Johnny K

You must sure use an off-brand shipping service. Link to USPS FAQs, including voiding a shipping label, above. Click-N-Ship through USPS is up to 10 days after printing an unused label and eBay is 5 days. Still, I have no doubt various services (as above) each have their own particular guidelines.

Just have Seller issue a refund of your original purchase price and move on. If he sent you an invoice and that amount was paid, he has no grounds on which to raise price, nor you obligation to pay. Obviously, this was just a mistake all around. International shipping policy should have been specified and he should have looked at your shipping address more closely prior to sending an invoice. You should have been aware that shipping internationally would be more expensive and checked prior to bidding. Tracking does not in all cases 'stop at the border,' which appears to be a common myth on this and many sites. International tracking is available, but only with certain shipping options and price rises significantly. Tracking does not have to be done directly by the USPS - it can also be done by the receiving postal authority as the USPS does reciprocally for others. Finally, the Seller cannot leave a Buyer negative feedback in this case.

10 days, I think, though some may be 7. This link is for USPS FAQ regarding refunds. Scroll down almost 1/3 of the page to 'Click-N-Ship.' that should cover where you printed from. There's also a link at the bottom of your receipt to 'Void The Label' if needed. http://faq.usps.com/eCustomer/iq/usps/request.do?create=kb:USPSFAQ&view(1)=c%7B20b599f0-57e2-11dc-51b6-000000000000%7D

Neglected to mention - if you printed out return postage by either eBay or the Post Office (pretty much anywhere legitimately affiliated with the Post Office), you can void the label and receive a refund; however, it takes a few days to go back into your account - strange, since they can deduct immediately . . .

Actually, if PayPal refunded your money in full, they view any obligation on your part to be complete. If PayPal requires a kit to be returned, there will be no refund until you've provided Proof of Shipping and delivery. Additionally, the Seller cannot leave negative or neutral feedback against the Buyer. Nothing requires further action on your part other than your own moral judgement.

Very nice. Well done.

Thanks for that. Hadn't heard of it, but just checked it out and downloaded. Looking forward to trying it.

I guess I'm missing something. I don't see a problem with the listing or the point of this thread. It would be one thing if the Seller indicated it might be a complete kit, but entirely another as listed. This guy has not had any eBay activity since 2007 until his current 3 listings. He's even offering a good shipping rate. Obviously, he's not a regular model and parts Seller trying to mislead someone. Hopefully, this thread might bring the item to the attention of someone with a need for it - it will certainly increase his views.

I'm originally from NC and live in the far Suburban Chicago Area now. I've been here about 7 years so far and there were several small, locally owned Hobby Shops here when I first arrived. Many of them are gone now, a casualty of the economy, big-box stores, and eBay, I guess. Don't know about Milwaukee, but I figure I can find as much in NC as I can here - and at a better price.

If a refund or some agreement has not been reached within 24 hours of notification, a claim should be filed in my opinion. Since you've spoken with him and know he is aware of the situation, I would say that any responsibility or desire you may have at offering courtesy has been fulfilled. I know you stated filing an eBay/PayPal claim, so I'm sure that was your method of payment, but, as a note, eBay buyer protection essentially exists only when PayPal is used.

This is probably my favorite kit. I think the most interesting Rats I've seen have come from the coupe in it - tremendous possibilities.

Exactly as it should be.

'25 to '34 stock and rod - coupes, sedans, but mainly pickups - along with '37 to '41 pickups. Oh, and while it's occcasionally nice to display a nice, shiny one, I much prefer the weathered and rusted rats.

Very pleased with a score I made about 2 AM this morning. Decided to stay up a bit longer for real-time bid and it's good I did - someone else had the same idea. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=280906876225&nma=true&rt=nc&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D280906876225%26_rdc%3D1&si=LYut591B88B2WqQli0fLXh9aDHc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc Shipping is actually about half the estimated cost listed, so whole thing works out to just under 5 bucks a kit - only interested in about half of them, so I'm sure I'll get my money back.

I don't think that's the case; if so, it's very ineffective when they're bidding the minimum each time. I think it's more a case of 'economic immaturity.' I wonder, though - and someone else also mentioned it earlier - why is it necessary to use 2 computers? When I click to place a bid, I get a small box in the middle of my screen with all pertinent data on it. It not only lists the current price and my bid amount awaiting confirmation, but also updates new bids and counts down in real time. Much more effective, in my opinion, than monitoring 2 computers.

Excellent idea. Thanks for the post.

Fantastic idea! Looks better than the original ever did and a natural - now that I see it done. Maybe if you just weathered it a bit . . . (just kidding . . .)

Still happens regularly. It's all proportional. I usually enter a lot of low opening bids the first day or so an item appears. Kind of goes in cycles - maybe only a dozen or so one week, then a dozen or so a day for a while. True, most of them I don't win with my opening bid (if I'm really interested, I go back in as the item ends and bid again, but do not take a chance on running the price up before that), but I do average picking up one as the only bidder maybe 5% of the time. I've won 5 or 6 in a week that way, but it's usually more like 5 or 6 a month. If a person were to do this as a business, full time, one could get a few kits every day. Like the old adage: if you throw enough mud against a wall, some of it's going to stick.

I'm aware of that, of course, but the site is inherently limited to the maximum amount authorized by the bidder. Besides, it doesn't matter if another individual or a machine bids in the last second - previous bidders still do not have time opportunity for response. I'm actually much more concerned about a new, or emotional, bidder that bids the minimum increase amount every time someone else bids early on than I am snipers, human ar machine.

Actually, a lot of them (probably most) of them are - that's an integral part of the fun. If you're going to hire someone to take all your personal information and do the job for you, might as well go ahead and hire someone to build the model too. Well, that's just my opinion; perhaps others don't enjoy the game as much as I. I do admit, personally, I would be much more likely to pay someone to build a model for me than to bid for me.

The high cost of shipping internationally is due, in large part, to the tracking dilemma. Unfortunately, the bottom line is that sellers must have protection. I can ship a kit by First Class International to Canada for $9.15 (up to 2 Lbs.); the same kit by Priority is $25.80. I buy and sell a few hundred kits a year and have only had 1 instance in which a package was not received (buyer admits that several packages were stolen from his porch the day of delivery) when tracking was used. On the other hand, I've had about half a dozen claimed not received when items were shipped First Class International with no tracking. This could be due to poor handling in change-over to another country's mail service or Customs, but regardless, it costs me money. Neither eBsy nor PayPal will offer seller protection in the absence of a tracking number. In checking feedback left by one of the individuals that claimed to have not received the package, I found that he had left 6 negatives (and no positives) over a 6-week period - all stating that he never received the item purchased. In looking at the item descriptions, I saw that they were all shipped internationally. Seems a bit much of a coincidence that he didn't receive every item he ordered. I, of course, gave him a full refund. I realize that most people, here or abroad, don't engage in that sort of activity, but it only takes a few to seriously hurt sales figures. Additionally, to require the higher cost shipping with tracking and delivery info merely serves to alienate buyers and result in lower star ratings which, in turn, results in higher fees. For that reason, I no longer ship kits and parts internationally, though I would like to. As to the original question from the OP: last few seconds is usually the way to go - though there are exceptions.

Interestingly, if you look up the definition of a 'Gasser' (on Wiki, say), you can get a pretty straight-forward idea of what the original 'Gassers' were; on the other hand, if you do the same search for 'Gasser' (on Google, say) and look at images, you'll find that very few of them would fit the traditional definition. As in most things, apparently there's a great deal of leeway to be had. And, aside from the purists, that may not be a bad thing.

Fantastic piece of work - very impressive.

Just started browsing through it. Thanks for making it available.

EBay may have 100 Million Users, may get 100 Million Hits, may even sell 100 Million items, but they may also have 100 Million things listed to sell. Most eBay Users have specific items they're looking for or, at least, particular categories in which they look - and most of them aren't looking for model cars. My listings usually receive as few as 12 views and as many as 120 depending on what the item may be. At least the people who look usually have an actual interest in a possible purchase. I both buy and sell on eBay. I list maybe 200 to 250 items a month and, fortunately, sell nearly 100% of those items. Still, it's a time consuming and sometimes frustrating process. Somewhere around 15 to 18% sell the first week listed. Most take 2 to 4 listing runs and a few may have to be listed up to 8 times. I try and keep my items competitively priced and research similar items before listing; still, I am limited as to how low my items may be listed due to not only the fees involved from both eBay and PayPal, but by my initial investment in those items. If not for the 50 free listings per month (and I keep 4 accounts active), I would only be listing a small fraction of the already small number I do sell. It wouldn't take long to lose money at 25 cents to a dollar (with photos) per item, especially those listed multiple times. That doesn't work when I only net a dollar or two per sale. I don't sell on eBay as a business or as a way to make a living; rather, I do it as an extension of the modeling hobby. Generally, I will purchase the items I would like to have along with the occasional lot of models, both kit and built, with an eye to resale of the lot items I have no personal use for. Additionally, I check several search parameters daily in order to pick up deals for resale. It's something I generally enjoy doing and it allows me to get pretty much most ot the modeling items I want free of charge. I usually even manage to average a small profit each month. Even though my personal collection is quite small, I've managed over the past 2 years I've done this to build up a little better than 100 new or vintage kits and a couple dozen builts I've decided to keep (these numbers are constantly changing on a weekly basis). Additionally, I have an inventory of another 100 or so parts kits and about 50 builts to be listed for sale - so I can buy more, of course. All with no cash out of my pocket and an $1800 surplus built up for anything else I might see. So, the bottom line - and my point - is that, in my own opinion, eBay is the best market currently available to sell models. Even with its hefty fees and Buyer-oriented leanings. Not to mention dealing with some of the Buyers (including a couple members here), but that's another thread.