Hi Nicole:

I have used Ebay many times. It is important to check the feedback of the seller. Also, the length of time they have been selling on Ebay can be an important indicator. I don't buy anything unless they offer the Paypal protection offer. Then I use Paypal for the payment and I am covered for a couple of hundred dollars if someone tries to stiff me. Never had a problem with anybody that carries the Paypal protection offer, have had problems with others. Never, never buy anything offered to you outside the ebay bidding system. It will be a scam for sure.

Start with something small and work your way up. There are definitely some good value deals available.

Cheers,
MG

MG,

We've set ourselves up for PayPal, so that's great.

Never thought about looking at how long they'd been selling on ebay. I'll have to check that one.

Some 'histories' are pretty distorted I find - people putting in the same comment 6 times in a row. Ebay should remove any repeats to show the true numbers on that one, although I'm sure it would work out to the same %s.

What about customs? Anyone ever have to pay it? Is it a pain in the derriere when it comes to cross the border?

Customs can be a pain (I deal with them a lot about DH's work stuff). If they decide taxes are due then you'll have to pay them at the door when the package is delivered. Here, it's just GST, but you'd probably have to pay the HST.

I have been thinking off and on about trying my hand at mosaics, and have found a couple of places in canada. I don't know if it's a lot cheaper to order from the US, but you might want to check these guys out to see if you're better off staying within Canada.

Mosaic Boutique
Oddly Enough Mosaics

I've never ordered from either of them, as I keep chickening out and deciding not to try it, so I have no idea if one is better than the other.

BP

I have a friend that bought a camera on e-bay. He had good results although the seller lived in BC...so I don't know about USA buys.

I have ordered quite a lot from E-Bay. Mostly children's clothes and scrapbooking supplies. I usually keep my purchases from the US under $20, then I don't have to deal with customs. On amounts over $20, Canada post charges a flat fee ($5 I think) plus HST plus any applicable duties.

Another thing to remember when using E-Bay is to allow for the shipping fees and the exchange rate ( when ordering outside of Canada) before you come up with your bid. They can really add up.

You also want to get a shipping quote before you bid (if there isn't one listed), because some sellers will charge a ridiculous amount to ship to Canada. There are lots that only charge actual shipping but you really need to look for them.

E-Bay also has some good forums for new users as well as Canadians which you might find helpful.

Good luck.

Merrilee

BP,

The Mosaic Boutique is not too bad. I do find the other one pricey. I'll have to compare with exchange rates, shipping and all that, but a few US and UK sites/sellers on ebay are quite inexpensive. I'm now looking at a UK seller who is selling 4,000 tiles @ $30.00 Canadian and deals with DHL for shipping. The tiles are in sheets and are of the vitrous texture which I'd like. They are smaller than my usual preference of 1 inch square, but that would be good for detailed work.

Right now I'm using tiles I purchased at a place which went out of business, old plates my mother gave me, things I see at flea markets and especially yard sales, etc. I enjoy using the hammer to break bigger pieces, and then creating something from them.

My present project is covering a bowling ball (the huge three holed BBs from the US), and then placing a ceramic garden fairy I found at a yard sale on the top of the ball. Her wing was broken, but I fixed it, and next spring she'll have a special place in the gardens.

Merrilee,

I have a couple of questions which I've sent to the UK seller late last Friday. Hopefully he'll respond soon. Thanks for the hints!!

Tiffy have you tried Freecycler groups in your area. You can sign up for your area in the Yahoo groups forums. There are always tons of stuff on there that can be used to create a mosaic master piece .. and its FREE. Have you contacted any of the tile stores and asked about purchasing broken or scared tiles ?? Im sure these suggestions are things you have thought of .. but just in case :o)

Laura

Just to let everyone know, our first e-bay purchase was fabulous!! Nothing to do with mosaics as was the intent, but our daughter had started band at school, and was given a delapidated clarinet.

She spotted one on e-bay, and started begging. We soon discovered that a new clarinet would cost an arm and a leg, and decided to see if we could get the one she saw. We successfully bid on it, and told her we would get it in mid-January.

Guess what?! It arrived about a week ago, and has been in hiding for Santa to place under the tree Christmas Eve! It is beautiful and in great shape with spare reeds and corks.

Someone will be VERY HAPPY!! (So will we...)

Laura, Not sure about freecycle, but I have gone to tile places which were moving/closing and have landed some great deals. Thanks for the suggestions!

I just very recently bid on my very first ebay item and won. It actually fits into this forum nicely because what I won was a very large packet of heirloom tomato and pepper seeds. When averaged out to $2US/pack, the seeds I got would have amounted to over $65US just for the seeds, not the taxes and shipping and I got it all for $16.50US. Not bad, eh? And these are not your average easy-to-find varieties either. I was VERY pleased. The guy even threw in extras that weren't listed.

It's nerve-wracking waiting for the bidding cycle to end, though. In our case, we stayed up until 1am because the seller was in Texas. I kept saying 'this is CRAZY' about a million times. But it was worth it.

Cheers,
Julianna

Hi all:

Julianna brings up a good point. I never bid until the last 5 minutes of an auction (unless, of course, it is a 'But it now' option) This keeps you from pumping up the price.

Also, check their selling history versus the current item for auction. I caught one scammer who was hijacking other peoples accounts after checking their history. The current item for sale was a very expensive camera, whereas all previous items sold under this ID were doll dresses. I informed Ebay and they busted the #$!!*%. Always report suspicious behavior to Ebay, it is really the only way they can combat fraud (which is much more prevalent then Ebay lets on).

Cheers,
MG

I've never sold anything on ebay, but I've had great success with purchases. The most expensive item that I bought was a digital video camera at $3800 USD. I've also bought a lot of Department 56 Dickens Village items.

My best advice is to check the vendor's feedback. If it appears that the vendor is an honest person and good to do business with, then figure out the most that you're willing to pay for the item. Then sit back and wait until the last minute or two of the auction and place your bid. By waiting, you won't get into a bidding war with other bidders.

Tiffy, I'm glad you're enjoying eBay and the pleasure (and ease!) of online shopping, but as a professional stained-glass artist, I'd like to mention a couple of things:

- Triple-check the shipping costs. I've seen some pieces (particularly carnival glass) that are jaw-droppingly inexpensive. Then I've calculated the shipping charges, and realized I could get the same glass shipped from Scotland, from a company I trust, for less money. (No, I don't normally go and buy such amazingly expensive and gorgeous glass; only when someone has pre-paid me for those materials.)

- Yes, Paypal is wonderful, and I've used it often. I've found several inexpensive rare books on eBay (again, from dealers I've trusted)and they've been great. BUT: just because your money is protected thanks to PayPal and eBay policies does NOT mean you'll be protected from the nightmare of straightening the whole mess out. Start very small with a vender you don't yet know, or who hasn't been recommended by others. I've had to make formal legal complaints twice, and they WERE taken care of with courtesy and efficiency, but it still took forever and was a major pain.

- glass suppliers are all over Canada, and Halifax is one of the most expensive places I've found. There are mail-order shops in Montreal ($5 for a catalogue, and $5 taken off your first order), and there's a spot in Alberta (Fusion Glass) that is about 300km away but send me EXCELLENT glass by Greyhound for fantastic prices. These are 2 examples out of hundreds. And of course we have our favourites: mine is a little shop in Victoria, BC, that doesn't even advertise. It's all word-of-mouth, and their glass is hand-poured, exquisite, and about the cost of "normal" retail glass anywhere else.

- finally, please consider putting a sign (a little post-it-sticky?) with the words "DON'T GET CARRIED AWAY BIDDING!" by your screen. I know *I'VE* done this, and I often hear from others who do the same thing. You get so caught up with a case of "ooooh....I'd like this, and I wanna BEAT that guy and WIN this!" that you don't realize you could have had a weekend at the Hilton for the price you finally pay. (oh BOY have I done this a lot...and it's a darned good thing I usually lost!)

If you think I can be of any help re: materials and suppliers, please feel free to drop me an email. Glass is a love of mine (it's my "winter gardening", sort of), and even when you sell it you don't do much more than pay for your materials. But once you're hooked....ah, what a wonderful obsession! :-)

Love,
Merri

PS: What say you post some pics of your work and let us see what you've made!