Selling a Tivo

[mitchb2]

Wow, what a headache. I sold my Series 2 with lifetime sub on eBay.
The buyer claimed the fan was too noisy, so he wanted a refund. I gladly offered one, but when he returned the Tivo, he didn't return the remote and several of the cables. Not to mention, the unit is not noisy in the least.

He claims he never got them, so now we're embroiled in a PayPal dispute.
He's claiming the item is "significantly not as described."

I will never sell anything remotely "big ticket" on ebay again. Just $15 video games from now on.

[windracer]

That really sucks ... but at least you got the DVR back (in working condition still, I assume).

[btl-a4]

I've sold 3 tivo's and lots of other things on ebay that went for over $500 and never had any problems. Sounds like you got one of the 1% of people who are out to screw you wether it be online or on the street. Sorry to hear about your bad experience though.

[Atomike]

If you decide to sell it for parts, I'll buy the Tivo-guy logo on the front. :)

[yunlin12]

Doesn't eBay have a rating system?

[Stanley Rohner]

I've also sold big ticket items on EBAY no problem.

[mitchb2]

Yeah, the sad thing is, there were 45 people watching my auction, and many bids, and most likely any of the other bidders would have gone smoothly. I just got that one rotten apple.

But so low, to go through all of this to steal a $30 remote! He obviously needs it more than I do. And he had the nerve to tout his "Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom" in his last email's sig.

[windracer]

Is it too late to do a "Second Chance Offer" to the next highest bidder?

[lessd]

Wow, what a headache. I sold my Series 2 with lifetime sub on eBay.
The buyer claimed the fan was too noisy, so he wanted a refund. I gladly offered one, but when he returned the Tivo, he didn't return the remote and several of the cables. Not to mention, the unit is not noisy in the least.

He claims he never got them, so now we're embroiled in a PayPal dispute.
He's claiming the item is "significantly not as described."

I will never sell anything remotely "big ticket" on ebay again. Just $15 video games from now on.

If you have a good feedback and the buyer returned the TiVo you can deduct the shipping cost and the cost of parts replacements from his refund, PayPal should uphold your position.

I have sold many big ticket items on E-Bay without problems but you had bad luck. People used to and buy a new item at Best Buy (or other stores) take out the remote (or what parts they needed) and return the item, now Best Buy check returns to make sure all the stuff is returned.

[mick66]

I'd refund the purchase price minus about $40 for the missing remote and cables.
If your auction stated that the remote and cables were included or even if they were just included in the picture to imply that they are included and all he complained about was a noisy fan before he returned it, he doesn't have a leg to stand on in a dispute.

[Joeg180]

Sorry to hear about this, I've sold several items and never had an issue.

I wouldn't refund the full amount if you didn't receive all the items.

[jjberger2134]

I'd refund the purchase price minus about $40 for the missing remote and cables.
If your auction stated that the remote and cables were included or even if they were just included in the picture to imply that they are included and all he complained about was a noisy fan before he returned it, he doesn't have a leg to stand on in a dispute.


Exactly, keep all emails from this lousy buyer. The buyer had to contact you via email first. There has to be a record of the buyer complaining about the fan and the request to return. Maybe you could even convince eBay to suspend this buyer for trying to scam you.

[mr.unnatural]

I'm assuming you didn't refund the buyer's money until you received the Tivo back from him. If you did, well consider that a lesson learned. If you did receive the Tivo and have not refunded the purchase price (less shipping of course) I would simply withold the funds until he sends back the missing items. If money has already changed hands both ways then you won't have much luck getting any sort of settlement through PayPal or ebay other than possibly getting a refund on your final value fee or listing fees.

I've bought and sold numerous Tivos on ebay over the years and never had a bad experience as a seller. I did get screwed as a buyer on two occasions. Since then I have signed up for PayPal Buyer Credit and can get a 100% refund as a buyer if the seller screws me. Unfortunately, there isn't the same level of protection as a seller, although your case is one that (hopefully) would not occur all that often. I would never refund anything without inspecting a returned item to make sure it's exactly the same as when I shipped it.

[andydumi]

ive learned to do digital camera pics of a package and its contents. while it does not prove necessarily that everythig is included, it has helped with Paypal and settling disputes. If you are organized and honest and they sense that, then you will do much better against a shady buyer/seller.

[Havana Brown]

If you decide to sell it for parts, I'll buy the Tivo-guy logo on the front. :)


You mean this guy:?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y224/HavanaBrown/Vegas2006030.jpg


TivoJerry gave them away in Vegas last week. :)

[mitchb2]

I'm assuming you didn't refund the buyer's money until you received the Tivo back from him.

No, we fought about it through PayPal's dispute process for a couple of days. I realized it was his word against mine, neither of us can prove anything, and I was so sick of carrying the negativity around, I just gave him his refund.

I figure karma will take care of him. He stole a $30 remote, so something will happen to him that will cost him at least that. And at some point he has to feel like a total scumbag as he's using the remote to bladoop through his Tivo menus.

I've learned much from Earl. :)
Maybe someday this jerk will desperately need to cross me off his list.

If you want to know who it is, just look up item # 9727943948 on eBay.

[c3]

If you want to know who it is, just look up item # 9727943948 on eBay.

It's always better to post an actual picture instead of a stock photo. Also, list exactly what are included or not included. Still doesn't "prove" anything, but makes it more credible.

[TiVo Troll]

No, we fought about it through PayPal's dispute process for a couple of days. I realized it was his word against mine, neither of us can prove anything, and I was so sick of carrying the negativity around, I just gave him his refund.

I figure karma will take care of him. He stole a $30 remote, so something will happen to him that will cost him at least that. And at some point he has to feel like a total scumbag as he's using the remote to bladoop through his Tivo menus.

I've learned much from Earl. :)
Maybe someday this jerk will desperately need to cross me off his list.

If you want to know who it is, just look up item # 9727943948 on eBay.

Something ain't right. The guy has 121 positive feedbacks and no negs! Why didn't you do the right thing and give a "heads up" to the eBay community? Are you more interested in maintaining your 113 positive and no negative feedback than with making the feedback feature worth anything? :down:

Also, your listing description doesn't say a word about what was supposed to be included with the Lifetimed TiVo.

[mitchb2]

He emailed me privately before the auction ended, and I listed everything.
Also, I haven't gotten around to leaving his feedback yet...I want to cool down and word it properly.

I have no doubt he'll leave me a neg, even though I gave him a full refund.

Anyway, it's a lesson learned...I understand that completely. I'm $60 out-of-pocket. That'll teach me to be more thorough next time. Lotta bad people out there.

[reh523]

Doesn't eBay have a rating system?


Yes they do but it works both ways... Give him a bad rating and he nails you.

[lessd]

Yes they do but it works both ways... Give him a bad rating and he nails you.

When I sell I never give feedback until I receive my feedback from the buyer, when I buy I give feedback as soon as I know that I received what I ordered. When I have had a problem I have found the sellers I bought from very ease to deal with.

I may just be lucky

[TiVo Troll]

He emailed me privately before the auction ended, and I listed everything.
Also, I haven't gotten around to leaving his feedback yet...I want to cool down and word it properly.

I have no doubt he'll leave me a neg, even though I gave him a full refund.

Anyway, it's a lesson learned...I understand that completely. I'm $60 out-of-pocket. That'll teach me to be more thorough next time. Lotta bad people out there.

IMHO, from your own account of the incident you weren't very savvy in handling your listing. There is no evidence on record which supports your side of the story unless your exchange with your buyer remains in My Messages in "My eBay".

The thing I understand the least, if I have the story right, is that there was a point at which you had received the returned TiVo, less the remote and cables, and hadn't yet refunded the selling price. Why did you refund the total selling price under those circumstances?

[TiVo Troll]

When I sell I never give feedback until I receive my feedback from the buyer, when I buy I give feedback as soon as I know that I received what I ordered. When I have had a problem I have found the sellers I bought from very ease to deal with.

I may just be lucky

Many sellers are requesting positive feedback in emails and stating outright that their policy is to only leave feedback after a buyer leaves feedback. It's not scientific, but my impression is that sellers who do this are often more attentive to the service they provide when compared with less systematic sellers.

I've only been "ripped off" once on eBay when an item I won was never delivered. I reported the situation through eBay's Dispute Console (http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/inr-snad-process.html) and eventually (after several months) received $175 from eBay's Standard Purchase Protection Program. There was a lot of documentation involved and I ended up being out $90. However the seller's account was terminated. (I apparently wasn't his only victim.)

[mitchb2]

Why did you refund the total selling price under those circumstances?


As I already mentioned above, it was clear that there was no way to prove that I didn't receive the items, and the guy was adamant that he shipped them. At one point he even said that if I was telling the truth, then somebody at FedEx must have opened the box and stolen the stuff. (Yeah...oh, look, an IR Blaster. I think I'll risk losing my job and steal it.)

I knew that he was protected by his credit card company, and that if he was going to stick to his filthy lies, there was only going to be one outcome...in his favor. I realized I had been robbed, and instead of dragging it out for weeks or months (with all the anger and negative feelings about it) , I gave him his money.

In my closing statement to him, I tried to appeal to his guilty conscience, and told him that if he ever feels bad about being a thief, he could always send the stuff back. :-)

[mr.unnatural]

Just in case you're interested, here's a link to an ebay seller's store that carries Tivo parts and accessories at good prices:

http://stores.ebay.com/Eklectic-Systems

The silver remotes he sells are for UK series 1 Tivos but they work just fine with every other standalone or DirecTivo model, except Sonys. He's also got the series 2 remotes for less than $20 as well as complete cable kits for some of the older models. Everyone else on ebay is selling series 2 remotes for $30-35.

FYI - I have no affiliation with this seller and have no vested interest in whether or not you make any purchases from them.

[mitchb2]

Thanks alot for that link! The silver remote looks like a fantastic deal.

I'll probably get everything to gether and relist the Tivo...this time with a picture of absolutely everything. I also panicked when I realized the guy was scamming me. I thought, what if he kept my lifetime-subbed Tivo, and returned an old non-subbed Tivo to me.

But luckily I checked it out, and it's got its lifetime sub intact. So I will definitely take a picture of the serial number as well.

People suck.

[TiVo Troll]

Just in case you're interested, here's a link to an ebay seller's store that carries Tivo parts and accessories at good prices:

http://stores.ebay.com/Eklectic-Systems

The silver remotes he sells are for UK series 1 Tivos but they work just fine with every other standalone or DirecTivo model, except Sonys. He's also got the series 2 remotes for less than $20 as well as complete cable kits for some of the older models. Everyone else on ebay is selling series 2 remotes for $30-35.

FYI - I have no affiliation with this seller and have no vested interest in whether or not you make any purchases from them.

What are going to do with all those silver P-Nuts? It sounds kinda', er, unnatural!

Doesn't that Standby key provide one punch TiVo Standby from the silver P-Nut?

[kensteele]

so the lesson learned here is to always include a "here's what you get: " paragraph in your sale so there's no confusion.

so i've dealt with a LOT of disputes on paypal and as for the fan, i don't think he would have won that one.

anyway, if this deal is done you should contact ebay and tell them you have refunded his money and the transaction is over. you can fill out one of those forms and if you and him both sign it, the deal will be officially cancelled. at this point and i'm not 100% sure, but neither of you will be able to leave feedback. i would go this route unless you plan to leave him a negative and receive one which won't signicantly hurt either of you. just wait for the very last day to leave a negative and hopefully the time will pass when he is allowed to leave feedback for you. :)

[lessd]

Thanks alot for that link! The silver remote looks like a fantastic deal.

I'll probably get everything to gether and relist the Tivo...this time with a picture of absolutely everything. I also panicked when I realized the guy was scamming me. I thought, what if he kept my lifetime-subbed Tivo, and returned an old non-subbed Tivo to me.

But luckily I checked it out, and it's got its lifetime sub intact. So I will definitely take a picture of the serial number as well.

People suck.

Don't ever post the TSN on E-Bay some scammer may be able to cause you a problem. Remember E-Bay requires trust as you could show a picture of of a great item and send a load of bricks or be accused of sending a load of bricks when you sent a great item, without most people being honest, E-Bay would not work.

[Adam1115]

Put as a condition of the auction that they must have a good feedback rating. Alway cancel bids from people with less than "5", that usually avoids this kind of stuff.

Also only take paypal from verified members and only ship to confirmed addresses, PERIOD.

[jjberger2134]

Put as a condition of the auction that they must have a good feedback rating. Alway cancel bids from people with less than "5", that usually avoids this kind of stuff.

Also only take paypal from verified members and only ship to confirmed addresses, PERIOD.


Excellent advice, but in this case the buyer of the TiVo in question had well over 120 feedback comments and all 100% positive. Therefore, no "red flag" would have been raised. The next highest bidder in the auction had a "7", so the OP probably felt pretty good at first that the winner had a good reputation and better than the 7 of the next highest.

[wouldworker]

Put as a condition of the auction that they must have a good feedback rating. Alway cancel bids from people with less than "5", that usually avoids this kind of stuff.A lot of auctions are won by snipers, so you won't have a chance to cancel the winning bid if the bidder doesn't meet your criteria. Ebay won't let you back out of the transaction after the auction has ended just because you don't like the looks of the bidder. Plus you'll be cancelling a lot of good bids in the hopes of avoiding the odd bad bidder.

[TiVo Troll]

A lot of auctions are won by snipers, so you won't have a chance to cancel the winning bid if the bidder doesn't meet your criteria. Ebay won't let you back out of the transaction after the auction has ended just because you don't like the looks of the bidder. Plus you'll be cancelling a lot of good bids in the hopes of avoiding the odd bad bidder.

"Sniping" is the only technique which radically changes the odds that a bidder will win on eBay. It won't win every time, of course, but coupled with researching the bidding history for the category of item up for sale (which eBay makes very easy to do), eBay becomes a game of skill instead of an auction!

"SNIPERS RULE!"

[Adam1115]

A lot of auctions are won by snipers, so you won't have a chance to cancel the winning bid if the bidder doesn't meet your criteria. Ebay won't let you back out of the transaction after the auction has ended just because you don't like the looks of the bidder. Plus you'll be cancelling a lot of good bids in the hopes of avoiding the odd bad bidder.

If you put as a term of your auction that the winner has to have a feedback rating of 5, and they don't and win the auction, you are not under any obligation to go through with the transaction and are free to file non paying bidder. It's the same as if you only ship to the US and someone from China bids. Or if you only take paypal and they send a check, etc..

You absolutely can back out of the transaction if the bidder does not follow the terms of the auction.

[TiVo Troll]

If you put as a term of your auction that the winner has to have a feedback rating of 5, and they don't and win the auction, you are not under any obligation to go through with the transaction and are free to file non paying bidder. It's the same as if you only ship to the US and someone from China bids. Or if you only take paypal and they send a check, etc..

You absolutely can back out of the transaction if the bidder does not follow the terms of the auction.

Be careful; the applicable rules are subject to interpretation:

Selecting Buyer Requirements (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/buyer-requirements.html)

Managing Bidders and Buyers (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/manage_bidders_ov.html)

[wouldworker]

If you put as a term of your auction that the winner has to have a feedback rating of 5, and they don't and win the auction, you are not under any obligation to go through with the transaction and are free to file non paying bidder. It's the same as if you only ship to the US and someone from China bids. Or if you only take paypal and they send a check, etc..

You absolutely can back out of the transaction if the bidder does not follow the terms of the auction.If you say "Winner must have a feedback rating of at least 5" and someone with a rating of 2 wins, how are you going to stop them from paying? You can't file the unpaid item dispute for 7 days. If they pay before then, they obviously aren't a non-paying bidder. Even if they don't pay in the first 7 days, they can pay in the next 7 after you have filed the dispute. Thus, in practical terms (and, I believe, according to Ebay's policies) you can't cancel a transaction solely because the winning bidder's feedback doesn't meet your arbitrary criteria.

If you refuse to sell to a bidder because you think his feedback is too low, the bidder can file a non-performing seller dispute. Unless you have a better reason to reject the transaction, you will lose that dispute.

Ebay's policies are poorly written and difficult to find so there's lots of room for misinterpretation. You can select to not allow bidders with a negative feedback score or non-paying strikes, but you can't arbitrarily reject bidders at your whim after the auction ends. Ebay needs buyers. If everyone rejected all buyers with no feedback history it would be very difficult for newbies to buy anything.

[Adam1115]

If you say "Winner must have a feedback rating of at least 5" and someone with a rating of 2 wins, how are you going to stop them from paying? You can't file the unpaid item dispute for 7 days. If they pay before then, they obviously aren't a non-paying bidder. Even if they don't pay in the first 7 days, they can pay in the next 7 after you have filed the dispute. Thus, in practical terms (and, I believe, according to Ebay's policies) you can't cancel a transaction solely because the winning bidder's feedback doesn't meet your arbitrary criteria.

If you refuse to sell to a bidder because you think his feedback is too low, the bidder can file a non-performing seller dispute. Unless you have a better reason to reject the transaction, you will lose that dispute.

Ebay's policies are poorly written and difficult to find so there's lots of room for misinterpretation. You can select to not allow bidders with a negative feedback score or non-paying strikes, but you can't arbitrarily reject bidders at your whim after the auction ends. Ebay needs buyers. If everyone rejected all buyers with no feedback history it would be very difficult for newbies to buy anything.

It's not at my 'whim', it's specifically spelled out in the auction.

It would be the same as if they paid with payal but were not verified. I would return their payment and file non-paying bidder for not paying per the terms of the auction.

[mr.unnatural]

High positive feedback ratings on ebay can be faked so its no guarantee you're not dealing with a scammer or a deadbeat. I've been scammed by sellers with +45 ratings and higher (with no negatives either) so specifying a certain feedback rating as a condition for bidding generally gets you no guarantee of anything. If you're a seller, be very specific in your listings about what you're selling, the condition its in, identify all terms and conditions, and always show clear photos of what you're selling. Always deal with some secure method of payment such as PayPal. Indicate that payment is due within a reasonable period after the close of the auction.

This is a pet peeve of mine and one that always baffles me when dealing with idiotic sellers. If you sell with a reserve price, don't jerk people around and not tell them the reserve. I always post the reserve price in the auction listing. Some people think its some big secret that can't be divulged under pain of death or breach of etiquette. If I'm a potential buyer and want to know what the seller is willing to sell the item for then I'm entitled to know what he wants for the item. If he won't tell me then I won't bid. Its silly not to tell potential buyers what their minimum bid should be. You just alienate bidders when you don't tell them what you're asking for the item.

On the Buyer's side, make sure you ask any pertinent questions BEFORE you bid. Know what you're bidding on and understand all the conditions of the sale. I prefer to use PayPal Buyer Credit for all purchases. You're guaranteed 100% coverage for any loss by unscrupulous sellers whereas just using PayPal will only get you up to $175 back on large purchases.

I've been dealing on ebay since 1996 so I'm pretty familiar with how the system works. One way to prevent the situation the OP encountered is to indicate that the item is being sold "As Is" and will only be returnable for a refund if it arrives DOA. Unfortunately, you can't please all buyers so sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and make concessions, no matter how much of a jerk they can be.

[lessd]

This is a pet peeve of mine and one that always baffles me when dealing with idiotic sellers. If you sell with a reserve price, don't jerk people around and not tell them the reserve. I always post the reserve price in the auction listing. Some people think its some big secret that can't be divulged under pain of death or breach of etiquette. If I'm a potential buyer and want to know what the seller is willing to sell the item for then I'm entitled to know what he wants for the item. If he won't tell me then I won't bid. Its silly not to tell potential buyers what their minimum bid should be. You just alienate bidders when you don't tell them what you're asking for the item.

Can you explain to me the difference between a starting bid of say $150 or a starting bid of $0.99 with a reserve of $150. If the reserve price is not a secret I can't see any difference, and if it is a secret I agree with you, what the point of jerking people around, so why does E-Bay even have it ??

[Marine1]

I bought an extra remote for my Tivo at Walmart for about $10.00 and it works great. I have it programed to operate our bedroom television, also our stereo system, cable box and CD player. It's an (All In One) model URC6131NWBOO. It's very easy to program.

[supasta]

I bought an extra remote for my Tivo at Walmart for about $10.00 and it works great. I have it programed to operate our bedroom television, also our stereo system, cable box and CD player. It's an (All In One) model URC6131NWBOO. It's very easy to program.

I programmed my Sony Universal Remote (Touchscreen AV3100) to operate the TiVo, but have since only used the peanut!

Back on topic:

I have sold tons of items on ebay, but have been burned once for almost $300 by some idiot that bought a cell phone from me and then filed an unauthorised credit card use claim 2 months latee, seemingly just to get the phone and all his other purchases free.

There are many ways to protect yourself - NO RETURNS! List it 10 times if needed in your auctions. Ebay will even allow this to be specified when listing the item.

Also, make sure that items of this nature (electronics, expensive, etc) are shipped via a service with INSURANCE and TRACKING. Signature required if necessary. UPS is always the best bet in this case.

Also, MAKE SURE you ONLY accepct PayPal on these types of items. Specify in your PayPal account settings that you ONLY accepct payment from buyers with confirmed addresses. That way PayPal protects YOU!

If you do not want to use PayPal, require a money order payment. This way PayPal does not automatically refund the payment at their disgression. Personal checks can also be stop-payment-ed. Money Orders do not have this problem. This is sometimes the best way to go overall when taking payment.

Tell Ebay (in your Ebay selling prefrences) to NOT allow bidders who live outside your shipping areas (as you specify in the listing details) this makes international bidders a no no (which can cause a lot of problems, trust me) Also, set you prefrences to not allow bidders with unpaid strikes and less than -1 feedback.

All these precautions in place, the worst you can expect from a dishonest buyer is a negative feedback point.....but you will avoid the headache.

[mr.unnatural]

Can you explain to me the difference between a starting bid of say $150 or a starting bid of $0.99 with a reserve of $150.
That's easy - listing fees. Ebay charges you a listing fee based on the initial asking price of an item, regardless of what the reserve price is. Here's a link to the ebay listing fee schedule:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

You'll note that the insertion fee with an initial asking price of $0.99 is only $0.20 whereas an initial price of $150.00 costs $2.40. Any bid placed that is below the reserve price will only increment based on the initial listing price just like any other auction. The first bid placed higher than the reserve price will automatically jump to the reserve price. The reserve is then lifted and the item will sell at whatever price the auction closes at. If the reserve is not met then the auction will close with the item unsold, although the seller still has the option to offer the item at a lower price to the highest bidder (or anyone else that bid, for that matter).

[lessd]

That's easy - listing fees. Ebay charges you a listing fee based on the initial asking price of an item, regardless of what the reserve price is. Here's a link to the ebay listing fee schedule:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

You'll note that the insertion fee with an initial asking price of $0.99 is only $0.20 whereas an initial price of $150.00 costs $2.40. Any bid placed that is below the reserve price will only increment based on the initial listing price just like any other auction. The first bid placed higher than the reserve price will automatically jump to the reserve price. The reserve is then lifted and the item will sell at whatever price the auction closes at. If the reserve is not met then the auction will close with the item unsold, although the seller still has the option to offer the item at a lower price to the highest bidder (or anyone else that bid, for that matter).

The listing price with a starting bid of $150 is $2.40, the listing price of a starting bid of $.99 and a reserve of $150 is $4.40 so why use the reserve.

[mr.unnatural]

My guess would be that if someone is looking to get $150 for the item and the starting bid is $150 then there wouldn't be a reserve price tied to it. People tend to do strange things when listing on ebay so don't always assume there's a rational reason behind everything you see listed.

[mick66]

The listing price with a starting bid of $150 is $2.40, the listing price of a starting bid of $.99 and a reserve of $150 is $4.40

but if the item sells, you get the $2.00 reserve fee refunded, so it only cost $2.40 to list it.

[mick66]

That's easy - listing fees. Ebay charges you a listing fee based on the initial asking price of an item, regardless of what the reserve price is. Here's a link to the ebay listing fee schedule:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/fees.html

According to that schedule the listing fee is based on the starting price or the reserve price.
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8910/listfees6fh.jpg

[mr.unnatural]

Ah, so it is. I know that ebay charges a fee for setting up a reserve price auction but, as noted, refunds the fee if the item meets the reserve and is sold. I was unaware that the insertion fee is also based upon the reserve price. I guess ebay is basing the insertion fee on the minimum price an item can sell for. I haven't checked their fee schedule in so long that I didn't realize they had slipped one past me. I don't believe they used to charge insertion fees based on reserve prices, but I could be wrong.

That being the case, the only difference I can see for an auction starting at $0.99 with a reserve of $150 and one starting at $150 with no reserve is the extra refundable fee for the reserve auction. All other fees should be the same.

[lessd]

Ah, so it is. I know that ebay charges a fee for setting up a reserve price auction but, as noted, refunds the fee if the item meets the reserve and is sold. I was unaware that the insertion fee is also based upon the reserve price. I guess ebay is basing the insertion fee on the minimum price an item can sell for. I haven't checked their fee schedule in so long that I didn't realize they had slipped one past me. I don't believe they used to charge insertion fees based on reserve prices, but I could be wrong.

That being the case, the only difference I can see for an auction starting at $0.99 with a reserve of $150 and one starting at $150 with no reserve is the extra refundable fee for the reserve auction. All other fees should be the same.

Where does it say that E-Bay refunds the reserve if the item sells ? I didn't know that (but I have not taken E-Bay 101 yet at my local college)

[mr.unnatural]

Here's a cut and paste from the ebay fees listing:

Optional feature fees
You can add optional features to help increase bid activity and your chances for a successful sale.

Reserve Fees (fully refunded if item sells): Show
Buy It Now Fees in US$ Show
Listing Upgrade Fees Show
eBay Picture Services Fees Show
Seller Tool Fees Show

[lessd]

Here's a cut and paste from the ebay fees listing:

Optional feature fees
You can add optional features to help increase bid activity and your chances for a successful sale.

Reserve Fees (fully refunded if item sells): Show
Buy It Now Fees in US$ Show
Listing Upgrade Fees Show
eBay Picture Services Fees Show
Seller Tool Fees Show

Thanks !! I didn't know that.

[TiVo Troll]

Doesn't that Standby key provide one punch TiVo Standby from the silver P-Nut?

Just for the record, the Standby key on the UK silver P-Nut does not enable one punch TiVo Standby.

The silver P-Nut is very similiar but not identical to earlier smaller USA TiVo remotes. Interestingly, while the UK silver P-Nut controls my Sylvania brand TV it does so by using a different numbered code than USA P-Nut remotes use.

[kensteele]

ebay can't force you to ship a product if you don't want to. just tell them the product is now damaged or lost or stolen and you cannot ship it. they allow a few of these before you get in trouble. there's a contract but both sides have to be in total agreement for a contract to exist.

having been on ebay since the late 90s, i agree with the person who said when you sell something on ebay, you have to right to not sell your product to anyone you want when you specify and the rules are not met.

if someone from madagascar bid after i said i would not ship internationally and they insisted, then my rules are: i need u.s. funds only, any form of payment would be held for 60 days, buys pays all shipping charges collect meaning they have to arrange a courier to pickup, a handling fee of $100US, and everything has to be done thru escrow. ;)