BK Shot Image from "A Hamburger Today" Blog

Burger Shots are mini hamburgers.  The same size you can get from any White Castle, affectionately known as “Ratburgers” or “Sliders”.   The BK version tastes more like their Whopper counterpart, flame-broiled without the grease.  My issue isn’t with the taste or quality, but with the price.  You have the option to purchase these burgers with or without cheese. 

Now, I am well aware of the BK  “With cheese, right?” scam.  They train their drive-thru people to suggest cheese in an “of course” manner.  They never ask “Would you like to pay $0.60 more for a slice of American cheese?”  So I knew I was going to get charged extra when I was asked if I wanted the cheeseburger version of the BK Shots.  What I didn’t realize is that they would charge me $0.60 per mini burger!  With 6 tiny burgers per box, that’s $3.60 extra.

• Burgers alone: $4.39
• Cost to add a tiny slice of cheese to each:  $3.60
• Total: $7.99 for 6 tiny burgers.

Let’s not forget the fact I could just buy 6 Whopper Jr’s off their Dollar Value Meal menu for $6.00.  Angry Whopper?  How about Angry Customer?

The total purchase price including shipping was $38.10.  My selling price was considerably less.  I received $19.72 in payment, with an additional $44.98 collected for shipping.  My eBay fees were $3.63.  I forget exactly how much profit I made by overcharging for shipping each item, but $1 for each would be a good estimate.  So lets look at the math.

$19.72 + $6.00 (shipping overcharge) = $25.72  (Money received)

$25.72 – $3.63 (eBay fees) = $22.09 Received

So I paid $38.10, received $22.09, leaving me having paid $16.01 for 2 coaxial cables, a DVI Cable, and an HDMI to DVI conversion cable (the unsold junk).  Some might claim I got $30 in cables for $16.01, but I don’t see it that way.  Cables, remotes, and crappy little accessories that come with major appliances never sell well.  Do you want an iPod itself, or some silly skin for it in an ugly color.  Everyone wants an HD TV, nobody wants the cable left in the box that you didn’t even need to hook it up.  I have an entire filing cabinet of cables I never used.

Scandal!  I’ve always been suspicious of eBay as a clearinghouse for crooks.  As a first time seller, I expected the worst, and found it.  The Gemini Data Sensing cable was a very simple item, a cable with an LED.  Someone bought it for $0.99 and I figured end of story.  Sure enough, the person contacts me asking my return policy.  Telling them I had none as I was very skeptical, I directed them to the manufacturers website for further instructions.  Again they contacted me, pestering me with silly questions that no intelligent person would ask. 

Their mistake.  Nobody wastes that much time unless they are a scammer.   I played my hunch and gave them a firm “NO”.  Good call.  2 days later another person selling the same exact cable tells me they got the same story from the same buyer.  Turns out this scammer was buying $.99 items, then crying about them not working.  They had over 1200 items bought and sold, this clearly was a major fraud case since it involved over $1000 in merchandise if you added up all their victims.  Pretty crappy little scam.  It’s the lamers and scripters that ruin everything.

So I reported it to eBay, as did the other guy.  He contacted more people who confirmed our suspicions.  I wrote eBay asking what their decision was.  They refused to tell me, citing privacy concerns.  I checked eBay today and saw the scammer is still buying and selling, with over 1336 total transactions total now.  Shame on eBay.

What I learned: 

• Never offer refunds.  All sales as is.
• Never respond to emails outside of the eBay system, so that eBay has a copy of the correspondence.
• Don’t waste your time selling small accessories with bids. Use “Buy it Now” for items like that.
• Be aware of shipping costs before listing items.  Do not let buyers switch payment or shipping method after the sale.

Can you make money on eBay?  Yes.  Absolutely.  But then again, you can also make money buying and selling goods from your own website.  A trip to the postoffice cost me 30 minutes in time  I think I could have better spent my time elsewhere than the $1 or $2 I made off each sale.  The stress of dealing with scammers, including idiots who ask if I would ship to some 3rd world country, when I clearly stated I didn’t, took it’s toll.  eBay selling is best left to the pros.  Learn fast if you are going to do it at all.

Mystery Box #1

Mystery Box #2

Mystery Box #3

Then it all stopped.  My kids wear the costumes these days, but we only go to a few neighbor’s houses with our wagon.  Our doorbell rings about 10 times during Halloween these days.  30 years ago it used to ring 100 times.  I guess society is too dangerous for kids to be running around knocking on stranger’s doors.  Since I don’t drink alcohol I don’t attend adult parties either.  Seems the trend these days is to have kids costume parties.  That way everyone stays safe while the candy intake is controlled.

However, a person can still dream.  If I was to dress up in a Costume this year, what would I wear?  First choice would be to make my own turnip outfit.  That aside, I’d choose this nifty custom made Lobster Costume from Moon costumes.  They offer over 10000 Halloween costumes, wigs, masks and accessories.  Their site is easily searchable, with free shipping for orders over $100.

Why a lobster?  Something about going around pinching people with my claws makes me giggle.  It’s also rated G, so I don’t have to worry about corrupting young minds.  Watch out for the “Lobster of Power”! Pinch, Pinch, Pinch!

How about you?  If you could wear any costume of your choice, what would you wear?

Says Who?  Says Shangby!

Reviewing Live Events at www.ShangBy.com : Watch as a live camera explores the actual stores in the Chinese markets, famous for their high quality pearls, semiprecious stones, and luxurious cashmere and pashmina Wool Scarves.  You can ask questions and bargain with the merchants themselves.  See something you like, simply add it to your shopping cart and haggle later.  If you need help, there is a 1-800 number to call for personal assistance.  Regularly scheduled events are led by expert personal shopper hosts who are knowledgeable in the products.  On the Shangby site you can see a timer counting down to the next live event, giving you plenty of time to prepare for your Asian shopping excursion.

Don’t worry about shipping costs!  Shangby guarantees delivery in 7 days or less.   Your order will be shipped via FedEx Air and charged a flat fee of $30 for shipping and a 15% handling fee to cover customs, import logistics and taxes. Should your order total $200 or more, shipping is free.

So go ahead and explore the markets of China from the comfort of your own living room, Jet lag not included.