How do you deal with Ebay sellers?

[facade]

Having just recieved yet another Ebay hat with undisclosed damage, I wonder how y'all deal with this? Just accept it as an unfortunate part of buying unseen? Grill the seller with a 1,000 questions? Do questions even work since they often seem blind to obvious damage?

My latest "very good condition hat with no holes or dents" arrived with 20+ :eeek: insect damage spots and to top it off it wasn't even the advertised size.

 

[Blackthorn]

Send them a message via Ebay, and if they don't refund your money, complain to Ebay and give them a bad feedback.

 

[casechopper]

I usually contact the seller after receiving the hat and arrange to return it. Ebay and Paypal require that they take it back if it isn't as described and refund your shipping, generally both ways. If the seller has good feedback they'll generally do the right thing and refund you without you having to go to ebay. I've received 3 hats so far out of about 8 that weren't the size listed and all of the sellers refunded shipping both ways without problem when I explained the problem.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Those are all good tips. But the best way to deal with these types of issues is by avoiding them altogether.

I buy on eBay a lot, both for resale and my personal collection. Over the years I've had a fair amount of SNAFU situations. At this point, I've become pretty good at vetting sellers just by looking at listings. Bad pictures, return policies with a "defensive" tone, mutually withdrawn feedback (on older accounts), brief descriptions, poor punctuations and spelling are all good clues that a seller doesn't do things in a professional manner. If I am uncertain about a seller I ask a question, even if don't care what the answer is. Just reading a response can be very telling about who you're dealing with. Definitely read through feedback; there are bad buyers out there too, so occasionally you'll run across a good seller with an undeserved less than perfect percentage.

If you have a problem, don't get emotional or accusatory. 1) Send the seller a message via eBay's email system, if the reply via direct email, don't reply directly. 2) Take neutral, professional, matter of fact tone no matter how crazy/sleazy they reply. Remind them of eBay and PayPal policies if you have to. 3) Never threaten them with bad feedback unless they refund (feedback extortion is one of the few things eBay still takes action against buyers for). Most times, when I've had problems, I've been able to resolve the issue with these simple tactics without having to involve eBay or PayPal.

 

[facade]

Thank you. I was wondering if folks had tips to help avoid being disappointed and having to try and return hats. It seems that disappointment is par for the course.

What do y'all do for feedback when a seller cheerily refunds? With my latest purchase the seller deserves negative feedback IMHO for the listing but they have agreed to refund fully so that kinda washes the listing thus making me feel bad if I were to leave negative feedback. So I'm kinda leaning towards no feedback at all.

 

[casechopper]

If the seller makes it right and refunds I don't leave feedback. Neutrals are usually looked at negatively by prospective customers and if the seller is doing the right thing then I don't feel they should be affected negatively for future sales. They're already losing the cost of shipping both ways.

 

[fmw]

I think Guttersnipe has a great feel for it. I'm a veteran of many thousands of Ebay transactions myself. I don't make a living out of it but I do use Ebay to clear inventory from the e-commerce business I do operate to make a living. I will add that you can phone the seller if you like. Ebay will provide the phone number. I got a call from an Ebay buyer not too long ago. I had made an error and had some incorrect information in my description. The buyer called to explain it to me. I apologized and told him I would send a UPS label for him to use to return it for a full refund. We spoke briefly. It didn't take him long to understand that I'm a professional E-merchant. He said he would keep the poorly described product and ordered two more by phone. A bad situation turned completely around with a little effort. All the seller has to do is whatever he or she would want a seller to do if the roles were reversed.

The problem is that many of the sellers are complete amateurs just clearing stuff out of the closet. I've had some moth-bitten hats from Ebay as well. They were incredibly cheap so I just pitched them and moved on. I left no feedback. If the money involved were significant enough to go through the effort, I'd follow Guttersipe's methodology.

 

[ejbhats]

All good responses but one thing was left out... those folks who truly don't have sufficient knowledge enough to realize that a moth bite won't clean out etc. They are novices or they are naive What guttersnipe posted is so true also, feel them out. Ask questions. There are some really nice people out there who will bend over backwards to help you out, but may look at a hat differently than you or I. Casehopper's post about neutral feedback is so true. I have had 2 situations where a seller out and out lied about shipping the hat, but I wanted that hat so I opened a case, and it was shipped asap! Another time I never got the product (not a hat), it was like the person disappeared! My money was refunded through ebay. Neither time I left feedback but still have all messages as proof of attempt to do it the right way. I also firmly let ebay know they needed to re-evaluate those peoples feedback and if they wish to keep refunding money for bad sellers.
It is a crap shoot. The biggest driver for me is how much money I am prepared to spend and accept what I get. Sometimes we are torn between do I really, really want that-whats my limit-and how much risk or, I got it cheap enough to throw away which I have done.
Two people never see the same object with the same eyes. Ask questions and be prepared.
This is a great thread.

 

[ejbhats]

I think Guttersnipe has a great feel for it. I'm a veteran of many thousands of Ebay transactions myself. I don't make a living out of it but I do use Ebay to clear inventory from the e-commerce business I do operate to make a living. I will add that you can phone the seller if you like. Ebay will provide the phone number. I got a call from an Ebay buyer not too long ago. I had made an error and had some incorrect information in my description. The buyer called to explain it to me. I apologized and told him I would send a UPS label for him to use to return it for a full refund. We spoke briefly. It didn't take him long to understand that I'm a professional E-merchant. He said he would keep the poorly described product and ordered two more by phone. A bad situation turned completely around with a little effort. All the seller has to do is whatever he or she would want a seller to do if the roles were reversed.

The problem is that many of the sellers are complete amateurs just clearing stuff out of the closet. I've had some moth-bitten hats from Ebay as well. They were incredibly cheap so I just pitched them and moved on. I left no feedback. If the money involved were significant enough to go through the effort, I'd follow Guttersipe's methodology.

Yeah, what he said! LOL Smart minds do think alike!

 

[fmw]

I also firmly let ebay know they needed to re-evaluate those peoples feedback and if they wish to keep refunding money for bad sellers.

That's a tough one. I understand why Ebay wants to refund buyers for bad sellers. Their reputation is tarnished and they don't need for it to get any worse. However, this activity affects costs which affects seller fees which affects pricing on Ebay. In the end, Ebay becomes uncompetitive. Actually, I think they already are in many product categories. In my own industry, we have low enough margins that we can't make money above Ebay's fees. I'd like to see Ebay make a serious effort to reduce costs. It doesn't take 15,000 people to operate a web site.

Large companies often fall into the trap of setting staffing budgets based on what they can afford rather than what they need. I'm afraid Ebay typifies this problem.

 

[gtdean48]

I had an item that the seller would not accept returns on & it was clearly not as described. I opened a case with ebay, was refunded my money & still have the item. I was not allowed to leave feedback. I really have issues with sellers that will not leave feedback until I have left mine. Their part is over once I have paid & at most once shipped & should leave feedback then. I do when I sell. Holding back & waiting until a buyer post feedback is bad form in my book & I don't trade with them again. JMHO....

 

[fmw]

Ebay feedback is meaningless to me. I don't trade on Ebay for feedback. I just want to buy and sell stuff.

 

[scottyrocks]

I really have issues with sellers that will not leave feedback until I have left mine. Their part is over once I have paid & at most once shipped & should leave feedback then. I do when I sell. Holding back & waiting until a buyer post feedback is bad form in my book & I don't trade with them again. JMHO....

I was under the impression that sellers can no longer leave feedback for buyers due to this very hostage-like tactic.

 

[vintage68]

I was under the impression that sellers can no longer leave feedback for buyers due to this very hostage-like tactic.

Yeah, I thought that under the new eBay rules sellers could only leave positive feedback for buyers?

 

[fmw]

Yes, positive feedback only for buyers. So the feedback system is pretty meaningless overall. For sellers it can be pretty drastic. One mistake leading to one negative can destroy the seller's ID. It's almost a farcical system. It is meaningless on one side and overly heavy-handed on the other. However, I'm not sure how I would fix it in their shoes. I would probably do away with the feedback system and just allow people to leave notes on how they reacted to the transaction. I wouldn't put any teeth in the feedback. I would let the buyers and sellers do that.

Given the current system, I just ignore it. If I get nailed, I get nailed. Worrying about it doesn't fix anything.

 

[Mystic]

How do you deal with ebay?

Do you have a PayPal account and is that the way you pay for items on ebay?

I've never bought anything on ebay, don't have a PayPal account and am looking for opinions of more experienced buyers about how to best do business on ebay.
If you have a PayPal account...Do you use a debit card or credit card with PayPal...any pros and cons?
The PayPal sign-up looks like the best thing that has ever happened on planet earth....but, they are trying to get you to sign-up.....

my only online buying so far has been books on Amazon. I have a very small free checking account that is used only for the purchase of online buying with a debit card. I keep the balance limited to my purchases.

With all the identity thief, fraud, scams and hacking.......I realise buying on line is a crap shoot, but i'm looking for opinions from people that have experience in the crap shoot.

Is PayPal the best way to go for buying on ebay?

 

[gtdean48]

Have used PayPal for years, both buying & selling on eBay & other internet commerce.
I have a credit card tied to PayPal but mostly use the debit feature to a checking account.
They seem to REALLY want me to get a PayPal VISA & Pay Later but that ain't happening.
YRMV....

 

[alanfgag]

How do you deal with ebay?

Is PayPal the best way to go for buying on ebay?

I would say yes. You can opt to use a credit card to fund your purchases, which should offer an added layer of protection. Paypal is the common currency of Ebay and overall, it works very well.

 

[Mystic]

Thanks for the response and input guys.

I guess I will take the PayPal plunge......

WoW....what's next?.......Facebook.....OH NO!!!

 

[Lily Powers]

Have used PayPal for years, both buying & selling on eBay & other internet commerce.
I have a credit card tied to PayPal but mostly use the debit feature to a checking account.
They seem to REALLY want me to get a PayPal VISA & Pay Later but that ain't happening.
YRMV....

You've expressed my PayPal experiences exactly. PayPal is a safer way to purchase online, but they really urge to tie them directly to my bank account and not just my Credit Debit card. They way that option pops up on the page as a "next step" in completing the purchase, could easily trick someone into linking PayPal to their bank account, thinking it was required.

Mystic, I think of PayPal as sort of an escrow account, and if the seller is fraudulent, PayPal can rectify in many cases. As far as eBay, I rarely go there anymore, but if you do, my suggestion is to be sure and read all the seller's feedback, especially negative ones. I've backed away from items based on negative feedback. Be sure an look closely at the photos, too. I also won't buy from sellers in China because the goods are frequently counterfeit or of poor quality.