I am relatively new to the world of pressure lamps, orginally the intention was just to learn more about Tilleys so that I could service the Lamps we have in our Scout Troop but have started collecting lamps myself and as a result I often have a look through ebay. All the selllers I have dealt with so far have been good with no problems whatsoever. I did see a recent auction where a seller had a number of interesting lamps - in most cases not super rare but in nice condition. Was on the verge of bidding when I saw the postage costs -£20 for economy delivery! I have a friend in the area close to the location of the seller so I sent the seller a message asking if it were possible to collect in person and also confirming that the postage was for second class delivery - no response. Auction ended and have sent another message but no response as yet. Interestingly enough the seller's postage has doubled from earlier in the month. There is also some negative feedback where a buyer has bought a lamp for 99p with £20 postage but the seller apparently no longer wanted to sell it (I wonder why?) By comparison I received a second hand Tilley yesterday via UPS, with a tracking number, extremely well wrapped and I paid £5 postage. Up to £10 seems to be the going rate so £20 for second class post seems to be "a little excessive" to say the least. Yes, I walked away and did not bother to bid although there were people bidding -presumably they have deep pockets!
Welcome to the horror that can be ebay. I would think most ebayers, ones I've dealt with are pretty damn good, it's the ones that you have encountered that leaves the bad taste in your mouth. It's virtually impossible for me to buy off ebay uk. Being from Australia, the postage people want for their goods is outright ridiculous. Anywhere from $100 to $200 Australian for delivery. I actually looked up the UK delivery costs to Australia the other day and $40 for a lamp is about correct. In the last few days I've had a couple of good experiences with ebay. I won an auction for a lamp the other day and when it arrived it was in less than the stellar shape the seller had indicated. It also was missing the original box and instructions that was supposed to be with the lamp. After some tooing and frowing the seller refunded 50% of the price I paid. Another woman accidentally sent the wrong item that I'd paid $59 for. She realised her mistake and sent the proper item and me a message saying to keep the other stuff gratis.
In the old days when final value fees didn't include postage I can understand why some sellers would exaggerate postage prices, but it doesn't make much sense now. Maybe some seller haven't noticed the change in eBay's charging policy. Regarding postage to Aus, I checked the cost of sending a 4KG parcel via Royal Mail with proof of delivery and it is £88.30. Maybe there are cheaper options with commercial couriers.
I think the British ebayer has an over reliance on the royal mail. I have sought many items from Britain however did not proceed due to huge postage costs. I have bought many large items from Germany like PX 500's 1500 etc and yet the delivery cost was always around €17 to Ireland with DHL which I think is excellent value.DHL Deutschland, I salute you
There are quite many eBayers who stick to one particular courier - and in many cases this leads to shipping costs that are unnecessarily high. For shipping a lantern from the UK to Sweden I have been asked from 8 to 80 pounds, apparently all based on the sellers specific offer from his preferred courier. However, some have asked for a low shipping cost during the auction and then asked for more money afterwords. Others wanted to wait until auction end with finding a price - and then found one much higher than the one I could tell them (from my search for a proper courier). No doubt a number of sellers try to earn on shipping what they lost on the auction itself. I should say, though, that most are good and kind people. Most do reply to questions about shipping costs. And most do deliver what was advertised and try to add a good service level on top. Oftentimes I skip bidding if things do not seem okay from the beginning, for instance if shipping costs are unreasonably high. Then it is like when shopping everywhere else - sometimes I just choose a different shop. The worst thing about a place like eBay is that you may see something for sale there - from a not too serious seller - that cannot be expected to show up again anytime soon. Something you really want to own. What to do then? Just try to bid and hope for the best? Well, I believe that the best advice is to just forget about dealing with people you do not trust. That will keep you the happiest in the long run. And something else will always show up sooner or later.
Very sound words Jorgen. I've sold quite a few things on ebay and on a couple of occasions my postage costs have been less than I anticipated so rather than keep the excess I've notified the buyer and refunded the difference.With regards to posting abroad, I generally stick to the UK as postal regualtions for some countries can be a minefield, but I am always prepared to look into it and give someone a quote as long as they contact me before they bid which I think is reasonable. My postage costs are always fair and I recycle packaging wherever possible. In short I try to give a service that I would like to receive myself if I were buying the item. The answer is to walk away if you are not happy but I think those who do abuse postage costs etc should be dealt with as it spoils it for good honest people/traders who thankfully are in the majority!
Here in the States things sound a bit more transparent than "over there". PayPal has also been useful for times when product doesn't arrive. I used to add a handling charge since it's a drive to the post office, but I dropped it since I've ended up going to town more often anyway these days. Checking reviews helps. One rule of thumb is that the score should be higher than their body temperature (98.6F). Cheers, Al
