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Yep, this has been happening for years.  Try getting shipping to Canada, oy vey. 

I rarely buy stuff on eBay anymore, especially music and DVDs.  I use Amazon and the Amazon Marketplace for that stuff.

jeff-o wrote:

Yep, this has been happening for years.  Try getting shipping to Canada, oy vey. 

I rarely buy stuff on eBay anymore, especially music and DVDs.  I use Amazon and the Amazon Marketplace for that stuff.

It's never been this bad, though.  It's like I search more for reasonable shipping than I do price.  I ship to Canada pretty often when I sell and there's only been one instance where I had to pay like $1.20 over my flat rate but didn't mind since the lady was nice.  The only downside I find is filling out the little form they require.  They usually make me step out of line to do it. 

I don't buy music and DVD's on ebay because I don't find the prices to be any better, if anything they're worse. Computer stuff, cell phone accessories, even my beloved VW are more my cup of tea there.

Yes, but doing something like that would require me to have my head on straight!

And like most scams, if you have half a brain, you won't fall for it.  I mean, they have to list shipping costs in the auction.  That still doesn't make it right, though.

I just bought a Laserwriter on ebay, and the shipping was only $30.00 for something pushing 60-80 lbs.  Shipping on some of the smaller models was 45 dollars or more.  That seemed excessive.  I like the people who calculate the shipping to your zipcode rather than the ones that just charge the same fee.  I don't like to pay the same to ship it from Michigan as I would from California.  What really bugs me is when people don't leave feedback.  I have bought quite a few things on ebay and have left positive feedback for all the people I have bought from, but I only have 2 feedback because most of them didn't bother.  I even asked them to leave feedback, but they obviously don't care.  That is not acceptable in a system where your feedback matters so much.

laughinol wrote:

Honestly, since everyone uses bidding bots now, I haven't won an auction in the last 6 months. It was a nice concept at first. But now, folks auto-bid up to a certain amount, expect rediculous shipping charges, and have no recourse from ebay if someone rips you off. if eBay weren't so huge, I'd bet another system would undermine them soon. You know, one that works.

Like Amazon Marketplace?  It works because Amazon sets the shipping cost, not the seller.

Ebay has been swirling down the drain for a few years now. I dont even consider useing them anymore, there are alot of other places for deals that arent like going to a shady swap meet like Ebay has become.

Orion wrote:

I just bought a Laserwriter on ebay, and the shipping was only $30.00 for something pushing 60-80 lbs.  Shipping on some of the smaller models was 45 dollars or more.  That seemed excessive.  I like the people who calculate the shipping to your zipcode rather than the ones that just charge the same fee.  I don't like to pay the same to ship it from Michigan as I would from California.  What really bugs me is when people don't leave feedback.  I have bought quite a few things on ebay and have left positive feedback for all the people I have bought from, but I only have 2 feedback because most of them didn't bother.  I even asked them to leave feedback, but they obviously don't care.  That is not acceptable in a system where your feedback matters so much.

Let me clue you in on a couple of things...  First of all, as a buyer, feedback really doesn't matter.  You pay your money, they send your item.  As a seller on the other hand, feedback matters a lot.  If people see that you do not have good feedback, they will move on to the next seller.

Second of all, people are jerk-offs.  There are people on eBay who would leave you negative feedback just for asking for feedback.  If you don't believe me on that, read their message boards.

But for the record, I agree with you.  Everyone should leave feedback for each transaction.

TheConfuzed1 wrote:

Let me clue you in on a couple of things...  First of all, as a buyer, feedback really doesn't matter.  You pay your money, they send your item.

I disagree.  I have been denied bidding on a few items because the seller wouldn't accept bids from people without x number of positive feedback.  I have 100% positive, but that didn't matter to them.  I do want to sell some antique garden tractors and accessories on ebay, but with such a small feedback, most people will steer clear for an item that may cost them $1000 or more.  I guess that I am too naive, and I expect too much of people these days...

Last night I read that e-bay is charging its sellers more and that people are turning to "alternatives" to e-bay. Sounds like amazon marketplace is one. Does anyone know of any others?  I'm pretty sick of ebay shipping rate and bidding scams too.

Not that I can shop right now since my Mastercard number was stolen!

nannyandnutro wrote:

I agree completely.  I just bought a new cellphone from a seller who promised to ship fast, come to find out she's out of town (something that needs to be made clear IN the auction itself) until Friday and can't ship until next week.  It's a $300 phone! Had I known, I would have bid on a different auction. Unfortunately, I'm afraid to give her negative feedback because I'm afraid that due to her attitude she would do the same to me.  Being someone who sells more than buys, that "100%" by my username means a lot.  Sometimes people don't look at the feedback itself, just the number...

For this reason, many people will advise that you do not buy and sell under the same name.  I do, and it has cost me as well.  The only negative feedback that I have was retaliation from non-paying bidders.  I have also held back on giving negative feedback that was deserved because I didn't want more retaliation against my name.  I've considered creating a second account for selling only, but I have never gotten around to it.