eBay. I love it. And I hate it. Today, I'm talking about how I hate it.
My foremost complaint is that eBay is for sellers. They don't market it that way, of course. But that's the nature of the beast. They make their money from sellers. Sellers make their money from buyers. In a tug of war between the two, eBay will always side with the people who butter their bread
directly: the sellers. Natural enough, but not transparant enough for my tastes.
For example, I got taken on eBay once. I won an auction for a cool yellow-faced watch. It was advertised as new. I paid the seller, whose feedback rating was good. Hundreds of good reviews. Payment of an internet auction is inherently an act of good faith; you don't have the thing in hand, but you're out whatever money you send away. I was out something like $90. The watch arrived, and was obviously not new. The finish had worn from the sides, the face had scratches, etc. I complained to the seller, and his email back was like six words "mail it back for full refund."
So let me get this straight: I'm supposed to send the watch back to the guy who's already tried to trick me, at further expense to me, while he's still got my money. Riiiight. I email back, telling him that he would get his used watch back when I got my money back; only the good faith gesture of returning my money first would allow this thing to end well. He refused.
Within hours I left negative feedback directing people to a website I made in which I explained the story, posted all of our emails and displayed photographs of the watch. I was not vulgar and did not post personal information like email or address of the seller. Within 24 hours eBay threatened to ban me if I didn't take it down, on grounds of using an eBay username for purposes other than eBay, or some other legalistic shtein. I protested and argued my case, but they had no interest in the facts of the story and would not listen to me at all. I didn't want to get banned because as I've already said, I love eBay.
So fine, lesson learned: eBay is for sellers.
That was years ago.
A few days ago, I won an auction for a knife. I had my pocket knife stolen a while ago, and I miss it terribly. If you've got a good pocket knife, then it's not really safe anywhere but in your pocket, or your hand, because they tend to get lifted if you put them anywhere else. So anyway, I bought another one. Nice Kershaw with the torsion bar assisted easy open feature, straight normal blade. I'm psyched.
I'm not a heavy eBay user. I haven't bought more than 40 things from eBay in more than 6 years I've been using it. I tend a little old fashioned in that I like to both send and recieve an email to verify details. I send the seller an email in response to his auto-generated "your item will ship" email, reminding him to leave feedback for me. Afterall, positive feedback actually still matters a bit for the buyers, especially if you ever want to bid for something expensive. Like a motorcycle for example.
The seller writes back to me:
Quote from: lazy sellerWe respond to all new feedback left for us every few days. This is the only way we can keep track of the feedback due to our large volume of orders. Thank you
That really kinda chaps my ass, because they've got $50 of my fargin' money and I've got nothing. I've discharged my duty as a buyer by paying promptly, it's his turn to extend the farging olive branch and leave some goddamned feedback. I respond:
Quote from: DiomedesThanks for the email. As soon as the knife arrives in the condition advertised--as I expect will happen--I will leave positive feedback.
But I gotta tell you that it really chaps my ass that the sellers on eBay won't leave feedback for a buyer until the buyer leaves feedback. At the point that the buyer pays the seller, he is due feedback for completing his end of the deal honorably.
Having paid you promplty, I have fulfilled my obligation. Positive feedback should be automatic based on that alone, not on whether I leave you feedback.
If you're too busy to return the good faith gesture of pre-payment with pre-feedback, then you need to take a look at your long term business goals. Good customer service is always worth the investment required to achieve it. No good outfit is too busy for fine customer service.
Just mine opinion. I can't wait to get the knife. Been missing my last one for a long time.
Peace
fargin' eBay
I have to agree with your rant. Sellers waiting for buyers' feedback to leave theirs' is a fat load of horseshtein.
Agreed on that.
Here is an example for me too.
Last year, I bought a simple 5.00 book from a seller. She never left me feedback and I never got the book. 3 weeks and about 20 emails go by and nothing, no response. Finally she responds that she is SO sorry, someone had stolen her husband's identity and was using their credit cards and blah blah blah and its been really hectic to get it all figured out. The book was to be sent out the next morning. 2 more weeks and numerous emails sent to no avail, and nothing. I finally got her phone info from ebay and called it...disconnected number. Filed Ebay fraud charges left negative feedback that said
QuoteNo response to email, bad contact info listed on ebay,no ship. Filed case w/Ebay
The Square Trade mediator wrote me about 5 days later to tell me that they contacted the seller and for me to call her again. Phone worked this time and the chick told me that because of the identity theft, their phones weren't working, but apologized again and said she was sending the book. Again, nothing in 2 weeks but ignored email. I finally get the book AND negative feedback from HER
QuoteTerrible communication skills. Wouldn't cooperate
To which I replied with:
QuoteLiar. I filed Square trade case. Will have neg feedback removed. Awful ebayer.
and she put as a response to that:
QuoteI feel sorry for you! Someday you'll understand the death of a mother
Huh? Your mother was dying? I thought it was identity theft that prevented you from shipping or responding? ::) No mention of her mother was ever made prior to the negative feedback left for me.
After she left negative feedback for me, I had put this as a follow up to my original neg to her:
Quote7 weeks to send item, then leaves ME negative feedback? BEWARE BUYERS!
Her response? lol
QuoteThis woman bought from me while my mom was dying ever heard of compassion?
Classic ebay nightmare and total life loser headcase.
I've never used eBay. I get nervous when buying stuff on-line. Even if it is from big businesses. I prefer to call and hear a person on the phone and order that way. I'm worried that someone is going to farg me over if I use eBay so I just don't go there.
ebay is not what it used to be. it's completely a sellers market. what looks like a decent price on the bid, the dumbass sellers usually rape you on shipping charges.
i havent bought more than 3 items on ebay in the past year. and those are usually hard to find collectibles, that honestly, i don't mind paying a little extra for.
but almost any mainstream item can be found cheaper elsewhere.
i just bought a new digital camera. and i looked on ebay. the lowest closing price for this model camera was $315. i paid $259 (shipping included) elsewhere.
I use it sparingly, and I hardly every bid on anything worth more than $15 or so. I factor in the head-case quotient up front.
I noticed that too, about the higher-priced items. I almost always find it cheaper elsewhere, and without the headaches.
I normally only use eBay for shopping for baseball and football cards that I can't find. There are no good local card dealers, so I have to use eBay to do that. I've almost completed my 1974 Topps set. :yay
Mostly, I've purchased books and DVDs on there. Never had an issue.
Quote from: PhillyGirl on March 17, 2005, 10:24:51 PM
Huh? Your mother was dying? I thought it was identity theft that prevented you from shipping or responding? ::) No mention of her mother was ever made prior to the negative feedback left for me.
My mom died and the dog ate your book.
:-D High school "I didn't do my homework" excuses.
I've shifted all internet buying and selling of used items to Craig's List so I can meet up with the person and inspect the item before any money is exchanged. A bumpier and more labor intensive process, and far smaller selection, but less chance of fraud.
Only been burned once in eBay, and that was by a 14 year old Canadian kid when I was buying an "authentic" hockey jersey. Signed by Lindros, no less. It was a gift for my bro-in-law. The jersey I got was a Walmart mesh jersey, with ironed on 88. And scribbles for a signature. When I went back to the kid, he told me "I'm 14, and live in Canada. You can't touch me." Unfortunately, he was right -- this was before all the protections eBay has built in now.
I also agree with feedback. I sell on eBay quite a bit, and ALWAYS leave feedback within 24 hours of payment received. When I buy, I never leave feedback until the seller leaves it for me. I usually tell them this upfront when I pay, and it has worked about 60 - 70% of the time.
Quote from: DemonchildrenOnTurf on March 18, 2005, 10:38:57 AM
Only been burned once in eBay, and that was by a 14 year old Canadian kid when I was buying an "authentic" hockey jersey. Signed by Lindros, no less.
sorry demon, but you deserved that one. ;D
Quote from: geowhizzer on March 18, 2005, 09:44:21 AM
I normally only use eBay for shopping for baseball and football cards that I can't find. There are no good local card dealers, so I have to use eBay to do that. I've almost completed my 1974 Topps set. :yay
i used to sell a lot of single cards on ebay, mostly football, but some baseball sprinkled in. but ebay kept increasing their listing fees to the point where selling a card for $1 made only $0.20 profit. i was never one to up my shipping (i used to charge $0.75 that covered evnvelope, stamp, and toploader). but i had to increase shipping and handling to $1.10 to cover ebays increases, and my bids went down 50%.
i wasnt trying to make a fortune there, i was just looking to fill my own hobby up, while breaking even on what i bought. it got to the point where i would pay $50 for a box, and make only about $15 from it. (for my own hobby sakes, i wanted to pull in on average $30-40 per $50 spent). and i wanted to do this WITHOUT ripping people off (i started every single card at 99 cents, and listed singles with only book values of $5 and up, everything else i did lots of 15-20 cards of players/teams and started those at 50 cents).
ebay effectivly took the fun out of it for me with their increases. farg ebay
I did not get a response to that email, but the knife arrived today. I left positive feedback, saying "transaction went fine."
Ebay is my last resort, if I can't find what I'm looking for anywhere else. I've only bought a few odd posters and a tape (sixers/lakers game 1). Ebay has changed alot from it used to be. Alot of useless junk on there now.
Quote from: Wingspan on March 18, 2005, 10:49:52 AM
Quote from: geowhizzer on March 18, 2005, 09:44:21 AM
I normally only use eBay for shopping for baseball and football cards that I can't find. There are no good local card dealers, so I have to use eBay to do that. I've almost completed my 1974 Topps set. :yay
i used to sell a lot of single cards on ebay, mostly football, but some baseball sprinkled in. but ebay kept increasing their listing fees to the point where selling a card for $1 made only $0.20 profit. i was never one to up my shipping (i used to charge $0.75 that covered evnvelope, stamp, and toploader). but i had to increase shipping and handling to $1.10 to cover ebays increases, and my bids went down 50%.
i wasnt trying to make a fortune there, i was just looking to fill my own hobby up, while breaking even on what i bought. it got to the point where i would pay $50 for a box, and make only about $15 from it. (for my own hobby sakes, i wanted to pull in on average $30-40 per $50 spent). and i wanted to do this WITHOUT ripping people off (i started every single card at 99 cents, and listed singles with only book values of $5 and up, everything else i did lots of 15-20 cards of players/teams and started those at 50 cents).
ebay effectivly took the fun out of it for me with their increases. farg ebay
Wing,
One of the few actual problems I have had on eBay is with the grading of the cards. The seller says it in Near Mint when it actually (according to Beckett) more Excellent condition. It's not a huge deal to me, as I am a collector and not an investor, but I would still like to get the cards in the condition advertised.
I have noticed the shipping price go up drastically over the past few years. I would actually not mind paying the Paypal and eBay charges, as long as they are listed. If I know that ahead of time, I can plan for it. Just don't label it a "$3.00 shipping charge" and then send it in a padded 75-cent envelope. List the specific charges, and I would be fine.
Quote from: geowhizzer on March 21, 2005, 11:49:31 AM
Quote from: Wingspan on March 18, 2005, 10:49:52 AM
Quote from: geowhizzer on March 18, 2005, 09:44:21 AM
I normally only use eBay for shopping for baseball and football cards that I can't find. There are no good local card dealers, so I have to use eBay to do that. I've almost completed my 1974 Topps set. :yay
i used to sell a lot of single cards on ebay, mostly football, but some baseball sprinkled in. but ebay kept increasing their listing fees to the point where selling a card for $1 made only $0.20 profit. i was never one to up my shipping (i used to charge $0.75 that covered evnvelope, stamp, and toploader). but i had to increase shipping and handling to $1.10 to cover ebays increases, and my bids went down 50%.
i wasnt trying to make a fortune there, i was just looking to fill my own hobby up, while breaking even on what i bought. it got to the point where i would pay $50 for a box, and make only about $15 from it. (for my own hobby sakes, i wanted to pull in on average $30-40 per $50 spent). and i wanted to do this WITHOUT ripping people off (i started every single card at 99 cents, and listed singles with only book values of $5 and up, everything else i did lots of 15-20 cards of players/teams and started those at 50 cents).
ebay effectivly took the fun out of it for me with their increases. farg ebay
Wing,
One of the few actual problems I have had on eBay is with the grading of the cards. The seller says it in Near Mint when it actually (according to Beckett) more Excellent condition. It's not a huge deal to me, as I am a collector and not an investor, but I would still like to get the cards in the condition advertised.
I have noticed the shipping price go up drastically over the past few years. I would actually not mind paying the Paypal and eBay charges, as long as they are listed. If I know that ahead of time, I can plan for it. Just don't label it a "$3.00 shipping charge" and then send it in a padded 75-cent envelope. List the specific charges, and I would be fine.
just to sell a card for a price of $1 bid costs about $0.90.
ebay instertion $0.35
ebay final value $0.10
toploader $0.10
normal envelope $0.03
stamp $0.37
= $0.95
want to use paypal? ad another $0.30 at least.
they any seller will want their time compensated as well. but you want a 0.75 padded envelope? that jumps to about 0.82 cents shipping from the post office. plus packing the card.
btw, i always shipped in normal envelopes, and never once had a problem. i had a buyer complain that the card was damaged once, and i said no problem, send me back the damaged card, and i will refund the money, plus what they spent to ship it back to me. the buyer never sent me anything.
the way a seller is nickled and dimed by ebay and pay pal just got to be too much for me, and completely took the fun out of it. it has lead to outrageous shipping charges. for those that stick to ebay as buyers, every time they announce "new fees" be prepared for more ballooned shipping and handling charges. it's just the way ebay made it.
I can see how selling cards on ebay would be a real problem these days. I usually just look for great deals on ebay as far as books/dvd's/video games. I bought a Kirosawa 8DVD boxed set on there for $10, pluse $30 shipping of course. ;) Sure the shipping was from China and seemed ridiculous, but the DVD's were ripped criterion and were perfect quality. Seven Samurai from criterion new is almost as much as the entire boxed set! thats the kind of stuff I use ebay for.
dvdplanet.com (http://www.dvdplanet.com/product_listing.asp?productid=7393&format=DVD) has great prices for criterion DVD's. and free shipping on $25+ to boot.
i have bought 3 or 4 criterion dvd's from them (criterion dvd's are well worth the ballooned price of regular editions if you are a fan of a particular movie, the extras are actually relevant and the quality is wonderful.)
found this eBay auction, check it out. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47103&item=5571119633&rd=1)
read the description, especially the disclaimer at the bottom.
if you fall for this scam, you deserve to have your money taken. And whaddyouknow...12 people have bid, the high bidder got it at just over $180. It's insult to injury that the seller has a zero feedback rating.
ouch :deion
I wonder if that's a piece of paper or just an email? :-D
Meanwhile:
Mariano Rivera put up for sale (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3523390) :evil
Hey Dio, if it makes you feel any better I was watching The People's Court the other day and a guy was basically suing an ebay seller for lying about a particular item. The plaintiff presented a good case and won. The defendant knew he was caught trying to scam someone out of a few hundred bucks and was trying to lie his way out of it and looked even more uncomfortable than Mark McGuire at the Congressional hearings.
Quote from: SSgt PSN on April 10, 2005, 04:36:40 PMHey Dio, if it makes you feel any better I was watching The People's Court the other day and...
Nothing on "The People's Court" could ever make me feel better about anything. Thanks for trying though.
:-D
(http://i19.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/00/c3/38_1_sbl.JPG)
:-D
This seller also offers the following gems:
(http://i7.ebayimg.com/03/i/04/bb/94/c5_1_b.JPG) (http://i1.ebayimg.com/04/i/04/4c/06/e7_1_b.JPG)
(http://i21.ebayimg.com/03/i/04/1f/db/0d_1_b.JPG)
my buddy just sold his Lindros Rangers Jersey and Flyers Lindros practice jersey to some guy in Germany for 60 some bucks not including shipping :-D
I love eBay, I got an new authentic Kearse jersey for $50, shipping and all. eliminator316 is the username, great seller. He has Mcnabb, TO, Westbrook, Kearse and a few Pro-Bowl jerseys. All authentic
I bought an authentic McNabb on Ebay for about $75 (including shipping)...I didn't bother bidding but used the "buy it now" feature.
WTMF is a criterion dvd, and why have I never heard of it?
check here thawk (http://www.criterionco.com/asp/)
here's a stupid eBay question:
I hardly ever use eBay anymore, but I'm poor right now and I've got some crap to sell.
I want to list an item that is pretty big..boxed up it's 32"x18"x18" and weighs something like 25 lbs.
How should I figure the shipping cost? Just list a flat S&H fee? Box the item up and take it to the post office/UPS/FedEx to have them tell me how much it will cost to be shipped? I have no idea where I'll be shipping it...so how would that be worth my time?
Advice?
That would cost a fortune to ship on your own.
Post on craigslist, sell it for free (no fees or waiting). And get a free blowjob on pickup. Or give... whichever.
Post to local craigslist and ebay classifieds. Let the sucker who buys your crap come pick it up. You could also hold an auction but express that there is no shipping.
Quote from: charlie on September 16, 2011, 04:00:03 PM
That would cost a fortune to ship on your own.
yeah. item will sell for $400 easily, so I figured the shipping would be worth it.
maybe I'm mistaken.
thanks guys
i haven't sold on ebay in years but there's a little doohickey that you can add to the auction where the buyer types in his/her zip code and it will calculate shipping. i assume you just have to enter dimensions and weight.
This is pretty much the best ebay story ever!!
I collect Hess Trucks. I recently bought the 2011 model on ebay for a very reasonable price. The item description was "New in Box" and "Factory Sealed." If any of you know anything about these trucks, it's that they light up and make noises and come with the batteries to make all of this happen.
So when I received my truck, there were no batteries and you could tell the box had been tampered with, which tells me that the seller opened the box and took them out. Otherwise, I was pleased with the item and the condition it came in. But I decided to leave neutral feedback and commented that the box was not factory sealed (also commented that he shipped quick, blah blah blah).
This guy sent me a message whining about it and said that I needed to change it. So should I give him positive feedback or was I right to leave neutral while commenting on the positives and negative of the transaction?
if that story is true i want you to get cancer and die
I once ordered a beer at a bar from a waitress...she came back 20 minutes later with my beer. She waited for her tip. I started to walk away. She yelled, hey, where's my tip? I told her I'd be back in 20.
Point is, farg them.
I bought a pool cue recently, kind of an expensive one for me, a $325 McDermott. Paid for the cue via, buy it now. I get this message.
QuoteFirst of all, thank you for your purchase. There is an issue I'm working around, however. Paypal has decided to hold up the funds you sent for 21 days due to some rule of theirs. Her is my suggested work-around. First I will refund your money. 2nd I will send you an invoice for the refunded amount. 3rd you pay the invoice. Since it doesnt go through Ebay, it wont be held up and I can immediately send your item out. If that's acceptable, please let me know.
'say what? I messaged him back that by the time he did all that mailing with his invoices, the 21 days would be up anyway. I was trying to be nice.
I turned his message in to e-bay because from what I thought, operating transactions outside ebay after an item was already listed on e-bay was a big no-no, with this message always at the top of the page of every message:
Do not respond to the sender if this message requests that you complete the transaction outside of eBay. This type of offer is against eBay policy, may be fraudulent, and is not covered by buyer protection programs. So then I get this message.
QuoteIt will be shipped out Friday morning. You should have it by Monday.
So I waited for two weeks and finally got the stick that I never thought I was going to see, coming from Georgia. In the mean time, this guy is still operating like nothing ever happened. He left me decent feedback about good communication. Ha!
I can't believe a U.S. Marine is asking us if he should back down in a dispute with an internet shyster.
No dude, stand your ground. Kill him and piss on his corpse.
To be fair, he's an office marine; not a real marine
Meaning he pisses on himself.
I only piss on the living and you 2 idiots have made your way onto my list. I'd start carrying an umbrella if I were you.
You're not tall...no umbrella needed
Suit yourself.
He meant ankle umbrellas.