Re: [CR] PayPal and German eBay Purchases

(Example: Framebuilding:Restoration)

From: <GPVB1@cs.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 10:34:18 EST
Subject: Re: [CR] PayPal and German eBay Purchases
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


Hi Jerry:

I buy semi-regularly from non-US-based eBay sites/sellers, and it can indeed take a very long time to receive the goods, unless they send via someone like Fed-X, which can zoom stuff here in three or four days from darn near anywhere on the planet!

It regularly takes 1-3 months to receive goods from Europe, and most of those are air shipments! Since about last October, it seems to be even slower than it used to be. Another issue with packages from Germany is how many Europeans write the numeral "1" vs "7" - it doesn't ever confuse me, but USPS has sent stuff of mine to 48703 instead of 48103 because they thought that's what they read, and that added weeks to the shipment time, from the various date stamps that I saw on the box, while they figured things out here Stateside.

I track stuff received vs. not received with my Feedback page, but that only lasts for 90 days, so occasionally something hasn't arrived yet when it is about to scroll off of my FB page. That's a signal to me to get on that item with the seller.

Thus far, I have never failed to receive any item, but sometimes it takes a whole lot of follow-up and hand-holding, and the shipping costs can easily exceed the item price. I try to go for something on eBay that is located outside the US only if it is really cool/rare or seems like a screaming deal (which isn't very often!), or when I know and trust the seller. Otherwise, the time and shipping costs just become too large and end up making a "good" deal into a "poor" one....

Charlys-auktionen is Klaus Jeworowski. No relation to Carsten as far as I know. His auctions look like Carsten's IMO because Carsten's success (as cyclo24) has created a bit of a micro-sized cottage industry on German eBay of folks trying to cash in by selling "junky old bike parts" to us rich Amurricans. You may well receive those items from Klaus a month or more from now....

Being also of German descent myself (about 25%), I like the typical thoroughness of German sellers (their packing prowess in general is awesome!), but as always, check their FB - it will tell you most everything you want to know, or at least enough to decide if it's worth dealing with them. My personal "cut-off point" is 99% positive, and in general, I believe German eBayers have a higher rating than your average American seller. There is of course that 1% globally that just seems to enjoy having a hassle in everything they do, and Germany is not significantly different from the US in that respect. Check Belgium-based "collalbo" if you want to see an "interesting" non-US seller. His stuff always seems to "get lost in the mail - twice" - must be a statistical aberration I guess...! ;-)

I also try to deal with International sellers in their native language whenever possible, which generally delights them, so that may help some too in my particular case. Your actual litres/km may vary!

Cheers,

Greg Parker Bicycle Classics Ann Arbor, Michigan


> Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 21:52:13 -0600
> From: "jerrymoos" <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: [CR]PayPal and German eBay Purchases
>
>
> Well, the eBay saga continues. After the previously posted problems with
> Cyclo_Network, I also failed to receive any goods 5 weeks after paying
> another German seller, charley's-auktionen. The seller claimed no
> responsibility because I had not paid for insured shipping, and stated he
> had shipped on Dec29, but offered no proof. I again filed eBay and PayPal
> complaints just before the 30 day PayPal deadline. I received notice today
> that PayPal had determined the seller was at fault and had obtained a refund
> of $153 of the $160 price. This seller was offering goods very similar to
> Cyclo-Network and the format of the auction pages was also similar, so
> perhaps this is just another Cyclo-Network alias. The mail from Germany is
> very slow just now - it took me a month to receive a Peugeot from list
> member Kim Klakow. But apparently PayPal found there was something more
> than slow mail involved in the charly's-auktionen case.
>
> Being of German descent myself, it pains me, but I have concluded to avoid
> German eBay sellers in general, except for CR list members like Kim. The
> deals seem great, but the goods never arrive. I never had any doubts, on
> the other hand, that the bike from Kim would arrive. I've never been
> stiffed on a deal by a CR member, so I have a lot of trust in anyone who is
> an established list member.
>
> By the way, I still resent the way PayPal manipulates members into linking
> in bank accounts, but I have to admit, they are 2 for 2 in recovering all or
> most of my money in eBay fraud cases. Credit where credit is due.

>

> Regards,

>

> Jerry Moos

> Houston, TX