[meteorite-list] eBay Hassles

[Mark]

Steve,
Ebay also owns Skype, the largest VOIP company going. Skype at any given 
time has over 8 MILLION users either on the phone or on a chat conference. 
My company uses Skype for international communication within our company and 
to interact with some of the biggest telecommunication/IP providers in the 
industry and it is 100% FREE. In fact shortly after Ebay bought Skype they 
opened up by allowing VOIP calls from any computer to ANY Land phone, 
unlimited calling to anywhere in the US and Canada for free. Thanks to ebays 
purchase of Skype, you can also buy an account to allow VOIP calls from any 
computer, to any phone in the US and or Canada for only $29.95 a YEAR and 
that is a year, not a month like Vonage.

The free calling started last April and went through the end of the year and 
I can tell you that I personally spent hours on the phone to all of my 
relative during that time. I also use the Yearly service and have not paid 
for a long distance call in almost a year.

Skype is also integrated into Ebay now and bidders can actually use it to 
contact you if they have questions. We have used it for a few expensive 
auctions and it was great. We had alot of calls and I think did better on 
those auctions because of skype but have no real hard evidence, just 
experience.

Paypal may have its flaws and if used with reckless abandon it can be 
troublesome, follow the rules and do not keep too much money in paypals 
possession and you are fine. I have used paypal since it began and I 
personally have had absolutely no problems and have had to deal with some 
disputes via paypal, not all went my way but all were handled fairly. Paypal 
is not the end all but it is still safer and cheaper than accepting credit 
cards any other way.

So not everything ebay is about or does is part of the axis of evil. 
Everything comes at a price, sometimes monetary sometimes in intangibles.

Gary's situation is not unique. And ebay does not take sides, they do 
provide ways of dealing with bidders such as Gary's. Seven days after the 
auction he can file a dispute for non-payment. If the bidder replies to the 
dispute, good or bad at that point the seller can void the sale and 
instantly get all the fees back. Or the seller can wait to hear from a 
bidder and then decide. Ebay allows sellers to receive the bidders contact 
info as soon as the auction ends, Gary could have called the bidder the day 
the auction ended. On any auction over $300.00 we call the person the next 
business day and ask if they have any questions, tell them about how the 
item will be shipped and when. A few have found it intiimidating but the 
rest thought it to be above average service, and guess what, ANY seller can 
do that and should if they think they are not going to get paid. If the info 
is bad, report it to ebay and if ebay finds the info bad they suspend the 
bidder.

One has to take the time to protect themselves if they are going to sell on 
ebay. It would be a great world if the concept of ebay worked perfectly, but 
there is that part of our society that has to steal, lie and otherwise f*ck 
things up for everyone else. That is why when we got into selling seriously 
we went to a lawyer and said this is what we want to do, HOW DO WE protect 
OURSELVES. That is the key Steve, too many people want everyone else to look 
out for them, protect them, and they want to blame everything and everyone 
else for their lack of responsibility and lack of planning. I deal with it 
everyday, my company is in collections, I hear a million reasons why someone 
lese is at fault for the debtor not being able to pay. Gee they got the loan 
and they spent the money but it is someone else's fault for why they can not 
pay.

Ebay is not going to hold anyone's hand and protect them, they simply offer 
the venue for the transactions to happen and if you rely on them to keep you 
totally safe you will never like ebay.  No mall in the country is going to 
guarantee that you will never have items shoplifted and ebay offers no 
guarantee that your trades are safe. The mall provides security but you are 
ultimately responsible for your store. Same as on ebay and they tell you 
that upfront and remind you on almost every page, they offer workshops and 
help pages, what more do you need?

As for ebay making a profit in two places, give me a break, that is 
capitalism at its best. I suppose it is underhanded for a doctor to have a 
practice at an office and also at a hospital> that doctor would be charging 
for different services in two venues.

Ebay is not different than any other publicly held corporation, they are out 
to make a buck, just like the rest of us.

It is not a conspiracy, it is only common sense and business. Cover your ass 
at all times and you will be fine. Being on this list doesn't make me or 
anyone else a genius, but 90% of the IQ's here are above average in my 
estimation, Proud Tom included. That should make it easy to deal with the 
less fortunately brained amongst us.

Personally I like ebay and paypal, and I think anyone here with cable 
internet access really should look into skype, it is the next thing in 
telecommunication.

Mark M.
Phoenix AZ

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Schoner" <schoner at mybluelight.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 5:07 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] eBay Hassles


> [meteorite-list] eBay Hassles
>
> Gary K. Foote
> Tue, 13 Feb 2007 12:10:48 -0800 wrote:
>
> "Recently I ran some meteorite auctions on eBay.  A winning bidder ignored
> invoices for 3 days past the payment deadline so I resold the item.  Now
> this person keeps paying me, sometimes three times a day, despite my
> telling him over and over that he breached the contract and that the item
> is resold.  I keep having to refund his $$$ every day.  Anyone else ever
> have a problem like this?
>
> eBay says to talk to paypal.  Paypal keeps saying to talk to eBay.
>
> Advice/experiences like this would be appreciated."
>
>
> The relationship between PayPal and eBay really bothers me. (I hate
> eBay you all know.  Other than a couple of petrographic slides-- No
> meteorites from me sold there).
>
> eBay tells Gary to go to PayPal to settle the complaint, and PayPal
> says go to eBay.  It is like the right hand does not know what the left
> is doing or vica versa.
>
> Now in light of that consider this:
>
> Does it not strike any as odd that you get a substantial eBay fee when
> you sell, and then you get another fee when the funds from eBay go into
> PayPal?
>
> Well, PayPal is owned by eBay. If so, this practice does not seem
> right.  (Maybe the FTC should look into it.)
>
> Non auction items, not related to eBay, yes.  eBay auction items sold
> and funds sent to PayPal (an eBay company)... NO!
>
> eBay gets funds going out, and they get funds going into their PayPal
> company.  A double fee for one transaction!   Now that is great business!
>
> Steve Schoner
> IMCA #4470
>
>
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