The Ebay Thread

[TrafficChick]

I don't even ask anymore. It's too frustrating.

Love you, babe.

[Deleted]

I wish I could leave buyer feedback. I've had two very bad experiences as I've tried to sell a MacBook (the first time I've sold anything on eBay).

I first sold it to a guy who bombarded me with several emails bugging me to send it immediately. This was the evening he bought it mind you. On the following morning I was in the process of preparing it for shipment when he sent notification that he had bought the wrong model and begged me to cancel the transaction. I did so, but canceling after badgering me to send the item NOW really, really irked me.

After I relisted a guy asked me to lower the Buy It Now price by $50 and mentioned he's disabled and on a fixed income. I'm a sucker for sob stories, and I can be too nice and naive most of the time. I obliged. I gave him a few days to pay. He didn't. I emailed him to inquire if he still wanted the MacBook. I know, I know. He never responded. After two weeks had lapsed I filed a complaint. Nothing.

The good news is that someone bought it after I relisted it (for $25 more than the original to accommodate people who try to get the price lowered). It worked out better for me, but I'm still antsy after two bad experiences. I shipped it on Thursday, but I still have this fear that the buyer will try to back out. I was burned twice, and I've learned to not be too nice.

Given my experiences I wish sellers could leave negative feedback. I wouldn't dog the first buyer. He did let me know before I shipped and was guilty of basically annoying me. I would've left negative feedback for the second though. He did get a strike, but I doubt this will impact him in the long run.

[firstaid]

Is there any way to report a person who is bidding on the same auction as you to ebay? There is this one bidder that is bidding on the same thing as me, he is private so I can't see his feedback ratings, but his bidding history shows me that he is has placed 30+bids on 30+ items in the same category (wristwatches). The shady part is he has over 100 bid retractions in 6 months.

[LAX]

I won an auction that stated the item would be shipped by priority mail, and the shipping amount charged for shipping was at priority rates. The seller ended up shipping via standard mail. I emailed to ask what is up with that and he responded.
"The listing was a mistake. But we do usually ship priority if it makes a differance but if something is light enough first class mail often gets there just as fast."
I'm really peeved by his response. The issue isn't really how fast it got to me, it is getting what I paid for. The standard package only cost him $1.58 and I paid $4.50 for shipping.
I'm deciding whether I should press the issue with the seller, drop it since it is only a couple bucks, or just leave poor feedback.

[bitca]

I would leave shitty feedback. If he advertised that it was going out PRIORITY, you PAID for priority and didn't GET it priority, I'd be pissed. That's like the time I paid for something (I think it was an HDMI cord) and they put it in MEDIA MAIL packaging. I felt like calling the damned postal service. haha. FRAUD! Not media mail.

[Deleted]

That is pretty common on Ebay. Sellers jacking up their shipping because that money goes straight to them- no fees.

I would give him a warning first and give him the opportunity to refund the extra fees to you. You do have to keep in mind that some sellers will include handling charges in with the shipping, such as packaging costs and gas to drive to the post office.

[Deleted]

Jan 14, 2010 14:45:59 GMT -4 LAX said:

I won an auction that stated the item would be shipped by priority mail, and the shipping amount charged for shipping was at priority rates. The seller ended up shipping via standard mail. I emailed to ask what is up with that and he responded.
"The listing was a mistake. But we do usually ship priority if it makes a differance but if something is light enough first class mail often gets there just as fast."
I'm really peeved by his response. The issue isn't really how fast it got to me, it is getting what I paid for. The standard package only cost him $1.58 and I paid $4.50 for shipping.
I'm deciding whether I should press the issue with the seller, drop it since it is only a couple bucks, or just leave poor feedback.

He can't charge you for something you didn't get. I would ask him to refund the difference, like others have said. If he doesn't I would leave negative feedback about it.

[Deleted]

I just had a weird experience on Ebay. I bought an item and then found a mysterious charge on my mastercard. It was a company called privacy protect and they told me I had signed up for a trial membership and at the end of the trial membership because I hadn't cancelled they charged me 25 bucks. I have no idea how this company got my information and it is freaking me out. I cancelled the membership no problem, they didn't even fight to keep me as a "customer", I have a feeling this happened through Ebay, has anyone had this problem?

[bklynred]

It hasn't but I'd check with your card just to be on the safe side.

[LAX]

I sold an item a couple weeks ago and the buyer had a message that they wanted it delivered between the 20th and 28th, so I held the package and sent it out with a target delivery of the 20th.

I track the package and find out that USPS did indeed attempt to deliver it on the 20th, but I get a message from the buyer that their mailbox was full that day so USPS returned the package to sender.

I can see from the tracking info that the item is on its way back to me, but who knows when it'll get here. The buyer seems to think I should just go ahead and resend the item back to her and eat the cost of re-shipping (because their mailbox being full is somehow my fault?)

I would like to be firm and say I followed her instructions regarding delivery dates and I'm not accountable in this case, yet I suspect if I don't just eat the shipping cost the sender will leave negative feedback. I really hope this isn't a lose/lose case for me.