The Energon Pub

[Bumblethumper]

As a seller, one gets asked a number of silly questions. Sometimes there can be a delicate line to walk in terms of answering them and yet not alienating a potential bidder.

Go on, give us a few examples.

[Bumblethumper]

I have a pair of G1 Seeker fists on the way that I was charged $24 for priority shipping. I will be interested to see if that amount was actually spent on it.

Don't just pony up the cash, push for a better deal on shipping first. I often ask questions like "can you check the shipping charge, it seems a bit high" and "do you have any other shipping options".

It's nice to get things straight away, but I'm prepared to wait if it leaves me with more money to spend on more toys!

Sometimes you're just going to get crucified with the shipping - it's unavoidable. It's often much more than you're even paying for the item in the first place. For this reason I try to buy big lots or multiple lots from the same seller. That spreads the cost.

[The Crimson King]

Go on, give us a few examples.

The most blatant would be:

"Can you ship it half way across the world even though you said US only?"
"Can I? Yes. For the quoted shipping charge of 8 dollars? No."
"Oh."

Never to be heard from again. There have been others regarding payments, or folks who wanted to buy it out without making an offer. There is, of course, always the chance that a question-asker reads these forums, so I'll be a little less than specific unless I get some real gems.

[Bumblethumper]

Yeah, it's probably best to diplomatic.

It may seem stupid, but I've asked that question. Unfortunately a majority or a large amount of items on ebay list shipping to U.S. only. On unique or particularly rare items, this can be incredibly frustrating. It's bad for the seller too, since international items always seem to attract greater interest.

I can understand not wanting to ship to various unstable regions in the world, but I've found that most were willing when asked to ship to the part of Europe that I'm in. To sweeten the deal, I don't ask for a shipping quote straight up in these cases, I tell them to take their time and get back to me if I win it after the auction, and I agree to pay whatever it works out as. The only time I don't ask is when they specifically state "I only ship to U.S., so don't ask me if you live elsewhere" Seems reasonable to me.