Small Scale Military Headquarters

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0220817189

99 cents

12.99 with S/H

Went for $5.50.

Ugly tank but a good base for customs. $12 for shipping is BS though.

B.S. covers the item cost for the seller opening so loow.

You are going to see more of these inflated shipping costs on ebay as people try to recover the increased listing and final value fees, and I seriously doubt ebay will do anything meaningful about it either, even if you report it. Not long ago, I received an automated message from ebay saying "your shipping charges appear excessive compared to similarly listed items"... my excessive charge was about $12.99 for an XD tank...WTF...?? and "similarly listed" items were shipping for $20 or more in some cases.. Ebay seems to be totally clueless in this regard... I collect relatively obscure military history books, and one in particular that I was after...the guy had a shipping charge of $50 I notified ebay not once... but twice... and they thanked me for "bringing it to their attention", but the $50 shipping charged remained...LOL

Most of eBay's responses are canned crap meant to just try and calm the savage complainer. Or to put them off and make them give up.

The thing about S&H costs, of course, is that they at least are not subject to the final value fees. It is not a scam job by sellers. As long as the S&H cost is clearly stated in the auction then that is just part of the cost of the item.

The "shipping charge" is noted as S&H. That is shipping AND HANDLING. Not just postage cost.

It is not a scam job by sellers. As long as the S&H cost is clearly stated in the auction then that is just part of the cost of the item.

That's true, and I don't have any issue with "reasonable" S&H charges, but trust me... you can tell when they are out of proportion to what it should reasonably be for a particular item. I've seen much more of this as of late on ebay, and I can only conclude that it is "fee avoidance" to use ebays own terminology. It's an extreme example for sure, but no way you can justify $50 for ANY book...unless it's made of lead...

I agree with you. It is often so obvious as to be absurd. EBay would rather do, I don't know what actually..... They enforce their rules rather haphazardly. Try to describe an item as "ivory" in color. THAT is enforced to the hilt. Or at least it was.

It is generally my presumption that someone who has way out of line S&H is shooting himself in the foot as it marks him as someone who is not trustworthy to my way of thinking.

On the other hand: eBay has asked for it.

ltcbj wrote:It is generally my presumption that someone who has way out of line S&H is shooting himself in the foot as it marks him as someone who is not trustworthy to my way of thinking.

On the other hand: eBay has asked for it.

I agree with both statements.

I always liked Croooow for pres.

Nah, Crow is VP.

With neither Crooow nor Tom Servo having a majority of the delegates I believe that this will be a fight taken to the convention floor....

Are there any ambulan..., uh, attorneys out there who will take up the cause?

ltcbj wrote: It is generally my presumption that someone who has way out of line S&H is shooting himself in the foot as it marks him as someone who is not trustworthy to my way of thinking.

I agree. Here is a fairly good example of the so called "fee avoidance" tactic that some people are now using in an attempt to recover some of their expenses related to the higher listing and final value fees. This is not one of the worst examples I've ever seen, but it serves to illustrate a disturbing trend, and I doubt ebay will do much if anything to address it. The item is a nice Build-a-Rama 32X structure, and the opening bid is quite reasonable for this particular piece...but the shipping is about twice what it should be for an item of this size and weight. Based on my calculations, and believe me, I have this almost down to a science, Priority mail shipping for 5 lbs. (doubt it would weigh that much) going from LA to DC would run just under $17 and delivery confirmation would add another 75 cents, so his shipping charge is nearly double what I believe would be reasonable...

BAR 32X structure: http://cgi.ebay.com/BUILD-A-RAMA-30BAR0 ... dZViewItem

does the "report excessive shipping button"
even work?

Sickening.

Yes, the button works in so far as you get a 'canned' "thank you" from eBay. If you expect some kind of disciplinary action - then it does not work. I would suggest that you look at these excessive shipping cost auctions with a jaundiced eye and a closed pocket book. On the other hand if the combined shipping and price are worth the item, bid. But you will rapidly age if you are expecting the eBay police to be knocking at his electronic portal any time soon.