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Great podcast, guys!
As I understand the guaranteed delivery program, if the seller ships the item within one day, eBay will bear the cost if the delivery is not made in the guaranteed time. I’m not sure if that is accurate or not, but it seems like a no-brainer to opt into the program if it is.
If not, then I’ll still probably opt in because it is VERY rare that my Priority items don’t make it within the 3 day window. If I get better exposure for my items by opting in, then I’ll take that risk.
Regarding Active Content… As I understand it, all active content will be disabled in July. YouTube videos rely on active content because of the link – so they too will be disabled. EBay is working on making one of the pictures that you can upload available as a video. No date has been given for rolling this feature out. We’ll see if it actually gets done.
That being said, your listing will still be up – it just won’t have the video viewable.
Just a follow-up on this item. I submitted the item to Barneby’s Appraisal and the only response that I got was that they could put no value on it since it had no papers proving provenance. They did call it a “Pre-Columbian” piece – which actually surprised me.
So, I took their cue and put it up for auction and was pleasantly surprised to see that it sold for over $100… Auction
Thanks!
Thanks for the help. I doubt it is very valuable. I might put it on auction and let the market determine value. I paid 99 cents for it.
Yes, eBay does this on hot items. I’ve seen it on cell phones but have never used it.
LeeinTN – you buy insurance that is outside of the ACA and pay the penalty??? That sucks!
Interesting article, but it is filled with predictions that may or may not come true. Salon is not exactly known for being the most even-handed publication around. The simple fact is that both sides are guilty of “sky is falling” rhetoric. š
This is such a huge topic that it becomes difficult to address all the points that are brought up. There are layers and layers of issues but I’m going to try to address a couple of the statements Jay & omfug made…
Jay said,
“I give them credit for creating what is basically an old time co-op where like-minded people come together to negotiate better prices with their purchasing power.”
There is no group negotiation in our system. We simply individually negotiate directly with the providers. Amazingly, most providers already have some sort of cash discount set up. For example, my wife is having surgery this coming week for an ailing gall bladder. Her surgeon is doing the surgery for $550 (published rate $2400). The hospital is giving us a 77% cash discount for a cost of $2200 (published rate is just under $10,000). The anesthesiologist is doing it for $321 (published rate $1500 to $4000). That is a real life example of what real costs are for the medical system – not some made up imaginary numbers.
The costs for this surgery will be turned into Samaritan Ministries as a need and we will be reimbursed 100% for these costs.
Now, if we had insurance with a $5000 deductible, we would be paying the published rates to fulfill the deductible and the insurance company would be paying the remainder on their discounted pre-negotiated rates. Which likely means the insurance company would be paying $0 because the deductible cost has already covered the “real” cost.
omfug states,
…the ACA is not on a ādeath spiralā in my stateāit is working very well actually. It is not working in states that didnāt extend medicaid (the uninsured poor cost more taxpayer money when they use the emergency rooms for āhealthcareā than providing them basic preventative services) and those who didnāt create their own exchanges.
That is a rather simplistic analysis of the reason Obamacare is not working. I’m curious as to what state you are in that it is working well. Illinois is a good example of a state that has created a healthcare exchange where the premiums for insurance are going up significantly. Here is an excellent article in the Chicago Tribune about what the editorial board says is the failure of Obamacare: article
I have a long history with health insurance. In the 80s I was licensed to sell health insurance and have been the plan coordinator for several groups over the years. In my state of Kentucky, we had a disastrous legislative act called the “Health Insurance Reform Act” HB 250 that began in 1994. It attempted to do many of the things that Obamacare has done – require companies to accept pre-existing condition clients with no higher premiums. When it passed, I loved it. There were 43 health insurance providers in the state of KY and companies were forced to offer identical plans so consumers could compare apples to apples. It was great because you could go down the list and choose health insurance for the cheapest price. Long story short…after several years of legislative “fixes” and skyrocketing premiums, every insurer but one had fled the state of Kentucky. By 1998, Anthem was the only private insurer and the state had it’s own high-risk pool insurance plan. Needless to say, premiums were unaffordable which led to my family fleeing the system and going with Samaritan Ministries.
That being said, I do think that it is unethical that insurers can deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Samaritan Ministries does not deny membership but does exclude payments for pre-existing conditions. If no recurrence happens with the pre-existing condition, that eventually is covered after a waiting period (not sure of the length of time).
I agree that the healthcare system is broken and has been for a long time. Unfortunately what the ACA did was create more onerous requirements for medical providers which increased costs to them and subsidizes the insurance companies by requiring enrollment. Unfortunately what is happening with many people is that they are gaining worthless insurance which is unaffordable when any significant health condition arises because of high deductibles and skyrocketing premiums. Ideally the health care industry needs to go to a more free-market system that requires consumers to shop around for the best price and not depend on the insurance companies to pay for every hangnail. I feel that what the healthcare sharing ministries have done has made this a reality for many people.
Again, there are many issues involved and I just am scratching the surface on a couple of statements made. We do agree on one thing – the current system is broken.
I agree. It is a messed up system where one would have to consider lying about their beliefs in order to avoid being penalized by the government. But as the ACA continues its death spiral, be assured that this quandary is going to be more commonplace.
The good news is this: If the ACA is repealed, there may be no reason that a group could not be formed as a secular healthcare cost sharing organization. Such organizations are not regulated by state insurance regulatory agencies. Some state agencies have tried in the past to outlaw such groups but they have lost in court or have been protected by the state legislatures which have passed laws to protect such groups. The problem that a secular group would have would be keeping health care costs under control.
Christian groups require adherence to strict guidelines for membership for several reasons. People share a common belief system and support one another in more than monetary ways. Members agree to not only send money to people who have a need, but also to pray for the person’s healing and well-being. We believe there is power in prayer. We believe that Christians are called to support one another in their needs. Healthcare costs are kept under control by members’ adherence to moral and ethical guidelines which lower risk factors.
You ask why it matters whether someone would choose to have sex before marriage. While one could choose to have a monogamous sexual relationship, the simple fact is that statistics show that having sexual relations outside of marriage increases the risk exponentially to STDs and higher healthcare costs. The same thing could be said of recreational drug use or smoking or excessive alcohol use – all of which are shown to raise healthcare costs substantially and all of which are prohibited by healthcare sharing networks.
That being said, I do not presume that Christians do not participate in these activities. While it may seem that the healthcare sharing organizations are looking over your shoulder to make sure members are not stepping out of their puritanical line, I really don’t think that is the desire or intent. In fact, the opposite is true.
There are often needs that are shared in the newsletter that goes out to the membership that are not eligible for the normal sharing. People are asked to pray for and to voluntarily donate to help these needs that do not meet the criteria for sharing – eg. pre-existing condition.
It is important to remember that these groups are NOT insurance. We tend to compare them to insurance because they function in similar ways – but there is no guarantee that you will receive the benefits. As such, they avoid the litigious environment that insurance businesses find so much a part of their world.
This is an interesting site that lays out the considerations for healthcare sharing ministries: Obamacare Facts
They incorrectly list a prohibition on contraception (unless they actually mean abortion).The author of the article you referenced in the New York Times states, “For those on the religious right, their beliefs grant them exemption from federal law, and access to decent affordable health care. Unfortunately, thereās no such loophole for clean-living, charitable nonbelievers.”
The health care system that we access is the exact same one that she accesses. The difference is in how we choose to pay for it. The loophole was not created as an escape from the requirements of Obamacare but because there were already many people who had chosen this way of payment long before Obamacare was even thought of. To force those groups to cease operation because the government dictated it was abhorrent to many legislators who made sure the exemption was provided.
Yep, that’s a VeRo violation. You can use the phrase, “Hook & Loop” if you need it.
No, you’re not charged to schedule the listing. You’re only charged if you allow the scheduled listing to actually go through and list.
The only problem you’ll have is if you let one slip through the cracks and actually list without you knowing it. Just make sure and check it regularly scheduling far enough in advance that you don’t let it go through.
No, you are not correct about there being a 24-hour clock. If you have a one-day handling time, the item must be shipped within the next business day. So, if you have a sale at 7am on Tuesday, the item must be scanned anytime on Wednesday for you to meet the one-day shipping. If an item sells at 1am on Friday, you technically have to have the item scanned on Monday to meet the 1-day requirement. Obviously, you can get it out sooner than that, but there is no requirement.
I have always offered 1-day shipping and rarely have a problem meeting the time frame. You have to meet your time frame 97% of the time for top-rated seller status.
The main difference between concierge service and DPC is the acceptance of insurance. DPC providers do no insurance. It ultimately saves them on costs because of the paperwork involved with billing insurance and the inevitable repeated denial and re-filing that occurs. Our doctor has minimum staff – basically a full-time nurse and a part-time nurse. They do most of the paperwork themselves. She shares her office with another DPC doctor and they cover for each other during absences or vacation.
Every DPC doctor provides their own brand of service. Our doctor does house calls with no charge for cases she deems necessary. Also, she does Skype sessions – especially for college students away from home. The best bargain is for families. I think the monthly charge is $150 no matter what size family you have.
Her business model is actually fairly simple. Gain enough subscribers to cover expenses and salaries and provide services with no worries about how much to bill. Every time I see her, I ask her if she’s still as positive about it as she thought she would be – and she always says she would never go back to the old system.
I will add one other possibility. If the ACA is repealed or reformed it is very possible that secular groups could form as an alternative to traditional insurance. There would no longer be that restraint from them forming. However, state insurance agencies have all looked at the health costs sharing ministries with a critical eye. They are legal in every state, but I’m not sure if the faith component is what allows them to function, or if there are other factors in play. I do know that all these ministries must warn people that what they are agreeing to is NOT insurance. Therefore they are free to operate outside of the regulations of the state health insurance boards.
In summary I am paying a huge fee called a premium every month for the privilege to pay for ALLof my healthcare costs 100% out of pocket at prices that are significantly higher than what I would pay without insurance. That is the definition of insanity.
You nailed it! That’s exactly why we opted out of traditional insurance years ago.
