QUOTE
$85
I know. I paid more from LA Computer because of my distrust of eBay. I often wonder how some of the 'entities' can sell stuff at such low prices if they were bought at legitimate sources. Of course, the mark up on most retail stuff is 50% (not counting groceries), with 'wholesale' mark up being the same. And running a completely 'virtual' store is probably considerably cheaper than BandM. But I hate the way that kind of operation affects places that actually have physical locations that can serve people well after the sale. Oh well, I guess I paid about 40% for my 'privelege' to vote with my money!
And for all I know LA Computer is just a drop box, anyway!
Frankly, it left a little sour taste with me. I could not return the package even if I paid the 25%(!) restocking fee since I had removed the shrink wrap. First of all, that shrink wrap had been 'defaced' with my name written with a felt marker. Secondly, the only way to 'use' the item is to get the paper certificate which is certainly not going to be visible inside the shrink wrapped box. In fact, the merchandise is perfectly usable, the oly thing missing is the shrink wrap with my name on it.
Oh well...
I'm aware that a money order can be faked, but I also included the point of cashing it
before shipping. While even a Cashiers check can be 'recalled for several weeks after cashing, I believe, naively maybe, that once you have converted the money order back into cash, its validity and value is no longer a factor for you. hat may also be a reason why some places don't want to cash them.
As you can tell, I am very cynical and somewhat paranoid about dealing with people I don't know and certainly with those I can't even see/meet.
My wife buys things on eBay just about every month. She only recently was disappointed in a book which claimed to be in "Good" condition but was covered with inactive mildew. There is no way to tell if the mildew fungi are dead or just inactive other than using a suitable method of killing them. The seller (a large book dealer on eBay) offered only to take the book back, no doubt expecting us to pay the freight, again. Since many items are of such relatively small value, it encourages, I think, some rather unscrupulous activities. Those types of sellers may feel they can accept a small number of 'bad' reviews as long as they can get rid of stuff at a much higher margin. How hard is it to come back as a new 'company' with a different email address and personal name and start all over again in a few weeks or even days?
What I am basically saying is that a
stranger must earn my trust in any of several ways. Giving them money is
not one of them.
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