TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Mar 22, 2016 5:04 am

So, just bought a type 3, 1st air cooled VW. Have been buying and selling car parts both expensive and cheap for over 15 years. So not new to the game.

Need a few parts for the squareback.
1st part, find what I need in the classifieds and send a email to the seller, get no response AT ALL. Okay, pay a little more buy one off ebay move on.

2nd part, kinda big. Find what I need and send a message to seller asking for quote with shipping. "Out of town for several weeks, will try to get a quote when I get back, travel a lot" ?? he just updated the add two days ago??

Move on to the next seller of same part. Send message asking for quote, get quote, pay immediately all good. 7 DAYS later, oh shipping cost more than I thought, would you mind send a bit more $ to help me out???

Is it just me? Weird set of circumstances? Or does the classifieds section on here suck?

Mark..

Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:00 am

1st part: Happens with several people...checking feedback is a great way to weed out the flakiest of sellers.

2nd part: I used to travel to Japan regularly for work. Easy to update ads, difficult to get shipping quotes for parts that need to be measured/weighed.

3rd part: Fuck that guy. If he quoted a price, he should honor it - he screwed up and it shouldn't cost you more money. This will often show up in feedback as well.

Finding people who have parts and establishing a good working relationship is key to getting good parts at decent prices.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:05 am

And that will be 4% extra for PayPal fees.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:08 am

Brent wrote: And that will be 4% extra for PayPal fees.

Those people are the worst!

I send the payment without the fees - if they decline, I just buy it from someone else. If they're a *real* dick about it, I return the favor and report them to PayPal for abusing the T&C.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:51 am

I strongly agree with leaving negative feedback for the flakey sellers. I ALWAYS check folks feedback before even sending a inquiry to them. If they have no feedback thread, I give them one opportunity via email. If I get results like you, I move on to the next seller.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:50 am

What you described is not normal in my experience.

I rarely have a seller or a buyer flake out or not respond.

Quote: 3rd part: Fuck that guy. If he quoted a price, he should honor it - he screwed up and it shouldn't cost you more money. This will often show up in feedback as well.
Agreed, I just ate like $3 for shipping selling something this week.

It doesn't matter, it all evens out in the end.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:56 am

EverettB wrote:
Quote: 3rd part: Fuck that guy. If he quoted a price, he should honor it - he screwed up and it shouldn't cost you more money. This will often show up in feedback as well.
Agreed, I just ate like $3 for shipping selling something this week.

It doesn't matter, it all evens out in the end.

I tried the 'guessing' method of quoting shipping and ate $20 on an $80 part sale (total with shipping). That was an expensive lesson but I didn't make the buyer pay it because I screwed up. I simply stopped guessing. :wink:

Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:49 am

What parts are you in need of?

Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:59 am

ataraxia wrote:

2nd part: I used to travel to Japan regularly for work. Easy to update ads, difficult to get shipping quotes for parts that need to be measured/weighed.

If you're not going to be "in town", then don't list your item for sale until you are.
If you travel extensively, then mention that in your ad.
You are the one selling your crap, the inconvenience should fall on you not the buyer. He's trying to give you money, don't make it difficult for him.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:17 am

slave1pilot wrote: He's trying to give you money, don't make it difficult for him.

It is astonishing how many businesses don't get this simple truth.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:10 am

slave1pilot wrote: ataraxia wrote:

2nd part: I used to travel to Japan regularly for work. Easy to update ads, difficult to get shipping quotes for parts that need to be measured/weighed.

If you're not going to be "in town", then don't list your item for sale until you are.
If you travel extensively, then mention that in your ad.
You are the one selling your crap, the inconvenience should fall on you not the buyer. He's trying to give you money, don't make it difficult for him.

By 'regularly', I meant that the trips were on a cycle - not that I traveled weekly. The use of the term 'extensive' is subjective but I don't consider 6x per year 'extensive'. In an urgent situation the parts could have been shipped - but that didn't happen once in five years. And yes, I explained my travel, current location and date of shipment for all inquiries. Not one person took me up on the offer to have the part shipped/estimated before I got back from travel. Most people get it and are not in an unreasonable rush to get a part - if they are, the classifieds in general are a terrible place to start. I ship 95% of my parts via Priority Mail and the ads state "$XX shipped" - no guessing and fast shipment. I would get parts to people in other countries faster than a guy in Iowa (one state away from me) would ship a part to me. It is possible to travel and sell parts in the classifieds without being an asshole.

I do agree that the inconvenience should fall on the guy trying to sell their stuff but I've never made it difficult. My specific feedback speaks to the lack of issues with people buying parts from me or selling to me.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:32 am

I'm going to chime in because I was the 3rd guy. Not hiding behind a curtain and this is good feedback for myself. I sold Mark a high back seat backrest frame for $30. I estimated shipping and Yes I estimated too low and after I shipped it let mark know that shipping ended up more than expected. I sent him an email to asking if he would cover the added shipping... Did not hold back shipping. On larger items until the item is wrapped and dropped its hard because just an inch sometimes can change the price quite a bit. Not making Much $ on the part itself and trying to cover my costs. Didn't think I was being unreasonable with this one and apologize to Mark for giving him a bad sales experience. I sell a bunch and don't want to be the "f" that seller. Hopefully those that I have helped out in the hobby can speak up as I love these type 3s and want to be here for the hobby. Joel

Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:41 am

Boo-Koo-Z wrote: I'm going to chime in because I was the 3rd guy. Not hiding behind a curtain and this is good feedback for myself. I sold Mark a high back seat backrest frame for $30. I estimated shipping and Yes I estimated too low and after I shipped it let mark know that shipping ended up more than expected. I sent him an email to asking if he would cover the added shipping... Did not hold back shipping. On larger items until the item is wrapped and dropped its hard because just an inch sometimes can change the price quite a bit. Not making Much $ on the part itself and trying to cover my costs. Didn't think I was being unreasonable with this one and apologize to Mark for giving him a bad sales experience. I sell a bunch and don't want to be the "f" that seller. Hopefully those that I have helped out in the hobby can speak up as I love these type 3s and want to be here for the hobby. Joel

Sometimes when you get a buyer who has had a string of less than stellar experiences you can simply be trying to reach middle ground but the buyer is, understandably, expecting the worst. Thanks for piping in. I do a lot of shipping myself and sometimes on bigger items you can *think* you have all your ducks in a row and still come up with an unexpected "Aw, shit!".

Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:55 am

Tram wrote: Boo-Koo-Z wrote: I'm going to chime in because I was the 3rd guy. Not hiding behind a curtain and this is good feedback for myself. I sold Mark a high back seat backrest frame for $30. I estimated shipping and Yes I estimated too low and after I shipped it let mark know that shipping ended up more than expected. I sent him an email to asking if he would cover the added shipping... Did not hold back shipping. On larger items until the item is wrapped and dropped its hard because just an inch sometimes can change the price quite a bit. Not making Much $ on the part itself and trying to cover my costs. Didn't think I was being unreasonable with this one and apologize to Mark for giving him a bad sales experience. I sell a bunch and don't want to be the "f" that seller. Hopefully those that I have helped out in the hobby can speak up as I love these type 3s and want to be here for the hobby. Joel

Sometimes when you get a buyer who has had a string of less than stellar experiences you can simply be trying to reach middle ground but the buyer is, understandably, expecting the worst. Thanks for piping in. I do a lot of shipping myself and sometimes on bigger items you can *think* you have all your ducks in a row and still come up with an unexpected "Aw, shit!".

I think we've all bought this ground. When I have an unwieldy package that I can't be 100% on the shipping, I advise the purchaser of this and ask for some flexibility on the final shipping cost. I'll overcharge for the shipping and then refund if I was high. No one has ever balked at this and I've always emailed a final copy of the shipping receipt and refund if I was too high.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:21 pm

Oh - I definitely have. I was honest and said I have no idea what it will cost, and I'm not taking this to the UPS store twice. Pay XX for shipping, if it's more I'll pay it, if it's less I'll refund you the difference right away

nope - they were not willing and started to become a pain in the ass - so I informed them I will not be selling anything to them. Ever

Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:27 pm

wcfvw69 wrote: When I have an unwieldy package that I can't be 100% on the shipping, I advise the purchaser of this and ask for some flexibility on the final shipping cost. I'll overcharge for the shipping and then refund if I was high. No one has ever balked at this and I've always emailed a final copy of the shipping receipt and refund if I was too high.

I like this approach. It caps the buyer's price, and doesn't slow things up. This presumes you never go over your "overcharge" price you give them. That probably happens rarely enough to not worry about.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 12:32 pm

I've sold a mountain of stuff in my time.Mostly to star wars Nerds like myself.

If I misjudge the shipping costs, I eat them. It's not the buyers fault I screwed up.
Then again, I always post my price including shipping. Two different prices, one for domestic, one for international.
That seems the easiest for me. No refunds, no hidden fees, and the buyer knows what he's paying. If it's too high, then he passes.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:26 pm

Boo-Koo-Z wrote: I'm going to chime in because I was the 3rd guy. Not hiding behind a curtain and this is good feedback for myself. I sold Mark a high back seat backrest frame for $30. I estimated shipping and Yes I estimated too low and after I shipped it let mark know that shipping ended up more than expected. I sent him an email to asking if he would cover the added shipping... Did not hold back shipping. On larger items until the item is wrapped and dropped its hard because just an inch sometimes can change the price quite a bit. Not making Much $ on the part itself and trying to cover my costs. Didn't think I was being unreasonable with this one and apologize to Mark for giving him a bad sales experience. I sell a bunch and don't want to be the "f" that seller. Hopefully those that I have helped out in the hobby can speak up as I love these type 3s and want to be here for the hobby. Joel

Joel, I know you've helped me out in the past. In fact when I bought those spindles off you, you were in the middle of moving/reorganizing, and asked if I could a week or 2 until you got caught up. I told you I was fine with that, and you sent me what I paid for. I'll be contacting you again when I need something else too. :D

Tue Mar 22, 2016 1:51 pm

Erik G wrote: Oh - I definitely have. I was honest and said I have no idea what it will cost, and I'm not taking this to the UPS store twice. Pay XX for shipping, if it's more I'll pay it, if it's less I'll refund you the difference right away

nope - they were not willing and started to become a pain in the ass - so I informed them I will not be selling anything to them. Ever

I over estimate the weight/dims if necessary and refund the overestimated amount - down to 30 cents overpaid. I found that buying a small scale and keeping packing material from inbound parts improved quoting ability. I've also set up UPS and FedEx shipping accounts to get quotes and ship.

Tue Mar 22, 2016 2:02 pm

ataraxia wrote: Erik G wrote: Oh - I definitely have. I was honest and said I have no idea what it will cost, and I'm not taking this to the UPS store twice. Pay XX for shipping, if it's more I'll pay it, if it's less I'll refund you the difference right away

nope - they were not willing and started to become a pain in the ass - so I informed them I will not be selling anything to them. Ever

I over estimate the weight/dims if necessary and refund the overestimated amount - down to 30 cents overpaid. I found that buying a small scale and keeping packing material from inbound parts improved quoting ability. I've also set up UPS and FedEx shipping accounts to get quotes and ship.

some really nice early bug pop-out windows. No scratches on the trim or the glass. I just didn't know if it was going to be oversize or not. turns out it was by like half an inch