[Milsurplus] Scarce Items and the Coming Demise of Ebay "Hobby" Selling.

[Bruce Gentry]

David Stinson wrote:
> Ebay has made many scarce and even rare items available
> to collectors and has saved thousands of pieces from the dumpster.
> However- those days may soon end.
> Shipping restrictions are becoming prohibitive
> and costs are climbing quickly.   I recently sent an ARC-5
> transmitter to a gentleman in the next state.  The Post Office
> demanded nearly $40 to ship it, and that price is going to go up.
> People already bid less or not at all because shipping has become a 
> major part of the expense of collecting.  There are many modest-sized 
> items
> I can't ship internationally due to stricter box size
> and weight restrictions.  And the no-explanation discontinuance of  
> "surface mail" as an option has also damaged the hobby collecting of 
> our friends overseas.
> "Hamfests" are no answer.  They are few and far,
> and as we all age we will be less willing (or able) to participate.  
> Moreover, a hamfest is a severely limited, local market.  I can go to 
> every hamfest in Texas
> for the rest of my life and I will never see that RAV
> receiver someone's kids in New Jersey threw into the dump
> because they couldn't  market it.
> What to do in a world where shipping an  ARC-5 a lousy 300 miles costs 
> $40?  Your thoughts?
>
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>   
There can be no denying that shipping costs are higher, but when you get 
something on EPAY, the main problem is GREED and  GOTCHA!   I won't sell 
there anymore because I would be FORCED to accept Paypal. The seller has 
to pay ridiculous fees, and they hide them in unreal "Handling" 
charges.  But, the higher shipping charges and questionable handling 
fees are inflated incredibly by sellers. If it cost 5 bucks to ship an 
ARC-5 a few years ago, and costs 10 or 12 now, there is no way 40 bucks 
can be justified. Also, sellers insist on taking the items to commercial 
shipping centers, getting  new double boxes and then marking it all up  
a few hundred percent to you.  Oh! we aren't finished yet! Oh! 
nooooooo....  you are REQUIRED to pay for insurance, tracking, delivery 
confirmation and who knows what other fee they can mark up.   My 
response-  give them negative feedback, especially the private "star" 
ratings.  Public negative feedback is burning the bridge with that 
seller for sure, but if more people did it  they would think twice. 
Another thought- get friends to ask the seller a question about their 
crazy shipping charges on other items they are offering. If they get a 
flood of complaints and questions, followed by emails to them refusing 
to bid until the shipping is reduced,  they will take notice.  Modern 
business mangement gives a great deal of attention to fine tuning how 
much they can charge the public while giving the minimum goods and 
service before they rebel. This fun hobby is threatened by people 
outside it and a few inside who don't know or care about the radios,  
just money.  It's far less of a problem here,  it has rendered the 
antique entertainment radio hobby so repulsive I  refuse to even discuss 
the equipment, let alone own or repair it.

Bruce Gentry