Does anyone else get annoyed with credit card fees on auctions?

J

jasmith85

New member
I buy on gunbroker a lot and my favorite way to buy is finding auctions that are no reserve $1 start or something similar. I have gotten some really good deals that way, although I admit I have also gotten caught up in "beating the other guy" and overpaid a few times. One thing that always gets on my nerves with these types of auctions are when the seller charges a credit card fee. I understand why credit card fees are charged and I have no problem with them from local dealers and fixed price auctions, but if I win a no reserve $1 start auction for $600 plus shipping then I should be paying $600 plus shipping. Does anyone else feel the same way or am I just being crazy?

On a side note to all of this, does anyone here know how shops like this actually get away with credit card fees? I've been helping my mom open up a small gas and grocery and her credit card contract specifically said that it is a violation to have a credit card upcharge.
 
It's a violation to have a "credit card upcharge" but not for a "cash discount." If the post says "price reflects cash discount" then it's above board.
 
Most of the listings on GB that I've seen commonly state up front that if you're paying with credit card, add 2 or 3%. If you don't like it, pay with a check & wait a few days extra for the check to clear. Other options are a bank or post office money order.

I figure all costs when buying guns and factor them in to the price I'm willing to pay, including shipping, transfer, tax, credit card fee, etc.
 
^^^ So are personal checks. Certified checks aren't as secure as Postal MOs. Certified checks can be cancelled, so it's still prudent to require a waiting period to actually clear.
 
I get the annoyance, I really do. The finger should be pointed clearly, directly and emphatically at the credit card companies, plain and simple. It's the only possible end to this foolishness.

It's a phenomenally ridiculous PILE of money that we're talking about. Man, if we simply added up all the credit card transactions in the USA for any one single hour long segment and then lopped 3% right off the top we could fund some third world nations with the sheer volume of money.

I am not saying the credit card companies don't have a right to do things as they please, but they are putting the screws to all merchants with this 3% and the merchants operate at a slim margin. Either way, this is business here in the modern world and don't forget that on top of the 3% that seller would eat if he didn't pass it on to you is the cost he is paying Gunbroker for leading you to that particular firearm in the first place.
 
It's a phenomenally ridiculous PILE of money that we're talking about. Man, if we simply added up all the credit card transactions in the USA for any one single hour long segment and then lopped 3% right off the top we could fund some third world nations with the sheer volume of money.
Click to expand...

I've said multiple times, if I could get a THOUSANDTH of that 3% I'd be laughing all the way to the bank - in my gold-plated Corvette! :D
 
I moved to Washington state, I was quite shocked by the fees for swiping your card.

It adds up quick, especially if you haven't dealt with it your whole life

I don't mind paying shipping, I don't expect an individual seller to eat that cost. It's a convienience to have something shipped to you, I'd hate to pay to drive to South Carolina lol. Big businesses should have lower or free shipping.
 
As you know your Mom is having to pay the credit card company; therefore she has to raise her price for her products.

The only people making money on credit card fees are the banks, and they add nothing to the product or service you acquire other than convenience of not having to carry cash on your body. Since all retail stores mark up their prices by the credit card fee, then even those of us paying cash have to pay the same as the lazy ones who like to pay with plastic.
Therefore, in those instances the retailer maybe makes a little more off us cash buyers.

It is all a gimmick, and the banks add to the come-on by giving minimum little partial percent paybacks to credit card holders for paying them three percent and/or highter.

Remember our parents and grandparents used to pay cash. In today's business, we pay an extra fee just to keep from paying cash.
 
As a business owner, I understand the need for passing on credit card fees. Guns usually don't have a great mark up to begin with and it is often even less on Gun Broker. If I was to simply eat the credit card fee (Which could be greater than 3% for Amex, I would probably be out of business in a hurry. As someone else already mentioned, you are free to pay with check or money order if you prefer to do so.

I'm sure that everyone thinks that Mastercard and Visa are jsut laughing all the way to the bank. Just remember that if someone fraudulently uses your card, you are usually only responsible for a maximum of $50. Part of that loss is eater by the merchant and part of that is eaten by the processor.

I'm sure many of yo have noticed the new credit cards with chips on them. This is called an EMV card (Eurocard, Mastercard, Visa) which is supposed to cut down on fraud. While it makes cloning a credit card much harder, it is useless against online fraud since the numbers must be keyed in manually. The other big screw up is that EMV in the US allows the customer to choose card+pin OR card+signature. Did the cashier really look at the signature on the back of your card the last transaction you made?

The whoe idea behind EMV is to push the responsibility to the merchant and not having EMV will make the merchant completely liable for the loss. On top of that, the merchants need to buy new equipment to handle the new chipped cards. Expect fees to go up, not down.
 
The only people making money on credit card fees are the banks, and they add nothing to the product or service you acquire other than convenience of not having to carry cash on your body.
Click to expand...
This is entirely false, or at the very least... it glosses over the "convenience" of not having to carry cash on your body.

It's an instant payment -- and someone else's money by the way, as you have a month before you even pay for it without interest on the expenditure.

The credit card company handles these transactions 24/7/365 and damn near anywhere on the globe where a merchant has the facility to accept/run the credit card. The issuing company keeps accounts, billing, handles payments, and for sure, the fraud protection work detailed in the post above mine. Not to mention other things they do, like currency exchanges, balance transfers and goodness knows what else.

Frankly, you can't come up with a better way to pay a merchant instantly that is better or easier for both parties than to use a credit card. That is a service that costs money. If it didn't cost money and there was no profit in the venture, I can't imagine that any bank would simply love to bend over backwards to help you spend money any time and place you like.

If you had a better way and it didn't cost you (or the merchant) 3%, I would imagine you would use that method.

You can drive to the USPS, pay 'em a couple bucks for a money order, mail it, and save the 3%. On many purchases, this is worth the hassle if it doesn't have to get to you ASAP.
 
Technosavant said:
It's a violation to have a "credit card upcharge" but not for a "cash discount." If the post says "price reflects cash discount" then it's above board.
Click to expand...
I disagree. It's technically not in violation of the card issuer's policy, but a surcharge is a surcharge. If it costs 3 percent more to use the card, that's a surcharge, and I hardly think calling it a "cash discount" is above board.
 
I think the point of my original post has been for the most part missed. My problem with credit card fees is just when it comes to true auctions. I just don't think its right for a true auction (starts at .01, goes to the highest bidder) to have the added fees. The seller has already agreed that the item will go to the highest bidder no matter what the bid is and I don't think they should be able to add extra fees to that. I guess it just comes from going to a lot of actual auctions. To me an auction means you get the item for what you bid on it, not what you bid on it plus an extra fee because of the way you pay.
 
TANSTAAFL

Remember that when you open your store............credit cards COST....an average of 3%, except for AMEX which is why most fo not accept them
 
jasmith85 said:
I just don't think its right for a true auction (starts at .01, goes to the highest bidder) to have the added fees. The seller has already agreed that the item will go to the highest bidder no matter what the bid is and I don't think they should be able to add extra fees to that. I guess it just comes from going to a lot of actual auctions. To me an auction means you get the item for what you bid on it, not what you bid on it plus an extra fee because of the way you pay.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what actual auctions you've been going to, because I think you're a bit out of touch with the way auctions work. A 3% credit card fee, avoidable by using another form of payment, is nothing.

The two major auction houses, Christie's and Sotheby's, charge "buyer's premiums" of 25%. This means that if your successful bid on an item is $100, the amount you actually pay the auction house is $125. The house then takes an additional cut of 2 to 10% (the seller's commission fee) from your $100 bid, and the seller receives what's left.

Buyer's premiums are standard practice at smaller, regional auction houses as well, although those run more in the 5-15% range, depending on the auction house's overhead.

Oh, and did I mention that the buyer will also pay any state and local sales taxes?

No one has to play if he doesn't like the rules of the game.
 
I tell ya, if we're going to have a gripe session in Gunbroker auctions -- as far as I'm concerned it's all about the idiotic "reserve."

I don't see why this is an option. It is a godawful waste of time and energy.

If you have a particular firearm and there is simply no way you take even a penny less than $800, I -completely- understand that! Start the auction at $800 and then all the pretenders can go spend their time elsewhere and the interested possible buyers can sit down and bid on the item.

But why do we have all these obnoxious, time wasting hidden reserve auctions?!

It's like "HEY! This is for sale!"

"oh? How much?"

"I'M NOT TELLING ANYONE UNTIL THEY HAVE AGREED TO PAY ME AS MUCH AS I WANT OR MORE!"

(uhh, how much is that?)
(no clue, none whatsoever)
(if you wanna know... agree to pay his price)
(the price that nobody knows)

:confused::mad:
 
I'm not sure what actual auctions you've been going to, because I think you're a bit out of touch with the way auctions work. A 3% credit card fee, avoidable by using another form of payment, is nothing.

The two major auction houses, Christie's and Sotheby's, charge "buyer's premiums" of 25%. This means that if your successful bid on an item is $100, the amount you actually pay the auction house is $125. The house then takes an additional cut of 2 to 10% (the seller's commission fee) from your $100 bid, and the seller receives what's left.

Buyer's premiums are standard practice at smaller, regional auction houses as well, although those run more in the 5-15% range, depending on the auction house's overhead.

Oh, and did I mention that the buyer will also pay any state and local sales taxes?

No one has to play if he doesn't like the rules of the game.
Click to expand...

I'm glad I live where I live then. I average at least one estate sale a month during the warm months and I have never had to pay fees for using a credit card. I have to pay sales tax, but I am so used to that that I don't even think about it. I'll have to keep that in mind before going to auctions in other towns. Auction houses can charge the seller whatever percent they want to sell an item for them, but charging someone to buy the item sounds absurd to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top