I dislike the big A...ordered something here and....

[moondogblues]

Lo and behold I get it today in a PRIME envelope with the 'gift' receipt inside.  I am tempted to give the seller a neutral.  I am sick of the deception.

[gramophone-georg]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

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@gramophone-georg wrote:

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

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@skatefool wrote:

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@cherry*fizz wrote:

I believe it is if they are taking advantage of a service that prohibits them from doing that to get an advantage over another seller. This is not just finding a good source for your items, or whatever else you want to call good business strategies or whatever. It's the same as shipping things that don't qualify for media mail as media mail to pay less. It's not right. It's really sad how many people here think dishonesty is no big deal or "just business". SMH

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Whats even sadder is how all of the outraged buyers kept the item... which makes them party to the seller's dishonesty.

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The buyers paid shipping, the seller made them party to their dishonesty through no fault of the buyer's.

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Are you saying all sellers who drop ship are being dishonest? With all due respect... that doesn't seem helpful. It's as bad as saying all buyers are scammers, seems to me.

Again... you have NO way of knowing if there's "dishonesty" in ANY of these deals or not.

Assuming it doesn't make it fact. Just sayin'. 

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No again, not what I am saying at all, only those sellers who misuse their Prime accounts to dropship as that is against Amazon's terms.  These are small sellers who don't use FBA; they do this to get free shipping after having their buyers pay for shipping.  

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But there's no way you can factually TELL which is which- all you can do is assume.

[gew6463]

Some of us have experience selling, and on multiple accounts. Castle has experience in sales. Perhaps not on Ebay (I don't know) but sales are sales. Been there, done that. 

Providing a product/service to buyers does not require me to cheat a system by shipping with a service that others pay for (prime), because I want a few more bucks in my pocket. 

I really am not looking for a fight. But to talk as if Castles experience or lack thereof makes her unable to understand, or give advice, is a bit condescending. Either you follow the rules of a service (which others pay for) or you do not. Not a lot of gray area there. 

I appreciate everyones viewpoint in the forum. I've learned a huge amount of helpful information from Castles imput on many subjects, as well as others who no longer sell here. As you said, there is no substitute for experience. 

[city*satins]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

People reuse boxes all the time.  While I question the morality of misrepresenting where the item is coming from, many have recycled boxes, including those of Amazon.  So from that standpoint, and  considering that many do this as a matter of course, and no one is actually breaking any laws, there is no rule that says you cannot reuse and Amazon box, then it should be ok.

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Hmmm....well if it's a question of breaking any laws....any violation of Prime policies associated with someone's subscription, would not likely be regarded as  breaking any laws either - I expect that except in the case of criminal fraud (as defined by the state(s) involved), at worst the seller's actions would be a simple violation of the terms of a contract - with the remedy being the cancellation of the now-breached contract.   You referred to the 'criminal actions of the seller" - I'm  pretty sure that the actions alleged by the OP do not rise to the level of 'criminal'.

I can't help but look at bit askance, however, at the ease with which the idea of taking advantage of a contract between Amazon and USPS  is brushed off as perfectly okay because it's not against the law.  That strikes me as a bit glib but then as I said, Amazon is not something I've had any interest in prior to this thread. (apart from listing to POTUS railing about it, of course)

[castlemagicmemories]

peaking from personal experience and personal opinion the percentage is going down considerably.
Amazon’s FBA fees continuously going up has priced many out of being able to use FBA as many sellers do sell lower priced items (Under $20) and therefore cannot make a profit after paying those fees.

[castlemagicmemories]

I can't help but look at bit askance, however, at the ease with which the idea of taking advantage of a contract between Amazon and USPS  is brushed off as perfectly okay because it's not against the law.  That strikes me as a bit glib but then as I said, Amazon is not something I've had any interest in prior to this thread. (apart from listing to POTUS railing about it, of course)

With all due respect, georg is the one who is doing this.  As I said, his choice.  Other sellers have posted that they will be doing that as well.  As I indicated, it does seem like misrepresentation, so I share your concern, but boxes are recycled all the time.  I do see and appreciate your point.  

[gramophone-georg]

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@gew6463 wrote:

Some of us have experience selling, and on multiple accounts. Castle has experience in sales. Perhaps not on Ebay (I don't know) but sales are sales. Been there, done that. 

Providing a product/service to buyers does not require me to cheat a system by shipping with a service that others pay for (prime), because I want a few more bucks in my pocket. 

I really am not looking for a fight. But to talk as if Castles experience or lack thereof makes her unable to understand, or give advice, is a bit condescending. Either you follow the rules of a service (which others pay for) or you do not. Not a lot of gray area there. 

I appreciate everyones viewpoint in the forum. I've learned a huge amount of helpful information from Castles imput on many subjects, as well as others who no longer sell here. As you said, there is no substitute for experience. 

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But again- here's the thing:

NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE if ANY of these sellers are actually "cheating" Prime. ALL Amazon packages ship in Prime boxes, and ALL are eligible for gift receipts if the sender chooses them.

Like I said- I sometimes "drop ship" parts from warehouse suppliers- and Amazon- when customers are in a hurry for parts or equipment. I have a business account (but not Prime- sorry, castle ) which allows me to get discounts, and on top of that, lots of times I use a free app called "honey" which will discount even further. I charge my customer full retail- so they get a gift receipt. 

Not only does the gift receipt NOT disclose what I actually paid for an item- if my customer has an issue they can use that gift receipt to deal with Amazon directly.

Nothing at all "dishonest" about ANY of this. It's simply the way Amazon works. It's about convenience.

[city*satins]

I beg your pardon if I've offended you.

[gramophone-georg]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

peaking from personal experience and personal opinion the percentage is going down considerably.
Amazon’s FBA fees continuously going up has priced many out of being able to use FBA as many sellers do sell lower priced items (Under $20) and therefore cannot make a profit after paying those fees.

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I wouldn't know- if I had to hazard a guess my average Amazon item is likely north of $100. 

But like I said above- business accounts get discounts, and then there are apps like Honey.

And again- if someone is breaking Amazon's rules- let Amazon worry about that.

[castlemagicmemories]

You referred to the 'criminal actions of the seller" - I'm  pretty sure that the actions alleged by the OP do not rise to the level of 'criminal'.

I'm pretty sure you are right in the legal sense of the word.  I meant criminal in the basic sense of stealing~getting Amazon to pay for shipping by abusing Prime.  The moral, ethical sense if you will.

[gramophone-georg]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

I can't help but look at bit askance, however, at the ease with which the idea of taking advantage of a contract between Amazon and USPS  is brushed off as perfectly okay because it's not against the law.  That strikes me as a bit glib but then as I said, Amazon is not something I've had any interest in prior to this thread. (apart from listing to POTUS railing about it, of course)

With all due respect, georg is the one who is doing this.  As I said, his choice.  Other sellers have posted that they will be doing that as well.  As I indicated, it does seem like misrepresentation, so I share your concern, but boxes are recycled all the time.  I do see and appreciate your point.  

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With all due respect... georg had nothing to do with the contract Amazon has with USPS. 

[castlemagicmemories]

Never said he did.  The point was reusing boxes because of the contract with Amazon.

[pauls-parts]

WHY? You don't even know what is going on. It could just be a mix up. It is my opinion that you are part of what is wrong with eBay. Try to work
things out first. Contact the seller. He might have made an honest mistake. I have. I see that you have no experience here. How can you give suggestions when you don't even know what is going on?

[pauls-parts]

One time I wish she would reveal her true identity so we could see.

[city*satins]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

You referred to the 'criminal actions of the seller" - I'm  pretty sure that the actions alleged by the OP do not rise to the level of 'criminal'.

I'm pretty sure you are right in the legal sense of the word.  I meant criminal in the basic sense of stealing~getting Amazon to pay for shipping by abusing Prime.  The moral, ethical sense if you will.

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I won't.

I just can't. To me criminal and immoral and unethical might all fit in the same basket sometimes, but they're not interchangeable.

As to what georg has said - I appreciate his consistent point of view.  It's what I perceive as inconsistency (strong support of the OP vs the apparent laissez-faire view of the boxes based on the idea that they move faster because of their visible designation) It's no biggie - the trunk of my car hit me a mighty whack on the head early this evening and it nearly knocked me out cold - I may actually be genuinely addlepated today.  *grin*

[castlemagicmemories]

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@gramophone-georg wrote:

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

peaking from personal experience and personal opinion the percentage is going down considerably.
Amazon’s FBA fees continuously going up has priced many out of being able to use FBA as many sellers do sell lower priced items (Under $20) and therefore cannot make a profit after paying those fees.

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I wouldn't know- if I had to hazard a guess my average Amazon item is likely north of $100. 

But like I said above- business accounts get discounts, and then there are apps like Honey.

And again- if someone is breaking Amazon's rules- let Amazon worry about that.

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But we are not talking about your ebay items.  In my case, we are talking about a $10.00 CD from a small seller.  As others have stated, most likely this is a case of abuse of Prime.