For The Ebay Sellers

[DailyDi]

Dear eBay ABDL sellers,

If your Depend diapers are white, they are not "vintage." They are not babyish, or absorbent.

If your Attends diapers were made by anyone other than Proctor and Gamble they are not "vintage" and are not the diapers we are looking for. No amount of Winnie the Pooh stickers can change that - though they are cute.

Ables flat-fold or institutional underpads that feature a set of tapes to make them a temporary diaper ARE NOT old-style pampers and are not absorbent enough to be considered a real diaper. They are meant for hospital use by bedridden patients, not active heavy wetters.

Priva plastic pants sell retail for $9.99 a three-pack. Wholesale they are less than $4 a three-pack. Selling ONE for $10 or more is a sin and should be a crime! Claiming them to be Gerber pants is also a lie.

NUK does not make a 4, 4+, 4++, 5 or 6 Pacifier. They Offer sizes one, two three and two speciality medical products: The Therapeutic Trainer Small and Large. Diapers are diapers, and Trainers and Trainers, call them what they are so we know which one we are really getting! These specialty products are only available in Germany as NUK USA (Gerber) refuses to make them. With this in mind I consider $19.95 to be the acceptable maximum price, allowing for the cost of importing them. Anything more and you are just kinda being a jerk

Did I miss anything?

[Dougie]

I found this both funny and informative.

[thickdiaperedbaby]

I agree, it is one of my biggest pet peeves. That said, as an e-bay seller myself, I understand why they do it, as certain keywords trigger increased bids/views.

[Bettypooh]

Ebay listings aren't much different than a spiel from a salesman working for commission They don't care about anything so long as they make the sale But I agree that items should not be misrepresented or inappropriately tagged- and Ebay agrees too The problem is that Ebay is slack at doing it's job in this area (along with many others). Another problem is definitions- when does an item become 'vintage'? There is no clear-cut or legal definition for this criteria Unless you're dealing with something like antique furnitire where certain terms are generally recognized to have a specific meaning you can label items pretty much as you please Ebay used to maintain a good balance between the rights of sellers and buyers but now they're on the seller's side, forgetting that without buyers the seller can't make a sale

I won't buy on Ebay anymore unless it's a bargain or an item I can't find anywhere else- like the 100% rubber panties offered by "it's plastic" and a few others. I can't find this item anywhere else- none of the regular suppliers list these so I have to Ebay them. That means waiting for my size and color to be listed then watching as someone with more money and less commom sense outbids me and pays far more than they're worth I've had my share of fun there and it can be a good place to shop if you don't get the 'auction bug' and lose your head. My Bambino's came from there- a sample pack someone created before the maker sold them that way. I paid too much compared to a case price but it kept me from buying a case and finding I got the wrong size or (heaven forbid) finding that I didn't like them (which I do ).

Ebay is the "PT Barnum" of the 21st Century- and should be viewed as such if you value your money

Bettypooh

[diaperpt]

I've gotten a LOT of my stuff from ebay, including a couple Therapeutic Trainer pacis, some cloth diapers, lots of plastic pants, etc. I agree whole-heartedly that ebay can be a minefield.

I've made some mistakes, but overall feel that it has worked out OK. You DO have to realize there are scammers out there, but I've also run across some wonderful people offering good products for a reasonable price AND with reasonable shipping.

My one negative feedback ever was from a totally wacko seller (name will NOT be mentioned!!) - like I said, I've made some mistakes!

Di's comments are especially helpful for newbies who may be trying to find their way in getting supplies - this is definitely a case of CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!

Thanks DD!

[d_drew12]

I agree with the original post completely. The only thing I'd add would be, don't try selling me a normally $40 item for $20 and then add $40 to ship it to me. I always feel like they're trying to suck me in with the lower than normal price of the product but then blow it out of the water with shipping costs. To me it's mainly shipping costs that prevent me from buying anything on e-bay as I feel too many seller gouge the crap out of us. Folks, it doesn't cost $20 to send a small box at the slowest delivery method to someone within the country. Look at how many sites offer free shipping, they're able to afford it and yes I know there original profit margin may be higher but still. I don't feel you should profit $15 off shipping. Often times it's more than the item I'm looking at. It also ticks me off when I've paid say $20 for shipping, I get the box and it says $7.50 on the sticker for the shipping. The box didn't cost $12.50!

The other thing I hate seeing is someone who buys a pack of say attends, puts a couple stickers on it and sells them as ab/dl print diapers in a 2 pack for $10+ after shipping. Five bucks a diaper, give me a break. There are some criminals out there doing all these tricks as originally posted. I guess I can't blame them as we've probably all considered it since it would be really easy to do and get a few suckers and make some money but me, myself, my morals kick in a little.

[gweg]

Ebay is the "PT Barnum" of the 21st Century- and should be viewed as such if you value your money

Bettypooh

There are many problems with eBay that don't show to the buyers also. I used to sell a lot on eBay and have quit the last few years as they rip the sellers off worse and worse every year.

My biggest gripe when I totally quit was this...

I have an item that I want to sell that is purchased for 500 by me... I then sell the item on ebay for 610 approx. (110 bucks) a fair amount of profit you would think...

Hardly look at this...

Ebay final value and sells fees come to 38 dollars for that amount.

72 dollars Ok you think a fair amount left.

But wait you now are forced to use paypal or a different electronic payment (if you have one that qualifies).

Pay pal fees for 610.00 are:

approx 25 bucks on that.

Plus they take money away from the shipping price which galds me...

so you make 47.00 gross ( and take all the risk) on the item and EBAY who owns paypal makes 63.00.... they make way more than the seller does... grrrrrrrrrrr

[diaperpt]

Note, in the UK Caveat Emptor (Or the buyer must take reasonable steps to be aware of what he/she is buying) is a weak defence to mishandling an on-line transaction.

So bottom line is, don't rip people off and then plead the buyer must have took due diligence in buying on-line. It seldom works.

Absolutely right, abrera! I meant ONLY from the consumer's point of view. If a buyer can avoid getting into a situation with a sleazy seller, so much the better. Let the buyer beward, but let the seller be moral, fair and responsible!!!

[AutieAB]

No amount of Winnie the Pooh stickers can change that - though they are cute.

Yep, agreed. I have only bought a handful of things from eBay over the years and only ever one ABDL item, a NUK 'not 5' ... Actually I can see why people insist on calling them 'NUK 5' - NUK MedicPro Large ain't exactly infantile and so I guess NUK 5 has become an unofficial nickname over the years.

But yeah, the number one reason I don't buy stuff on fleaBay is the huge volume of crap quality, mislabeled junk that you have to wade through to find what you want...

[ultrapampers]

<rant>

I sell vintage baby diapers on eBay from time to time, and I do my best to represent my items as accurately as I can. The term "vintage" is almost useless as it's so overused, but I confess to using it myself for any item you can't get anymore. I just sold a bag of Prevail Overnight Briefs with a plastic cover and I labeled them vintage with some hesitation, but it's true you can't buy plastic-covered Prevail anymore. Anyway, if I'm upfront in my description about what the item is, why I call it "vintage", and my shipping costs, why am I crook? Place a bid, or don't. I'm not forcing you to buy my item.

...but if you DO buy it, for chrissakes PLEASE PLEASE PAY FOR IT! I've found bidders on diaper auctions are notorious for being deadbeats. I guess they think it's fun to waste seller's time.

Sellers are at a serious disadvantage on eBay now: can't leave negative feedback, and will have ALL their funds held at the first click of a "complaint" button by a buyer. It's driving sellers away from eBay, and I've seriously considered not listing anything else. The fees alone are ridiculous. I sell you a sampler of vintage baby diapers for ten bucks, and after all the fees and shipping, I maybe make two dollars. Why waste my time for that? You buyers are thinking, "So what?" Well, if enough of us decided to quit selling on eBay, where are you gonna go to find really rare stuff like a 1989 unopened bag of Ultra Pampers for Girls?

</rant>

[zoe]

As an eBay buyer, I agree that the shipping prices should be reasonable. I remember trying to buy shoes, and the price of the shoes was $0.99 while the shipping was $44.95 or something like that. Unrelated to AB/DL stuff, I hate when I go to buy something and hidden in the description is where it lists "Used", "Broken" or something like that.

I do agree that a buyer should look into what s/he's getting. If you buy 2 diapers for $10 with stickers on them, that's on you. As long as the item is listed correctly, the buyer needs to do his/her homework. Now, if I list two attends as "the most absorbant diaper ever", then the seller is the one who should get into trouble.

I wish eBay didn't suck, but that's the economy we live in. As long as people are willing to put out the money, eBay is willing to take it. It's not their fault either. Their job is to make money. That's our economy. Our whole economic views is based on that. I don't like it a whole lot, but watcha gonna do?

Greed, that's what it's all about these days...

[zoe]

Oh yea, and LOL @ ultrapampers <rant></rant> html tags! Love it!

[diamondback6881]

The only thing I'd add would be, don't try selling me a normally $40 item for $20 and then add $40 to ship it to me.

I refuse to buy from sellers that do this. I see sellers all the time that have an item listed for a buck, but the shipping is $10.

It also ticks me off when I've paid say $20 for shipping, I get the box and it says $7.50 on the sticker for the shipping. The box didn't cost $12.50!

I consider your example a bit extreme. I've never received anything that was priced like that.

The few things I've sold on eBay, I've had to guess at the price. Usually I charge a couple bucks more than the item ends up costing to ship. I believe that is fine because it costs you fuel to drive to the post office and stand in line to mail the item.

The term "vintage" is almost useless as it's so overused,

It's just like the term 'Rare' is overused. People put that as a keyword because people fall for it.

[Letluvsrool]

You forgot about the people selling 4 Bambinos as "vintage" for $20.

There's a ton of terrible auctions on ebay, but there are a handful of sellers that actually make cool stuff. I've picked up an awesome big baby blankie and a couple onesies off ebay that are totally cute.

[hidden]

gotta watch private sellers...

back when the xbox 360 came out, someone sold just the box for over $700 USD on ebay, even though it was clearly labled it was just the box.

this didn't go unnoticed...

[d_drew12]

What kills me too is the "buy it now" price is sooooooo cheap but add the shipping and out the door you're paying almost as much if not more for a case of diapers as you would if you bought them from some large business on line like xpmedical or cvs.com. I've called the seller before and played it off like I was lived near where they were selling the product and would say something like "well, I'll just pick it up to save me the shipping cost since it's x number of dollars." They're always like, well, I can't do that or even a business I talked with locally that sells medical supplies online including incontinence products told me he would have to add like $10 to the case if I picked it up over what the case was listed for on ebay. I've also been told "we don't have a store front" therefor they must ship all products just to gain the shipping fees. What a scam. I won't by from people like this. Tell me the price of the product and the price of the shipping but don't lure me in with a cheap price and a jacked up shipping price that you need to be able to profit from the sale.

[gweg]

What kills me too is the "buy it now" price is sooooooo cheap but add the shipping and out the door you're paying almost as much if not more for a case of diapers as you would if you bought them from some large business on line like xpmedical or cvs.com. I've called the seller before and played it off like I was lived near where they were selling the product and would say something like "well, I'll just pick it up to save me the shipping cost since it's x number of dollars." They're always like, well, I can't do that or even a business I talked with locally that sells medical supplies online including incontinence products told me he would have to add like $10 to the case if I picked it up over what the case was listed for on ebay. I've also been told "we don't have a store front" therefor they must ship all products just to gain the shipping fees. What a scam. I won't by from people like this. Tell me the price of the product and the price of the shipping but don't lure me in with a cheap price and a jacked up shipping price that you need to be able to profit from the sale.

The reason ebay sellers charge a higher shipping price and sell the item cheaper is that EBAY screws the sellers with fees that are 3 to 4 times more than the seller makes on the items if the item was priced at a higher fee and the shipping price was less...

JUST WHO do YOU think should make a profit of 20% on the wholesale price and who should lose money on the wholesale item they bought...

I quit selling on EBAY last year because they screw the seller to much and steal all the profit!

DON'T blame the sellers as much as YOU SHOULD be blaming eBay!

[d_drew12]

The reason ebay sellers charge a higher shipping price and sell the item cheaper is that EBAY screws the sellers with fees that are 3 to 4 times more than the seller makes on the items if the item was priced at a higher fee and the shipping price was less...

JUST WHO do YOU think should make a profit of 20% on the wholesale price and who should lose money on the wholesale item they bought...

I quit selling on EBAY last year because they screw the seller to much and steal all the profit!

DON'T blame the sellers as much as YOU SHOULD be blaming eBay!

I do not sell on ebay so I'm guessing they only take part of the sale of the item and not the shipping? This makes more sense to me now but not knowing that I felt like it was a rip and a ploy to get me to click on there item.

I agree, the actual seller should get the chunk of the money but in many, many businesses this is not always the case so ebay is not alone. In retail, often times it's the store who is making a larger profit than the original vendor. Afterall, they are the ones who have the building for you to sell the item out of, as with ebay, without them you would not be able to make ANY money unless you go to another site but they'll likely have fees too and so forth. You may feel like you're getting SCREWED but it's a one hand washes the other type of thing. They have costs too, but I like the loophole on the shipping thing. I guess it's like taking it from the big man and giving it to the little man then.

[Nat]

I shop on ebay. If I do not like the price of shipping for the item, I don't bid. I see Attends diapers with prints on them but I know they are just a roll of Party tape you can buy and you can put them on the diapers yourselves. It's a waste of money to buy them when you can make your own. You can even buy clear mailing tape and wrapping paper and cut the paper and tape them on your diapers. So why spend eight bucks for five printed Attend diapers and the shipping is high? I know there are people out there who area willing to spend that much for that.

[DartDodger]

Priva plastic pants sell retail for $9.99 a three-pack

Where can I get some? The local store here sells another brand and they are $16 Ea.

The small are to small and the med are to large in the brand they carry.Realy need to get another brand and at that price it is worth a try

[Brutal]

Well said.

The best thing people can do is not be suckered or stupid.

In a free market economy people can charge whatever they like. But I never understood the idea of "Business is bad, I need to raise prices to increase business." It's like they never took "Common Sense 101" or "Principles of MacroEconomics".

All it takes is a bit of research to learn whether or not you're being taken. Don't buy from the jerks, turn them in to ebay and file for the buyer protection that Ebay offers. After Ebay is forced to refund everyone's money a few times, they'll ban the little bastards.

It's really simple, but the only reason it happens is because people don't have the balls or the conviction to call people out on it.

Until the community does, they'll keep on being victims.

-Brutal

"Better to roar like a lion than bleat like a sheep"

[Repaid1]

Where can I get some? The local store here sells another brand and they are $16 Ea.

The small are to small and the med are to large in the brand they carry.Realy need to get another brand and at that price it is worth a try

They used to be on Amazon, But trust me Brother! You don't even want to bother with them. They are as close to you can get to one use, throw away. Check out plastic-pants.com. For less than $16 bucks they will hook you up!

[Guest Mummys Cute Little Lucy]

I don't buy from sellers with high shipping rates for a completely different reason. I always look at the total price including shipping, but if the shipping is high I won't buy because, most (even with insurance) won't refund the shipping fee, just the item cost, if you don't receive it... well in my mind what's to stop them not sending it and just refunding your tiny item cost and pocketing the shipping fee..

Now I know they couldn't do it all the time but I don't want it happening to me even once.

[gweg]

All it takes is a bit of research to learn whether or not you're being taken. Don't buy from the jerks, turn them in to ebay and file for the buyer protection that Ebay offers. After Ebay is forced to refund everyone's money a few times, they'll ban the little bastards.

-Brutal

"Better to roar like a lion than bleat like a sheep"

So how are you being taken that your going to get sellers banned. If the product isn;'t what they claim then MAYBE eBay will do something. However for price issues and shipping YOU will get banned if the auction is listed and the shipping price also.

But a few rip offs sure do hurt the sellers who are legit... That is for sure!

[Leilin]

The only necessary addendum that I would say could be added is a giant middle finger to the jerks who buy Bambinos and then resell them for a 500 percent markup on Ebay. I know you'd have to be an idiot to buy them for that price, but taking advantage of people who don't know better just makes you a jerk.