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Tom, it wasn't greed but stupidity of E-Bay sellers. Sellers were putting items up for sale for $2 bucks with $300 buck shipping so they didn't have to pay on the sale item. E-Bay's answer was levy the shipping to stop the practice. Bob L
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I'm afraid you have it wrong. The cost to ship a standard 40 ft., 2400 cu.ft., container from China to the west coast is less than $1500. One cu.ft. easily holds more than 20 T-shirts so shipping from China adds no more than 3 cents each. Once they land they have to make it to stores the same way ones made in the U.S. would so the only way an American T-shirt manufacturer could compete on price is to produce them at no more than 3 cents each more than China does. Unfortunately, having visited many places in China various times over the past 25 years I can safely say that very few U.S. workers would be willing to work in anything like the conditions found in Chinese factories, and no one could survive here on the wages paid there.Originally posted by exeric View Post
The solution is simple, though, just impose a tariff on Chinese T-shirts to make the cost of imported ones the same as ones made in the U.S. But, wait, we hate Federal regulations so having the government involved is a problem. Plus, all U.S. manufacturers couldn't produce T-shirts at identical costs anyway, so any specific amount set for the tariff would benefit some U.S. manufacturers over others, i.e. the government would be "picking winners and losers," which we also hate. And, despite our ranting and raving about anything else, we hate paying more for T-shirts than Walmart charges and tariffs would increase that cost. Further, although there's a deficit in our balance of trade, we still export over $100B to China every year. Presumably, if we raised tariffs they would as well so some of the U.S. workers who currently make those exported goods would lose their jobs. But, maybe they would (eventually) gain their jobs back if we started making things here that we previously had purchased from China before we raised the tariffs. Except, now imports of T-shirts from India, Malaysia, Korea,... probably would increase to fill much or all of the gap left by no longer importing them from China. The solution to that is simple, though, we get the Federal government to slap increased tariffs on those countries...
Workable solutions to employment cannot be reduced to sound bites or slogans, or to demonizing individual politicians or entire countries. Unfortunately, though, we love our sound bites so that's what we're given and that's what we come to believe. However, frustrating as it is, it's not that simple. The reality is, everything in our society is interconnected in complex and not-always-obvious ways, and it takes more than slogans and sound bites to make this society function in the 21st century. But, hey, it's not so bad -- at least the T-shirts at Walmart are cheap...Comment
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As always, you're never at a loss for a passive, aggressive comment.Last edited by exeric; 10-31-2015, 06:27 PM.Eric Smith
AMCA #886Comment
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I'm sorry, but sometimes these completely off-topic rants get to me. However, the first sentence of my response was a very direct "I'm afraid you have it wrong" which is hardly passive-aggressive. I then followed it with verifiable facts about shipping rates that directly supported my statement that "you have it wrong."Originally posted by exeric View Post
Not that it's an excuse, but I wrote my response after having just returned from visiting a long-time motorcycle friend who is now in hospice care for the final few weeks of his life. For me, reading and writing about motorcycles are pleasurable escapes from everyday life, which is why your post that was both wrong and had no connection with motorcycles got to me. I usually ignore off-topic posts, and I'll try harder to do so in the future.Comment
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I guess I didn't recognize one single motorcycle part in any of the posts on this thread!
But I recognized the authors of each post, and I'm interested in what they say. I'm sure we've handled worse from each other.
Our hobby has become increasingly international, the result of economic forces more powerful than politics. That's a snapshot relative to much more than motorcycles. ..... I'll spare you the war-and-peace..Comment
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Sorry to hear about your friend BoschZEV. Motorcycles should be making all of us happy, so I'm going to make an effort to keep that at the forefront. Again, my thoughts and prayers for your friend.Eric Smith
AMCA #886Comment
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After recently selling I have had international,Japan and Uk bidders when I checked Us shipping only.Originally posted by Steve Little View Post
Ebay does not filter out overseas bids so a bidder can ruin your auction at the last second.In my case I decided to take a chance based on good feedback and shipped cheapest USPS($60 to Japan) with no tracking besides customs. UPS quoted 488 to ship to Japan with tracking and signature verification.
Sale ended with USPS rate,so I shipped it,a JD luggage rack.
Since I checked US shipping when I created the listing I could not use the Global shipping after auction ending to non USA buyer.
After this learning experience I will list ebay Global shipping and specify in the text that USA shipping will go cheapest USPS .
TomComment
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Thanks very much for your sentiments. The situation with my friend has emphasized to me the importance of spending as much of my time as possible on things that bring me pleasure, and ignoring to the extent possible things that don't. Especially things over which I have essentially no control anyway. I find reading and writing about old motorcycles pleasurable, which is why I come to the AMCA site.Originally posted by exeric View PostComment
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Wrong Tom, You can filter out any country you want. I filter everything but the USA on an auction type item. Just take the time to read as your posting a sale. Bob L
Originally posted by tfburke3 View PostComment
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Thanks for info BobOriginally posted by Robert Luland View Post
After some google research and a check of account preferences I see the country shipping exclusions.I only had southeast asia checked.
EBay ,like old bikes is a learning experience for me.
TomComment
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