# Sad eBay selling experience



## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

I sell some stuff on eBay. Yesterday I sell a car. After the bidder has won and paid he decides maybe she should read the description in the listing and notices that I've said the glass in my Tuff Ones Lola GT is clear and not original. BTW I underline this in the description to highlight it.

He then send this note (after winning AND paying):

"I didnt read the part about the windshield can I get a refund or some money back

- davecar68"

As they say in the ad: "Priceless"


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

most buyers on ebay don't read. they look at pictures and bid. sorry this happened to you. your best bet is to block the buyer from ever bidding again, refund cheerfully and make a "second chance offer" to the underbidder if there is one. if not, just relist. again, sorry this has bitten you, it happens to all of us eventually.


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

Yup I did the second chance thing and the buyer was only 70 cents less so no real loss. Maybe I'm too old but I always thought I was responsible for my own mistakes. Nice enough guy, but .....


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Reading is fun-DUH-mental*

Tom, make lemon-aid... offer to sell him an amber glass too. (if ya have one)If you dont have the glass, or he wont go for it; then send him a bill and a complimentary copy of "Go Dog Go"...

....ya gotta start somewhere....right? :tongue:


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## 1970AMX (Feb 3, 2011)

Personal responsibility has gone out the window years ago.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

bobwoodly said:


> I sell some stuff on eBay. Yesterday I sell a car. After the bidder has won and paid he decides maybe she should read the description in the listing and notices that I've said the glass in my Tuff Ones Lola GT is clear and not original. BTW I underline this in the description to highlight it.
> 
> He then send this note (after winning AND paying):
> 
> ...


hey,
i've sold alot of old toys, slots, ect.. on ebay...
this is a common "rouse" from unscrupulous buyers, 2 get w/ they won
@ a better $$...FULLY Knowing w/the ad/conditions were...

i have found this 2b esp. in OLD G.I. Joe items & original hot wheels cars 

save u'r ad, if they try crying 2 ebay (another "rouse" WELL-Used..)
u WILL WIN OUT :thumbsup:

Bubba 123


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## [email protected] (Jan 31, 2010)

I'm seeing less slot car auctions on the bay and with their fees I can say I will stop selling on there. I had only one issue but it was my fault. I sent the wrong items to the wrong buyers on two auctions. I refunded the cost of return shipping and gave them 50% off the total price. I've also had people back out of a bid on the Nintendo DS lite and XL I used to fix and resell quite often. They tell me their kid bid on it and want to back out or could I discount it. I would just refund and block them. Happened at least 2-3 dozen times over 150 DS systems. To me it is a non issue if you refund them and block them.


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

Another thing I've seen is people who want you to end an auction early with a buy it now price, usually on something valuable or obscure. Whenever I get an offer to end the auction early that offer is always well below the price the item actually goes for.

I guess I am always surprised when something goes wrong because I've found 99%+ of slot buyers to be great.


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## videojimmy (Jan 12, 2006)

I've been having the same issues lately with buyers... no matter how clear you make the terms and descriptions of your auctions, there are people out there who are either too lazy, too stupid to too unethical to live by them. My selling days are coming to an end once the new fees and new paypal rules kick in.


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## [email protected] (Jan 31, 2010)

I thought their new regulations already took place. They are at a 9% fee on everything including shipping on everything I sold back in September.


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## LeeRoy98 (Jul 8, 2005)

I no longer sell on eBay. I sold an item and shipped using eBay mailing with delivery confirmation. After confirming receipt of the item, the seller's mother (or spouse) filed a complaint with the credit card company saying she did not authorize the payment. The final result was that I lost the item, the payment, and an additional $20 to contest the results with the CC company.
So I don't see where I have any protection using eBay or PayPal. So I quit using them to sell. 

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com


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## GOODWRENCH88 (Feb 3, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> I thought their new regulations already took place. They are at a 9% fee on everything including shipping on everything I sold back in September.


Paypal has already informed us they intend to send a 1099 to the infernal revenue service for the 2011 year. Ebay has dodged this bullet so far as I understand it. Any enlightenment would be quite welcome. By the way, have any of you looked at how much money has gone through your paypal this year? 
I may have to flee to another country!! :freak:


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

GOODWRENCH88 said:


> Paypal has already informed us they intend to send a 1099 to the infernal revenue service for the 2011 year. Ebay has dodged this bullet so far as I understand it. Any enlightenment would be quite welcome. By the way, have any of you looked at how much money has gone through your paypal this year?
> I may have to flee to another country!! :freak:


hey Dan,
my brother & i r considering extreemely NORTHERN Canada...
want 2 hitch a "Ride"????

Bubba 123


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

Ebay offering an Iphone app just encourages impulse buyers who don't read the auction before bidding.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

LeeRoy98 said:


> I no longer sell on eBay. I sold an item and shipped using eBay mailing with delivery confirmation. After confirming receipt of the item, the seller's mother (or spouse) filed a complaint with the credit card company saying she did not authorize the payment. The final result was that I lost the item, the payment, and an additional $20 to contest the results with the CC company.
> So I don't see where I have any protection using eBay or PayPal. So I quit using them to sell.
> 
> Gary
> ...


my brother & I got "Bit" the same way...
seems 2b a popular scam .....

Bubba 123


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

GOODWRENCH88 said:


> Paypal has already informed us they intend to send a 1099 to the infernal revenue service for the 2011 year. Ebay has dodged this bullet so far as I understand it. Any enlightenment would be quite welcome. By the way, have any of you looked at how much money has gone through your paypal this year?
> I may have to flee to another country!! :freak:


When I read the 1099 policy, it was only if transactions were in excess of a specified amount (I don't recall the specifics).

On the subject of welching bidders: Letting them off only encourages them to keep doing it. There is a system to report non-paying bidders. Once they accumulate a few non-paying strikes, they will have to straighten up or get booted. It is about the only method left for sellers to protect themselves.

Another bidder not worthy of your time is the post auction negotiator. The ones that want a discount because they didn't know xx about the item (a detail clearly spelled out in your description) or lower shipping or whatever. Hold them to the contract they made with their bid and report them if they don't follow through.

Final value and PayPal fees are now about 20% of the total price + shipping. I haven't listed anything in a while now. It is still a good place to pick up an occasional deal.


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## clausheupel (Jan 27, 2005)

*I´m somehow done with selling on ePay too...*

... been selling and buying on the Bay since 1999 with 100% positive feedback until 01/2011: 

1.) Sold my 2-year-old HTC smartphone (which was widely known to run not very long with a battery charge) and got a negative feedback because of the phone "not working" i.e. shutting off! I tried to explain the buyer that even the best phone wouldn´t work without a charged battery and told him where to get a cheap replacement battery. He finally accused me of having tinkered with that phone ("not original screws") and gave me a negative :drunk:

2.) A week later I sold a nice old design radio clock from the early 80´s describing each and every little flaw it had and added lots of high res pics. The thing went for a nice amount, but the buyer claimed the radio didn´t work at all (although my pics were showing the LED display working well and I used the thing as my workbench radio for many years). Next negative feedback... :drunk:

So I went from 100% down to 89.something % and didn´t sell anything else there again since January. Been buying quite some stuff (computer equipment, tools, clothes etc.) over the last 10 months, but my feedback is still only at 91.something %. It will get back to 100% next January, but I´m frustrated!

I really don´t feel like selling on the Bay anymore, as I don´t buy from sellers with such a "bad reputation" myself...  Besides that, all those eBay and PayPal fees eat the lil´ "profit" you once could make from selling not so pricey hobby stuff! 

Greetings from Germany,

Claus


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## cwbam (Feb 8, 2010)

I sold a guy 2 LifeLike T chassis he loves them, he also bought a AW/JL tjet500 and hates how it runs. ARgh!!!!!!!!
compare a '60's motor design to the lifelike, and he has 3 feedbacks he can leave.
Well he's sending it back (no return policy) what can I do take a chance at 3 bad feedbacks. NO.
I consider selling on ebay like a garage sale, I'm not Nordstom. 

Am I being tough tjets? should they run better? was this a bad USED car (no) typcial?

On my track superstocks 3 seconds , g jets 5 second, Lifelike +-4sec , outlaw fray
+_ 9 sec, stock AW?JL +-15 sec just a guess.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

cwbam said:


> I sold a guy 2 LifeLike T chassis he loves them, he also bought a AW/JL tjet500 and hates how it runs. ARgh!!!!!!!!
> compare a '60's motor design to the lifelike, and he has 3 feedbacks he can leave.
> Well he's sending it back (no return policy) what can I do take a chance at 3 bad feedbacks. NO.
> I consider selling on ebay like a garage sale, I'm not Nordstom.
> ...


welcome 2 Epay's catch-22.................
even if refund there s the chance 4 bad feedback..but less...
plus u can respond 2 "Customer was refunded, even though t was stated NO-RETURN POLCY"...

then just resell on here :drunk:

not 2 refund, is almost a given 2 / 3 bad strikes on you....

u'r call.... 

BTW, been there w/ ALL these scenerios b4... Quit Epay ths yr 

Bubba 123


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## Harold Sage (Apr 6, 2008)

What really sucks about having bad deals on Ebay is it makes it just that much harder for the next guy buying anything or selling anything. The Only thing I use Ebay for is to see whats out there in the market and try and talk to the people selling and see if they will sell it a different way if it doesn't sell for them on ebay. I hate paypal.
Buyers need to pay attention to what they are getting, talk or text with the person selling item and make sure of what they are getting before any payments are made. If you have no Idea how an Item performs.(ASK). Only bid or pay as much as you are willing to do so with. If you need your Parents/Wife/Husband permission to spend the money make sure that they know it as well as the seller knows this. After the deal is done don't whine because you(THOUGHT) it would perform better than it did.

Sellers need to only put in the picture the Item that is selling. And yes put a picture in.Describe item to the best of your ability. Mention any defect's it may have such as Parts missing, faded, worn, or replaced. I know most of you do anyways. 
I just think it terrible when a deal turns sour. It hurt's everybody, the Seller, the Buyer, and anybody that follow in dealing with the two.


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## jobobvideo (Jan 8, 2010)

From what I've read here, selling on the bay has some major pit falls...and that not's good for anyone or the hobby, but do you guys think a seller deserves bad feed back if the item listed and pictured aren't what you recieved? What about a car that is stated to work, but when you run the car it's arching under the body all over the track? What if you recieve a package that smells so bad from cigarette smoke you can't even bring it in the house, as well as, have to soak the body, tear down and clean the smell off every piece of the chassis, and throw away the tires because there is no way of get the small out of them?


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

Just a follow-up. davecar68 gave me poor feedback for the transaction that he never actually consummated. 

He wins, changes his mind so I cancel the transaction. Then he gets pissy because I block him from bidding on my other items from that point on and leaves poor feedback (neutral). So I do him a favor by cancelling his win because he did not actually read the listing, then he dicks me.

I called ebay and they quickly removed his feedback because it's hard to leave feedback on something you never actually purchased! +1 for eBay on this one (although he should have never been able to leave feedback on a cancelled transaction in the first place).


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

if you file the correct unpaid item dispute a buyer CANNOT leave feedback at all. it is all a matter of knowing how to use the facilities at hand.


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## fuddmiester (Dec 26, 2003)

Within the last week I've had two out of country buyers, when it clearly states U.S. only. The third strike was this weirdo that claims I altered the auction AFTER he bid, which I believe is impossible....
I get jibberish email like this....
IF NOT THEN WHY DID U PUT THEM IN THE 1 OF 48 AREA. WHEN I SOLD CARS IF SOMEONE DID THIS I WOULD TRY TO STILL SELL THEM NO MATTER WHAT I HAD TO DO AND U JUST DONT CARE ABOUT THE CUSTOMER ALL U WANT IS THE MONEY AND NOT WANT TO MAKE ANOTHER BUYER LIKE FREE SHIPPING OR U COULD OF SAID ILL GIVE U MORE TIME U NEED TO LEARN HOW TO SELL. I TALK TO SOME SELLERS AND THEY SAID U R LIKE A LITTLE KID IF SOMEONE DOES NOT BUY U GET ALL UPSET AND TELL EBAY LIKE A LITTLE KID IN SCHOOL U NEED TO LEARN HOW TO TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS BETTER.
I got so lost I almost agreed!! All his emails have been caps, poorly written, to say the least. The last email was pretty legible and non caps, and blaming his brother. They don't all hang from trees do they?


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

if one uses the proper tools, like blocking bidders registered in countries one will not ship to, there are fewer cases of these instances. but no one can force sellers to protect themselves.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

The other day I tried to bid on an auction on eBay UK which stated shipping was only within the UK. My plan was to have them ship it to someone in the UK who would then ship it to me here in the US. However, to my surprise eBay did not let me bid because I was in the US and the auction did not specify US shipping. I was surprised the system did that automatically.

I was able to contact the seller and they modified the auction to allow me to bid. And I lost.

Joe


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Joe, when you ask a seller to make an exception, he can put you on an 'exception' list without changing the restriction for all others.
it is important for buyer and sellers to learn all they can about how eBay works.
unfortunately, eBay chose to eliminate the live chat boards where expert advice on such things along with quick direct links to the specific areas was available. now one must educate themselves and fumble around the FAQs for help


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

alpink said:


> if you file the correct unpaid item dispute a buyer CANNOT leave feedback at all. it is all a matter of knowing how to use the facilities at hand.


Al - because the buyer wanted to cancel the transaction I took the appropriate action with eBay and they cancelled the transaction and eBay refunded my fees. 

I've sold about 3000 items on eBay so I have a fair idea what I'm doing. I think there is an eBay problem as you should not be able to leave feedback on a cancelled transaction but he was able to do so.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

a fair idea and the proper idea are two different leagues. i sell on ebay. I don't have a problem with buyers leaving me poor feedback. maybe I am doing something wrong then?


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## SCJ (Jul 15, 1999)

Here is one for you....

For some time now, ebay/paypal has allowed the buyer/seller to ask for contact information from one another if you’re involved with a transaction….be it buy/sell.

I don't sell much on ebay, but now and then I’ll list a few items. I have always asked for contact information to include phone number in case I have any trouble shipping, PO doesn't like an address etc. I explained to the seller (power2u67) that I don’t keep them, sell them or do anything with them assuming all goes as planned. This particular buyer (power2u67) has an absolute cow that I'm asking for this information (even though he sgreed to this under ebay/paypal guide lines). He goes ahead and pays for the item (providing the information) I pack his parcel and take it to the automated PO machine (that night) so it gets there ASAP! Mean time he complains some more (both to me and ebay) threatens to leave negative feedback, never bid again etc. etc. He receives the cross country parcel in two days! He states the NOS tyco pro pick-up shoes are “OK” and then leaves negative feedback!?! Stating “seller dismisses customer concerns as if they are no big deal to him” all because I asked for his phone number!?! What the? :freak:

I filed a complaint against him through eBay since he threatened to leave a negative, but they will NOT remove it from my record? So I took the only recourse I could and blocked him from bidding and any further communication.

-------------------------
www.SlotCarJohnnies.com


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

If you're willing to stay on the phone continuously with ebay, stating that you are not satisfied and want to talk to a supervisor, they will always remove negative feedback. 

You've got to have a decent record of selling (paying fees) and threaten to stop selling, and tie up a phone rep's time for an extended period. Like 60 minutes. But feedback is negotiable. Always.


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