So you want to sell and make big money on Ebay!

[Kimo]

According to the National Institute of Mental Health - the premier US research center on mental health - "An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year." Of course this ranges from very mild to very severe, but my point is that if you address your sale to a large random group of people though venues such as Craigs List, Ebay, or any of the others, you should expect one in four of the people who is looking at your offering will have some kind of diagnosable mental illness and if you are only seeing a few percent of such customers behaving erratically then you are beating the odds. By the same token, if you are a customer and shopping/bidding on websites such as CL, Ebay and the others, you should expect that on average that one in four sellers will have some kind of diagnosable mental health problem. It goes both ways. And it would even pertain to the people who post on this or any other open forum website. In addition to that, there are just as many sellers with unrealistic ideas of overly high values of their stuff as there are buyers with unrealistically low ideas of what they want to pay. Just about everyone is looking to make a lot of money or get a steal. Of course there are a few who actually understand what the current market values are, but I think there are far more who have deluded themselves into thinking either overly high or overly low values and truly believe themselves. The bottom line is that if you are going to put yourself out there as a seller or a buyer or a combination of both, you need to understand the other people out there and just as much you are going to have to understand yourself.

[Bleach]

EvilBay is bad enough in itself to make you go mentally ill. Just trying to initiate a search yields items totally unrelated to what was intended. Even trying to exclude things like "fits" still gets crap. In the past if I wanted to expand my search results all I would need to do is check "include description". Now it seems to do it want to or not. There are times I can't figure out how the heck I even get the results as there is nothing in the description that could have any relation to what I'm searching for. There was a time you could enter "1956 Ford starter" and that is all you would get. Now you get every possible item not even remotely related to a starter. I get better results simply looking on Google or Yahoo.

It is so full of $#!t now.

[Machinist_Bill]

There was a time you could enter "1956 Ford starter" and that is all you would get. Now you get every possible item not even remotely related to a starter. I get better results simply looking on Google or Yahoo.

It is so full of $#!t now.

Amen.

[Highlander160]

This topic strikes a nerve for me because I think stupid is truly at pandemic levels. Parents? Some more stupid than their spawn. It also seems to be crossing into older generations yet I can't understand why. It's amazing what some folks say and others repeat, and worse yet, take note of the shameless stupidity in D.C. and on news programs. An elected official worries and island will tip over if a naval base expands. Another wants to limit bicycle use because it makes people breathe heavier and emit more CO2. I mean really, don't you just want to throw a bucket of ice water on these pukes and wake em up!? Holy ring n pinion, what we hear about our cars and related parts or options is enough to drive a man to drink sometimes. I was told all Packards were black unless they were "special ordered" and, ... "you should really have the paperwork before you choose a color...". "Hey man, thanks a bunch. I never knew that until just now." A person of less than admirable intelligence once asked me, regarding the hours into a restoration, "...wouldn't that pay for a few college educations instead?" "F***in eh, it paid for mine." was my reply.

Craigslist? You can't even make up some of the stuff you read on there no matter how hard you try. It took me a long time to learn to bite my lip or just try to be entertained by all of it. At 14 I was already painting cars, before that I learned how to be a brick mason's laborer, how to lay a floor in a new house, how to shovel concrete, and once in a while how to stick weld. Have a kid do any of that today and a parent may find themselves behind bars. I loved it and looked forward to the next challenge or job site. Selling to the open public, like at swap meets? A roll of the dice when any individual walks up. Something new I was selling for nearly 1/2 price with additional items included at no charge. The guy makes an insulting offer. "No thanks." "Well you need the money so why not?", was his reply. "I do? Hey ******** (placing my foot on the table), my shoes cost $130, this f****in truck behind me is paid for too (late model Dmax dually). I need the money? Kiss my ass. NOT FOR SALE." as I put the parts in my truck. "Take a hike *****..." As the moron walked off someone who watched the whole event politely asked if I'd consider selling them at my initial price. "Sure, I just won't sell em to that prick. It's early so you're welcome to leave them here and pick it all up when you're done. They'll be in the back seat of the truck with your name on the box so you can get em if I'm not here. Fair enough?" "Yes, thanks a lot." " Here, these upper and lower mounts are included." "Seriously?" "Yeah, seriously, and the springs too." "That guy was stupid." "It's a pandemic sir." I could banned for excess use of bandwidth if I keep going. Do I feel yours and other's pain on this topic? Uh, yeah...

[Bhigdog]

Yo Highlander, don't sugar coat it. How do you really feel?................Bob

[Bhigdog]

Here is the latest on the Steering wheel horn ring mentioned above

"Im Sending it Back EXACTLY LIKE CAME RAPPED W/FRAGGLE SIGS ON IT - EXACTLY LIKE IT CAME IS IT POSSIBLE for You to SEND ME A POSTAL MONEY ORDER in Sted EVEN FOR $150.00 I will Be into THIS $190.00 WHEN it Gets Back to You ... n Beleive Me lm Gonna Leave Very Good FEEDBACK SO EVERYONE CAN SEE HOW HONEST N FARE YOU ARE ... "

You just can't make this stuff up.

I'd reply something like this........."i kant take it back becauze you uzed it to try on. i alredy tol you that it wont fit you wheel but you tried on it anyway. you shud leave me good feed bake becauze I an honust n fare like like you".............

[Bill Stoneberg]

Im Sending it Back EXACTLY LIKE CAME RAPPED W/FRAGGLE SIGS ON IT

FRAGGLE SIGS That took me a moment to figure out..

[R Walling]

Guys, I love reading these rants, but could you please use paragraphs?

And leave a space between them? It makes for easier reading.

[auburnseeker]

I'd reply something like this........."i kant take it back becauze you uzed it to try on. i alredy tol you that it wont fit you wheel but you tried on it anyway. you shud leave me good feed bake becauze I an honust n fare like like you".............

I would write something like that back, but it bothers me to write with such poor grammar and spelling. I guess I paid attention too much in English class and have a little too much respect for our Language to do so.

Thanks for that one though.

I had to think about the "fraggle sigs " for a minute as well. All I could think of were the Muppets.

[Matt Harwood]

What a Fraggle Sign might look like:

[Rusty_OToole]

Rusty,

I find your comments regarding the US Postal Service offensive and without anything of substance to back it up. By ascribing some imagined political agenda as being the cause for a damaged parcel from Canada is laughable, what an imagination!-Bill

It wasn't my imagination. I was told this by someone I have known for 30 years. He had no reason to lie to me. He did experience a rash of trashed packages (more than usual) about that time. The reason he ascribed is his best guess. Maybe it was just bad luck. But, he did mail thousands of packages to the US over the years, and there was an increase in problems at that time.

[auburnseeker]

What a Fraggle Sign might look like:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]259835[/ATTACH]

I wonder if my shipping supply company has those stickers in stock? I better stock up as I know I'm out.

Thanks for the laugh!

[62BillT]

EvilBay is bad enough in itself to make you go mentally ill. Just trying to initiate a search yields items totally unrelated to what was intended. Even trying to exclude things like "fits" still gets crap. In the past if I wanted to expand my search results all I would need to do is check "include description". Now it seems to do it want to or not. There are times I can't figure out how the heck I even get the results as there is nothing in the description that could have any relation to what I'm searching for. There was a time you could enter "1956 Ford starter" and that is all you would get. Now you get every possible item not even remotely related to a starter. I get better results simply looking on Google or Yahoo.

It is so full of $#!t now.

I agree. Although I never sell and only once in a blue moon I will buy, I will check out E-bay now and then and have noticed the same thing.

And talk about researching, when I put on the 3 interesting parts years ago as I mentioned earlier, I gave it a test search. I acted like someone that was looking for exactly what I had. My first search, it didn't produce, with a little better search title, my 2nd search produced nothing again, a better yet research title, still nothing, the Exact Title I had my parts listed as, and Still Nothing!! Which was another reason why I gave up on E-bay.

Now I know today, you get too much as mentioned in the above quote, but E-bay seems like it has been either one way or the other through the years.

...not a fan.

Bill

Edited July 20, 2014 by 62BillT (see edit history)

[trini]

Buying a used car is like a jungle. The vendor knows what his car is worth. I know what I would like to pay. I guess everybody has his or her own way of dealing wit ha transaction. Speaking for myself I walk away when I feel the asking price is not what I am willing to pay. I do not lowball. And please do not ask me to make an offer. The article is yours. I leave the haggling to the vendor. Since the introduction of pay pal I bought very few items from ebay. The last being B.B.1. I try asking vendors please I would like to pay with credit card. In my book pay pal is the most hated institution. The listing says pay pal on payment method. I usually have to contact the vendor to see if he will accept visa. But he vender does not reduce the price with visa. I will not buy a car on Ebay. I must be naïve to pay so much money without seeing what it is. I want to "kick " the tyres, sit in it listen to the engine et al. I am not that dumb. I have no sympathy for those who do.

[Machinist_Bill]

I will not buy a car on Ebay. I must be naïve to pay so much money without seeing what it is. I want to "kick " the tyres, sit in it listen to the engine et al. I am not that dumb. I have no sympathy for those who do.

Trini,

I have purchased several cars on EBAY. All from very long distances. The secret here is to call the seller on the phone to get a "Feel" on the seller. Most of the time you can tell what type of person your dealing with in about 5 minutes. If I call the seller more than once and he starts getting irritated then I drop it immediately. A Slug Seller will not release his phone number or makes all kinds of excuses when questions are asked. Everybody here has bought and sold cars. y'all know what I'm talking about!

Bill

[trini]

Hi Machinist Bill, I learn something from you today. You have the talents and expertise. I do not have. I was never in a position to deal with the public because I worked in house. Not in contact with the public. My younger son can speak to a person for 5 minutes and be able to asses him or her. I have an honest quality in me. I will never allow myself to knowingly mislead anyone at any cost. I met car strangers who were willing to give me parts and advice, and mail the money later. You may lowball a project but the vender will hold back some very important pieces. He will asses the buyer too. I look at prices on Ebay and find prices are generally overpriced. One man junk is another mans treasure. You cannot beat knowledge and experience. When last have you seen a roadside vegetable stand with no attendants? "put money in pan and take change" That was the Canadian way. It has changed over the years. Cheers. Have a nice day " WHAT IS GOOD FOR GENERAL BULLMOOSE IS GOOD FOR EVERYBODY"

[auburnseeker]

I actually don't readily give out my phone number. I like to weed out the tire kickers ahead of time. I'm too busy to listen to all the stories and dreams.

I usually get the inquiry can I have your number to ask some questions. I then always respond with I have a bunch more detailed photos I can email you if you want. They will probably help answer alot of your questions. (those usually include Chassis, Close ups of floor pans and other detailed shots that wouldn't fit in the Auction or advertisement.) Usually with that I have a paragraph or so that describes problems you can see in the photos. Then I add if you are still interested or need more photos please let me know. If they want a number from there then I give it.

Maybe it's the wrong way to do it, but I'm really busy and have no phone or cell Service at the shop. As it is, after everything, the inquirer contacts me, they usually have me on the phone for a half hour in the end just to tell me well I think your price is too high or I can buy a Plymouth for less money than you want for your Chrysler or you know it's going to cost x number of dollars to paint that car. ( I know all this. The cars are priced where they are taking that into consideration.)

I would rather get very detailed photos from someone than their opinion. I don't know how many times I have gone to look at a car that I asked how are the floors etc. Always told , yup they are in good shape. Any rust? Nope it's Solid. Any rust in the quarters? It's solid. Well then when you get their, you walk up for a walk around then drop to one Knee, See enough in 60 seconds to get back in your truck and drive 3 hours home with your empty trailer.

A photo of the floors would have told you to not look any further. I've learned to ask for more photos before I get excited about any cars now.

[Machinist_Bill]

Auburnseeker,

"Once burned - twice shy"

Whatever works best for you! We all have our own way of trying to weed out the slugs.

I guess the reason why EBAY was great in the beginning (I joined in 1999) was the fact that computers at that time period were NOT CHEAP! I am glad I got to experience the beginning.......

Bill

[Machinist_Bill]

Trini,

More like pure dumb luck than talents & expertise!

[whtbaron]

I did a few minor buy/sells on Ebay over 10 years ago and decided then it was more trouble than it was worth in fees. I ended up with some old memorabilia pins after an auction sale and put them up online. In the end I got $6 for the pins and it cost me $11 in fees. Shortly after that my account got hacked but I was fortunate in that Ebay shut it down. Unfortunately they put a 45 cent unpaid charge against my Paypal account that I can't pay off and shut it down too. I gave up on both and now I just look at local sales on Kijiji... If I can't pick it up in person and pay in person, I don't buy. It's left me with a much smaller selection, smaller market and higher prices, but at the end of the day I'm not getting ripped off by unscrupulous sellers. Hey Auburnseeker... you think I could put that steering wheel ring and fuel pump on a 1922 Hupmobile??

[auburnseeker]

I did a few minor buy/sells on Ebay over 10 years ago and decided then it was more trouble than it was worth in fees. I ended up with some old memorabilia pins after an auction sale and put them up online. In the end I got $6 for the pins and it cost me $11 in fees. Shortly after that my account got hacked but I was fortunate in that Ebay shut it down. Unfortunately they put a 45 cent unpaid charge against my Paypal account that I can't pay off and shut it down too. I gave up on both and now I just look at local sales on Kijiji... If I can't pick it up in person and pay in person, I don't buy. It's left me with a much smaller selection, smaller market and higher prices, but at the end of the day I'm not getting ripped off by unscrupulous sellers. Hey Auburnseeker... you think I could put that steering wheel ring and fuel pump on a 1922 Hupmobile??

Sure, With enough duct tape it will bolt, well stick right on.

[trini]

Hi whtbaron, I joined Ebay many years ago and had god experiences, never had a bad rating and never gave a bad rating. I paid with U.S money order. For the last few years doing business on Ebay has changed, some payment method clearly states paypal only. Then dig deeper and the credit card icons comes up as "also". I had to send messages to vendors stating my preferred method and their approval before bidding. NO PAYPAL FOR ME. just my choice. I have one credit card only for the last 40 years and that is Visa. If the vendor does not accept it good luck to him. The money is in my pocket. I begrudge no one. Recently I tried getting into ebay and it will not accept my ID and password but I still get notices "from my favourite seller" in my email. I do not know how to stop that. My ID is 127318.and password is harduar. try it. My phone number is 905 889 0621 for the past 40 years and email hsahu@tcn.net I hide nothing in my dealings with vendors. If a person wants to dishonest he has a problem, not I. Cheers. Have a nice day.

[62BillT]

That is another problem I have with E-bay is there is not enough communication. There are times that I want to talk to the vendor or seller and I can't. No Phone Number and No E-mail Address.

I know there is the Questions and Answer thing, but that just don't cut it for me.

Even Craigslist, which I am also no fan of, has various ways to communicate.

Bill

[trini]

Hi Bill. I am observant . There is a statement "one born every minute" I have been burnt a few times for small things but generally I meet a lot of honest to goodness people in my life and more so "old car guys". Most have gone to the garage beyond. Today many restorers do a lot of short cuts just for a fast buck .How ever, restoring a car or truck is costly and time consuming. One has to be really knowledgeable to detect flaws in restored vehicles. I am just a retired grease monkey. I like to be on the safe side by staying away from restored vehicles unless I know the vendor personally. I bought this 28 D.B senior fully knowing what I was going to meet and I will never do a short cut job. The person who sold it told me said what he thought has to be done and we still keep in contact. I will tell you a tale of two brothers. John lives in Toronto and Jim in Vancouver, dealing in fish . John phones Jim ,told him to send some fish for him. John had a party and all who ate the fish got sick. So John phones Jim and said "all my guest who ate the fish got sick" Jim said " why did you not tell me you wanted it for yourself ? I thought you wanted it to resell. Draw you conclusions, Bill, I may be dumb but not stupid. I will never knowingly mislead anyone and I teach my children the same value. My good name is worth something. Cheers. Harry.

[trini]

Hi auburnseeker, My mane is Harry Sahu, my phone number 905 889 0621 and my email is hsahu@tcn.net My ebay number is 127318 and password is harduar I recently tried to enter but was not allowed. I do not hide behind "anonymous" and I am not referring to you . Being a vendor is your right and I will defend it. The by- products comes with it though." Kicking tyres" is really a figure of speech . I read in my local " Old Auto" magazine of Canadians buying sheet metal parts from some U.S. vendors who described the parts as nice dry Arizona parts only to find out when received they were nothing but junk or will not fit because Canadian cars are sometimes different than U.S models. It would be nice if parts are really described truthfully. Your advice on asking questions and lots of pictures are duly accepted. That is common sense. If the vendor is honest he will comply. Shady ones are evasive. However, I will still stay away from ebay as much as possible and have no intention of buying a car from vendors on ebay for that matter. It is my sacred right. I will also not aggravate vendors by lowballing or "make me an offer" The goods are yours. If I do not like the price I walkway. That is me. I read of many Canadians who bought old cars advertised in the Old Auto magazine unseen (a Canadian publication) and are very happy Ebay is in the business to make money but as everything else when moderation crosses the line to greed I take a second look. I wish you luck in your vending. I recognise it is not easy to deal with the bad and the ugly. The good are few and far between. Cheers. Have a nice day.

[trini]

Hi Bill, I am not trying to be smart or satirical but you are in in a different situation in that you collect a lot of cars and may be sell some too. I am not in that financial position. I have only one and trying to restore it by myself. Mr.Toyota was asked how can he manage all his assets. His response was " if I bite too much and cannot chew it I spit it out" Cheers, buddy. I do not mean to insult anybody.

[Restorer32]

We are looking for another employee, an entry level trainee to strip paint, degrease, grind rust, some disassembly, sweep the floors, that sort of thing. We advertise on CraigsList now since virtually no one reads our local papers and we usually have a good number of responses. It's sad reading some of the resumes we get. Just finding employees who will show up every day and put forth some effort has become increasingly difficult over the years, especially since schools don't teach kids to use their hands any more. Need someone who is computer savvy? They're a dime a dozen. And we are in an area that still values old fashioned work ethic with good public schools.

[benjamin j]

You blame the school systems... I blame parents. I think I'm more correct.

There is no doubt that blame could be placed in several areas. The area I have a problem with is passing students on to the next grade when they can not read. I don’t blame teachers for this because it is a systematic problem. We have been doing this long enough now that the parents can’t help because they were passed along without the skills to help. Passing these kids along without skills is not doing them or us any good at all.

[62BillT]

Passing these kids along without skills is not doing them or us any good at all.

Totally agree.

Schools should be getting better at what they do, not worse.

Bill

[Restorer32]

A few years ago we hired an "Honors" grad from the local vocational school, now called the "Technical School". He could not seem to grasp such simple concepts as .250 being the same as 1/4". Whether it's parents or the school system, we are failing those students not destined for college. All I ask of a potential entry level employee is some mechanical aptitude, a grasp of basic math and the ability to read and understand and the desire to learn. Is that too much to ask? Oh yea, nice if they can pass a drug test too.

[62BillT]

I also agree that the Parents and the School System are both responsible, but it should be that even a child from a 1-Parent home, where the Parent works and is overwhelmed with life, that that student should be able to get a decent education by the School System.

Bill

[Aaron65]

Totally agree.

Schools should be getting better at what they do, not worse.

Bill

I'm a high school teacher, and this is far too complex a societal problem to generalize here, but I do want to give credit where credit is due...I know that in Michigan, our state government (and feds) largely dictate the types of classes students must take to graduate, and those classes no longer include anything hands-on. I don't agree with that, and schools certainly aren't blameless, but their hands are tied more often than you'd like.

[62BillT]

Yeah, I guess I'm not particularly blaming the Schools itself, but whoever is responsible for the lack of the necessity.

I also believe that the students should learn what they want to learn, in addition to the 3 "R's" and History.

About half the classes I was in, I would had been much better off being in different ones instead. I hated some courses I had to take and very much desired others, but they weren't available to us.

Bill

[Highlander160]

I blame schools for calling skilled trades an "alternative career path". "Duh, I too sthupid to do nuttin else stho I gunna be a plummer..." seems to be the message sent. Yet a good plumber can make $120K/yr with ease. A metal fabricator can do close to that. What's the latest union carpenter wage? Nah, forget all that, let's stock up our society with kids leaving college with a $75-100K mortgage (student loans) and no jobs to go with those degrees they were extorted for. All you older guys on here, you who've done exceptionally well with your hands and your brain? The schools tell your kids and grand kids that essentially you're a loser. The poor stupid painter in the dealership made $95K. Dumb bastid...

[Restorer32]

Quite a bit of the equipment we have came from auctions at high schools that ripped out their metal and wood shops to put in computer labs.

[CHAD THOMAS]

over the years I have purchased several items on Ebay. Happy with 99% of them. it is either a direct fit for my car or something I think I can make work. either way I did my research, paid what I thought was fair.

I have only been burned once and it was obviously intentional from the seller. Purchased a pair of front fenders for my 1932 Hupmobile, very unique fenders and from the pictures no doubt they were correct for the car. pictures looked good, primer surface with black on the underside, seller mentioned they had a " little rust ". I paid a good price for them plus a hefty shipping fee only to find upon receipt that what one person calls a little rust requires extensive patching. Someone had spent a considerable amount of time and a couple of gallons of bondo plus an old coffee can or two to cover a multitude of missing metal. looked good in pictures, but in person soon became obvious the bondo was over an inch thick in areas. Now I have 2 sets of bad fenders that hopefully I can make one good set out of.

[62BillT]

I blame schools for calling skilled trades an "alternative career path". "Duh, I too sthupid to do nuttin else stho I gunna be a plummer..." seems to be the message sent. Yet a good plumber can make $120K/yr with ease. A metal fabricator can do close to that. What's the latest union carpenter wage? Nah, forget all that, let's stock up our society with kids leaving college with a $75-100K mortgage (student loans) and no jobs to go with those degrees they were extorted for. All you older guys on here, you who've done exceptionally well with your hands and your brain? The schools tell your kids and grand kids that essentially you're a loser. The poor stupid painter in the dealership made $95K.

Totally agree.

The secret today is Technical Schools in my opinion. But too many kids, and parents too, want to have that "College" image or still foolishly think that it is the "only" way or the best way...

Colleges are also getting way too expensive. You would think in a rough economy costs would go down some, but I can't believe some of the tuition prices I'm hearing out there.

Bill

[Lahti35]

We are looking for another employee, an entry level trainee to strip paint, degrease, grind rust, some disassembly, sweep the floors, that sort of thing. We advertise on CraigsList now since virtually no one reads our local papers and we usually have a good number of responses. It's sad reading some of the resumes we get. Just finding employees who will show up every day and put forth some effort has become increasingly difficult over the years, especially since schools don't teach kids to use their hands any more. Need someone who is computer savvy? They're a dime a dozen. And we are in an area that still values old fashioned work ethic with good public schools.

Reading these types of posts is frustrating! I'm the guy that shows up and is willing to be there and put in a full week but my resume always seems to get lost in the pile of druggy drunks who flake out on employers and decide to sleep in tuesday morning. I have never heard back from a single employer who has posted a help wanted ad on CL, doesn't seem to matter how I organize my resume.

Oh yeah and ebay was tons of fun before the place got to big for it's britches!

[trini]

I bought a few items on Ebay myself in the old days. That was when I was able to "ask a question" regarding payment which was cash, certified cheque or money order. 99.9 percent of the time it was U. S. Money Order. I was given time to mail the M.O. Or sometime I would phone the Visa # to the vendor.(not by email). Never had a problem. The smartman has stepped in and says " if visa can make money this way we can set up our own system" What is wrong with visa? I prefer to give what little pittance the poor vendor makes directly than to have big corporations skimming off them. It is like stealing from the poor. Look at the adds." Payment method" and you will have to dig deep to find the alternatives. Visa will remove errant vendors for malpractice. Besides Paypal questions are too invasive. Paypal says their system guarantees the vendor get payment right away. So be it .But who pays?. I do not like anyone to get their fingers into my bank account. I have a few trusted dealers to whom I will give my Visa numbers. Now almost every store is offering credit cards, even grocery stores. "you get 25 dollars off on you first purchase". that is for the gullible ones. I maintain a strong will to resist temptation. Do not be surprised if in the near future panhandlers "association" will be offering credit cards. THAT IS MY PERSONAL OPINION. I AM ALWAYS SUBJECT TO. CORRECTION

[62BillT]

before the place got to big for it's britches!

Lol. that is the same phrase I have been using through the later years for E-bay.

As far as employment goes, I went through the same thing back in the "gas crunch" days in the mid-70's. I finally got fed up and created my own business, along with a couple of side businesses as well. But I also learned the trick of Temporary Employment by Temp Agencies. Not sure how the climate is today, but they would put me to work pretty quick and many times could lead to permanent employment.

Bill