I don't see many worries as the guy has a 20K rating and only 1 of 850+ listings over $50....don't think you would have to worry too much unless $50 is going to break you...
6000+ positives in last 30 days vs 5 negatives....law of averages playing out for probably 5 a$$holes (or cheapskates who want PSA 10 raw cards for 1/10th of SMR6 price and then ask for refund) out there...
<< <i>I don't see many worries as the guy has a 20K rating and only 1 of 850+ listings over $50....don't think you would have to worry too much unless $50 is going to break you...
6000+ positives in last 30 days vs 5 negatives....law of averages playing out for probably 5 a$$holes (or cheapskates who want PSA 10 raw cards for 1/10th of SMR6 price and then ask for refund) out there... >>
I don't know. I wasn't looking to buy, but I was pricing out some 69 bkb cards and he had stuff listed as EX and they were selling at times 300% higher than other sellers with better feedback % and had them listed as NM+ or NM/MT and had better scans. And his scans are chit. I started thinking something was up as this happened on 20+ cards I looked up.
His feed back looks impressive by the sheer numbers, but the percentage isn't great. And he is very offensive to his buyers.
I just thought I would aske as it seems his inferior cards go for more than similar cards and he is hostile to buyers. I will not buy from him, but I was wondering if anyone had any problems.
I bought a 1977 Kingman from him once described as NM, I sent it in to PSA and it came back a 9. The card was shipped well, and fast, so my one experience with him was positive.
From what I see for the 69, all I see is BB and it looks like he's starting them all at no more than $0.01 opening bid.....he looks like a real winner though...
His feedback looks pretty much canned for the positives (and it does look like he is fairly diligent on posting fb), unless you neg him, then he fires away...
I am sure with the volume of cards he's grinding, he has to deal with some real weiners out there, I can see where he's coming from to a point...but he should just let it go and not get so stressed over it...
I see how he makes scratch grinding now... REQUIRED INSURANCE of $2.30 (with his 3.50 shipping (3.50 for all purchased in 1 day...nice) if you use Paypal (nice way to circumvent Paypal fees)....
So, he probably sends out in padded envelope at about 0.50, I am sure he never does insurance, so he's netting about $5/card in shipping....sneaky...
Unless he's giving it away, I would probably go with your gut feeling Zef and just shop elsewhere...I will remember him in the future if I see something he has....
I just don't like how bent out of shape he gets over negs. With his volume how does he have time to verbally abuse the people that gave him negs? I had a bad experience with gborak and I saw his similar negs and response and I bid anyhow. I had to call the police on gborak after I negged him and he was stalking and threatening me. This just looked to similar.
But, will got a card advertised as NM and it graded a PSA 9 so some of his stuff is good. I guess it was his prices he got and then his attitude to negs combined with a $5.80 shipping charge.
Have bought cards from him maybe a dozen times. I'd say he overgrades slightly less than the average eBay raw card seller. How's that for a compliment?
If you pick and choose carefully from all the stuff he puts up, you can occasionally find a decent card or two.
Im fighting with this guy right now. I bought around a half dozen cards from him this week, maybe 2 or 3 one day, and 3 or 4 the next. He refuses to combine shipping on them. The insurance isnt required if you pay by mail, only paypal. He also charges $2.50 shipping when paying by mail instead of PP. Even so, I just cant stand when these jerks wont combine shipping, so this, along with his nasty attitude will make it the last time he gets any business from me.
"The other teams could make trouble for us if they win." -- Yogi Berra
To date - 2 transactions resulting in 2 disappointments.
In one instance, card described as NM-MT............and came with the largest wax stain on the reverse that I've ever seen. Would not respond to emails about it.
In September of 2004, I purchased 4 PSA graded 1953 Bowman Color baseball singles from him. My notes read as follows:
"Gem Mint 10 seller in all aspects. Does wait for check to clear, but good communication."
So at the time, I was very pleased.
However . . . since then I've become annoyed by the fact that he often lists his non-graded singles in the "graded" singles category, thereby honking up some of my searches (petty, I know!).
Also, as mentioned, the shipping has become a rip-off. I paid $2.50 total to have him ship 4 PSA graded cards in 2004.
Just my opinion, but I think he realized you're not going to make a good living selling PSA 5 graded singles, so he's selling them raw instead. If any of these cards were better than PSA 5 or 6, he'd send them in himself, although perhaps I'm wrong based on the 1977 Kingman experience below. Just my 2 cents . . .
I bought a 59 Aaron listed nm-mt only to have PSA reject it twice. I sent numerous emails and never got any response. The card looked great but with all the graded cards he sells he had to know that it was altered. This also happened awhile ago and I I have learned a leason. I NEVER buy raw cards from people who know about grading or grade cards unless they are at ex prices and listed a such.
I think I have dealt with him before, but I dont remember what for, so i went back and looked through my feedback. I didnt find codyp but I did find a ZEf204 from March of last year that I didnt know I had.
I bought a "NM/MT" raw Jack Ham rc for $15. When I received the card, there was a surface crease. After numerous e-mails, he finally responded and refunded my money. I agree w/ others on this thread that if the card is a star listed in NM/MT, it has a defect that is hard to see from a scan. If you're looking for 70's commons/minor stars (like the Kingman) you'll probably do ok - but I'd stay far away from anything that would sell for more than $10 if it was graded in the condition advertised.
Regards,
Greg M.
Collecting vintage auto'd fb cards and Dan Marino cards!!
I have bought over 100 cards from him. I have found that the cards from 1970s tend to be very good. The cards from 1960s tend to be slightly overgraded. I have sent 4 cards to PSA, as follows:
(1) 1975 Topps Reggie Jackson - sold as NM-MT. I received a grade of PSA 9.
(2) 1976 Topps Reggie Jackson - sold as NM-MT. I received a grade of PSA 8.
(3) 1976 Topps Hank Aaron - sold as NM+. I received a grade of PSA 8.
(4) 1976 Topps Nolan Ryan - sold as NM. I received a grade of PSA 7.
I have not received any cards with creases. I would definetly recommend him for mid to late 70s. If you are interested in earlier years, then be prepared for onw grade lower.
I recently bought some raw cards from him. I waited a month and wrote to ask where they were. He said I had failed to include my address with my payment. I looked at the cashed check and my correct address was very clearly printed there and my address is also available by emailing me and also from the contact request form via eBay. He never used any of those 3 methods and preferred to wait until I contacted him. I finally got the cards, and they are in about the expected condition, though. My previous dealings with him were better, but this one left me feeling like I won't buy from him again. He does deal in huge volume, so I'm sure he has to make lots mistakes per month. As others said, pay via check and you will save some cash. He claims to insure items, but not through the USPS, so he funds his insurance out of pocket I guess.
I have purchased a couple of items from him with positive results. I don't buy much from him because I think you have to be very choosey what you buy due to grading. Sometimes spectacular, sometimes not so spectacular. He has changed his shipping requirements since my previous transactions so Im not a good one to comment on that. I would suggest contacting him prior to bidding regarding combined shipping so that is clear up front.
I have bought quite a bit from him. I got fantastic unopened material, and his raw cards were par for the course as far as ebay goes. I was always pleased until very recently. He just started this crap with not combining shipping and charging buyers for his own made-up insurance. He has become a complete disapointment. I will probably never buy from him again.
It is an absolute bummer. I hate to lose a good source for cards.
Collector of 1976 Topps baseball for some stupid reason. Collector of Pittsburgh Pirates cards for a slightly less stupid reason. My Pirates Collection
<< <i>I have bought quite a bit from him. I got fantastic unopened material, and his raw cards were par for the course as far as ebay goes. I was always pleased until very recently. He just started this crap with not combining shipping and charging buyers for his own made-up insurance. He has become a complete disapointment. I will probably never buy from him again.
It is an absolute bummer. I hate to lose a good source for cards. >>
Wow, that is really sad. I would imagine he will be losing lots of business with those shipping/insurance practices.
<< <i>His feed back looks impressive by the sheer numbers, but the percentage isn't great. And he is very offensive to his buyers. I looked him up on toolhaus.org(takes a while to load) and saw the way he treated buyers. >>
Thanks for that link Zef. After viewing the comments there, I will definitely never buy from this seller. And if he reads this, I can imagine him saying: "I DONT WANT YOUR BUSINESS ANYWAY MORON".
<< <i>I think I have dealt with him before, but I dont remember what for, so i went back and looked through my feedback. I didnt find codyp but I did find a ZEf204 from March of last year that I didnt know I had. >>
<< <i>Thanks for that link Zef. After viewing the comments there, I will definitely never buy from this seller. And if he reads this, I can imagine him saying: "I DONT WANT YOUR BUSINESS ANYWAY MORON". >>
My thoughts exactly. Thanks for all the feedback fellas. I love this place.
I bought a few cards from him for the first time about a month ago and was very satisfied, i.e., thought the cards were properly graded. I have another auction win pending from him, so we'll see what that one is like.
Sometimes I don't get how bent out of shape everyone gets on shipping charges. They are what they are. If you don't like them, don't bid. Simple as that.
Stay classy,
Ron
Ron Burgundy
Buying Vintage, all sports. Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
I understand your point about shipping charges and including them when you consider how much you are paying for the item but to not combine shipping on multiple auction wins will drive away a lot of business.
<<Sometimes I don't get how bent out of shape everyone gets on shipping charges. They are what they are. If you don't like them, don't bid. Simple as that.>>
Agreed. That is why I will never bid on this guy's auctions.
I think the point is not how much shipping is, but what is says about the character of the seller. He is clearly trying to circumvent ebay fees. Also, not only does it not cost $2.30 to insure a $2.00 card, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to spend $2.30 to insure a $2.00 card now does it?
Well, since you continued your own thread from April, and I never saw this thread, I thought I'd chime in.
I bought about 5 1973 Topps football cards from him maybe a half a year ago or so. I sent three of them to PSA. Lydell Mitchell came back PSA 10, Dan Abramowicz came back PSA 9, and Larry Kaminski came back PSA 8. All cards were advertised as Nm-Mt.
I posted earlier on this thread that I had had good experiences with him. Well, about a month ago I won a few more cards from him and one that was advertised as NM+ turned out to be creased. I sent it back for a refund. He did not refund my money, he instead "issued a credit" to be used on a future bid. This is absolutely ridiculous. I am sorely tempted to neg him for this.
Ron
Ron Burgundy
Buying Vintage, all sports. Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
Neither PayPal nor eBay permit the al carte listing of "self-insurance."
Additionally, none of the sundry state offices of Insurance Commisioner allow the practice either.
There is nothing wrong with self-insurance schemes, provided they are practiced, say, like 4SC and MANY other BIG sellers do. You can state that the "shipping price includes insurance."
You cannot, legally, al carte the insurance line in the listing or on the invoice, if you yourself are the insurer. People who do this are in violation of insurance regs that are present in all 50-states. If you own a sate-licensed insurance company AND sell on eBay you might be able to show compliance, but maybe not even then.
Insurance companies and their agents are licensed and regulated by the states. The fines for setting up your own insurance company without a license are substantial. Jail terms can result.
Sellers wishing to "self-insure" simply need to include the fee in the S&H to avoid violating the laws. It is NOT a defense to such allegations that you were "applying the al carte requested insurance fees to pay the premiums on your own CIA policy." You may apply part of your S&H fees to such premiums, but you cannot hold yourself out as either a vendor-for-fee of insurance, or as a pass-through premium agent. Obvioulsy, the relationship between eBay sellers and the USPS is exempt from this maxim.
By using the $2.30 number, the implication that a real USPS "policy" is going to be purchased is pretty clear. That is, arguably, an attempt at fraud.
storm
Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
<< <i>Neither PayPal nor eBay permit the al carte listing of "self-insurance."
Additionally, none of the sundry state offices of Insurance Commisioner allow the practice either.
There is nothing wrong with self-insurance schemes, provided they are practiced, say, like 4SC and MANY other BIG sellers do. You can state that the "shipping price includes insurance."
You cannot, legally, al carte the insurance line in the listing or on the invoice, if you yourself are the insurer. People who do this are in violation of insurance regs that are present in all 50-states. If you own a sate-licensed insurance company AND sell on eBay you might be able to show compliance, but maybe not even then.
Insurance companies and their agents are licensed and regulated by the states. The fines for setting up your own insurance company without a license are substantial. Jail terms can result.
Sellers wishing to "self-insure" simply need to include the fee in the S&H to avoid violating the laws. It is NOT a defense to such allegations that you were "applying the al carte requested insurance fees to pay the premiums on your own CIA policy." You may apply part of your S&H fees to such premiums, but you cannot hold yourself out as either a vendor-for-fee of insurance, or as a pass-through premium agent. Obvioulsy, the relationship between eBay sellers and the USPS is exempt from this maxim.
By using the $2.30 number, the implication that a real USPS "policy" is going to be purchased is pretty clear. That is, arguably, an attempt at fraud.
storm >>
Just out of curiosity, how would one go about reporting a fraud like this?
There was some lingo that danced around the issue in the last tirade from Mr. Cobb about "excessive shipping fees." If you could get a live assistant manager at Trust & Safety, you could probably walk them through the problem. It is a prohibited practice, but Cobb's language in the memo seemed to indicate he was not sure how to enforce it. (I do not have his announcement in front of me, but it is/was on the top of all the Sellers' boards on eBay.)
A better/more fun avenue is to look up the number of the Insurance Commisioner's Office in an offender's state. Some state's house the commission in the Office of Consumer Affairs, but most have a free standing insurance regulatory body. Almost anybody who answers the phone would be happy to take a complaint about "a very serious issue of consumer fraud that is impacting consumers nationwide, and is originating in your state's jurisdiction."
The thrust of such a complaint would be two-fold:
The unsub is either collecting money for USPS insurance and not purchasing that insurance; or, he is collecting a specified/dedicated fee and holding himself out as an insurance company or an agent of an insurance company using such "premiums" to defray potential losses on items he is selling in interstate-commerce.
Either of those acts is criminal in nature. The later may be a "civil crime" in some jurisdictions, and would be punishable by a fine and a cease and desist order; the former could mean a jail cell.
storm
Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
There was some lingo that danced around the issue in the last tirade from Mr. Cobb about "excessive shipping fees." If you could get a live assistant manager at Trust & Safety, you could probably walk them through the problem. It is a prohibited practice, but Cobb's language in the memo seemed to indicate he was not sure how to enforce it. (I do not have his announcement in front of me, but it is/was on the top of all the Sellers' boards on eBay.)
A better/more fun avenue is to look up the number of the Insurance Commisioner's Office in an offender's state. Some state's house the commission in the Office of Consumer Affairs, but most have a free standing insurance regulatory body. Almost anybody who answers the phone would be happy to take a complaint about "a very serious issue of consumer fraud that is impacting consumers nationwide, and is originating in your state's jurisdiction."
The thrust of such a complaint would be two-fold:
The unsub is either collecting money for USPS insurance and not purchasing that insurance; or, he is collecting a specified/dedicated fee and holding himself out as an insurance company or an agent of an insurance company using such "premiums" to defray potential losses on items he is selling in interstate-commerce.
Either of those acts is criminal in nature. The later may be a "civil crime" in some jurisdictions, and would be punishable by a fine and a cease and desist order; the former could mean a jail cell.
storm >>
Hi Storm,
Just to be clear-- I think you're a real asset to these boards, and I invariably learn something from just about every one of your posts. But I ust have to know:
My guess is he is referring to Law School as prison. Or something of that degree. There is no chance he is dispensing free legal advice and no bar member would give this kind of info out without knowing all the facts. I think he has deep legal roots and training but is no longer practicing and/or affiliated with any state bar.
zef204
Posts: 4,742 ✭✭
Comments
6000+ positives in last 30 days vs 5 negatives....law of averages playing out for probably 5 a$$holes (or cheapskates who want PSA 10 raw cards for 1/10th of SMR6 price and then ask for refund) out there...
<< <i>I don't see many worries as the guy has a 20K rating and only 1 of 850+ listings over $50....don't think you would have to worry too much unless $50 is going to break you...
6000+ positives in last 30 days vs 5 negatives....law of averages playing out for probably 5 a$$holes (or cheapskates who want PSA 10 raw cards for 1/10th of SMR6 price and then ask for refund) out there... >>
I don't know. I wasn't looking to buy, but I was pricing out some 69 bkb cards and he had stuff listed as EX and they were selling at times 300% higher than other sellers with better feedback % and had them listed as NM+ or NM/MT and had better scans. And his scans are chit. I started thinking something was up as this happened on 20+ cards I looked up.
His feed back looks impressive by the sheer numbers, but the percentage isn't great. And he is very offensive to his buyers.
I looked him up on toolhaus.org(takes a while to load) and saw the way he treated buyers.
I just thought I would aske as it seems his inferior cards go for more than similar cards and he is hostile to buyers. I will not buy from him, but I was wondering if anyone had any problems.
My Auctions
His feedback looks pretty much canned for the positives (and it does look like he is fairly diligent on posting fb), unless you neg him, then he fires away...
I am sure with the volume of cards he's grinding, he has to deal with some real weiners out there, I can see where he's coming from to a point...but he should just let it go and not get so stressed over it...
So, he probably sends out in padded envelope at about 0.50, I am sure he never does insurance, so he's netting about $5/card in shipping....sneaky...
Unless he's giving it away, I would probably go with your gut feeling Zef and just shop elsewhere...I will remember him in the future if I see something he has....
I just don't like how bent out of shape he gets over negs. With his volume how does he have time to verbally abuse the people that gave him negs? I had a bad experience with gborak and I saw his similar negs and response and I bid anyhow. I had to call the police on gborak after I negged him and he was stalking and threatening me. This just looked to similar.
But, will got a card advertised as NM and it graded a PSA 9 so some of his stuff is good. I guess it was his prices he got and then his attitude to negs combined with a $5.80 shipping charge.
My Auctions
Have bought cards from him maybe a dozen times.
I'd say he overgrades slightly less than the average eBay raw card seller. How's that for a compliment?
If you pick and choose carefully from all the stuff he puts up, you can occasionally find a decent card or two.
"How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
-- Yogi Berra
In one instance, card described as NM-MT............and came with the largest wax stain on the reverse that I've ever seen. Would not respond to emails about it.
So, 2 thumbs down
"Gem Mint 10 seller in all aspects. Does wait for check to clear, but good communication."
So at the time, I was very pleased.
However . . . since then I've become annoyed by the fact that he often lists his non-graded singles in the "graded" singles category, thereby honking up some of my searches (petty, I know!).
Also, as mentioned, the shipping has become a rip-off. I paid $2.50 total to have him ship 4 PSA graded cards in 2004.
Just my opinion, but I think he realized you're not going to make a good living selling PSA 5 graded singles, so he's selling them raw instead. If any of these cards were better than PSA 5 or 6, he'd send them in himself, although perhaps I'm wrong based on the 1977 Kingman experience below. Just my 2 cents . . .
1957 Topps 99% 7.40 GPA
Hank Aaron Basic PSA 7-8(75%)
Regards,
Greg M.
References:
Onlychild, Ahmanfan, fabfrank, wufdude, jradke, Reese, Jasp, thenavarro
E-Bay id: greg_n_meg
(1) 1975 Topps Reggie Jackson - sold as NM-MT. I received a grade of PSA 9.
(2) 1976 Topps Reggie Jackson - sold as NM-MT. I received a grade of PSA 8.
(3) 1976 Topps Hank Aaron - sold as NM+. I received a grade of PSA 8.
(4) 1976 Topps Nolan Ryan - sold as NM. I received a grade of PSA 7.
I have not received any cards with creases. I would definetly recommend him for mid to late 70s. If you are interested in earlier years, then be prepared for onw grade lower.
David
It is an absolute bummer. I hate to lose a good source for cards.
Collector of Pittsburgh Pirates cards for a slightly less stupid reason.
My Pirates Collection
<< <i>I have bought quite a bit from him. I got fantastic unopened material, and his raw cards were par for the course as far as ebay goes. I was always pleased until very recently. He just started this crap with not combining shipping and charging buyers for his own made-up insurance. He has become a complete disapointment. I will probably never buy from him again.
It is an absolute bummer. I hate to lose a good source for cards. >>
Wow, that is really sad. I would imagine he will be losing lots of business with those shipping/insurance practices.
<< <i>
<< <i>His feed back looks impressive by the sheer numbers, but the percentage isn't great. And he is very offensive to his buyers.
I looked him up on toolhaus.org(takes a while to load) and saw the way he treated buyers. >>
Thanks for that link Zef. After viewing the comments there, I will definitely never buy from this seller. And if he reads this, I can imagine him saying: "I DONT WANT YOUR BUSINESS ANYWAY MORON".
My ebay listings
<< <i>I think I have dealt with him before, but I dont remember what for, so i went back and looked through my feedback. I didnt find codyp but I did find a ZEf204 from March of last year that I didnt know I had. >>
I hear that guy is a real a-hole
My Auctions
<< <i>Thanks for that link Zef. After viewing the comments there, I will definitely never buy from this seller. And if he reads this, I can imagine him saying: "I DONT WANT YOUR BUSINESS ANYWAY MORON". >>
My thoughts exactly. Thanks for all the feedback fellas. I love this place.
My Auctions
Sometimes I don't get how bent out of shape everyone gets on shipping charges. They are what they are. If you don't like them, don't bid. Simple as that.
Stay classy,
Ron
Buying Vintage, all sports.
Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
Agreed. That is why I will never bid on this guy's auctions.
I think the point is not how much shipping is, but what is says about the character of the seller. He is clearly trying to circumvent ebay fees. Also, not only does it not cost $2.30 to insure a $2.00 card, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to spend $2.30 to insure a $2.00 card now does it?
My Auctions
I bought about 5 1973 Topps football cards from him maybe a half a year ago or so. I sent three of them to PSA. Lydell Mitchell came back PSA 10, Dan Abramowicz came back PSA 9, and Larry Kaminski came back PSA 8. All cards were advertised as Nm-Mt.
So, all positive here.
Kelly
It seems to me if oxygen touches the card, the best I can get is a 9.
"All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
Not that it really matters, but I read somewhere that you are not allowed to charge more than actual cost for insurance.
If that is true, couldn't someone get ALL of his auctions pulled?
If so, I would pay to see this guys meltdown.
Joe
Ron
Buying Vintage, all sports.
Buying Woody Hayes, Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, and Jesse Owens autographed items
Additionally, none of the sundry state offices of Insurance Commisioner
allow the practice either.
There is nothing wrong with self-insurance schemes, provided they
are practiced, say, like 4SC and MANY other BIG sellers do. You can
state that the "shipping price includes insurance."
You cannot, legally, al carte the insurance line in the listing or on the
invoice, if you yourself are the insurer. People who do this are in
violation of insurance regs that are present in all 50-states. If
you own a sate-licensed insurance company AND sell on eBay
you might be able to show compliance, but maybe not even then.
Insurance companies and their agents are licensed and regulated
by the states. The fines for setting up your own insurance company
without a license are substantial. Jail terms can result.
Sellers wishing to "self-insure" simply need to include the fee in
the S&H to avoid violating the laws. It is NOT a defense to
such allegations that you were "applying the al carte requested
insurance fees to pay the premiums on your own CIA policy."
You may apply part of your S&H fees to such premiums, but you
cannot hold yourself out as either a vendor-for-fee of insurance,
or as a pass-through premium agent. Obvioulsy, the relationship
between eBay sellers and the USPS is exempt from this maxim.
By using the $2.30 number, the implication that a real USPS "policy"
is going to be purchased is pretty clear. That is, arguably, an attempt
at fraud.
storm
<< <i>Neither PayPal nor eBay permit the al carte listing of "self-insurance."
Additionally, none of the sundry state offices of Insurance Commisioner
allow the practice either.
There is nothing wrong with self-insurance schemes, provided they
are practiced, say, like 4SC and MANY other BIG sellers do. You can
state that the "shipping price includes insurance."
You cannot, legally, al carte the insurance line in the listing or on the
invoice, if you yourself are the insurer. People who do this are in
violation of insurance regs that are present in all 50-states. If
you own a sate-licensed insurance company AND sell on eBay
you might be able to show compliance, but maybe not even then.
Insurance companies and their agents are licensed and regulated
by the states. The fines for setting up your own insurance company
without a license are substantial. Jail terms can result.
Sellers wishing to "self-insure" simply need to include the fee in
the S&H to avoid violating the laws. It is NOT a defense to
such allegations that you were "applying the al carte requested
insurance fees to pay the premiums on your own CIA policy."
You may apply part of your S&H fees to such premiums, but you
cannot hold yourself out as either a vendor-for-fee of insurance,
or as a pass-through premium agent. Obvioulsy, the relationship
between eBay sellers and the USPS is exempt from this maxim.
By using the $2.30 number, the implication that a real USPS "policy"
is going to be purchased is pretty clear. That is, arguably, an attempt
at fraud.
storm >>
Just out of curiosity, how would one go about reporting a fraud like this?
My Auctions
a fraud like this? "
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There was some lingo that danced around the issue
in the last tirade from Mr. Cobb about "excessive
shipping fees." If you could get a live assistant
manager at Trust & Safety, you could probably
walk them through the problem. It is a prohibited
practice, but Cobb's language in the memo seemed
to indicate he was not sure how to enforce it. (I
do not have his announcement in front of me, but
it is/was on the top of all the Sellers' boards on eBay.)
A better/more fun avenue is to look up the number of
the Insurance Commisioner's Office in an offender's state.
Some state's house the commission in the Office of Consumer
Affairs, but most have a free standing insurance regulatory
body. Almost anybody who answers the phone would be
happy to take a complaint about "a very serious issue of
consumer fraud that is impacting consumers nationwide,
and is originating in your state's jurisdiction."
The thrust of such a complaint would be two-fold:
The unsub is either collecting money for USPS insurance
and not purchasing that insurance; or, he is collecting a
specified/dedicated fee and holding himself out as an
insurance company or an agent of an insurance company
using such "premiums" to defray potential losses on items
he is selling in interstate-commerce.
Either of those acts is criminal in nature. The later
may be a "civil crime" in some jurisdictions, and
would be punishable by a fine and a cease and desist
order; the former could mean a jail cell.
storm
<< <i>"Just out of curiosity, how would one go about reporting
a fraud like this? "
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There was some lingo that danced around the issue
in the last tirade from Mr. Cobb about "excessive
shipping fees." If you could get a live assistant
manager at Trust & Safety, you could probably
walk them through the problem. It is a prohibited
practice, but Cobb's language in the memo seemed
to indicate he was not sure how to enforce it. (I
do not have his announcement in front of me, but
it is/was on the top of all the Sellers' boards on eBay.)
A better/more fun avenue is to look up the number of
the Insurance Commisioner's Office in an offender's state.
Some state's house the commission in the Office of Consumer
Affairs, but most have a free standing insurance regulatory
body. Almost anybody who answers the phone would be
happy to take a complaint about "a very serious issue of
consumer fraud that is impacting consumers nationwide,
and is originating in your state's jurisdiction."
The thrust of such a complaint would be two-fold:
The unsub is either collecting money for USPS insurance
and not purchasing that insurance; or, he is collecting a
specified/dedicated fee and holding himself out as an
insurance company or an agent of an insurance company
using such "premiums" to defray potential losses on items
he is selling in interstate-commerce.
Either of those acts is criminal in nature. The later
may be a "civil crime" in some jurisdictions, and
would be punishable by a fine and a cease and desist
order; the former could mean a jail cell.
storm
Hi Storm,
Just to be clear-- I think you're a real asset to these boards, and I invariably learn something from just about every one of your posts. But I ust have to know:
Where did you learn all this stuff?
///////////////////////////////
Prison.
storm
<< <i>///////////////////////////////
Prison. >>
Holy chit thats good.
My guess is he is referring to Law School as prison. Or something of that degree. There is no chance he is dispensing free legal advice and no bar member would give this kind of info out without knowing all the facts. I think he has deep legal roots and training but is no longer practicing and/or affiliated with any state bar.
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