eBay sellers holding feedback for ransom? Or their safety?

[Karate Media]

A recent eBay thread here got me thinking about a trend I seem to see in eBay sellers: Holding feedback for "ransom;" not placing their feedback about a buyer until the buyer places feedback for them.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is this just "part of the game," like bid sniping, or is this selfishness on the part of the seller?

I pay for the auctions I have won within less than 12 hours -- usually within minutes if I am near a computer when the auction ends (or if I have been bid sniping ). When I have made my payment and it has cleared, then my role in the transaction is over -- for the most part -- and if I have been a considerate buyer, then I expect the seller to go ahead and place feedback saying so.

Recent transactions, though, have ended with a seller waiting until I get my item and place feedback for him/her. I understand that perhaps the seller doesn't want to place feedback for me if I'm not going to reciprocate, but someone has to break the draw, and logic like that could end up with no one leaving feedback ("you leave feedback first" "no, you" "no, you" "No, you first" ad infinitum)

And sure, I understand that my role doesn't truly end after I pay -- maybe I'm a real jerk about shipping times and the seller wants to be able to leave feedback such as "Neutral: Paid quickly, but was very rude about length of shipping time."

Ultimately, though, it just seems rude... If I leave a seller negative feedback because s/he screwed up, then does that mean they won't leave me positive feedback?

I dunno, it's not really an important subject for me, I was just thinking about it today while walking to lunch. For the most part I find really good deals on left-of-center items on eBay...


Just my two-bit rant...add your own comments were applicable...

[heretic422]

In the few auctions I've held I wait to leave feedback until my buyer has placed his feedback. If I'm the buyer, and I've only been once, I've left feedback for the seller as soon as the item arrived and was functioning as the seller claimed.

Once, a buyer of mine demanded that I leave not only feedback first but positive feedback because in his opinion my part of the sale ended as soon as I received payment. IMO, the sale ends for the seller, when the buyer is happy.

As a buyer, if the product arrived damage, I would attempt to contact the seller and see if a resolution is possible and how well the resoltion is achieved, thereby extending the sale process for the buyer. If the buyer demands feedback be placed because he feels that he did his bit by paying instantly, but then becomes a jerk in trying to get more out of the buyer, (hypothetically), or trying to find a resolution to an issue, then I think the seller has every right to hold out on the feedback.

I make sure that the items I ship arrive as promised either through packaging or shipment times by using trackable shippers and paying insurance on more than the item is worth. For instance, FEDEX insures by default up to $100. If I ship a $400 camera, then I insure for $800, (making up the cost in the price of the item before hand), because, (and this is because I believe in conspiracy theories), there has to be a way for the UPS driver to tell how much the package is insured for, thereby thinking to himself, "hey, if I ditch this package or treat it poorly, the company will lose money paying insurance on it, the boss will know it was me and that will hurt my job and the overall market strength of my company and any leverage we have with the unions." A stretch by any means and said with tongue in cheek but...back to the issue.

I think the sale ends for the buyer when he has his item, delivered as promised, in the condition promised. The sale ends for the seller when the buyer is happy. If the seller can't make the buyer happy and has really tried, then he can leave whatever feedback he wants. Same for the buyer.

My 4 half cents.

[Karate Media]

But most sellers leave feedback along the lines of "Quick Payment" etc. and not "Quick payment, but buyer was hard to please."

Typically, these types of comments seem to be used in response to negative or neutral feedback, eg, "Neutral: Item took too long to get here." "Response: Item shipped USPS one day after payment and arrived 5 days later, buyer is difficult to deal with"

Anyway, I'm dealing with the first time an auction has the possibility of going sour (got sent the wrong item), so my cynicism is up today...

[sterno]

I think the sale ends for the buyer when he has his item, delivered as promised, in the condition promised. The sale ends for the seller when the buyer is happy. If the seller can't make the buyer happy and has really tried, then he can leave whatever feedback he wants. Same for the buyer.

This is the same way I handle things. I only sell small stuff which gets shipped USPS, so in general I have no way of knowing if the package has even arrived until I either get feedback about it or the buyer sends me mail saying so. In one case I even had a buyer say he'd leave feedback to let me know he'd gotten it, he was obviously somebody who thinks the same way I do on this.

I also once ran in to somebody demanding that I leave feedback just because they'd paid. Since it was just a small thing and I had described it exactly, I went ahead and did it, and everything was fine. If it had been an item where it might not be quite so clear-cut I probably would have waited. Probably sent e-mail saying that I didn't consider the transaction completed until he was satisfied that it was what he wanted, and that I would leave feedback at that time.

[Karate Media]

Sterno

What would change between his payment for the auction and his receipt of the goods that would affect your feedback?

also--
"in general I have no way of knowing if the package has even arrived until I either get feedback about it or the buyer sends me mail saying so. In one case I even had a buyer say he'd leave feedback to let me know he'd gotten it, he was obviously somebody who thinks the same way I do on this."

Obviously, as a buyer, I'm not leaving feedback until I receive the goods, and I would expect that most -- if not all -- buyers feel the same way. I'm not sure how this relates to sellers leaving feedback. (I hope I don't sound accusatory -- I'm just unclear on how this related to leaving a buyer feedback)

And I am now on suspect auction #2 of the day. I just got an email from the seller (one week after the auction ended and I paid) saying that he hadn't mailed the goods out yet and would mail them in 3-4 days, but offered no explanation. I emailed him back asking whay there was a delay, and he just went and gave me positive feedback (but never responded to my question) -- my theory working in reverse? Offering positive feedback in exchange for his screwup?

[sterno]

What would change between his payment for the auction and his receipt of the goods that would affect your feedback?

It's not something happening between payment and delivery so much as something happening after delivery - the buyer can be a dick. If you talk to people who sell a lot of different stuff on ebay you'll probably find that a lot of them have had at least one person who complained that they didn't like something even though it was exactly as described in the auction. Most people are reasonable, but not everybody. In that sense, it's a defensive measure. To compare it to a retail brick-and-mortar store, imagine somebody walking in with an open CD and demanding a refund simply because he didn't like the music.

Obviously, as a buyer, I'm not leaving feedback until I receive the goods, and I would expect that most -- if not all -- buyers feel the same way. I'm not sure how this relates to sellers leaving feedback. (I hope I don't sound accusatory -- I'm just unclear on how this related to leaving a buyer feedback)

It relates because I don't consider the transaction complete until the buyer has the item and is satisfied with it. If they leave positive feedback or send me mail saying they are, then I know. If they tell me there's a problem, then I still have something left to do (even if it's not a legitimate complaint), and my ongoing dealings with them will also be a part of the feedback I leave. If they do neither, I'm left hanging and all I can do is wait long enough that I'm sure they must have gotten it and been happy.

[vitualis]

A recent eBay thread here got me thinking about a trend I seem to see in eBay sellers: Holding feedback for "ransom;" not placing their feedback about a buyer until the buyer places feedback for them.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is this just "part of the game," like bid sniping, or is this selfishness on the part of the seller?

Selfishness.

Most people are nice and will leave positive feedback if the transaction went well. Power sellers would have had many more transactions than your ocassional buyer and so would more than likely have a large number of positive feedback. The ocassional buyer is thus at a relative disadvantage. Just ONE negative feedback can stain/destroy his ebay reputation. The seller is thus in a position of power.

This shouldn't be abused.

I only buy/sell on the Australian version of eBay and usually, the seller will leave feedback after receiving and verifying payment and the buyer will leave feedback after receiving the product.

If there is a problem with postage or end product (e.g., damaged in transit), then if the seller handles it well, then the buyer may still leave positive feedback.

Regards.

[Will Hay]

I wouldn't say they were rules as such (more like guidelines) but the official line is seller's are to give feedback first.
Will

[heretic422]

Silky,

I've been watching your posts here for some time and with the exception of the following quoted remark:

I wouldn't say they were rules as such (more like guidelines) but the official line is seller's are to give feedback first

I have agreed with you or understood what you've said, though not repsonded in writing, (only in my small mind).

If there are no rules, there can be nothing official if I were to interpret the remark literally. However, because this seems to have piqued the interest of a few of us, we are entitled to our opinions and I respect yours.

The one time I was held hostage for feedback was very unpleasant. As soon as the item arrived for the buyer, I knew because I was tracking it, but even before the package went out, the buyer wrote me and said that I had to leave positive feedback because the sale was over for me and he had paid me already. This gave me concern because what if there had been a problem? I leave positive feedback and UPS crushed the packages, he then writes I shipped damaged goods and my rep is now in question. So what if I respond saying not true, blah blah blah, there is already a black mark next to my name. I suspected he was going to be a jerk so I waited a couple of days and wrote saying, "You've got the package, did the items arrive as promised, is this what you wanted?" I received no reply. I waited a couple more days wrote the same thing and still got no answer. My interpretation was that he didn't care and therefore I did not feel I wanted his feedback anyway.

I got shorted a "feedback point" or whatever it is, but I also feel that he would have stuck me in the end. I still have 100% positive feedback, though a small number of auctions. As vitualis said:

The ocassional buyer is thus at a relative disadvantage. Just ONE negative feedback can stain/destroy his ebay reputation.

Ok, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

[rallynavvie]

Well let's all keep in mind that with eBay it's "buyer beware" all over the place.

IMO the feedback should be left once the buyer or the seller has received their goods. Thus the seller should post feedback as soon as they receive payment as that's all they're really in it for. The buyer should post feedback as soon as they get the item they payed for in the condition it was described to them as. It seems simple enough. I do post feedback as soon as I get the item and know it works. I've never bought anything from a deadbeat seller or even one that ships late. In fact the only time I did have trouble with a seller it ended up being a local store so I went over there personally and we both had a good laugh over it. Feedback doesn't bother me much anymore. I know I won't get negative feedback since I deal with reputable sellers who will likely get the job done right.

My eBay pet peeves:
Bid snipers can go to hell. I'm assuming these are the folks that watch an auction until seconds from its end and then try to win the auction? Whatever, enjoy your ill-gotten spoils :P
Reserve pricing: set the start price at the least price you'd be willing to sell for rather than set a secret reserve price. It seems almost every auction that isn't listed otherwise has a reserve price. If someone really wants the item for less than reserve they may email you and make an offer. Reserve pricing is for people who shouldn't be selling their stuff on an online auction website.
Bidders who don't use proxy bidding need to read up on it. There's nothing I hate worse than making a plenty high proxy bid (oh my gosh, I actually bid the max I'd be willing to pay for an item as my bid! ) only to see people make 6-7 or more bids trying to beat my bid, only succeeding in making me pay more. These are the simple-minded dolts who think "maybe if I bid just $5 more I'll beat him". PUT IN HOW MUCH YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY AND LEAVE IT ALONE! I can understand bidding 2, maybe 3 times in a row since you may actually meet the winning bidder's proxy in which case adding a little more will give you the edge, but not any more bids than that.

Whew, silly eBay. Excuse me while I go buy more things

[pacmania_2001]

Personally I never really chase up feedback either way (buyer or seller). I will leave it but if someone doesn't bother leaving feedback about me it's not a big deal really.

Bid Sniping in my opinion is acceptable. I have done it in the past and probably will in the future. It allows me to generally pay less for the item if I want it. If I miss out because the bid is too late or another bidder has a higher proxy then I just move onto something else.

[Will Hay]

Silky,

I've been watching your posts here for some time and with the exception of the following quoted remark:

I wouldn't say they were rules as such (more like guidelines) but the official line is seller's are to give feedback first

I have agreed with you or understood what you've said, though not repsonded in writing, (only in my small mind).

If there are no rules, there can be nothing official if I were to interpret the remark literally. However, because this seems to have piqued the interest of a few of us, we are entitled to our opinions and I respect yours.

I'm not sure how to take your comment that you have watched my posts for some time, but...
...my comment wasn't my opinion, it was lifted from ebay, albeit when I first read it it was a while back.
I remember seeing this very same issue on ebay and the guide was simple, the seller should give feedback first.
Personally I don't agree with it.
My ebay feedback is in four figures and I still haven't one negative to my name, but I insist buyer's give feedback first.
It doesn't affect the feedback I give unless I feel the buyer is being completely unreasonable.
I've tried searching for this comment on ebay but sadly I can't find it
Will

[tgpo]

Silky,

I've been watching your posts here for some time

[Will Hay]

Silky,

I've been watching your posts here for some time

Thank goodness you weren't vague in the intent of your reply tgpo
Will

[vitualis]

Bid Sniping in my opinion is acceptable. I have done it in the past and probably will in the future. It allows me to generally pay less for the item if I want it. If I miss out because the bid is too late or another bidder has a higher proxy then I just move onto something else.

I have to agree. I think that it is an acceptable strategy too. If I'm really interested in an item, then I would bid a late as I can so as to not bump up the price. For the benefit of possibly getting the item, the risk is that I bid too late and lose it, or I don't have a high enough max. bid and the existing bidder's autobid beats me (and I don't have time to respond).

Regards.

[Karate Media]

rally, et al:

Proxy bidding is a service offered by eBay. Bid sniping is completely fair. In the real world, bidders at a live (offline) auction bid in real time, competing with one another -- bids are placed right up until the very end, and yes, some people watch the other bidders and wait to place their bid until later in the auction.

Proxy bidding, to a certain extent, is offered because these auctions go on for days, and those of you who pay by the minute for your internet service probably don't want to have to log in all the time just to keep placing bids.

People who "multi-bid" are only doing what you are -- they are trying to get the lowest price, and they are doing in steps. Again, the proxy bidding is like having someone sit in for you at a real auction -- you tell them to bid for you, but they're still bidding in real-time, amongst the energy and frenzy and competition of the auction.

Rally -- I get the impression that your comments were said w/ a certain knowing sense of humor, but it brings up a point: An auction is not a mall, it is a competitive atmosphere, a game of sorts. It's been a few years since I sat in on a real live auction (and a nice, sweat-soaked, Southern one at that), but one thing remains the same -- you don't always get what you want.

And finally -- A seller with feedback in the quadruple digits just left me positive feedback mere hours after I paid. "Prompt payment. Very good to do business with!! A++" and I only just paid! So there! :P

[birdygal]

Safety is the best way on both sides

I have sold and purchased on ebay, As a buyer I leave feedback when I am satisfied with an item I purchased As a seller I leave feedback when I know the purchaser is satisfied

Persons who jump the gun and leave positive or negeative feedback before recieving an item or before the item has been received have no recourse to change their feedback once placed. I found it best to leave feedback only when the item has been delivered and the person is satisfied with what they purchased or has tried to work out a problem that arose first.

How can you truly rate a buyer or seller until purchaser has the item in their possession

[The village idiot]

"hey, if I ditch this package or treat it poorly, the company will lose money paying insurance on it, the boss will know it was me and that will hurt my job and the overall market strength of my company and any leverage we have with the unions."

Most UPS drivers do not think this way. Mostly they do not think... ever. You should see some of the stuff that gets delivered to me. UPS is not my first choice for shipper! These are the guys that make me worry about shipping things like tires for my car!

Bid snipers can go to hell. I'm assuming these are the folks that watch an auction until seconds from its end and then try to win the auction? Whatever, enjoy your ill-gotten spoils

Reserve pricing: set the start price at the least price you'd be willing to sell for rather than set a secret reserve price. It seems almost every auction that isn't listed otherwise has a reserve price. If someone really wants the item for less than reserve they may email you and make an offer. Reserve pricing is for people who shouldn't be selling their stuff on an online auction website.

I have to agree on both parts!

(oh my gosh, I actually bid the max I'd be willing to pay for an item as my bid! ) only to see people make 6-7 or more bids trying to beat my bid, only succeeding in making me pay more. These are the simple-minded dolts who think "maybe if I bid just $5 more I'll beat him". PUT IN HOW MUCH YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY AND LEAVE IT ALONE!

I have to agree again! Many times I wonder if it is reall bidding or shill bidding when someone does that . I've lost several things to last minute vulchers bidding me up by $1.00 on things that they have not ever placed a previous bid. I'm also a big fan of the buy it now options. If the buy it now falls within my price range, I hit the button. Some may call that a stupid plan, but then you also do not end up paying more for that item than you had planned. If the buy it now is set a level that is still a deal, then all you have skipped is the days of waiting and frustrations of trying to stay at the highest bid.

[vitualis]

Ah, but the whole point of an auction is the risk... For the chance of getting something cheaply, you may not get it at all.

People who put in last minute bids have probably watched the item for just as long as you have. The exception is that they don't announce their presence so to prevent bumping up the price for an item THEY want...

If you really want an item, you can't argue if someone else put in a higher price... If you want to prevent beaten by a dollar or so, then make sure you are on-line and active when the bid closes. For all auctions of items I REALLY want, this is what I do. And make sure you put in a maximum bid price that protects you against minor bids. For example, if the current bid (your own) is stable at $60 and you are willing to pay up to $70, then make sure that your max. bid is something like $70.01 so that some smart arse doesn't do a max bid of the same and beat you by a cent...

Regards.

[LanEvo7]

Feedback is a very important thing on Ebay. Personally I think the buyer should leave the feedback first. I'm not saying that if a buyer leaves negative, the seller should leave negative, but the buyer should be the first to comment. There are idiots out there who complain about the most minor details. For example, I feel that sellers should always CLEARLY list their shipping prices, I always do and if I buy something then I will always find out before I bid. There are buyers that do not look at shipping prices even when they are CLEARLY stated in the auction. Then they leave negative feedback when the actual shipping price is less than what they paid for. Well freaken read the damn auction before you bid. Then there are dumb a$$e$ that create an ebay account just to leave negative feedbacks.

Regarding sniping, I think its fair game. Why shouldn't it be allowed. Its an auction, so don't expect to win if you don't invest some time into it. So people do find a way to watch the auction until the last minute to get an item at the lowest possible price, thats fair. If you don't want to invest any time, don't go on ebay, go to a local or online store and purchase it. Nobody can snipe you there.

[rallynavvie]

I don't need to attack bid snipers, they're already internet trolls
Sniping is just part of the game; if your proxy is too high they'll probably not win it anyway and just make you pay more for it. But for the regular people who use eBay they can't always be at a computer watching the last seconds of an auction. That's why eBay has proxy bidding in the first place.

I just got even with a bid sniper who had been winning a string of certain items I was after so I'm OK with bid snipers for the now. I put an obscenely high proxy bid on the item and I think he was trusting that I would always bid like amounts of what I had on previous same items. I partially thought I'd still win the auction with that bid, but he must have bid an even more obscene max bid and got the item from me for about 8x what the going rate is on those. We're talking a few hundred dollars more than every auction I've ever seen this item go for. Or maybe he just really wanted it enough to pay that. I just think it's funny now.

Reserve pricing is still bollocks though

[borghe]

I will not leave feedback for sellers who holdf it for ransom. Bottom line.

Too many sellers these days are doing exactly that. The ones in this thread claim it is "because of one bad apple". BS! It is because you are effectively threatening someone into leaving a positive feedback for you.

I had one guy who chargerd me $7 to ship two items. When I got both items separately he had paid $.85 and $1.35 for shipping. I emailed him asking him to refund the ~$5 he DID NOT pay for shipping. His response? "There will be no refund and if you leave negative feedback so will I." WTF is that?

The bottom line is that the buyers part REALLY DOES END when he makes the payment. Everything after that IS THE SELLER'S RESPONSIBILITY! The customer is always right. If a buyer is disatisfied with an item, it is your job to make sure he is satisfied. If he is just flat out being an ass, it is part of being a seller to deal with it. He leaves a negative feedback? Then respond with the truth.

As I said, you want to hold my feedback for ransom, don't expect to get one from me first. Hopefully more buyers will start taking this approach and teach all of these sellers what customer service is really about.

[Karate Media]

borghe

If shipping is not listed in the description, I usually always try to get a shipping quote beforehand. If I think it's too high, I won't bid, or I'll keep my bids low to offset the cost...

But, having handled ordering for a few businesses, I know that S&H simply costs what it costs, and you either accept it or you don't. I've seen some businesses charged out the whazoo for "handling"...

You have to keep in mind that the person paid $2.20 in postage, but may have had to buy packaging materials, etc (I don't know what you bought) and may have had to drive to the post office, etc. Personally, I find it reasonable to pay pay a part of these costs, if the seller is upping the shipping costs. Like I said, I try to find out beforehand, and if the cost is reasonable in relation to the item for sale, I'll pay it w/out question...

Of course, there is no excuse for a seller leaving negative feedback just b/c the buyer did.

Now, though, is where my rants meet the test...I've put up the first of my auctions on eBay...we'll see how I act when I sell something!

[vitualis]

Sniping is completely fair... eBay is an auction...

It isn't a shop. If you leave a max. bid with proxy bidding, it is as if you were there to be part of the bidding war.

If someone bids higher and bumps up the price YOU pay, that is completely fair as long as they were interested in the item as well. If you feel like you end up paying too much, then you shouldn't have put that high a max. bid and be content with losing the item.

That's the point of an auction. You don't buy items that you feel are no longer value for money.

Regards.

[jeex]

i've got a friend who buys just about everything off ebay..

he has a really good tactic to deal with the proxy bidders.. he has a bunch of fake accounts and he'll "accidentally" put in a very large bid on an item just to see what the high bid is and then retract it immediatly.. doing that lets him know what the high bid is and seconds before the end of the auction he'll go in and outbid the person by cents.

it works for him pretty well, he has been sniped by another sniper in the waining moments of an auction though..

this is mainly in reference to all of you who are thinking proxy bidding is a solution.

although it really isnt a solution.. if someone (or ebay) were to go check his winning bid records they would see alot of retracted bids from "other" buyers..

[energy80s]

Glad to hear that people think that bid sniping is OK as I do it a lot!!!! Just won an auction on Sunday with a snipe of 1p and 20 seconds to go

[shoozleboy]

I have to chime in here .... I have been buying and selling on eBay since December of 1997. I have been reading this thread since it's inception and have been both amused and befuddled by the comments...

eBay is an auction. You bid what you are willing to pay, or you don't bid... it's pretty simple. The proxy bidding is there to be your bidder when you can't be and it may seem that others are trying to knock up the price of the item at the end, it's just that they are willing to pay that amount and your proxy is there to protect your bid up to the max amount you entered...

I snipe in bids and have been sniped.. auctions I posted almost always see the majority of the bids come in the last few hours... most people only search the "ending first" auctions when looking for something and never get back more than a few pages of items... so you always see the bidding get fierce at the end. Really, it's no different than if you are at a live auction itself... the auctioneer is rattling off bids and then "going once, going twice... SOLD!"... just bid what you are willing to pay and hope for the best...

As for the "seller is responsible for everything once payment is made" - No. Bidders need to realize that eBay is NOT a DEPARTMENT STORE. It is a venue used to bring sellers and buyers together, but the bulk of the sellers do not operate businesses and therefore can not be expected to take returns and refunds and such. On the other hand, businesses that use eBay to sell, should conduct themselves as such on eBay just as they would in their store.... That I have to agree with... It's pretty easy to tell who is a business and who is Joe Blow conducting his yard sale on eBay..

Feedback - as a seller, I ALWAYS leave feedback after the item has been received and verified by the bidder. Once I know that he/she are happy, I post a quick thank you for them. I don't ask them to leave feedback, I don't threaten them that they have to leave feedback first or any of that crap. If a seller has the confidence in their product and has taken the steps to satisfy the customer by sending them what they bid on, then the seller should not have to worry about getting a negative.... there are some real paranoid people out there who should not be selling on eBay... those are the ones that usually do the "Feedback for ransom" thing... it's a shame they feel that way.

As a buyer, I leave feedback as soon as the item arrives and I've checked it over to make sure that it's in the same condition as advertised....

I have a couple of negatives on my feedback(from NPB's taking a shot back), but the hundreds of positives that I have will quickly quiet any worries anyone has in doing business with me... it's the price of using eBay...

"You can please SOME of the people ALL of the time, and ALL of the people SOME of the time - but you will NEVER please ALL of the people ALL of the time."

I have to chuckle when reading this thread, it sounds so much like the ones over on eBay's forums!

[borghe]

jeex - read ebay's terms of service once. What your buddy is doing is called shell bidding (or something like that). It is against ebay's TOS and he stands to have all of his accounts revoked if caught. What he is doing is not only illegit, but he can stand to lose his ebay privileges also.

As for my shipping dilemma, yes the intangibles in shipping are called handling, hence S&H. Shipping is what it costs to pay the delivery service to ship the item. Packing materials, gas, time, etc are a part of the handling costs. Now I am not saying there aren't handling costs involved, and the buyer should very much incur those (unless the seller states otherwise). But they were some VCDs that the seller stuck in two insulated envelopes. That's it. The same envelopes go for $1, cheaper if you buy them in bulk, something I imagine a VCD seller with a 2000+ rating would do. The problem here is that the seller over charges on shipping to gain profit without having to give a percentage of that profit to ebay. Now why wasn't I put off by $3.50 shipping? Because in all honestly I thought shipping at that price would get me priority mail. I guess from now on I should just know that everyone tries scamming in shipping charges

[rallynavvie]

Shipping charges are almost a non-factor for me. I look at what they're going to charge and if it's obscenely high such that the "handling" is getting most the attention than I just won't bid on it. I've noticed most sellers have been posting shipping charges more as part of their auction which is nice. I remember spending a couple days or more just getting a proper shipping quote from them for my specific location. At the same time I look at that "handling" cost as just that. If I paid a good amount for S&H and got the item and it was sliding around in the box and is damaged because of it I'm not going to be a happy buyer and I will leave feedback stating their shipping is subpar at best so that others know specifically what to watch out for.

This whole feedback thing is funny. I only post feedback if someone asks, not because it's expected of me. Or if I have a really good experience with a seller I'll leave good feedback just to say thanks. If ever I have a bad experience I'll probably leave feedback just so that I feel I'm doing my part to warn others. This whole "you give me negative feedback and I'll do the same to you" thing is very childish. I don't see why you couldn't have a happy seller, who got the money for the item sold, leaving positive feedback for a buyer who paid quickly and the seller, unhappy with the condition of the item, leaving negative feedback stating so. There are just too many silly people on eBay

I've never really had a bad experience with a seller so I'm quite happy with eBay so far. I don't get too disappointed when I lose an auction because there will always be another one. But bid snipers can still bugger off

[pacmania_2001]

The way I figure out shipping/handling costs when I sell on Ebay are:

1) Postage costs
2) Packaging costs (i.e bubble wrap, larger envelopes)
3) EBay listing fee's
4) Driving to the post office and back.

Normally I charge about AUS$3 for small to medium items which I don't think is too bad.

Also when I bid snipe someone I usually use a couple of different accounts to test what their proxy bid is. That way they don't suspect that a snipe is about to happen. Plus, with a broadband connection I can normally get in at like 10 or so seconds left making it damn near impossible for someone to bid snipe me back.