing they had was turbolister and for some reason discontinued it. Tom if you get into postcard in a big way look At hippostcard. The bulk listed is awesome
Greg
Login to Like
this post
I had a chuckle to myself this afternooon. I maxed out on auctions for the month so I've been listing old first day covers as fixed price items. The first time I erred and did a listing "Sell Similar" from an auction, it stopped me dead with the cost box being 25 cents to list.
Then it hit me.. the part of their software that adds up my "free" listings works perfectly! And no doubt the part that wants to charge me a quarter a listing would work perfectly as well! Why? Because it's to their benefit.
And this is why the postage charging bit is allowed to be faulty for years... because no matter what happens eBay gets a percentage of either overcharged or refunded postage! Think about that.
My long years of business training make me cautious of an organizations software that flubs simple transactions. It makes me leery as to how they will do more complex things.. like sales tax remittances, 1099 forms to sellers...
My experience is over 35 years in the pharmaceutical industry where software goes through FDA validation. And if the slightest thing is off, entire batches of product will be scrapped. And it's to the Nth degree. I saw the FDA file a complaint that a maintenance management system's mobile application recorded the time of service to be the time the mobile device fed the data to the system, rather than the exact time a pump may have been calibrated. It would have been within a few hours, usually the download would be by a technician at the end of shift. Shouldn't be an issue as long as the service took place within the calibration window, but FDA demanded the entire mobile system be replaced!
I was recently speaking with a potential client in the financial industry. We were speaking about both being regulated industries, and the importance of maintaining server integrity.
That gets me thinking... what agency is responsible for the integrity and honesty of eBay's systems? Considering it's a banking operation, handling money for clients? Everything from the transaction system, to the user experience needs to be looked at. What government agency holds them accountable?
Login to Like
this post
Tom, I have no idea how to cut and paste using a kindle so do a search on nerdylorrin. Quite funny. Click the link he has for ebay postage from China and drop down to the ebay story. How is this allowed? I have gotten free shipping from China myself. There is no regulation of ebay unless you are a smallvfish. In spite of an anchor store I am a small fish. Rules are always different depending on the size of the fish. No use complaining to them. Make too much noise and they bounce you off for 30 days. There is no seller protection. When someone claims non receipt, since ebay feels the post workers are my employees and I am personally responsible for their errors, I refund the buyer and block the bidder. Don't want them messing up again. I also elected not to support their increase in the forever stamp not will I support their under a pound package increase. Sorry. You can be profitable, but refuse to do what is necessary. I refuse to pay more for something that you could fix it you wanted to. Every year I hope that Amazon puts an end to the of the USPS package delivery. I have to wonder who is paying them not to.
Login to Like
this post
Here's the link: https://www.nerdylorrin.net/jerry/postages/
In speaking of the Forever Stamps... funny thing is that this is the best stamp collectors investment of the past 50 years! I have a few rolls of postcard stamps bought for my model club's annual mailing at 35 cents a stamp. Now those stamps are worth 40 cents! That's about a 15% profit! Yea me!
The rest of our stamp collections? Commemoratives etc bought over the past 50 years are generally worth 50-60% of their original face value!?!
And dealing with the post office? This past week I went to the Exton, PA post office, a decent size place with three counter clerks and still a waiting line of customers. My turn. I ask for a dollar's worth of 1 cent stamps. Clerk asks me, "How many is that?" My response, " 100 stamps... or 5 sheets of 20." He goes thundering off to the shared cabinet of stamps, comes back with 5 stamps! "That's all we had." I ask why they don't have stamps in stock. He replies it's because they are useless. I explain that I have a sheet of 37 cent stamps and a sheet of 20 cent stamps... I need penny stamps to make the 58 cent rate. He agrees he'll order them for me.
I go back the next day. I ask if he has my stamps. He says the shipment came in, and goes back to the stamp cabinet. Only he emerges with 3 sheets (60 stamps!). I ask why only 60 and he replies that he did indeed order 100 for me. He shrugs that someone must've bought the other 40! I ask him, "I thought you told me they were useless!" ARGH!
Login to Like
this post
09:40:51pm
" ... The fact that eBay's system is a total unnavigable
mess is totally unacceptabe ...."
Unacceptable to whom ?
There is an old scammer's motto;
" .. Dazzle them with footwork and baffle them with B--- S---. .."
or, the reverse.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Tom I've said it before. Buy discount postage especially from the seller I gave you. Forget the penny. Only the carrier would notice and I can tell you from a few months of testing domestically and a year internationally they do not notice. Put some stamps sideways and upside down as well. The more the work the less they will do
Login to Like
this post
"The more the work the less they will do"
Excellent advice!
David
Login to Like
this post
Greg, I have purchased the discount postage from your source, and am ready to go back for another $100!
You are right, I probably could just forget the extra penny stamp, but with my luck one of my customers would get charged a penny postage due and give me a negative! 
I do set up 20 or more envelopes at the same time... lick the million stamps.. Rubber stamp "Do Not Bend Or Fold" front and back... Rubber stamp my return address and add my turtle!
The Stamp Center / Dutch County Auctions in Wilmington, Delaware is about a half hour from my house. A while back I had a conversation with the owner about discount postage. He sells it to others but doesn't use it on his mailings because he has hired help. He said that once he pays someone $10-15 an hour, he's not saving anything!
Oh.. several years ago I got a "Return To Sender"... It had all the nice stamps I used blacked out with Sharpie and "NOT VALID FOR POSTAGE" hand written on it. I drove to my local post office and got the top guy in that day. He just shook his head and said it was probably someone at the sorting center. He handed me one of their official envelopes and told me to address it to my friend. Then we stuck my screwed up envelope, still sealed, inside. At least it got there!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Moved post to separate thread since not related to original topic
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
"The OP was questioning the reasoning behind eBay requesting a California Prop 65 warning for something as harmless as stamps."
Aside from California being the land of loonies, eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories and requiring absolutely insane information that has no relation to the items being sold.
For instance when I list something in the postcard category, it requires all kinds of irrelevant and redundant information. In fact things nobody would ever search by. These are when I'm listing a postcard from an American town....
There is no person or character!
Get down a little further and your historic town postcard from 1911 is assumed to be related to some frickin cartoon superhero!
And the redundant...
the form asks for City, Country and "Region" instead of state.
Get down the listing quite a bit later and it demands you input Continent! Um, can't this major corporation's software... once I've input "country" fill in the continent field itself? Aside from the fact that nobody searches for postcard by "Continent".
Likewise, the form asks me to identify the year three different times... "Year of Manufacture" (1970), then "Time Period Manufactured"(1970-1979) and then "Era" (Post-War (1945-Now)) Gee, Once I've entered "1970" can't their software figure out the rest, if indeed it's even necessary?
The listing forms are absolutely not user friendly, ask redundant information that have no bearing on the items being sold... it's obvious that non-English speaking people who have never collected anything put this mess together.
Let's just ask what this major corporation has to sell? THE USE OF THEIR SOFTWARE! Then shouldn't the friggin software perform flawlessly?
My major problem right now is shipping charges! I charge $1 shipping per order. I've put in my "Default Shipping" that additional items will be shipped for free. When eBay does the automatic relist of items, it creates a new shipping category that charges $1 per item.. for each and every item.
Then when customers use eBay Checkout, no matter what the individual auctions say.. it charges them $1 per item AND charges you a 12% commission on it. So someone has ordered 10 items. I get a paid order where a customer has paid $10 shipping. I then go in and refund $9 shipping AND EBAY KEEPS THE COMMISSION ON THE $9 IT HAS FRAUDULENTLY CHARGED MY BUYER! That's $1.12 from my sale. Because their software doesn't work correctly. Figure if that's what they're screwing me on one sale.. this software gap is worth millions to them! That's called fraud! Where's the class action suit?
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
I doubt someone can prove fraud. I made 2 purchases from ebay last month and did not encounter any issues with shipping costs. I got both for the shipping of one item.
Login to Like
this post
BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
30 Dec 2021
09:58:05am
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
"I charge $1 shipping per order. I've put in my "Default Shipping" that additional items will be shipped for free. When eBay does the automatic relist of items, it creates a new shipping category that charges $1 per item.. for each and every item."
Tom,
Have you set up the shipping rule "additional items free" as the default at the account level? (So that it takes effect on automatic relistings).
If not, go to "My ebay >> Account"
>> under "Selling", choose Shipping Preferences
>> Under "Allow combined payments and shipping" choose "Flat shipping rule" >> Edit
>> Drop down to "Add an amount for each additional item"
>> Select "Add Profile": Enter Add > 0 and give it a profile name > Save (I think clicking on "Free shipping" does the same thing)
Now, when you use the "Sell item" form, at the end of the shipping fields (before "international Site Visibility"), you should see a new section labelled "combined shipping discounts", along with a checkbox "Apply my flat shipping rule with profile name:" and a drop down box with your shipping rule profiles. Check that box and it should remember the rule for auto relistings.
The only caveat in all of this is that these account settings may only apply to stores.
Hope that helps.
Roy
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Hi Roy-
Thanks for attempting to help.
I do have a store. When I go to My eBay and click on SELL, I wind up at Seller Hub.
Take a look at my post on eBay's board...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Seller-Tools/Frustrated-With-Shipping-Policy-eBay-Keeps-Adding-A-New-Policy/m-p/32564293#M36785
Login to Like
this post
BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
30 Dec 2021
02:18:34pm
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
The access to what I described above is not through Sell Hub.
Click on "My ebay" (top right menu line)
Choose "Summary" from the drop down list
Choose the "Account" link in the line "Activities / Messages / Account"
Then you can start with my instructions above.
Roy
P.S. Sorry, if you are using "Business Policies", I don't use them, so can't help. They are something different and not required.
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Tom that has always been the case. One of the reasons I went to free shipping on my postcards and stamps. For the buyer it really isn't free as I raise my price s accordingly just as I will due to eBay sending me a 1099k. I now will change what I accept as a best offer to include the tax. Everyone will be doing that. I used to always refund but only after deducting what eBay kept.
Greg
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Thanks Roy! I just went through your process, as difficult and confusing as eBay makes it, and I see the policy I created. "Pay One Shipping Fee". The terms are exactly as I set them before as "Default Shipping Policy". Let's see what happens.
And Greg is correct... the companies I buy from in the USA/Covers/Historic Covers category all state you should send them a message for an invoice to get combined shipping. I've tried to pay them through eBay Checkout and it refuses to acknowledge combined shipping. Like Greg they've all given up and go to extra work to create invoices.
And one of the problems is that customers don't read! I have the same disclaimer in all of my listings... Message me for an invoice! And every day I'm refunding postage.
Both Greg and I have IT backgrounds. If eBay's system is so mired in incompetence that the average person cannot navigate it, and eBay profits from it, it indeed amounts to fraud under US law.
I'm currently working with a major US pharma company on distribution of computer equipment to employees. I just documented $500,000 in lost productivity due to confusion on one decision point in their internal computer request form. I went to one meeting, showed my information, and they've got people immediately fixing what I found. That's the way it needs to be!
The fact that eBay's system is a total unnavigable mess is totally unacceptable. Do you know there are still pages advertising Turbo Lister in their system? The links on it are all dead, but they don't even know the pages exist.
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
"And one of the problems is that customers don't read! I have the same disclaimer in all of my listings... Message me for an invoice! And every day I'm refunding postage. "
Part of the problem is that at the end of an auction, the buyer is sent a message from Ebay "you won, pay now, click here" or words to that effect. How many folks just click on the link rather than going to ebay and looking at the purchase history before paying.
A further problem arises when you win an item but others from the same seller, that you are bidding on, do not end for a while. Messages then need to be sent asking the seller to hold off for a week or so if combined shipping is to be applied. With the expectation you win the other items.
At the end of the day I'm happy to get the items, not worried about getting postage refunds, but appreciated if it happens.
Login to Like
this post
BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 500 categories
30 Dec 2021
07:22:27pm
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Good, I hope it works for you.
However, if they pay for each item individually, instead of using the "Add to Cart" button, none of this will work. It only works "ON THE SAME INVOICE". And once they have paid, you can't uncombine and recombine the invoice.
My listings include the following in the description:
---------------------------------------------------------
Only one shipping charge on our individual stamp lots.
All additional purchases on the same invoice are added with free postage
To be eligible for shipping discount, items MUST be on the same invoice.
If you are not using the "Add to cart" button, please do not pay for multiple items separately -- request a Combined Invoice.
-------------------------------------------------------------
In the event they don't read and pay individually, I refund with postage at face value and include the following little flyer:
(Of course, this is for Canadian customers.)
Since you are buying discount postage, you are still making money on this (but I am actually generous with the refund and send a bit more than face value).
Roy
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Refunding in postage is a great idea Roy! Just as folks are happy when you use an array of old commemorative stamps on their order, they'd probably like to get mint old stamps.
As I refund those dollars through eBay's payment system, I think it's only a matter of time until they decide that excessive refunds (in some arbitrary number like 3!) is now a seller defect!
Funny thing though... nobody ever says "Thanks" when you refund them!
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
"Part of the problem is that at the end of an auction, the buyer is sent a message from Ebay "you won, pay now, click here" or words to that effect."
And then eBay keeps on badgering them to pay up! I deal with a number of vendors in the postal history category who tell you to save up your small purchases and pay every three weeks (eBay cuts off your ability to pay for an item around 4 weeks)
An inside joke between my wife and I is that when I get a sale, my phone jingles! The message says "Ship NOW!" We can be at my daughter's house in New Jersey and I tell my wife, "We need to leave! eBay says I have to ship NOW!"
Still, I get eBay nagging me pay in emails constantly! Sellers need a button that says "Don't hassle my buyers!"
The problem overall is that eBay is a "one size fits all" venue where they try to have the same treatment whether the category is stamps or shoes. A while back someone suggested that eBay split. Call it's collectibles company "Classic eBay" and the consumer junk store "eBay".
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
I believe that the problem that ebay and other sites have is that they do not have users working in the application process, not do they have real users in the testing process. At least ebay does not move something into production and then test it. Case in point in addition to postcards - vinyl. They recently put in a change where you need to put an sign number for listing vinyl. Most low do not have an sign number. So people fudge it or if they get lucky like I did. Find some o!d listing that someone got listed where it says non applicable. And do a list same as. Still you still need to manually enter the title and artist which was already entered in thevtitle. Makes no sense. Likewise when you list stamps it asks you if you have a certificate and from who. Who would pay for that for a dollar stamp? I'll bet that people are just taking the top entry in the drop down and ignoring it. They have category issues well as they cannot be consistent with British colonies and the carribean. Just makes everything take longer. The best thing they had was turbolister and for some reason discontinued it. Tom if you get into postcard in a big way look At hippostcard. The bulk listed is awesome
Greg
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
I had a chuckle to myself this afternooon. I maxed out on auctions for the month so I've been listing old first day covers as fixed price items. The first time I erred and did a listing "Sell Similar" from an auction, it stopped me dead with the cost box being 25 cents to list.
Then it hit me.. the part of their software that adds up my "free" listings works perfectly! And no doubt the part that wants to charge me a quarter a listing would work perfectly as well! Why? Because it's to their benefit.
And this is why the postage charging bit is allowed to be faulty for years... because no matter what happens eBay gets a percentage of either overcharged or refunded postage! Think about that.
My long years of business training make me cautious of an organizations software that flubs simple transactions. It makes me leery as to how they will do more complex things.. like sales tax remittances, 1099 forms to sellers...
My experience is over 35 years in the pharmaceutical industry where software goes through FDA validation. And if the slightest thing is off, entire batches of product will be scrapped. And it's to the Nth degree. I saw the FDA file a complaint that a maintenance management system's mobile application recorded the time of service to be the time the mobile device fed the data to the system, rather than the exact time a pump may have been calibrated. It would have been within a few hours, usually the download would be by a technician at the end of shift. Shouldn't be an issue as long as the service took place within the calibration window, but FDA demanded the entire mobile system be replaced!
I was recently speaking with a potential client in the financial industry. We were speaking about both being regulated industries, and the importance of maintaining server integrity.
That gets me thinking... what agency is responsible for the integrity and honesty of eBay's systems? Considering it's a banking operation, handling money for clients? Everything from the transaction system, to the user experience needs to be looked at. What government agency holds them accountable?
Login to Like
this post
Approvals
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Tom, I have no idea how to cut and paste using a kindle so do a search on nerdylorrin. Quite funny. Click the link he has for ebay postage from China and drop down to the ebay story. How is this allowed? I have gotten free shipping from China myself. There is no regulation of ebay unless you are a smallvfish. In spite of an anchor store I am a small fish. Rules are always different depending on the size of the fish. No use complaining to them. Make too much noise and they bounce you off for 30 days. There is no seller protection. When someone claims non receipt, since ebay feels the post workers are my employees and I am personally responsible for their errors, I refund the buyer and block the bidder. Don't want them messing up again. I also elected not to support their increase in the forever stamp not will I support their under a pound package increase. Sorry. You can be profitable, but refuse to do what is necessary. I refuse to pay more for something that you could fix it you wanted to. Every year I hope that Amazon puts an end to the of the USPS package delivery. I have to wonder who is paying them not to.
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Here's the link: https://www.nerdylorrin.net/jerry/postages/
In speaking of the Forever Stamps... funny thing is that this is the best stamp collectors investment of the past 50 years! I have a few rolls of postcard stamps bought for my model club's annual mailing at 35 cents a stamp. Now those stamps are worth 40 cents! That's about a 15% profit! Yea me!
The rest of our stamp collections? Commemoratives etc bought over the past 50 years are generally worth 50-60% of their original face value!?!
And dealing with the post office? This past week I went to the Exton, PA post office, a decent size place with three counter clerks and still a waiting line of customers. My turn. I ask for a dollar's worth of 1 cent stamps. Clerk asks me, "How many is that?" My response, " 100 stamps... or 5 sheets of 20." He goes thundering off to the shared cabinet of stamps, comes back with 5 stamps! "That's all we had." I ask why they don't have stamps in stock. He replies it's because they are useless. I explain that I have a sheet of 37 cent stamps and a sheet of 20 cent stamps... I need penny stamps to make the 58 cent rate. He agrees he'll order them for me.
I go back the next day. I ask if he has my stamps. He says the shipment came in, and goes back to the stamp cabinet. Only he emerges with 3 sheets (60 stamps!). I ask why only 60 and he replies that he did indeed order 100 for me. He shrugs that someone must've bought the other 40! I ask him, "I thought you told me they were useless!" ARGH!
Login to Like
this post
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
01 Jan 2022
09:40:51pm
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
" ... The fact that eBay's system is a total unnavigable
mess is totally unacceptabe ...."
Unacceptable to whom ?
There is an old scammer's motto;
" .. Dazzle them with footwork and baffle them with B--- S---. .."
or, the reverse.
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
Approvals
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Tom I've said it before. Buy discount postage especially from the seller I gave you. Forget the penny. Only the carrier would notice and I can tell you from a few months of testing domestically and a year internationally they do not notice. Put some stamps sideways and upside down as well. The more the work the less they will do
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
"The more the work the less they will do"
Excellent advice!
David
Login to Like
this post
re: eBay has revamped their website by eliminating categories
Greg, I have purchased the discount postage from your source, and am ready to go back for another $100!
You are right, I probably could just forget the extra penny stamp, but with my luck one of my customers would get charged a penny postage due and give me a negative!
I do set up 20 or more envelopes at the same time... lick the million stamps.. Rubber stamp "Do Not Bend Or Fold" front and back... Rubber stamp my return address and add my turtle!
The Stamp Center / Dutch County Auctions in Wilmington, Delaware is about a half hour from my house. A while back I had a conversation with the owner about discount postage. He sells it to others but doesn't use it on his mailings because he has hired help. He said that once he pays someone $10-15 an hour, he's not saving anything!
Oh.. several years ago I got a "Return To Sender"... It had all the nice stamps I used blacked out with Sharpie and "NOT VALID FOR POSTAGE" hand written on it. I drove to my local post office and got the top guy in that day. He just shook his head and said it was probably someone at the sorting center. He handed me one of their official envelopes and told me to address it to my friend. Then we stuck my screwed up envelope, still sealed, inside. At least it got there!
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.