Do ebay sellers hurt themselves by setting rigid terms?
RYK
Posts: 35,797 ✭✭✭✭✭
Sometimes I see a very liquid coin like a PCGS MS-64 Saint with no or low bids on it. There almost always is a good reason. This seller is not especially egregious, but anyone who makes me go to the post office to get a money order does not get my bid. Period. What other auction terms irk you? Do you think some sellers hurt their chances of getting strong bids by making it too inconvenient for a potential buyer to consider their auction?
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<< <i>Especially those who only post to the BST board and nowhere else. They are just spamming the board for profit and not giving to the community. >>
Yeah, I won't buy from those who only show their face in the BST forum.
<< <i>but anyone who makes me go to the post office to get a money order does not get my bid. Period. >>
Horror of horrors!!! You mean you might actually have to visit a post office (I know they're pretty hard to find) and spend <gasp> $0.90 on a money order! Damn, you've got it rough, dude!
How dare a seller not pay the PayPal fees on top of the Ebay fees... and to have the nerve to "inconvenience" you on top of that... Geez!
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
Outrageous shipping charges are about the only thing that will stop me from bidding, if it's something I want in a price range I find acceptable. Paypal fees have grown to the point where I understand completely if a seller states they refuse Paypal. I'm at the p.o.box almost daily so picking up a money order is no big deal. I don't care about the modest USPS money order fee. Do you really not bid, on a great coin, just because the seller asks for a money order? USPS money orders are one of the safest ways to transfer money. You'll have the USPS dogs on your side, if you run into a problem with the deal. I've found that helpful.
KJ
I don't mind going to the post office to purchase a money order for a collector who has answered my questions sufficiently and simply doesn't want to pay the fees for accepting PayPal from credit cards. However, I refuse to bid on auctions with high shipping fees when the seller states he will not consolidate shipping for winners of multiple auctions closing within 48 hours.
I also refuse to bid on any coin on eBay without pictures, those with pictures worse than none, and coins from sellers who put "estate" or "L@@K" in the title and offer no return privilege. I am also unlikely to bid on coin auctions in which the seller claims he can't grade, unless the picture looks two or three grades better than the grade in the title.
eBay needs to establish a "blocked seller" list to save considerable time for those of us who still buy coins this way.
I agree with this- sometimes I set aside any irritations with an unreasonable seller because they might be driving a lot of people away from a quality coin....
Well, "Dude", just take my personal check and sit on it for a month for all I care. Some of us do not have the luxury of time to go to the post office whenever we want to buy something. I guess that some don't understand that some of us have to <gasp> WORK (excuse me for using a four letter word) for a living. It's not about the fee. Heck, I will add the 90 cents to the check if you like.
Require a money order? Won't get my biz. Period.
Edited to add: I do not mind the outrageous shipping charges. I just factor them into my bid.
<< <i>Sometimes I see a very liquid coin like a PCGS MS-64 Saint with no or low bids on it. There almost always is a good reason. This seller is not especially egregious, but anyone who makes me go to the post office to get a money order does not get my bid. Period. What other auction terms irk you? Do you think some sellers hurt their chances of getting strong bids by making it too inconvenient for a potential buyer to consider their auction? >>
Personally, if the lot is under $500 and you don't accept any form of online payment, you won't get my bid, period. Sorry, but them's the breaks. If it's over $500, I'll be happy to send a Personal Check or a Postal Money Order (As long as you're willing to wait until Saturday for me to mail it, even if it's a Monday), though. And that average 30 minutes that it takes to go to the post office and stand in line during post office hours to get a $0.90 money order (Which are the same hours I work) end up really costing me over $50 worth of work time.
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream
If a seller only accepts a money order or cashier's check, well, I guess he can take his coin and find
another buyer.
I have better things to do than stand in line especially with holiday gridlock. My time is
worth money and I ain't waisting it for a seller who is trying to save a couple of bucks at my expense.
It ain't the buck or two I spend on a money order it's my time, plain and simple. I have better things
to do than run to the post office in the middle of the day for a cheapstake seller. Goodby and good day
to these sellers.
Bruce
Time is money? Sure, but if you buy $75 under PCGS value how much time is that worth?
My P.O. is maybe a mile away, 90C for a M.O., Buyer will pay for insurance and confirmation delivery.Seller will pay mailing via USPS standard mail.
BIG DEAL, most auctions say that....or should!
What am I missing here?
<< <i>Time is money? Sure, but if you buy $75 under PCGS value how much time is that worth?
If we're being realistic, the total time it takes me to get to the Post Office, Get a Money Order, and return to work costs my employer more than $75.
Self Indulgence | Holey Coins | Flickr Photostream
<< <i>Well, "Dude", just take my personal check and sit on it for a month for all I care. Some of us do not have the luxury of time to go to the post office whenever we want to buy something. I guess that some don't understand that some of us have to <gasp> WORK (excuse me for using a four letter word) for a living. It's not about the fee. Heck, I will add the 90 cents to the check if you like. >>
Personal checks are fine with me, but I find that people are impatient and want their coin sent to them immediately. If a little old money order is going to keep you from bidding on something, you're missing out on a lot of nice coins. But that's your choice, even if I think it's a foolish one. It's just one less bidder I have to contend with.
And as far as "WORK" prohibiting you from going to a post office, I just don't buy it... unless you live in Bugbite, Alabama with the nearest post office being 30 minutes away. Then I could understand. I average about 70 hours of work per week and somehow if I need to go to the post office, I can always find the time to do it. It's called "taking 10-15 minutes out of my lunch time" or "getting up early on a Saturday morning."
If the coin is worth owning, whatever minor inconvenience there is in making it to the post office is just that... MINOR.
Oh, you edited out all the good stuff
I'm also in the world of medicine and understand your time constraints. However, I wouldn't let getting a money order stop me from buying something really nice, where the seller was carved in stone on having a money order as payment. If I can come up with the money, which is sometimes the tough part, I can surely figure out how to get a money order.
Where there's a will, there's a way
KJ
Let's look at this from a time perspective. Conservatively speaking it will take me about 10 minutes to drive to
the post office and another ten minutes to drive back. With the post office lines out the doors with Christmas
around the corner I'll probably spend another 15 minutes in line.
Oh, and by the way, I also have to drive back and forth to my bank and get cash for the post office transaction.
For me to spend an hour of my time in the middle of a work day I better be buying one hell of a coin!
I doubt very much that I can make this assessment based on a digital image.
Bruce
The coins that I really collect are rarely offered on ebay.
Because I wanted to see if I could engage you, MOC, in a confrontation in any subject. So far, it's working.
Let's try again: it's dark outside now.
jom
I always like to read how many people don't have time, and how important their time is.....
AS they sit on this message board posting every day and night how they don't have time and how important their time is. UM..
<< <i>I always like to read how many people don't have time, and how important their time is..... AS they sit on this message board posting every day and night how they don't have time and how important their time is. UM.. >>
That thought crossed my mind as well! I guess they'd rather talk about coins than make efforts to purchase them!
<< <i>I'm going to try and turn this into a positive thread.
I always like to read how many people don't have time, and how important their time is.....
AS they sit on this message board posting every day and night how they don't have time and how important their time is. UM..
ROFL
That is too funny!!!!
<< <i>Sounds like buyers can have rigid terms as well. I think it all boils down to ones perspective. >>
Absolutely correct!
People also have different wants and needs. Some people will do this and some won't. Some people will do that and some won't. People, it's called life! It would be damn boring if everyone did everything the same way and thought the same!
Any seller I've potentially dealt with who had that requirement let me send a personal check when I told him my FB is 100% positive and I didn't care if he held up shipment for a week.
As Julian has said more than once, this hobby is a luxury using discretionary income, and if I don't like the seller or his terms, no sale.
I just won't pay by Money Order/ Cashiers check or Personal check. There will be no dispute resolution methods once I pay with those instruments. Always credit cards and paypal.
I paid once with money orders and got burned...
It takes me about a minute or two to write out a check and pop it into my mailbox or I stop at the Post Office on the way into work. I find it rather silly that you wouldn't purchase a coin that you want because the seller doesn't offer online payments. I can only conclude that you really don't want the coin and if that is the case you leave yourself open as a seller to many returns for no good reason. Over the years I have received many emails from buyers wanting to know if I have other coins for sale. This tells me I am doing it the right way.
Unless you are selling generic coins then your coins will always appeal to a certain group of collectors if you present nice photos and deal with them honestly. Honesty and fast shipping are way more important to be as a buyer then method of payment.
Is the post office open at midnight? I will wait until everyone is asleep and instead of posting here, get in line for a money order. I have plenty of free time at night after the kids go to bed.
I find it rather silly that you wouldn't purchase a coin that you want because the seller doesn't offer online payments.
I am not sure if that comment was directed toward me (I have been called "silly" a couple of times), but as I stated earlier, I will gladly write and send a check the day the auction and wait a month (or longer, if need be) for the seller to feel comfortable that my check has cleared.
As a seller, I can usually size up a buyer based on his feedback. I do receive checks (prefer them, actually), and will send the coin as soon as the check is received in most cases. This is in part because it is slightly more convenient to go to the bank (or ATM)than the post office and partly because it is not exactly clear to me when the check has passed through with flying colors. Most of my transactions are relatively smaller ones, I have not (yet) been burned, and if I were, I would not consider it the end of the world. If selling coins (or anything else) on ebay were my livelihood, I might feel differently about this issue.
As Julian has said more than once, this hobby is a luxury using discretionary income, and if I don't like the seller or his terms, no sale.
Good point. And established coin dealers do not require money orders. If Legend, Pinnacle, etc. required a money order, money wire, or other means of "good" funds, I expect that they also sell much fewer coins. I can just see TDN now trying to sneak out of the house on a Saturday morning to get to the bank to wire funds to Legend for a seated dollar while Mrs. TDN has a list a mile long of things she wants him to do...
Three year old daughter calling...gotta go...I will tell her that instead of waiting in line to see Santa Claus today, we are going to wait in line to get a money order for $23.50.
Just don't try to sell me that you would pass on something important to you because you have to sit down at a desk and actually write out a check and stick it in your mailbox or on your way into work stop at the 7-11 and pick up a money order along with your morning cup of coffee.
I don't do paypal.
There has been threads here where a seller sent a coin, and the buyer got paypal to take the money out of their account and refund it to them, and the seller never got their coin back.
Isn't gonna happen to me.
I'll take your personal check, if getting a money order is inconvenient for you. You will have to wait for me to ship your coin until I'm sure your check is good.
In the for instance of this auction for the 1910-D Saint, did you email the seller and explain that you's like to bid but getting a M.O. would be difficult? He may well have made an exception for you.
Ray
<< <i>I sell a little on Ebay.
I don't do paypal.
There has been threads here where a seller sent a coin, and the buyer got paypal to take the money out of their account and refund it to them, and the seller never got their coin back. >>
But did they only ship to a confirmed address?
Personally, I see PayPal fees as a non-issue. I figure it brings out more bidders, and therefore higher sale prices on the items I offer. I suspect this more than offsets the added fees. Regardless of what we think of them or their reasoning, the simple fact is that many bidders will pass on an item if they have to jump through additional hoops to bid or to pay for a lot they won. Fewer bidders = lower sale prices in many cases.
But I generally don't ship to unconfirmed addresses. With cheap items sold to bidders with solid feedback histories, I may take a chance, but generally, no.
I work in a downtown area, with a PO a block from my office building, so I could just stop by on a lunch or coffee break. I agree that being inflexible reduces the number of bidders, but from a buyer's perspective --- advantage me!!!
for money orders. So now I have to go to the bank to take out cash then go to the post office.The bank charges $10
for a money orderthru them. I'm talking about purchases over say $500 where I can't go to an ATM.
It's high shipping cost so the seller doesn't have to pay the ebay fee that irks me. Snipers irk me too but that's another thread.
<< <i>The problem with money orders for me is that the post office only takes cash to purchase one.No checks,no credit cards
for money orders. So now I have to go to the bank to take out cash then go to the post office.The bank charges $10
for a money orderthru them. I'm talking about purchases over say $500 where I can't go to an ATM. >>
Most POs (and all the ones I've used) take debit cards to pay for MOs, so its just like writing a check. I purchased $1,400 in postal MOs once using my debit card.
I shake my head in disbelief at some of the eBay auctions I see. These are the auctions were the seller is obviously afraid to do business with anyone. They set ridiculous terms, charge absurd fees for postage and their auction description has a hostile overtone. I will never understand it. I am amazed that some of these sellers ever sell a single thing on eBay. I have passed on items that I wanted just because I could foresee a potential problem with an irrational seller.
Our eBay auctions - TRUE auctions: start at $0.01, no reserve, 30 day unconditional return privilege & free shipping!
WH
Switch to decaf.
Take up yoga.
Get a girlfriend.
Do some exercise.
Anything to relax and work out your frustration.
Now, back to the topic - At every post office where I live, Memphis, the lines are long and slow, the clerks surly as they scratch their private parts while they b@tch about how tough they have it. Fortunately, grocery stores sell money orders, too.
My gripe is with sellers who refuse to offer insurance. How can you in good conscience mail something valuable, like a coin, and not offer insurance? This tells me that they have a lousy post office, too, and don't want to stand in line.
Mike
<< <i>Horror of horrors!!! You mean you might actually have to visit a post office (I know they're pretty hard to find) and spend <gasp> $0.90 on a money order! Damn, you've got it rough, dude!
Well, "Dude", just take my personal check and sit on it for a month for all I care. Some of us do not have the luxury of time to go to the post office whenever we want to buy something. I guess that some don't understand that some of us have to <gasp> WORK (excuse me for using a four letter word) for a living. It's not about the fee. Heck, I will add the 90 cents to the check if you like.
Require a money order? Won't get my biz. Period.
Edited to add: I do not mind the outrageous shipping charges. I just factor them into my bid. >>
Agreed, why a mo? Also, hell w/ over priced shipping. Its not like a coin is over sized or over weight. And finally No Pic's, No Sale.
Thank You
SilverDollar
<< <i>
<< <i>Well, "Dude", just take my personal check and sit on it for a month for all I care. Some of us do not have the luxury of time to go to the post office whenever we want to buy something. I guess that some don't understand that some of us have to <gasp> WORK (excuse me for using a four letter word) for a living. It's not about the fee. Heck, I will add the 90 cents to the check if you like. >>
Personal checks are fine with me, but I find that people are impatient and want their coin sent to them immediately. If a little old money order is going to keep you from bidding on something, you're missing out on a lot of nice coins. But that's your choice, even if I think it's a foolish one. It's just one less bidder I have to contend with.
And as far as "WORK" prohibiting you from going to a post office, I just don't buy it... unless you live in Bugbite, Alabama with the nearest post office being 30 minutes away. Then I could understand. I average about 70 hours of work per week and somehow if I need to go to the post office, I can always find the time to do it. It's called "taking 10-15 minutes out of my lunch time" or "getting up early on a Saturday morning."
If the coin is worth owning, whatever minor inconvenience there is in making it to the post office is just that... MINOR. >>
And heaven forbid the MO gets lost, then u scrape up more $ and repay seller, while u wait 90 days 4 the MO reimbursement.
Thank You
SilverDollar
In the time spent complaining about lines at the bad old post office you could find another establishment that sells money orders.. seems like people would rather complain than try and come up with another solution.
I admit, I prefer paypal or credit cards, but I'm not going to stop from bidding on something just because I have to go buy a money order... I work it into my errands, because money orders are a lot easier to buy than some of you make it out to be!!!
Cameron Kiefer