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

[mstangelo at comcast.net]

Unfortunately shipping is expensive these days. The USPS has to pay it's way hence will charge the market rate.

I believe we should go back to the hamfests. Ebay has made us greedy.

Mike N2MS

----- Original Message -----
From: David Stinson 
To: Old Tube Radios , milsurplus at mailman.qth.net
Sent: Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:46:35 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: [Milsurplus] Scarce Items and the Coming Demise of Ebay "Hobby" Selling.

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