# What is it with ebay?



## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

In the last 3 days I have had 2 difficult buyers on my hand.

1st buyer did not like my shipping charges, and wanted me to reduce them after the fact.

then he complained about some minor damage to the metal pulley, when I had provided large photos of it.

Then today I get a buyer who does not contact me at all, but just goes directly to Paypal with an alleged not as described. In the buyers own words...



 Cremo Ice Cream Sandwich Consolidated Wafer Co Chicago, Ill Brooklyn, NY Drug StItem is broken when I received it. Chipped glass and dangerous to handle.---
11/15/2012 13:46 PST - Buyer: I received th item but its broken and not as described on the listing. Its too dangerous to shipped. chipped glass
 Excuse me, unless it was damaged in shipping, it was not chipped. SOunds like she wants to not have to return it, yet get a full refund.

BTW, it took her 6 days to pay for it, after I had to institute a non-paying bidder case.

Anyway, I went ahead and gave a full refund contingent on her returning the item. It will probably be trashed when I get it back, but I don't have much in it, and I certainly don't want to give stuff away.

I am glad the Paypal makes the refund contingent on her returning the item back to me. I will also be recording me opening the package just in case she sends an empty box back to me. 

And so another addition to my blocked bidder list.


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## SilverVista (Jan 12, 2005)

Geesh. I have never bought or sold on eBay, but my boss has a bunch of inventory that is doing no good on the shelf, and could provide some much needed cash flow. He has asked me to become the eBay expert and manage the sales and communications. You're not exactly building my confidence here! Hopefully, since ours are industrial (hydraulic fittings) the buyers will be mechanics who understand the product and won't be quite so flaky......


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## waretrop (Aug 27, 2012)

Had a similar issue recently with and item. Ad stated flat $20.00 shipping and he anted to pay less. Hassled me quite a bit then "begrudgingggly" paid in full. Got the item, emailed me that the packaging was damaged but not the item, still bitched about shipping and then left me truly good positive feed back and to ebay item came 5 star and shipping was 5 star. Go figure.

Also shipped an item that operated perfectly. Buyer told ebay it came broken, then emailed me and offered to keep the item if I refunded half the value??????????? Reported him to ebay and refunded money once I got item back. It was fine. He got banned from ebay.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

I think this means that the buyers are getting as frustrated with ebay as the sellers LOL Sometimes I just sit here and remember the old days ten or so years ago.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I hang out on an audio forum, and any more, it's pretty common for people t try and claim a problem and keep the item and get a refund. Many buyers are holding people hostage over it with the fear of negative feedback.

I've seen people hear back from the buyer it wasn't as described, so they have them send the item back to find it wasn't what they sold. Completely different serial numbers.. .
Ebay isn't what it used to be. I used to buy there all the time... I haven't bought from ebay in almost two years now because of problems I've run into with sellers too.. 

My wife has been having a lot of luck with Etsy... Only one time did she have a problem with a buyer so far, and turned out it was the post office that delivered it to the wrong address. My uses return receipt, and had proof it was delivered. They lady accused her of lying.. but apologized profusely when she found out what really happened.

Not to mention, etsy rates are a lot better than ebay..


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

I used to sell on ebay but then became an occasional buyer. I have had a bad experience finally after all these years! I waited a ridiculous amount of time as the listings said parcel post...that can take a month or so. When it did not arrive as they were three little orders in one, I wrote the seller and did not open a dispute. I think that it was nicer to do. She wrote me back a very nice message apologizing about me not receiving it and assuring me it would be sent with a tracking number. Well as it turns out, I waited two more weeks and no items arrived and no tracking number was ever sent. These were just little things for a very low price and it seemed silly she would not send them to me..so I wrote her again, asking her about my not getting them, no reply this time. Twice more I wrote her, no reply. So I found out I had passed the time to start a dispute and then had to post bad feedback, did not get what I paid for and probably will not. They gave me the phone number to contact, her email is not up anymore so I have a phone number if that is even current, what does one even say??? I will probably get gumption to call her this week but feel so disappointed I even have to. I have always had great experiences buying on ebay...this was unusual and she even relisted what I bought!


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

My feedback is about 9,363. 100% positive, although I do have two neutrals still in the system. I figure that is at least 20,000 eBay-related transactions (including multiple sales to a single buyer). During that time maybe 20 buyers from hell for one reason or another. Almost always someone with a very low feedback score.

Used merchandise in an unopened box is known as NOS - New Old Sock.

Be sure your boss understands selling any quantity of items on eBay can be a full-time job. You spend as much time on eBay/PayPal as anything else.

Some tips:

Fill the title line with anything even remotely related to the item, including multiple spellings. For example, lograck vs log rack. Wrenchs vs wrenches. You need to compete on item searches with 'the thundering herd'.

eBay now defaults to best match. My observation is frequenty sales move you up towards top of item inquiries.

You are allowed 12 free pictures. Use as many as warranted. I typically use 2-3, but that fits the items I'm selling. I've seen some really bad pictures on eBay. Make sure your contrast and distance to item is appropriate.

eBay now insists to maintain a Power Seller rating you have to agree to a one-day shipping time and a 14-day return (although you do still have the option of no-return). One day means the time to create a shipping label, not physical shipment.

*ALWAYS MAKE SURE BUYER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RETURN SHIPPING!!!!!!!!!!*

As noted above, go out of your way to point out any defect in the items, including damaged box if item is still in original box or minor flaws.

I simply love Priority Mail boxes. And they are FREE for the asking (www.usps.com) with free delivery and free pickup. Bragging a little. The Priority Mail truck doesn't leave the local Post Office until my carrier checks back in.

Here I have a special spot in the shop where I leave outgoing and receive incoming USPS or UPS packages. I go out of my way to be friendly to my carrier.

I do use UPS where warranted. I indicated in my listings I ship out on UPS on Mondays and Fridays. If your company already has daily UPS delivery/pick up you are good to go, but don't overlook Priority Mail. Personally I try not to do business with a company to where UPS is their only shipping option.

On rates, the closer and small packages USPS usually has better rates than UPS. Opposite is true with UPS.

When I am offering a bunch of related items I identity them thorugh the last four digits of the item number. Chances of a repete is 1/9999.

I've sold items under the bucket concept - they get the first X number I pull out of the bucket.

Keep a daily tab for your boss. X number items listed. Y number of items sold. Z number of items sent for shipping.

*INSIST ON PAYPAL PAYMENT*. I'll take a money order but only one through the US Postal Service - good as gold. Personal or company check iffy. I have had only one bounce, and that was mostly my fault in holding it too long. Some sellers wait three weeks after deposit. Just make sure your buyer understands this. My standard shipping box quote is "Payment via PayPal unless other arrangements made. TN residents to pay 9.75% state sales tax."

Some go through eBay with an e-check. Means they want to pay for it out of their bank checking account. eBay will wait 4-5 workdays before clearing item for shipping.

If someone asks you if they can pay with a credit/debit card just indicate they can do so only through PayPal (even if your company routinely accepts such cards). You usually won't hear from them again.

I charge a $1 per shipment, not per item, handling charge. I can go through $2 in shipping tape in a day.

When a sale is made eBay will send them an invoice. I've found the shipping quote they use to be overstated most of the time. If difference is $1 or more I'll rerfnd diffence (taking into my account my $1 handling cost and if I have to use a package I had to pay for separately). Makes me look good to buyer.

Make sure your boss understands combined eBay and PayPal fees can be some 17% of gross sales (my case and I expect to do about $50K in gross eBay sales this year).


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

So, the guy who did not like my shipping costs gave me a neutral. That is fine with me. My object is to sell items, and not worry about 100% FEEDBACK. Though the neutral still leaves me at 100%.

Waiting to hear from the woman and my glass item. If she does not return it, I will not worry about it.

Agreed that anything with a serial number needs to be photographed and be part of the listing. But they can still do a credit card chargeback on you, and still lose the money.

As far as filing a dispute, you do need to keep up with the time, it goes by quickly. I tend to start a dispute sooner rather than later, I can always cancel it if things work out.


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## grandma12703 (Jan 13, 2011)

I quit selling on ebay after several bad experiences. My policy was always if you don't like it or are disatisfied return it and I will return your money. 

Case #1 - Christmas China
Lady sent message telling me items were broken. My reply was that is fine just mail them back to me (I will also refund shipping if this is the case) and I will immediately issue a refund of the full cost. Nothing....a few days later again I want my money back...send merchandise back...it's broken...that is fine send the pieces back....on and on for several weeks then it stopped and I heard nothing. Pretty sure just wanted me to send money and for her to keep the china.

Case #2 - Sold car stereo. Sent a working perfect car stereo. Got message it didn't work. I said send back and I will refund money. Got stereo back...was the same model but missing parts. Luckily I had photo's and serial number. Case was decided in my favor and buyer no longer allowed to buy.

Just too many of these things for me to have time to mess with.


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## happychick (Sep 20, 2010)

Yeah, this happens every once in a while....Had one today myself!


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

I have had 3 no pays in my last 2 auctions.

People are troublesome


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## SilverVista (Jan 12, 2005)

Thank you, Ken, for all the pointers. Boss decided yesterday at 4:30 that we should get the first listing put together and up so he can watch it and learn over the weekend..... LOL! Fortunately I had my good camera and both lenses in the truck, shooed him off and said I'd see what I could accomplish, but that it would NOT be "point, shoot, type, BAM, done!" Definitely imperfectly done -- the photos are good but I wish I had been able to think a lot more about the description. First lot is stuff that would have gone to Goodwill, priced it very low just to get started, and this morning there is an opening bid. And I did make it out the door by 6:00! Just going through the motions, I had quite a few ideas about how to make the process faster, easier, more efficient. And since I'm the bookkeeper and a pretty tough financial task master, this experiment will only get my attention for so long before I'll be able to produce hard data proving whether it's worth pursuing further.

As far as wonky customers go, it seems as though everybody is getting crankier, pickier, more critical, and harder to get to pay up -- even in industrial parts and repairs where the customers have been coming in forever and are considered friends.


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## MJsLady (Aug 16, 2006)

The last thing I sold on ebay was a phone.
I tested it, packaged it and shipped it all in the same day. 
The buyer emails a week later saying it didn't work (5 days after I confirmed it was received.)
I said send it back if it is the same as it was when I sent it and does not work I will refund purchase, minus shipping. (I had specified a NO return policy but wanted to be nice.

She didn't like that and filed with ebay. I explained to ebay and they said here is what we are going to do. She will return the phone and when we have confirmation she got it, we will refund her and charge you for it.

I said no I will not refund if the phone is damaged since it was near mint when sent (had been in use for less than 1 year and looked nearly new plus worked perfectly).

She sends it back fed ex (I think ebay issued an rma) they refunded her then tried to take the money from me, before I had even gotten to test the phone. (i noticed the fee attempt with in 2 hours of getting the phone. Hubby is my tech and I had to wait for him to test it)

The phone looked like some one played football with it or dropped it at least. Scratches and chipped paint, none of which were there when shipped and could not have happened during shipping. It had a verizion chip in it (the phone I sent was NOT verizon but unlocked) and now it did not work. 
I reported this to ebay and they said pay up and we will investigate. I said no, I refused to issue the refund you decided to go against MY business policy and do so anyway I will not give you back money on a phone that looks nothing like the one I sent. 

I had moved all my money from PP and closed the account it was on a year ago (I used to be big into ebay and the power seller forums at OTWA so I knew their gimmicks). My policy is open a checking acct. for pp when my pp card needs renewed then close it once that is done. I do not trust them or ebay not to get hacked. 

I will not deal with them again since they seem to think it is ok to tell small businesses how to do things. I had until this fiasco 100% positive feedback and an account going back years.
The buyer? Less than a year but all positives too. Plus all they buy is cell phones...

I know this is a rare occurrence and perhaps I can or could pursue it further but it is just not worth it to me anymore. Between the fees and demand that paypal is THE payment option of choice it just does not work for me anymore.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

SilverVista: Be sure to do an eBay search on the items you may potentially be offering. See what is selling and for how much.

Since you are not familiar with eBay go through their tutorials. Personally I have an eBay store and run listings good until sold out or canceled. I do occasionally use auction listings for some items. Good until sold out or canceled are fixed price.

As mentioned eBay isn't very good on estimating shipping when more than one unit is sold. For example, someone buys six items which would all be first class. It will multiple the first class price by six. I refund excess shipping (if $1 or over).

I'm set up to where eBay fees go against a credit card once a month. I have two checking accounts and can have excess PayPal monies transfered to either or both. You can have eBay charges go against your PayPal balance but I'm not sure if they do it a transaction at a time or once a month.

Usually shipping options are USPS or UPS. If someone indicates UPS, but it would be less expensive going USPS, you can change method of shipping. However, if they indicate UPS I haven't be able to figure out how to change method. I do have an account separate account with both USPS and UPS.

USPS direct (not through PayPal) wants to be paid right now. Use to do it against a credit card but now pay them through PayPal. UPS bills me about a week after I create a shippiing label directly through them.

State sales taxes! You are very likely required to collect them for a sale within your state. For me it is fairly simple, a two page form sent in four times a year with taxes collected.

Earlier I said I identify (mark) items with the last four digits of the item number. I meant to say listing number.

If you are listing something on eBay separate it out from regular business inventory so it doesn't get sold while listing is running.

You might get international sales. When you print out label through PayPal it will create the custom form for you. Just sign it and tape it to package. UPS rates are usually horribly more expensive than USPS Priority Mail.

(Right now the link to custom forms is broken at least for me. Freezes up my entire computer when I try to print out the form. So I'm back to writing out custom forms. Here the local Post Office lets me rubber band the custom form and a check within a self-addressed return envelope to be picked up by carrier. They use it to return a receipt to me as no additional postage cost.)

I do occasionally ship UPS Standard to Canada. Same procedure. However, the amount of custom fees they will be charged is different than USPS. USPS turns items over to Canadian Postal Service. UPS turns packages over to a private company who will change customer not only standard customs, but a fee for their service as well. Final cost to customer will be able the same.

Always update to the latest version of Adobe. Seems like latest one is Adobe 11. (They upgrade about twice a year.)

My record keeping system is fairly simple. For sales within TN I mark form with a large red TN at the top. When a transaction is complete I put sales notice print out on a stack. Regular sales on top, foreign sales and sales within TN on bottom. After end of month I complete a 3" x 5" card marked with sales month, Non-TN sales, TN sales and total sales. That get stapled to top sheet, along with adding maching printout, before stack is rubbed banded together. Foreign sales I put between non-TN sales and TN sales just to make them easier to find if I have to do tracking on the package.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

MJsLady said:


> The last thing I sold on ebay was a phone.
> I tested it, packaged it and shipped it all in the same day.
> The buyer emails a week later saying it didn't work (5 days after I confirmed it was received.)
> I said send it back if it is the same as it was when I sent it and does not work I will refund purchase, minus shipping. (I had specified a NO return policy but wanted to be nice.
> ...


Ebay is not a very good venue to sell your personal used electronic items for the reasons listed above. Craigslist is better, you meet in person at the Walmart or post office or next to the police station! and only accept cash. No buyers remorse, no switching items, etc.

The other aspect with ebay/paypal is the chargeback issue. Some people will go around Paypal and directly request a chargeback thru the CC issuer, and that takes away a lot of your opportunity to contest stuff.

There are many more dishonest people that you would like.


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## MJsLady (Aug 16, 2006)

A charge back would have just hit PP since I used the debit card and removed all the funds from it.


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## SilverVista (Jan 12, 2005)

Thank you, Ken. I think I have a pretty good handle on the record-keeping, organization and shipping -- all things I've done daily as part of my job for over 20 years. Oregon has no sales tax, makes that part easy, and although right now the boss only wants to ship to 48 states, I managed rare plant exports at my former job and can do customs and NAFTA in my sleep. At least industrial parts don't need to pass a USDA inspection before leaving and another inspection by the receiving country's Ag Dept on arrival the way the plants did!

It's the customer communication that's the bugaboo, as we continue to see from other posts in this thread. Making the listing attractive enough to get attention while still being very clear about the condition of the item, and then hoping that you don't get swamped with flaky folks. THAT's the part that I'll probably never get "comfortable" or "efficient" with!


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Don't overlook AK, HI and the U.S. territories. Priority Mail flat rate costs exactly the same to them as to the 48 states.

Just got a sale to Belgium.


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## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

I had sold thousands of items, all over the world on ebay with 100% good feedback in the past. It is disappointing to be ripped off by a seller. I guess I will just call the seller since she will not respond to my messages and silly me, being so patient did not file a complaint in time. I wish she had not strung me along initially though as she responded before time ran out promising it was being mailed. Seeing her relist what I paid for made me a bit unhappy. I explained my issue in my post before but did not get suggestions. I just do not enjoy being a meanie but it is a simple solution, call her. Then if I can not get anything done, I will see if there is some other way to get a complaint against her. It is not like she lost what I bought, she is reselling it. As a seller, I had very good results with ebay although the fees and the double dipping by them owning paypal seems to be a monopoly in addition to folks not being able to accept any other form of payment. However, they are for many that sell a true stream of income that is depended on and certainly still a good option today. This said, I am considering selling on there again as I have a lot of different products I make to move this holiday season.  I know the best shipping methods, most are the flat rates and printing postage plus have my own little electronic scale. I have enjoyed reading all the posts while I consider what I want to do with my items. I am also looking at Pinterest and joined it. I also have two websites and will be looking at all my options. I did try Etsy and did not sell like I would have liked to. 

It is nice to hear so many still sell on there and are doing so with success, that is what it is all about.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

I don't waste time on non-payers. I send an invoice on the same day with my shipping. If not paid within two days will send a second invoice. If not paid in three days will send a third invoice. If not paid after four days I use the Resolution Center (on site map) and file a non-payment request. At that time eBay sends them a reminder to pay their sellers. If not paid with four additional days I have eBay close the items. I get back my commission fees (but not listing fees) and they get an unpaid item strike. Three gets them suspended indefinitely from eBay.

Less than positive feedbacks can be removed. Seller has to initiate request. (And, boy, do you hear a lot of sob stories as to why they didn't pay earlier.)

I only put a buyer on a blocked bidder list if I don't like their attitude more than anything else.

When creating a listing you can indicated who you don't want to receive bids from. For example, some foreign countries, more than two strikes with a certain period of time feedback less and 0. One other as I recall. Use them.

eBay wouldn't like you doing it, but nothing stops you from putting in a regular sales catalog in same package. Personally I wouldn't charge buyer shipping on it though. (Added: I do include a business card in any sale which I think might result in a future sale.)

Again, almost all of my problem buyers have had a very low feedback record.

Under My eBay use the ALL SELLING link. Useful information there, such as the number of lookers. Lots of lookers, price is probably too high. Few lookers, something of little interested or not properly presented.

My quickest sale was about one minute after listing. "Dang, I didn't put the price high enough".


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## Madsaw (Feb 26, 2008)

To stop buyers from complaining about shipping is to add shipping cost into the your items price. We do alot of buy it now with free shipping. Got tired if the you charge to much shipping email.


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

If you only do Buy-It-Now, and you set the conditions so that it won't go thru without immediate payment, then you don't have to worry about non-paying bidders. And if you work the cost of shipping into the cost of the item and advertize it as "free shipping", then they can't nickle-and-dime you about that either.

Of course nothing you do can stop an unscrupulous person from getting your item and attempting to get their money refunded AND keep the item too :shrug:. I've had my run-ins with eBay on that, and if I had my druthers I'd stick to Craigslist (cash only, meet at a neutral location, etc). But bottom line is, eBay has buyers in a volume that nobody else has, so if you want to sell things quickly for the most $$$, you're pretty much stuck using them (until something better comes along). We don't have to like it, but that's the reality of the situation.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

Interesting thread and very informative. I'm still working at getting my jewelry shop set up with the right buttons. This thread is helping me understand the buy/sale process on eBay better. Thanks


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## Madsaw (Feb 26, 2008)

ATV part sellers were one of the first sellers to start marking parts with UV pens. No noticeable markings unless under a uv light.
We sell chainsaw parts and complete saws. Most of our returns are the buyers odering the wrong part. For the most part in them cases its hard to get correct parts with out good ipls to get correct part numbers. That has lead us to do more leg work and describe what parts fit to a T.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

I see with eBay they have revised the listing form to include a box for description of the part as to potential flaws.


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## happychick (Sep 20, 2010)

Yes, now eBay has added a box where you can put in details about the items description. We really use it alot, because it's location is right at the top of the page near the bid/buy button. More happy clicking people will see that then scrolling down to the bottom of the page to read the description of the item before purchasing it. Very helpful, as many people don't read it and then have problems later.


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## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

I've had four non-paying buyers in the past 3 weeks 

I try to be patient. I think sometimes when they are new to ebay they place a bid without figuring out how to make the payment, then they have to scramble to get a paypal account set up. That just happened with one of my buyers, but I messaged her twice without getting a response so I went ahead and opened a non-paying buyer case against her. Got payment the next day.

It's annoying, for sure.


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## Soap Natsee (Dec 6, 2012)

I buy quite a bit on Ebay and have 100% positive rep, for example, Paypal locked my account because I hadn't verified with a bank account and I had reached $10,000.00 in purchases and they wouldn't reactivate it until I went through the verification.

Anyway, A purchase I made with 'buy it now' tonight may have went bad. the person advertised 'mens & womens socks size 9 - 11" in the title, but seller does not actually have any mens socks that are fitting 9-11, only 5-8.5, so I think I am in the right, I am not going to pay and this thread actually made me think about it a little more, going to email ebay with the facts tomorrow rather than just ignore her and deal with it later when I get nasty emails from ebay, assuming that is what would happen.


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## Elizabeth (Jun 4, 2002)

SN, my best advice would be to contact the Seller and let him/her know of your issue. They may voluntarily revoke your bid for you, which would be nice and much easier than having to file a dispute and wait for ebay to sort it out.

Good luck for a speedy, and favorable resolution.


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## Irish (Feb 10, 2012)

While I'm not happy others are having trouble with ebay, at least I know I'm not alone. I tried several things on ebay and nothing worked. Whether it was me not understanding or my inexperience or whatever, I gave up and will sell on CL or even my FB pages or my website. 

But, my buying on ebay, everything has gone swimmingly well, not one problem. *knock on wood*


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## Cindy in NY (May 10, 2002)

In the last year, I have had to file *22* non-paying bidder cases. Of that, *13* never paid!
Why bid if you're not going to pay!!

My star rating for shipping costs recently dropped to 4.8 because 3 people gave me ratings of 1 or 2!! I do not make money on shipping. In fact, if I find that there has been an overcharge, I refund the excess shipping.

I plan to do a whole lot less ebay selling in the coming year!


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## PerhamMN (Oct 24, 2011)

Cindy in NY said:


> My star rating for shipping costs recently dropped to 4.8 because 3 people gave me ratings of 1 or 2!! I do not make money on shipping. In fact, if I find that there has been an overcharge, I refund the excess shipping.


That's the problem... shipping is VERY expensive, but everybody expects it for nothing. When I started doing eBay and didn't know much about how much it costs to mail stuff, I actually LOST money on a few items thanks to the wonderful USPS!

I don't do eBay anymore... Between dealing with the people and the fees, it's just not worth it for me. Most of the stuff we have sold lately has been household items from dumpster dives, so Craigslist has worked a lot better. If you can weed out the junk mail, it's a pretty good system!


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

If you do "free shipping", you're guaranteed five stars for feedback on your shipping. Buyers can't give you anything less.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

I have been considering posting my knobs and pulls back on ebay recently. Sales dropped way off years ago and I gave up my little ebay store. Maybe it is time to give it a new run. I have added some additional items to my supply that others might find enticing.


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