imi wrote on 2020-10-24, 14:04:

I've found that the global shipping program rates have usually been cheaper on the other hand... though I'd still advise anyone to be careful of them as they like repackaging things in completely inadequate packaging to save on shipping.

I've had a US seller once ask me to double up on shipping costs after the sale, even though shipping was already reasonably high for an item that wasn't particularly big or heavy... needless to say that deal didn't go through... but I still ended up losing money on it as I had to pay currency conversion fees twice, once for payment and once for the refund... silly.

I've asked buyers to send me pics of the packaging when I have sent through the global shipping program and not a single one did so I stopped asking.

The way I package stuff I doubt they could repackage it to be any lighter though even though I package stuff really well. I used the correct sized boxes with good packing materials. If they repackaged it, they could maybe save 1-2 ounces max.

I had one package come back to me that was shipped regular usps first class international and it was in the same exact shape I sent it in. Not sure what happened. Tried to get ahold of the buyer but they never responded.

imi wrote on 2020-10-24, 14:04:

I've found that the global shipping program rates have usually been cheaper on the other hand...

It tends to be cheaper for larger items, more expensive for small ones.

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-10-24, 14:50:

I had one package come back to me that was shipped regular usps first class international and it was in the same exact shape I sent it in. Not sure what happened. Tried to get ahold of the buyer but they never responded.

Maybe they passed away. 😳

I had a seller die on me once. A bunch of people were complaining on his feedback page. Eventually someone claiming to be a relative appeared and explained what happened. I did get my money back so it wasn't a scam.

dr_st wrote on 2020-10-24, 15:21:

It tends to be cheaper for larger items, more expensive for small ones. […]
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imi wrote on 2020-10-24, 14:04:

I've found that the global shipping program rates have usually been cheaper on the other hand...

It tends to be cheaper for larger items, more expensive for small ones.

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-10-24, 14:50:

I had one package come back to me that was shipped regular usps first class international and it was in the same exact shape I sent it in. Not sure what happened. Tried to get ahold of the buyer but they never responded.

Maybe they passed away. 😳

Dunno. They actually ordered two different items from me that were shipped separately. The one didn't get returned to me and the other one did. From what I could tell, they just didn't pay the import fees on the one that was returned to me. Only thing that really made sense.

OK this is more about personal collecting rants than buying rants but think it fits well.
While looking for a specific socket 7 motherboard in my boxes of spare boards today, stumbled on a 486 board in with the Pentium boards.
Was looking for my Full Yes VT580 and found it, also stumbled on a Amptron 6900/Pcchip M912 v1.7 in same box.
So had to look for the ones I know I have in the 486 box and yes... I had two PCchip M912 v1.7 and one v1.4 in that box.
DuH Me ! So now have a total of 4 all sitting there doing nothing and was actually thinking of finding another 486 board to add to my collection.
added: Think I have a collecting disease similar to hoarding but more specific, or I would not have thought about get one more 486 board before finding this one 🙁

I pretty much have built a retro pc for every possible use I might have for them, but even then I have too many parts that I constantly feel temptation to build a new PC even knowing that it would not be able to do anything that my current retro PCs can't do and it would be pointless to have it around and I have no space to have any more retro PCs running. That is my main problem with collecting retro pc parts. There is always temptation to start building something out of them and I need to keep telling myself not to do it constantly no matter what kind of idea I get for new build.

I live in a country with 600K population and finding any special retro hardware is close to impossible so I have to order basically every thing from international sites.

On the topic of international sales, has anyone used Google Pay for eBay or anything else of that matter?

Paypal seems to have gone into self destruct mode since the start of the pandemic.

The resolution process is robotic, seller or buyer can be scammed by sending a tracked sack of potatoes for all Paypal care.

Hanamichi wrote on 2020-10-26, 15:56:

On the topic of international sales, has anyone used Google Pay for eBay or anything else of that matter?

Paypal seems to have gone into self destruct mode since the start of the pandemic.

The resolution process is robotic, seller or buyer can be scammed by sending a tracked sack of potatoes for all Paypal care.

That's why you go through eBay instead of PayPal for eBay disputes.

eBay is adding managed payments ( all sellers are required to have it ) so they are trying to cut PayPal out but I expect that most buyers are still going to use PayPal because that is what they are used to and already have set up.

Hanamichi wrote on 2020-10-26, 15:56:

Paypal seems to have gone into self destruct mode since the start of the pandemic.

The resolution process is robotic, seller or buyer can be scammed by sending a tracked sack of potatoes for all Paypal care.

Hasn't it always been like this? Police have been warning about this and other PayPal scams for years here in Germany.

Doornkaat wrote on 2020-10-26, 17:23:

Hasn't it always been like this? Police have been warning about this and other PayPal scams for years here in Germany.

I'm curious. Any documented cases online? (OK if they are in German, I will translate)

dr_st wrote on 2020-10-26, 17:45:

Doornkaat wrote on 2020-10-26, 17:23:

Hasn't it always been like this? Police have been warning about this and other PayPal scams for years here in Germany.

I'm curious. Any documented cases online? (OK if they are in German, I will translate)

Sorry, no idea. I have just heard/read a lot of warnings like this: https://koeln.polizei.nrw/artikel/dreiecksbet … r-betrugsmasche

Oh, yes. This is a somewhat complex variation on a known scam. That is why sellers are advised to never accept PayPal for in-person delivery, and only ship tracked to a PayPal-confirmed address.

Doornkaat wrote on 2020-10-26, 17:23:

Hanamichi wrote on 2020-10-26, 15:56:

Paypal seems to have gone into self destruct mode since the start of the pandemic.

The resolution process is robotic, seller or buyer can be scammed by sending a tracked sack of potatoes for all Paypal care.

Hasn't it always been like this? Police have been warning about this and other PayPal scams for years here in Germany.

So what's changed is that before when you went to raise or have a dispute raised against you there used to be a human that confirmed/asked for more info/rejected the case.
As Artex alluded to in the bought retro hardware thread, now this is totally automatic (for Paypal) that is.
So even if you have proof of a scam or something is obviously not right it does not matter, the case proceeds that the seller accepts a return regardless.
This may seem good for the buyer, except for international items the cost of shipping back the item is not covered over 15GBP.
No matter what proof you have they will not consider a refund without a traced return to the sender.

What's also changed is that Paypal customer service will not respond to you without getting their attention on Twitter and even then it's mindless.
Back in March you could speak to someone who may or may not agree with you but could make decisions based on common sense judgements.
If you check Dan Schulman's social media he's now bombarded with people chasing their money for the last 8 months or so 🙁

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-10-26, 16:12:

Hanamichi wrote on 2020-10-26, 15:56:

On the topic of international sales, has anyone used Google Pay for eBay or anything else of that matter?

Paypal seems to have gone into self destruct mode since the start of the pandemic.

The resolution process is robotic, seller or buyer can be scammed by sending a tracked sack of potatoes for all Paypal care.

That's why you go through eBay instead of PayPal for eBay disputes.

eBay is adding managed payments ( all sellers are required to have it ) so they are trying to cut PayPal out but I expect that most buyers are still going to use PayPal because that is what they are used to and already have set up.

Yeah I hope eBay retain a human element and does seem to be trying to distance itself from Paypal, I think I am definately going to try and stop using them as a payment method if possible.

Paypal seems to be a business on the decline, inevitable when going from ebay-forces-everyone-in-the-world-to-use-it (a status they've enjoyed for a long time now) to "just one of many".

Their upcoming intention to become a cryptocurrency merchant next year is a clear signal that they're desperately trying to reposition themselves into a new position of power in a different (and also controversial) arm of the financial industry.

I've only ever used PayPal on eBay. Which of the emerging alternatives would you suggest?

I guess this counts as a rant? I appologize if this isn't the kind this thread is for.

Someone (I won't link to the listing directly) is selling an Amiga 1200 for $1,299 maple bucks on eBay.

This one is apperently tricked out with a 68030 CPU accelerator, modern CF storage and a re capped PSU. I know those pre-done add to the cost. No questions asked, absolutely, I understand those added expenses.

But..lets just focus on the Amiga alone here...

What the duck kind of world do we live in where a base A1200 is worth $500-1000? Someone please educate me because these crazy Amiga prices never cease to amaze and confuse me.

imi wrote on 2020-06-09, 19:42:

austinham wrote on 2020-06-09, 18:57:

Buy I don't by parts to collect as I don't see the point in that, I buy parts to use.

I do buy parts to collect and preserve, so I'll have a lot of different stuff to play around with in the future (and hey, maybe preserve it for future generations ^^), when none of this might be available or attainable anymore.

I went through a few scrap lots today and just got incredibly sad when I saw a completely smashed ELSA Gloria XXL 🙁

A collector after my own heart! I started out just gathering parts to put together a dos machine to run some older games on. Then I decided that if I wanted to have a working machine down the road that it might be wise to have a few spare parts... Basically everything that might fail... Everything! One thing led to another and now I have so much squirrelled away that I am amazed at myself for what I did and how I got so carried away. Maybe I can build retro systems when I retire? 😎

My only real gripes are dishonest sellers who describe items falsely, or sellers who charge prime dollars for shipping and then mail a much anticipated and valued piece inside nothing more than a padded mailer. That really burns me. Grrr... If it worked before it may not have have survived the shipping.

After a while one can get good at recognizing the tricks that people play with listings and to enquire about shipping if it is not specified.

My greatest appreciation is a seller who lists parts as not working, and then shows a photo of the item in working condition but just wants to be sure that everybody understands that old electronics can work today but not tomorrow. I like that honest disclaimer and it instantly earns a bit of my trust.

SodaSuccubus wrote on 2020-10-28, 09:51:

What the duck kind of world do we live in where a base A1200 is worth $500-1000?

This is not about A1200's in particular, because I know nothing about them, but it's the same world where "X/Y/Z Model old car" will fetch tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars due to age-related rarity and retro-nostalgia demand, despite performing terribly compared to modern cars or even (in some instances) their own era.

It's just Time, man. Screws with everything big-time, I can tell you now! :p

JoeCorrado wrote on 2020-10-28, 10:37:

imi wrote on 2020-06-09, 19:42:

austinham wrote on 2020-06-09, 18:57:

Buy I don't by parts to collect as I don't see the point in that, I buy parts to use.

I do buy parts to collect and preserve, so I'll have a lot of different stuff to play around with in the future (and hey, maybe preserve it for future generations ^^), when none of this might be available or attainable anymore.

I went through a few scrap lots today and just got incredibly sad when I saw a completely smashed ELSA Gloria XXL 🙁

A collector after my own heart! I started out just gathering parts to put together a dos machine to run some older games on. Then I decided that if I wanted to have a working machine down the road that it might be wise to have a few spare parts... Basically everything that might fail... Everything! One thing led to another and now I have so much squirrelled away that I am amazed at myself for what I did and how I got so carried away. Maybe I can build retro systems when I retire? 😎

I'm similar. I first started buying CPUs for testing software I was wring 25 years ago. Then decided I needed over 100 motherboards (and still buying) and graphics cards. I would estimate that my collection takes up approx 10 cubic metres in my one bed bungalow. I just can't resist. This last week I must have bought about 40 games from 1995 to 2005, just for benchmarking purposes (plus a few like Sim City and others to play - I'm really not a gamer). I really must get into some testing so I can whittle my collection down and just keep things I particularly like tripping over 😀