Around here I am really starting to notice changes in the economy.

Earlier in the summer grocery and gas prices jumped. Both seemed to have level off some, but remain significantly higher than they were.

Recently I've noticed more changes. First it was restaurant tabs jumping. Then I noticed that businesses around here are noticeably less busy than I expect them to be -- some people say that's due to kids going back to school. Most recently it has been real estate. The market slowed down a lot when interest rates increased, but prices remained high -- until about the last week. I've noticed that houses are selling for A LOT less than they were.

From a collecting standpoint the huge increase in prices had me largely on the sidelines, but in the last month or so I've actually started winning some eBay auctions again.

We are cutting back on going out, and buying less expensive groceries. . . but right now I'm winning more stuff on eBay . . . we'll see how long that lasts.

Webjohn,

What part of the world do you live in. I've looked for parts unknown but still can't seem to find it anywhere?

Groceries were going up across the pandemic. On the news they say they've gone up about 15% across the board just this year but some things are much higher. During the summer, I used to buy those 28 ounce bottles of Gatorade and they're usually on sale for a buck. Now, when they're on sale, they're about $1.60-something. That increase is easy to calculate. I've seen similar increases with snacks and drinks. Some other things that were $2.50 are now $3.50. Hamburger is $10/pound now but you can usually find it on sale somewhere for $8.

As for gas, we were paying about $3.29/gallon during the worst of the pandemic and then the price slowly rose to about $4.29/gallon around the beginning of the year. Right after Russia invaded Ukraine last February, gas was jumping 10 cents per day for several days with the rate slowing down a little until prices peaked at $6.19/gallon in June. It started slipping and then went on a steady slide to $4.89 by the end of July. However, there was a sudden jump to $5.09 last week and it's still at that. Keep in mind, I go to the cheapest convenient gas in my area so I'm paying what can be as much as 40 cents less for regular than some stations but then I'm not driving to the cheapest gas, which might be 10 cents less, but it's more out of my way.

And yeah, I've cut back on buying cards but I was already cutting back this year so it isn't really linked to what's been happening the past couple of months.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Around here I am really starting to notice changes in the economy.

Earlier in the summer grocery and gas prices jumped. Both seemed to have level off some, but remain significantly higher than they were.

Recently I've noticed more changes. First it was restaurant tabs jumping. Then I noticed that businesses around here are noticeably less busy than I expect them to be -- some people say that's due to kids going back to school. Most recently it has been real estate. The market slowed down a lot when interest rates increased, but prices remained high -- until about the last week. I've noticed that houses are selling for A LOT less than they were.

From a collecting standpoint the huge increase in prices had me largely on the sidelines, but in the last month or so I've actually started winning some eBay auctions again.

We are cutting back on going out, and buying less expensive groceries. . . but right now I'm winning more stuff on eBay . . . we'll see how long that lasts.

It is not the economy but shipping costs that have caused me to baulk at buying cards now
Everyone seems to be signed up to the E Bay GSP and some of the costs do not relate to shipping costs and are horrendous especially the Tax or Import costs

On the few boards I am on I do seem to see some people trying to sell recently acquired collections.

Ebay taxes and shipping have become a factor.

Lately, I also seem to be having more thoughts of boxing it all up and putting it away for awhile. Focus more or building my own customs for book cuts and conventions.

Good call on shipping.

Shipping costs have also prevented me from buying a number of things I previously would have.

With the exchange rate for the dollar you would think it would be a great time for people in the US to buy from the UK and Europe, but the shipping costs frequently negate that.

I have received a couple of things from eBay's cheap shipping for cards thing. . . I forget what it is called. That worked out fine, except the packages aren't trackable, which is annoying.

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
It is not the economy but shipping costs that have caused me to baulk at buying cards now
Everyone seems to be signed up to the E Bay GSP and some of the costs do not relate to shipping costs and are horrendous especially the Tax or Import costs

You need to use one of the domestic shipping services. That way you get a US address and won't have to go through the ebay GSP.

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
It is not the economy but shipping costs that have caused me to baulk at buying cards now
Everyone seems to be signed up to the E Bay GSP and some of the costs do not relate to shipping costs and are horrendous especially the Tax or Import costs

I only use GSP if the card is over $60 or so. I know it’s awful for those overseas from the US, but I’ve just had too much stuff go missing in the mail. And shipping all over the globe seems to have gone waaaaay up. I know the USPS is ridiculous.

quote:

Originally posted by webjon:
Around here I am really starting to notice changes in the economy.

Earlier in the summer grocery and gas prices jumped. Both seemed to have level off some, but remain significantly higher than they were.

Recently I've noticed more changes. First it was restaurant tabs jumping. Then I noticed that businesses around here are noticeably less busy than I expect them to be -- some people say that's due to kids going back to school. Most recently it has been real estate. The market slowed down a lot when interest rates increased, but prices remained high -- until about the last week. I've noticed that houses are selling for A LOT less than they were.

From a collecting standpoint the huge increase in prices had me largely on the sidelines, but in the last month or so I've actually started winning some eBay auctions again.

We are cutting back on going out, and buying less expensive groceries. . . but right now I'm winning more stuff on eBay . . . we'll see how long that lasts.

I have noticed a lot fewer sales to England, where I believe they and Europe have an even worse inflation and fuel problem than the US does. I have noticed recently a couple of my favorite items at the grocery store even out…let’s hope that continues.

In reply to I Fish
I had a NZ Post forwarding USA office situated in Portland
The Covid shut them down from shipping for a undetermined time
When I enquired about my cards that they held for me I was informed that they had destroyed the items and to read the T&Cs
A few were recovered but the case is still being decided

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
In reply to I Fish
I had a NZ Post forwarding USA office situated in Portland
The Covid shut them down from shipping for a undetermined time
When I enquired about my cards that they held for me I was informed that they had destroyed the items and to read the T&Cs
A few were recovered but the case is still being decided

That is terrible. I am sure that they `destroyed' them into their own collections or sold them.

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
It is not the economy but shipping costs that have caused me to baulk at buying cards now
Everyone seems to be signed up to the E Bay GSP and some of the costs do not relate to shipping costs and are horrendous especially the Tax or Import costs

Sellers are not signed up to the GSP, they just choose not to opt out. For the seller, it's the lazy way out because all the work is done by eBay. The seller sends the consignment to Kentucky and forgets it.

Not only are shipping costs expensive, but some sellers seem to think of a number and treble it. I always assumed that shipping was calculated by eBay when using the GSP. If this is the case, how can they justify a DC Archive book BIN $99.99 with a shipping price to the UK from the USA of $822.79? Added to that, I would have to pay 20% value added tax.

quote:

Originally posted by Graham:

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
It is not the economy but shipping costs that have caused me to baulk at buying cards now
Everyone seems to be signed up to the E Bay GSP and some of the costs do not relate to shipping costs and are horrendous especially the Tax or Import costs

Sellers are not signed up to the GSP, they just choose not to opt out. For the seller, it's the lazy way out because all the work is done by eBay. The seller sends the consignment to Kentucky and forgets it.

Not only are shipping costs expensive, but some sellers seem to think of a number and treble it. I always assumed that shipping was calculated by eBay when using the GSP. If this is the case, how can they justify a DC Archive book BIN $99.99 with a shipping price to the UK from the USA of $822.79? Added to that, I would have to pay 20% value added tax.

I haven't shipped a lot thru Ebay's GSP, but when I have done so, I , as the seller, was only allowed to set the shipping charge from me in North Carolina to the Ebay shipping point in Kentucky. Ebay was solely responsible in adding whatever shipping/tax/customs charge it would take to get the item(s) from Kentucky to wherever it was going after that.

Also- I as the seller am not privy to see what the buyer actually paid Ebay for that service.

quote:

Originally posted by cubby5454:

I haven't shipped a lot thru Ebay's GSP, but when I have done so, I , as the seller, was only allowed to set the shipping charge from me in North Carolina to the Ebay shipping point in Kentucky. Ebay was solely responsible in adding whatever shipping/tax/customs charge it would take to get the item(s) from Kentucky to wherever it was going after that.

Also- I as the seller am not privy to see what the buyer actually paid Ebay for that service.

That is exactly the case. So, if you offer free shipping for your domestic buyers, then you will also not get any extra postal money to get the item from you to the ebay GSP depot for an overseas buyer. It's in Lichfield in the UK.

The seller never knows exactly what ebay charges the buyer for GSP, nor what customs tax they charge nor the final total. So the high prices you see for GSP is not going to the seller at all, and the seller has no control over it.
No idea where ebay get the figures from. But they do make sending parcels overseas easier for the seller.
For me in the UK with the cheapest costs for Royal Airmail, they only accept parcels up to 2Kg. Once you get over that and get into looking at couriers like DHL, UPS, Fedex etc, then it gets really stupid money as well, so in those cases a parcel over 2Kg is just so hassle-free for the seller with GSP and might even be cheaper for the buyer too, oddly.

For lighter smaller items, I'll always set the Royal Mail prices for overseas. But even basic Royal Airmail with tracking is horrendous in costs these days. Postage everywhere is expensive, unfortunately.

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:

The seller never knows exactly what ebay charges the buyer for GSP, nor what customs tax they charge nor the final total. So the high prices you see for GSP is not going to the seller at all, and the seller has no control over it.

well one quick look at ebay auctions using GSP will tell them how much the buyer is being charged. Then just withdraw from using the GSP system and you have taken back control.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfie:

quote:

Originally posted by Hedgehog Witch:

The seller never knows exactly what ebay charges the buyer for GSP, nor what customs tax they charge nor the final total. So the high prices you see for GSP is not going to the seller at all, and the seller has no control over it.

well one quick look at ebay auctions using GSP will tell them how much the buyer is being charged. Then just withdraw from using the GSP system and you have taken back control.

I do not use GSP for most things. But Europe in particular is a pain in the backside for small parcels as Royal Mail have 3 different zone pricing now, just for Europe.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like the paying of extra when buying things myself, but for more complicated parcels I'll offer it for overseas but use GSP. It takes a lot of stress out of some transactions and with my life these days it's a huge help. But I don't use it for trading cards, as most of the time they can go for large letter rate, so no complicated European zones to deal with for that rate.

Of course it's plainly obvious that ebay are making an absolute killing on GSP. And they know that it's attractive for sellers to use because of all the hassle-free, easy transaction, no customs paperwork etc that goes with it, and once it has reached the ebay depot it's no longer the seller's responsibility. But it's win-win ebay...as always...but it's a necessary evil occasionally.

Regardless of what is happenin g with the GSP system it is being abused wether by E Bay or its contractor
I have seen a sellers listing were the cost of shipping for one card over a listing of a hundred cards all have different shipping costs all be it only 20 or 30c different still makes it a mystery how can a seller quote all different shipping costs for one card and to top it all off the cost of the item has only been 1 to 34
If i am now made an offer on any of the lots that are on my watch list and covered by the GSP system I politely refuse the offer on the grounds thst their use of this system negates my purchase of this card
I have had a couple of replies from sellers saying that they did not realised that they were using this systen and came back with a workable shipping system
Wether this was they were going to lose a reasonable ammount or not I am not sure
But all I know is that E Bay has to do something about this system as in my opinion they are losing hand over fist on this system
Enough ranting I think that everyone knows by now I hate E Bay but they are a necessary evil.
PS Can any member give me the link to a reputable forwarding agent in the USA.

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
PS Can any member give me the link to a reputable forwarding agent in the USA.

If you are still looking for a forwarding service let me know. I can help you out with that.

Thank you for your offer I Fish
Can I contact you on your profile E Mail address
If so we can discuee the details
Thanks
Piko

quote:

Originally posted by piko:
Thank you for your offer I Fish
Can I contact you on your profile E Mail address
If so we can discuee the details
Thanks
Piko

You sure can. Glad to help out.