Crazy Auctions / Prices Thread

[Davo Dentetsu]

Yeah, can see why you have a case.  Plenty confusion in that terrible sales pitch, no mention of 2nd hand goods at all.

[E6系]

Hello Mr Darklighter,

 

Firstly, I have made a note never to buy from pchobbies.  I think It is reasonable that the vendor should have listed the broken or missing parts.  However, I have also been in this position before with a vendor from the UK.  Thankfully, in my case the photos did not show the broken parts.  In your case, it appears that the photos show the missing and broken parts quite clearly.  What is not mentioned is the fact that the lights do not work on one direction.  I think you should open a dispute based on that and request a full refund and return the item using a tracking mail service.  Of course, you will need to pay the shipping cost.

 

Perhaps next time check the photographs more carefully ... ;)

[Darklighter]

Perhaps next time check the photographs more carefully ... ;)

The thing is, the photos belong to another auction (from May) where the condition of the item was described as "used". I thought that I would get another item, a brand new model (like it said in the item description from June/July).  ;)

[Claude_Dreyfus]

You are right to dispute this. If an item is sold as brand new and unused, then I would expect none of the parts to be fitted. Nor would I expect bits to be broken or missing. It is misleading in the extreme (and certainly a breach of Ebay's rules) to describe something as brand new, when it patently is not...

 

However.... Getting a Prestige H0 EF210 for $80.00 is pretty impressive, even with these faults listed. 

 

Looking at their returns policy, if a Brand New item is damaged, or has missing parts, they say contact the manufacturer. Is this consumer law in the US? In the UK, the seller/dealer is responsible for returns. They, in turn, revert back to the manufacturer. Companies like Dapol don't particularly like direct returns. REdaing between the lines of their returns policy, I suspect there may be quite some resistance from the dealer, so if you can live with the short-comings of the model, I would probably confine yourself to leaving indifferent feedback suggesting a misselling/misrepresentation of the item and leave it at that.

[katoftw]

The ebay system heavy favours the buyer over the seller. So just by the item being listed as new and it not being so. You'll have no issues with getting a partial refund, maybe even a full refund.

 

p.s. I sell on ebay as it opens up a huge market, but it sucks being a seller. For example, buyers can leave poor feedback, but sellers cannot. About 1 in 10 items I have become unpaid, and a case need to be openned and closed. So you wait extra time for them to pay, then they dont. then wait another 4 days for case and the buyer to pay. Which I have had only 2 buyers pay from about 40 cases. And still as a seller, you cannot leave poor feedback. System heavily favours the buyer. Seller gets screwed.

Edited July 12, 2014 by katoftw

[JR 500系]

The ebay system heavy favours the buyer over the seller. So just by the item being listed as new and it not being so. You'll have no issues with getting a partial refund, maybe even a full refund.

 

 

 

I'll second this definitely. The ebay system favours the buyer too  much, and it's the sellers that are actually contributing in terms of cash to ebay through fees of listing and final sale value. Buying actually is absolutely free. Shouldn't the contributing consumer be sided more?  

 

Fact said, then again it is because the buying IS FREE and there are buyer protection that ebay has ALOT of exposure, and I do realise this. The large market it opens up too means great selling opportunities to sellers, and may even result in a good profit.

[E6系]

Hello Mr Darklighter,

 

So sorry, I did not understand.  I thought the first Ebay link was your purchase.  But that is not correct, right?  I now understand you purchased the product in the second link.  So, now that I am clear about that, I believe you must dispute the transaction immediately.  I would contact the vendor first and explain the situation.  If it is a commercial retailer they should refund the money before you send the item back.  I would ask them to pay for shipping on condition that no negative feedback is posted by you.

 

Please check the Ebay terms, and if the matter is not resolved be sure to lodge your dispute several days prior to the cut-off date.  Ebay will be more sympathetic if you have attempted to negotiate a settlement.

 

Good luck.

[Darklighter]

The seller apologized for the mistake, explained the course of events and offered a partial refund or to take back the item for a full refund. I proposed a $20 refund, which I already received.  :) 

 

 I now understand you purchased the product in the second link. 

Yes, I purchased this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tomix-HO-194-JR-EF210-100-Prestige-Model-1-80-Electric-Locomotive-/360976097110

[Davo Dentetsu]

Heh, sorry I brought that one up.  :P

[E6系]

Hello Mr Darklighter,

 

I'm glad the problem is resolved.

[kvp]

I have a small problem. I found a used kato 3005 at a german ebay seller and bought it. When i received it, turns out it's an old 305 in the box of a 3005. What should i do?

[Vato]

I have a small problem. I found a used kato 3005 at a german ebay seller and bought it. When i received it, turns out it's an old 305 in the box of a 3005. What should i do?

return to the seller

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Yes, sounds like a good outcome for you...

[cteno4]

Another seller, take sankei kits x3 the price add sal shipping and you still don't get to his ebay price with free sal shipping...

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=221495168292&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123

 

I guess It doesn't hurt to troll for someone who does not know better!

 

Jeff

[keitaro]

actually thats not all that bad a price to be honest.

 

the shipping would be 1280 yen likely to most countries. + paypals 4% fee and ebays 9% fee and a profit for the seller.

 

Still they could save a penny or two for the customer and set tracked sal.

[cteno4]

It's a 500yen full retail price item and so small it would be the min 380yen sal shipping so 880yen total. They want additional fees to do ems, their free shipping is sal no tracking.

 

So minus the 13% ebay fees they would make $18.60, so less sal and if they were to buy the product at full retail they are making 200% profit then! Nice business model for them!

 

Just noticed a few more Japanese sellers listing tomytec and such like 2-3x retail.

 

Jeff

[keitaro]

Ebay have a policy if a customer complains and no tracker on postage well then good bye money instant refund. there are so many dodgy scammers this is the way people can sell these days.

 

yes it`s stupid he is selling that item via EMS still there are many regular stores also charging ridiculous amounts

 

theres other fees too like store fees listing fees etc etc.

 

clearly he is selling 1 a month if he is lucky.

 

also he might have bought retail and if he didn`t i think sankei are very narrow profit margin either way if selling at retail.

[cteno4]

He is selling it with sal with no tracking not ems. You can add ems if you want to for additional fees. Yes eBay has swung very far in favor of the buyer like this. And it's now forcing the sellers to use tracking and that price will need to be passed onto the buyer (in this case the $4 sal tracking fee) and this drives the price up a lot on smaller items. But in this case even adding sal tracking to cover his ebay ass would net him 120% profit. Ebay buyer preference is also causing more scamming buyers to pop up and not get labeled or thrown off

 

It's just trolling like you say for the one lucky sale to make 200% profit margin. Not the reputable dealer like yourself who has a good discount off retail and not trolling for the few folks that don't know better. But good news for businesses like yours that offer a good, fair price and great service and engender a good trust with the buyer. I have no qualms ordering stuff from you sal no tracking as I have a great track record with sal and am self insured. If an order with you were to go poof in sal I have absolute trust that you put it in the mail and I finally went snake eyes on sal. That trust with a great dealer like yourself golden!

 

I only troll ebay for small bits that are expensive or hard to pick up elsewhere or the rare old/used things that are impossible to find elsewhere or that rare great used train deal.

 

The amazing thing with ebay is still all the very low cost sellers mainly from china. I get little bits and pieces for 50 cents to $2 from time to time and they all show up! I'm guessing china post is practically giving away the shipping to them as some sort of economic incentive as with that and ebay fees there should be nothing left! No loss leader situation really going on, I just can't see how it works at all for them.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Ochanomizu]

Hello Mr Jeff,

 

Postal charges vary greatly from country to country because of the international agreement that each pays for the inward and outward of their own country, as far as customs in the receiving country.  Thus, because the wages in Japan are much higher than China, the cost of posting something to China is much greater than sending the same item the other way.  If I post something to China, I am only paying for the article to go as far as the flight landing in China and the container being delivered to customs.  But a proportion of the fee also goes towards unloading goods arriving in Japan and delivering those to households.  This favours countries with low salaries and/or a higher ratio of outbound mail.

 

A 50g letter (8 x A4 sheets in a standard envelope):

• Tokyo to Tokyo: JPY ¥90
• Tokyo to Beijing: JPY ¥330
• Beijing to Beijing: CNY ¥0.6, or JPY ¥10.
• Beijing to Tokyo: CNY ¥8.2, or JPY ¥135.

[cteno4]

Thank you Ochanomizu-San. Yes I understand the modern international postal charges. It's been changing more in the last decade to try and equalize these issues more and also the changing nature of the use for postal system. But with a 99 cent item, there is 50 cents or less left after ebay and Paypal fees to pay for the packaging, shipping and the product and all the fulfillment labor. Comes down to nothing really. I am guessing they are jut trying to get exposure for their ebay stores to make more on higher value items. I also suspect that china post is doing bulk deals to encourage more trade thru these channels as you note they want over a dollar for a letter to be sent from china.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[kvp]

Most ebay items from china turn up with european sender addresses. This means they get shipped into europe with containers and avoid most postal and custom fees. Some items arrive faster than its possible with shipping, meaning the shop has stock in europe and only sells from china to avoid taxes.

[cteno4]

not the case here, they all come over as china post shipments from japan with all the customs labels. 

 

no duties here on this end of here from china on these items. still dont see how they can make any money at all. even if they just spend a few cents on the product and fulfillment they must be getting a big break on the shipping from chinapost for these small packages (usually a very small bubble mailer).

 

jeff

[kvp]

The chinese post is operating on a nonprofit state organised level, so they are only asking for the actual price without any extra profits. Considering the amount of traffic going out from China, the cost for a small bubble envelope is almost zero. Not to mention the prices in China are lower than in Europe or the US, so the same 99 cents go different lengths in each country. What is unprofitable in Europe could be profitable in China, because the state and state owned companies take less money from the sellers. Also, many people who order one 99 cent item will order a dozen or a dozen different things. This means shipping could be combined.

[cteno4]

kvp,

 

ive been involved with business plans for some businesses that involve fulfillment and even with very low chinese wages its still going to be very hard to get any profit at all from these unless china post is doing it for almost free, which was my point to begin with, thats the only way to hope to make any money on these 99 cent items being fulfilled. even then its killer. the smaller the item/order the worst the cost per order in terms percentage.

 

i am just surprised how well the orders work, either a lot of checking going on or highly automated to make sure things are correct as they are and both of those things cost $$.

 

many of the items are not things that you would go out and buy 10x of really and there is so much competition on ebay for the same items its hard to make brand recognition, although some do try to, so perhaps they do see it as the loss leader to get more volume sales.

 

they do come air as they would not make it by container at the speed they come (usually 7-14 days). its the wrong direction to get cheap airfreight deals as most of the goods are coming out of china.

 

it is a micro micro business, just amazing that it can work globally shipped like that.

 

jeff

[Ochanomizu]

I'm sure that China Post is making a profit.  I'm also quite sure the Ebay stores are making a profit.  The minimum wage "official" in China is around JPY ¥25,000, or US$ 250 per month.  I'm going to calculate in US$ to avoid the confusion between Yuan and Yen ... both use the same symbol: ¥

 

I can purchase a car USB charger on line for US$ 1.50 with free shipping.  But I can buy the same thing from a market in Beijing for US$ 0.05.  That's retail.  I bet the production cost is less than 1¢.  International shipping is US$ 1.32 ... that leaves 18¢ .... even if the Ebay vendor is buying retail, his mark-up is 250%.

 

Seems like good business to me.

 

Perhaps we forget just how much we are overcharged.