Forum

Rant about Ebay Buyers/Feedback
 

Ok, so I just have to get this off my chest because it has become unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I have sold on Ebay for over 10 years, and used stealth for the past 3 since my original got blocked. Upon creating my newest Ebay account I figured I would do it legit, try my best to make everyone happy, and keep my account standing well for at least the year or so. I do not sell a great deal of stuff, more or less just like try to get rid of old things around the house. My overall experience over the last month with buyers has been HORRIBLE. The amount of buyers that have tried to blackmail me into refunds and returns is RIDICULOUS. Literally these people think Ebay is now a Wal-Mart store!!! They want to return EVERYTHING!!! I sold a laptop case on here, guy wins bidding, gets it says oh I didn't realize it didn't have a strap I want to return it. Boom! I'm out shipping charges. Sold a watch, guy says oh its not new enough to give as a gift, boom! Wants to return it. Now heres the bad one. I sold my old projector on Ebay as-is to a buyer. Guy gets it, claims it won't turn on. IMMEDIATELY files a claim. I tell him to ship it back, and just got it back yesterday DESTROYED. Cracked down the middle, and he did not send back ANY of the cables or the remote. Today I awoke to someone saying, you told me you would mail this Priority and you mailed it parcel post the slowest form of mail. I completely underestimated the shipping charges. I want a full refund for shipping or I will leave negative feedback. SERIOUSLY!!! And the sad part is I am listing ALL these items as they are!! I take detailed pictures and describe them perfectly!!! Ebay is a TERRIBLE system now, and is completely unfair to sellers. These little *******s try to blackmail you into EVERYTHING now and I've HAD it!! The problem is, even though I sell these items as is, if they file a claim they can STILL get a refund!! For the dumbest things!! Then either way I am out shipping when he mails it back!! It is taking me everything under the sun to not wig on them!! "There was a small scratch on the back I would like a partial refund" "You mailed out 2 days after the auction ends instead of 1, I want a refund for shipping" "You said it was like new and the owners manual is frayed on the edges I want to return it" It is absolutely absurd now.

Ebay has been like this for Years, This is NOT News.

I KNOW how Fustrating it is, I sell NEW Items on Ebay, and from time to Time I also get Scam Buyers,

Selling used Items can Only be WORSE.

This is why I pretty much stopped selling on ebay, and the majority of my sales are now through Amazon. They get a more sophisticated type of buyer. Not the trailer trash that trolls through ebay. Although I sell very high end new quaility merchandise, I have been relatively trouble free on ebay as far as wakadoo buyers for over 8 years, and out of 1400 feedbacks, I only had one bad, and one neutral.....knock on wood.

I mean I have had bad experiences with buyers before, but it is just OUTRAGEOUS now. These people buy it, get it, think about it for a couple of days and decide they don't want it anymore or its something they really didn't need. Ok, I'll file a claim and want to return it. Its SOOOOOO ****ing annoying!!!!!!!!!!! I don't understand why Ebay even has you select a return policy, because obviously DOESNT matter with their 100% buyer sanctification guarantee. Bunch of greedy ****ing crooks

Oh and you are right about the used items, it is TERRIBLE. I mean you literally have to list, oh there is a slight scratch about 1/8 of an inch on the back of the CD case by the label. Otherwise they will flip **** and file claims and leave negative feedback..

Agreed !
 

I agree entirely - and Im more a buyer than a seller! The real cause of buyers trying it on is because they are picking up on E Bay's stupid policy of not allowing sellers negative feedback whilst buyers can freely give it ! If E Bay decides to broker a transaction between buyer and seller (and charge a high 20 - 25 per cent of it in a computerised, large "economies of scale", low cost, high profit margin business) then it should allow equal evaluation to both parties in the transaction. TOO MANY BUYERS WANT THINGS ON APPROVAL.

Who in Gods name drEams up these changes of policy???? If they continue, E bay is on a suicide course with a bad reputation fast coming up.

I've had a few crummy Ebayers lately, Maybe it is the time of year

For what it's worth, maybe nothing, in my listings I tell buyers to examine the pictures Very closely. Use the zoom and enlarge feature because it shows everything about the item so you know exactly what you are getting. Then I also state twice that what they see in the pictures is exactly what they get.

They do it because they can, and they know you know they can get away with putting a dispute and getting all the money back, that's why they do a partial refund first. always put a sob story on the bottom of you listings, that way they will think twice on bidding if they plan on scamming you.

Sob story?

I agree that the feedback system is awful right now. It's way too open for extortions. I had one buyer receive the item, contact me right away saying that it's broken. I asked him to show photos and told him I'd of course send him a refund or he could send it back (at my expense) and I'd give him a refund. He said he wasn't at home, so he couldn't take pictures and that his grandfather can't go to the post office to return it. Then he threatened me with a negative feedback saying if I didn't let him keep it AND give him back the money.

Good job with the new feedback system, eBay. Now buyers have the chance to get back their money (PayPal disputes) AND mess up the seller's reputation, even if they're crooks.

What if you start charging "Restocking Fee"?

Does that make people think twice before bidding? Will it uphold during a case?
Interested.

I agree. That has been my biggest problem with ebay. The buyers are in total control. My most recent was a real beauty. It was for a broken cell phone. I clearly stated in the title and listing that it is broken and can only be used for parts and there will be no refunds, sold as is. It sells, I ship. The day it arrives I get message requesting a refund because the phone doesn't work. They left a negative feedback and ebay gave them a refund. As sellers we have no control.

Restocking fees were "Invented" to deal with Unwarranted Buyer Returns.

The Fee was really intended to cover the difference that a Returned item can be resold for.

If you as a seller were lucky all you had to do was repack the item and resell it a little cheaper as an "Open Box Item" But, sometimes as we all Know, a LOT More needs to be done to a returned item in order to resell it again.

Restocking fees did indeed work,,until the dawn of feedback,,Now, as soon as you charge a Re-Stocking,,,,BAM, Negative feedback, putting accounts in Jeopardy,,

Not only that, but if a Buyer files a Dispute with Paypal or a Chargeback with their Credit Card Company, they are going to get all of their Money back anyway. That is why A LOT of sellers do not even Bother with Re-Stocking fees, Most Buyers Know that they can get around them Very Easily with a Dispute or a Chargeback.

/golfclap for Slapped at having read through the entire original post...

So an update on my one sale, the guy is onto the fact that the case will close in a few days and he said he is going to escalate it to a claim. What exactly happens when he does so? I know they will order him to ship the item back with a tracking number. The problem is he has already shipped the item back to me WITHOUT a tracking number completely destroyed. So what can I do to make sure he doesn't get his money back? Like I said I wanna stick it to this jerk off.

As long as you are 100% sure that there is NO Tracking number on the return, He can not prove to Paypal that you got the Item Back.

I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I have had a jerk off customer send me back an empty box with delivery confirmation and ebay still sides with them. They get you coming and going. :rant:

Yea I figured as much. I had a guy do that to me one time with shipping an item, but never on a return before.

That's too bad, that would make me mad I think
I have an Ebay buyer who didn't wait as promised and escalated it to the first phase before a claim, where you talk on the paypal website. First time this has ever happened, the account doesn't even have a negative yet. She is doing everything she can to not send the item back, demanding I pay and send her a pre paid slip. It will be interesting to see if she has the nerve to do this since she will be returning it to an Attorneys Office.
She is using her Seller/Buyer account to do this not realizing that a claim and possibly her involvement in the Paypal Dispute process has already went against her Sellers account. Whether it will count depends on other factors I suppose