I find it totally unacceptable,
which is why I have asked other MOPO members if they have had similar
experiences. Why some have a problem with that I fail to understand. If
MOPO exists to allow collectors to discuss matters of importance to
members (and they don't all live in USA) and not simply for advertising
sales, then surely the business practices of one of the hobby’s biggest
players is a matter for discussion?
Your question, in my view, was reasonable, Tommy. At MoPo - like elsewhere -
there are fiefdoms of fans for this or that dealer - or for this or that
auction house. Unfortunately, any question that sounds legitimate to
"consumers" - which also sounds like an attack on these disparate fiefdoms -
causes some to reflexively rise to their defense, dishing out metaphors and
analogies, mixed with the occasional fact or direct/indirect quote designed to
challenge YOUR sanity, e.g., to make you appear dim-witted, dodgy or worse for
even querying the group.
Everyone, MYSELF INCLUDED, is guilty of this from time to time, as we have our
faves and biases about who's great, who's good and who we should avoid because
of documented or confessed spotty service or bad behavior. Even known scammers
who have been dragged into courts or in the news media - have allies on these
boards. Just keep in mind that the lion's share of contributors are merchants
peddling their goods - and to be fair, most have a lot of expertise, e.g., the
recent discussion of "The Third Man" was especially enlightening.
But the downside of merchant dominance on public forums like MoPo is I can only
count on one hand the number of pure consumers and non-full-time sellers who
choose to contribute to MoPo REGULARLY. It's too brutal for them because they
fear being attacked by paper cuts of sarcasm. The vast majority of MoPo's
small membership are customer lurkers who are being offended every week - whose
identities I learn about via private messaging as a consumer advocate. Even
the marketing of goods, which is a primary service provided on these boards -
is fraught with controversy. If some forum members believe it's done too
frequently - or - in the eyes of some, too flamboyantly - (as some felt Bruce
H. did before he left MoPo) - this is frowned upon, esp. benchmark-based
advertising which compares merchants with other merchants. What's common
everywhere in advertising is taboo here - yet the disapproval, in my view, is
expressed most loudly - and almost entirely by competing merchants, not
consumers. -d.
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2015 15:54:01 +0100
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: HA shipping costs
To: [email protected]
Since March 2012, I have bought a total of 182 items from HA, ranging in price
from $16 to $621. They have obviously posted many packages to me in that time,
and mostly without any complaint on my part about shipping costs. Recently,
however, I have had cause to question the cost. The last shipment I received
was initially invoiced to me at $147.06, which I queried. I was informed that
HA had charged me at Fedex retail rate and not their discounted rate, so the
invoice was reduced to $103.25. Even so, that was expensive for a small box of
folded posters, especially considering that the previous charge from HA was
for 3 packages sent together containing a mixture of rolled and folded
(approx. 11 folded, 3 rolled including 1 linenbacked, 3 lobby cards) for which
I was charged the not entirely unreasonable amount of $122.75. I asked that
they quote me for shipping before sending any future packages, and I received a
quote (comparing like for like) of $221.97. That was for 13 folded and 1 rolled
(linenbacked) poster, similar to that previous shipment in size but almost $100
more. I asked for a breakdown of the cost on 20th June but received no reply
until yesterday, when I was sent exactly the same quote with no reference to my
query. (As a matter of interest, the value of the posters in question is just
over $1,000 so not, as Simon deemed to suggest, cheap purchases.) I buy from
several other U.S. dealers and have found their postage costs to be reasonable,
and certainly never as expensive as Heritage. I have been willing to pay their
shipping charges, however, as obviously they have an attractive offer, in the
same way most people are prepared to pay their buyers’ premium even though
other online poster auctions don’t have one. In this instance, though, I find
it totally unacceptable, which is why I have asked other MOPO members if they
have had similar experiences. Why some have a problem with that I fail to
understand. If MOPO exists to allow collectors to discuss matters of importance
to members (and they don't all live in USA) and not simply for advertising
sales, then surely the business practices of one of the hobby’s biggest players
is a matter for discussion? Tommy
On Thu, Jul 9, 2015 at 3:36 PM, Helmut Hamm <[email protected]> wrote:
Am 09.07.2015 um 13:28 schrieb Simon Oram <[email protected]>:
Look Heritage's shipping charges for the weekly slots are expensive for
overseas buyers on cheap items or items that you thought you got for a bargain
price , so move on and don't buy from them anymore or better still set up an
address in the US to get all your stuff sent there, if you can.
What more do want?
Simon,
with all due respect, but I also had my grievances with Heritage's shipping
department in the past… Several years ago, they had GREAT rates with Fedex,
two-day international delivery, for less money than USPS Priority Mail.
Unfortunately, the Heritage shipping department was repeatedly unable to give
me ANY estimate upfront. Nobody over there was able or willing to tell me, what
the best option for my deliveries would've been. In consequence, I had to make
a blind choice, and pay whatever they charged me.
I mean, we're not talking about a couple of bucks here: Take a $10 poster
purchase, with buyer's premium you're at roughly $25, add $40 for shipping and
19% import tax, you end up paying $77 for what started out as a $10 poster.
In consequence, I complete gave up bidding on low-key items with Heritage,
since they usually ended up costing me WAY too much money.
On a related topic: I guess I am somewhat sensitive about shipping costs, but I
still have to see the reason why so many ebay sellers feel they are untitled to
grant themselves a substantial premium for shipping outside the US. None of
those guys would dare to charge $25 for a domestic package, that costs them $5
to ship, yet they have no hesitation to charge $40 for an international
package, that costs less than $20 to ship.
Also, the common shipping option I see listed is Priority Mail International.
For most of my incoming packages, that's a waste of money. It DOES take an
extra click on the USPS website to find the cost for First Class Mail
International, and one more click to choose the free 'delivery confirmation'
option, which will provide full tracking all the way to Germany. Then again,
why go the extra mile and ship for $20, when you can make your buyer pay $40
and ship Priority?
Helmut
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