# Bob's Hobby Shop Ebay Story



## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

Just thought I'd post this. It's interesting.

http://www.bobshobbyshop.com/ourebaystory.htm

I like this hobby store, Bob is a stand up guy and his staff is great. 

Randy.


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

That's a sad story. I've read a lot of product reviews that use a star rating system in my day and it's clear to me that every once in a while a rater gets the scale mixed up and uses one star to indicate the highest rating. Could cause a lot of trouble with ebay driving such tight standards.


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

It is a sad story, but so true. I had me DSRs drop thanks to one transaction, because the buyer (Boosa) simply didn't bother to click the stars at all. Ebay's policies on this are flat out a joke!! The star rating should be set with the default at 5 stars, and let the buyer lower them if they feel they got shafted.

Ebid's seller policy is structured better for sellers, but just doesn't have the amount of traffic that Ebay has. So many have tried to switch over, but haven't had much success since the customer volume is so low. I wish you luck Bob!!


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

a note: if one uses free shipping, as eBay advocates, then the star rating is automatically 5. also, if one uses Delivery Confirmation and puts the number in the correct area (automatic when using PayPal shipping labels) on eBay, and the package shows as delivered, the delivery time rating is automatically 5 also. adapting and learning the tricks to using constantly changing forums is daunting. but in the case of eBay, checking on the eBay Question and Answer chat board regularly and trying to talk with oas... and/or bubbleman... can reveal a lot of good, useable information.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

one more thing, and this will not make me popular, but bringing up revenue generated for them in the past only gets an answer along the lines of " fine, but, .... what have you done for me today?".


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

*Pfffffttt!*



slotcarman12078 said:


> I had me DSRs drop thanks to one transaction, because the buyer (Boosa) simply didn't bother to click the stars at all.


*WHATT???!!!* 

I assumed the midpoint rating (3 stars) was average, adequate service, 4 stars was better-than-expected, and 5 stars was for outstanding, beyond-all-expectations service. 

Then people started saying, "Ebay penalizes us for any rating less than 5." I didn't know whether it was true. I didn't want the seller to get unfairly whacked, and I didn't want to give bogus inflated ratings, so I stopped using the stars at all, just left feedback comments. 

Now you're telling me when I *didn't use the star ratings*, eBay _*still*_ whacked the seller? 

What a steaming load of *cowflop*!


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Yup Dslot. That was straight from Ebay customer no service. When Ole Boosy dropped my numbers on one transaction I was fuming. Skipping the star rating is zeros across the board for the seller. And once it's done, the buyer can't go back and fix it either. I had 5's across the board, and that one slip ( which he admitted to doing regularly ) dropped me to a 4.8.


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

alpink said:


> one more thing, and this will not make me popular, but bringing up revenue generated for them in the past only gets an answer along the lines of " fine, but, .... what have you done for me today?".


" What have you done for me today " is a terrible attitude on the part of anyone who says that. You don't say that to your customers in any business! Not if you want to keep them.

It's like Bob said. The sellers are " NOT " Ebay's employees. And if Ebay keeps it up, they're going to lose customers. And to the point where they need to fix it. Bottom line is Ebay needs to quit treating the sellers like they are their employees.

Randy.


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## jsdspif (May 15, 2004)

talk about shipping charges . I've turned this guy in about a dozen times and tonight it's still on here . It's a bottlecap to carbonate a pop bottle . They actually cost between $15 and $20 . It would probably cost $1 to mail it in a padded envelope , but he wants 18.49 . I gave up on ebay because so many times the people buying whatever from me wouldn't read the description (or so it seemed ) and then they'd complain . Not wanting negative feedback I'd cave in and refund some of there money or let them return the product even though I stated no returns all sales final . It happened with a gold coin I sold and that was the final straw for me . I said no more selling on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Carbonater-Carb...300?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a65a33e4c


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

It is sad... that the golden era of eBay is over. Ya hear me folks, IT"S OVER.
It's the corporate mindset, all about shareholders and revenue streams.
This poor guys 54k doesn't mean squat to them because they generate that every 5 minutes.
I haven't sold on eBay in over three years now for some of these reasons.
If eBay continues to lose sellers like this at the rate they gained them, where does that leave them in the future?
eBay is still the biggest flea market in the world, but those that vote with their wallet are stronger.
Even the almighty Walmart has been forced to change some of its policies when consumers decided to shop elsewhere.
It's the same here. If a flea market runs off its sellers, the customers will quit going.
There are several other bidding sites that have opened up and gained steam because of what is going on with eBay.
Sure, there's not near the selection, but when there is, what will be the advantage of eBay?

You can still trade online elsewhere.



Vote with your wallet.


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## Boosted-Z71 (Nov 26, 2007)

Yes shipping charges are getting outrageous on E-bay, especially when sellers refuse to combine small items like slot cars & parts, Many items can be shipped in a $4 - 6 Priority box. I understand it costs time & money to run an auction, I have sold my share on E-bay as well, but for someone to charge shipping of $5.95 per item and not combine is ridiculous. I recently bought some items & the seller refused to combine, He said I got too good of a deal on his stuff. I paid the shipping for multiple items & then when his stuff arrived in one box, one $4.95 postage paid I took pics & sent them & the e-mails to e-bay, I heard nothing so I called, finally talked with someone & explained the situation & they reversed the difference he had charged me from the actual postage.

I will say that their are still several slot car / part sellers on E-bay (most I have seen as members here on HT as well) that I still get great service & product from. They are the only ones in my book who deserve 5 stars. Like Al stated, sellers who know how to use the system, free shipping, delivery notification etc & actually try to sell at fair prices for goods & postage can survive, It would do E-Bay good to get rid of all the deadbeat sellers anyway.

Let me also add I have bought from Bob's shop and they have always had great merchandise & super service, I think I had one package delayed by a big snow storm, Bob & I exchanged emails a couple times & he offered to resend the parts, I live in a small rural town & sometimes things can take a little detour but If I go looking for them they have always been found in a reasonable time frame. Based on my experience with him I dont know how you could want anything else for service. 

Boosted


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

slotcarman12078 said:


> Yup Dslot. That was straight from Ebay customer no service. When Ole Boosy dropped my numbers on one transaction I was fuming. Skipping the star rating is zeros across the board for the seller. And once it's done, the buyer can't go back and fix it either. I had 5's across the board, and that one slip ( which he admitted to doing regularly ) dropped me to a 4.8.



This is wrong

Skipping stars ratings are not zero or one star. They are simply not figured into the average. First you got rated low, then you got fed a line of BS. 

Watch how many star ratings you have, it won't increase at the same rate as your feedback. Maybe 2/3 of buyers fill out the stars.


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

I will never sell on feepay. 

I'd rather sell here


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## racer8nut (Mar 25, 2010)

I have to agree with you all. Epay is getting crazy. I go to some sellers and find what seems to be a great deal and go down to shipping and they want and arm and a leg. Well, I like my arms and legs very much and they can keep their silly little items. I have seen items going for a couple of bucks and scroll down to shipping and they are charging 6-7 bucks. Huh!!!! I am definitely more careful of what I buy on Epay. 

I look forward to seeing what Bobs hobby has and wish him luck:thumbsup:


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

> 440sForever sez: This is wrong
> 
> Skipping stars ratings are not zero or one star. ... They are simply not figured into the average.


Now I'm all confused again ...

But I'm still  ticked off  that eBay introduced the star system and didn't explain it to the users. Why the heck have 5 rating levels, if the thing is going to function as an on-off switch? You could do just as well with SATISFIED / NOT SATISFIED.

When I thought 3-stars was satisfactory, I apparently mucked over some good sellers without knowing it. Grrrrr.

-- D


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

This occurred 2 1/2 years ago, and I didn't do a heck of a lot of selling. One feedback dropped me a bunch. It wasn't a big deal because I wasn't a "power seller" so it was merely numbers. What ticked me off was my shipping dropped from 4.9 to 4.7 in one feedback, and I charged actual cost. When I talked to Ebay about this, I was told that if a seller clicks nothing, it's logged as the minimum. They may have changed that policy since then, or the dope I talked to at Ebay had no clue. Needless to say, that's when Boosa and Co. ( Nate #### ) got blocked from bidding on my auctions.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

I haven't sold on eBay in years and I don't see myself doing so in the future. I know how straightforward eBay and Paypal were 10-12 years ago and it has just gotten more complicated and costly as each year goes by.

I've related the story before about how a couple vendors got shafted because an internation buyer (the same buyer in both cases) claimed he never got his merchandise. Paypal took the money back from the vendors even though those vendors had proof of postage.

I recently purchased a number of HO cars and felt the combined shipping was a bit high. So I rated the seller's shipping cost as a "4" - reasonable. Paying $12-$15 for an item that costs $6 to ship is not "very reasonable" in my book, but I accepted those shipping costs when I purchased the items. Accepting the costs is one thing, considering them "very reasonable" is something else.

Ebay and Paypal will keep pushing the envelope until they lose enough market share to someone else.

Joe


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

I got shafted out of 145 bucks from a jerk in Italy who claimed he never got the stuff...
how do I know he scammed me? He put his claim into paypal 6 days after the auction ended... as if the items would have gotten there that quickly.... in DECEMBER. His account has been closed down by ebay, but I'm still out the money. I had the customs form, the PO Receipt... mattered not to paypal


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## plymouth71 (Dec 14, 2009)

I have a couple of Slot car sets I'm thinking of selling, Knight Rider and Fall Guy. I guess I'm not going to sell them via ebay...


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

As I thought about it, something seems really wrong (illegal?) about this.

Just because a buyer doesn't like the shipping charges, why is money being held back from the seller? The seller stated the shipping charges and the buyer accepted. The buyer got their item. By what logic, let alone legal means, can ebay/Paypal hold someone's money in this situation? Who is eBay/Paypal protecting? If it's the buyer being protected, just how does this help them? This seems like another way for eBay/Paypal to float money for the interest. Who gets the extra money generated from that interest - the buyer? Imagine how much money they must be holding from legitimate sellers.

If this is really the case, it reenforces my conviction never to use eBay as a seller, nor accept payments via Paypal.

Joe


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

Grandcheapskate said:


> As I thought about it, something seems really wrong (illegal?) about this.
> 
> Just because a buyer doesn't like the shipping charges, why is money being held back from the seller? The seller stated the shipping charges and the buyer accepted. The buyer got their item. By what logic, let alone legal means, can ebay/Paypal hold someone's money in this situation? Who is eBay/Paypal protecting? If it's the buyer being protected, just how does this help them? This seems like another way for eBay/Paypal to float money for the interest. Who gets the extra money generated from that interest - the buyer? Imagine how much money they must be holding from legitimate sellers.
> 
> ...


Yup,
sell HERE (on H/T)...
the "Audience" is only getting BIGGER here ;-)

i've stopped selling on "EPay" myself as well 4 the same reasons 

Bubba 123


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

*lawsuits against FleaPay*

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y11/m01/i13/s06

http://www.paypalsucks.com/ebay_paypal_lawsuit.shtml

http://mashable.com/2010/07/13/ebay-lawsuit/

http://www.companyexposed.com/category/ebay-lawsuits/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/16/skype-founders-file-lawsuit-ebay

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/cab/abn/y10/m12/i23/s02


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Grandcheapskate said:


> As I thought about it, something seems really wrong (illegal?) about this.
> 
> Just because a buyer doesn't like the shipping charges, why is money being held back from the seller? The seller stated the shipping charges and the buyer accepted. The buyer got their item. By what logic, let alone legal means, can ebay/Paypal hold someone's money in this situation? Who is eBay/Paypal protecting? If it's the buyer being protected, just how does this help them? This seems like another way for eBay/Paypal to float money for the interest. Who gets the extra money generated from that interest - the buyer? Imagine how much money they must be holding from legitimate sellers.
> 
> ...


_"F&W is litigating a putative class action against PayPal for PayPal holding seller's money up to 180 days (sometimes even longer). PayPal often does not provide a basis for why it is holding the funds and will also tell the seller to get a subpoena to find out why their money is frozen. If you have had money held by PayPal, please contact us for information about the case." _

http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/cab/abn/y10/m06/i08/s02


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

In talking with a vendor at the show last Sunday, he informed me that Paypal held back at least $200 because a foreign buyer said he never received his items. And there is no recourse - the money is gone.

Joe


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## Slotcar Bob (Jul 10, 2008)

videojimmy said:


> I got shafted out of 145 bucks from a jerk in Italy who claimed he never got the stuff...
> how do I know he scammed me? He put his claim into paypal 6 days after the auction ended... as if the items would have gotten there that quickly.... in DECEMBER. His account has been closed down by ebay, but I'm still out the money. I had the customs form, the PO Receipt... mattered not to paypal


Hi Jimmy
I had the same thing happen to me with a guy in Spain.. I kept being told by paypal sorry but you can't prove it was delivered , only that you did ship it and that that's not enough, I kept calling back because I was really pissed at loosing 245.00 plus the merchandise. On my forth call I got the right Lady on the phone, she said scan the Post Office stamped customs receipt that shows the address it was shipped to & the paid receipt , I did this while she was on the phone with me & emailed it to her, She then released my 245.00 back to me telling me I met paypals guildlines for international shipping, bottom line is Jimmy keep calling them back until you get the right person on the phone, First they just wanted me to go away , but being persistent paid off, I have since blocked all international buyers just so I do not have this stupid problem again..
Hope it works out for you..
Bobby in Port Orange
386 383 0504


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