CHAT - Free Discussions on Any Subject

[rickofricks]

This thread is for free, loose discussion, more like a chat room ... Keep coming back to see what people are thinking ... 🙂

[r.van.der.veur]

Good morning!

[chesspurr]

rickofricks as a usa seller ,who has open ( non hidden bidder auctions ) but can buy off euro hidden bidder auctions ,what do you think of this system ? also late sniping in general , as i dislike these hidden auctions ,find myself more than ever before inclined to bid very late ,or simply avoid these auctions. i far prefer the usa system ,but am concerned re customs duties and shipping costs ,so often pass on usa collectables re chess. if the euro system was forced upon you as a seller ,how would you react ?

[rickofricks]

Hi Guy, I don't think I can tell you too much, because I don't know about the euro hidden bidder auctions. I've placed bids in auctions in many parts of the world, but have never noticed having to apply to a different system. Maybe that has to do with how I place my bids. I've never had a particular problem either buying or selling overseas -- a few quirky money transfer snafus yes, but good communication and follow-through has kept it all good. And I've never really had to deal with customs. I think that is because my transactions are so low value, they fly 'under the radar' of customs authorities. For a while I was getting air shipments from a fellow in India, but by keeping our shipments under $2,000 (I think it was), we avoided any customs charges. After being on eBay for a while, and losing some auctions because of the trouble of bidding and counter bidding, I learned about sniping services and signed up (to snipeswipe.com). Now, it's the only way I ever bid. It's so much more convenient to just decide what my real final bid is, put it in with the sniping service, and then not worry about it. In addition to the convenience, it reduces the chances of someone else bidding specifically against me, or increasing their bid because I've shown them that I value the product more than they originally did. Who needs bidding wars really? Well, sorry, I don't think I've really answered your question, but hope that my rambling has given a few clues to my perspective ... for what it's worth... 🙂

[chesspurr]

rickofricks hi rick i pretty much guessed what you might say as you dont seem to sell highly priced items that often .. i think. well the way it works here is simple. once the bidding hits $200.00 all the bidders names are hidden ... bidder one two etc ,with each bidders number being the same if he increases his bid again. so in effect you have a private auction . if the bidding from start to finish is lower than $200.00 then the auctions are the same as the usa ones. reserve items with a start bid exceeding $200.00 start with bidder one ... and so on . we never asked for this system it was simply forced upon us ,and sellers have no say in the matter. to make matters worse ,us collectors bidding on euro auctions are also hidden too. at the auction end the winning bidders name is revealed. to show you this in action check out this auction. item number 320066801788 from paris . you might just see why i and others do not like this system.

[rickofricks]

Hi Guy, I see what you mean: when I click on the 'bids' link, all I see is Bidders 1, 2, 3 etc. I guess it's just another layer of mystery eBay throws in to keep buyers and sellers from dealing without eBay getting its ever-increasing cut. But why there and not here? Yes, annoying indeed. Nice historic set, by the way ... but wow did it get a good price!

[chesspurr]

rickofricks hi rick a problem i had with customs in the uk once was with a usa bakelite set buy . whilst the set was not antique ,it was a genuine collectable ,and vintage. the seller put on the package .............. chess set ,and i got hit with a savage customs charge. it took months to get my fully deserved refund , and when i mailed the seller i received an apology for the hassle. when sending packages to europe its important to know the customs angle. in the uk .. its simple ... items are only charged duty at the lower rate or even get through if they are .. a gift , an antique , or described as a collectable . anything else is hit and hard if the value is high and they alsi take into account the weight , which can be quite a bit ,well then its murder. you might want to get a handle on euro/asian customs duties , if you were unaware of this.

[rickofricks]

My local postman has advised me to check (do you say 'tick'?) the 'gift' box on the customs forms, as a general rule. And some items I've had sent from overseas have been labled as 'sample'. Sound like good ways of avoiding hassles to you?

[chesspurr]

rickofricks hi rick i guess i like the sound of your local postman. samples .. interesting one .. i have just been educated .

[chesspurr]

buyers/sellers in the group. i see the item 32007177402 from paris is a re listed item. a few days ago it sold for £1320.00 . which i thought was ridicilous. however i do have sympathy for the seller as it has been claimed that the high bidder made an illegal buy it now offer. also it was being sold by a known chess seller. the previous auction item number 320066796525 may have had suggestions of funny stuff ,proof is impossible of such activities. now when one sees that warnings are impossible ,and the winning bidder has done this before ,plus is not a member of our group ... well one does wonder a little. if ever the hidden bidding system can hurt sellers this is a classic example ,plus it does suggest that some buyers do have questions to answer .... what a mess ,and i can only suggest that if sellers receive such illegal buy it now offers ,that they publish every single word in their questions answered section ,and refuse bids from such buyers of ill repute . no one wants to see rigged auctions ,but buyers who bid with insanity ,should at least respect auctions too.

[lichess]

Your first number is 11 digits. needs a 12 digit number. Wonder why the seller does not leave bad feedback for the bidder who cancelled? Also, why others bid so high on this set. It is a nice one, but not worth anything near that price.

[chesspurr]

lichess hi floyd yep error ... its item 320071777402 and now its a private auction ............. at my local auction house in glasgow , you win you pay ... thats it !!!. bad feedback goes both ways i suppose , the illegal offer plus the refusal to pay suggests a probable return negative if the seller reacts that way. the whole hidden bidder system stinks .

[sequin58]

rickofricks Hello, you sound as if you have some experience with USA imports. Do you mind if I ask what means of shipping you were using-ie door to door, third party (CBP) broker, international post, freight, etc? Were you in such a position as to be able to personally declare and clear at the point of entry? I just finished poring over some CBP and Seizures Fines and Penalties pages and it sure sounds as if it would be wise to have all your ducks in a row just in case of a random check. Also, was this pre or post 9-11? I don't mean to be nosy but I sure have seen some nice sets in UK and EU but this is all new territory for me. HARMONIC Tariff Schedule; what's next the MELODIUS Income Tax Code? Thank you much.

[computojon]

When I have an incoming shipment of some antique ivory sets, e.g. various lots from one of the Bloomsbury auctions, I use a company called Global Art Services who gets the shipment through U.S. Customs (legally and appropriately, of course.) Each antique ivory set also need to have a CITES certificate issued by the origin country. For more information on CITES, check out www.cites.org .

[sequin58]

computojon Thank you for that advice. I was on the CITES site a couple times. I couldn't seem to find any info on how to get anything done; only what they were doing and with whom. As near as I could discern US-CITES regulations fall under the Dep't of Agriculture. Not where I would have looked and I haven't gotten that far yet. I'll check it out again, I was getting pretty tired when I was there before. I could very easily have missed something. You said "various lots", do you then sell stateside? I'm really interested in acquiring just one or two desirable sets. Boy I don't know, Bloomsbury sounds like it may be exclusively expensive. Thank you again.