New Ebay/paypal rant

[auburnseeker]

I think Matt is correct with Hemmings.  I read it religiously and pay extra to get it early as well as check the site out a few times a day for cars.  I think I have tried the site 2 or 3 times for a very specific part and only take time to read the entire parts sections (pretty much because it's my business) in print just hoping for a big haul of parts regardless of make but never seem to find much .  Even in general I don't see a whole lot of stuff like I sell on ebay.  It's probably great if you need little parts odds and ends for your restoration that guys aren't normally going to waste their time to list,  or big sheetmetal stuff for a car you find somebody parting Many of the parts I have seen never have prices so the seller is probably asking atleast top dollar for it.   I can't imagine finding a whole lot on line parts wise and have already maxed out my time as it is using the tried and true sites. 

I actually think in all the years I have been reading Hemmings,  probably 25 or more, all I have bought is a windshield frame for my 32 Ford from the parts sections.  

Where I spent about 20G on parts on ebay last year.

Being able to see a picture of the part really helps and takes the guess work out of what Good condition means.

Even the one year ad I put in their buying NOS parts lots only brought about 4 or 5 replies and none panned out.

Edited September 11, 2015 by auburnseeker (see edit history)

[Guest AlCapone]

It's THEIR playground, so if you wanna play there, it will be by their rules.

Suck it up and deal with it.

Personally, I'm kicking butt on eBay.

No complaints here.

I have sympathy for the original poster ( Auburnseeker ) . Easier to suck it up when it's a game or a hobby rather than when it's your only source of income !

Wayne

[62BillT]

I used to advertise in Hemmings almost every month for parts for sale years ago (general parts ad) before the computer age and did pretty well.  Since I lost one of my big advertising sites online recently (owner quit running the site), I'm back to Hemmings 3 or 4 times a year.  Although not as powerful as it used to be, I still like the results. 

[62BillT]

 

  It would be really nice to see some competition in the Old car parts auction world. 

   

 

I agree and it is a good opportunity for an individual or a group of individuals to create a real good Nationwide or Worldwide alternative site out there.

 

I know it can be done as someone who I became good friends with had one going pretty good until what I believe is health reasons prevented him from continuing it.  He was a 1-horse operation, and I sold more parts through his web site more than any other place to date, and I have been selling parts at this location for over 26 years.  I only wish he had a partner or some partners to continue it for him, but he always worked alone. 

 

Not to discount the advertising that we are allowed to have on here.  It would be nice for it to be a top place for sales someday.

 

The main edge that my friend had was web site exposure.  Whenever someone typed in general parts wanted or a specific part wanted, his site would be right there on the first page.  On late nights when I was a little bored, I would "test search" as if I was someone that was looking for some parts I had for sale, and sure enough, there was his site.  I was so impressed, it would make me laugh or at least smile on some of those late nights. 

 

I can just imagine how the site could have really taken off with a powerful team behind it, but like me, he was happy on running it the way he did.  But my point is, the opportunity is out there. 

 

Bill

[countrytravler]

I only put an odd item on once in a while for a friend.  I used to sell for a commission and it just wasn't worth it.  If all people brought you was the cream of the crop it would be worth it,  but even 50 percent isn't worth it on items that sell for 10.00 or less.  

Remember you have to spend 1/2 hour at the post office unless you set up an online account,  package all the crap you sell so it can't be ruined in shipping.  Answer questions that are already clearly answered in the description if not right in the title.  Keep track of what has and hasn't been paid for.  Deal with people who bought stuff by mistake because they didn't read the description.  Settle disputes and be willing to suck it up even when you are right and admit that the customer who has no clue about what they are talking about is correct.  Be willing to get negative feedback with no repercussion whatsoever or way to dispute it because the guy who bought your item is an idiot and didn't read the description,  never contacted you to resolve the problem and wasn't happy with his 10.00 purchase.  (the few negative feedbacks I have received were all over items that sold for less than 20.00 with shipping.   

When I do sell for my Friend(usually a couple items a year) He prefers the way I write the listings up and how I present his stuff so it's not hard to do.  I usually do it for free and just have him cover the listing fee.  He is a good friend and we swap back and forth that way. 

That even happens when you advertise here. Almost better results with CL and FaceB. We use to be a power seller 5 years ago but when the owner of this company died, so did eBay. Now that I have the knowledge of the  parts and car business, were going to hammer eBay with the 200.000 plus parts and multiple cars and trucks  that we have in our inventory.I'll let you all know how the journey works out a couple years. I wish that I could pack all this stuff and do Hershey. I hear the not  many old Mopar parts vendors are at these swap meets.

The post has been most informative.

Dave

Edited September 13, 2015 by countrytravler (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

Don't know a thing about the MOPAR market but trucking all your parts across the USA and the unsold ones back home sure make the internet look like the place to sell IMO. Bob 

[countrytravler]

Don't know a thing about the MOPAR market but trucking all your parts across the USA and the unsold ones back home sure make the internet look like the place to sell IMO. Bob 

Me being a trucker, that wouldn't be a problem. Just don't think it would pan out with the time and expense. Mopar is going pretty good. Anybody can build a Ford or Chev from a book or swap meet.

[auburnseeker]

You'll do good with Mopar especially if any of it is NOS.  The exception being the 40's-about 1955.  Once you hit the 56 or so and up era you will really move stuff.  Strongly consider selling international.  There is a huge market for 57-61 Mopar parts in Europe.  I probably sell atleast 50 percent of my stuff for that vintage their.  I imagine the other 50 percent got run up by them but they just didn't bid high enough.  Also do your own international shipping and don't opt into ebay's international program where you send ti to a redistribution center.  I've heard alot of complaints from international bidders about that.  If I were going to sell at Hershey,  I would bring all the bigger stuff that's hard to ship.  That's where guys see the value in cash and carry and not having to pay freight charges.  I just wholesaled off a bunch of big stuff and lost money but it wasn't worth the time to try and sell/ ship it on feebay.  

  I was also sent the new fall seller update for sellers so I'm sure seller's got a new slap in the face with it buried deep in the legal jargon.

[MarrsCars]

Ebay has rules about what sellers can charge for in regards to shipping and I don't believe they can charge for their "time" such as you stated. When we sell we often use UPS pack n ship, which does cost a lot more for buyers but it's the only way to 100% guarantee a payout if damaged, that's the point of that service. Post Office can really mess with you and cause delays or just deny a legit claim in my experience. In such a case, the seller can charge you the extra fees they are paying to ship the item, but not for time, gas or those sorts of extraneous costs. Of course if you point this out to a seller they may simply cancel your bid or ignore you as Ebay doesn't really enforce it.

 

Also, the import duty charge, why would they charge that to you? If an item was shipped from another country to you then you would pay the duty (if your country charges one) and not the seller. That's very odd they want to charge for a fee they will never have to pay, which means you pay it twice?

 

I recently saw an item on EBay that I can use. but there was a fixed charge for shipping. The actual shipping would have been around ten dollars with the item in a small bubble envelope. But the shipping was quoted much higher because ,it appears to me, sellers send their stuff to a central shipping and packing centre, sort of contracted out, to whom I do not know .  

   I enquired from the seller why is this. His answer was he will have to line up at the USPS center for an hour to fill out the foreign  declaration and that could cost me an hour of his time  He is right. The cost of a ten dollars item does worth it.

    What I do not understand is the Import Duty as stated in the list of charges.

    In Canada we do not pay charges whether import or duty charges for collectors items related to cars and other old items

The vendor never replied.

 

[auburnseeker]

If ebay's bean counters figure out a fee they can charge and get away with,  they will charge it.  Just like collecting a percentage for shipping paid,  you then refund the overage and you are out the fee.  I've heard you can call and dispute it and they may refund it if everything goes right.  Just not worth it on smaller refunds 10.00 or less as your time is more valuable and every transaction if you had 4 separate transactions you refunded would have to be disputed so probably a 1/2 hour or more on the phone for less than 5.00 in fees.

I have heard about extra charges on international orders when you opt into ebay's global shipping program. . 

[countrytravler]

We package our own and we have shipped parts to Russia, South America, Greenland, China, UK and Austrailia. China was the most challenging. We ship a lot of large parts with Greyhound but that may get curtailed because we just had a meeting with them this morning. They are changing their ins policy. Use to be able to buy ins up to 1000.00 doing it online and 300.00 on the walk in. Now they are saying only 1000.00 up to 800 miles. After 800, they will only insure up to 300.00.

 

We have a lot on parts from the teens to the 40s. Very little parts after 47. Also have abody parts for the 67-68-69-Cuda.

Thanks for the input. We will be hammering Ebay with parts and were going to be listing parts with shipping included.

Shipping materials are at a low cost because one of our local customers owns a shredding business and that keeps our overhead cost for shipping low. Our biggest purchase is tape and bubble wrap.

Edited September 14, 2015 by countrytravler (see edit history)

[smithbrother]

Using EBay is something only each of us should decide to USE or NOT TO USE.

No amount of negative comments posted on this site will make me STOP using EBay.

I have received good results, but if YOU haven't, then YOU decide to use or not to use.

YOU control your decision,

Dale in Indy

[62BillT]

We ship a lot of large parts with Greyhound

 

My problem with Large parts is the Packing.  One of our local Greyhound terminals would take parts Bubble-Wrapped, but the other wants it covered with Corrugated Cardboard.  Unfortunately the Bubble-Wrap terminal has closed.  When packing an oddly shaped part with Corrugated, it usually works out to be more of a Box than anything, which uses up a whole lot of time.  Even though I charge for the Packing, you can only charge so much and it ends up being too much of a loss, compared to the part being Picked-up.  How are the requirements at your local terminal ?

Edited September 14, 2015 by 62BillT (see edit history)

[countrytravler]

Our terminal requires boxing. We can wrap a large fender with a self made box in about 1/2 hour. Technically, Greyhound has said that they do not ship car parts but we have done it for 20 years with no damage and or lose. We have shipped doors and hoods through the mail system with no wrap. 

Edited September 14, 2015 by countrytravler (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

Must take a set of stones to charge for boxing, a roll of tape is the cost of doing business, the world if full of free boxes. Bob 

[auburnseeker]

Prepare to deal with this as well.  my latest customer to get under my skin 

"Sir; I received the ford vs chevrolet brochure today and thank you, but I noticed the shipping charge on the box was $3.34, and you charged me $5.54 shipping. Before I give you a feedback I feel a refund of $2.20 is in store. Hope to hear back from you about this matter, thank you."

 

Now I have to waste 15 minutes writing the "customer"  as to why the material to pack his item securely cost 2.00 and why my time at .30 a package to box drive to the post office and stand in a line a half hour is really going to work out to less than minimum wage. 

By the way the rare dealer item I sold him in mint condition pertaining to 1958 Fords sold for the opening bid of 2.99.  

[countrytravler]

Still 

 

Must take a set of stones to charge for boxing, a roll of tape is the cost of doing business, the world if full of free boxes. Bob 

Still takes the manpower to go get. They just don't land on your door step. 

[auburnseeker]

Must take a set of stones to charge for boxing, a roll of tape is the cost of doing business, the world if full of free boxes. Bob 

Try 4000 free boxes a year to custom fit rare items.  Who pays for your time to scrounge used pizza boxes at the dump and last time I checked a case of tape and a few rolls of shrink wrap don't come free.  Hell my last box order,  one of many this year,  I had to pay over 50.00 shipping on. Doesn't sound much like free to me. 

[auburnseeker]

I think I have spent close to 2,000   on shipping supplies this year and probably have a couple thousand worth in my storage room.

[auburnseeker]

Must take a set of stones to charge for boxing, a roll of tape is the cost of doing business, the world if full of free boxes. Bob 

How many items have you sold and shipped?

[auburnseeker]

I responded to my customer's complaint.  I think this pretty well covers it 

 

 

"Please go back and read the description.  Shipping costs are clearly stated and why they may seem high and what to do if you are not happy with them. I did not make any money on the shipping.  In fact I probably lost money on the shipping especially if you figure in time or fuel to get to the post office as well as the 1/2 hour I have to stand in line to mail the item that sold for 2.99.  Which pay pal got .30 plus 3 percent of the total amount paid and ebay got about 11 percent of the total price including shipping you paid.  So in reality if I actually got 2.00 for the item you bought before taxes  I would be a lucky man.  If i had the choice to do it all over again especially including the time to write this response I would gladly just throw that original Ford brochure, which I paid for in the first place (it didn't come free),  in the garbage.  But if you aren't happy with it,  please return it just as it was shipped in the original custom mailer at your expense and I'll gladly refund you the full purchase,  price.  

  Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance or if you want to return the original piece of rare Ford literature,  Randy  "

[62BillT]

Must take a set of stones to charge for boxing, a roll of tape is the cost of doing business, the world if full of free boxes. Bob 

 

I'm sure you have heard of Murphy's Law ??

 

Small parts, no problem, but Large parts is when Murphy's kicks in.  About 95% of the time the Box you have on hand will either be just a little Too Small or way Too Big.  A Box larger than necessary will mean more Packing Material than necessary, but much more importantly, it will many times make the box go into Oversize.  Oversize means much more money.  It just does not make any sense and the customer will not want to pay a whole lot more Shipping Expense just because you didn't have the right kind of box on hand by some unusual luck.  Therefore when shipping Large Parts, 95% of the time you need to make a Custom Made Box. 

 

A roll of Tape ?

 

When shipping Large Parts, you need Large Sheets of Corrugated on hand, trucked in periodically by myself (about a 2 hour round trip), Packing Material (bought by the Rolls), Tapes as mentioned, and a Glue Gun (that uses sticks like crazy).

 

Now the Labor in Packing it.

 

Then what?

 

How about loading it and hauling it down to Greyhound.  This is where I wonder if you have ever tried it.  Greyhound can be like a zoo sometimes.

 

Now if someone Picks Up the part.  It's about 15 minutes and a wave goodbye.

 

Do you see any difference in the Two?

 

Remember now, Material, Labor and Hauling time and expenses.

 

You may not mind spending money and working for free, but it's not for me...

[countrytravler]

We became very good carvers with 30 plus years forming boxes. And for the response, cut and paste the response that you type and save it for future use. 

Edited September 15, 2015 by countrytravler (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

Auburn Seeker and 62BillT, thank you for 

helping us understand all the extra work

in packing and shipping.  Now I can see where

those shipping fees go!

[smithbrother]

Farmer's in the Bloomington, Il area used to complain to my father while he had his Buick dealership, they would say, "OH, WE ARE HAVING SUCH A BAD CROP YEAR, WE WON'T MAKE ANY MONEY", dad would say, "WELL IT'S PAVED ALL THE WAY INTO TOWN, MOVE TO THE CITY".   They NEVER DID.

 

If it's so bad dealing with Ebay, give it up, you probably won't, and that's OK toooooooo!  hehe

 

Dale in Indy

[capngrog]

Farmer's in the Bloomington, Il area used to complain to my father while he had his Buick dealership, they would say, "OH, WE ARE HAVING SUCH A BAD CROP YEAR, WE WON'T MAKE ANY MONEY", dad would say, "WELL IT'S PAVED ALL THE WAY INTO TOWN, MOVE TO THE CITY".   They NEVER DID.

 

If it's so bad dealing with Ebay, give it up, you probably won't, and that's OK toooooooo!  hehe

 

Dale in Indy

 

Dale,

 

If they gave up ebay, we'd miss all of these interesting rants.  I understand that ebay aint what it used to be, but if it's more trouble than it's worth, then it's time to ...

 

Just sayin',

Grog

[smithbrother]

YEP, got to VENT now and then,

 

Dale in Indy

[John348]

Must take a set of stones to charge for boxing, a roll of tape is the cost of doing business, the world if full of free boxes. Bob 

 I think it takes a bigger pair of stones thinking the seller should eat the cost

[auburnseeker]

Ok if I and all the other little Mom and pop sellers give up ebay I can tell you where most of these old car parts that keep your cars running, are going to end up and it isn't a bin at Hershey.  They pay by the pound and it's cash.  I can sell it all tomorrow as other big scrap yards have done.  The difference is alot of my stuff is NOS not old rusted stuff out in a field.  

I can also explain how much harder if not impossible it will be, to buy those odds and ends that not only make your car a little nicer but also keep it running.  Without little guys like me  we are going to have alot of static Art.  I can guarantee there will be alot less people interested in getting into old cars when the parts sources dry up.  Believe me there are alot of days where those parts are getting much closer to the Junk pile.  Even the new ones.

  This thread also makes me think of the old proverb about walking a mile in another man's shoes.  (I just don't remember exactly how it goes.)

Edited September 15, 2015 by auburnseeker (see edit history)

[capngrog]

Auburnseeker,

 

I think the modern iteration of the old proverb is: "Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.  After that, who cares?  You're a mile away and you've got his shoes."  Is that the one you were thinking of?

 

With that said, I thank all of what you call the "little guys" who make much of the hobby doable.  I know that there are a few "little guys" in the Crosley branch of our hobby, without whom, it would be damned near impossible to keep one of those little rascals running. 

 

It's good for all of us to vent (rant) occasionally, otherwise, we'd just go off the deep end.  Ya hafta admit though, a well-crafted rant is both educational and entertaining  , hence, the popularity of this thread.

 

buildin' up to a good rant meself,

Grog

[Joe in Canada]

I have cut back on EBay as their new shipping polices have  increased the final price. The last item I bought was $6. that will fit in the palm of my hand and about 6 Oz.  + $15.55 for shipping. I no longer have a choice to have it shipped by USPS who works the best through customs. Currier service's also make sure all taxes are payed where USPS charges taxes very randomly.  USPS also has no brokers fees that work on % getting very expensive. I only buy now when I halve to.

[1937hd45]

I must live in a better place than others, we have an 6 bay auto body shop, a high end yuppie bicycle shop and a host of shops all with CARDBOARD ONLY dumpsters, the bubble wrap is in the others along side. I should buy my tape in bulk from eBay but I buy it by the roll at Stop & Shop. Box it too big? I own several table saws and box cutters and a box of new blades. Shipping complaints? Yes, about a month ago a guy bought a Ford paint chip brochure from 1972, one of the "CLASSIC" years for Ford I guess. It was under $5.00 with FREE Postage in the USA. I mailed it in a standard envelope just like Ford would have in 1972. Not good enough for this collector and he made mention of it in the Feedback he left. I emailed him after reading it and told him he could have asked for a replacement. This must have made him all warm and fuzzy inside. I told him the replacement would have a backer for protection. Quarter inch plywood cut to the exact size of the brochure, so was the cardboard and 8-10 wrappings of junk tape. He never took the time to thank me. Some people you just can't make happy................maybe the 1972 Ford ownership has something to do with it. Bob 

Edited September 16, 2015 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[smithbrother]

YES, there are MORE horses behinds than horses, but a plane takes off INTO THE WIND, so we deal with it.

Dale in Indy

Edited September 16, 2015 by smithbrother (see edit history)

[auburnseeker]

Well it creates one big problem with giving up ebay when your entire business is selling parts on the internet. (about the only real source to sell any quantity of parts on the internet).  Of course if all I had were Corvette knockoffs, Fuel injection setups and a slew of highly sought after performance parts,  other venues would work.  It pretty much guarantees you can promptly sign your own unemployment slip.  Unfortunately the guy that holds the Mortgage on my house,  the bank that holds the one on my shop and all the utility companies as well as the local county and school that require I pay 10,000  a year in property taxes will have a small problem with my unemployment notice.  Contrary to popular media belief getting a job out their right now is not as easy as they say it is unless I want to start all over at the bottom of the food chain.  I'm not even sure how easy that is as the somewhat rural McDonalds in my North eastern town now has work Visa holders running the counter.   I gave up my Contracting/ finish carpentry business 7 years ago when I bought into the Ebay philosophy.  It will be pretty hard to put my foot back in that door without at the least a very sharp drop in pay from what I was making when I closed it.

If anyone is interested I have a whole pile of parts buried somewhere at the bottom of the for sale section.  Unless I threw it out or wholesaled it off,  I have pretty much everyone of those parts still that can be brought to Hershey with me.  There doesn't seem to be much interest in them either.  As I mentioned nothing high end or performance related so they are pretty much strictly worth their value by the ton. 

So for now some of us are stuck and left here to rant and rave with a new gripe every time someone adds a new fee that seems to head straight for the bottom line which seems to dwindle almost daily. 

Edited September 16, 2015 by auburnseeker (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

It's clear to me that quite a few of the people selling actual parts from vintage cars ; as opposed to offshore junk, have left Ebay. The last few years have been a downward slide in terms of even seeing things I might be interested in. And that's before I even consider if something is worth a bid  once eBay's insistence of premium shipping is factored in. I still buy a few items each month , but for the most part I am not even seeing a lot of the parts or projects that were available 5 or 6 years ago.  no shortage of fancy Chinese headlights , steering wheels and other do dads however.

 

 

Greg in Canada

[Studemax]

I have cut back on EBay as their new shipping polices have  increased the final price.

 

Oh, really? What policies would those be.... specifically? You can't tell me, can you?

 

Problem #1 - The Post Office just jumped their rates for boxes.... A LOT. On bigger stuff it's now cheaper to use FedEx (and their tracking is way better than USPS and UPS, anyway).

 

Problem #2 - Some lazy eBay sellers use eBay's shipping calculator instead of thinking for themselves and doing a little footwork before listing. The upshot is this - since eBay now takes a cut of the sale PLUS shipping, they get more money if you use their super high priced shipping calculator. I want to keep sales brisk by having low shipping. I seldom miss by more than a buck or two. On really small stuff - like screws or badges that sell for less than $5, shipping is where you will make enough profit and make listing it worthwhile.

 

SO.... do the work beforehand, don't just list the stuff and hope for the best. If all else fails, try a slightly higher price and offer free shipping. That usually does the trick. If the idea is to sell your stuff, then SELL IT. It's work, folks. Deal with it.

Edited September 16, 2015 by Studemax (see edit history)

[John348]

Shipping cost.... Has anyone else wondered  this also, fuel costs are about half of what they were 2 years ago, but shipping still costs are the same. I am sure next time fuel spikes a quarter, shipping  cost will go up to us due to rising price in fuel, forgetting the wave they are riding now. Seems like the logitics companies are the stocks to invest in, big profits

Edited September 16, 2015 by John348 (see edit history)

[62BillT]

 

 

Problem #1 - The Post Office just jumped their rates for boxes.... A LOT. On bigger stuff it's now cheaper to use FedEx (and their tracking is way better than USPS and UPS, anyway).

 

 

 

I've been using the USPS for 26 years straight at this location for all my boxes 108 Unified Inches or less.  I have seen some price hikes but nothing that harsh, basically speaking, but will let you know if that changes, lol.

[62BillT]

Shipping cost.... Has anyone else wondered  this also, fuel costs are about half of what they were 2 years ago, but shipping still costs are the same. I am sure next time fuel spikes a quarter, shipping  cost will go up to us due to rising price in fuel, forgetting the wave they are riding now. Seems like the logitics companies are the stocks to invest in, big profits

 

I agree John, and I find UPS the worst concerning that.  They even list an additional "Fuel charge".  But I have not used them lately.  Has anyone out there noticed the Fuel Charge now gone or reduced?

Edited September 16, 2015 by 62BillT (see edit history)

[smithbrother]

My mother used to say when I was having a BAD DAY,  "Dale, take a warm bath, put on some clean clothes, and YOU will feel a lot better",  well, time to quit the rant, and DEAL WITH IT, be a smarter seller. 

 

Dale in Indy