Moe Goldy's post in the MMD for 99.12.17 prompts me to write this about
_selling_ on eBay.  If the "buyer should beware", so should the seller.

Faced with a move from my present residence and shop after eleven
years, I have a lot of "treasures" that I simply do not want to move
again.  Very few, so far, have anything to do with mechanical music,
or the MMD would have been the first to know.  I decided to wade into
the sometimes murky waters of eBay.  Here is what I have found after
over a month of trading.  If you plan on offering anything on eBay the
following is strongly recommended.

1.  Remember first and foremost that, in general, _people do not read._
If you post a picture with your item (and all of mine had pictures),
people will look at the picture and ignore your written description.

A Lionel standard gauge locomotive had no less than twelve pictures,
taken from all angles, and when the auction ended the winning bidder
wrote me endless emails asking questions.  The auction ran for ten days
and one wonders why the questions were not asked during the auction.

2.  When you list an item for sale, there are a number of boxes that
you check concerning method of payment, shipping etc.  All of this
appears _above_ your description of the item in small red lettering.

I am convinced that no one bothers to read any of it.  In order to save
a lot of extra trouble during the holiday season I stated that "seller
ships to home country only".  I got bids from France, Germany, Switzer-
land, England, Japan, Canada and Mexico!  People were actually angry
when I told them I would not ship to them.  Some people living outside
the United States have shipping destinations and bank accounts in the
USA.  This usually presents no problem.

3.  If the item you are selling remains at a certain price for days and
suddenly takes off price-wise, that seems to be the norm.  There is NO
predicting what people will pay for things.

Some friends had a large music box for sale on eBay.  In the closing
hours of  bidding, the price jumped over USD 5000 and by the time they
had called me it was too late to check the identity of the bidder.
Sure enough, they have never heard from him and are faced with the
complicated and time consuming task of trying to get credit for the
fees charged by eBay at the end of the auction.  If in doubt, go to the
help section and find out who is actually behind the nickname that is
bidding on your item.

4.  _Beware_ of the winning bidder who asks a host of questions about
the item _after_ the auction has ended.  Chances are they have suddenly
realized what they did in a moment of "bidding fever" and are looking
for excuses NOT to take the item.  This has happened to me more than
once.

There is little you can do about such people.  Negative "feedback"
is a two-edged sword and can come back to haunt you.  I simply tell the
people that I will offer the item for bid again and if people ask me
WHY the same item is up for bid, I will refer all questions to THEM.
That usually solves the problem.


The majority of the people that I have dealt with have been wonderful.
They paid promptly and left positive feedback.  Many wrote and asked
if I had similar items for sale and a number of "deals' have been
consummated outside of the eBay community.

Keep records of _everything._  I print out all email communications,
ending bid amounts, etc.  I keep the envelopes the payment came it,
letters, notes, etc.  In short, protect yourself in case of a dispute.
If you "play" on eBay long enough, problems are bound to occur.  You
can stave them off if you plan ahead and treat all transactions as you
would any sound business deal.

Ed Gaida
egaida@txdirect.net