That's why evilbay has now imposed a shipping cap in MANY of the sections. Unfortunately, that cap was set according to the cheapest possible shipping method and for the lightest weight item. Shipping in the CD section is capped at $3. Oddly enough I used to use PRIORITY USPS shipping along with DC and insurance, which ended up being about $4.55 at that time. A $1.55 loss for me...
I listed many of my textbooks from college on ebay only to find that the shipping cap was $4 for books. Shipping my networking book was $11 and shipping my algebra book along with the solutions manual cost me $13... That's a fucking $9 LOSS!!!.... BUT.... ebay will then tell you to make up for the shipping difference if you know what it'll be, by adding it to the selling price of the item. Wanna know what that does? It then ADDS to THEIR take on your auction and also THEIR extra $$$ on the PayPal end of the deal as well. Sure there are sellers who screw things up for everyone else, but those people should be reported and dealt with individually. Ebay has chosen the "other" method because it puts a LOT of cash in their pockets.
The newest scam is on the buyers end. I just brought this up on another board as well. My last 2 months of ebay have been horrible both as a seller and as a buyer.
Here's a copy/paste of that thread
I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I've had it up past my ears with Ebay buyers as of late. Ever since the "No Negateves for Buyers" bullshit started, the buyers have been getting more bold as to their expectations, shipping times, slight imperfections on
used items, etc... On top of that, many don't respond to e-mails, they don't bother with leaving feedback, etc. And to add to that, Would-Be scammers are out on droves looking for nice scores on sellers.
I ALWAYS message a buyer the day I send something off and tell them how it was sent. The expensive items will always get DC (Delivery Confirmation) if they're shipped USPS and Tracking/Signature Confirmation if they're sent via UPS. On small things that are $10 or under, I save receipts, but usually don't pay the extra for the DC. This
WILL CHANGE as of right now.
My last 10 ebay sales have resulted in 6 queries from buyers asking for Tracking Numbers or DC's within a week of auction end, but most didn't mention why they're asking for them. Oddly enough, when I respond with the tracking or DC number that shows it's been delivered, I usually hear nothing back. The 3 where I didn't use it were smaller items and they all responded that they havent recieved the item. (I just got another "i haven't recieved the item" e-mail this morning too)
Coincidence? It kinda looks to me like they're fishing to see if you used it or not. If you did, they don't question you beyond that and the package just manages to pop up. If you don't have DC or tracking, you're possibly going to have a claim against you.
In one of my most recent problems.
The auction was for a ATI X1900 All In Wonder video card and ended on May 9th and paid for on the 10th. Exactly 45 days later, June 24th, the buyer sends me a message asking if I have the tracking for it because he can't find the package.
Looking through his feedback, he has 100%, but if you look at the
feedback left for others, it's a nightmare for sellers. I have a feeling he'll file a claim and get his money back from PayPal AND he'll get to keep the card as well.
Unfortunately for me, I threw out all my May-related shipping stubs because it was the end of June at that time. I KNOW I shipped his card out via USPS Priority with Delivery Confirmation because I sent him a message through the ebay messaging system to let him know, but I didn't send the Delivery Confirmation number for some dumb reason.
He didn't file a claim at that time, but I was prepared for it. I called both ebay and PayPal to make them aware of the situation and the buyers questionable feedback tactics. Ebay is looking into his feedback abuse for sellers and they sided with me because of this asswipes history, but PayPal was being sketchy due to the fact that I threw out the DC number already. They said they'll look into the amount of claims he's filed as well as his feedback left for others due to his continual problems with sellers, but scolded me about not keeping the DC slip or using their feature where you can post the tracking/DC. They noted on my account about me calling in and did say that they'd look into everything if a claim was filed, but I know they will side with a buyer 9 times out of 10.
The buyer had until midnight on June 24th to file the claim because the 45 days was up.
The user ID is: planet_argento
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d ... et_argento
Lucky for me, he never did file a claim. Ebay looked into my messages and the ebay rep on the phone said that I did do a good job always using the ebay messaging system to send buyers notes that their item was shipped and how it was shipped, but I never used the feature where you can post the tracking/DC number right in the auction, or on the PayPal transaction details on the PayPal site, which I never knew how to do. I will now be using that feature.
I was also able to go to the Post Office and ask them about possibly getting a copy of the Delivery Confirmation number if I had lost the original given to me and they did say it's possible because it's in a computer. They'd have to look through the transactions that day and compare them to the address shipped to.
So.... To be on the safe side,
ALL my shipments from now on, big or small, will get Tracking or DC and Signature Confirmation, thus resulting in slightly higher shipping charges. To add, ebay has also CAPPED, most catagories with a ridiculously LOW amount you can charge for shipping, making sellers raise their prices to compensate. This was claimed to have been done to wrangle in sellers who overcharge on shipping, but they don't mention the fact that by doing this, they also get a HUGE chuck more money off the sale and PayPal transaction.
The BOOK section has a $4 cap if I remember right. When I shipped of my CCNA Networking book, it cost $11 to ship. In my current auction, my Algebra book/Solutions book will cost even more due to weight, and even more than that if it has to go to the West or East coast. A $4 shipping cap? Seriously??? The CD's section allwed $3 max shipping the last time I sold a CD. I usually used the Priority Mail boxes with bubblewrap and DC which ended up costing me $4.55 at that time. I think costs have gone up now. So I'd end up eating $1.55 on that shipping.
I understand that they're trying to crack down on sellers who oversharge on shipping, but who decided on what the caps would be? Did they weigh the smallest possible items in each section and go by the cheapest possible shipping method? Bah....
now that's a scam. Sellers with a flat shipping fee are crooks. I don't want to hear about how materials cost money, or how you only go to the post office once a week and gas is expensive. Save the sob story cause no matter what company you use - they have customer pick-up...don't try to make off me from exorbinant shipping costs....
It doesnt hurt my business if people want to be like S2M and think that we should lose our money so they can have the cd as cheap as they can get it. There are plenty of other buyers who get it. I as a buyer look at each auction carefully and it's not too hard to figure out which ones are ridiculous and which sellers are legit. The thing that sucks is that ebay has swayed further and further to the buyer over the seller, always accomidating them to the point where the seller gets screwed, not the other way around. We are making them money but the buyer is their concern, not us. Because without them, I guess they can't make money either. And sellers are a dime a dozen to them, sadly.
most people who sell on eBay have lives besides eBay and work besides eBay so maybe eBay is not really the place for you if you get this worked up. Honestly, what could you ever need that fast to cause such a fuss???
