MTFCA Forum

Is anyone concerned about purchasing anything from Ebay in these times/

Like you, I've got a ton of time on my hands and lots of stuff to list but I'm wondering if anyone is buying because of this pandemic?

By the way, how are you holding up?

Thanks

All good here Marty and still buying as required. I do not see any issues as most people I buy from are 100% feedback. I believe they being cautious and appreciate the business.

Hank

If shipping takes longer than a couple of days, any virus on the part or wrapping will have degraded by the time it reaches you.

Now, if your delivery carrier unknowingly carries the virus and coughs on your package, all bets are off. :O

An eBay supplier that I get light bulbs from in China sent me a message saying all shipments are on hold by the postal service. And please don't blame ebay.

I do not see sales slowing down at all (look at the classifieds here on the forum). I have bought plenty in the last 2 weeks with one major change/precaution, any package that has been delivered is taken and sits out back for 1-2 days (handled with gloves of course). Makes me feel safer about touching and opening the package.


Anything being taken to the Post Office has a pre-printed label and is just dropped off for me, or you can schedule a pick-up at your location. Depending on how concerned you are you can always wipe down and disinfect the package and item. My 1 gallon of Barbicide concentrate that came in a box lot at an auction has finally been put to use. You remember, the blue stuff from the barbershop and "upscale" men's restrooms.

A package of items bought on ebay from a Chinese seller arrived last week. Even though we have been reassured that there is little to worry about with mailed packages, I still sprayed the package with Lysol. When I opened the package, I sprayed the inside of he package with Lysol, then sprayed the parts themselves. May be overkill, but it made me and my wife feel better. Jim Patrick

BE AWARE! It doesn't matter where the package come from China, New York City, Idaho!!!! Put it in your head that many hands have touched it and even your local letter carrier may have caught the virus. If you live in a densely populated area (virus cases or not ) spray the package (let it dry) and wash you hands. If you live in an area with NO cases you can be less cautious at your own discretion and risk.

DIY wipes https://oneessentialcommunity.com/homem ... ting-wipes
DIY hand sanitizer To make hand sanitizer, you need 70% Isopropyl alcohol or higher, known as rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel, a bowl, a spoon, a funnel, and either a spray bottle or liquid soap container.

The first step is pouring ⅔ cup of alcohol and ⅓ cup aloe vera, which will make the sanitizer easier to apply, into the bowl and mixing well. Once the mixture is blended, you can use the funnel to pour the mixture into containers. If you want to mask the scent of alcohol, you can add 5 to 10 drops of essential oil such as lavender, according to the mixtur

I am going to make a suggestion to everyone: get "Informed Delivery" from the Post Office. You will register YOUR address and email account with them and every day you will receive an email with a PICTURE of all of your mail. You will also receive notification of delivery of any packages.

ANYONE can register your mailbox and view it's contents if you do NOT register your OWN address first. Nice way to monitor the neighbor for their Checks or Credit Card bills with important credit info, no? If you do NOT register your address first, you are begging to be a target for a bad guy.

With Informed Delivery, I can choose to not drive 2 miles to get to my mailbox if I don't need to, and when I do need to it gets carefully removed and then sits in "isolation" for several days. It is foolish to listen to experts give scientific data as to how long a virus lasts on materials, including paper, and then say "but the mail is perfectly safe". For me, the mail is perfectly safe about 3 days after people have quit handling it.

Get Informed Delivery
Get Informed Delivery
Get Informed Delivery

All the reasons to get it are good ones, and it is free.

Scott, ditto on Informed Delivery! I've had that for a long time now. It's great, especially if you're
expecting something important other than all the junk mail.

Today I did the "Click-n-Ship" prepaid label thing, have the mail lady (I'm rural) pick it up outside my
garage tomorrow. No risk of catching something on the post office door or counter! Very handy.

You can also order shipping boxes from USPS for FREE and have them shipped to you for FREE.
There are four major types of Priority Mail boxes available each has its own weight restrictions and postage price.
Flat Rate Boxes & envelopes are good for up to 70 lbs and most shipping cost. NOTE the Padded envelope -you can put a box inside it to protect your items and still ship at the envelope rate. These are usually the only ones available at your post office.
Regional Boxes whose postage is regulated by zone (from your area to the other) Type A is good for 15lbs or less and B type 20 lbs or less. Being in the Midwest I find these to provide the lowest shipping cost.
Mailing Box shipping charges are based on weight and size and are allowed to be modified (put together or cut down) to minimize the size needed.
You can always use your own box for Priority Mail but usually cheaper to use theirs.
https://store.usps.com/store/results/fr ... 8v?Nrpp=18

We have used informed delivery for a couple years now. It is handy, especially with incoming packages to be left in the package lockers a quarter mile from our house! In our area, there is a lot of trouble with mail delivery. The "post office" doesn't do a lot of the delivery, local contractors do. The contractors often (OFTEN!!) mis-deliver to any one of sixty neighbors' boxes. In addition to that, postal theft in the county is rampant. If something important is to be delivered? It is wise to get it sooner rather than later to avoid possible loss. It is also better to know sooner rather than later that it has gone astray if it does. I manged to locate and retrieve something my wife ordered about a year ago because after being notified it was delivered, it wasn't there. We ended up with something belonging to a neighbor (I took it to them and told them what had happened), and the local Post Office located the delivery contractor and she came back and found ours.
Unfortunately, incompetence is as incompetence does. The "informed delivery" system has screwed up several times. But the good thing is you still get to find out more quickly.
All in all, however, I do recommend the informed delivery. Especially with the current situations.

When this first happened I heard a scientist say the virus can last three weeks in the refrigerator.

At least I can go back to popping bubble wrap made in china now!

In the pharmacy we always sprayed the counter tops and the counting trays with 70% alcohol. Do not use the 91% alcohol. The 70% alcohol with penetrate the cell walls of the virus better than the 91%.

If mixing aloe vera with the alcohol, use the 91% so your solution becomes about 70%.