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Stupidity? Cluelessness? Bidding Frenzy?

  • Thread starter Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\
  • Start date
W

Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Compare these two auctions.

<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7516792229&rd=1>

<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7517481615&rd=1>

Heh.

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Don't be ripped off by the big book dealers. Go to the URL
that will give you a choice and save you money(up to half).
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C

Chuck Harris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson said:

Consider this: new 2n7000's cost $100/1000, and $65/500 (mouser). In both
auctions, the bidder got the product at a small fraction of the price new.

A large part of the price you see at auction is luck. I have on many
occasions found "sleepers" that no one has touched offered along side
the same item bid high. You got an HP3478A that way. Tomorrow, you could
try the same thing and see the item go at 3x the price.

In the course of researching a bid, I go to the completed auctions. There
I find that a certain widget historically has gone for $x. When I enter
the frey, I can never get it for that little. I always have to pay substantially
more. Why? Because the folks who paid $x for the item in the past were
willing to pay much more than that, but didn't have to, because I wasn't there
to bid. When I entered the frey, the maximum amount they were willing to pay
pushed the price up to what I would have to pay to win.

-Chuck
 
C

Carl D. Smith

Jan 1, 1970
0
When I entered the frey, the maximum amount they were willing to pay
pushed the price up to what I would have to pay to win.

That's the down side to auctions. Whenever I win I figure I
paid too much, since nobody else was willing to bid that high.
:)

Carl Smith
 
W

Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Chuck Harris said:
Consider this: new 2n7000's cost $100/1000, and $65/500 (mouser). In both
auctions, the bidder got the product at a small fraction of the price new.

A large part of the price you see at auction is luck. I have on many
occasions found "sleepers" that no one has touched offered along side
the same item bid high. You got an HP3478A that way. Tomorrow, you could
try the same thing and see the item go at 3x the price.

I got an HP3478A what way?? Bloody hell! </Ron Weasley>

My Tucker nightmare is finally coming to an end. I got a FEDEX sticker
on my door yesterday saying they couldn't deliver because someone had to
sign for the damn thing. They left a ph number to call so I talked to
the guy who said he's a subcontrator for FEDEX "Ground". I found out
more in that one conversation than I hd ever wanted to know about FEDUP!
He told me that he had to have a signature because my neighborhood is
'high risk', basically not a single family dwelling neighborhood, so
they can't leave it at the doorstep. So I asked him to deliver to the
neighbor. Previously I've been unable to be home when FEDUP delivered,
so after 3 attempts they leave a hanger that says I have to go to their
office and pick it up. And I'm FEDUP with that because it's another ten
miles and more than an hour I have to waste.

Recently I saw another 3478A auctioned by Tucker for $75, and a few
others from individuals for $99, some with no takers. Had I known what
headaches I would be having, I would have gladly paid the added $25 to
skip over them.

I may buy another 3478A just for grins, to have as a second or spare.
Right now there seems to be no end to them on Ebay.
 
C

Chuck Harris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson said:
I got an HP3478A what way?? Bloody hell! </Ron Weasley>

My Tucker nightmare is finally coming to an end. I got a FEDEX sticker
on my door yesterday saying they couldn't deliver because someone had to
sign for the damn thing. They left a ph number to call so I talked to
the guy who said he's a subcontrator for FEDEX "Ground". I found out
more in that one conversation than I hd ever wanted to know about FEDUP!
He told me that he had to have a signature because my neighborhood is
'high risk', basically not a single family dwelling neighborhood, so
they can't leave it at the doorstep. So I asked him to deliver to the
neighbor. Previously I've been unable to be home when FEDUP delivered,
so after 3 attempts they leave a hanger that says I have to go to their
office and pick it up. And I'm FEDUP with that because it's another ten
miles and more than an hour I have to waste.

Recently I saw another 3478A auctioned by Tucker for $75, and a few
others from individuals for $99, some with no takers. Had I known what
headaches I would be having, I would have gladly paid the added $25 to
skip over them.

I may buy another 3478A just for grins, to have as a second or spare.
Right now there seems to be no end to them on Ebay.

Watson, I'm sorry that you feel you had a bad time over this meter.
I have dealt with Tucker for more than 25 years, both as a seller, and
a buyer of equipment. A company I was a was associated with used to sell Tucker
3 to 4 triwalls of test equipment every month. I have never had a bad experience
with them.

From what you have posted, I get the general impression that you have a bad
experience with most everyone you deal with. I guess some people have all
the bad luck.

I don't wish to be the cause of any further disappointment, so I will avoid
sharing any tips with you in the future.

-Chuck
 
W

Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Chuck Harris said:
Watson, I'm sorry that you feel you had a bad time over this meter.
I have dealt with Tucker for more than 25 years, both as a seller, and
a buyer of equipment. A company I was a was associated with used to sell Tucker
3 to 4 triwalls of test equipment every month. I have never had a bad experience
with them.

From what you have posted, I get the general impression that you have a bad
experience with most everyone you deal with. I guess some people have all
the bad luck.

Bad time? I had a positive outcome after zeveral emails and phone
calls, and I'm finally getting what I paid for, without having to pay
taxes on shipping, which might be the way they do it in Taxes, but _not_
here in Calif. I didn't lose any money (auction fraud is one of the
biggest complaints that authorities get). I'm pleased with the price I
paid, but I didn't like having to 'train' them to understand that
they're illegally[1] charging 1/8 of their customers for taxes they
shouldn't have to pay. I'm telling this to others here so that if they
reside in Calif or a state where services and shipping are not taxed,
they can successfully petition Tucker to not charge them tax on
shipping. And that might be a substantial amount if they're buying a
heavy quantity of test equipoment from them! Could be dozens of
dollars!

I've bought lots of stuff from companies out-of -state, and I've _never_
had to pay taxes on shipping. It's inexcusable for company with as much
experiencs as Tucker to do that to their customers.

And another thing they did yesterday that P'd me off. They spammed me!
I got an email advert from them and I propmtly sent a reply back to
[email protected] with remove in the subject line to get off their
list. If they continue to spam me, you'll probably hear about it. >:-(

[1] Federal law says that a state can't impose its tax laws in another
state.
http://www.turbotax.com/articles/FAQonSalesandUseTaxesandtheInternet.htm
l
About 1/8 of their customers, population-wise, live in Calif.
 
C

Chuck Harris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson said:
[1] Federal law says that a state can't impose its tax laws in another
state.
http://www.turbotax.com/articles/FAQonSalesandUseTaxesandtheInternet.htm
l
About 1/8 of their customers, population-wise, live in Calif.

California, not Texas,or Tucker, imposed its tax laws on you. A Tucker
employee, through his inexperience with California law, attempted to collect
tax from you for shipping. That tax would not have gone into Tucker's pocket,
but rather would have been sent to your great state for AHHHHNOLD to spend.

I am certain that Tucker apologized to you, and corrected the problem. That
would have been the polite thing for them to do. The polite thing for you to
do would be to accept their apology, and be happy that you saved $1.30 from
going to pay for California's great social programs.

If California's tax laws are similar to Maryland's (and they are), you owe USE
tax on anything you buy in another state that would have been taxable if it had
been bought in California. The USE tax is equal to the difference between
California's sales tax and any taxes that you may have paid in the other state.
If the difference is negative, California will refund you that amount.

If Tucker had improperly collected this tax, you could have sent in California's
standard form for USE tax collection and refunds to your state sales tax office
and received a full refund. All they need from you is a copy of your receipt
from Tucker. It is that simple, and would have only cost you first class postage.

I'll bet you have never sent California one dime for any of the USE tax that you
owe to them! You are disappointing AHHHHNOLD!

-Chuck
 
W

Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Chuck Harris said:
Watson said:
[1] Federal law says that a state can't impose its tax laws in another
state.
http://www.turbotax.com/articles/FAQonSalesandUseTaxesandtheInternet.htm
l
About 1/8 of their customers, population-wise, live in Calif.

California, not Texas,or Tucker, imposed its tax laws on you. A Tucker
employee, through his inexperience with California law, attempted to collect
tax from you for shipping. That tax would not have gone into Tucker's pocket,
but rather would have been sent to your great state for AHHHHNOLD to
spend.

Yeah, AHHnold is putting comm'ls on TV saying that it's all the
legislature's fault. TGhe other day he had another fundraiser, and
there were thousands of protesters outside with their placards yelling
and chanting.
I am certain that Tucker apologized to you, and corrected the problem. That
would have been the polite thing for them to do.

HAH! I got the invoice in the mail yesterday, and guess what? They
show the original tax of $7.05 which is the one that taxes the shipping.
I've never received any apology, only permission to paypal them the
correct amount of tax, without the shipping.
The polite thing for you to
do would be to accept their apology, and be happy that you saved $1.30 from
going to pay for California's great social programs.

Last night I was watching "A Most Unlikely Hero" on PBS.
http://www.unlikelyhero.org/
After seeing that, I feel that now that I have an invoice that proves
that they taxed shipping (and hence broke federal law), I should send a
copy of it with a complaint to the feds and the Calif and or Texas Atty
Gen'l and see what they have to say about it. Why? Because I'm helping
to protect the rights of the non-residents that do biz with them in the
future, who might end up paying more than their fair share of taxes.

[snip]
 
C

Chuck Harris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson said:
Last night I was watching "A Most Unlikely Hero" on PBS.
http://www.unlikelyhero.org/
After seeing that, I feel that now that I have an invoice that proves
that they taxed shipping (and hence broke federal law), I should send a
copy of it with a complaint to the feds and the Calif and or Texas Atty
Gen'l and see what they have to say about it. Why? Because I'm helping
to protect the rights of the non-residents that do biz with them in the
future, who might end up paying more than their fair share of taxes.

Go ahead. Tucker doesn't represent Texas, or California. They are just
required to collect taxes for them from end users. Tucker will say that
a clerical error occurred (it did), and the situation was corrected (it was).

Just a couple of postings ago you were trumpeting about how you wished you
had spent $25 more and bought from one of the nonames selling the same style
meter on eBay. And now you complain, on principle, about spending $1.30 more
than you were required to.

You probably earn more than $1.30 for picking your nose on the job.

-Chuck
 
J

Jim Thompson

Jan 1, 1970
0
Chuck Harris said:
Watson said:
[1] Federal law says that a state can't impose its tax laws in another
state.
http://www.turbotax.com/articles/FAQonSalesandUseTaxesandtheInternet.htm
l
About 1/8 of their customers, population-wise, live in Calif.

California, not Texas,or Tucker, imposed its tax laws on you. A Tucker
employee, through his inexperience with California law, attempted to collect
tax from you for shipping. That tax would not have gone into Tucker's pocket,
but rather would have been sent to your great state for AHHHHNOLD to
spend.

Yeah, AHHnold is putting comm'ls on TV saying that it's all the
legislature's fault. TGhe other day he had another fundraiser, and
there were thousands of protesters outside with their placards yelling
and chanting.
I am certain that Tucker apologized to you, and corrected the problem. That
would have been the polite thing for them to do.

HAH! I got the invoice in the mail yesterday, and guess what? They
show the original tax of $7.05 which is the one that taxes the shipping.
I've never received any apology, only permission to paypal them the
correct amount of tax, without the shipping.
The polite thing for you to
do would be to accept their apology, and be happy that you saved $1.30 from
going to pay for California's great social programs.

Last night I was watching "A Most Unlikely Hero" on PBS.
http://www.unlikelyhero.org/
After seeing that, I feel that now that I have an invoice that proves
that they taxed shipping (and hence broke federal law), I should send a
copy of it with a complaint to the feds and the Calif and or Texas Atty
Gen'l and see what they have to say about it. Why? Because I'm helping
to protect the rights of the non-residents that do biz with them in the
future, who might end up paying more than their fair share of taxes.

[snip]

It's quite likely that California DOES tax sales from out-of-state...
put in place long ago by the Chicken Little Party.

...Jim Thompson
 
C

Chuck Harris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jim said:
It's quite likely that California DOES tax sales from out-of-state...
put in place long ago by the Chicken Little Party.

...Jim Thompson

I would say all, (but it seems like there is always an exception), so let's
just say most states that charge sales tax also require the payment of a
use tax (equal to the sales tax), on out of state purchases.

I haven't found a sales tax state yet that didn't, but I am sure there could
be one out there.

It has nothing to do with "the Chicken Little Party". Use taxes have been
on the books for as long as sales taxes have been on the books.

The root concept of sales and use taxes is the same: If you *use* the product
in our state, you pay the tax.

-Chuck Harris
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
I would say all, (but it seems like there is always an exception), so let's
just say most states that charge sales tax also require the payment of a
use tax (equal to the sales tax), on out of state purchases.

I haven't found a sales tax state yet that didn't, but I am sure there could
be one out there.

It has nothing to do with "the Chicken Little Party". Use taxes have been
on the books for as long as sales taxes have been on the books.

The root concept of sales and use taxes is the same: If you *use* the product
in our state, you pay the tax.

-Chuck Harris

Presumably the four or five states without sales tax would be
exceptions (or perhaps there is a 0% tax if there is rump legislation
in force). California exempts shipping, food, prescription drugs and
services from use tax.

BTW, California has a relatively aggressive operational definition of
nexus. Visit there for only a total of a week in a 12-month period
(say for trade shows and sales meetings) and you could apparently have
to (in theory anyway) worry about collecting the Kahl-ee-forn-ee-ah
state sales tax.


------

http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/faqusetax.htm

6. Why would an out-of-state company charge me California sales or
use tax?

Any out-of-state company that is "engaged in business" in the State of
California must register with the Board of Equalization to collect use
tax on their retail sales of tangible personal property to California
customers.
"Engaged in business" can include:

* A permanent or temporary office, distribution center, sales or
sample room, warehouse, or other place of business in California.
* Having a representative in California who makes sales, takes
orders, installs merchandise, trains customers, or makes deliveries.
* Receiving rental payments from the lease of tangible personal
property that is located in California. There are many out-of-state
companies not physically "engaged in business" in the State of
California that make retail sales to California consumers. These
companies usually solicit orders via the Internet or through mail
order. Their only connection to California is shipping merchandise by
U.S. mail or other common carrier to California customers.

Some out-of-state companies with no physical presence voluntarily
register with the Board of Equalization as a courtesy to their
California customers. They collect the California use tax from their
California customers. This relieves California customers of their use
tax liability, if they retain proof of their payment of use tax to the
vendor. Once registered with the Board of Equalization the
out-of-state company is legally obligated to collect the use tax.
------

See, as a "courtesy" they relieve you of your money^H^H^H^H tax
liability.






Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
M

Michael A. Terrell

Jan 1, 1970
0
Spehro said:
Any out-of-state company that is "engaged in business" in the State of
California must register with the Board of Equalization to collect use
tax on their retail sales of tangible personal property to California
customers.
"Engaged in business" can include:

* A permanent or temporary office, distribution center, sales or
sample room, warehouse, or other place of business in California.
* Having a representative in California who makes sales, takes
orders, installs merchandise, trains customers, or makes deliveries.
* Receiving rental payments from the lease of tangible personal
property that is located in California. There are many out-of-state
companies not physically "engaged in business" in the State of
California that make retail sales to California consumers. These
companies usually solicit orders via the Internet or through mail
order. Their only connection to California is shipping merchandise by
U.S. mail or other common carrier to California customers.

Some out-of-state companies with no physical presence voluntarily
register with the Board of Equalization as a courtesy to their
California customers. They collect the California use tax from their
California customers. This relieves California customers of their use
tax liability, if they retain proof of their payment of use tax to the
vendor. Once registered with the Board of Equalization the
out-of-state company is legally obligated to collect the use tax.
------

See, as a "courtesy" they relieve you of your money^H^H^H^H tax
liability.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany


The state of Ohio used to send an army of tax collectors to the
Dayton Hamfest to demand that you pay for a vendor's license and collect
sales tax. It didn't matter if you were in business, or cleaning some
junk out of your workshop. They didn't care if you already had an Ohio
state vendor's license. The out of state dealers tore up the forms,
and most of the locals turned in the form without the $20 fee and taped
a dime to the form, claiming that they only sold $2.00 for the three day
weekend. After about five years they gave up. The five biggest vendors
were Ohio companies who collected and turned in sales tax from the
shows, and they were spending $20,000 to collect a couple hundred in
sales tax.
 
M

Michael A. Terrell

Jan 1, 1970
0
Chuck said:
California, not Texas,or Tucker, imposed its tax laws on you. A Tucker
employee, through his inexperience with California law, attempted to collect
tax from you for shipping. That tax would not have gone into Tucker's pocket,
but rather would have been sent to your great state for AHHHHNOLD to spend.


AHHHHNOLD was in Florida recently wanting us to give him money to
spend on his programs in California. To hell with the "Ass-inator".
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
That's the down side to auctions. Whenever I win I figure I
paid too much, since nobody else was willing to bid that high.
:)
I have a cow-orker who is quite enamoured of "sniping." You wait
until the very last minute, and enter a max bid that's the minimum
increment plus a penny, and send it about 20 seconds before
the auction closes.

Apparently it can be kind of competitive, on relatively nice items.

Another thing I've heard of is getting two different emails, and
creating two ebay accounts and shilling yourself.

Cheers!
Rich
 
W

Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Rich Grise said:
I have a cow-orker who is quite enamoured of "sniping." You wait
until the very last minute, and enter a max bid that's the minimum
increment plus a penny, and send it about 20 seconds before
the auction closes.

Apparently it can be kind of competitive, on relatively nice items.

Apparently it can't do anything better than what it would without the
sniping. If the bidders all to their homework then there will be one
winner who pays the highest, and that's that.
 
W

Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun said:
Apparently it can't do anything better than what it would without the
sniping. If the bidders all to their homework then there will be one
winner who pays the highest, and that's that.

One other observation. If the bidder does his homework and finds the
median price of that particular item over numerous previous auctions and
then snipes or does regular bid at that price, then he should have a
50-50 chance of winning the auction. The higher his bid over that
median point, the greater the chance of winning the auction. This holds
true for snipers too. Of course if you bid too high, you look like a
fool, too.

And then there those who pay tens of thousands for, well, here: you read
it.
<http://socialitelife.com/mt/archives/casino_company_buys_69-hh_stripper
s_implant.php>

 
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