Judy wrote:
How are you doing girl! Missed seeing you around.

SUE: Oh, I'm still floatin' around.... Thanks for missing me!


JUDY: Here is the Timeline for all the changes from eBay
By August 25th:
For all Sellers:
--Specify the following in the "Shipping and handling" section:
a. Shipping cost
b. Shipping carrier(s)
SOOO as of Monday, August 25, 2008 you must specify the shipping carrier. Local pickup can still be used. There is still some issues with offering FedEx and DHL.... BUT if memory serves me correctly, if you are going to use FedEx or DHL, you can offer Standard delivery then specify in the Listing you are sending FedEx or DHL.

SUE: Under Specify Flat Rate, there's "Other (see description)", but that requires you to type in a cost.

Under Specify Calculated, I'd have to select Custom Weight and one of the Oversize options which, from experience, will show a very inflated cost. I don't see anything called Standard Delivery. Where is that? The only options other than USPS are UPS, UPS, and more UPS. EBay must be getting a nice chunk of income from UPS for forcing sellers to go that route. I have checked many times and I KNOW for sure Fedex (assuming a Fedex-staffed location) is cheaper than UPS. I wish Fedex would sue eBay for restricting their business.


JUDY: and be sure your insurance field is selected to "not offered". If it is set to "Optional" then you will have to enter in a value.

SUE: Whenever I see Not Offered, I think it sounds like the seller is saying they don't personally offer insurance (aka "self-insure"), and that if you want to add insurance, you're outta luck.


JUDY: now there are some really good things coming down the road.

SUE: [use Cary Grant accent] Judy, Judy, Judy, there are no good things coming down the road. We're talking about eBay, not Santa Claus. I was just telling my daughters that I'd pretty much run out of eBay stuff -- things I'd acquired over the decades that were designated for resale. I'm now going around the house looking in cupboards and in the attic, plumbing the depths in boxes labeled FOR THE GIRLS SOMEDAY or NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME. These new shipping and no-checks policies are going to be the last straw, so it's probably a good time for my inventory to be drying up. There is going to be an exodus from eBay back to mall shops, which is just the ticket for the antiques industry, I suppose. There used to be easily 3 or 4 dozen big antique malls in San Diego county; now there are maybe 5 or 6 that are barely staying open.


JUDY: You can use the Freight Quote calculations for truck.. But it isn't compatible with AW2K yet.

SUE: Well, that's good to know, but what I need is simple: I need to offer free local pick-up AND Fedex where the bidder can just email their zip for an estimate. The only motivation eBay could have had for eliminating this flexible and realistic option is that UPS put the screws to them. Money has to be the motivator of everything they do, not that I blame them. I just think they've made some idiotic choices lately.

I'm going to take my lamps to my shop and eBay be damned! I'll price them about three times what they were on eBay, and eventually someone will buy them. I've been such a cheerleader for eBay to my fellow antique dealers over the years, telling them they could get so much more for this and that on eBay, and not have to fork over $350 a month for rent, but no more! If anyone asks, I'll have to say, nope, can't recommend eBay -- it's just way too much trouble now.

Sue