Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Warning to bid by Schuler auctions Zürich

ariel · 24th March 2019, 02:56 PM

Under normal circumstances the eBay or some auction houses state shipping prices from the get go. The buyer can calculate the total and make an informed decision whether to bid or not.
The problem comes when the buyer has info only about the auction side of the story including auction fees. Then, suddenly, shipping company comes into play and can quote outrageous fees.
The buyer then faces a dilemma: to pay the shipper a sum that makes the entire deal financially crazy or cancel the entire deal. But the auction has the buyer’s credit card number, charges it and on top of that starts collecting storage fees.

I faced such a situation once with a European source. Had to pay.....

Fortunately, nothing similar happened with the US shipping services. Sure, the costs were exaggerated, but tolerably so.

Personally, I think that the “righteous indignation” decision to travel ( as described here) makes very little practical sense: the trip will cost €60 for the tickets plus some more for travel meals plus a cab for the trip from the bus station to and from the auction house, but a whole day of life will be lost. Buyer’s “savings” come up to ~ €8 per hour, about as high as Burger King’s hamburger flipper’s minimal wage.

But still, a pox on both the auction and the shipping houses!

24th March 2019, 02:56 PM	#19
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Under normal circumstances the eBay or some auction houses state shipping prices from the get go. The buyer can calculate the total and make an informed decision whether to bid or not. The problem comes when the buyer has info only about the auction side of the story including auction fees. Then, suddenly, shipping company comes into play and can quote outrageous fees. The buyer then faces a dilemma: to pay the shipper a sum that makes the entire deal financially crazy or cancel the entire deal. But the auction has the buyer’s credit card number, charges it and on top of that starts collecting storage fees. I faced such a situation once with a European source. Had to pay..... Fortunately, nothing similar happened with the US shipping services. Sure, the costs were exaggerated, but tolerably so. Personally, I think that the “righteous indignation” decision to travel ( as described here) makes very little practical sense: the trip will cost €60 for the tickets plus some more for travel meals plus a cab for the trip from the bus station to and from the auction house, but a whole day of life will be lost. Buyer’s “savings” come up to ~ €8 per hour, about as high as Burger King’s hamburger flipper’s minimal wage. But still, a pox on both the auction and the shipping houses! Last edited by ariel; 24th March 2019 at 03:18 PM.