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.

[moo*cow*corner]

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@emerald40 wrote:

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@moo*cow*corner wrote:

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@emerald40 wrote:

And sellers are not free to use their personal prime accounts to dropship.

That is what I take issue with.  It is not fair to Prime customers and it muddies the playing field.  But most importantly it is stealing.

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No one said they were, Em. What this thread shows, is that the presence of a gift receipt does NOT indicate Prime abuse, contrary to impassioned popular belief around here.

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City just sent me a neon sign of a post as to the reason why some would put it in the box.  And I find that reason a bit thin.  So I am still looking for a credable reason as to why it was in my box.  It was obvious by the Amazon box and Amazon shipping as to the fact he was a drop shipper and he was making a profit, so he is not fooling me by putting in a gift receipt.  I would have preferred transparency and actually seen the numbers.

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Ah, Em, I dunno. If you find the reason not credible, then that's your concern. If that thin reason is OK with everyone else, then your only option is to not buy from that seller in the future. That's your call.

Yes, even lowly dropshippers are allowed to make a profit for their work. And ebay flat out says that no seller is ever compelled to disclose their sources in their listings. So, there it is.

Do you ask your grocer or medical supplies company to disclose their suppliers, actual costs and profit margins to you before you decide to shop there or not?

I know that the company I buy my diabetic test strips from makes a fortune off those things. My last big order, items came to my door that were dropshipped separately from all over the country. It's fairly common nowadays. Although I did find it a bit annoying, asking them to disclose their supplier/numbers to me would be inappropriate. Same for an ebay dropshipper. Period.

[emerald40]

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@city*satins wrote:

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@emerald40 wrote:

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@moo*cow*corner wrote:

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@emerald40 wrote:

And sellers are not free to use their personal prime accounts to dropship.

That is what I take issue with.  It is not fair to Prime customers and it muddies the playing field.  But most importantly it is stealing.

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No one said they were, Em. What this thread shows, is that the presence of a gift receipt does NOT indicate Prime abuse, contrary to impassioned popular belief around here.

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City just sent me a neon sign of a post as to the reason why some would put it in the box.  And I find that reason a bit thin.  So I am still looking for a credable reason as to why it was in my box.  It was obvious by the Amazon box and Amazon shipping as to the fact he was a drop shipper and he was making a profit, so he is not fooling me by putting in a gift receipt.  I would have preferred transparency and actually seen the numbers.

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Not liking the answer isn't the same as not having been answered but go with whatever works for you.

The issue, in my view,  was not the fact of dropshipping but the dollar amount. As I said in my original answer, when I compared it to eBay sellers who suppress the printing of the postage on their eBay USPS labels - what sellers wish to avoid is a buyer who thinks that any difference between what they paid and what the $ amount shows on the label or enclosure, is somehow owed to them by the seller.

You are always encouraged to go back and read my entire original answer to castle's question.

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Disguising the postage -  You say it is because the buyer is going to be upset because there is a slight difference in price.  And if there is, why not just put that change or dollar bill inside the package.

Or could it be because the seller intentionally pumped it up and is now trying to hide it.  I have read threads where some admit to making  a tidy profit off it.

[city*satins]

 If you say so.

Since past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior, yes, I do say so.

And at least be honest - you have found something to object to about nearly 100% of my posts (at least the ones you read - apparently you missed my post about toilet paper vs tissue paper, as that was pretty funny, if I do say so myself) so it defies credulity that you'd have let a post like that go uncriticized if I'd authored it.

[emerald40]

So he makes a tidy profit of all buyers who are not aware of how he does business.

I do not want to avoid him in the future.  I wanted to have avoided him in the first place.

[cherry*fizz]

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@sharingtheland wrote:

Does A put the price on the packing slip now?  I don't remember seeing prices, for a while, but I know those little wisps of paper have nothing to do with the transaction; you go to your account to see the details.

Okay, maybe the order number is on the packing slip and you might need that.   But your account shows pictures of everything you bought.

I've dropshipped from A to an ebay buyer on occasion, due to my own screwups (wondering if that will get bleeped).  I always told the buyer what I was doing.  I've also bought from an ebay seller and asked for the widget to be shipped to another address, due to my screwup.  Oddly enough (<---invisible humorous sarcasm font) no ebay seller said, "I have to ship to the address on the purchase."  

I always lost money when I did that; invariably I paid more to the other sellers to get my screwups to the buyer.

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Honestly I don't know if they put the price on the packing slip or not. Just some people were saying that's why they HAVE to get a gift receipt, so the buyer will not see the price that the seller paid. Like I posted earlier in this thread there is no other company I use that puts the prices on the packing slip. But then I decided it doesn't matter, because no matter what slip I got from Amazon in an eBay purchase I would probably be irritated, for the reasons I went over in my last post. There is no need for it, because including it implies I now need to deal with Amazon if there is a problem, and I never chose to do business with them. 

If the seller was telling the person what they were doing as you do, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Then the buyer, if they really didn't want do directly, knowingly be involved with a purchase from Amazon could ask to cancel if they wanted to. 

[gramophone-georg]

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@city*satins wrote:

 If you say so.

Since past behavior is a good predictor of future behavior, yes, I do say so.

And at least be honest - you have found something to object to about nearly 100% of my posts (at least the ones you read - apparently you missed my post about toilet paper vs tissue paper, as that was pretty funny, if I do say so myself) so it defies credulity that you'd have let a post like that go uncriticized if I'd authored it.

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In other words: "I can explain it to you, but I cannot understand it for you" (especially when it is clear you do not WANT to understand).

[gramophone-georg]

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@cherry*fizz wrote:

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@sharingtheland wrote:

Does A put the price on the packing slip now?  I don't remember seeing prices, for a while, but I know those little wisps of paper have nothing to do with the transaction; you go to your account to see the details.

Okay, maybe the order number is on the packing slip and you might need that.   But your account shows pictures of everything you bought.

I've dropshipped from A to an ebay buyer on occasion, due to my own screwups (wondering if that will get bleeped).  I always told the buyer what I was doing.  I've also bought from an ebay seller and asked for the widget to be shipped to another address, due to my screwup.  Oddly enough (<---invisible humorous sarcasm font) no ebay seller said, "I have to ship to the address on the purchase."  

I always lost money when I did that; invariably I paid more to the other sellers to get my screwups to the buyer.

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Honestly I don't know if they put the price on the packing slip or not. Just some people were saying that's why they HAVE to get a gift receipt, so the buyer will not see the price that the seller paid. Like I posted earlier in this thread there is no other company I use that puts the prices on the packing slip. But then I decided it doesn't matter, because no matter what slip I got from Amazon in an eBay purchase I would probably be irritated, for the reasons I went over in my last post. There is no need for it, because including it implies I now need to deal with Amazon if there is a problem, and I never chose to do business with them. 

If the seller was telling the person what they were doing as you do, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Then the buyer, if they really didn't want do directly, knowingly be involved with a purchase from Amazon could ask to cancel if they wanted to. 

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I'm trying to recall if I've ever gotten a packing slip from Amazon and I can't ever recall one- just either a receipt or a gift receipt for every individual item.

[city*satins]

Disguising the postage -  You say it is because the buyer is going to be upset because there is a slight difference in price.  And if there is, why not just put that change or dollar bill inside the package.

Because I don't owe the buyer any change.  The postage is not equal to the cost.  I pay for my shipping supplies.  The discount I get from eBay on postage by using eBay to print my labels doesn't cover the associated costs. 

As for putting change inside the package, last time I did that, I was 4 years old and had $1.50 to buy a birthday present for my dad. The card  cost 10 cents, the present cost $1 and I taped 4 dimes to the inside of the card.  My dad chuckled about that until his dying day.

Besides - what's the point of putting cash into a package?  The buyer who returns the item claiming it's SNAD because it doesn't fit, is going to get all of the payment back, plus return shipping and sure as heck isn't going to return that loose cash that went into the package.

But yes, it's not unheard of for sellers to gouge on s/h.

[rainbowcolorz]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:
The deception was she bought it from Ebay and it came from Amazon, as a GIFT when it wasn't, the buyer paid for it. Seller pockets shipping as they had Amazon pay for it through misuse of their Prime account.

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I've purchased many items from eBay sellers (US sellers) and several times the items have come with Amz gift coupons andalso instructions that say if I need to return it to go to Amz. whatever.  I always wondered what that was about until I came here to read about why some sellers do this.

I once purchased sticky notes from a US seller (I wasn't able to go to the store myself to buy some) and it came from Office Depot and it did not have the colors of the pads that the eBay seller was offering so I contacted him to let him know I really wanted the ones in his listing ... but he never responded.  

[tunicaslot]

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@bingodot3 wrote:
Amazon users are also cross linking their account to ebay. I have bought an item on Ebay only to get it from a Amazon seller in a Amazon box. Doing that way they don't use the shipping labels or the USPS postage prices. I have had a few items come on the Big A Prime boxes or packages.

Maybe ebay as a special deal with Amazon.

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@bingodot3 wrote:
Amazon users are also cross linking their account to ebay. I have bought an item on Ebay only to get it from a Amazon seller in a Amazon box. Doing that way they don't use the shipping labels or the USPS postage prices. I have had a few items come on the Big A Prime boxes or packages.

Maybe ebay as a special deal with Amazon.

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Ebay has no special deal with Amazon - it's just that these sellers use Amazon fulfillment center as their main base of operations and sell on both platforms. Amazon is warehousing their items. The sellers not only pay for Amazon to warehouse their items but they pay for Amazon employees to pull their items, pack their items and ship their items. They are paying for those Amazon boxes and for the postage it costs to get the item to you.

[gramophone-georg]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

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@bingodot3 wrote:
Amazon users are also cross linking their account to ebay. I have bought an item on Ebay only to get it from a Amazon seller in a Amazon box. Doing that way they don't use the shipping labels or the USPS postage prices. I have had a few items come on the Big A Prime boxes or packages.

Maybe ebay as a special deal with Amazon.

---

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@bingodot3 wrote:
Amazon users are also cross linking their account to ebay. I have bought an item on Ebay only to get it from a Amazon seller in a Amazon box. Doing that way they don't use the shipping labels or the USPS postage prices. I have had a few items come on the Big A Prime boxes or packages.

Maybe ebay as a special deal with Amazon.

---

Ebay has no special deal with Amazon - it's just that these sellers use Amazon fulfillment center as their main base of operations and sell on both platforms. Amazon is warehousing their items. The sellers not only pay for Amazon to warehouse their items but they pay for Amazon employees to pull their items, pack their items and ship their items. They are paying for those Amazon boxes and for the postage it costs to get the item to you.

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I have been thinking... and this can be dangerous, I'll admit... but if you accept the premise that people presume others will do things exactly as they would... what, then, does this tell us about those who are automatically, without evidence, absolutely certain  that "theft" and "criminal activity" are somehow involved here?

[tunicaslot]

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@emerald40 wrote:

To answer your last response, this was back in September, so gift receipt had nothing to do with the holidays.

So if he did use the fufillment center and I did not indicate it was a gift and it was way before Christmas sales, then is there another valid reason why a gift receipt was included?

What I am trying to say is no we do not know for sure, but imo it looks very suspicious that sellers are doing things to save money that in the long run costs the rest of us more.

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Em - how much does that item cost on the A vs Ebay? The push to issue gift receipts was back at the end of Aug when many people do begin their Xmas shopping. The other alternative I already stated in my post - your seller here ran out of stock. Instead of disappointing you and getting an increase in his OOS rate - he bought the item on Amazon and had it shipped to you. Maybe the seller indeed is drop shippig and abusing his prime - I've already stated that some sellers do that and I'm against it. I answered a question you asked with the scenerios and possibilites of why you received a gift receipt.

[tunicaslot]

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@moondogblues wrote:
"What was the deception?"

The 'deception' is that I wanted to buy from an eBay seller, NOT from Amazon. And yes I understand about sellers having various places to sell from, etc, but if a buyer buys from eBay can't the seller package and send the item(s) accordingly. This seller (to my mind) dropped shipped it through FBA. It was never even in their possession. imho

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The sellers pay alot of money for that FBA and they don't have the product - it's stored at the Amazon warehouse.

I hate the abuse of prime but I've also learned from reading the forums and Facebook groups - that everything is not as it appears when it comes to these gift receipts - so I'm really the stupid one for assuming before I knew the facts.

I hate dropshipping - but I'll be honest with all of you - it's because someone was smart enough to realize they can make a few bucks without doing any work and I'm the sucker that didn't do their due diligence and check out all my options before pruchasing the item.

[hillbillymedia]

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@emerald40 wrote:

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@city*satins wrote:

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@emerald40 wrote:

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@moo*cow*corner wrote:

---

@emerald40 wrote:

And sellers are not free to use their personal prime accounts to dropship.

That is what I take issue with.  It is not fair to Prime customers and it muddies the playing field.  But most importantly it is stealing.

---

No one said they were, Em. What this thread shows, is that the presence of a gift receipt does NOT indicate Prime abuse, contrary to impassioned popular belief around here.

---

City just sent me a neon sign of a post as to the reason why some would put it in the box.  And I find that reason a bit thin.  So I am still looking for a credable reason as to why it was in my box.  It was obvious by the Amazon box and Amazon shipping as to the fact he was a drop shipper and he was making a profit, so he is not fooling me by putting in a gift receipt.  I would have preferred transparency and actually seen the numbers.

---

Not liking the answer isn't the same as not having been answered but go with whatever works for you.

The issue, in my view,  was not the fact of dropshipping but the dollar amount. As I said in my original answer, when I compared it to eBay sellers who suppress the printing of the postage on their eBay USPS labels - what sellers wish to avoid is a buyer who thinks that any difference between what they paid and what the $ amount shows on the label or enclosure, is somehow owed to them by the seller.

You are always encouraged to go back and read my entire original answer to castle's question.

---

Disguising the postage -  You say it is because the buyer is going to be upset because there is a slight difference in price.  And if there is, why not just put that change or dollar bill inside the package.

Or could it be because the seller intentionally pumped it up and is now trying to hide it.  I have read threads where some admit to making  a tidy profit off it.

---

Ebay makes money off my shipping, paypal makes money off my shipping, and the shipping carrier makes money off my shipping but I`m not supposed to make money off my shipping? There is more to shipping something than paying postage. (I go thru about 1000 rolls of toilet paper a week, it gets costly LOL.)

I`ve lost money on shipping many times unfortunately and I`ve never gotten a complaint or a thank you for it. Of course I didn`t expect one either.

[tunicaslot]

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@emerald40 wrote:

Amazon loses money on shipping. So what? I lose money on shipping. Any seller who charges exact postage loses money on shipping. It's a cost of doing business. It's baked into the cake here on ebay.

____________________________________________

Amazon loses nothing.  They pass on the costs to people like me.

If you lose shipping on your own listings then you need to adjust.  But that is your business.

If I have to pay extra because you are stealing from Amazon, then that makes it my business.

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Em - do you share your prime acct with family who are not members of your household? Just asking - because one of the biggest abuses of  Prime is that those you share it with - up to 4 I believe - have to be family members in your household. I know many people that abuse prime by letting their kids at college have access to it - their parents in another state ect - which is against the rules and theft. They are streaming movies - downloading books ect - when it's against policy for those outside of your household to use it.

Here is the reason Prime went up - https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/amazon-prime-membership-fee-increase-video-shipping-costs-1202...

Amazon tracks everything - those abusing their personal prime won't have it for long as it's pretty suspicious when someone is mailing 30 - 100+ gifts a month all across the country to different people.