topic Re: Tickled with eBay Deal in Community Chat

Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 00:21:33 GMT

I'm a huge Amazon supporter and customer, but although they're usually on top for most things I buy, they aren't for everything. I think one reason is that generally, Amazon's third-party sellers have to be of a certain sales volume or it's not worth it to the seller (or Amazon doesn't want them?). People who may have a few things to sell, including a wide or oddball variety of a few things, can do well on eBay.

I've been fairly leery of eBay for many years and only bought inexpensive items, infrequently. A couple of months ago I got a great deal on a new camera on eBay - quite a bit cheaper than on Amazon.

Yesterday I was looking for jigsaw puzzles on Amazon to give as a gift. I had looked on another, "puzzle" site and their prices were $2-4 higher than Amazon, plus the cost of shipping three puzzles was the cost of another puzzle!

I did buy two puzzles on Amazon, shipping with Prime and was happy with that. But there was a third puzzle that I just know the recipients will love, that was only available through third party businesses that were charging anywhere from $22 to $36, including hefty shipping fees, because apparently the artist who does the puzzles is popular and the design is no longer freely available. Just my luck.

I found a seller on eBay with a 99.9% rating, who has already put the puzzle in the mail to me. Whole thing including shipping was $16, which is probably what it cost in a store when It was newly released. (My puzzle is brand new). I can't wait to give it to the recipients for an Easter present.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

JaneMarple — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 04:34:46 GMT

I love eBay @Moonchilde, just today I bought a Linea jacket for $30 that sells for $47 here on the Q and I got FREE S&H. I've started purchasing from WalMart too and they have many of the same vendors as Amazon and eBay. I comparison shop on all of my purchases.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Q4u — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 00:38:01 GMT

I sell on eBay (and have since 2003) and buy on eBay. My big thing are the older QF sweatshirts that I can still buy new with the tags on! Instead of $50 they are half that or less. Just research your seller. Look at their ratings, look at their feedback. Most sellers are honest and reliable.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 04:16:56 GMT

@Q4u wrote:
I sell on eBay (and have since 2003) and buy on eBay. My big thing are the older QF sweatshirts that I can still buy new with the tags on! Instead of $50 they are half that or less. Just research your seller. Look at their ratings, look at their feedback. Most sellers are honest and reliable.

I was wary for years, @Q4u, but eBay is refreshingly no longer like the lawless Wild West it was in its early years. It's great to find another source for many things and to be able to trust that the transaction will be a happy one - with due diligence of course, just like on Amazon.

I have had friends who have been eBay sellers since the beginning and I knew they were honest - but even they got burned by others in the Bad Old Days.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 04:18:06 GMT

@JaneMarple wrote:
I love eBay @Moonchilde, just today I bought a Linea jacket for $30 that sells for $47 here on the Q and I got FREE S&H. I've started purchasing from WalMart too and they many of the same vendors as Amazon and eBay. I comparison shop on all of my purchases.

@JaneMarple, it will certainly have me looking there more often!

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

CelticCrafter — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 11:34:12 GMT

I just bought something off eBay and had an issue with the postage.

I ordered 3 things from the same seller, sent in two different packages and I had to pay postage due on both of them, it was over $4 I had to give the mailman. I couldn't refuse them because there was no return address on either of the envelopes.

I did contact the seller - she refunded the extra postage I had to pay, no questions asked or proof required so it made me wonder if this is a frequent thing with this particular seller.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

gidgetgh — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 11:38:28 GMT

It's so much fun when you score a deal. Good for you @Moonchilde!

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Shelbelle — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 13:52:11 GMT

Ebay is my go to department store, especially on Bonus Bucks days at higher percentages.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Q4u — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 14:39:28 GMT

@Moonchilde wrote:
@Q4u wrote:
I sell on eBay (and have since 2003) and buy on eBay. My big thing are the older QF sweatshirts that I can still buy new with the tags on! Instead of $50 they are half that or less. Just research your seller. Look at their ratings, look at their feedback. Most sellers are honest and reliable.

I was wary for years, @Q4u, but eBay is refreshingly no longer like the lawless Wild West it was in its early years. It's great to find another source for many things and to be able to trust that the transaction will be a happy one - with due diligence of course, just like on Amazon.

I have had friends who have been eBay sellers since the beginning and I knew they were honest - but even they got burned by others in the Bad Old Days.

And especially now that there is an eBay "Buyer's Guarantee Policy" which is very pro-buyer that is part of the Dispute System.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 17:17:49 GMT

@Q4u wrote:
@Moonchilde wrote:
@Q4u wrote:
I sell on eBay (and have since 2003) and buy on eBay. My big thing are the older QF sweatshirts that I can still buy new with the tags on! Instead of $50 they are half that or less. Just research your seller. Look at their ratings, look at their feedback. Most sellers are honest and reliable.

I was wary for years, @Q4u, but eBay is refreshingly no longer like the lawless Wild West it was in its early years. It's great to find another source for many things and to be able to trust that the transaction will be a happy one - with due diligence of course, just like on Amazon.

I have had friends who have been eBay sellers since the beginning and I knew they were honest - but even they got burned by others in the Bad Old Days.
And especially now that there is an eBay "Buyer's Guarantee Policy" which is very pro-buyer that is part of the Dispute System.

@Q4u, I really love the almost instant getting it in the mail, and the "constant contact" I've had with the sellers via their emails (even if they're robomails). I've never been left wondering if they got the order, when it's shipped, and there's been plenty of tracking info too. All of that makes me as a buyer happy.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 17:26:43 GMT

@CelticCrafter wrote:
I just bought something off eBay and had an issue with the postage.

I ordered 3 things from the same seller, sent in two different packages and I had to pay postage due on both of them, it was over $4 I had to give the mailman. I couldn't refuse them because there was no return address on either of the envelopes.

I did contact the seller - she refunded the extra postage I had to pay, no questions asked or proof required so it made me wonder if this is a frequent thing with this particular seller.

That seems so odd. Just...odd, for a seller to do. My experiences have been that free (very fast) shipping was included with my purchase of the camera, and the shipping fee on the puzzle was about $5. So far, I've only ordered single items.

@CelticCrafter, what do you craft? I'm a lover of All Things Celtic (a major part of my ancestry) and once had (lost in a fire) a large collection of Celtic-themed jewelry. I love going to Scottish Games, Irish Faires and Ren Faires.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

CelticCrafter — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 21:24:23 GMT

@Moonchilde - anything with fabric and thread.

My first love was sewing.

I quilt by hand, counted cross stitch and beaded counted cross stitch.

I have tried other things over the years and always go back to fabric. I think it's a tactile thing with me. I can crumple the fabric in my hands, can't do that with paper crafts!

I don't knit or crochet, I'm left handed and there was no one that could teach me.

My mom was 100% Irish, not a speck in my dad - he was English, Portugese and French Canadian. Our daughter is such mixed breed, my husband is Italian and Spanish!

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Q4u — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 21:24:49 GMT

@Moonchilde wrote:
@Q4u wrote:
@Moonchilde wrote:
@Q4u wrote:
I sell on eBay (and have since 2003) and buy on eBay. My big thing are the older QF sweatshirts that I can still buy new with the tags on! Instead of $50 they are half that or less. Just research your seller. Look at their ratings, look at their feedback. Most sellers are honest and reliable.

I was wary for years, @Q4u, but eBay is refreshingly no longer like the lawless Wild West it was in its early years. It's great to find another source for many things and to be able to trust that the transaction will be a happy one - with due diligence of course, just like on Amazon.

I have had friends who have been eBay sellers since the beginning and I knew they were honest - but even they got burned by others in the Bad Old Days.
And especially now that there is an eBay "Buyer's Guarantee Policy" which is very pro-buyer that is part of the Dispute System.

@Q4u, I really love the almost instant getting it in the mail, and the "constant contact" I've had with the sellers via their emails (even if they're robomails). I've never been left wondering if they got the order, when it's shipped, and there's been plenty of tracking info too. All of that makes me as a buyer happy.

Sellers get an incentive to get their sales out in 24 hours. Your MyeBay/Purchase page will show you exactly when the shipping label was printed out.... and if you check the tracking number it will show you when (time/date) the package was scanned into the postal system (there is usually a delay in posting this, sometimes a day, but it catches up) also eBay sends update emails. So you will always know!

It's SO much better now than it was years ago... for everyone!

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Q4u — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 21:37:24 GMT

@Moonchilde wrote:
@CelticCrafter wrote:
I just bought something off eBay and had an issue with the postage.

I ordered 3 things from the same seller, sent in two different packages and I had to pay postage due on both of them, it was over $4 I had to give the mailman. I couldn't refuse them because there was no return address on either of the envelopes.

I did contact the seller - she refunded the extra postage I had to pay, no questions asked or proof required so it made me wonder if this is a frequent thing with this particular seller.

That seems so odd. Just...odd, for a seller to do. My experiences have been that free (very fast) shipping was included with my purchase of the camera, and the shipping fee on the puzzle was about $5. So far, I've only ordered single items.

@CelticCrafter, what do you craft? I'm a lover of All Things Celtic (a major part of my ancestry) and once had (lost in a fire) a large collection of Celtic-themed jewelry. I love going to Scottish Games, Irish Faires and Ren Faires.

I think that is very odd too.... only thing I can think of is that her scale isn't accurate (that's an easy fix to callibrate btw) or she didn't know how to handle a multiple order.

A tip to the buyer is to put whatever you wish to buy (if more than one item from the same seller) is to put them into the cart before purchasing and then the seller can include all items as one purchase. Or email the seller and arrange that the items will be shipped in one box and agree to the postage costs ahead of time. Often it's the shipping, combining items and figuring out where the package goes and how much it will cost ahead of time that trips up a lot of sellers, especially relatively new sellers.

I ALWAYS make sure my postage is accurate. I was off once (by accident) and paid the extra shipping at the counter (I always go to the counter in order to get a receipt that has a time/date stamp on it to prove it got to the post office and I watch them scan it in).... and while it's there they weigh it and compare it to what my postage says..... but I paid the extra. I would be humiliated beyond belief if a customer of mine had to pay COD!

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 21:42:27 GMT

@Q4u wrote:
@Moonchilde wrote:
@CelticCrafter wrote:
I just bought something off eBay and had an issue with the postage.

I ordered 3 things from the same seller, sent in two different packages and I had to pay postage due on both of them, it was over $4 I had to give the mailman. I couldn't refuse them because there was no return address on either of the envelopes.

I did contact the seller - she refunded the extra postage I had to pay, no questions asked or proof required so it made me wonder if this is a frequent thing with this particular seller.

That seems so odd. Just...odd, for a seller to do. My experiences have been that free (very fast) shipping was included with my purchase of the camera, and the shipping fee on the puzzle was about $5. So far, I've only ordered single items.

@CelticCrafter, what do you craft? I'm a lover of All Things Celtic (a major part of my ancestry) and once had (lost in a fire) a large collection of Celtic-themed jewelry. I love going to Scottish Games, Irish Faires and Ren Faires.
I think that is very odd too.... only thing I can think of is that her scale isn't accurate (that's an easy fix to callibrate btw) or she didn't know how to handle a multiple order.

A tip to the buyer is to put whatever you wish to buy (if more than one item from the same seller) is to put them into the cart before purchasing and then the seller can include all items as one purchase. Or email the seller and arrange that the items will be shipped in one box and agree to the postage costs ahead of time. Often it's the shipping, combining items and figuring out where the package goes and how much it will cost ahead of time that trips up a lot of sellers, especially relatively new sellers.

I ALWAYS make sure my postage is accurate. I was off once (by accident) and paid the extra shipping at the counter (I always go to the counter in order to get a receipt that has a time/date stamp on it to prove it got to the post office and I watch them scan it in).... and while it's there they weigh it and compare it to what my postage says..... but I paid the extra. I would be humiliated beyond belief if a customer of mine had to pay COD!

While I'm sure some sellers do okay without the PO or UPS or etc., if it was me, I'd do what you do - have it weighed "professionally" and get a date stamped receipt.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 21:51:03 GMT

@CelticCrafter, I can do nothing with my hands, creative-wise. It was once pointed out to me that I largely speed/production typed for a living and that was with my hands, but - not the same!

My creativity is in writing, but I don't do anything any more.

I've had multiple DNA tests - 100% European, about 75% Irish and UK, the rest French, German, & I had a Swedish great-grandmother. I always though my paternal grandmother was French Canadian, but recently found out through a cousin that she was 100% Irish and my great grandparents were Irish immigrants. There is Scots-Irish and Welsh or Cornish in there too.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

silentgirl — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 22:19:31 GMT

I as well, am big into Amazon, as many are-But, I've gotten to the point, unless Amazon is the distributor for an item, I won't order it-I've had way to many misses with their sellers and I hate having to deal with returns-

In the beginning of ebay it was hideous and I stopped for many years-Just returned about a year ago - because every search for a particular item I was looking for landed there-

I've since ordered many things and couldn't be happier-the descriptions have been honest, they've answered questions, the shipping has been very quick and everything has been packaged very well-I recently ordered a series of out of print books. They took the time to wrap every one of them individually-

Wow-they've come a long long way!

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

JaneMarple — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 22:29:17 GMT

I really like eBay and when I see an item here or on HSN that is too high priced, then I check and see if it's available on eBay. Most of the time it is, this past Christmas I gave my girls a set of two led light up mirrors that sold on HSN. I saves $75 or $25 a piece.

If I purchase multiple items from a vendor, they usually disclose that they will lower my shipping fees but wait for them to email an invoice first.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

Moonchilde — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 22:44:46 GMT

@silentgirl wrote:
I as well, am big into Amazon, as many are-But, I've gotten to the point, unless Amazon is the distributor for an item, I won't order it-I've had way to many misses with their sellers and I hate having to deal with returns-

In the beginning of ebay it was hideous and I stopped for many years-Just returned about a year ago - because every search for a particular item I was looking for landed there-

I've since ordered many things and couldn't be happier-the descriptions have been honest, they've answered questions, the shipping has been very quick and everything has been packaged very well-I recently ordered a series of out of print books. They took the time to wrap every one of them individually-

Wow-they've come a long long way!

Your experience has largely mirrored mine, @silentgirl, especially with eBay. I much prefer to order a "Fulfilled by Amazon" item when possible, though I do order from their third party sellers if that's the only way to get a specific product. I haven't had any seriously negative issues with third party sellers, but I have had things take 10-12 days to reach me.

Re: Tickled with eBay Deal

JaneMarple — Sat, 08 Apr 2017 22:48:23 GMT

@Moonchilde @silentgirl have you notice on eBay that they have cross vendors from other companies? Like Overstock and Wayfair? I've seen them among others on WalMart.com as well.