eBay Rant

There are two kinds of comics I'm selling when I'm on eBay or iOffer or even through my own Steve's Comics For Sale site: Books I bought recently, read and for whatever reason, didn't care for or older books I've decided to weed out of my collection, either for the above reason or just for space reasons. In either of these cases, I'm not looking to gouge anyone or get rich off of another comics enthusiast; I'm just looking to get rid of some books I no longer care to own, hopefully giving them to a good home where someone WILL appreciate them, and maybe get a buck or two for my trouble with which to turn around and buy more comics for myself.
Pretty simple concept, right?

Now there are three kinds of people who annoy the crap out of me when I'm trying to accomplish the above goals. I've encountered the first type of person in all three of the above online marketplaces. This is the person who bids on an item or even outright expresses an intent to buy it, then never delivers the payment. What is the point of this? Do these faux buyers really think a seller is going to ship the merchandise without receiving payment first? That seems rather naive. But if that's not their goal, what is?

The next two types of infuriating people are actually other sellers, and so far, I've only encountered them on eBay, likely because that site is much more popular and well known than iOffer or my personal site. These are the people who I guess think they're being sneaky. And maybe they are, because I suppose it is possible someone is buying their wares. But whenever I see these two practices, I immediately seek the item I was looking at somewhere else.

These people lure you with a "false" deal, either by "padding" the shipping costs or setting a reserve price below which they will not sell an item.

Now the reserve price option on eBay can be a good thing. I try to never list an item for a starting amount unless I'd be comfortable selling it for that amount. Of course, I hope multiple bidders will drive the price higher, but if only one person bids and the item goes for the starting price, I'm OK with letting the item go for that. For something like original art, however, I person might not want to let a piece go for less than his or her original purchase price. What I dislike with a passion are people who will create an auction with a reserve price of something like $500 or more, but start the bidding out at 99 cents. I realize a lot of people like to start auctions out under $1 to draw attention, but if you WON'T sell something for less than $500, why start so low? It seems mildly dishonest to me.

Far worse are the shipping padders. People who will list an item to start at a bid of 99 cents, often even calling attention to that fact, but the shipping costs, not always immediately visible, are clearly exaggerated. For instance, someone starts the bidding on a single loose action figure at 99 cents, but if you look closely, the shipping charge is $20 to $30. I've sold some figures, both MOC (mint on card) and loose and there is absolutely no way the shipping cost is that high unless the item is traveling overseas. These people are being dishonest in offering the item for such a low cost when they know they will more than make up for the cost of the item in the shipping overage. I don't know why anyone would bid on such an item with such an obviously dishonest gimmick employed. Yet I see these items listed all the time, sometimes with bids having been made.

I just don't get it. Anyone out there have any insights?