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?

[3lectr1c]

GSP is a horrific service. Have you seen these set of videos? It's a lot worse than pricing and rough handling.

 

[vwestlife]

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.

No, the new eBay International Shipping Program is still run by Pitney Bowes:

eBay Introduces New International Shipping Option

eBay introduces new international shipping option with savings on fees & no hassle returns.

www.valueaddedresource.net

 

[VERAULT]

Interesting, thanks for clarifying that.

 

[westveld]

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.

You might want to setup a search alert to try and catch it if it shows up on eBay again.

For mine -
The final buyer sent me the eBay auction #
I was assuming they did #1 below like many companies do.

2 possibilities I can think of for them (Pitney Bowes or eBay) to deal with the random pile of this stuff:

#1 - they auction it off, probably in bulk - like Home Depot returns pallets.
The buyer may re-list on eBay, or local, or e-scrap, or whatever.

#2 - they have an internal department or partner that sells the stuff - like Amazon Warehouse does for some of their returns

Neither is evil, it's just loss recovery.

Your package was too heavy.

Mine was probably COVID related.

The next one they'll stab with a forklift


It's a bummer when it's something special, though.

 

[VERAULT]

I am doing a save search, but that is assuming will use word for word what I did.. I guess it would be in their best interests to do so. Yeah, the weight issues is what I thought too, but why make that decision several hours before fedex even delivered the item to GSP, they didnt even have it in hand to do that.

 

[vwestlife]

As per that link above, the maximum for EIS (what they're calling GSP now) is 66 lbs. to Canada and 44 lbs. to everywhere else, and they're going by "billable weight, not actual", whatever that means.

And as per eBay's terms and conditions, if EIS rejects an item as "ineligible", they can offer to return it to you (the seller) at your expense, however, it also says "at their discretion", EIS may dispose of it "in any manner that they prefer".

I've also heard on audio forums that there's a high likelihood that anything containing vacuum tubes may be rejected as containing "dangerous materials", because some tubes contain mercury (even though the vast majority don't). This may likely apply to CRTs as well.

 

[VERAULT]

What is billable weight?
I set the weight on mine as 64lbs (i always add a few extra pounds as they really hit you with high added fees if they "DEEM" the weight is higher.. It may have been 57lbs in actuallity.

And just checking my listing now, I had it set to 60lbs. I cannot believe they would make that big a deal of 4 extra (and not actual) pounds of weight. Most of my complete systems I ship are around that weight, And entire Apple IIgs computer setup for example with all the extas.

 

[cj7hawk]

The basis for them rejecting stuff, then recovering costs is well founded, but clearly when an item has specifically high value, and with the number of "specific" high value collectors items going missing, the existing system/arrangements are clearly being abused for gain at times, likely by individuals within the system.

“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action”​

― Ian Fleming, Goldfinger

 

[cj7hawk]

OK, so this time, they cleared the GSP and are enroute... Maybe a combination of two O1s arriving at almost the same time ( They delayed one to wait for the other ) and some other boards going through at the same time influenced their decisions around the losses if they decided to take it.

I suspect there are multiple operational problems going on at GSP that may work against us collectors - and that these range from them calculating whether it is worth shipping ( ie, their per-item profit margin ) and that this goes right up to someone actually taking an interest in some lots directly, and they probably have experience enough that they may even view these forums and have a good understanding of resale values.

So it looks like two and a half Osborne 1's are on their way now. No doubt in part due to shipping costs well in excess of what even US POST charge to ship the same item to Australia, and given they combined shipping, they would have made more than 50% margin on this one.

But there is clearly no reason they won't ship a portable computer like the O1... So this confirms that they are just taking advantage of the contractual terms to their advantage without any obligation to ship or meet their part in the agreements they enter.

 

[VERAULT]

OK, so this time, they cleared the GSP and are enroute... Maybe a combination of two O1s arriving at almost the same time ( They delayed one to wait for the other ) and some other boards going through at the same time influenced their decisions around the losses if they decided to take it.

I suspect there are multiple operational problems going on at GSP that may work against us collectors - and that these range from them calculating whether it is worth shipping ( ie, their per-item profit margin ) and that this goes right up to someone actually taking an interest in some lots directly, and they probably have experience enough that they may even view these forums and have a good understanding of resale values.

So it looks like two and a half Osborne 1's are on their way now. No doubt in part due to shipping costs well in excess of what even US POST charge to ship the same item to Australia, and given they combined shipping, they would have made more than 50% margin on this one.

But there is clearly no reason they won't ship a portable computer like the O1... So this confirms that they are just taking advantage of the contractual terms to their advantage without any obligation to ship or meet their part in the agreements they enter.

Fool me twice.. Yeah there is no way it can be coincidence at this point.

 

[VERAULT]

They listed the computer they stole from me and are using my photos!! : https://www.ebay.com/itm/166100674843

Edit: found this: https://boards.cgccomics.com/topic/499748-ever-wonder-where-your-ebay-items-even-comics-go-if-they-are-seized-lost-at-the-border- -allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-ebay-user-8ten1944/

and this: https://www.facebook.com/8TENINDUSTRIES/

They make a business out of pilfering your stuff.

 

[cj7hawk]

They listed the computer they stole from me and are using my photos!! : https://www.ebay.com/itm/166100674843

Wow!. Take a look at some of the stuff they are selling.... Some of it looks like crap... I smell a business model...
1... Get friend to sell "Classic Collectable" stuff with bad description.
2... Buy for Thousands of dollars after a fake bidding war. Buy for 10x what it is really worth.
3... Ebay GSP thinks they got a good deal... They sieze and readvertise it.
4... Friend splits the profit with you, ebay gets their cut.

I get the feeling there's a bit of that going on looking at some of the items... Someone is fooling them.

Serves them right for what they are doing.

BTW, that looks like a very nice Apple IIe... Verault, you have some serious skills - I assume you refurbed it?

 

[cj7hawk]

Half an Osborne 1 arrived. The two others are still in transit, supposedly in my country. One has stopped updating already.... The other is still enroute, and from the look of it, it's with a dodgy courier company that has a reputation for smashing things. I seriously hope it makes it... Though it would take a LOT to hurt an Osborne 1 that's properly latched closed.

 

[cj7hawk]

Hey, Just thinking, are you going to buy it back Verault? You already made a profit on it if you got the full price they are asking for -

 

[VERAULT]

BTW, that looks like a very nice Apple IIe... Verault, you have some serious skills - I assume you refurbed it?

Thank you and yes I worked really hard on that one. Came from a Childrens Orphanage in Hudson Valley New York. Think of all the kids that loved this thing and had their first computer experience on it.
That thing was better than brand new when I was done with spot on voltages from the PSU.
I still have the photos of when I first brought it home. Thats whats upsetting to me, it was supposed to go to a collector not a warehouse reseller.

 

[3lectr1c]

Wow… that is just despicable! This is making me wonder a bit if I actually bought one of these relisted items before… My WinBook 486SLC laptop I bought was off a strange listing. I had been looking into this model for a while before I bought the one I did. There was a listing for one that sold, working. Then I noticed another show up a month later. It had a mix of new photos and photos from that previous listing. The description was also copied in from that past listing, with more added. I was able to see from some distinguishing marks and dirt visible in both the new and old photos that this was the same exact laptop. The seller had good feedback, so I bought it. It showed up as described and was not a scam. I assumed seller #2 just bought it and then decided they didn’t want it after, but maybe this GSP thing happened? Don’t know. They also sold it at a loss compared to what listing #1 sold for. They also seemed eager to get it gone - they listed it at a good price then lowered it by $20 over the next couple days when it didn’t immediately sell, that’s when I bought it.

Edit: looking at the seller again I don’t think it’s a relister. Just a few items for sale and it’s all Apple II parts.

 

[VERAULT]

Hey, Just thinking, are you going to buy it back Verault? You already made a profit on it if you got the full price they are asking for -

Was thinking about it. But no, I dont think I will. Thats just going to open another can of worms. Few out there pack a computer as good as me ( I spend a good amount effort, time, and money on packing and shipping). And I am sure they opened it up and took it out.. At least to remove the documentation from me to the original buyer. So I have zero trust in thier packing and shipping abilities. The high probability of it arriving smashed is just to great. And I have enough stress at the moment already.

 

[VERAULT]

Edit: looking at the seller again I don’t think it’s a relister. Just a few items for sale and it’s all Apple II parts.

look again: https://www.facebook.com/8TENINDUSTRIES/

They have 18,872 items listed right now.

 

[3lectr1c]

Yeah, them for sure. I was referring to the seller I bought that laptop from. Your situation is obviously a lot different, really sorry about what’s happened.

 

[cj7hawk]

I note that I cannot see any computer items, even on US Ebay, when logging in with my non-US account.... Whatever is going on with 8TENINDSUTRIES, they are up to their eyeballs in it with Ebay.