Pricing

[snow2hi2c]

How is it that ebay sellers want to charge more for items than retail stores? 

Its like going to a flee market and paying more than walmart for an item that was purchased at walmart! 

[krazzykats]

I have reused boxes to double box and protect the eBay box.   

If you received an Amazon box, opened it, and found an eBay branded box inside with your item in it what would you think?  

Good, bad idea?

[gurlcat]

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@fbusoni wrote:

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@gurlcat wrote:

It's very obvious when an Amazon box was simply recycled by a real eBay seller.  For one thing I'm guessing you don't use a box 6 times too large for the item you're shipping. 

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@gurlcat 

I hope I am not imperiling myself by using old Amazon boxes when I ship items I have sold on eBay... sometimes those boxes are the perfect size.     

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Not imperiling at all.  You don't even sell new items do you? 

[krazzykats]

Okay, I understand savings, but what is money for?  I think to spend.  LOL!

I'm not excessively spending, but I do like little luxuries and that's what money is for.  🤑

[gurlcat]

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@krazzykats wrote:

I have reused boxes to double box and protect the eBay box.   

If you received an Amazon box, opened it, and found an eBay branded box inside with your item in it what would you think?  

Good, bad idea?

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That would clearly not be from an Amazon warehouse.  But even without the eBAy box inside ..... am I remembering wrong, or doesn't Amazon use their own branded tape?  It's pretty easy to tell if that original tape has been previously cut open, and had new packing tape put over it for the box re-use. 

[fbusoni]

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@gurlcat wrote:

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@fbusoni wrote:

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@gurlcat wrote:

It's very obvious when an Amazon box was simply recycled by a real eBay seller.  For one thing I'm guessing you don't use a box 6 times too large for the item you're shipping. 

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@gurlcat 

I hope I am not imperiling myself by using old Amazon boxes when I ship items I have sold on eBay... sometimes those boxes are the perfect size.     

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Not imperiling at all.  You don't even sell new items do you? 

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No, I don't sell new items... but I'd never really stopped to consider whether there using an old box with Amazon tape on it might risk incurring the wrath of an eBay buyer who goes out of their way to avoid anything to do with Amazon!

So far I've not had any problems... but your post above (about a "fresh shiny negative") gave me pause.  😊

[mam98031]

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@krazzykats wrote:

Okay, I understand savings, but what is money for?  I think to spend.  LOL!

I'm not excessively spending, but I do like little luxuries and that's what money is for.  🤑

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Unfortunately more things are going to be on the "little luxuries" list in the coming months.

For one, I love bananas, but we don't grow them to my knowledge in the US.  So clearly their prices are going to go up a bit.  I actually really enjoy all kinds of fresh fruits and vegies that we don't have enough here in the US or we don't grow here in the US to meet the consumer needs.  

Then there is my coffee.  That too will become a luxury if we aren't careful.

[stephenmorgan]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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For one, I love bananas, but we don't grow them to my knowledge in the US. 

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Bananas are grown in several places in the US.  Ponce de Leon brought bananas to Florida in the early 1500’s.

[mam98031]

Not to the point they can supply the entire US needs.  There are many things we get imported that we don't produce enough here in the US to fill the needs for the items.  Not all foreign trade should be created equally as there are serious differences between some products.

Coffee from Hawaii is an option.  But they don't produce enough, nor could they, to supply the need in the US.

[pikabo-icu]

Bananas can be and have been grown in more than a dozen states.

US Coffee is a little bit different and is only gown in California, Hawai'i, and Puerto Rico

[johnrj1226]

Self Service when the way of the Doo Doo bird.  Traveled  by car   in 42  of the 50 states at least  with 2 over night  stays and always filled up the real car before turning it to the rental  company  - all at a self.  Looks like South Oregon  had to make a law to get the old way - helped the employment rate in that state. 

Here is an atrticle  on the  transformation - self serve and full service station were around  for  a long while - full service  was a bit hire per gal.

Remote Access Self-Service

In 1964, inventor Herb Timms designed a new system allowing an attendant inside the gas station building to activate the fuel dispensers outside. This was the first step in gas stations and convenience stores going hand in hand like they do today! Stores would suddenly have the option of selling gas without an additional cost in labor. Expansion of this system was slow, primarily due to restrictions in most states that forbid customers from pumping their own gas due to fire safety. However, by 1981 All but New Jersey and Oregon changed their laws to allow self-service gas dispensers. Even following these changes, it was still slow progress in terms of the adoption of self-service pumps since the equipment was costly. It also brought in a need for qualified gas pump repair since the equipment was more complex. It was well into the 1990s before self-service gas stations became the norm.

In 1973, a gas station right here in Texas, Abilene, to be exact, invented the first pay-at-pump technology. This became extremely popular, with 13% of convenience stores offering this option by 1994. Just eight years later, that number jumped to 80%! Today, it is more or less expected that you will be able to pay at the pump. It's almost unthinkable for most gas station customers that they would be unable to pump gas themselves and then pay for it right at the pump. Many of our gas pump repair service calls relate to ensuring these services stay available to consumers at all times!

[pennpicker]

Goodwill had a used mini slow cooker/warmer I was thinking of buying to keep gesso warm until realizing it was cheaper brand new at Walmart. Definitely not giving their junk away around here.

Pawn shop guys in Sarasota mentioned they were pumping promotional rates on eBay (as it costs them nothing) to make their stuff on Amazon look even cheaper when peeps searched Google for the lowest price.

All I know is I used to buy many new things here pre-Covid but they are simply cheaper elsewhere now ever since the whole promoted advertising shtick took effect here.

[pennpicker]

Did look on eBay within the past two days for men's shorts because Bealls (my local department store) has some pretty good deals right now. Found at least three dozen comparable items here on eBay and not one of them came even close to being competitively priced. 

[toomuchstuffagain35]

Interesting factoid. Australia has still to upgrade to pay at the pump gas stations.

[johnrj1226]

Guess that why they are called Down Under or Too much influence from their motherland  where all new  residential construction looks the same as the old place except the drain pipes are built  inside the apartment/homes.  Visited London and Dunstable area - 100 miles or so from  there  in the late '70s . One can enjoy the sound of a toilet  flushing as it traveled down an outside drain pipe of an old  apartment building.  But on the brighter side they all seem to have a Rolls Royce parked out in the front under cover(where the horses were stabled back in the day  and some in the  alleys (aka mews) lots of visitors/residents from the crude oil rich countries).  Lots of History there - enjoyed my stay.

But their New Years Celebration is the Best Ever.  Watch it at 8 am ET on !2/31 on the US tube with a Virgin screwdriver  or Virgin Blood Mary with a celery stick and lots of pepper on top.  Doing it  for eons.