EBay madness

[Rail-Online]

Another problem is the wretched eBay customs paid scam. It's just a way of eBay screwing more money out of us, and l for one refuse to bid on them as all you are doing is paying an agents fee for duty which is way above the usual!

Peter,

I have never come across this before -please explain.

 

Tony

[Metr0Land]

Peter,

I have never come across this before -please explain.

 

Tony

 

I think Adams442T is referring to this discussion?

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/93075-global-postal-system/

[wombatofludham]

I recently bought two items from the USA, one was sent using the customs prepay system, the other not.  Both customs and postage charges ended up costing the same, but the prepaid item came straight to my door, the other was held hostage at my local post office for the customs fee to be paid, £8 of which was Royal Mail's "handling fee".  Given my local sorting office only opens two hours in the morning and is 8 miles away, having to make a special journey to pay the customs ransom and be charged £8 by the Royal Mail for the privilege was a royal pain in the behind.  If I buy from foreign sellers now I specifically look for those who use the eBay customs clearance system simply because I know I'll get the items delivered to my door, and not held hostage for extortion by Postman Prat.

[Il Grifone]

So, not "exactly" madness perhaps, other than the fact that I'm sure the seller would have a better chance/easier time selling in groups or individually...

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161517228023?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Price-wise around the right amount, maybe??? Some look worth buying some less so - for example, I'd bid on one of the pullmans if they were separated out!

 

Even though he offers worldwide shipping, as a single "lot" it'd probably be prohibitive internationally and he'll likely mostly get a US buyer, even then I'm guessing the postage here would be pretty steep for all that kit! Can't imagine any US buyer interested in the entire LOT though, but could well be proven wrong...

 

The price seems about right as there is nothing particularly rare (at least this side of the pond). It's just a collection of some of Wrenn's more fanciful/imaginary liveries. I think the only accurate ones are the two utility vans and the Presflow hopper! (allowing that the Southern green is a dubious tint). I would think collectors would indeed only be interested in odd items and dealers would not be interested in the price.

 

The Malachite rebuilt W.C., BR Blue Castle and GWR livery 2-6-4T are all flights of fancy (unless these horrors were perpetrated under preservation).

Edited December 13, 2014 by Il Grifone

[RFS]

I recently bought two items from the USA, one was sent using the customs prepay system, the other not.  Both customs and postage charges ended up costing the same, but the prepaid item came straight to my door, the other was held hostage at my local post office for the customs fee to be paid, £8 of which was Royal Mail's "handling fee".  Given my local sorting office only opens two hours in the morning and is 8 miles away, having to make a special journey to pay the customs ransom and be charged £8 by the Royal Mail for the privilege was a royal pain in the behind.  If I buy from foreign sellers now I specifically look for those who use the eBay customs clearance system simply because I know I'll get the items delivered to my door, and not held hostage for extortion by Postman Prat.

 

You don't have to go to the sorting office to pay the £8 - you can do it online as I did recently.

Edited December 13, 2014 by RFS

[wombatofludham]

You don't have to go to the sorting office to pay the £8 - you can do it online as I did recently.

I know, but then I would have had to wait 24 hours for redelivery and I wouldn't have been in when the postman came, so I had no alternative unless I delayed it another 24 hours.  Having to pay the Royal Mail is a more inconvenient way to pay customs charges in rural Wales.

[Andy Reichert]

I got screwed recently by "192.com" looking for a UK person who had moved.

 

Pre-paid and got no result, was asked for a premium fee to get the result, but still nothing found. They even billed my deposit again for double checking the same search

 

They refused a refund and Pay-Pay wouldn't support me.

 

Don't ever use them!

 

Andy

[Andy Reichert]

I've had a couple of issues with ebay sellers recently unfortunately.

First a model just didn't turn up, no communication or anything from the seller. An ebay dispute started and won. Only possible honourable solution was that the seller had been taken ill or worse, but no communication either way and account still active.

 

Other one is this class 44, which I took to be the new Bachmann tooling with correct nose Seam and 21-pin DCC chassis. The photo is pretty conclusive evidence to me as to what I expected to get.

image.jpg.

What I received was this. Obviously a renumbered first tooling 44 008 Penyghent, with 8-pin DCC chassis. Told also DCC fitted, yet to check that. For £60 the second version tooling would be a bargain, not quite so for the earlier tooling, so not a happy bunny.

image.jpg

 

Can we not identify the seller here?

Edited December 13, 2014 by Andy Reichert

[Metr0Land]

Can we not identify the seller here?

 

It's in the public domain.  A quick search on ebay completed listings for Great Gable shows it.

['CHARD]

This shows a disarming lack of taste:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Great-Train-Robbery-1963-/281521763860?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item418c013614

[Il Grifone]

This shows a disarming lack of taste:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/The-Great-Train-Robbery-1963-/281521763860?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item418c013614

 

This tasteless (and overpriced) item has been here before (Not surprisingly it doesn't sell!).

 

Just a thought, shouldn't the coaches be sorting vans?

[Downendian]

Can we not identify the seller here?

Happy to do so, but awaiting the outcome of the dispute which gives the seller a couple of days grace to accept a refund. I think there are two possible scenarios

(1) the seller is no model railway aficionado and doesn't know the difference between a class 40 and a class 44, let alone the sublty of two different Bachmann toolings. He regards me as a slightly OCD rail enthusiast who is being ultra fussy.

(2) he knows exactly what he's doing and is part way of fobbing off a rather substandard class 44 model.

He has currently 100% feedback, he won't for much longer and he does sell quite a bit of model railway stuff, so (1) above is suspect. I will post outcome.

Neil

This tasteless (and overpriced) item has been here before (Not surprisingly it doesn't sell!).

 

Just a thought, shouldn't the coaches be sorting vans?

Should be D326 too!

Neil

[TheWeatheringMan]

Happy to do so, but awaiting the outcome of the dispute which gives the seller a couple of days grace to accept a refund. I think there are two possible scenarios

(1) the seller is no model railway aficionado and doesn't know the difference between a class 40 and a class 44, let alone the sublty of two different Bachmann toolings. He regards me as a slightly OCD rail enthusiast who is being ultra fussy.

(2) he knows exactly what he's doing and is part way of fobbing off a rather substandard class 44 model.

He has currently 100% feedback, he won't for much longer and he does sell quite a bit of model railway stuff, so (1) above is suspect. I will post outcome.

Neil

Should be D326 too!

Neil

Hi Neil,

 

Very sorry indeed to hear of the problem your having.

 

Have looked at the original listing and I noted something rather interesting.

 

His information says that ' the drivers bars and windows have been reglued'

Now windows I understand and I assume that the Class 44's were fitted with a cooker for the crew to make the tea on ............. but a BAR !.

Bet there was no driver shortage when a 44 was rostered !!.

 

Just hoped that might at least give you a smile to help with the disappointment.

 

I'm sure all of us will wish you all the best in resolving this matter to your satisfaction.

 

Regards

[Andy Reichert]

 

This is what appears on the US ebay web pages. You have two clearly different photos, and so a clear case. They should have stepped in right away and insisted the seller accept a return for full refund.  Make a HUGE fuss to EBAY if they don't move on this.  There's also no reason why many of us couldn't also contact the seller and tell him that his reputation is going to be slammed on many public train forums, if he doesn't shape up.

 

Andy

[Guest]

 

This is what appears on the US ebay web pages. You have two clearly different photos, and so a clear case. They should have stepped in right away and insisted the seller accept a return for full refund.  Make a HUGE fuss to EBAY if they don't move on this.  There's also no reason why many of us couldn't also contact the seller and tell him that his reputation is going to be slammed on many public train forums, if he doesn't shape up.

 

Andy

 

I can think of at least two very good reasons why we shouldn't contact the seller...

First, it's clearly a case of "not as described" and I'm pretty sure that Downendian is perfectly capable of sorting this out on his own.

Second, are you seriously suggesting we all start sending threatening messages to the seller? Nice.

[Andy Y]

Unfortunately the dispute system is also incredibly difficult to start (or even find) on eBay. I'm in the process of doing so, but the seller has flatly refused a refund, despite the crystal clear "not as described" issue being pointed out.

Just checked the model - it has a DCC chip, and rudimentary lighting installed. Still it's not the new tooling, so will be looking for either a discount or full refund. Will post outcome and overall ebay responses to this dispute - the last one was handled very well indeed.

Neil

 

Thankfully the system is likely to resolve in your favour; refusal of their responses or suggested resolutions should result in a refund. I'd say it's a case of a 'borrowed' image by a lazy seller; I've had to report a few items where images of mine have been 'borrowed', normally they get taken down pretty quickly when you report the person as not having the item.

[Keith George]

Something that really annoys me about some ebay sellers.

I  paid for a item I bought about a hour ago, then within about ten minutes it was marked as dispatched..!!

 

Oh yes,???  Early Sunday evening via Royal mail. ?  I have had this happen several times recently.

It would seem that dispatched is becoming pointless with some sellers.

 

When I sell items i never mark it as dispatched until it is in the hands of the Royal Mail or a courier.

 

Keith.

[TheWeatheringMan]

Something that really annoys me about some ebay sellers.

I  paid for a item I bought about a hour ago, then within about ten minutes it was marked as dispatched..!!

 

Oh yes,???  Early Sunday evening via Royal mail. ?  I have had this happen several times recently.

It would seem that dispatched is becoming pointless with some sellers.

 

When I sell items i never mark it as dispatched until it is in the hands of the Royal Mail or a courier.

 

Keith.

Hi,

 

Just to maintain a fair balance and keep things straight on this 'despatched' point.

 

Local to me is what was a Martin's newsagents (and stockist of GBL models) which contain the local sub post office.

The shop has recently been fully refitted and now trades as a 'McColls' (a sister company).

Part of the refit has included a small post office counter next to the shop tills - this is in addition to the 'normal' post office section at the side of the shop.

Now of course the 'normal' post office counters are closed on a Sunday but two of the shop staff including the Manager have now been trained in some aspects of the post office operation - specifically to 'man' the extra counter during shop hours when the normal post office section is closed.

This has resulted in greatly extended hours that one can make use of post office facilities via this extra counter including 0700 till 1900 on a Sunday - including the posting of letters and parcels - although these will not of course be collected by the postman until Monday morning.

Now I do know (from chatting to the Manager, a friend) that similar has happened at other shops in the Martin McColl chain that contain a sub post office.

Whilst its not possible to be sure in the case of the above, it does however make it perfectly possible that the seller has indeed handed in the parcelled item to such a post office and therefore quite correctly marked the item as 'despatched' having done so.

 

Whilst there have been many justifiable critisisms of ebay sellers within this thread I think this point should be raised in order to keep things in balance.

 

Regards

Edited December 14, 2014 by TheWeatheringMan

[plarailfan]

Yes, I sold an item on ebay recently, on a Sunday afternoon and printed off the ebay / paypal postage label as soon as the winning bidder paid (almost immediately), but then, to my annoyance, discovered the system had marked the item as "dispatched" when clearly, this was impossible !

Now, I wait until Monday to print off the postage label when I am ready to go to the Post Office.

Personally, I like to print off the postage label using the ebay system, as it leaves a useful and convenient "paper trail" to see my yearly postal costs, along with ebay fees.      

[TheWeatheringMan]

Yes, I sold an item on ebay recently, on a Sunday afternoon and printed off the ebay / paypal postage label as soon as the winning bidder paid (almost immediately), but then, to my annoyance, discovered the system had marked the item as "dispatched" when clearly, this was impossible !

Now, I wait until Monday to print off the postage label when I am ready to go to the Post Office.

Personally, I like to print off the postage label using the ebay system, as it leaves a useful and convenient "paper trail" to see my yearly postal costs, along with ebay fees.      

Hi,

Thankyou for that info.

Its a long time since I've sold anything on ebay (cant say the same about buying though !!) and I didn't remember that eBay's damm system does that, if fact I'm not even sure I actually noticed on the few occasions I printed out a postage label.

I think between us we have covered both situations - and I agree totally that this is very wrong of ebay to do this as its likely to be the cause of friction between buyers and sellers.

I think ebay will eventually realise, as they loose out to new auction sites, that their treatment of both sellers and buyers has got too greedy.

I do agree however that they do indeed have some good points - especially the sorting of problems with sellers to name one.

Regards

[PhilJ W]

Hi,

 

Just to maintain a fair balance and keep things straight on this 'despatched' point.

 

Local to me is what was a Martin's newsagents (and stockist of GBL models) which contain the local sub post office.

The shop has recently been fully refitted and now trades as a 'McColls' (a sister company).

Part of the refit has included a small post office counter next to the shop tills - this is in addition to the 'normal' post office section at the side of the shop.

Now of course the 'normal' post office counters are closed on a Sunday but two of the shop staff including the Manager have now been trained in some aspects of the post office operation - specifically to 'man' the extra counter during shop hours when the normal post office section is closed.

This has resulted in greatly extended hours that one can make use of post office facilities via this extra counter including 0700 till 1900 on a Sunday - including the posting of letters and parcels - although these will not of course be collected by the postman until Monday morning.

Now I do know (from chatting to the Manager, a friend) that similar has happened at other shops in the Martin McColl chain that contain a sub post office.

Whilst its not possible to be sure in the case of the above, it does however make it perfectly possible that the seller has indeed handed in the parcelled item to such a post office and therefore quite correctly marked the item as 'despatched' having done so.

 

Whilst there have been many justifiable critisisms of ebay sellers within this thread I think this point should be raised in order to keep things in balance.

 

Regards

There is a post office in a Tesco superstore that is open on Sundays.

[Andy Reichert]

I can think of at least two very good reasons why we shouldn't contact the seller...

First, it's clearly a case of "not as described" and I'm pretty sure that Downendian is perfectly capable of sorting this out on his own.

Second, are you seriously suggesting we all start sending threatening messages to the seller? Nice.

 

First, I thought the OP reported that the seller had so far rejected his claim.

 

Second, this is the internet age. There are many performance review sites that solicit and display reports of unhappy customer experiences for the education of potential future customers.

 

Informing a seller that his dubious practices are being widely noticed by others in his buyers market is hardly a threat, but more a way of giving important feedback. You'd certainly mention to your circle of friends if you were being systematically cheated by a local business. The seller shouldn't expect otherwise, but a reminder might correct his wrong impression.

 

Andy

[Downendian]

First contact was extremely polite, but pointing out item not as described. Immediate response was item WAS as described and pointing out that seller has a no returns policy. I then mentioned I'd use the ebay dispute system, and post negative feedback. I was then given the simple response "Crack on". So I have, sellers like this should be exposed, although again I suspect he doesn't know what the problem is.

Neil

[JimHearne]

First contact was extremely polite, but pointing out item not as described. Immediate response was item WAS as described and pointing out that seller has a no returns policy. I then mentioned I'd use the ebay dispute system, and post negative feedback. I was then given the simple response "Crack on". So I have, sellers like this should be exposed, although again I suspect he doesn't know what the problem is.

Neil

 

Be careful telling a seller you will post negative feedback, I said that to somebody a few years back and they reported me for "feedback blackmail", I received a warning from Ebay.

 

Jim

Edited December 15, 2014 by JimHearne

[Downendian]

Thanks Jim, but it's not blackmail as I fully intend to post negative feedback in any case!

Neil