The other problem with eBay

is sellers who try to circumvent fees by charging outrageous shipping and handling charges because the seller doesn't have to pay a final fee for s/h charges. Take a look at this new seller: aemelliti. Check all auctions for 2-Cent, Nickel (spelled nickle), and quarters. The seller is charging s/h of $13.99 with insurance extra. If anyone has the time, please email this seller. She has a lot of auctions running.

 

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Check all auctions for 2-Cent, Nickel (spelled nickle)

lol hey susan the buyer of the fake just emailed thanking me

job well done i say

 

I agree, good job!

 

It's called "fee avoidance," as you imply, and if it's egregious enough it's supposed to get you in trouble. Sometimes I waver about whether I'd even participate in such an auction. That's where my heart (and moral compass) clash with my head (still a chance to get something on the cheap)...

 

Unfortunately, I think that's one of the areas that requires that they have someone police with coin knowledge or at least common sense. Even if this seller shipped the coin Priority Mail, the cost is only $3.85 for postage. Priority Mail supplies are free, but assuming that they use their own shipping supplies, that's an addition $1 at the most (even if they put it in a holder, bubble wrap it, and seal it in a self-sealing bag. I know this because that is how we ship our coins. We charge $2.00 for 1st class wrapped as I have said and put in a padded mailer. (That only costs $.73 actual postage with delivery confirmation + the cost of supplies). Ebay doesn't see shipping at $13.99 as a problem because I don't think they have any idea of actual costs involved. I have reported sellers for this type of thing again and again. And yes, it's for selfish reasons, because I don't need sellers undercutting me in price and taking advantage of buyers with shipping that is that inflated. A lot of buyers don't even realize how high the shipping is until the auction is over, and I have already lost a sale. This affects any of us who sell on eBay honestly, which is why I'm appealing to all of you on this board. I sent emails to this particular seller on 6 of the auctions, but if I send any more, I run the risk of being accused of harassment. It is my hope that, since the seller is new, maybe they can be scared into doing the right thing.

 

This person charges only $3 to ship a NES game but $13.99 for a coin!?! I sent a polite email asking if this was a mistake

Nick

 

Susan, I don't think a lack of knowledge on eBay's part is the thing. I think the problem, really, is that sellers rule the roost. They pay all the fees, and the ones that are really busy bringing in a lot of revenue, so I think they figure that as long as they keep selling all is good. Unethical sellers can pretty much get away with anything; these are the ones that give "Power Sellers" a bad name.

I know you sell a lot and I know your own principles and moral decency don't let you do that where many sellers in your situation would. And I certainly understand that sellers who intent to shoot straight are frustrated by scammers and fee avoiders and everyone else who refuse to play by the spirit of the rules. I just don't think they're going to crack down on anyone, in reality, who makes a lot of sales even if they hide much of the sale price behind ridiculous shipping charges.

 

Unfortunately, I think that you are correct. That's why I emailed the seller directly. The only hope is to scare them honest. The only reason there's even a chance of making any headway with this one is that they're very new (supposedly) unless they just started a new ID, which is very possible.
Though, actually, we did get a seller suspended after a lot of reports to eBay. He actually charged $49.95 for shipping a Morgan and the rest of his shipping charges came to rougly 60 percent of Red Book price for the rest of his coins. There were 4 or 5 that fell into the "Red Flag" range and after they were reported, the seller was suspended.

 

I too agree eBay shipping fees are outrageous. A perfect example happened to me recently.

I bought a 1929-D Standing Liberty quarter and the shipping fee was $2.00 and guess what? I get the coin in an envelope! And here's the worst part...the idiot used a single 37 cent stamp AND I had a postage due of 12 cents! It's like this seller really ripped me off. I paid $2.00 for shipping and just a 37 cent stamp is used in an envelope. I despise sellers over charging for postage and not using all the postage fee you paid. Ugh! Here's what I bid on and won:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=11966&item=3924538032&rd=1

The auction ended in early August and I just now decided to leave a neutral feedback: "Paid $2.00 for Shipping, 37 cent stamp used, had POSTAGE DUE of 12 cents". This thread really made me upset about how sellers get away with charging so much postage needlessly.


David

 

Good news! The seller that I posted about just emailed me and said that the auctions with the shipping at $13.99 were a "mistake" and she's revising all of them. Score 1 for us!

 

Good job troops.

 

Did you attempt to email the seller and get some of your money back? If you did and the seller refused to work with you, a negative feedback was in order. I have bought from sellers that have had comments in their feedback that stated that the coin(s) weren't packaged well and I have emailed the seller, very politely, and asked how they package their coins. So far, I have managed to get my coins packaged very well even from sellers who have a questionable reputation in that area. If nothing else, the seller owes you 12 cents.

 

I had contacted the seller and he did offer to send me the 12 cents, but for me its more of the principal of it. I'm not worried about the 12 cents. The bottom line is I paid enough shipping and had a postage due and that is what really ticks me off. They are makin a killing on the extra postage they don't use. And I don't think using a plain envelope is a proper way to mail a coin. The reason I didn't leave a negative feedback is that I did recieve the coin and a nice one at that. So I opted for the nuetral feedback expressing my dissatisfaction of the shipping ordeal.

David

 

You got a really good deal on that coin, David.
1929-D's in that condition, usually sell for half again as much as you paid.
To be quite honest with you, $2.00 is not at all unreasonable for S&H on a coin. It was clearly listed that way, and the coin was delivered undamadged, right?
The seller offered to make the situation right with you, and yet you refused his offer and left him a neutral feedback.
You can ask any seller, and they will tell you that a neutral is just as likely to hurt their business as a neg.
I see that you don't have any negative feedback.
I also see that the seller hasn't left feedback for you yet, either.
I wouldn't be surprised if your feedback rating doesn't change in the near future.
All because of 12 cents.

This isn't a slam at you, my friend. It's just a simple observation on my part. I don't mean any ill will toward you.

 

Thanks for your comments. $2.00 is pretty reasonable for shipping but when they only use 37 cents of it thats where I have a problem. That's really my only beef for leaving the neutral feedback. Maybe I should not have been so hasty. It just bothers me how much profit is made off unused shipping fees at our expense (the bidders). When I have an auction, I charge only what I need to, I don't over charge and pocket the rest like I am sure many sellers on eBay do.

David

 

In my case, I was just generally speaking and I don't bid on auctions where I feel the shipping is exessive.

And for my situation, I am just mad that the seller chose not to use the entire $2.00 I paid for postage but instead only used 37 cents from that $2.00. How would you feel if you paid somebody for something and didn't get what you paid for? There was NO reason for POSTAGE DUE when I paid ample postage.

David

 

Did you ever consider that the USPS rules on 1 oz. letters, and whether a specific one travels for 37¢ or 49¢, are not well known? Your seller (who offered to make good on the 12¢) may not have been aware of the dimensional requirements for 1 oz. envelopes to go at the lower rate, including the maximum 1/4-inch thickness (extremely easy to exceed when packaging a coin in an envelope) or the specific minimum/maximum sizes and the height/length ratio.

 

I agree that there was no reason that you should have to pay extra postage after the package arrives. The seller should have put enough stamps on it to start with.

The thing is that the S&H charge is not just for actual postage. It can cover any number of expenses that a seller incurs while processing your item for shipment. Packaging materials, listing fees, final value fees, PayPal fees, etc.

Now, some sellers push this excuse to the limit. They would have you believe that it is the bidder's responsibility to pay for their time spent acuiring the item, their time spent selling the item, their time spent shipping the item, the gas they use while going to the PO etc., etc.

I'm sorry, but in my opinion, that comes under the heading of; "the cost of doing business", and is not the customer's responsibility. EBay doesn't see it that way though, and does allow sellers to charge for what ever handling they see fit, as long as it's not an obvious case of fee avoidance.

My general rule of thumb is that if a seller will take a PayPal credit card payment, and ship one coin for $2.00 or less, I won't have any problem with that.
But, when you start getting into the $3-$4 range, that's when I start looking for my coins elswhere.

And like the man said, I'm not complaining about it, I just don't bid.

 

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