CodBag - E-commerce Seller Advocacy Page

Cleaning up e-commerce one Cod Bag at a time

2018-03-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to CodBag.com

As eBay sellers, we all deal with Cod Bags. You know... jackasses that seam to revel in wasting our time. We've created CodBag as a forum for sellers to vent about these dipshits. We want to hear your stories so we can all laugh together to keep from crying.

Do More Than Rant.
We're all afraid to leave negative feedback because Cod Bags will retaliate. As sellers, all we can do is block that person from bidding again. Why not share your list? While we don't advocate slandering specific individuals on this site, it seems perfectly fine to share blocked bidder lists. It's just a simple statement of fact: "Here are people I won't sell to for various and assorted reasons."

Are You a Cod Bag?
You may have been sent to this blog because you, yourself, are a Cod Bag. Rather than waste valuable time e-mailing a response to some retarded question, sellers may direct Cod Bags to the You Might be a Cod-Bag discussion. If this is the case... Go away. No, seriously. Get in your car, find the shortest route to the Grand Canyon and launch yourself into it. You are a waste of oxygen and should self-extinguish.

Permission Granted

2011-08-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

EBay: You have my permission to NOT require immediate payment if I don't have a Buy It Now price.
I get it!
Just, if you could, in the future, pretend I un-clicked the box requiring immediate payment when I flip an item to online auction or, better yet, un-click it yourselves. I am certain you have some intern somewhere on your campus that has the html ability to fix this obvious logic trap. 20-minutes of coding could save thousands of man-hours per day across the world as every F-ing eBay seller goes back to fix their flagrant listing errors over and over and over again.
Either we are all retarded... Or your new listing tool is clumsy, inefficient and a giant waste of time. Nah... its probably just us.

I want a Puppy

2011-06-27T23:31:00.000-07:00

- gheorgheceh:

i want to by 10 braeburn 1000 for 10.99 each

- Response:

I want a puppy for Christmas. I can't wait to see who gets their wish first... I bet its me.

2011-06-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

I feel better already
I've already bitch slapped a codbag and haven't even had a cup of coffee yet.
Transcript follows:

From: kenny093
Subject: Other: kenny093 sent a message about Snap-On Tool Box Rolling Cabinet Classic 78 Royal Blue #120735109251
Sent Date: Jun-09-11 20:20:40 PDT

Will you please consider taking $1200 for this box? I see that it is already crated. If you could drop it off at a local fed ex hub I would handle the charges from there. Thank you for your consideration.

- kenny093

My response:

I'm not sure I'm following your logic here. It seems like you are asking me to sell you a $4500 tool box for less than my starting bid price, and then personally drive it to the local Fed-Ex terminal so you can avoid any margin I might have built into the shipping.
Hmmmm. How about NO!
And before you respond with, "Well it doesn't hurt to ask." Let me tell you that it actually does. I just added you to my blocked bidder list and added you to my list of Cod Bags on codbag.com so other right-minded sellers won't accidentally sell to you.
Have a great day!

Blue Hairs Love Greyhound

2011-06-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

You old farts are starting to piss me off!

Its about once a week now that I get some 90-year-old eBayer e-mailing me, "This shipping seems high. Would you consider dropping this off at the local Greyhound station... They just put it in with the luggage."

Wow! Really? You are so creative! No I never thought of using a 97-year-old technology to save 20 bucks on shipping. That's a great idea! Let me just finish this Sarsaparilla, hop in the ole' Studebaker and run on down to the local depot with this parcel. But wait, gas doesn't cost 11-cents per gallon anymore, does it? And my time? Well its not free either is it? No it is not. So you see its actually costing me about 50 bucks in time and fuel to save you 20... Awesome.

You know what else Greyhound is cheaper than? Air transportation. So here's an idea for you. You should totally hop a Greyhound, plop your wrinkly ass in a window seat next to a welfare family from Chicago and cruise 1800 miles to here, the most northwest corner of the continental United States to pick your shit up. Don't forget to have someone in your trailer park water your petunias while your gone. You may also want to pack some Geritol and a shitload of Depends. There's like 2-inches of leg-room on those buses and the toilets notoriously back-up.

Introducing Greg, the Uber-Codbab

2011-01-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

I need to take a couple deep breaths before I even start writing. I have a guy who has reached such incredible heights in codbaggery that it makes my brow furl and my cheeks burn every time I think about him. OK, I'm better.

Several weeks ago when we got in a Kona Ute Cargo Bike. (First of all, if you have never seen one of these, you gotta check them out. It’s a freakish cross between a pick-up truck and a mountain bike.)

So these things retail for about a grand. Ours had a couple minor issues (scratches and a missing pannier) so I listed it for $750 and threw it on craigslist. Three hours later… nibble, nibble, strike! I’ve got a codbag on the line. First this douche attempts the uninterested simpleton approach. “How much does that bike usually sell for?... Wow that seems like a lot for a bike. But yours is like damaged and stuff. Are you negotiable on the price? I have a long way to drive.” Blah, blah, blah. Of course this isn’t my first time on the merry-go-round, so I give him the standard, “I am pretty firm on the price. Why don’t you come by and take a look? “

Two hours later I hear one of my sales people struggling on the phone with somebody about the same bike. He cups the receiver and whispers, “This guy says he found a brand-new Ute in Tacoma for $650 and wants to know if we’ll come down on the price.” You should know that I grew up downwind of a dairy farm I can detect the smell of bullshit at 2 parts per million. This particular phone call reeked of it. So I responded (loud enough to be overheard,) “Tell him to buy one for himself and as many more as they will sell him. I’ll buy them all for $700 each. That’s a $50-profit for him and $50 for me.”

“Uh, he wants to talk to you.”

I snatched the phone and, Surprise! it’s the dill-hole from earlier. But he had acquired a miraculous new knowledge of bicycles. It seems, rather than not knowing anything about them, he was actually in the business of buying, repairing, modifying and reselling bikes for a profit. To his credit he stuck to his story about the low-ball comp and offered me $400 for a brand-newish, thousand-dollar bike. At this point I was simply annoyed and repeated my offer to buy every new Ute he could bring me for $700. He obviously wasn’t much of a businessman because a guaranteed 7.7% profit is a pretty good deal. Instead he recycled the same story 3 different ways, upped his offer to $500, claimed he was doing me a favor by removing a dead piece of inventory and blah, blah, blah. Finally I had had enough and erupted on him. I will paraphrase here: “Listen goddamn it. We both know you are lying out your ass. There is no $650 bike and I’m not going to sell you this one for $500 so all you are really doing is wasting my time. I may sell this bike for less than $750, but not to you. Your price is $750 FIRM! You can come up here and buy it or you can go to hell. I have no preference either way. “ and Click! I handed the phone back to my wide-eyed sales guy, received a high-five from an old dude who had been shopping nearby in the store. I smugly returned to my office, pleased to have called a spade a spade to his face.

But wait. There’s more.

This morning, while I was out, a guy walked into the store and acted genuinely interested in the UTE. He asked my people air up the tires and took it for a 10-minute test ride. He came back and had them find a tire gauge because something didn’t feel right, adjusted the pressure and then took another spin around the block. (As you may have guessed, it was my CodBag). When he returned, he said he would take it for $500. My salesperson wisely rebuffed saying the price wasn’t negotiable, sighting the current retail price. He countered with a $650 comp from a local bike shop. So my gal picked up the phone with him standing right there and called the bike store. (Coincidentally it was the same shop that does all our minor repairs.) OOOPS. The store didn’t even sell that bike, but if we wanted to special order one, they could have one delivered next week for $1195.

Time for a new tact I guess. As if he had anticipated this, the guy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a Meriam Webster definition of Liquidation he had printed out at home. I guess he figured he could mind-fuck us into giving him a better deal. He proceeded to walk around the store pointing out items that were, in his opinion, unreasonably close to retail.

God, how I wish I would have been there. I might have actually been able to knock a codbag out. I’m talking teeth on the curb, Ed Norton style, American History X take down. What a piece of work! But alas, I was nowhere to be found. Instead my sales gal killed him with transparently annoyed kindness and wished him a good day on his way out the door.

So the long and short of this story is, if you know someone who needs a sweet-ass Cargo bike I’ve got one. The price is negotiable to everyone except Greg from Tacoma, WA. Greg, your price is $1194.99. (A penny below retail.) I AM a liquidator after all.

Dear Canadian Codbags:

2010-09-19T20:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Canadian Codbags:
International shipping means shipping between two nations. Canada and the United States are seperate nations. Therefore, if an ad says "No International Shipping," that includes you.
That is all.

Mandatory Testing for eBay Users

2010-09-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I am proposing a mandatory comprehension test for all new and existing eBay users.
I think users are actually getting dumber and recently I have had a slough of questions that lead me to believe that people don't even grasp the basic concept of eBay.

Take the 30" Kobe Range Hood we are auctioning. We started the bid at $99 and within a day got this question:

Q:I dont understand how you can sell this so cheaply... Am I missing something?
A: Most likely you are. First, you are missing an apostrophe in the word 'dont', but I also suspect you may be missing some cognitive skills. This is an auction. You bid on things, the price goes up and eventually the item sells for more money. Google it.

Then, on the same item, this gem:

Q:I am interested in a 36" hood is there a price difference? How do I order/bid on the 36" hood? Thanks! Bernadette
A: My suggestion would be to find someone who is selling a 36-inch hood and bid on theirs. This, as you can clearly see, is a 30-inch hood.

Back to my point. I'm not suggesting a hard test, mind you. I was thinking something more like the one you take after sexual harassment training at work. You know, "Patting a co-worker's ass is an appropriate way to say hello: True or False?" or "Which of the following is an appropriate thing to shout in a staff meeting: a) Where's all the white women at? b) That's what she said! c) I see London, I see France... or d) None of the Above

The intent is just to see if people have grasped the basic concept. There will always be codbags, but the really stupid ones are excessive time wasters for all involved.

E-Bay Circumventing Ignorant Cod-Bag

2010-08-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we encountered a new breed of Cod-Bag. At least he was new to us. This may happen in big cities all the time... dunno.
A guy had seen a vacuum on eBay and decided to come to the store to buy it. On eBay it was a $99 auction with a $134 Buy-It-Now price. Coincidentally we had it for sale in the store for $134. So this old guy engages one of my employees claiming it is for sale on eBay for $99. My guy, wisely opens a browser session and offers the keyboard to the old fart to find the listing. Of course gramps starts back-pedaling, knowing full well that it was a starting price he was looking at, so he started negotiating from the standpoint of, "well it doesn't have any bids, so it is probably going to sell for that price."
My guy is a good salesperson and doesn't get flapped up very easily, (unlike me) so he calmly explained the concept of eBay. However, the codbag continued to play dumb and started griping about driving all this way and "woe is me for the gas I spent" and eluding to bait and switch, wha, wha, wha. Then he hits my guy with, "So what can you do for me?"
Now, my team has some leeway on prices and this could have been handled without me getting involved, but I think my guy just felt like pulling the pin on a grenade to see what would happen. He told the guy he would have to check with the boss and it was GAME ON!
Me and the guy went through an abbreviated version of the conversation I had just overheard, ending with the same question: "What can you do for me?"
My initial tact was to explain how snipers come in at the end and bid items up and that the vacuum would not end for $99. But then something wierd happened. Before my very eyes this old codger miraculously transformed into an eBay expert. Suddenly he knew everything about how it works, what stuff ends for, all eBay's fees, PayPal fees and the whole bit. Now his point was that I could avoid all those fees buy selling directly to him and it was a valid point, but rather than impress me with his knowledge he just pissed me off. Now I realized that, rather than a newb, I was dealing with a con-man. This was the pitiful old man version of the classic "Yo no jable the inglish" or the Phil Hartman caveman "Your strange ways frighten and confuse me." negotiating tactic.
Realizing I was being had, I shifted gears and decided to abbreviate the bullshit.
"Well sir, here is what I can do. If you'd like to buy it here in the store for $134 you'll save $20 on shipping. Or you could go home and bid on it and hope to get it for $99 and then drive back up here and pick it up. Of course we both know it's not going to sell for $99, so you will have to factor that into your decision. I've got a lot of stuff to do, so I will let you dwell it over and tell the cashier your decision." and I walked away.
I'd love to say the guy bought the thing for $134, but I think he had a little too much pride. Oh well, last I checked it was at $126 with 10 watchers on eBay. I think we'll do OK on the vacuum.

Enough CAPTCHA! Seriously... Enough!

2010-08-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Craigslist! I understand the need to filter out douchebags, scammers and automated spiders. I get it! but goddamn CAPTCHA is just ridiculous. The only people confused by nonsense words are people who speak the english language. Nigerian con-men and spider programs would be just as easily confused by real words as by the garbage words captcha produces.

That said, today Captcha reached a new low... I may be old and stuck in my ways, but I think everyone would agree that the characters you need to type in should at least exist on the keyboard. See the image below. This was an actual screen capture as I tried to sell an item on the local craigslist.
I realize everything is made in China, but has it really come to this?

Let Me Google That For You!

2010-07-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

I know you guys are gonna dig this.

A new employee pointed this website out to me the other day. www.lmgtfy.com
It is an acronym for "Let Me Google That For You" and here is how it works:

A time-wasting codbag asks you a question they could have easily looked up themselves. In my recent case it was "What is the size (motor amps) of the $0.99 vacuum cleaner you are selling?
Type in a search term, click a button and it produces a short web link.
Copy/Paste the link and send it to your codbag.
When they click the link a Google screen opens in their browser, the mouse moves to the search field, slowly types in the search term you entered, and the mouse clicks the "Google Search" button. Half a second later, Ta-Da, the same freeking Google results you would have gotten are now produced for the idiot who asked you the question.

Lets take a look at the process at work; shall we?

Codbag question: What is the size (motor amps) of this Vacuum?

Answer: Here is a link to a bunch of information on this item: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=hoover+duros

Its beautiful in its simplicity.
Enjoy!

Scammers posing as CodBags

2010-07-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

This isn't a new scam, but it is worth mentioning to our angry and militant masses. I got the following e-mail today from what appeared to be a slightly over the top CodBag:

I payed you and you didn`t ship me the item .I have reported you to eBay and to the police ! You will not get away with this .I`ll find you if it`s the last thing i do !!!

I might have sent my standard verbal middle finger if I hadn't been tipped off by one critical piece of the e-mail. The cops. This guy claims to have reported me to the cops. Here is what I know about the cops: They have less time for cod-bags than I do. Anyone contacting their local police about an eBay transaction gone bad would be so beat down and humiliated they would likely slink into a corner, curl up in a ball and suck their thumb for a week until their family eventually interjected and coaxed them to come out and eat something. After months of counseling, they would eventually reach the point where thinking about the whole ordeal would not immediately cause them to convulse into a fit of vomiting.

The last thing that person would do is pick-up a keyboard and send a threatening e-mail.

So here is how it works. Scammers know you don't want Viagera, or Ciallis or whatever the pill dejour is. They know you don't want to look at dude's schlongs. They send you all those e-mails so eventually you will send an irate response, screaming "Stop sending me pictures of Schlongs!" and then they've got you. They now know theer is a pulse on the other end of your e-mail address and you get elevated to the next tier in their scam factory. The same goes for the wolf in CodBag's clothing e-mail I got. Either I will hit a link in the e-mail or scream at them, or (most unlikely) remove my hat and start apologizing as I research a transaction that does not exist. But in all of those scenarios, "They got my ass!"

Well not this ass my Nigerian friend. Not this ass.

Unfortunately, the only viable defense was to add it to my spam filter and move on. Of coarse I didn't want to let all that rage go to waste, so I took it out on the douche three e-mails down who demanded positive feedback.

Cold War CodBag

2010-03-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Who knew my grandpa was purchasing crap on eBay from beyond the grave?

We received a bunch of locking cash deposit bags and, completely by mistake, erroneously described them as “Made in America.” Had we looked at the packaging rather than copy/paste the manufacturer's description we would have seen that, like 98% of the things bought and sold in America, these bags were “Imported from the Orient.”

Now let me apologize to Detroit in advance for my next statement. Detroit, I am sorry your cars suck so bad. Whew, I’m glad I got that off my chest, but I just don’t consider American craftsmanship worth seeking out. Never in my life have I chosen one product over another because it was made in America. Germany? Maybe. Japan? Of course. But never America.

But apparently at least one old codger out there differs with me on that subject. After receiving his cash bag this was his negative buyer feedback:

Please be honest , product made in RED CHINA, poor quality

That’s right, “RED CHINA.” Red China?… Is that a province of China? Maybe out by Tibet or up near Mongolia? I haven’t heard that term in decades. I’m pretty sure China is barely even communist at this point. They seem more capitalist than us in a lot of ways. Pillaging their environment for a profit, selling their kids’ futures for a buck, that’s our gig.

Anyway, I get it. If you’re a crusty old fart stuck in the Cold War you might be morally opposed to using products made in China. Granted this would be a nearly crippling stance to take, rendering the afflicted person a virtual shut-in, but I get it. So here’s the thing you old CodBag, turn off your 1984 wood console Zenith, pick up your AT&T bakelite rotary phone and call us. We’ll issue you a refund. Leaving negative feedback is over the top on this one. It sends a message to the rest of the world that I am something I am not.

So I was left with a dilemma. How to rebuff such a slanderous attack on my character. Obviously I couldn’t leave negative feedback. I am a seller and sellers aren’t allowed to be dissatisfied with transactions. No problem. I decided the only equitable response was to provide the world a skewed view of my buyer via positive feedback. See Below.

Choose Your Favorite Response:

2010-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

I had to laugh at this one. Apparently we have the same item listed on eBay for two different prices. An unsuspecting CodBag purchased (as in actually paid for) two of the more expensive listing and then realized he had paid too much. Less than a minute later we got this lovely e-mail via eBay. (Please be advised the sender of this note is from New Jersey. Some of the content may not be suitable for reasonable human beings or small children.)

You are selling this same product in another listing
for $6.50. I want you to refund me $6 right away
through Paypal or cancel the order. You should pay
attention to your listings.

So now I need the help of our faithful followers. Should our response be:

A. We pay extreme attention to our listings and simply listed this more expensive item as a social experiment to see if there were any clinically retarded people using eBay. Early research indicates Yes, there is at least one retard using eBay.

B. Congratulations on your thorough price research. Simply impressive. Might I suggest in the future you do that type of thing BEFORE you purchase an item.

C. Thank you for your astute observation and free business advice. We shall take it under advisement. The candid words of a hot-headed half-wit are such a rare and valuable thing, one would be a fool not to take them to heart.

OR

D. Based on the over-the-top anger and outrage in your initial communication, I am dying to know what other negotiating tactics you have up your sleeve. It seems to me it doesn't really leave you much room for escalation. Therefore, out of pure morbid curiosity I must reply, "Go fuck yourself!" I look forward to your response.

Of coarse I plan on refunding this douche his money. I really have no reason not to, but I so enjoy torturing guys like this.

What would Jesus Pay?

2009-12-17T13:04:00.000-08:00

What would Jesus Pay?

Normally I try to keep my local customers out of Cod-Bag. This is for two reasons. 1. On average, they are typically less cod-baggy than online customers and 2. Many of them know where I live. But today I am making an exception.

A regular walked into the store today and noticed a beautiful hand-carved totem pole that had just arrived. Now I should qualify that by the term “regular” I do not mean this person comes and spends money. To the contrary, he typically costs me money by engaging my employees in long-winded anecdotes about how smart, cool, and/or religious he is. This guy is one of those born-again Christians that is desperately trying to make up for past transgressions before being judged at the holy gates. I call them ‘Yeah-But Christians’. You know, when Saint Peter pulls up the Power Point of all the bad shit they did in their lives they want to have a list of last-minute good deeds in their pocket so they can say “Yeah, but… “

Anyway. This Cod-Bag walked into the store and spotted this 7-foot tall totem pole and bellowed, “How much you gonna’ ask for that?”
To which I replied, “$2,000.”
His belligerent Cod-Bag rebuttal was, “What’s my price?”
Mind you, I have negotiated with this guy before and he is the quintessential chiseler so I said, “For you, the price is $2,500 and we can work down from there.”
It was then that he decided to up the ante and bring a third party into the mix.
“What’s your price for Jesus?”

Now I’m not sure if he was negotiating on behalf of Jesus or if, for that instant, he thought he, himself, was the son of God. Regardless, my response was pretty abrupt. “Why, is Jesus short on cash? What the hell does Jesus want with a pagan talisman anyway? As false idols go, I would think totem poles are up there on the list.”

His final response was an incoherent mumble as he walked back out the door.

And so it was that the momentary son of God drove off in a shitty old Ford, defeated and totem-less.

The moral of our story is this: The day God can’t afford to pay full retail we’re all screwed.

Craigslist Classics - December 09 Edition

2009-12-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm starting a new column here on Codbag.com called Craigslist Classics. Here we'll be posting some of our favorite Craigslist as responses and dissecting them with, just a little, sarcasm. I'd like to start off with one I recently received in response to a stainless RV tool rack system brand new in the box. It retails for $238 and we've listed it for $175(and we'd probably go to $150). Here's the eloquent response...

hello/...my trailer came stock with some of these...don't rally need more...but if the price was right?...i'd think about it...i might pay 60-75...i dont care what they reatal for...i live on craigs with craigs prices...if not good luck selling it..thanks ralph in XXXX

"...don't rally need more..." - Aaaah yes, the old tried and true "I don't really need what you're selling" so you should sell it to me at a fraction of your price. I hear this a lot and it's pretty ridiculous. To illustrate, walk into Home Depot and ask them to sell you 2x4 grade A lumber at 30% of retail because you don't really need the lumber right now but it would be nice to have around for when you do need it. I've done it and they just laugh.
"... i live on craigs with craigs prices..." - If my price is on "craigs", as you call it, doesn't that make my price a "craigs" price by definition? In other words, any price I he doesn't like is not a "craigs" price.
"if the price was right?... i'd think about it" - So I should come up with a price that I think you might like to pay. In other words, I should negotiate with myself.
I care what they "reatal" for. As convincing as this argument is to me, it has never worked with my suppliers. The price I pay for things is the price they give me.
What's with the punctuation? Is there ever call in the English language to use a foreslash? It looks like receiving end of a telegraph message. What does this guy's resume look like? I'd pay to see it.
With the advent of spell-checkers in web browsers, is spelling words correctly really so tough? Most of the words this guy butchered were words that I used correctly in my ad. All he had to do was copy and paste from me.

Anyway, I shouldn't be too pissed off. At least it was a non phishing response.

Hey, nice transmission. Can you find me some insurance?

2009-11-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

I had to post this... I got this scam response for a remanufactured transmission I listed in Craigslist this morning. I nearly fell for it. The way the author uses terms like "wholly keen" and "advert" makes me feel like I'm speaking with one of my buddies at the bar over hot wings. Apparently, the guy is interested in my transmission and likes the form factor. He also wants me to get him some insurance quotes. I didn't even know you could insure a transmission. You learn something new every day.

i caught a glimpse of your vehicle in advert in Craigslist. it g0t a groovy form similar to what im seeking for. im wholly keen in acquiring it and i have by this time set aside the cash for a vehicle. what are m0re inf0rmation must i kn0w about y0ur vehicle? and one m0re thing ab0ut insurance, i need to grasp how much will it c0st s0 i can be aware how much i will pay. can u do me a small favor and g0 t0 this site - http://XXXXXXX.webs.com/compareinstantinsuranceqoutes2009.html - please n0tify me the rate 0f the m0st basic auto insurance package there. thank you very much. Please feel free t0 c0ntact me if y0u have any questi0ns 0r c0ncerns. e-mail message trace ID: pmwobqjgbbn-2630037567-pd8e

A New Breed

2009-11-18T11:51:00.000-08:00

Here’s a Cod-Bag we deal with regularly. He is the Domestic Blow-Hard Advice-Giving Cod-Bag of North America. These clever creatures are typically late to leave the nest, often dwelling in their parents’ basements until late into their thirties. They have many jobs over the course of a lifetime and seem to acquire an exhaustive knowledge of every industry with which they come into contact. To the layman it appears that they can’t hold down a job. However, careful observation reveals that they almost immediately become smarter than any employer and subsequently find their bosses to be foolish and insolent. They become frustrated when co-workers refuse to heed their omniscient advice and eventually must vacate their menial jobs in order to collect unemployment until some other fool will hire them.

One such Cod-Bag recently e-mailed us a question about an on-board computer for the trucking industry. Here is the annotated thread:

Cod-Bag:

THERE IS NOT A PICTURE OF THE EXTERIOR ANTENNA/WHITE DOME, THE SMALL CELL PHONE ANTENNA SHOWN IS FOR OPTIONAL PAGER TO LET DRIVER KNOW THERE WAS AN INCOMING MESSAGE, IF THIS IS A COMPLETE SYSTEM THERE MUST BE A DOME/ANTENNA. PLEASE VERIFY BEFORE I BID. THX

This is the blow-hard behavior. Proving to the world that he is smarter than you and knows everything possible about the item you are selling. This is accentuated by the use of all caps. The reader can almost imagine the Cod-Bag in a small cafeteria, sharing a loud story about his neighbor’s fence encroaching on his property… “Blah, blah, 1932 survey, blah, blah, blah, GPS technology… Blah, Blah I know a lawyer… blah. “

My response was curt, but professional:

If the component is not in the photo or itemized in the listing, it is not included. These were complete working systems pulled out of a local P&D operation.

And now for the advice-giving behavior for which this species is known:

then i suggest you either check for the dome or revise yur auction, because without the white dome/antenna they are not complete systems

Oh, Cod-Bag, you crack me up. Every time I sight one it is like the very first time. My response:

Thanks for the advice, but I don't think you know what the hell you're talking about. This is a local P&D [Pick-up and Delivery]system, not OTR [Over the Road]. QualComm builds a myriad of systems and, unless you are their VP of product development, you probably don't know even half of them.

I invite you to keep your advice to yourself. Have a great day.

I am thinking about developing an illustrated field guide for cod-bag aficionados. I think it would be helpful for budding Cod-Bag enthusiasts as well. Look for it at your local Barnes and Nobel soon.

Monday Morning Inbox Blues

2009-11-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

God I hate Mondays.

I typically ignore eBay over the weekend because it only serves to piss me off when I am trying to spend time with my family. Unfortunately the questions just pile up and by Monday morning there is a mountain of stupidity in my inbox.

This morning has been exceptionally entertaining and I thought I would share a couple highlights.

Question Number One:
We are selling Hookah Pipe Leads. (Freight salvage provides a diverse product mix.) These things are advertised as replacement vaporizer parts for herbal remedies but everyone knows they are for smoking pot. Here’s the question I got:

How efficient is this whip with herbs?

Now I know dope smokers can convert grams to pounds to ounces and divide any number by 8 faster than Big Blue, but I did not realize the depth of their scientific prowess. I have no idea how you would measure the “efficiency” of a bong, but this was my answer.

Using which scale? Erschock's or Vopenheimer's?

Question Number Two:
This one needs no lead-up. Standard Cod-Bag:

I kwould like to purchase this item but I have 2 item strikes within the last year. I have over 1500 feedback, I just had an issue regaurding the method of payment with two sellers.

My Response:

Bummer

Dflab, here's a hint. If your sentence doesn't end in a question mark, it may not be a question.

I am kinda curious what type of payment method confusion there was. I’ve had that problem before. I tried to pay a Craigslist prostitute with roses. Well, to be honest, first I tried to chisel her down to 200 daffodils and when her pimp showed up I hauled out the roses, but by then it was too late. He beat the crap out of me and crammed the roses... well, lets just say, I had no idea proctologists made that much money.

I feel your pain dflab from North Dakota. I really do.

Cod-Bag of Major Warehouse Store Proportions

2009-11-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

By now I hope everyone has discovered peopleofwalmart.com. If not, go there as soon as you finish this story. While the people there are pathetically comical, this individual has risen above the rest and joined the Cod-Bag elite.

Phillip R. Wright, 41, of Monroe, Louisiana tried to return some items to Wal-Mart, but was jilted when the store would not accept his merchandise.

So Wright did what any reasonable CodBag would do -- he started a fire in the men's clothing department. As he fled the scene, raging flames triggered the store’s sprinkler system which proceeded to ruin over half a million dollars-worth of store fixtures and merchandise.

His point being made, one would assume Mr. Wright would go home, flop down in a big, green, ass-smelling recliner and crack a well-deserved PBR, but not Phillip. No sir. Deputies arrested him two hours later in line at the Return Counter of another Wal-Mart.

Phillip… Not only are you a Cod-Bag, you are an exceptionally dumb Cod-Bag. Please proceed to this link to view your CERTIFICATE.

Feed your F*cking Turtle!

2009-10-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the annoying little CodBags build up and eventually I just have to vent. Jag-offs like this woman piss me off because they obviously don’t value their own time much less anyone else’s. But we’re all afraid of negative feedback so we are forced to treat them like real human beings as opposed to the window-licking, mouth-breathing, time-wasting fungus eaters that they are.

Today I get this e-mail regarding a 15-oz jar of turtle food we have on eBay:

Q: Would you send me the food for a total of $5?? (my ZIP is 91730) Over the net you can find it between $2 and $4.. But I need ASAP (my red eared turtle is hungry. I need the fod for him ASAP and I trust you'll send it immediatelly... Thanks in advance Waiting for a prompt annswer Kind Regards Bea'

Obviously Bea is in a hurry. So much so that she can’t spell-check or punctuate her email. So I pose to her this question: Do you want your product fast or cheap? Because, in my experience, the two are mutually exclusive. This is a 15-oz item. Let’s assume I can adequately wrap this in less than one ounce of material, (which I can’t), bringing the total weight to one pound. Priority mail will cost me $4.95 to ship to your zip code, leaving me a nickel to cover my cost of goods. Oh, wait, I forgot that I already paid eBay $0.35 for my listing. Oh, yeah, plus the 8% Final Value Fee… 40 cents more and of course there is the PayPal’s Fee, another $0.45. So you are asking me to lose $1.15 so you can feed your pathetic excuse for a pet.

Here’s a better idea you broke-ass piece of crap. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, toss in a sliced carrot, a packet of ramen and your beloved Tipsy the Turtle. Let boil for ten minutes, reduce to a simmer and salt to taste. Serve on the half-shell. There’s no reason for you both to starve.

CodBag Hat-Trick. This guy is a triple-trhreat

2009-10-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

So My jack-ass buddy from New York popped up again today with yet more abuse. Now remember, the most inflammatory thing I have done to this guy's face is to offer him a full refund for a TV FedEx damaged. Here is the e-Mail he sent last night, 5 hours after we signed for the package.

Where is my refund? I was supposed to get it last week when we had spoken....??? This whole thing is odd. You have $1000 insurance out on this and are getting a claim for 4 times wht it is worth. I would think that not only should I have had a timely refund, but something extra for my initial inconvenience incurred and all the time spent calling you, FedEx, etc...

What initial inconvenience you fuck-tard? Did you have to pull a redundant freight quote just to entertain some half-wit dolt? Have you persevered multiple phone calls from some twit with a chip on his shoulder? Did you have to file a freight claim? Please, Cod-Bag. Let me reimburse you for being such a giant pain in my ass.

With this little gem of an e-mail you are now in the running for CodBag of the year.

Once a CodBag…

2009-10-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

This one started out as a classic CodBag and just got better.

We listed a cracked-screen Sony Bravia on eBay. It was big and heavy so we used the calculated shipping option. The listing ended and shortly after we got an e-mail requesting an invoice. EBay veterans know where this is going. Either the buyer is too retarded to use the PayPal checkout which clearly states the shipping OR they are setting you up to debate the shipping charges. In this case it was predictably the latter.

”Given that, you can definitely ship this for way less than $130, right? I just got the same television on another account and it was sent to me for just $70, and I sent a KDL-46V4100 from coast to coast NY to CA for $79. Please advise. Thanks for your time.”

OK CodBags, here’s the deal. The shipping is what the shipping is. When you bid on an item you need to factor in the PUBLISHED shipping just like everyone else. It is not up for negotiation after you have won the item.

I re-sent the original invoice and two days later I got a call. To his credit the guy played dumb and conned me into wasting 15 minutes getting him a shipping quote. Surprisingly the quote came out exactly the same as eBay’s quote… weird, right?

So I sent him the same invoice again and he called back asking me to squirrel the invoice around to roll the shipping up into the price of the item and show shipping as free so he could execute some trivial coupon scam on PayPal. “Oh, and by the way, I need it right away because my coupon expires today.”

Yes, CodBag. Please let me waste ten dollars of my time to save you ten dollars. What a douche.

Two days later we finally got payment and sent the thing via FedEx Home. CodBag, Dismissed.

But Wait! That was not the end of his CodBaggery.

Yesterday I got yet another call. I picked up the phone and identified myself in my traditional manner, “Coho, this is Tom.”
A rude New Yorker responded “What’s your name?”
“My name is Tom?”
“Tome?”
“Tom.”
How do you spell that?”
“It’s Tom, T – O – M. What can I do for you sir?”
“Its T – O – M, but you pronounce it Tome?”
If the caller ID hadn’t indicated New York I would have sworn I was being pranked by a friend.
But this guy was for real. I paused, collected my temper and calculated the fastest way out of this phone call.
“Sure,” I responded, “What can I do for you?”

It was our hearing impaired, post-auction negotiating, PayPal defrauding TV buddy. He proceeded to lay into me about how long it had taken for his TV to arrive and now the tracking number showed it being returned per shipper’s instructions, “What the hell?” he shouted, “When were you planning on telling me you weren’t sending me my TV?”

Still trying to take the high road, I looked up the shipment and, sure enough, it was on its way back and, per FedEx’s tracking info, it appeared to be my fault. But we hadn’t had any conversations with FedEx. Something was wrong. So I stumbled around for a minute trying to figure out what was going on and agreed to call FedEx and get some answers.

The girl on the other end was great. She looked it up and found that our broken TV had fallen off the conveyors and been broken in transit. “Oh no!” I exclaimed, “I hope it didn’t crack the screen.”

“I’m afraid so,” she empathized in a sexy Memphis drawl. “According to the notes, it appears to be a total loss.”

I expressed my gratitude for her help and quickly hung up before I was overtaken by an uncontrollable evil chortle. I then called Chase, the CodBag, explained that it was FedEx’s policy to return items they destroy in transit without attempting delivery. I faked an apology and offered him a full refund which he accepted.

So here is one of those cases where Tom’s an asshole, wins a moral victory and comes out on top financially. Man that new Bravia is going to look great in my living room. Thanks FedEx and thank you CodBag... If you hadn't been such a dick-head I might have felt bad about screwing you over. Muuuuuhhhhhhahahaha!

Negotiation 101 - "The Nancy"

2009-10-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

Today I want to talk(write) about a negotiating tactic that we call the "Nancy". It's named after a customer that employed it to a humorous extent. It basically goes like this... "The stuff you're selling is

crappy quality

last year's model

a bad color

undesirable by any other purchaser

not the exact size or shape I want

not within a 5 mile radius of my house
I just don't have that much money

so I'll be generous and offer you pennies on the dollar." In other words, they are saying that you have no idea what you're doing when you're pricing your products.

It's a simple negotiating tactic employed by people that don't really know much about negotiating but have probably had some success with it across from sellers that don't know much about negotiating. The counter for it is also simple. Just ignore everything that comes before the person's offer. What do you care about all the extra details they are throwing at you? If the situation was reversed, would that person sell the product at the lower price? No, they would sell it based on what the current market rate is defined by Google (just like you). Have them make an offer if you're flexible but above all, don't get into a discussion defending your pricing because they already know the comp prices and are trying to get you to drop your pants based on made up information.

Sony Bravia LCD - Price Negotiation Or Just Plain Lying?

2009-09-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the setup...

I'm selling a new in the box Sony Bravia 46" LCD with 1080P, 120Hz, drink holder, pistol-grip gearshist, etc. It retails, on Amazon.com for around $1200. The KDL-46V5100, refurbished, goes for around $900. So Craigslist codbags are pulling there usual "I'll give you $200 cash TODAY." offers (BTW - when did the US dollar become so valuable that I can take $700 less on a TV because someone's offering cash?)

Anyway, I get someone in the store that claims that my price is too high because he can get that exact model at Wal-Mart for around $700 and will I beat their price? As I've stated in past articles, I'm not all that bright but I know that even the mighty Wal-Mart can't get a 46" 1080P, 120Hz LCD in your hands for that kind of money. And a Sony Bravia to boot.

I get this a lot from customers and I've begun to wonder when lying became a negotiating tactic as opposed to just flat out lying. I actually get this from a lot of people that insist everyone know how Christian they are. Maybe Jesus would misquote a Wal-Mart price to get a great deal on a sweet LCD, I don't know. When a customer goes down this road, you're pretty much forced into the position of either giving them what they want or embarassing them by calling them out on their lie.

SOLUTION
Here's what I usually say... "That sounds pretty low to me but I'll tell you what, if they have it at that price, I'll beat it by 25% but if it's not available at that price will you buy mine at my price?"

Multi-Million Dollar Celebrity Cod-Bag

2009-09-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Great Job Ebay. The world now knows you pander to cod-bags. Last week some poor old lady auctioned off her husband’s burial vault above Marilyn Monroe’s. (Now I don’t want to go into how creepy it is that her husband was entombed face-down above Monroe’s corpse because it has nothing to do with this rant, but it is kinda creepy. Right?)

Anyway, the auction started at half a million. World news organizations followed the auction, conveniently driving up the bid and eBay’s profits. The price meandered up and ended (sniper-free) at $4,602,100.00 and then something all too familiar happened. Two days after bidding ended the seller received this message from her Japanese winner:

'I am awfully sorry but I need to cancel this because of the paying problem,'

Ah yes, the old “paying problem” as in, “Oh shit, I didn’t realize I actually had to pay.”

Now the news feeds have started reporting this act of Cod-Bagery and people around the world are stunned that eBay provides sellers no recourse against deadbeat bidders. How can it be?

So I got this idea. If you can’t beat Cod-Bags, why not join them? What would happen if all our readers formed a cod-bag flash mob? Rather than meeting in some public place dressed like Pac-Man or Mario, we would create clandestine buyer accounts and use them to win high-profile eBay auctions and then Cod-Bag out on them? I’m talking every date with a celebrity, every Bond car, and every pair of Kim Kardashian’s panties… We bid, we win, we flake! Of coarse I am not suggesting anyone go out and do it. Wink, wink. But what if? Ebay wants to give buyers all the power. Why not use it to bring them down. It wouldn’t take too many more high-profile Cod-Bags for them to be forced into action. Popular opinion would eventually drive them to modify their obscenely biased policy.

Ebay has since revoked the bidder’s account. Odd, they never yanked any of the Cod-Bags that stiffed me. I wonder where the cut-off is. $4 Million? $4.5? An opening monologue on Leno? I wonder. I wonder how many times they would need to be in the news before they made it policy to revoke all Cod-Bags who bid and bail.

Wanna find out?

What’s the lowest you’ll go on that LG Stainless Washing Machine?

2009-09-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is a question I’ve gotten about kajillion times and most recently got yesterday about a really expensive brand new LG washing machine and an Xbox 360.

What is the lowest I’ll go on that LG Stainless Washing Machine and why, in the name of all that is holy, would I answer that question? Now, I’m not formally trained in the art of negotiation but I’ve dealt with many people who think they are channeling Donald Trump. I’m fairly certain you don’t want to just blurt out you’re lowest price and there’s more than one reason for it.

When you take that bait, you’re actually negotiating with yourself and giving up any leverage you might have. Here’s a short list of possible bad outcomes from giving in to this even one time

The price on every product you sell is now up for negotiation.
If they actually purchase that LG washing machine or LCD TV, they ask for further discounts when they also buy HDMI cables, Blu-Ray Players, etc because they are buying so much stuff.
The bottom price you just gave that customer to make the sale is now going to be the index for every other sale you make to that customer and anybody they know.
The customer may not even be buying at any price. Some people just enjoy seeing how much they can get you to lower your price. When they say “thanks” or “I’ll think about it” and walk out of your store, you will feel like a complete douche.

Here’s the simple way to counter this tactic. Instead of giving them a lower price, have the customer make an offer. It establishes that they are serious about buying and that they do have a price in mind that they are willing to pay.

It's no High Definition LCD TV but the price is right.

2009-08-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

I actually had a guy suggest today that we should drum up business by giving away a free big screen LCD or Plasma TV in some sort of contest. Now, I used to work in an electronics store that rhymes with Future Shop a few years back and I can tell you good readers that it's been my experience that contests for free things nearly always end in tears.

I've seen just about every possible outcome from free giveaway contests and not one of them has been good. Arguments with customers, salespeople, managers, fistfights, threatened lawsuits and customers storming out to bad-mouth your business to the world. What does this all have to do with anything? Well, I just wanted to tell everyone that I've made some improvements to our free Craigslist Hit Counter. It's free for everyone and you don't have to enter a contest to get it. In fact, on our Free Craigslist Hit Counter page.

In short, it's no High Definition, Blu-Ray capable, 1080p LCD large screen TV but it is free and some of you industrious types could use it to make some extra dough and buy an LCD TV. Actually, if you're already buying one, check the new LED TVs. They are as thin as I am fat. Word is bond, Seacrest out

Can we get som Prozac for Julie... PLEASE

2009-08-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Open Letter to Julie Totalamo of Palm Springs, CA

You crazy bitch!

Thank you for your nutty, nutty call today. Not only did you make me laugh, you also gave me opportunity to scream at somebody, (something I typically reserve for my blog.) It was quite cathartic. My only regret is that you hung up before I called you a Cod-Bag. You missed the best part.

You’ll have to forgive me for forgetting your 9-month old eBay transaction. While I am sure it was a milestone event for you, we do about 300-500 sales per month. So it should be no wonder that I was surprised by your accusation that I had sold you a used sink as new. Add in the fact that we have sold nearly 20 identical sinks without issue and you start to see why I might have pursued an inquisitive, nay, confused tact in our conversation.

Now I agree it might have been rude of me to transfer the phone to myself when you demanded to talk to the manager. And it probably came off as inflammatory when I offered to put you on with the owner and then did it again. Likewise, I probably should not have laughed as you started to boil over with clinically pathological rage. That was wrong. But in my defense, I only briefly considered faxing you a picture of my ass when you demanded to see a copy of my drivers license and I probably wouldn’t have followed through with it anyway. And it was true when I told you stainless steel can’t "rot away"… It’s science. I googled it.

I sensed by the beating of your cell phone against your dash that you were a tad upset, so I went ahead and researched your complaint. Using the item ID you yelled at me at the beginning of our conversation, I used Pay Pal to track it down. Sure enough, in December of 2008 you bought a Commercial-grade stainless steel sink from us. You paid for it December 19th and then two days later we refunded your money because you indicated you had found one cheaper locally. We never shipped you a sink because, in true Cod-Bag fashion, you welched on the deal.

So you see, you bat-shit crazy, money-grubbing whore, I was right to question the premise of your call. You were completely off base and, I suspect, off your meds. If you have misplaced your Paxil I suggest looking under the cushions of your couch, under the seat of your car or the at the bottom of your gigantic eighties-style purse. If you can’t find them by morning, please call your doc. You need to be medicated for your own safety and the safety of those around you.

If you are institutionalized, please forward your address so that we may send you your Cod-Bag Certificate. You've earned it.

Yours Truly,
Tom

Hit Counter Technical Issues

2009-08-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Good People of codbag land,

We(and when I say "we" I really mean "I") have been having some technical difficulties recently with the hit counter being really slow. I have been feverishly (and when I say feverishly, I mean "at my usual snails pace") to correct these issues. Some have been resolved but some of my true enemies have yet to reveal themselves. (10 points if you can tell me where I got that line).

Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy my splendiferous hit counters.

Twitter me served!

2009-08-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Cod-Bag, Please.

I am not even sure this guy can be considered a Cod-Bag. He's almost too sad and pathetic to qualify. Our shop got several cases of slot car parts. motors, chassis, gears, wheels, tires, and miscellaneous little bits. Apparently the technology has progressed significantly since I was a kid, smashing them into Lego roadblocks. Anyway, we listed them on eBay because that's where you find this sort of "niche" customer. Within a day we get this well-crafted message. (do your best to read it. Its entertaining in itself.)

“will this little power house fit in just SCX or any other name brand car like ninco as i have a pile of motor now they just fit slot it and I'm not sure it the are better then want i got in the car i only race 2 solt its at home there no real slot car store with a big track with in 100 mi and the one i new of is over 200 mi. away and i dont think they in business any longer and its the 3rd largest town (city) in MO. so i buy things that dont fit even if hot slots says it will and then they say call they manufacturer i didn't buy it from them i bought it from you hot shot that my commentary for the day back to the trasins i have never had a problem with that atlas loco parts do not and will not fit buchman locos and both come with a warrentry card and parts list and all rolling can be made to inter change wheels and some bottoms track same way as long will it works to somtime you have to cut something of the track with road bed but slot car once you out fo HO forget it thats enoughh it”

After I uncrossed my eyes and shook the stupid off my frontal lobe, I responded:

“Thank you for your question.” (I assumed there was a question in there somewhere even though there was no punctuation to confirm that.) “We are a freight liquidator. We do not specialize in any of the items we sell. However, here is a link to a helpful website that may assist you: www.google.com.”

Jose CodBago had this retort:

“thats was my point nobody know crap about slot cars srry nothing personal”

Oh, Snap! Consider me served. Score one point to Incoherent Slot Car Geek. This is what happens when you learn the English language by following Paris Hilton’s tweets on twitter. Apparently that top line on the keyboard is reserved for clever emoticons. ( * )

A brand new freakin' Treadmill ...

2009-08-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

Alright Craigslisters, see if you can top this one...

I'm selling a brand new, just out of the crate, commercial treadmill. Retail value... $5000. Selling for... $2500. I get an e-mail from a lady who apparently could use a treadmill but due to some unforeseen financial setbacks over the last, say, 45 years, finds herself somewhere in the neighborhood of $2500 shy. Here's an excerpt from her response to my ad...

"I saw your treadmill on Craigslist and it would go perfectly in my home gym. If nobody takes it can I just have it? oh, and by the way, I don't have a vehicle so can you load it up and drive it over to my place in shantytown? "

I'm not sure how stretchy your apple bag has to be to hold stones big enough to ask these questions but you're definitely working with some square yardage. I don't know about you good readers out there but my mom would hit me in the head with a frozen salmon if she even heard I was begging for stuff on Craigslist or anywhere else.

It's true! The mildly popular Craigslist Hit Counter has received a facelift!

2009-08-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

We here at Codbag.com have given birth to a brand new baby Craigslist hit counter! Actually, the stork brought it to us and frankly it was pretty freaky to have this big random bird just show up out of nowhere. I mean, are these things even able to live in our climate and what do they eat? I digress...

The point is that the mildly popular codbag.com free Craigslist hit counter is about 23% better than before if that's even possible. The important part is that it's still priced affordably(free) and you don't have to use it for Craigslist. You can use it anywhere you want a hit counter. All we ask is that you don't alter the code in any way.

But wait, there's more!
We are now working on a pro version of the hit counter that includes a lot more goodness. You'll get:

By day hit counts
By hour hit counts
Charting
Tracking by ad

What would you expect to pay for a tool like this? ones, tens, thousands!! Because we're not particularly bright here, we haven't figured out how to charge for these things so you'll get this one free too. Anyway, it's coming soon. Let us know what you think.

Cod Bag Quickie

2009-08-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ebay user, blizzardc, writes:

"Are you an idiot or what? thinking someone is going to pay that much for a filter?"

Apparently blizzrdc failed to recognize this was a lot of 12 automotive oil filters. Thus the per unit price was just under a dollar each... about 1/5 what they cost at a car parts store.

Thanks for making my Monday blizzardc. Not only are you a tremendous Cod-Bag, but you take the time to spread good cheer in the form of time-wasting stupid comments. You are one for the books... or at least the blogs.

Cod-Bag on my righteous son!

Thanks loser! Now get your own high definition TV

2009-08-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

I thought I had seen, named and cataloged just about every crazy Craigslist buyer tactic until the other day when I heard about this gem from the person that it happened to. The names have been changed to protect the embarassed. For our purposes here, we'll call the buyer Ethel and the seller Mike and I'll paraphrase for the sake of hilarity.

Ethel: Yes, hello? I'd like to purchase your high definition projection TV. Mine just went out and my husband is sick. He really likes to watch Murder She Wrote in high definition.

Mike: OK. When would you like to pick it up?

Ethel: I was hoping I could get you to deliver it. I'm in my 80's and I'm not able to pick it up.

Mike: OK, I was brought up to respect my elders and I'm a nice guy. I'll be right over.

(Mike gets in his car and drives 20 minutes to Ethel's house - brrrmrmrmrmmrmmr)

Mike: Where would you like me to set this TV up Ethel?

Ethel: Oh, just set it up in the corner. Could you help me with all the cables and such? I don't know how to do all that stuff.

Mike: Well, I have to get going, but I suppose I can set it up for you.

Mike: I'm just going to go out to my truck and get the manual and I'll be right back.

Ethel: OK

(Mike steps off Ethel's porch and the following happens)

Door slams
lock turns
lights go out
crickets sound

Mike: Uh, Ethel? (knock, knock, knock), Ethel? (knock knock)

(Fast forward through ten minutes more of knocking and phone calls...)

Mike: Son of a bitch, bastard! I just got ripped off by an old lady!

(Mike drives away - brrrmmrmmmmmmm)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone have a story to top this? It's 100% true, by the way.

A couple Shout Outs!

2009-07-28T13:26:00.001-07:00

I'll admit it. I like to rant. I like to rail against the idiotic machine. But every once in a while you have to take a look around and notice whats right in the world if only to have something to contrast the idiots against.

So here goes... A couple websites I actually like:

1. www.goofbay.com
This site mines through eBay for misspelled, mis-categorized, or otherwise screwed up listings. I found this site when I was looking for a set of Sennheiser headphones. Now ordinarily I side with sellers, but honestly, if you have the damn thing in front of you and still can't spell it right you deserve to lose your shirt on it. I've also had a lot of luck with Tohatsu outboards and Scuba Regulators (You'd be amazed the spellings Americans can come up with.) Oh yeah, don't forget to click the US Flag, the default is eBay.uk and, beside not having any Euros in my pocket, I found the shipping to be bloody exorbitant.

2. www.backpage.com
This site is a blatant, unabashed rip-off of craigslist. They have taken everything CL does right(free local listings) and combined it with a little HTML and some paid advertising. There are several paid categories (Female "Escorts" , ehem) and also some categories CL bans, like pets. (Seriously Craig? Pets? You're such a freakin' tree-hugger you don't believe in the concept of pets? I can find a hooker on your site that will do god knows what for 125 "roses" but I can't find a kitten to keep me company in the dark, cold night. Seriously?... I digress) Not a lot of people are using backpage yet, but I think it has potential.

3.www.retrevo.com
This site is awesome. I should qualify this by saying I am not a consumer electronics geek. I don't watch the trends or obsess over the newest MP3 player. That is probably why I like Retrevo so much. They are like Consumer Reports on steroids. They take every new gadget for a test spin and then throw them on a scatter chart with features on one axis and price on the other. The bargains stick out like sore thumbs. You mouse over the dot and a brief description of the item pops up. Click on the bubble and you are directed to a full description. From that page you can jump to a handful of e-commerce sites that sell the item. Digital Cameras, Laptops, GPS, MP3's, everything is on Retrevo.

4. www.shopjimmy.com
This site is pretty cool. As far as I can tell, these guys are ripping apart thousands of broken TV's and computers a day, inventorying every part, taking pictures and listing them. It has to be one of the most labor-intensive, slow-nickel operations on the planet, but at the same time it is brilliant. If you have a broken plasma TV, a burnt out DLP, or a fried LCD, pull the back off your TV, and look up shopjimmy. You can search by model number and see what the parts are supposed to look like. You don't even need to know what they are called. "Hmmm, this flat, green do-ma-ja-hinkus is all burned up. There's one just like it. I'll take it."

- In this consumer age of disposable electronics, Its nice to see someone pre-cycling.

5. www.monoprice.com
This company has specialized in the smallest of high-end home entertainment niches... cables. Remember good old out-of-business Circuit City and their asinine attempts to upcharge you cables and service warranties. Well if you ever fell for the Gold Monster Cable (guilty) you will kick yourself when you see this site. Is it straight from China? Probably. Is Monster Cable? Yup. But the prices on HDMI and Wall Mounts are a tenth what they cost in the store.

Obviously I wasn't going for an exhaustive list. I realize the last 3 are kinda tech-geek sites, but I like them because they help the un-techs like me. Let me know if you have more like these that I have missed.

Legal-ish disclaimer: I am not getting paid to endorse any of these sites and I am not affiliated with any of them. Please don't get pissed at me if they suck or if you get bilked out of thousands of dollars. I went to highschool with my attorney and we remain good friends so don't try to sue me godamnit!

Nibble Back

2009-07-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

There is a book from the 80's by Chester Karrass called Effective Negotiating that everyone who sells on Craigslist should read. Old Chet describes a negotiating tactic called "the Nibble". Nibbling is that last-minute attempt to shave a little off the deal after you've agreed to a price. Sometimes it come in the form of asking you to deliver, but usually its the old "This is all the money I've got," followed by the turned out pocket.

Per Mr. Karrass, the best defense for a nibble is the reverse nibble. Here's how it works:

I was selling a boat once (Nice little Arima). The buyer was getting a great deal and we both knew it, but he came at me with a $600 nibble at the last minute. "This is all I can afford to give you."

So I cringed, then I grimaced, then I thought long and hard and said, "Tell ya what," I said. " I'll sell it to you at that price, but I keep the Yamaha kicker. That way I can sell the kicker separately and make up the difference."

His $600 nibble was about to cost him a $1200 motor. I had him by the stones. He had already driven 100 miles in his brother-in-law's truck. I knew he wanted the boat for fishing, so he needed a kicker. SURPRISE! He found $600 in his other pocket. He must have forgotten it was there.

Craigslisters love to nibble, so a prudent seller should always keep a reverse nibble loaded in the chamber. (Cringing, grimacing, and long contemplation are optional, but I think it helps sell the point.)

Complaints.com - CodBag Feeding Ground

2009-07-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

I found a great source of Codbags the other day. The site is brilliant. It is called, simply, www.complaints.com. It is an open forum for people to lodge complaints online. Great concept. Vendors have the opportunity to rebuff complaints, but it doesn’t appear that anyone gets notified when a complaint is lodged against them. I guess you just check in periodically to see if anyone is dragging your name through the mud.

I was working on a project and had to look up Lumber Liquidators anyway, so I searched them on the site. Low-and-behold some knucklehead had lobbed a grenade at them. Now before you read this you should know that the wood this guy bought, Brazilian Teak, runs about $12-$25 per square foot plus delivery in a typical retail store like Lowes or Home Depot.

His Gripe:

Company: Lumber Liquidators

"We purchased 682sq.ft of Brazilian Teak Select and spent almost $4,000." [for those of you without a calculator, that’s less than $6/sqft] "We have defective flooring. The wood has milling issues, some of it is shaped like a trapezoid and almost all of it has different widths, not noticeable to the eye. We also learned the wood has high moisture content, and now believe the wood may have not been dried completely during manufacturing. We contacted LL at the beginning of our installation about the small gaps; we didn’t quite understand that it was a milling issue, but that lines weren’t nice. We were told to use wood filler and that they wouldn't take it back because it was a nonstock item. After more complaining the man said they'd take back the unopened boxes for a 20% restocking fee. Twenty percent would be about $800.00." [Blah, Blah, Blah. He cries more about the quality and then it gets funny]. "I feel it’s completely unreasonable that I should have known their product well enough to determine it was defective. The installation instructions don’t require consumers to check the wood flooring for moisture content or the milling. In my opinion, by their logic those that purchase their product need to be experts and catch defects the manufacturer couldn’t, yet they market to Do-it-Yourselfers."

I couldn’t help myself. I signed up for an account on Complaints.com and posted a comment:

"What exactly do you think the word LIQUIDATOR means? Lumber Liquidators liquidate lumber. By their very name you should expect it to be secondary product... That's why you got such a great deal. People who pay full retail for defective product have a right to complain. People who pay liquidation prices should expect to make up the difference with sweat equity or creative installation techniques."

This guy’s final statement gets to the heart of the matter, “those that purchase their product need to be experts […] yet they market to Do-it-Yourselfers.” The problem is that this guy assumes that willingness to do it yourself makes you a “Do-it-Yourselfer.” With no apparent research, training, help or advice he hopped into a project he was woefully unprepared to do and now wants to blame the world for his screw-up. Well sir, I am afraid to say you are not a Do-it-Yourselfer. You are, in fact, a Codbag. Congratulations.

Are we the only people loosing money shipping e-bay items?

2009-07-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

I've had it Ebay! I want to give people flat Rate shipping, but I get warning messages even when I use USPS Flat Rate boxes. - "We see that your shipping appears high compared to other items in this category."

I don't gouge customers on shipping, but I can't afford to leave money on the table when it comes to freight charges. I have a part-time employee, packaging and overhead to account for. Freightquote.com seems to give buyers a 30-45% discount off of the rates I am able to get from my carriers so I move backwards when I use them in my listings.

.... So, I fixed the glitch. It was surprisingly simple to do. And, while I am sure we are not the first ones to think of it, I thought it was worth sharing here.

The fix:
Inflate the weight. If you are shipping 150lbs, call it 200. 500? call it 750. The freight calculator will now reflect something closer to what your actual cost will be. Same is true of parcels. Rather than flat rate, we now use the calculated shipping and bump it by 10-20% of the actual weight. This helps cover our variable costs and doesn't anger the eBay gods.

Now I know what some people will say. "That's cheating." or "You're ripping off your buyers." To those Codbags, I say this: SHUT UP! Shipping is not a hidden cost. Anyone buying any item over the internet knows exactly what they are paying for shipping before they buy it. So, codbag, here is a little trick I learned in Mrs. Peel's 1st grade class. Its called addition. You take the cost of the item plus the cost of shipping and that is your actual price. If that is cheaper than what you would pay for it locally you got a good deal. If not, buy it locally. We don't care.

In conclusion, eBay wants you to loose money on shipping. In fact they would prefer everyone offer free shipping because they charge a percentage of the final sale price, not a percentage of shipping. 4% of a $10 item with free shipping nets ebay $0.40. The same item selling for $5 with $5 shipping only nets them 2 dimes.

Ebay is greedy and they have a monopoly on live auctions. We are simply optimizing their rules to mitigate the pain.

Tell Someone Who Can Do Something About it.

2008-07-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Shipping is expensive. It makes sense... Fuel is expensive and shipping takes fuel... lots of fuel. I can't fix that. It is affecting eBay businesses worse than local stores because we HAVE TO SHIP every product. Because of the shipping expense, shrewd buyers are willing to pay us less for products and thus, our margins are lower. So before you start accusing me of freight gouging (eBay and 25% of the people buying on eBay) read about our CODBAG of the WEEK. We got this e-mail this morning:

Q: I am at 33418. [Palm Beach, FL] If you gave me the A/C for free it is too much for shipping. It would be worth your whail to find reasonabl shipping for your coustomers. Other people ship this in the $25 to $50 range. If you can do this I will bid.

I could tell by the spelling that this was a man of great intellect, so I chose not to speak below him by mincing words.

Our Response:

Great observation. Did you take into account that you are 3300 miles away from us in the opposite corner of the country?

Here’s a little Algebra for you and anyone else who wants to become a freight broker: 3300 miles at 6 MPG will take a carrier 550 gallons of fuel. At today’s market price that will cost him about $3000. This 200-lb unit will account for 0.6% of an average 30,000-lb load, thus it will directly cost $18 in fuel alone. Now the travel time is about 50 hours behind the wheel at $27 per hour extended cost is an additional $1350 for the load or $8.10 for this small unit. The carrier’s direct cost is now $26.00 before meals and lodging. Of coarse this will not magically go onto the rear of a 29,800-lb trailer. It will need to be cross-docked up to 5 times en route to you, so factor in labor and overhead at each location. Then there are admin expenses that must be considered. No carrier can operate without insurance, so we have to throw that in as well. Trust me, neither me or the trucking company is getting rich at the quoted price.

Here's an idea. Write your governor, Jeb, a letter and have him tell his piece of sh*t brother to do something about the rapist oil companies that are single-handedly killing our economy. In the meantime, go down to Wal*Mart and buy yourself a nice Chinese air conditioner. Tell them Tom sent you. I want Hu Jintao to know that I support the collective.

Congratulations sail4steve, you're our CODBAG of the WEEK!

How to Block Cod-Bag Bidders in eBay

2008-05-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Apparently eBay doesn't want to make it easy to block bidders. It makes sense, given eBay's obvious contempt for sellers, the people who pay their bills and put bread on their tables. Blocking bad buyers is one of the few defenses we sellers have left.

Make sure you are logged into your eBay account in another tab and then Click the link below to add blocked bidders.

Block Bidders

Use a comma between each entry. Click the blocked bidder link on the right to view other peoples blocked bidder lists or to add your own Cod-Bags to the list.

A New Breed of Cod-Bag

2008-05-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

Alright Cod-Bags, knock it off! Freakin' fucktard eBay buyers that ask for, beg, demand, and threaten for positive feedback are pissing me off. Here's the standard e-mail: "Dear seller, I have left you positive feedback, please do the same for me." to which I respond, "Who the hell do you think you are?" Here's the deal: I would never expect positive feedback from a buyer just because I left it for them. What gives buyers the right to demand it from me? I'll do what I want. I'll do what I want.

OK, so here is my Cod-Bag of the week. This douche sent me a request, then a beg and most recently an empty threat. I'll spare you the first messages because they follow the standard formula all eBay sellers are accustomed to by now, but here's the one I got this morning:

Hello, We have asked numerous times for you to leave us positive feedback as we have already done for you and received no response. If Pos. feedback is not left within 24 hrs we will leave a very Negative Follow up comment on your feedback profile. We thought you would have the courtesy to leave pos. once it was left for you. Hopefully you will. thank you

Yep... Not just a threat; an ultimatum. You have 24 hours to comply...

So pushed to it, here was our response:

What makes you think you deserve Pos. Feedback? Are you simply entitled to it because you left it for me? Maybe it wasn't a pleasant experience for me. This most recent attempt at extortion is definitely not pleasant. I now have NO intention of leaving you positive, but I can GUARANTEE NEGATIVE if you execute your threat.

Sufficed to say, we'll be leaving this douche negative feedback. What a Cod-Bag!

Where Have all the Cod Bags Gone?

2008-04-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

Thank God!

I was afraid maybe we had been too effective and had already rid the world of Cod-Bags. This week was rolling along relatively douche-free until Wednesday when we got an irate e-mail from some guy who had won an item and then asked for it to be shipped to an unconfirmed address. Now, a week later, he's pissed because we shipped it to him. (Mind you, we shipped it the day he paid for it.)

His e-mail:

"I have sent one message a few days ago informing that you sent this item to the wrong address - an address requested different from the buyers. I had to resend today at my expense of $11.44. I am requesting a refund of the $15. which was paid promptly to you at the end of auction. If this does not seem reasonable to you, and refund not posted within 2 days, I will discuss this situation with eBay."

Wah, Wah, Wah, I'm telling! He sounds like my little sister did when I taped her Barbie doll to a bottle rocket and got it stuck on the roof.

First of all, Note to all Cod-Bags: Seriously, if your gonna buy someone a present, buy it from a retail store. If your too f#*king cheap to do that, then at least give yourself a couple weeks buffer. EBay is not BestBuy.com. Many sellers are doing this part-time from their homes. If you expect immediate shipping and all sorts of logistical contortions you're smoking grass (and not that good BC Hydroponic stuff either).

Second, if shit doesn't go your way don't bother threatening to tattle to eBay. I do $5-10K a month through eBay and they don't give a crap about me. Do you really think they are going to take your e-mail serious about a $14 item.

Anyway, I digress.

Our response was short, sweet, and to the point, albeit probably not what he was looking for.

"We will not be refunding your money. What you asked us to do violates EBay and Paypal policies which require items only be shipped to a buyer's confirmed address. This policy protects sellers from fraud. You are encouraged to read through eBay's community forum where you will find numerous accounts of rip-off scams where buyers request items be shipped to unconfirmed addresses. We are sorry if you feel slighted, but this is our final opinion on the matter. "

Congratulations to our CODBAG of the WEEK, your dirty diaper should arrive in the mail shortly.

EBay Extortion

2008-04-03T17:39:00.000-07:00

This is a peach.

Today I'm listing an enormous truck part on eBay and want to offer flat rate shipping. The thing is huge and will go oversize-3. Being that I am located in the absolute NW corner of the country I charge $79 because without fail, the buyer will end up being from New Jersey and it will cost me a fortune to ship it. I click the submit button and this pops up:

Attention Seller!

We noticed your shipping cost looks high compared to other listings in your category with similar shipping services. .

We've found that buyers are sensitive to shipping costs. Items with high shipping costs may be less likely to sell and may get less visibility in search results. Listings that violate the eBay Excessive Shipping Charges policy may be removed from the site.

Please review your shipping costs and make changes if necessary. For help, click the Research rates link in the shipping section.

Its like the eBay Nazis were watching the Sopranos when they wrote this little gem.

"We're not sayin' you're cheatin'. It just seems a little high is all... You ain't cheatin' are ya' Tony? Right. Good. 'Cause we'd hate to have to come back here if we found out you was cheatin'."

How the hell do they know what this thing will cost to ship? Better yet, do they send out a helpful notice when someone doesn't charge enough for shipping? "Uh, excuse us sir, but are you sure you only want to charge $25 to ship that car engine? You know it's probably gonna cost a lot more than that. We're just sayin..."

Hell No they don't.

This is just good old fashioned mob-style extortion. They want you to lower your freight charges so they can get a bigger piece of the final value.

Well eBay, guess what. I've seen some gangster movies too...

Sleep well.

Sniper, No Sniping!

2008-04-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Snipers are an elite form of Cod-Bag.

I have a modest respect for these guys, though because at least they are legitimate buyers. They know what they are willing to pay for an item, plug it into their automated program and walk away. They win a lot of auctions at the expense of sellers and inexperienced buyers who would have been willing to pay more. Snipers take advantage of a primary weakness of eBay: It is not really an auction.

If you go to an auction and raise your paddle you are agreeing to price that is just above the next guy, true. But if you shout out a much higher number, the auctioneer doesn't round it down to just barely outbid the previous bidder. Your high number becomes the new price to beat and the auction continues until the guy up front is satisfied that no one else is willing to pay more.

There is a website out there that has an awesome technology that really captures the spirit of an auction. It is www.bidz.com. Bidz weakness is the narrow scope of products, but the technology is brilliant. Your screen refreshes constantly and there is this adrenalin-inducing countdown for each item. Once the end time gets below 10 seconds the clock will reset to ten seconds every time a bid is placed, allowing the other person to bid again. That ten seconds is just enough time to act, but not think. As you watch, you can see bidders playing psychological games with each other. One guy may wait until the very last instant, getting the other fellows hopes up, while another guy may rebut instantly as if to say, "I can go lots higher, you might as well give up now." Its easy to get caught up in the action. Even if you don't like jewelry, you can find yourself wanting to bid.

And there lies the beauty. Bidz is a seller's market. They are getting fair market value for their goods because they've taken out the sniper.

Ebay Shill Bidding Appeal Process

2008-03-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

Shill Bidding is when you, or someone you know, bids on your items on eBay. EBay assumes you are purposefully running up your bids to get a higher price. The problem is, their software is very sensitive to e-mail addresses, IP addresses, and trends. In addition, the punishment for this crime can be lifelong banishment from eBay for everyone associated with an incident and there is no formal appeals process to speak of.

So what do you do?

Here are your options: You could go on all the bulletin boards and give your “My dog ate my homework,” story along with everyone else or you can wait the designated suspension time and appeal the finding.

Admittedly, eBay Safe Harbor department doesn’t do a great job of telling you the process. You get an e-mail that says this:

This email is to notify you that your account has been suspended for a minimum of XX days due to violation of our Shill Bidding Policy.

Shill Bidding is bidding that artificially increases an item's price or apparent desirability. Shill Bidding is prohibited on eBay. Bla, bla, bla.

Best regards,

Your friends at eBay

And suddenly your business has been shut down and someone has changed the locks.

Now what?

1) Get over the idea that you didn’t do anything wrong. No one cares. The fact is, its eBay’s party, they can do what they want to.

2) Do the time. As tempting as it is, don’t try to sneak back onto eBay. Big Brother is watching and, as smart as you think you are about IP addresses and banking and whatever else, consider this: EBay’s Safe Harbor department has a team of people that have been doing this full time for years. You just decided ten minutes ago to take them on at their own game. That’s like putting your kid’s soccer team up against Brazil’s national team on a whim?

3) Have faith. After your sentence is served. Reply to the original e-mail by stating, “My XX-day suspension is over, I would like my eBay account, (account name), reinstated.” EBay’s system will see your e-mail address and attach it to your file. Here’s the catch. Make sure you reply (not a new e-mail) from the same e-mail account eBay sent the message to. If it is not the same address, their system doesn’t know what to do with it and it gets round-filed.

4) Pick up the phone. If you are a Power Seller, call the power seller help line (866) 515-3229 and beg and plead for help. EBay is huge. These folks probably don’t even eat lunch in the same cafeteria at the Safe Harbor Secret Police. Their job is to help power sellers, so help them do their job by NOT being an A-Hole.

5) Soon, you’ll get an e-mail that says this:

Before we can consider your account for reinstatement, I need to ask you to take the following steps (see the complete details below):

1. Review important eBay policy information.

2. Contact Safe Harbor with any questions.

3. Reply to this email.

Bla, bla, bla…

Once you complete steps 1 and 2, please reply to this email. Your email should contain the following statement:

***I acknowledge and understand eBay's Shill Bidding policy, and agree

to comply with that policy as a condition of my reinstatement as an eBay

member.***

It must also include all relevant contact information in this format:

Name: (Insert your name here.)

User ID: (Insert your eBay User ID here.)

Email Address: (Insert your Email address here.)

Address: (Insert your mailing address here.)

Phone Number: (Insert your telephone number here.)

6) Jump through the hoops. Hit the links and read the policy. Remember, big brother is watching. You are now on the SS most wanted list so it might not be a bad idea to brush up on the rules anyway. Once you are done, reply back to the e-mail with the required information.

7) Be patient. You should be reinstated shortly.

Now that you know what to expect, hopefully you can sleep a little easier at night. I recommend using your brief eBay vacation to institute some internal policies to avoid a repeat occurrence. You also may want to plan some damage control as all of the customers you were doing business with are now raging mad at you. Remember, from the outside looking in, it appears that you packed up shop and fled the country without notice. “You have a lot of ‘splainin’ to do!”

Good Luck!

You Might be a Cod-Bag

2008-03-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

You might be a COD-BAG if...

You've waited until a seller filed an unpaid item dispute before telling them you have a problem with your paypal account
You've ever asked someone to deliver a Craigslist item that is selling for under $100
You ping sellers for positive feedback because you feel entitled after leaving it for them
You've asked a technical question about an eBay item that you could/should have Googled for yourself.
You think "Cash Today" is somehow worth a 50% discount.
You've ever claimed you accidentally bid on an eBay item... Really? You accidently clicked "Place Bid", then accidentally typed in a dollar amount, clicked Continue, and finally, accidentally clicked the CONFIRM BID button which is conspicuously placed under the phrase "By clicking on the button below, you commit to buy this item from the seller if you're the winning bidder."... Really?
You e-mail three word questions to craigslist sellers that will take them an hour to research and respond to and then you never follow-up.
You think that your bogus garage business qualifies you as a commercial address for trucking companies, then get pissed when a 53-foot tractor trailer crushes your petunias.

Cod Bag of the Week

2008-03-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Now granted, this has been a slow week, but here's a typical cod bag. This is a real e-mail sent to us from a guy looking to buy a Fondue Set.

"There is a mix up with a seller and I with regards to payment for an item. They subsquentially sent me an unpaid strike for that which was paid thru Paypal but the never got it. This is preventing me from bidding on this item that I want. Can you allow me to bid on it by lifting your restrictin?"

Here's what he failed to mention:

He has 87.1% positive feedback (Total score of 26)
9 negatives in the last 6 months (all non-payment)
1 Neutral for slow payment
1 mutually withdrawn

I attached my response to the auction. It was "Not no, but Hell No!"

What a COD BAG!

Known eBay Cod Bags

2008-03-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Here is our blocked bidder list.

Please add your list so we can create a comprehensive list of known Cod Bags. Please don't give individual details. Leave those for other rants. This is just a place for the factual posting of individuals you have blocked from bidding on your eBay items. What others do with these lists in order to protect themselves is completely up to the individual user. (wink, wink)

2_da_rnk, 450bill233, 5621sam, aditrolio, akonabum, brandin1987, buzzbait700, hotwheeljc, isohakki, jacohen1, jenesnow, jenniferlynn_palomino, jerryraiber, jewelgrandma, jimayoung_2003, joshhigg, khabibu35, kougar1994, ldelgado90, masterwoodfinisher, mijit66, mj1679pink, oterkongen, pentad5, rain1916, sabres37ryan, sager1985, strobel2112, thewoodsinusa

NOTE: If you have added friends and family to your Blocked Bidder list to prevent shill bidding (something we highly recommend), make sure you remove them from the list before you publish it.