and he notes - Over the years eBay has changed from an electronic garage sale to a world-wide marketplace for commercial as well as collectible items. Quite often there are items not obtainable from retailers as they either discontinued or not in the product line a local store handles. In the case of S Gauge items, retailers are few and far between so it's either the on-line dealer or eBay.
As far as collectibles or hobby items are concerned, why shouldn't a seller list them at the price he or she expects? They do it at live auctions and quite often the starting price may be what the seller paid for it. Should sellers take a loss and list below cost so some sharp buyer can run off with a bargain? I learned this lesson many thousands of auctions ago. I listed videos at a low price and got little more than that for my efforts and it seemed that no matter what price I asked, some buyers would ask for an even lower price. Now I sell at reasonable starting price, which has produced enough profit to invest in better equipment which in turn produces a quality product. Selling videos for chump-change just doesn't pay off and there are scores of sellers who feel the same way. A seller who lists a DVD for a dollar is selling something worth only a buck - I know, I've purchased a few to see what they were - I can safely say I wasted a buck! Of course eBay has its share of disreputable sellers (past and present) and while it may seem a bit dictatorial, the company is moving toward getting rid of them. Sellers who under price items then charge exorbitant shipping, sellers who don't deliver if the item doesn't meet their expectations and sellers who list a new item and then deliver junk are on the way out. By tightening seller rating requirements, paying more attention to out of line shipping costs and requiring credit card (or on-line payments) they are telling the undesirable element that misleading the buyer will result in a canceled membership or in the least, a reversal of payment, something that can't be done with a check or money order. There is one comment I can make about an email on eBay's apparent "self-serving" and "Draconian" methods to drive buyers to use PayPal. They do offer alternative payments through ProPay and will be adding additional choices before year's end. I have used PayPal for seven years and have found that it is the least expensive on-line services out there. I pay 1.9% (as an average) on a sale with no minimums and no annual fee. Other services (such as Propay, Bidpay, etc.) charge as much as $200.00 annual fees plus fees ranging from 3.75% to as much as 8% on sales. By using a PayPal credit card for purchases anywhere, I get .5% back, which over the years has paid me over a thousand dollars and makes my transaction fees as low as 1.5%. You can't beat that with a stick! Lastly, eBay is a private company and as such they are no different than General Motors or Ford or IBM. By promoting PayPal (or ProPay) they are doing nothing more than Ford would do when an owner takes a car in for service at one of their dealerships. They will replace a part with a Ford product or those of an approved affiliate. By doing so, Ford Motor Co. can guarantee a safer product for the consumer (and protect themselves in the process). It's a sound business practice and while I can see the irritation at the recent and impending changes at eBay, the company is working toward a safer environment for both seller and buyer. If it works, there'll be a lot less sellers and then I can raise my prices! Nyuk, Nyuk! Raleigh in sunny Maine... Carpyfishburn on eBay At 08:37 AM 8/22/2008, Robert Nicholson wrote: >--- In <mailto:S-Scale%40yahoogroups.com>[email protected], Ed >Kozlowsky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > I would never buy anything from an ebay seller who has his start bid >as the price he expects to get. You are right about that. It shows >that all he cares about is making money and he's affraid he'll have to >sell for a dime less than what he wants. > > > > Ed Kozlowsky > > Sanford, Maine >_______________________________________ > >I don't know - I've got some awfully good deals from Laptop >Enterprise. His stuff is a bargain at the starting price, anyway. > >Bob Nicholson > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
