To which I can only say what a better world it would be for all concerned if we didn't have Ebay. How does a huge international company like that get to be so incredibly short sighted in their profit motive.

Good question, and yet, not too many card collections would be even close to what they are without Ebay.

I "kicked the tires" on the program and saw the number of international bidders dip. I have pretty much gone back to my regular shipping and praying for the best on all 1st class packages.

I don't expect they'll ever do it, but any time they ask me to fill out a survey I suggest giving buyers who want less expensive shipping the option to opt out of buyer protection. I would be willing to do it with sellers and buyers I deal with on a regular basis.

quote:

Originally posted by Chrisahend:
I suggest giving buyers who want less expensive shipping the option to opt out of buyer protection.

I'm amazed that you can! Does Ebay allow you this option? If a buyer chooses to flag 'buyer protection' what is the saving?

quote:

Originally posted by btlfannz:

quote:

Originally posted by Chrisahend:
I suggest giving buyers who want less expensive shipping the option to opt out of buyer protection.

I'm amazed that you can! Does Ebay allow you this option? If a buyer chooses to flag 'buyer protection' what is the saving?

This option doesn't exist on the eBay. Chrisahend said he suggested that to eBay when he filled out a survey.

I fully agree with what's being said regarding this latest development from Ebay having a negative impact on international sales and can offer a first hand experience. I purchase a lot of items from US dealers and recently bought a Bond 40th Anniversary Lynn Holly Johnson auto for $35 + $11 p&p. Earlier this week the same dealer listed the Topol 40th Anniversary auto with an opening bid of $29.99 however postage for this one was via this new global system which meant that the postage was another $27 on top. I had been looking to go to $40 for the card with $11 on top for postage however as this card already had 1 bid on it I was looking at a minimum of $58 and left it alone. That solitary bid took it which means that whilst I have no idea what that opening maximum bid was the dealer potentially lost another $11 dollars because I chose not to bid. That is just one example but I'm sure I'm not alone on this one.

It is very noticeable on Ebay that the postage prices have gone way up. I look down the lists until i find a card i want, check the price wanted for it then look at the postage wanted.

In the past weeks i have walked away from nearly every auction after glancing at the postage cost.

There have been several cards I looked at in the past week, but the postage just doesn't make it worth it and certainly not adding the Customs beforehand. Another variable that isn't helping is the poor exchange rate between the US$ and GBP£, just to make things harder.

While it's true that if a buyer wants something enough they'll pay for it, the main consequence is losing the casual buyers, the sort of sales that keep things ticking over.

Applying these charges to items which would be over the customs limit is one thing, applying them to items under the limit is just stupid. Walked away from several $10 cards this week because of the new system.

As for regular postage well that has gone up so I have accepted that on two auctions this week. But notably they were premium cards and cards I had been after for years.

With the addition of the customs and tax by eBay for US sellers, has anyone seen an item cheaper from a UK dealer and bought it?

quote:

Originally posted by cardcollectors uk:
With the addition of the customs and tax by eBay for US sellers, has anyone seen an item cheaper from a UK dealer and bought it?

Never.

I'm dead.

Perhaps it is worth while to get a friend in the US and get the items shipped there first. It may take a few extra weeks, but it will save the extra cost from this new system....

quote:

Originally posted by cardcollectors uk:
With the addition of the customs and tax by eBay for US sellers, has anyone seen an item cheaper from a UK dealer and bought it?

To be fair box prices aren't too bad compared to US prices including postage etc. but UK dealers are shocking with the lack of web-site coverage and some haven't been updated in 12 months, of the 5 or 6 dealers that attend memorabilia how many have web-sites? The US dealers have a better web presence and e-bay presence thus they tend to get the business

I could never get a box from the US at a price to beat my pre-ordered GOT S2 box.

But again I didn't see any advertising, I had a moan on here about the lack of UK dealers and a few people contacted me to pass on details for a couple of UK dealers.

Advertising, websites etc. are not cheap to run and maintain. Time is also an issue especially for small businesses/dealers.

Hammer, some collectors also prefer to purchase through ebay rather than going direct to a dealer.

I would personally say that over 95% of our business comes through ebay and the rest are repeat customers who are happy to buy direct.

We have tried all sorts on our website but it is difficult to compete with bigger, well established dealers/businesses.

So when you face such a response it makes one wonder if investing time and money in a website is the way forward.

Agree that websites take time, but they don't have to be complex or expensive to run, You can get free or inexpensive web-sites and list upcoming and current sets with prices on one page. I agree that some do want to buy from e-bay, but for instance STNG Heroes and villians is coming up, I only know of one UK web-site that I could ask about that, I could find many more web-sites advertised in NSU of US places to go and pre-order. How do UK dealers get a feel for what to order, if collectors don't know where to go?

A bit of advertising and a web-site with pre-order details would be a start.

Definitely in complete agreement with Hammer here - as someone who has never been to a show and relies purely on the internet for this hobby, it's basically been Card Talk and eBay for me as most UK websites (not even just cards, any goods) have so few updates that they give no indication whether they're even still in business at all. Definite turn off; doesn't leave me inclined to go through checkout, and I'd say in general consumers don't want to waste their own time and money dealing with the hassle of phonecalls and e-mails to find out if a company is still around/see their inventory or trying to get a refund because an item isn't in stock/business went under. At least as a first time buyer anyway. You'd just go back and click on the next Google search result. This goes for any online retailers and services, and clubs/societies, really. Ebay isn't ideal but feedback and the sheer number of dates on a listing makes it obvious items are current and in stock.

I'll admit I only casually (when finances allow) buy/collect cards but still the only dealer I've ever bought from directly was from Anthony. I found his site for the first time in January and it had a Happy New Year 2013 update at the top of the homepage. So simple but suddenly had complete peace of mind shopping on his site.

I had a UK dealer in the past who didn't have a website but would email out upcoming products etc, that just stopped.

I know one of the US dealers does have ads and a website, but they also have a facebook page where they post often and have a link for email newsletter sign up and so on.

I just baulked at an auction for a card where the import charges were more than if I paid the VAT when it arrived here. Guess I wont be using eBay for international auctions any more.