USPS/Ebay delivery

[StarTech]

I have been tossing in the garbage can all of last year. As I got to order $200+ in parts to get free shipping and it is just cheaper to order a junk item instead paying up to $45 in shipping charges.

Matter the current order which was a little over $200 has over $45 shipping that the vendor is having to write off due their free shipping policy. And I got two items I just thrown in the garbage.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I keep a list of order fillers to bring orders up to a no freight level

 

[Hammermechanicman]

I usually add a case of oil or a shop pack of spark plugs or some air filters to bring up my Stens orders to get free shipping.

 

[StarTech]

Here Stens shipping is reasonable enough to work with. I got an order for a Max Torque clutch and 10 ft of chain to replace today. The chain is $4 more from them but it would more than that in shipping from another vendor. But now what am I to do the 7 feet left over; use it later I reckon. At least Spring is around the corner where I can start placing larger orders. This off season ordering is harder to do. During the off season I pass the shipping charges to the customer.

 

[Joed756]

I have been saying it for years
Buy from Alli-Baba or Alli-Express
In both of these platforms the sender does not get paid till you have recieved the goods .
I know it is a very bitter pill for Americans to swallow that one of those evil nasty child eating grandmother raping communist from China could actually provide a better on line platform than a flag waving capitalist American,,,,, but they did .

Down here we call it Evil Pay

You seem to take a lot of shots at America/Americans without any return fire. Why?

 

[deminin]

I've been buying and selling on EBAY for over 20 years....well over 800 transactions. I have only had One issue, and EBAY/seller quickly refunded my money.

 

[pquada]

I don’t think you need to avoid eBay as it can be of benefit. Try and be aware of each e-commerce site best practices… For instance when I want to purchase an item from eBay I communicate with the seller before hand. I verify if they have a good amount of positive feedback. If they don’t, move on. As with any e-commerce or in person… if it’s too good to be true, its probably is a scam. I’ve had trouble buying and selling outside of the United States. However, all you can do is provide the site with the evidence that you have and go from there. Just because one person says no, it doesn’t mean that’s an official stance as “NO”... The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Call back and be an annoyance. After all remember who you’re dealing with. Humans. They’re just like the people at the parts store ,,, some of them have all their marbles together some of them do not. After all we’re all just trying to find a good deal or a fair price and for that, takes some personal legwork. The part store guy already did it,, that’s why it costs more money. Unfortunately,,,some of their prices are elevated 7x over,,, but then again, that’s how they run the business…

 

[rustycat]

I've purchased allot of parts off of eBay without any problems. I always buy from USA suppliers.

 

[TT398]

One other thing buying from ebay Chinese seller is that shipping takes forever, even before the logistical problems we now have. The listed shipping is often more than 60 days, which is beyond the time credit card companies allow you to dispute the charges. I had 2 instances of no show and Capital One declined chargeback. Fortunately I paid through Paypal, using Capital One as payment method, which allows 180 days to dispute. I got my money back. Paypal absorbed the loss, refunded immediately, as each payment is less than $25.
I do not use ebay any more: not only because of offshore sellers but I found ebay USA sellers' prices are often higher than Amazon.

 

[bertsmobile1]

You seem to take a lot of shots at America/Americans without any return fire. Why?

If you think that then your stars & stripes sun glasses are obstructing your vision.
However from outside a country where your perceptions are not coloured by jingoism you get a clearer view.
I am just as critical of Australians & the Australian government except they are just not as topical on a forum that would be some where around 90% American .
If you read the entire thread yo would see I am quite sympathetic to the USPS because I know just how difficult a job they face & the critism of their management was the same as the critism of Aust Post management .

Ebay was a wonderful idea till it got hy-jacked by crooks & thieves then overwhelmed by major retailers masquerading as small time vendors.
You will also see I critised the Aust Governments failure to regulate Evil Pay properly allowing them to sell shoody , illegal goods because they pretend to be an auction platform where as in reality they have become a strait retail platform & should be covered by the same retail laws as I am
If I sell a new 25:1 chain saw I am open to a $ 10,000 fine yet ebay vendors sell hundreds a week .

As for the collective mind sets the two countries are at opposite ends of the spectrum

Australians would rather die than buy anything locally made with the overall perception that everything made locally is inferiour to what gets imported , which to be fair is not uncommon and the direct result of bad government policy.
Americians seem to be the polar opposite and will buy what is USA made regardless of the quality because they believe that everything made in the USA has to be the best on the planet for no reason other than it is USA made .

When it comes to politics it is so obvious just how deeply the cold war propaganda has infiltrated the collective mind set of the US population .