eBay Warning

[SvXit]

Hello All,

Just a quick warning to those of you in the SVX community. I bid on and won an alternator and a mass airflow sensor/airbox last week and it looks like the guy has stiffed me for the items. He's operating out of Long Island, usually starts bidding at 1 cent with no reserve and likes to charge an arm, leg and first-born for shipping and handling. I don't want to post the guy's name here, but if anyone wants additional details feel free to PM me and I'll provide.

Also, several other SVX owners have lost tidy sums to this guy, so be wary out there.

[Seraph]

Can you define an arm and a leg s/h?

L

[LarryIII]

Olu,

Post his name.

"and a mass airflow sensor/airbox"

MAF from a mid 90s Impreza works just fine in the SVX. I'd imagine others would work too but I once replaced mine with one from a 95 Impreza and never had a problem with it.

Just an FYI.

Oh, and it's like 1/3 the price!

Sorry to hear about the bad ebay experience. I've heard mostly good experiences but the occasional bad report comes through.

Good luck.

[SvXit]

Originally posted by Seraph
Can you define an arm and a leg s/h?

L

Sure can. He charged $20 to ship the alternator, which probably isn't too bad, but also charged $20 for the mass airflow & airbox. Even though the latter is kind of large, it barely weighs anything. And there was another guy on eBay who won a rear windshield washer resevoir and was charged $25.00 to ship that!

Arms and legs, I hear you can regrow or buy, but I don't have a first-born yet! Anyhoo, all jokes aside, this guy isn't playing fair with the other kids in the yard, so tread carefully.

[SvXit]

Originally posted by lightning_8669
"and a mass airflow sensor/airbox"

MAF from a mid 90s Impreza works just fine in the SVX. I'd imagine others would work too but I once replaced mine with one from a 95 Impreza and never had a problem with it.

Just an FYI.

Oh, and it's like 1/3 the price!

Sorry to hear about the bad ebay experience. I've heard mostly good experiences but the occasional bad report comes through.

Good luck.

Yes, I've also had nothing but decent experiences with eBay and will continue to use it, but I reckon into everyone's life must occasionally come a bad apple. But the story's not over yet. There is actually a slim chance that he might ship the items before Jenna Bush is ready to run for president The more likely scenario is that, since I have family in New York, I may be taking a trip to Lond Island. If any of youse living there see a pearlie booking out of the Island at a brisk pace, just stay on the sidewalk!

[SvXit]

Originally posted by LarryIII
Olu,

Post his name.

Revocue. But like I said in a previous post, there is actually a chance that the guy may be good and send the parts. Also see previous comments about Jenna.

"before Jenna Bush is ready to run for president"

Her and her sister have about 2 decades of drinking and driving to get out of their systems first. Then some questionable military service and finally a governorship in some down south state before either can run for prez. Maybe she's already practicing the pretzel eating technique? Let's hope.

I purchased a used Impreza MAF sensor locally out of a junk yard for about $35 US. I drove over at lunch time one day and picked it up.

And I have no intentions of visiting Long Island any time soon so the streets, sidewalks and yards are all yours

[SvXit]

Originally posted by lightning_8669
"before Jenna Bush is ready to run for president"

Her and her sister have about 2 decades of drinking and driving to get out of their systems first. Then some questionable military service and finally a governorship in some down south state before either can run for prez. Maybe she's already practicing the pretzel eating technique? Let's hope.

I purchased a used Impreza MAF sensor locally out of a junk yard for about $35 US. I drove over at lunch time one day and picked it up.

And I have no intentions of visiting Long Island any time soon so the streets, sidewalks and yards are all yours

Thank yee kindly. If I have my koni struts installed before going up there, my flight may end up being a precise thing, meaning only a few customers may be lost. If, on the other hand, my gf and I decide to take her '85 Buick LeSabre, affectionately named "Jethro," squirrels and sewer rats could make the endangered species list before we get the car up to speed. And, before anyone says it, the alligators in the sewer system don't count; I think Jethro took most of them out on its last visit!

Originally posted by SvXit


Thank yee kindly. If I have my koni struts installed before going up there, my flight may end up being a precise thing, meaning only a few customers may be lost. If, on the other hand, my gf and I decide to take her '85 Buick LeSabre, affectionately named "Jethro," squirrels and sewer rats could make the endangered species list before we get the car up to speed. And, before anyone says it, the alligators in the sewer system don't count; I think Jethro took most of them out on its last visit!

If anyone needs a power steering pump and doesnt wanna get shafted on the cash, I have one on there right now. Ends today too!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2408482919

Mike

[WestCoastSVX]

When it comes to shipping costs. I have been an private citizen ebay seller since '98 so I can relate some stuff...

Weight of course is the biggest factor in how much the actual shipping will be, and all rates have crept up slowly over the last few years. I often find myself underestimating the shipping costs and end up paying more for actual shipping than I charged the customer. My fault, my loss.

Insurance adds a couple dollars too. I include insurance with anything over $20 I sell, I don't even leave it as an option for the customer because if something gets lost or wrecked, the customer will likely complain even if it was their choice and they declined insurance.

Time is a factor. Time to package the item safely, time to take it to the post office and stand in line, etc. This is what businesses call "handling".

Shipping materials. Sure, a cardboard box can probably be acquired for free, unless you are selling a ton of stuff and have to order boxes. But what about bubble wrap, foam, anything to protect the items? It all adds up.

Finally, the relatively new concept of Paypal and other online payment services. These are wonderful for both the buyer and the seller. But just so you know, the seller is charged a percentage of the total by the service. So if you pay $150 for an item, the seller is only getting like $146. Say $10 of that was for shipping and $140 was for the item. Well now the seller only has $6 to go towards shipping, when he had estimated the shipping at $10. Most likely that $4 fee will end up coming out of his pocket, off the auction winnings. Not to mention all the ebay fees.

I'm not proud to say that there are very few auctions for large items that I have got the shipping charges right, I have always ended up decreasing my profit by all these reasons. So maybe I should be smart and raise my shipping charges? Well then we're talking about $25 to ship a 5 pound part, aren't we?

Sorry for the rant, I know other sellers are with me on this. The bottom line is you are still getting a deal, or you shouldn't be buying it on auction. I always make a point of looking at the shipping charges first thing (any seller worth their salt will post that in the auction) and factor that in to the total cost. Just yesterday I decided not to buy a piece of home audio equipment on ebay because I realized that after shipping it would only be a few dollars less than at the local store.

Troy- I'm totally with ya. I sold some legacy headrests on auction a month or so ago. The winning bid was $1. I charged the guy 7 bucks shipping. He got very upset about this so I reduced the shipping charge to 5 bucks. He reluctantly agreed. When I went to ship the head rests, it cost me $6.85 to ship them. That means it actually COST me over $1 to sell them.

Mike

[SvXit]

Originally posted by MacGyver
When it comes to shipping costs. I have been an private citizen ebay seller since '98 so I can relate some stuff...

Weight of course is the biggest factor in how much the actual shipping will be, and all rates have crept up slowly over the last few years. I often find myself underestimating the shipping costs and end up paying more for actual shipping than I charged the customer. My fault, my loss.

Insurance adds a couple dollars too. I include insurance with anything over $20 I sell, I don't even leave it as an option for the customer because if something gets lost or wrecked, the customer will likely complain even if it was their choice and they declined insurance.

Time is a factor. Time to package the item safely, time to take it to the post office and stand in line, etc. This is what businesses call "handling".

Shipping materials. Sure, a cardboard box can probably be acquired for free, unless you are selling a ton of stuff and have to order boxes. But what about bubble wrap, foam, anything to protect the items? It all adds up.

Finally, the relatively new concept of Paypal and other online payment services. These are wonderful for both the buyer and the seller. But just so you know, the seller is charged a percentage of the total by the service. So if you pay $150 for an item, the seller is only getting like $146. Say $10 of that was for shipping and $140 was for the item. Well now the seller only has $6 to go towards shipping, when he had estimated the shipping at $10. Most likely that $4 fee will end up coming out of his pocket, off the auction winnings. Not to mention all the ebay fees.

I'm not proud to say that there are very few auctions for large items that I have got the shipping charges right, I have always ended up decreasing my profit by all these reasons. So maybe I should be smart and raise my shipping charges? Well then we're talking about $25 to ship a 5 pound part, aren't we?

Sorry for the rant, I know other sellers are with me on this. The bottom line is you are still getting a deal, or you shouldn't be buying it on auction. I always make a point of looking at the shipping charges first thing (any seller worth their salt will post that in the auction) and factor that in to the total cost. Just yesterday I decided not to buy a piece of home audio equipment on ebay because I realized that after shipping it would only be a few dollars less than at the local store.

MacGyver, this wasn't a rant at all. On the contrary, it was very well-received on my end. I haven't sold anything on eBay yet (though I have a huge magazine collection that should be sold before it becomes a fire hazard), so all that you said was quite informative. All jokes aside, I actually thought that the shipping charge for the alternator was not too bad, taking its weight into account. I do think the mass airflow could have been a little lower, but I went ahead and paid for both thinking they would be shipped quickly. In fact, the day before (a Tuesday) I won auctions for an air conditioning compressor and a rh door lock mechanism, both of which arrived on Friday.

I think my biggest problem with this guy is that there appears to be a pattern of non-delivery on his part, so from that standpoint it may not be a good deal. You are right that, pricewise, it was not a bad deal at all. But this guy has a new account and didn't have any feedback at the time I bought, but now has 3 positives and 1 negative, with a few more negatives on the way it seems. I will give another week to see if it can be resolved before posting feedback, which will most likely be negative. I will simply have to be more careful next time.

[WestCoastSVX]

Yep, sounds like he might not be the best seller in the world. The only thing worse than a deadbeat buyer is a deadbeat seller (cause they actually have your money)!

Good luck with that, and if you ever need any tips on selling on ebay, let me know.

[Seraph]

Since I am an ebay seller/buyer, I can relate to what troy and mike just said.

It's not just shipping cost that you see on the box. It's S/H not just an S.

L