Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 09:38:33 -0500 From: "David Bilenkey" <dbilenkey@sympatico.ca> To: "'Thomas Adams'" <thomasthomasa@yahoo.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Subject: RE: [CR]Items FS/eBay: Experiment in Parting Out
And I suspect that you could have reaped even more $$ if the auctions were listed as shipping internationally.
I can't count the number of times I have come across auctions that have closed, for way less than I'd have paid, on items that I have been actively looking for, but haven't come up in my searches because the seller lists them as only shipping within the US.
Given that all the shipping, duties and taxes are the buyer's responsibility, I just can't understand why a seller would want to omit the rest of the world's auction players. Kind of defeats the purpose of putting it on eBay it would seem.
David Bilenkey Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Hi David: I agree, but I think it's probably a matter of risk, or at least perceived risk/hassle. Most eBayers I know (myself included) begin a bit cautiously, selling only to their country of residence at first, and perhaps only accepting one form of payment. As they get more confident and have multiple successful auction transactions, they tend to sell to a wider audience, and expand to accept PayPal (which is critical for long-term success on eBay IMO) and/or other forms of payment. Also, Buying from and selling to Canada (when one is located in the US) can be particularly difficult to do, in my experience. The shipping is often slow both ways (ridiculously so sometimes, IMO), which can lead to negative feedback for something that the seller (or buyer) can't control. My understanding is that Duty is fairly steep for goods coming into Canada, which can irritate buyers also. I've never had to pay Duty on a single shipment I've received from anywhere around the World, so as a buyer, paying Duty is a non-issue for me, but I understand how it could be pretty annoying for Canadians. The good news is, you have a great Country with a lot of very good, Government-provided services - the bad news is, you seem to pay dearly in terms of taxes for those services.... (Overall, maybe not such a bad trade-off?) Greg Parker Dexter, Michigan
> -----Original Message-----
> From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
> [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of
> Thomas Adams
> Sent: January 12, 2005 6:44 AM
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: Re: [CR]Items FS/eBay: Experiment in Parting Out
>
>
> As a follow up to the previous discussion, the parted out
> Paramount closed last night. The bits and pieces brought in
> $857.56, probably at least $200-$300 more than the complete
> bike would have brought. The NR triple crank went for
> $203.52, the frame for $266.51 and the wheels for $119.50.
> The Torpado/Galli, with two days to go, isn't showing much
> life so far. Results can be seen by going to Steve's
> seller's page (link below), and looking at completed items.
>
> Thanks to everyone who bid.
>
> Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ