Watch out for "krumerman" seller on ebay.

[Guest]

I was looking for some valve shims on the bay, found a set of six used ones.

Seller: krumerman

$24.99 for the shims "buy it now", plus $12.80 for shipping [edit: for some reason between last night and this afternoon the price has magically dropped to $8.90] PLUS a $4.95 packing fee (it seems the guy is too lazy to ship his own parts and has to pay some one else to do it.)

So for the low low cost of $42.74 I could be the proud owner of SIX USED shims.

I messaged the guy, asked him if he'd be willing to drop the shims in a zip-lock bag inside a first-class mail padded envelope to bring the shipping.

He called me an idiot and told me that if he had to explain it to me I wouldn't understand.

So if you like a side of over priced parts and obscene shipping along with your platter of abusive rudeness, buy from this guy.

[MacGyver]

What that seller was too rude to explain is that the seller fees go up from ~50 cents to ~$1 when the selling price goes over $24.99 - this is a summary, the listing prices are all over the map depending on the auction type/value. Sellers "save" a little by charging large "shipping and handling" charges and lower selling prices. I watch the shipping price very closely, especially up here in Canada.

[wkmpt]

What that seller was too rude to explain is that the seller fees go up from ~50 cents to ~$1 when the selling price goes over $24.99 - this is a summary, the listing prices are all over the map depending on the auction type/value. Sellers "save" a little by charging large "shipping and handling" charges and lower selling prices. I watch the shipping price very closely, especially up here in Canada.

I can dig the whole "$24.99 vs. $25" thing, I sell on ebay and I price accordingly as well. The item price is fair for what it is [I know, I said it was overpriced above, I was factoring in for combined cost to get it to my door]. That being said, it's against ebay policy to charge exorbitant shipping fees in order to pad one's profit.

I not even really that disgruntled about the $4.95 "packing fee" (though that's pretty steep, too). Twelve dollars, eighty cents, to ship. Almost thirteen dollars (on top of the 'packing fee') to ship something, that unless he's packaging them with lead shot, is going to be a small package or envelope the would weigh in the neighborhood of what, say, four ounces tops? [And--I'm not a just 'johnny on the street', complaining about the costs involved. I was a shipping clerk for several years, shipping between 250-500 items a day of a vast variety of sizes and weights until my job got shipped to Mexico.]

Seriously. There's padding your profit a little, and then there's highway robbery. This guy should be pointing a gun at you when he takes your money, at least that would be honest.

[bwringer]

Sadly, padding shipping fees is very common on fleaBay, and the almost universal response is unreasonable rudeness.

You noticed the shipping fees before buying and called him out on it, so you're never going to be a customer. And so he has no need to be nice about it.

Thanks for letting us know!

[slowpokezuki]

There is a thread on this site (sorry...getting ready to eat, didn't look it up) where you can swap out shims, or give a donation. Seems like a GREAT setup!!!

[Steve]

For what it's worth, six NEW shims from Z1 would have been $31.68 plus shipping. Not sure if there would have been more than $12 or so for shipping, but you might have come out ahead on that.

.

[wkmpt]

For what it's worth, six NEW shims from Z1 would have been $31.68 plus shipping. Not sure if there would have been more than $12 or so for shipping, but you might have come out ahead on that.

That's the reason I was all fired up about the shipping costs. Kinda kills the whole cost advantage of buying used parts.

[wkmpt]

There is a thread on this site (sorry...getting ready to eat, didn't look it up) where you can swap out shims, or give a donation. Seems like a GREAT setup!!!

I'm all over that like white on rice. Or brown on wild rice. Or...

[almarconi]

I just ordered 5 shims and an ape manual cam chain tensioner from Z1 and the shipping was around $6 for USPS priority mail.

[Hammered]

Ill play the other side in this one.

Having sold a thing or two on Ebay, I gotta tell ya, when people cant live with the posted means of shipping and yes in some cases pricing, it gets annoying. I wont make excuses for this sellers rudeness. Theres no need for such things in retail, even if it is online. Ive sold handlebars, cameras, MP3 players and much more. Yes padding the shipping cost is a way of life. So is the cost of fuel to get back and forth from the shipper. As are the costs of packing materials and the time of the person handling your item. I dont make a living on Ebay by any means but that doesnt make my time any less important. Now I will say I dont hate it whn Ebay seller dont list a proper shipping cost calculator. If youre not just going to list a flat rate, have the sense to post a calculater so we as buyers have a good base for the total cost. Most Ebay seller arent going to alter their shipping, least the ones Ive dealt with. And for that matter, would you ask JC Whitney or Z1 to just drop them in a padded envolope and first class it to you?

[wkmpt]

Ill play the other side in this one.

Having sold a thing or two on Ebay, I gotta tell ya, when people cant live with the posted means of shipping and yes in some cases pricing, it gets annoying. I wont make excuses for this sellers rudeness. Theres no need for such things in retail, even if it is online. Ive sold handlebars, cameras, MP3 players and much more. Yes padding the shipping cost is a way of life. So is the cost of fuel to get back and forth from the shipper. As are the costs of packing materials and the time of the person handling your item. I dont make a living on Ebay by any means but that doesnt make my time any less important. Now I will say I don't hate it when Ebay seller don't list a proper shipping cost calculator. If youre not just going to list a flat rate, have the sense to post a calculater so we as buyers have a good base for the total cost. Most Ebay seller arent going to alter their shipping, least the ones Ive dealt with. ...

I don't disagree with you for the most part. I understand the underlying costs involved in shipping. I don't even have a problem with a certain amount of padding profit via shipping. But the difference is, most Ebay sellers are at least halfway reasonable about it. Regarding this specific item, and not sellers in general,: If some one can't figure out how to ship six items the size of a quarter for less than $17.65 (non-expedited), they're either an idiot or making their padding patently obvious, which as you know, padding profit via shipping is against Ebay policy--no matter how many people do it. There just isn't a lot of enforcement on Ebay's part because most sellers aren't blatantly rude/obvious about it.

With his attitude, I hope this guy goes out of business and clears they way for some one that is more respectful, honest, and with stronger business sense. Wouldn't even have posted this thread, had the guy not been an a$$hole. Just would have walked away. But he was, so I'm trying to do my part to help others to avoid this jerk in the future.

And for that matter, would you ask JC Whitney or Z1 to just drop them in a padded envolope and first class it to you?

Hell yeah, I would. Though I wouldn't have to. Those companies understand the concept that keeping shipping costs reasonable keeps customers happy. Any company worth their salt is finding ways to keep cost down across the board, both in time taken/materials used to ship, so they can stay competitive with other companies that are doing the same.

Honestly, tell me that if you are looking at two of the same items online for the same price, that shipping cost isn't a huge determinant in which company you buy from.

[chuckycheese]

Rude

Rudeness is never right but the bottom line is all that counts on Ebay since you're not looking for friends, anyway. You see the same thing other places, too. My wife recently bought a used book on Amazon for 1 penny plus 5 bucks shipping. When it arrived, she noticed that it cost $2.30 to ship; so what? Ebay and Amazon are the only ones who get screwed on the deal....and they could stop it if they wanted to.

If someone wanted to sell me a brand new Honda ST-1300 for $1....but charge me $2000 to deliver it across town, I would buy it and I wouldn't feel he'd cheated me on the delivery fee. I'm leery of people who do business that way but if the deal is good enough, I do it.

[Hammered]

Hell yeah, I would. Though I wouldn't have to. Those companies understand the concept that keeping shipping costs reasonable keeps customers happy. Any company worth their salt is finding ways to keep cost down across the board, both in time taken/materials used to ship, so they can stay competitive with other companies that are doing the same.

Honestly, tell me that if you are looking at two of the same items online for the same price, that shipping cost isn't a huge determinant in which company you buy from.

The difference in the case of Jc Whitney and Z! is that their shipping cost are much lower. If I were to ship say a swingarm from a 1982 GS750, they could ship for less due to their bulk rates. Im not siding with this seller by any means and I understand your side. Im just saying, the best way to deal with these kind of sellers is to not buy from them. Wallets speak louder than words in retail.

[wkmpt]

The difference in the case of Jc Whitney and Z! is that their shipping cost are much lower. If I were to ship say a swingarm from a 1982 GS750, they could ship for less due to their bulk rates. Im not siding with this seller by any means and I understand your side. Im just saying, the best way to deal with these kind of sellers is to not buy from them. Wallets speak louder than words in retail.

Well said, mon GS'r.

[TheCafeKid]

Its all relative..

Padding shipping costs is done by the little guy on Ebay, the big company like BikeBandit, Babbitts, etc...you just dont see it because they disguise it in parts prices, handling fees...etc etc. Yes, most of these companies use flat rate, or bulk discount prices from the shipping company of their choice, but they'll still pass it on to the customer. For instance, Babbits online will NOT price a .30 bolt, nut, retainer..etc, for less than $2.87...Theyre prices are cheaper on larger parts than BB, but their shipping cost is higher. BB parts are more expensive, but their shipping cost is lower. Z1 seems to do a good job of reigning in the handle on having appropriately priced parts, AND shipping. Which is only ONE of the 983459348493 reasons i choose them instead of other places. If you want CHEAPER, go to the dealer, usually they'll give you a slight markup (heh) but since its shipped in with other parts from the wherehouse, usually no handling or packing or shipping fees are charged..

Having said that, shipping prices are outrageous right now. And they dont seem to be getting any better. Couple that with the fact that companies simply refuse to ship odd shaped peices with no box (you HAVE to have a box with UPS, or they charge you $15 AND they wont insure it.) and its simply a pain to deal with these people so i kinda see why people pad their prices on shipping. They, on a daily basis, probably have no idea what its REALLY going to cost, as it can change from day to day it seems. I just shipped a set of signals to a GSR, cost me 14 bucks to go to Cali. Light, small box. Shipped a big heavy 8" lamp to another GSR in IL, cost me 11 bucks...WTF?? Destination plays a big part as well as size and weight, so dont forget that too...