Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

There is a person in Mount Ulla NC that has been buying from Canadian sellers that cannot afford to put tracking on their items. This is because the item is low cost and will not sell if there is going to be a $12.95 tracking charge added to the cost. The buyer has been targeting Canadian sellers that do not use tracking for the above reason. This person has said that 8 packages never arrived and I think the number is more likely quite a bit higher. The sellers including myself were made to refund this person their money , we all reported this to ebay but for some reason it took months to do what ever they do. Which amounts to very little in my eyes. I am recommending that Canadain sellers do not sell to American buyers unless they are well known and good people. I know that a package can get lost but I also know that 8 packages do not get lost they get ripped off. This has sadly taken money from decent people that work hard to suppy a great service to eBay customers. the sad part is that most people leave feedback immediately after the sale is done. I suggest do not fill in anything until you know for sure it is not another type who takes and takes and has no intention of buying anything that has tracking on it. eBay will not allow us to change feedback that was left , and of course the artist does not put in any feedback to anyone so a negative will never show on his site unless he leaves feedback that a person can respond to. Be very wary of new start ups because once they are found out they start another one under an assumed name and do it all over again. eBay can only do so much they told me . but his site is still up and running as far as I know. DO NOT SELL to this person . People like this have no ethics or give a darn about you or I the seller. I am not selling to anyone unless thier established , and I suggest you do the same. There are lots of good people out there pick and choose your sales carefully and if you feel uncormfortable. Ask the buyer to pay for tracking . The coin I was taken from me was a high grade 1961 sealed Franklin half dollar!If he wants the item bad enough he will pay the high Canadian cost of tracking. thank you lambarcl

Message 1 of 20
latest reply
7 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS

Accepted Solutions

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

That is a wall of text and hard to read.

 

You had a customer who purchased 8 items from you.

He reported that none of the eight arrived.

Without tracking you were required to refund him.

We've all been there and you have our sympathies.

 

Now.

 

Your products appear to be low cost numismatic and sportcard items.

 

Did the buyer purchase eight separate items on eight separate occasions?

Or were they purchased together and did you ship them together?

What was the total value?

If for example you had eight $5 items with free shipping, thinking that you could ship for $1.20 LetterPost and still make money, then you had $9.60 of his payment available to offset the $12 cost of tracked shipping.

Still a loss, but not a $40 loss.

And it could be covered by using Cookie Jar Insurance.

 

Ask the buyer to pay for tracking . ....If he wants the item bad enough he will pay the high Canadian cost of tracking.

The seller controls shipping.

Free Shipping means that the cost of shipping is included in the price of the item.

  • Which is cheaper : a $5 item with $1.00 shipping or a $6 item with Free Shipping?

You cannot charge the buyer more for shipping than you advertise.

Which means you cannot ask after purchase for more money to cover tracking.

 

We also cannot name and shame other members on these Boards.

 

It might be helpful to other sellers, in the long run, if you phone the Post Master in Mount Ulla and discuss the problem with her.

I got one phone number from Google Maps, , but you may want to decide which of the two POs is closer to your customer's address.

If the customer is right, someone is stealing mail. The PostMaster will want to know about it.

If you are right, the customer is committing mail fraud and the PostMaster will want to know about it.

Be polite. You are trying to solve HER problem not yours.

 

 

 

 

 

View solution in original post

Message 2 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

but of course the email address is a phony address .

 

Good.

You can Report him for incorrect contact information. EBay does not allow that.

 

You can self-report your post, but really the worst that would happen (the first time) is a 'pinkslap', which is just a grumpy note from the Board Moderators.

Don't do it again though.

 

Of course you are angry about your loss.

I'm glad to hear it was only one piece on your part.

Now think about how much money you actually lost. Not how much it sold for, but your costs. Procurement, fees and postage.

I see a similar item at around $14-15. Not pleasant, but I hope not a budget breaker.

 

Now let me tell you the Good News about Cookie Jar Insurance.

This is self-insurance.

You add a small amount, rarely more than a dime to each asking price and toss those virtual pennies into  virtual Cookie Jar.

If you get a Claim --or better, when a customer reports a problem-- you pay the costs out of the Cookie Jar.

The Cookie Jar takes the place of tracking and of insurance.

It covers problems that neither of those will-- like an item broken due to inadequate packing.

When faced with an Item Not Received query, you can refund the buyer, who may well be right, and add a note telling him that when the item arrives, he can return the refund using Paypal's Send Money service. Most will in my experience.

 

If you can encourage the other eight sellers to phone the Post Masters in his small town, he may be getting a visit from the USPS Postal Inspectors. Those guys have a rep.

View solution in original post

Message 5 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Another issue is that eBay looks at the feedback that a seller puts out after the sale has taken place .

 

EBay does not use feedback as a metric.

Less than 40% of transactions get any feedback, and most of that is left by sellers.

 

I only contacted the Canadians that never tracked their packages , and every single one of them was ripped off , and was made to refund the crook.

Every loss is painful.

This is why I promote Cookie Jar Insurance (self-insurance) so strongly.

I ship without tracking partly because I am in very trustworthy categories, but also because I have a few pennies from every sale in a virtual Cookie Jar for the very occasional problem. Some of which are my error, btw. Most of us who use CJI actually make a little bit on it, just like a real insurance company.

 

I am hoping that the postal inspectors do catch this person , and charge him with International mail fraud.

You are not alone in that.

View solution in original post

Message 7 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Anonymous
Not applicable

It is one of many reasons we have to use mail service with tracking number even to International countries to protect ourselves.

 

If the buyers balk at the rates for the mail service with tracking number, thy don't have to buy!

View solution in original post

Message 8 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Yes your absolutely correct. I have a fair good following and the people I trust I will do the cheap shipping . We are re-organizing right now to reopen next year again. thank you for your advice . I appreciate the time you took to point that out again to me. So it looks like it is going to be tracked or forget it to the US . I do not sell to any other countries . Had enough of the bull that comes with it. Take Care good luck with your sales . thanks Marshall

View solution in original post

Message 9 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Thank you , I appreciate your input . di you happen to read what a person called justbiddingeveryoneup about how he has stolen items and that eBay is well aware of what he is doing and they have not stopped him yet. I do not believe half of what he said but the way he explained it he says that eBay always backs him . He said he stole over 30 items from people ,  and always gets his money back because eBay always sides with the theif. I am in limbo right now deciding if I am going to reopen or try something new . thank you your message. I still think eBay is a great place but it has some areas that could really end up hurting their business if the theft is not addressed. I bet there is handfuls of thefts every single day and they are stumped on what to do about it. I think if they said no protection for items under 20 dollars then eventually most of the theft would disappear. eBay pulled that message shortly after i

t was posted. thanks marshall

View solution in original post

Message 15 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Ebay always settles with the buyer. Sellers are easy to get, I am sure hundreds maybe thousands sign up everyday, but keeping people buying is not so easy. I found a new place to sell online, where I have 100% control of buyers, I can remove buyers who do not pay at anytime with no questions asked, there is no feedback system to hold you hostage, and I only pay the paypal fee's, which leaves 17% more in my own pocket from every sale. I have saved over $450usd in fees I would have paid out to Ebay in the past 10 months. Obviously I can not disclose where this site is or this post will be removed, but the site has a membership of 2.07 billion users! Do your homework and think outside the box, make selling on the internet enjoyable and have 100% control of your money and members. No listing fee's! No fvf on shipping costs! Good luck!

View solution in original post

Message 16 of 20
latest reply
19 REPLIES 19

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

That is a wall of text and hard to read.

 

You had a customer who purchased 8 items from you.

He reported that none of the eight arrived.

Without tracking you were required to refund him.

We've all been there and you have our sympathies.

 

Now.

 

Your products appear to be low cost numismatic and sportcard items.

 

Did the buyer purchase eight separate items on eight separate occasions?

Or were they purchased together and did you ship them together?

What was the total value?

If for example you had eight $5 items with free shipping, thinking that you could ship for $1.20 LetterPost and still make money, then you had $9.60 of his payment available to offset the $12 cost of tracked shipping.

Still a loss, but not a $40 loss.

And it could be covered by using Cookie Jar Insurance.

 

Ask the buyer to pay for tracking . ....If he wants the item bad enough he will pay the high Canadian cost of tracking.

The seller controls shipping.

Free Shipping means that the cost of shipping is included in the price of the item.

  • Which is cheaper : a $5 item with $1.00 shipping or a $6 item with Free Shipping?

You cannot charge the buyer more for shipping than you advertise.

Which means you cannot ask after purchase for more money to cover tracking.

 

We also cannot name and shame other members on these Boards.

 

It might be helpful to other sellers, in the long run, if you phone the Post Master in Mount Ulla and discuss the problem with her.

I got one phone number from Google Maps, , but you may want to decide which of the two POs is closer to your customer's address.

If the customer is right, someone is stealing mail. The PostMaster will want to know about it.

If you are right, the customer is committing mail fraud and the PostMaster will want to know about it.

Be polite. You are trying to solve HER problem not yours.

 

 

 

 

 

Message 2 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

 No he did this to 8 buyers that I am aware of, and I have good reason to think that there were more then the 8 in total that's including the 1 package that I sent to him. I have been thinking of different ways of trying to get in touch but of course the email address is a phony address . So I think if the email is no good then it is likely that this was a con game from the beginning. thank you for your reply. Marshall

Message 3 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

thank you for the info , do you know how I can edit the message to remove the persons name ? Marshall

Message 4 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

but of course the email address is a phony address .

 

Good.

You can Report him for incorrect contact information. EBay does not allow that.

 

You can self-report your post, but really the worst that would happen (the first time) is a 'pinkslap', which is just a grumpy note from the Board Moderators.

Don't do it again though.

 

Of course you are angry about your loss.

I'm glad to hear it was only one piece on your part.

Now think about how much money you actually lost. Not how much it sold for, but your costs. Procurement, fees and postage.

I see a similar item at around $14-15. Not pleasant, but I hope not a budget breaker.

 

Now let me tell you the Good News about Cookie Jar Insurance.

This is self-insurance.

You add a small amount, rarely more than a dime to each asking price and toss those virtual pennies into  virtual Cookie Jar.

If you get a Claim --or better, when a customer reports a problem-- you pay the costs out of the Cookie Jar.

The Cookie Jar takes the place of tracking and of insurance.

It covers problems that neither of those will-- like an item broken due to inadequate packing.

When faced with an Item Not Received query, you can refund the buyer, who may well be right, and add a note telling him that when the item arrives, he can return the refund using Paypal's Send Money service. Most will in my experience.

 

If you can encourage the other eight sellers to phone the Post Masters in his small town, he may be getting a visit from the USPS Postal Inspectors. Those guys have a rep.

Message 5 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

I have notified some of the others to file a fraud inspection with USPS inspection department. I do not care about the single loss to me maybe was 20 dollars.The problem here is that eBay had been warned prior to my sale to the crook , and they had more then enough complaints prior to mine to put a stop to this. How many people do the let get ripped off before they do anything 3 ,5 10 well that's what is was. In approx. 3500 packages mailed out or to me ,  I never had a loss in the post office . The postal people have been excellent. Another issue is that eBay looks at the feedback that a seller puts out after the sale has taken place . The feedback should be for when everything is finalized , and then they should make their decision on that seeing how they will not allow anyone to update or change feedback. When I re-open after re-orqanization , I will not post any feedback until the sell is finalized , unless it is a customer with good standings and has been on eBay for a while.  They had numerous complaints prior to my sell but did not seem to care enough and let it happen anyway. That is a problem that needs to be changed somehow. I only contacted the Canadians that never tracked their packages , and every single one of them was ripped off , and was made to refund the crook. So you can think what you want about people being angry about a loss. It not just about the loss ,  it is eBays reluctance to do squat. The other thing it is just not a 20 dollar loss . How many more low priced  items  does a seller have to sell  to recoup their money. A person has to sell 3 maybe 4 to get his loss back so it is not a 20 dollar loss it is also the money you would have had from the other sales now goes to cover the ripoff. So there is a lot more to this then you make it out to be. I want you to know I do appreciate your feedback on this issue. I am hoping that the postal inspectors do catch this person , and charge him with International mail fraud. On a positive note eBay said they would work with any law enforcement agency , and as far as I know the postal inspectors have full lawful jurisdiction when it comes to these types of issues. Thanks again for you input ,I do appreciate your time and suggestions to make things better for everyone involved. M 

Message 6 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Another issue is that eBay looks at the feedback that a seller puts out after the sale has taken place .

 

EBay does not use feedback as a metric.

Less than 40% of transactions get any feedback, and most of that is left by sellers.

 

I only contacted the Canadians that never tracked their packages , and every single one of them was ripped off , and was made to refund the crook.

Every loss is painful.

This is why I promote Cookie Jar Insurance (self-insurance) so strongly.

I ship without tracking partly because I am in very trustworthy categories, but also because I have a few pennies from every sale in a virtual Cookie Jar for the very occasional problem. Some of which are my error, btw. Most of us who use CJI actually make a little bit on it, just like a real insurance company.

 

I am hoping that the postal inspectors do catch this person , and charge him with International mail fraud.

You are not alone in that.

Message 7 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Anonymous
Not applicable

It is one of many reasons we have to use mail service with tracking number even to International countries to protect ourselves.

 

If the buyers balk at the rates for the mail service with tracking number, thy don't have to buy!

Message 8 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Yes your absolutely correct. I have a fair good following and the people I trust I will do the cheap shipping . We are re-organizing right now to reopen next year again. thank you for your advice . I appreciate the time you took to point that out again to me. So it looks like it is going to be tracked or forget it to the US . I do not sell to any other countries . Had enough of the bull that comes with it. Take Care good luck with your sales . thanks Marshall

Message 9 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Virtual cookie jar?  Fine for cheap shipments but a scam by a buyer can end up costing enough in shipping to wipe out profits on a dozen sales.  Costs are costs and anyone who claims more than 2 items purchased out of 10 never showed up is IMO, suspect.

Message 10 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

 Your absolutely right Randall, that artist  did it to at least 8 Canadian sellers , and most likely there were more . I know some of us filed with the USPS fraud investigators. You are right , the loss compounds to having to lose the sales made on other items to cover the loss on the initial item. So a 20.00 loss could easily double or triple after everything is said and done. Canada post needs to have a tracking system that is affordable to sellers on eBay . eBay also has to implement an auto stop on these people after they claim 2 no shows . This was happening for 6 months and eBay did NOTHING. OH YA  they read his initial feedback so they thought he was good bloke. never mind ripping off so many items before they did something. Unbelievable !! thanks  lambarcl




 


 

Message 11 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

THE REAL CROOK IS EBAY!

 I have been ripped off so many times. The worst offending countries are 1) Brazil 2) Canada! ( i ship globally)

I was ripped off by the same guy 7 times under 7 different accounts. ( 3 times i sent the item) I informed ebay and paypal every last detail of the fraud. Paypal sent me back to ebay and ebay rudely told me to take a hike. The fraud continues to this day. It is not that they can't take action, it is that they do not give a flying f about their patrons. Investigations and action take manpower, which they clearly have none to give.

 If your not participating in the drive the final selling price sky high/create foreign currency ripoff opportunities, then the scums have no use for you. Stick that cookie jar **bleep** where the sun don't shine. Theft is a fact of bricks and mortar stores and a fact at ebay stores as ebay flat out refuses to spend one cent on customer based security. 

 It is incredibly insulting to see so many people here trying to make urineade out of urine. Tell it like it is. I keep seeing "solved" on the threads although nothing was ever solved. Just phony tail waggers trying to appease the evil master for whatever insider kibble treat they feel they are receiving. Make sure you bark what ebay wants to hear.

Message 12 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Right on . I know the cookie jar may work for that person. I just am only going to sell to the people I trust , and I may just say screw it and stay closed . I been thinking of doing real auctions where people pay good money for the items they want.I am sick of spineless eBay , and the way they pretend yo do somethings. lambarcl thanks !!
Message 13 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

I feel your pain. I don't think you can find a seller on Ebay with over 1000 sales who has not been burned at least once.

After 13 years, I finally figured that what Ebay is good for. That is using the free 100 listings a month to list items with a huge mark up compared to what I paid for them. I always make sure everything of real value has a tracking number when sold. Every once in a while someone will buy something, but I just keep relisting over and over easily with a click of a button, rarely lowering the prices to really try to sell items. If you can use Ebay for hobby purposes only, get big pay outs on cheap items, that's the way to use it.

Message 14 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Thank you , I appreciate your input . di you happen to read what a person called justbiddingeveryoneup about how he has stolen items and that eBay is well aware of what he is doing and they have not stopped him yet. I do not believe half of what he said but the way he explained it he says that eBay always backs him . He said he stole over 30 items from people ,  and always gets his money back because eBay always sides with the theif. I am in limbo right now deciding if I am going to reopen or try something new . thank you your message. I still think eBay is a great place but it has some areas that could really end up hurting their business if the theft is not addressed. I bet there is handfuls of thefts every single day and they are stumped on what to do about it. I think if they said no protection for items under 20 dollars then eventually most of the theft would disappear. eBay pulled that message shortly after i

t was posted. thanks marshall

Message 15 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Ebay always settles with the buyer. Sellers are easy to get, I am sure hundreds maybe thousands sign up everyday, but keeping people buying is not so easy. I found a new place to sell online, where I have 100% control of buyers, I can remove buyers who do not pay at anytime with no questions asked, there is no feedback system to hold you hostage, and I only pay the paypal fee's, which leaves 17% more in my own pocket from every sale. I have saved over $450usd in fees I would have paid out to Ebay in the past 10 months. Obviously I can not disclose where this site is or this post will be removed, but the site has a membership of 2.07 billion users! Do your homework and think outside the box, make selling on the internet enjoyable and have 100% control of your money and members. No listing fee's! No fvf on shipping costs! Good luck!

Message 16 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

November/2017 about that site:

200 Million of Our More than 2.07 Billion Users May Be Fakes

Message 17 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

 There are fakes anywhere and everywhere. I try not to judge anything that seems to be working for someone. I know what your saying ,they all like to inflate their numbers in hopes of attracting more. I enjoyed eBay , and may come back into the New Year. Every outlet whom ever it may be will have some type of policy that a person thinks does not work for them. I do believe it is easy for eBay to get both sellers and buyers , although no matter who you talk with the important people are the buyers . They side with the buyers in 99%  of all cases. They go by the feedback that was put in after the sale has taken place not after the sale is totally completed. This way in the mean time the feedback is usually telling how the transaction unfolded, not how the actual sale went in the end. So this is what they told me they follow to catch people stealing. In the mean time the con has taken money from a dozen people and gets away with it. By the time their top notch security is on to them ,  they are usually listing under a new name. It is too bad that they do not adapt a policy that red flags these types and they stop them after one no show. With 3300 packages bought and sold I only had 1 get stolen and that was after the person had already stolen 8 others before me.  So I do not believe a word eBay tells me when they say they are right on it as soon as it happens . It is more of a problem with a lack of staff, maybe people trained in areas of mail fraud etc. It only about their bottom dollar not yours. they do not lose anything , not even time because they do not put in any to watch these people steal right in front of them . So do not tell me that your on top of something that has been going on for 3 months , and you are deciding what to do well he rips someone else off again and again. I do appreciate your input , hope you have a great selling year . One way I was thinking of selling on there (may work for you also) package enough things together that would cover the cost of tracking or that the customer would not mind paying for tracking. Instead of a lot of low priced items put 4 or 5 together add tracking maybe  a bonus coin for buying the package and if they want it ,  so be ,  if not ,  take a hike. eBays hayday is over , they are way down from sales in comparison to 5 years ago. Anyway thanks for the input your are totally right about the fakes and how places pump their image. I wish you the very best at what you do . thanks M

Message 18 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Who cares how many fakes? The real ones join my page and send me money,  with no FVF's or FVF's on the marked up postage. Did I mention I have saved over $450usd in fee's in the last 10 months I would have paid here on Ebay? There is no feedback, and I am the only seller on the my created page, which cuts out all the competition. Don't be jealous, try it, its amazing what you can do completely for FREE! or sit here and throw 17% of every sale to Ebay.

Message 19 of 20
latest reply

Re: Canadian sellers know that on a low priced item that it is unlikely to sell with tracking cost

Yes, bundling items together will really cut down on the scammers, make tracking mandatory, you will still sell things. Jack up the price the first time, and then slowly reduce it over a couple months when relisting it, and see what happens.

Message 20 of 20
latest reply