Enough with eBay! - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 08:15:31 pm
content: I'm so done with the ignorance of eBay, it's designed over a decade ago and hardly evolved. Their import and shipping policies, search and notifications are utter shit (IMHO).Maybe it's me. So cast your vote and let's see if I'm the moran.

author: RGB255_0_0
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 08:22:15 pm
content: I'm not sure you can blame eBay about importing. This is more your government/EU issue. But I do not know your specific issue?In any case, as a buyer I like eBay for its buyer (PayPal) protection. I've yet to try the protections on Banggood or Aliexpress though, but I have no qualms about the protection (again, as a buyer).Importing depends on the country and courier as far as I'm concerned and have dealt with: i.e. I can't find a pattern besides the courier.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 08:36:34 pm
content: Quote from: onesixright on February 10, 2017, 08:15:31 pmImport and shipping charges are not under Ebay's control. Also Ebay never got much love from the Dutch (*) so the Dutch version of the website is only just functional. If you want the shopping cart function you have to change to Ebay.com or Ebay.de.(*) Ebay just got ignored by us so as a revenge Ebay bought the most popular Dutch 'craigslist'-ish website for 250M euro but never integrated it into Ebay because they probably understood it wouldn't work. The latter is rather unique for a US based company.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 08:38:36 pm
content: I can't say that I particularlylikehaving to deal with eBay and the variety of potentially dodgy sellers, but I keep going back because it seems to be the only practical place to obtain used, obscure things.I certainly don't use it for transactions on costly new equipment, though (say, new items $250 or above). I would rather pay more to a reputable shop and get the benefit of easy returns, exchanges, and support.As far as the design of the site, it isn't particularly modern, but I don't feel like it is missing any critical functionality for the way I use it. YMMV.

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 08:47:22 pm
content: it sucks in the sense that every other week they implement some shit that respins the UI and the week later is gone for another shititalian ebay always had broken categories, it's very hard to filter away the bullshit sometime so i have to dive between pages of chinese crap to find what i wantAnd now i'll say poo and doo-doo so i'm complete with excrement synonims

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 08:58:11 pm
content: Quote from: onesixright on February 10, 2017, 08:15:31 pmYou think eBay is bad?! You haven't seen bad until you've used ricardo.ch, the indigenous online auction site that gets used due to nationalism. Saved searches don't really work. The site is buggy as hell. Usability problems abound. Images get shrunk to uselessness. And the app gets things even worse.But even worse, it hasno buyer protections whatsoever. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Their only layer of protection is verifying accounts by snail mail when creating a seller account. So you at least know they're human, but if the seller doesn't hold up their end of the bargain, you have to take them to court.And it's full of resellers selling the same Chinese crap we get on eBay for cheap, but at 4x the price, plus inflated shipping. For example, if you search for soldering stations, you get a dozen buy it now offers for 936 and 858 style devices at a hundred bucks a piece, with maybe 2 or 3 real auction items.Unfortunately ricardo.ch has the mindshare here, so if you wanna buy local, you have few alternatives. :/

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2017, 11:28:09 pm
content: Let me elaborate.I'm fully aware of the different country extensions. I most of the time use .com. And it's one of my problems. It's retarded that the extension all work like shit. I'm swapping between: .com .de and .co.uk.Currencies are swapped. Shown in dollars, while filtering is in local currencyI get import cost that are simply ridiculous : 4 USD part, shipping 26 USD (for < 50 grams) + import 12 (while this way below the import threshold)The possibly to do the import yourself is not possible.Then there are a ton of sellers where it says "contact seller for shipping cost", and they simply don't reply.( ok, may not eBay's fault. But I suspect it's hard to setup the "specs" for sellers, which leads to this bs)I "check" follow this search, and tada (!) ton emails, but when I click the item I often get "doesn't ship to your country". When I asked eBay about this, they claim everything works fine. Right.On top the whole interface is so outdated. A 10 year old designs a better UI. Im using eBay for well over a decade, and its basically still the same.It's just feels messy. Maybe that's the charm?The ONE good thing is buyersprotection. But that's about it.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 12:59:49 am
content: I don't like eBay, but there's no denying that they have the largest selection of random stuff and the largest audience bidding on it. Buying is a far better experience than selling these days, their policies are heavily weighted in favor of the buyer. I hardly ever sell anything anymore and I don't think they care, they make most of their money from big sellers. Dealing with eBay always feels a bit like dealing with the mafia, I think I would trust most mafia guys a bit more.

author: MadTux
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 01:23:27 am
content: Quote from: tooki on February 10, 2017, 08:58:11 pmLol, exactly what I think of ritardo. And their ripoff auction fee is even higher than on ebay, so I decided to f*ck them long ago. Now I sell my non electronics stuff on tutti.ch. Also no buyers protection, but at least it's free.

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 01:26:18 am
content: I don't like ebay but where else can you find loads of test equipment for often very good pricing(mainly the US market though which is the catch).

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 01:33:30 am
content: Quote from: tooki on February 10, 2017, 08:58:11 pmThat just sounds like the 'local' online market place Ebay runs in the NL. A couple of times per year there is a story in the news how people managed to take other people's money running some kind of scam on it. Sometimes I buy or sell stuff the local online market place but the actual transaction is always face to face.

author: mmagin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 04:34:58 am
content: My only real complaints about eBay are:The people who try to act like "well, it powered up but I don't know how to test" along with some blurry photos when they probably know that it's broken.Perfectly clean vintage gear that gets beat to shit because they don't know how to freaking pack things properly.TEN FREAKING PERCENT, and that doesn't include whatever you paid paypal.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:03:35 am
content: I reluctantly use it for both buying stuff (new and 2nd hand), get "market prices" on stuff, and also selling stuff (new and 2nd hand).It's always been "the place" to buy and sell stuff and that has what has kept it alive despite all the ridiculous things they have done.Same reason I reluctantly use PayPal.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:04:20 am
content: Quote from: mmagin on February 11, 2017, 04:34:58 amTry selling on Amazon, 10 percent on ebay is cheap.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:06:41 am
content: Quote from: james_s on February 11, 2017, 12:59:49 amLOL, unfortunately true.They know that countless people have built their entire businesses on ebay and they have no option but to bend over and take any changes up the clacker.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:08:30 am
content: BTW, for Joe Average selling their random 2nd hand goods in Australia, Gumtree has become the new defacto standard, and that's the why ebay likes it.Ebay own Gumtree BTW

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:12:51 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 11, 2017, 05:03:35 amLikewise. I signed up years ago when I began using ebay to buy and sell some odd stuff. Paypal might carry on and think they're a bank; Well I have news for them, even if they are governed by the same financial services guidelines in Australia.Months after I signed up, verified my bank account details etc... they "restricted" my account, wanting me to send them scanned copies of my driving licence etc... Umm... no. That wasn't happening, so I just ignored it.That was about 4 or 5 years ago now and to this day my account is still in restricted status. It doesn't prevent me from buying things or sending/receiving money, the only thing I can't do is close my Paypal account. Whoopie doo!I bank with a smaller bank who just after one phone call created me a "sub-account" linked to my primary one. Essentially it's an entirely unique bank account number from the outside, which I only use for Paypal and crap that doesn't matter. With one phone call, I can just as easily close that sub-account and any direct debit authorisations to it become null and void leaving my primary banking account intact.Screw Paypal. If they needed my information, they should have asked for it upon sign-up and let me make that decision. They aren't getting anything out of me -- Name, rank and serial number only.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 11:41:00 am
content: Quote from: mmagin on February 11, 2017, 04:34:58 am1. isn't an eBay problem per se, it's a problem with all auction sites.2. Even less limited to eBay; heck, you get stuff shipped from Amazon improperly, and you'd think they know what they're doing. (I've occasionally wondered what percentage of LCD, and in the past plasma, TVs from online vendors get broken in transit, due to impact or being shipped laying flat.)3. 10% isn't that bad, all things considered. Compared to selling on craigslist (or local equivalent) you pay a fee on eBay, but you likely get a higher sale price that more than makes up for it.

author: station240
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 12:07:55 pm
content: Ebay in Australia pretty much sucks, between the cost of postage and ebay's fees, there is nothing cheap bar stuff from china.Gumtree isn't a solution, as it's not setup for people to mail stuff, any anything interesting is interstate.The ebay test equipment section is a complete joke, being buried in "Industrial" and no one listing anything remotely interesting.Tons of junk from china in all categories, or from huge sellers which are either overpriced or dishonest, ebay turn a blind eye to this.In an ideal world ebay would be replaced with a site orientated for small businesses and the average person selling stuff they no longer need. But this cannot happen as corporate laws would oblige the company to take any takeover bid from ebay if it were more than the current share price.

author: ZeTeX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 01:13:33 pm
content: eBay is great but I only use it because it is 10x cheaper and there is much more items to choose from compare to what you can get here locally.for example, I have only 1 or 2 local "real" electronic stores, and LM337 cost 2.3$ for 1pcs, including the bus it is about 4.35$. for 4.35$ I can get at least 5 of those from ebay if not more.and this is not the best example, what if there is a part that they don't sell at all? distributors want at the minimum 10$ for shipping. my part is only 1$!

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 01:17:45 pm
content: Quote from: MadTux on February 11, 2017, 01:23:27 amAdd in the French leboncoin.fr. Now that is not an auction site, more like Craig's list type of thing, but no protections anywhere, the interface is beyond basic and the only way to not get robbed is to be super careful ...

author: mmagin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 04:00:02 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 11, 2017, 05:04:20 amI guess I am not surprised.

author: avrishuvorlaz
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 04:32:15 pm
content: Quote from: onesixright on February 10, 2017, 08:15:31 pm"Maybe it's me. So cast your vote and let's see if I'm themoran."^We say no more.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:14:38 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on February 11, 2017, 11:41:00 amMy friend bought a nice vintage turntable for almost $400 and it arrived completely destroyed. This was a heavy thing, weighed around 30 lbs and the seller put it in a tight fitting box with a layer of bubble wrap. I've had stuff come in a box full of foam peanuts with nothing to keep it from shifting around, some people just lack a basic understanding of physics and then blame the shipping company. Pack something like it's going to tumble down a flight of stairs.I ordered a fiberglass shower stall kit from a big box hardware store, shipped from their warehouse to the store where I picked it up. The first two were broken and I had to drag them back. Finally the third arrived with no visible damage, I couldn't believe it took so many times for the store to get an intact product form their warehouse to their own store and this wasn't particularly cheap, they were close to $400 each. On top of that they gave me a discount because I had to make so many trips to pick up and return the things and waiting for the re-orders put me more than a month behind schedule.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 05:24:25 pm
content: I closed my eBay account many years ago. Rising costs, Paypal, dealing with dead beat buyers. Now days, things just hit the recycle bin or I give them away if I no longer have a need.I did attempt to buy something a couple of years ago on eBay without an account. Paypal still had records of my CC and would not allow me to use it. I would have to get a new card just for Paypal. Not worth it for me.

author: ZeTeX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2017, 06:09:40 pm
content: Quote from: joeqsmith on February 11, 2017, 05:24:25 pmI also had problems with that, but now you can buy through eBay directly from visa card, no PayPal involved.

author: rx8pilot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 12:45:01 am
content: Without eBay - I literally would not have a business. The vast majority of my EE equipment has come from eBay. Sometimes the experience is good, sometimes not so good. In the end - I have been patient and scored a pile of daily use professional tools for a tiny fraction of the new cost. A little frustration here and there is no problem considering.

author: Gregg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 03:27:34 am
content: I will continue to use Ebay. Ebay’s search is hands down better than Amazon’s although I liked it a lot better when it used all basic Boolean search parameters. I used to really love the * wild card search feature that enabled me to find all sorts of stuff that nobody else was bidding on because they couldn’t find it due to seller’s misspellings or poor descriptions.I did get burned pretty badly about 20 years ago and am grateful that either eBay or PayPal will make some guarantees which may give them incentive to get rid of scumbags faster than they used to. It doesn’t seem like the percentage of scumbags on eBay are any greater than the rest of the internet, I just try to be careful. I actually like eBay a lot better than PayPal.With any online dealing a little research can save big headaches. I always search for other sources than eBay or Amazon and often can find a better deal. The eBay results filter that shows “price plus shipping, lowest first”, is a great tool.For Chinese goods, I prefer to pay a little more to get it from a Hong Kong supplier rather than mainland China; the shipping is faster and the language barrier can be considerably less if I need to contact the seller.For used stuff I stick to what I can afford to ship back if necessary. The sellers that offer your money back if you pay more to ship it back than it is cost usually don’t get my business. The sellers that want to sell something worth $50 for $10 plus $60 shipping make wonder what they are smoking.eBay can be fascinating for showing me things I didn’t know exist and with a few searches inspired by these findings a whole new area of neat stuff.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 09:48:17 am
content: Quote from: james_s on February 11, 2017, 05:14:38 pmBolded for truth. People simply don't "get" what it is they're protecting objects from. My mom tried sending me a garlic grater from France (looks like a tiny frying pan made of ceramic) repeatedly and never managed to get one to me without snapping the handle off, because she didn't/doesn't understand that it didn't need shock protection as much as it needed protection against bending, so it was never packed in something stiff!Quote from: Gregg on February 12, 2017, 03:27:34 amBy no stretch of the imagination am I some kind of regex guru, but it is so disappointing to me how many sites have discontinued wildcard and boolean searches.Quote from: Gregg on February 12, 2017, 03:27:34 amThey're smoking greed. They know that many eBay noobs will bid without looking at shipping costs, so they'll make the item cheap and make their money on shipping, which is non-refundable if something goes wrong.

author: Bicurico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 09:14:08 pm
content: I don't think that most of it is eBay's fault.I rely on eBay for my hobbies: there are few things I purchase in stores - most things come from China at a fraction of the cost and few would be available here at all.I buy adapters, electronic components, LCD displays, arduino clones, LCD inverter, you name it. Almost never had any problem and especifically from China, even when there was a problem, at the end, I got my money back. And prices are incredibly low.Also, I have had my share of great purchases: second hand devices, mostly TV, CATV & SAT field meter, but also HIFI components from the 80ies (best ratio sound quality vs price), etc.Sure, sometimes the device is in worse shape than announced, sometimes it takes ages to arrive, etc.But I cannot say I have been cheated or had a really worse product arriving.So is everything perfect?No:1) The search sucks.2) They removed some categories I used to search/hunt, like Business -> Test Equipment -> Broadcast Test Equipment (or something like that)3) Difficult to seach within EU and shipping to Portugal4) Buyer's feedback is too poor, description should be available longerBut what really annoys me is not eBay's fault:I HATE to see test equipment being sold for ridiculous prices in the USA. And the sellers are willing to ship to me. BUT: shipping costs like 500 Euro!!! WTF!!! Add customs and you might as well buy a new gear in Europe. Why is it so expensive to ship something from the USA? China is further away and they ship for free (no idea how that is possible: sometime I buy a connector for like 30 cent and it comes with free shipping - sending a local letter costs more in stamps than the whole product!).And then there is customs. I hate the arbitrarity of it: sometimes it comes through, sometimes not. Why? Where is the limit?And I wouldn't mind to pay customs. It is the long delay it takes. If a package goes through customes (often I don't even have to pay anything because the value is lower than their treshold), it will stay there for like 4 weeks. That sucks!´But overall, I wouldn't want to loose eBay.Cheers,Vitor

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 09:31:48 pm
content: What really has become a problem for me, and I am sure many other not in the US, is the "ebay shipping program". The additional costs incurred by this program on shipping to Chile can sometimes double the total price. Some buyers will agree to just mailing the package, but some refuse to do anything else other than the ebay shipping program.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 10:15:26 pm
content: I've been using eBay for more than a decade (nearly only as buyer, I think I only sold things twice) and really have never had a problem. Very convenient for small otherwise unobtainium parts, or jsut random componnents you can get for 1/10th of the price you'd pay through a local distributor, with free shipping too. Did a few high value transactions (I think the most expensive was my HP8593A at $3500, had one or 2 uncommon laptops that were not distributed in Europe etc) with no issues, either about the transaction, description/state or shipping.So yeah, the various sites by country, the outdated UI, the languages that don't match the country's national languages are messy but IMO a rather small price to pay, can't say I'm bothered much.

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 10:21:41 pm
content: Quote from: Bicurico on February 12, 2017, 09:14:08 pmWell, better have well packaged and transported heavy piece of test equipment than a pile of broken parts. Unfortunately transporters have weird pricing schemes, e.g. sending something from here to China can cost 10x more than sending the same thing with comparable service from China to here...Quote from: Bicurico on February 12, 2017, 09:14:08 pmThat's indeed 100% your country's responsibility.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2017, 10:30:23 pm
content: I have bought so much test equipment on ebay Germany and USA it was like paradise in the last few years. But I agree, eBay has become a buyers place and it is getting more and more ridicules for selling stuff.But every time I had a problem as buyer, ebay of paypal have taken care of me and I have almost not lost any money.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 02:15:18 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on February 12, 2017, 09:31:48 pmThat's because shipping international myself is a big pain in the ass. When I ship domestic I can weigh the box at home, buy the postage online and print it out, stick it on the box and simply drop it in the self serve kiosk at the post office on my way home from work. If I want to ship something international I have to figure out which customs form to use, fill that out, then take time off work to go stand in line at the post office for 30-40 minutes and fill out some more paperwork, it's more than an hour out of my day vs 5-10 minutes for domestic or using the shipping program. The alternative is to offer domestic shipping only, but then people complain about that instead.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 10:51:02 am
content: Quote from: james_s on February 13, 2017, 02:15:18 amI dont get it, you can just send it and let the buyer take care of the import (its his/her responsibility after all)? To me, since the import charges are also incorrect its another way for eBay (or the seller?) to make more money. That simply unfair. If you want more money, raise the price (not the shipping/import costs).Although im logged-in, and eBay know my location (and thus can calc. the shipping), its always inaccurate, and some case i don't see the import charges until checkout? Now how is that supposed to happen when your bidding ( i understand that depending on the bid, import changes, but at least give us a number as "if you bid x, import is y)? The whole system is flawed. I thinkit works greatfor us/us, and eu/eu buyer/seller but once you go over the pont, well huh godspeed?Oh yeah, also works great for china and small parts. But for that, aliexpress works also fine.And for the language sites, for god-sake, just make one global site. Its just a pain. Well, at-least to me (and 28% of the votes, i guess)

author: JPortici
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 11:15:57 am
content: .. And this week... the insertion translate doesn't effin work!

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 11:43:08 am
content: Quote from: onesixright on February 13, 2017, 10:51:02 amI dunno how the NL are, but Switzerland will often surprise you with high customs fees just for calculating how much VAT is owed. Pre-cleared customs options like eBay's international program and AmazonGlobal take the uncertainty out of the equation. (I order almost exclusively from Amazon precisely because of this.)And that said, I think james_s's point is that for international, you have to go to the post office no matter what, to put the customs declaration on.

author: onesixright
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 11:56:51 am
content: Everybody makes a big deal about the import, but i think its all pretty straight forward? Or am i wrong?The base value includes shipping, add your VAT (19/21 whatever) and there can be a small import fee (0-6%). So you should be able to calc. it within a certain (read: reasonable) bandwidth.But 900 USD for shipping and import (for a secondhand spectrum analyser that costs 400 USD), isIn general I use this simple method calc. for the "ceiling" = (price+shipping)*1,06 (import)*1,21(vat). Sometimes there are some handling costs.Import tax depends on (age?) new/2nd hand/ and product type. But i don't think i ever saw something > 6%I think eBay just uses the worse case scenario, and thats that?

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 12:34:12 pm
content: Quote from: onesixright on February 13, 2017, 10:51:02 amWhen you ship yourself it's your job to fill up a ton of paperwork to declare the contents, value, and make a "commercial invoice" that the receiving country's customs will then use to calculate the import tax etc they will bill to the recipient when they process the import. It is a PITA especially if you're not used to the process as an individual (businesses shipping larger volumes have access to tools that make this easier).

author: Kilrah
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 12:37:53 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on February 13, 2017, 11:43:08 amTo be precise that's not Switzerland, it's the shipping company who can bill whatever they want for "processing" your case. AFAIK it isn't regulated, so some do take the opportunity to charge through the roof for that since you don't really have a choice.Worst I ever had was GLS, who decided they could charge CHF/$ 60 to process the import of a small 2kg package worth about the same... Made sure no company I work with used them to ship stuff to me again after that.

author: jolshefsky
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 02:38:46 pm
content: You know, every complaint in this thread gets a big "well, DUH!" from me."10% fees are too high, but I want buyer protection and I want a completely redesigned UI". You know what's free (in the U.S.)? Craigslist. It works on plain HTML and has no buyer protections."People charge too much for shipping, but people don't know basic physics and can't package things correctly". My company makes tools we ship all over the world and it took many hours to design the packing in the case, then more hours to find and purchase the exact right size shipping box and related internal protections. To ship a piece of equipment you've never shipped before means you need to do all that analysis—at least in a rational and cursory way. Go hire a packaging scientist for an hour to figure out how to ship something then tell me how $15 is exorbitant."Sellers charge too much for international shipping—it must be easy and they're ripping me off". Try to figure out what Harmonized code you need for your commercial invoice, and then why there is also a Schedule B which seems to be the same thing, and what's an EEI and who's your export agent ... once you're into your third hour figuring this stuff out, you start to question just how much it's worth to ship a relay halfway across the world. Not to mention addressing schemes are all different and not in one's native language. DHL is going to ask for a street address, city, state, postal code, and country, but when the buyer just strings everything on one line, it's quite difficult to figure out which is the Malaysian state name and which is the city. Sometimes the new EU is even worse because the union has made moving stuff around in Europe not much worse than going between states in the U.S., making people there think it's easy. However, once you cross a border from inside to outside the EU, all those conveniences disappear.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 02:51:42 pm
content: Quote from: Kilrah on February 13, 2017, 12:37:53 pmBut that's exactly my point: with Switzerland (the place, not the government itself — I didn't say it was the government charging the fees), you never know what the customs fees will be, because you don't know for sure which Swiss entity will perform the customs clearance. (And yes, Post GLS really is the worst.)

author: Nystemy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 03:41:07 pm
content: My experience of Ebay is that it is a decent place for buying stuff. And yes, sometimes they greatly miss-predict what import taxes are going to be, though, through something somewhere along the line I tend to get it back.Though the problem I see with Ebay is when trying to sell something, as their shipping settings are not simple nor are they always clear. (Or taking into account that I don't live in the US... despite that they know I live in Sweden.)It would have just been simpler if they just asked where the package is, how heavy it is, and it's dimensions, if its fragile, what the package is worth (aka the price that you sell it for), etc. Then one could simply state what shipping service one would like to use, like a national post office, or any of the numerus fright companies around. Then they would have all the easy information to make accurate shipping prices for the customers, and to a degree figure out what import tax could be.Though, maybe some place in the world has that, considering how ebay seams to act differently for different countries.Other then the selling stuff part, I find ebay as one of the better sites around.

author: Richard Head
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2017, 04:18:16 pm
content: When it's cheaper to buy an air ticket to the USA, rent a car, collect the equipment (VNA) and fly home again for less money than it is to have it couriered you know there's a problem.

author: R005T3r
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2017, 08:11:50 pm
content: On ebay, I buy connectors and stuff like that from china and sometimes refurbished instruments if costs are not that prohibitive, but only in a national level. I don't often go outside the EU.I've tried to sell, but considering that more than 40% of the earned amount went on shipping fees and ebay fees and you have to lose a lot of time in packaging.... This, added to the fact that if you sell more than 1000 Eur worth of goods police may make a check, well, selling is out of discussion... I use ad sites all the time, and you find also some deals in electronics.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2017, 09:11:08 pm
content: What forced me to stop most of my selling is when they started charging fees based on the total transaction including shipping, that made it possible to actually lose money on the transaction if you sell something inexpensive that costs a lot to ship. I understand the problem of people screwing eBay out of fees by selling $1 items with $400 shipping but come on. When I buy postage *through eBay* they know damn well how much I paid for the postage so there is no excuse for charging me a fee on top of that, it's pure greed.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2017, 09:33:05 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on February 14, 2017, 09:11:08 pmIt also allowed sellers to pass the costs for listings etc... onto the buyers by adding it to the shipping cost.

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2017, 01:30:59 am
content: Quote from: wilfred on February 10, 2017, 11:54:02 pmTry to keep up with memes, Dad... "Moran" was old ten years ago.