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I had three Osborne 1's... Now I only have 2... Ebay cancelled mid-shipping and then upped the shipping price. Where else can I buy old CPM computers?

cj7hawk said:
Ebay seriously needs an anti-trust investigation... :(
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For their insane fees alone they need that. I just sold a monitor stand the other day. The buyer backed out almost immediately so I canceled the order. Would you believe eBay MADE me pay a $1.88 Fee out of pocket on top of the refund.. keep in mind on ebays new payment setup I dont get the money for about 4 days anyway.. so they had the buyers money.. and they chose to make me pay a fee just so they can collect SOMETHING from nothing. I hope and pray some kind of huge scandal brings down their fraudulent empire.. so maybe finally another few competitors can set up NEW auction sites which dont rape their customers.
 
So this is strange. A computer system I sold to a buyer in Hong Kong just got to the Illinois Hub for eBays "NEW" international shipping facility. The moment it was marked delivered (literally the moment...) I got an email saying the following:


Your order can’t be fulfilled

Hi MICK,​
We wanted to let you know that unfortunately this item could not be shipped internationally. As a result, your order can’t be fulfilled. This could be due to import restrictions or eligibility requirements. You get to keep the sale and we’ve issued a refund to your buyer.​
We understand this may be unexpected and would like to share more information about eBay International Shipping.​
If you have any questions, just get in touch. We’re here to help.​
Thanks for being part of the eBay community.​


So I get to keep the money, the seller is refunded.. Where does my computer go? This makes no sense. And why did it happen the moment it was delivered to their facility? This is really really sketchy.

If I had to make a guess. I would say they wanted more money to ship it to Hong Kong. The seller paid me $108 to ship it FedEx insured. Again 66lbs, large box 19"X19"X29". I dont know how much the buyer paid on top of that for international shipping as Ebay is now hiding that info after the message I just got. I am going to assume around $400 to $600 shipping. I am guessing after actually seeing the box and the weight.. Which I did report. They figure it would cut into their margins too much. Anyway thats just my guess.
 
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Ebay hides ALL the information... I will never choose to use GSP again.

What happens is they resell your computer on Ebay again, most likely using the same information you did, as you gave them permission to resuse it when you signed up to Ebay.

I feel for your buyer - A refund doesn't cut it because what you really want is the item ( or else you wouldn't have bid on it ). Typical shipping costs are around $500 USD, but sometimes something goes wrong and they dont get as much - and they only get around the same the US POST would charge. That might be the reason - Either way, it's in their interests to avoid delivering the items.

US POST typically charge around USB$200 for an Osborne size/weight according to their web site. GSP charge $500 for the same. Its EBAY just gouging to make profit while they can before the recession hits.

David
 
Thats complete bullshit. This doesn't even make sense financially. if Anything I want my Computer back. So they are hoping to sell it for the same price? This just doesnt make sense.
 
It's like this - Imagine you were given a manifest of EVERY ebay transaction and could insert yourself as the "Buyer" into *any* ebay transaction you want, and all you have to do is pay what the buyer paid.

Ebay gets paid, so they don't care.
The seller gets the money they are contractually entitled to.
The buyer isn't out of pocket.
You get the item at whatever the highest bid was.

So you pick and choose which items to ship, and which items you want to keep for no more money than the item went for. And when someone gets a really good deal, you take the item, resell it and make $$$$$.

Now, clearly if someone bids too much, and pays the extortionate shipping costs, then it's more advantageous to ship the item, and it will arrive.

However, if it's something like a valuable collectors computer, and is worth way more than what the winning bid was, then you only have to pay whatever the winning bid was, and now it's yours and no one has any recourse whatsoever.

THAT PERSON is GSP. The Global Shipping Program. They pick and choose which transactions they want to keep for themselves.

Every time I win big on Ebay, GSP takes it away for themselves. Every time I win poorly, it gets delivered.

THAT is how GSP works (aside from gouging on shipping... ).

And it really sucks... Check out the links that were posted earlier. It's not just poor decisions by the GSP/EBay - It's THE BUSINESS MODEL.

And it sucks just as much for the seller as the buyer.

:(

David
 
I agree I would want my computer back (or whatever it was that was listed). eBay sucks more and more every day.
 
So I got an email from the buyer and I think I know what happened. As I mentioned I charged him $108.00 shipping. Look at this photo he sent me: s-l1600.jpg

You can see his total shipping is $194.71 which means ebay only charged him an additional $86.71 to ship it from the USA to Hong Kong.. They screwed up.. And rather than admit it and/or ask for more money they just refunded him and are keeping it.
Like I said most of my international buyers get hammered $400 to $600 on average for import fees and International shipping. I had an Apple IIgs computer that went to France.. It was a pretty large setup with everything, That seller was whacked almost $900.00 (my shipping included in that).
 
GSP repackage everything and bulk ship it. Should cost around $50 for an Osborne 1, so there is plenty of profit in it. That they usually charge US$300 to $500 to ship something is just gouging, so they make their money one way or another. Just to put that in context, I can get a GSP computer ( Monitor, Base, Keyboard, Software etc, 14" of CRT glass ) for around US$80 from the UK to Australia, even now. There's some good deals going there, and I'd still use GSP from the UK - even though their starting price is around US$30 even for a small keyboard weighing about 2Kg. The value is still there for larger items though.

This is something to do with GSP in the US. There's a different commercial dynamic.

If it was just a shipping thing, most buyers would pay extra, and even US POST who have been overcharging for years only charge $200 for airmail of something the size of an Osborne 1 with all the manuals.

Yes, the shipping costs are low sometimes, but it's still profitable. Think about it for a moment. They have taken the item, compensated the seller and reimbursed the buyer. For an item they will still profit from shipping. But they still buy the item... It only makes sense when you realize they've been caught at this game before.

trixter.oldskool.org

Public Service Announcement: Do Not Use The eBay Global Shipping Program

If you sell rare, unique, or otherwise irreplaceable items on ebay, do not use eBay’s Global Shipping Program. Doing so grants eBay’s partners the right to effectively take your item a…
trixter.oldskool.org trixter.oldskool.org


This goes deeper than a simple "Oops, we couldn't deliver it"... It's being used to break contracts intentionally by the look of things.

:(
David
 
Whats worse is this machine was mint! I worked hard on it. The buyer even asked for a couple upgrade boards which I added at the end. One was a RAM board which you cant even get now because of the chip shortage. ITs all lost. There was another buyer in Switzerland that really wanted it but it went to the hong kong buyer. I would be happy if he got it, someone to enjoy it.. not some warehouse reseller.
 
So I found another US Osborne 1 that had high shipping ( higher than US Post ) and was broken, so I figure it's a worthwhile risk since it was cheap... It will be interesting to see if this one gets taken since a faulty computer is worth less. OTOH, I have no idea where the cut in for GSP is, but I've given it a test and bought it... I'll update here. In about a week.

David
 
My Osborne 1's are now with the GSP... "Being Inspected" - AKA, "GSP is trying to determine if there's more profit in taking your items and reselling them and refunding you rather than shipping them."

Update coming soon.
 
Pulling items and reselling them doesn't make sense - they would lose money almost every time.

I suspect the system isn't properly disabling EIS on items that are over the billable weight or size limit - 44lbs (66lbs for Canada)

Does billable weight mean dimensional weight? That can add up fast
 
cj7hawk said:
So I found another US Osborne 1 that had high shipping ( higher than US Post ) and was broken, so I figure it's a worthwhile risk since it was cheap... It will be interesting to see if this one gets taken since a faulty computer is worth less. OTOH, I have no idea where the cut in for GSP is, but I've given it a test and bought it... I'll update here. In about a week.

David
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Do you get a breakdown of the EIS charges?
I'm assuming it would have shipping and VAT at least - but possibly that's hidden.
 
All I see is the general charges. I get charged AU's VAT, around 17% on average after they add in their extra margin there... I don't see the EIS charges. I don't even get a chance to pay them. Neither does the seller. It's never offered.

Don't forget, most of my cost is shipping charge - so if they take it, they don't get paid for shipping, but they may not have a huge margin on shipping to begin with. That changes the equation pretty quickly. They would know what sells easily and what does not and possibly even have an expert to make their decisions. If they make $20 on shipping, and think they can make an extra $20 on the sale, and they aren't contractually bound, then it's pretty easy for them to make the sale. The first Osborne 1 they took was in near perfect condition, with the DD upgrade and a full set of manuals and disks, cables, centronics, modem etc. It was a complete unit and it sold pretty cheap. The description said not working, but if they tested it there, based on what the seller said, I'm pretty sure it would have fired right up. It even had original hand-written receipts from the shop it was purchased from, and original packaging. It would have shown up as a major collectors items.

I have several items with GSP at the moment, all "being inspected".. An Osborne 1 is less than 30 LBS all up, even with heavy packaging. I think it's around 26 to 28 packed. They are pretty robust also - designed to be shipped around in a fiberglass case.

Annoyingly, when they cancel - they never tell the buyer. They only inform the seller and the first that the buyer notices is that they get a refund, which takes a while.

I honestly don't know what's going to happen this time. It took a long time for them to reach the GSP... I'll see what happens from there. Had it not been for the experiences of others and the investigations done previously by members of this forum, I never would have known what they were doing.

David
 
Thanks - I haven't seen it from the buyer's side of things.

I've only had one of those issues - a Heathkit tube-based tester going to Australia via GSP in Covid-Era.

I suspect it was auctioned off, maybe as part of a pallet, and re-sold later on using my photos and description.

It sold for less than I sold it for.

The new buyer contacted me via my card I include in shipments - it looks like they didn't re-pack it and remove my info card.

I just don't see the organization level (or profit potential) needed for them to do a scheme like that.
 
westveld said:
I suspect it was auctioned off, maybe as part of a pallet, and re-sold later on using my photos and description.

It sold for less than I sold it for.
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You suspect? Then how do you know what it sold for? Did you see the new listing? See this is my fear. What will happen to the computer they took from me. How does that get resold? This was over a 2 thousand dollar item... So I really wonder what will happen to it.
 
AFAIK everything that GSP takes gets resold on ebay using the original photos and description. So watch for a listing identical to yours to pop up.

I don't know if it's Pitney Bowes selling or some other contractor who buys the "rejects."
 
Plasma said:
AFAIK everything that GSP takes gets resold on ebay using the original photos and description. So watch for a listing identical to yours to pop up.

I don't know if it's Pitney Bowes selling or some other contractor who buys the "rejects."
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Pitney bowes was the last contractor for GSP. Considering the State and address has changed with the new GSP, I assume its a new company/contractor.
 
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