Seller with 100% pos. feedback is flight attendant thief. Daily Mirror posts his ebay user name :)

[houstonite23]

Guy had his very expensive camera lost on a Ryanair flight, only to have it miraculously turn up on eBay. He did contact seller, who happened to be a flight attendant.   Here is the link http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/passenger-camera-stolen-ryanair-steward-5528237

He still has his same old user profile etc. All of his listings are for things regularly lost on planes: SkullCandy headphones, cameras, etc etc. Look at the news story, then look up the user. Not sure if I am allowed to post his ebay user name here? I am rather new to the boards.

As you can see from MY ebay, I am not very active at all (not a big eBayer, never shilled, and have a slow connection on top of not very tech savvy so it is cumbersome for me to list or buy things on here)

not to mention I usually just donate my unwanted items as opposed to listing them, so I suppose that makes me an eBayers thorn in their side. I have a sister who used to do well on eBay, she begs me daily to "why don't you list (insert anything Ive got that she thinks I could make money off of)" I do not like buying a thing cheaply, then re-selling it for more. I think it is dishonest.

What I think is even MORE dishonest though- are sellers who make a side business off of stolen or found items. Sickening.

t

[dazzledayz]

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@houstonite23 wrote:

Re Rotary markets- No thank you- it really is too much trouble for me. Just loading everything to take to the charities is a tedious effort. By the way- regarding earlier commentor who said my opinion was "utter rubbish" about re-selling-

what my POINT is about those eager beavers who scour the charity shops and hoard everything which is nothing that THEY want or need- but only to up the price 500% to sell to someone else. It IS dishonest. Period. Not you or I who might find one item to resell, but those who make it their lifes work. I see these people in the shops, they even rifle their paws through jacket pockets looking for lost money.

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I'm afraid your point is overly simplistic.

Charities take your donations and sort them to sell and that is all they do.

The labour they use is either volunteer or "work for the dole" hence mostly free.

They do employ some permanent staff but this is usually a very low percentage of the workforce.

If a donation is dirty or needs any form of additional work it is usually consigned to landfill or, in the case of clothing, the rag merchants.

Charities receive cash grants from both federal and state govt.

Charities pay very little or usually no tax.

Charity outlets are not for the needy as these are catered for by the individual charities welfare program.

ie donations are diverted into this stream as required and before issue to outlets.

Items that do not sell are ultimately consigned to landfill or rag merchants (usually after about 1 month).

So, to summarise in simplified form

No costs for goods

No costs for labour

No tax liability

Outlet rental covered by govy grants.

Mangerial costs covered by govt grants.

An ebay seller buying from a charity will however:

1. Search numerous outlets to find item in the first place at their own expense (time and transport).

2. Pay for the goods (cost of goods).

3. Clean and/or repair/upgrade the item (time and materials).

4. Photograph the item prepatory to sale (time and equipment costs).

5. List the item for sale (time again plus ebay fees).

    5a Possibly have to relist item (more eBay fees).

    5b Usually maintain an eBay store (still more fees)

    5c Provide all CS & back office support themselves (time and equipment costs)

5. Bear all other financial costs in relation to the above.

6. If the item eventually sells pay 11% to 13% of the total sale plus postage price in eBay/PayPal fees.

6. Pay tax on the income derived.

The charities could do this themselves and it has been suggested to them.

The reason they don't is that it would cost them too much for too little return.

They would also have to employ a greatly expanded IT dept to handle the load.

This is why they are very happy to see ebay sellers and second hand merchants come through the door.

They know these people provide a regular income from repeat trade.

Also, many people don't have the time to haunt charity outlets.

Many are also remote and have no local outlets at all.

As for money in pockets lol, the charities found that long before it got anywhere near a shop!

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

looks like the OP came back to clarify while I was preparing my post.

[digital*ghost]

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@houstonite23 wrote:

Am I an "anti-capitalist"? Hell NO! It isn't the idea of "profit" that annoys me. Its "flippers".

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This is generally a matter of personal ethics, rather than a "right" or "wrong" issue, and personal ethics (or principles) are one of those inarguable things. 

I feel the same way about ticket scalpers, in part because a concert event is a once in a lifetime experience, and only ever happens once (no matter how many concerts the band holds, by and large a single event is a unique event), therefore I see ticket scalping as taking something away from other people because at standard price it can be affordable, but at scalped prices it often isn't - and it's something that can 100% never be made available again, at any price. I have read, and been somewhat involved in, threads about ticket sclaping, and as a business owner, at a logical level I understand the business side of it (supply, demand etc etc etc), but on a personal level I find the practice distasteful, and no amount of reasoned, logical or financial arguments will change my point of view. However, I do accept that it's just one of those things I take a personal issue with, so I don't tell other people they're dishonest or wrong for practicing it... 

But as such, in a way I can see why you feel that way about missing out on some craft items at a low price, but I do stuggle to see it as the same kind of thing, as it seems like a opportunity rather than the opportunity, which makes a lot of difference (to me personally). 

[curmu-curmu]

"I do not like buying a thing cheaply, then re-selling it for more. I think it is dishonest."

That's your opinion, and you're more than entitled to it - but it makes no sense.

What you fail to realize, is that as sellers, we do not hold a gun to the head of our buyers - it is they who determine the price an item ultimately sells for. They determine the final price at auction, and if the item is Buy-It-Now, and is too expensive - it just won't sell.

Ebay, (and all retail for that matter), is a buyers' market - not a sellers'. The only exception would be be a seller who had water, or food, and held out for more money when faced with a starving family. Now that's reprehensible!

I know for a fact that I have been lucky enough to find some absolute bargains, and when sold at auction, realized far more than I could have ever hoped to recieve. Those prices were determined solely by the buyers - not me.

'Holier-than-thou' attitudes are well and good, but don't feed my family. And dodgy sellers? Well, they just don't last. (Except maybe here on ebay!)

[lyndal1838]

The OP is in the USA.

Has anybody thought that Thrift/Goodwill shops may work differently over there to here in Australia.

As I understand it, only the poor shop at these shops so if a well to do person/ebay seller takes all the stock then the poor are going to suffer.

Here in Australia the Op shops are used to fund the work of the charity that runs them.

[horizon1907]

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@houstonite23 wrote:

I'm not talking about Estate Sales. Either way- appears Ive hit a sore spot as my critique hits home, which is eBay.  My opinion probably could stem out of my own jealousy. THIS is what I take issue with, those who grab up every item they can hold from say, Goodwill. They do not want the items - but buy them only to re-sell. They are an annoyance and I am not at ALL alone in this opinion. About once or twice per month, I go to charity shops with the sole point of finding a small handful of crafts items that collect to finish the project and either donate or give as gifts. I use these cheaper places as I don't make very much money only enough to take care of myself. I go in, and some woman with wild eyes snatches the whole bunch out from under me only to re-sell at a much higher price.

Am I an "anti-capitalist"? Hell NO! It isn't the idea of "profit" that annoys me. Its "flippers".

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Maybe, you can tell "These Women with Wid Eyes" as you put it, that these items are taken.  If you were to come to my home and see my Collections, you may be surprised. These "Collections" have taken many years to accumulate. Sometimes I need to downsize, so list pieces here and elsewhere. As mentioned, I do not regulate the prices that some people will pay for an item. They do. I think you and I, Agree to Disagree.

[springyzone]

what my POINT is about those eager beavers who scour the charity shops and hoard everything which is nothing that THEY want or need- but only to up the price 500% to sell to someone else. It IS dishonest. Period. Not you or I who might find one item to resell, but those who make it their lifes work. I see these people in the shops, they even rifle their paws through jacket pockets looking for lost money.

----------------------------------------------

I had not realised you were in USA.

I have honestly never seen anything like what you described here in Australia, with people practically going berserk in an op shop. I'm sure people do buy some things to on-sell if they see them at a good price but in my experience, quite a lot of the charity stores here already charge a fairly good price, I would wonder if there was much profit to be made by the time a seller paid ebay commission & listing fees and postage fees & paypal etc

I have to say, if I walked into an op shop and saw a person snapping up every single item of something put out on special I would probably feel a bit peeved. It is not dishonest as such (IMO) just inconsiderate if there are others there who are also trying to pick up one or two.

[cherry*135]

It is not dishonest to buy an item from a charity store, garage sale, carboot sale and onsell it.

It is actually a good thing. If someone finds a particular item, for example, a  book in an op shop in one city, lists it on eBay and a buyer in another city has been wanting that particular book, they can buy it... and pay the price they are prepared to pay for it.

That buyer wouldn't have the option of physically going to second hand stores all over Australia to look for the book they want.

[cherry*135]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

The OP is in the USA.

Has anybody thought that Thrift/Goodwill shops may work differently over there to here in Australia.

As I understand it, only the poor shop at these shops so if a well to do person/ebay seller takes all the stock then the poor are going to suffer.

Here in Australia the Op shops are used to fund the work of the charity that runs them.

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I follow some people on Instagram who are well off and they regularly shop at Thrift stores (and post photo's of their finds) - vintage clothes &handbags, collectible Pyrex dishes, vintage toys etc, is what they are looking for.

[saarzi]

What I think is dishonest is making a product in a Bangladeshi sweat shop for around $1.50 to $3, whacking a brand name like Topshop, Dolce and Gabbana or Nike on it, and convincing medicorly educated saps that its "worth" $100 - $400 (the designs themselves often come from the sweatshops and when approved, are then owned by the fashion house .. personal intellectual property of the desinger is rarely inolved, because the designer is usually nothing more than a figurehead or trademark. )

I think if youre that passionate about people reselling items from charity shops, you MIGHT have your priorities ass about, because people who resell items from charity shops give more to the charity / poor people than the peice of clothing itself does. They -

* Support the charity shop they buy from, by purchasing the item to begin with (in many stores in the US and most in Australia, thats how it works)

* Pay more tax on the sale of an item than what they paid for the item to begin with. Welfare payments and programs are funded by one of the largest chunks of taxpayer money in Australia (and the US).

* Pay fees on the sale of the item (postage, Ebay, paypal, and buy things like printers etc), which supports other businesses, creates jobs, therefore improves the economy.

* Create jobs directly. Many small sellers become big sellers and businesses, and branch out to other items and industries both on and off Ebay. 

What happens when a poor person buys a shirt from a charity shop?

They get a shirt to wear.

Then the top gets worn out and thrown in the bin. They pay minimal to zero tax. They do not support other poor people financially, or create jobs, and they do not improve the economy, therefore they do not improve life for themselves. 

Everyone deserves charity in times of need, of course - just putting things into perspective.

As for the dude who stole and resold on Ebay - I agree, peope who prey on others like that are pathetic. But as for the Ebay specific part of it, Ive heard people say Ebay makes it easier, and that people wouldnt think to do it if it wasnt in front of them. What **bleep**. It is easy on Ebay, but corruption and greed are part of the human condition.   These things exist whether or not Ebay does.