Ebay Sellers. . . what a joke!

[AlanRail]

After many years of buying on eBay I have come to the conclusion that I can only measure success from the latest transaction. I mean that I have had good transactions and rotten transactions. I have purchased from newbies and established stores and even from people where I live in the Chicago area. But it is the LAST transaction I do recall.

So here is my recent sad sack story. . . . .

I win an auction and discover lo and behold, the Seller in my area. So I pleasantly email the Seller and ask if I could come by as his convenience and pay for the item in CASH. The Seller is located 10 minutes or about 6 miles away. Instead of an email saying ; Sure you saved me the trouble of packing the item and having to share the sale with PayPal;, he writes back:

Hello,

I'm sorry I do not offer a pick-up service.

Thanks...

I'm thinking here just what would that "service" consist of: Listening for a doorbell, opening the door, taking money in exchange for the item. (The item is about 5" by 5" by ½";). Not much different from accepting a package from UPS or picking up your mail.

I emailed back that I wasn't interested in that particular service, instead I was offering a "drop-off service" where I would drop off cash. NO, he again repeats his message about not offering his services..

So I e-mail again, look buddy, I'm not wealthy and hey your shipping charge was $5.95 but at 6 miles distant I would be paying $1.00 a mile, The post office charges $0.37 and I could mail across the country.

Now I know the Seller owns the rules in eBay, and eBay is not a brick and mortar store but I am the customer.

Maybe the guy was butt-ugly or has an incurable contagious disease or both!!
More likely the item photo'ed well, but was really crap.

The Seller next replied:

Hello,

Let's just forget about it. I will relist the item.

Thanks anyway...


At least he was polite!!

[macdannyk1]

I don't beleive the experience you had with one seller allows you to generalize about all ebay sellers. I'm sure the seller has his/her own reasons for not wanting to meet with a pushy buyer like yourself (at least, that's how I would classify you, if I was selling to you). In today's world of identity theft and fraud, why would a seller want a buyer to know where they lived? I, personally, would have asked to meet at a neutral location and if that wasn't acceptable, bite the bullet and pay the shipping. Doesn't seem worth it to alienate a person that way. But, that's just this ebay sellers opinion.

[nblum]

I'm inclined to agree with Macdanny. Most eBay sellers don't want to meet you, just sell you their items. He's not a retail establishment, and if he doesn't want to have you stop by that's his privilege. I don't believe there is anything wrong with your suggestion or his rejection of it. You do seem put out to a disproportionate degree. Did you offer to pay the shipping in the end, or did you refuse? If you refused, I can see his point. If you offered to pay the shipping, he has no business relisting.

[laz 57]

Sounds like he wanted to make some extra cash on the S&H.
laz57

[Anonymous]

Ebay has long been a road full of potholes. Some transactions (and the people behind them on both ends) are great, and others are supreme jerks. The problem is there's often no way to recognize the former in advance (despite any of that "feedback" stuff), and there's often no way to recognize the latter until it's too late.

You're probably just as well off having not completed the transaction with the guy. He comes across as someone you probably wouldn't want to meet in any event. But you'll find some of those in just about every hobby, I suppose--not to mention in real life!

[TurboOne]

The jerk part of sellers that I encountered is the feedback system.

As a buyer my job is to pay for an item in a timely matter. That is it on my end. If I do that, then the seller should give feedback to such.

Yet on many friends purchases, I see sellers wait until they recieve feedback to give it, and if the buyer doesn't like the item for whatever reason, they dump a negative into the buyers feedback. The buyer did what he was suppossed to to, now the seller is only being retalitory. That is wrong, and sellers need to only give feedback on the paying ability, not give negative on someones opinion on their merchandise. They have response ability to answer that.

The one time I had a problem, I emailed and we solved problem quickly. Everything seems to work if you communicate politely.

[2c]

Tim

[Anonymous]

I side with the seller on this one. No way would I want a buyer coming to my front door. A neutral site would be ok.

wedi01

[Roger Bielen]

Tim, I agree with you as to waiting to give feedback. Though I haven't had any problems it would be great if neither feedback is shown until both are in the system.

Relative to trains there is a seller, TCA member and a sidebar advertiser on this site, that has gotten into the practice of listing the box and the item separatly. I believe this is against TCA recommendations. It's quite obvious when they are in sequence, less than a min. apart.

[Anonymous]

Alanrail,
You may be the nicest guy on earth, but your Ebay seller donesn't know you.
Your asking them to accept a stranger to their home. This can be very scary these days. Particularly for an older person. If the seller specifies his shipping wishes we should accept them before buying.

[AlanRail]

All of youse who agreed wit the Seller are rite!

I'm a crazy scary Buyer that packs heat. And I buy on eBay because I wat to get me one of dem honest goody goody Sellers! Yeah right

[TurboOne]

Also before this whole thing turns into a flame war, We don't have to sell or buy on ebay. It is our choice. I have picked up items but we met in neutral place. All worked well. Plus you get a Dennys Grand Slam after meeting. Yummy

In the year 2005 everyone has to be a little cautious, you just don't know who is on the other end. But I do get to know some people quickly, and have fun with them online and hopefully in person. [8D][8D][8D][8D]

Take care all

Tim

[Anonymous]

Hello All: I Have picked up Items 100 miles away, also had Items shipped to me from 10 miles away. The bottom line ie this when you bid the sellers term's are clear, you can also ask the question before you bid(hope to get an answer), I am not saying I agree with the seller but you have to respect the terms of sale or don't bid. Regards Steve

[tjsprague]

I've met buyers (and sellers) at a public location to deliver product. Usually over a cup of coffee and some train talk. But I'm collector, not a dealer.

Look for the TCA identification in the listing. I always state my membership.

Tim

[tjsprague]

Roger,

don't know of any TCA regulations regarding splitting items and boxes.
Of course, I think it's a bigger sin to split sets, or as I've seen, a loco and tender. There was a thread a while back on this issue. But that's my beleif.

Personally, I have in the past split the boxes and the trains. Kept the trains, soldl the boxes!

Tim

[Anonymous]

6 miles away and he wants to make you go thru e-bay? That guy has a real problem alen. I wouldn't do a fellow model railroader that way. It might get around and my friends might dissapear. A real stuckup if you ask me or he is really trying to hide something.

[AlanRail]

The seller IS 6 miles away, a ten minute ride.
He's in Chicago off the same main Northwest street as mine. I'm two small towns further North.

The cost of shipping was $6.00; that works out to a dollar a mile; I could rent a Limo for less.

The item is likely crap; so the Seller knows that he can't honestly represent the item in person. I noted that he has two negs over the last month. That's likely why he threw a cloak over the transaction.

It is interesting that a lot of the responces to this thread seem to favor the cloaked transaction.

[ben10ben]

If the seller does not wish for you to deliver the item in person, you should respect that. For all the seller knows, you could be the nicest guy in the world, or you could be a serial killer. The same could be said for the seller. The fact is that you just don't know, and it never hurts to be a little bit too careful.

On the other hand, though, if the seller were a retail establishment, I would expect them to allow you to pick up in person. I've done this before.

[Anonymous]

If the seller's terms, including shipping, were clearly expained in the seller's auction description, then they buyer has no grounds to complain.
BillFromWayne

[AlanRail]

Ben and Bill

How many Serial Killers buy on eBay; Oh right that's were they all get their****nals.

TERMS SMERMS you'd pay $6 for 6 mile shipment.. Okay!

[ben10ben]

When you bid on Ebay, you enter in to a contract to purchase the item(if you have the highest bid) under the terms spelled out by the seller. If you don't agree with them, don't bid.

I have one question for you. I would think that you would have noticed that the item was so nearby before you bid. Why, then, didn't you contact the seller before the auction closed and make arrangements? If you didn't do that, you have no reason to complain.

[Anonymous]

I agree fully with Ben... Its YOUR fault, not his.

--Chris

[Anonymous]

Careful guys.... sounds like he's ready to explode!

(I hafta admit, I wouldn't want him at my place either!)

[Buckeye Riveter]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ben10ben

When you bid on EBay, you enter in to a contract to purchase the item (if you have the highest bid) under the terms spelled out by the seller. If you don't agree with them, don't bid.
I have one question for you. I would think that you would have noticed that the item was so nearby before you bid. Why, then, didn't you contact the seller before the auction closed and make arrangements? If you didn't do that, you have no reason to explain.

Yes, Ben is 100% right, but I want to add a wonderful EBay story. Last year I purchased over $500 of product from one seller using the buy now option. When he found out that we were less than 100 miles apart, he told me he was heading my way and would meet me at a public location on the north side of town where he gave me my purchase plus to my surprise he refunded me all of my shipping that I had already paid! (I could have based on the terms of the purchase made him UPS all the items.)

Am I going to do business with this seller again. Absolutely. He went above and beyond in my opinion. Was he required to refund my money for shipping, not at all.

My neighbor is a big EBay seller of reconditioned furniture and on his postings he clearly says that pick up of the item can be arranged to save the massive, sometimes over $500, in shipping costs. That is the terms of his sales but not everyone posts those terms.

The terms on EBay are clear and they are for everybody near and far. If the seller and the buyer want to change the terms that can only be done by consent of both parties, not just the seller or the buyer. In this case the buyer wanted to change the terms, the seller did not. Was the seller being a jerk? Most likely. Is the buyer unhappy, yes, but the terms of the bid were clearly stated before hand. If you don't like the terms find another seller. Sometimes I have waited months for an item to go on sale from a seller that has terms of payment that I agree with.

[Anonymous]

Hey AlanRail:
Since you aired your complaint here for everyone to comment upon don't get sore if some of us don't agree with you. Why don't you post the auction number here so we can see for ourselves if you have a valid complaint.
BillFromWayne

[Anonymous]

Some disturbing responses on this thread. It's kind of sad to see the hobby so riddled with mistrust, self-interest, and a simple lack of common courtesy and comraderie. Makes me glad I no longer do eBay.

But if any folks here ever buy train items from me (I list on several buy/sell boards), you're more than welcome to drop by to pick the stuff up and save me the hassle of packing and shipping. I'll set you up with a beer, let you pet the dog (an Australian Shepherd), show you the trains, and willingly share some train talk.

[nblum]

Maybe the guy is disabled or disfigured, or pathologically shy. Have you considered those possibilities? Whatever his reasons, you might have respected his desires the way you had hoped he would respect yours. Your approach seems unduly confrontational and self-righteous. You give the appearance that you really don't care what this person's reasoning or feelings might be, but you want us to sympathize. You said it's my way or the highway, and he chose the highway. What I don't quite understand is why you are so put out about it if you think the item wasn't that important to you. The principle at stake here doesn't seem all that important, IMO.

[BigJim]

AlanRail,
I for one agree with you.

After reading the first reply, I thought this guy has got to be from California and I was right. What I didn't expect was to find that the paranoia extends so far across the country.

[underworld]

I've been a buying and selling on eBay since 1999. Over 200 sucessful transactions.....no real problems. Once I bid on an older Aritso passenger car, the guy wasn't far away but he had his auction listed as local pick up only, so he wasn't getting any bids. I got a bargain because I lived close by. Local pick up only was a term of the auction. I was selling a camera outfit with the specification that I take paypal only and only drawn from bank funds. A guy from Canada called me the night before the auction was over and asked if I would lift the two strike rule so he could bid. He explained how he got the two negatives and I understood so I let him bid. It turns out that when I checked his feedback the dealers also must have understood the error and didn't give him negative feedback. At the very last second of the auction a new bidder won the item and paid with a credit card within ten minutes after the auction closed. Since I was leaving town in a few days and needed the money in my account soon I was monitoring the auctions and sent out winning bidder notifications within five minutes of the end of the auction, again stating the terms of payment. I emailed her back immediately upon the notification from paypal.....no response. After three days of emails and getting her phone number and calling on the third day, leaving a message....
........still no response. So I called the guy in Canada to tell him the auction was his. That was my biggest eBay problem in six years over 200 transactions and dealing with people all over the US, also Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, China, and Mongolia. Some people had listed on their auctions that they wouldn't ship outside of their country or region. I contacted those people in advance and if they were in a country that wasn't an English speaking country I would do my best and stumble through their language and also send it in English. They all agreed to ship if I had the winning bid. If someone had not agreed I wouldn't be upset I'd just keep looking for whatever it was. You have to ask these questions before you bid. Simple.
Now, on to shipping and handling. Many sellers, stores, dealers, etc. charge higher rates for shipping. The reason that they do this??? eBay charges fees based on many things.....listing, listing price, final value and anything special like reserve price, extra photos, bold type, featured item, listing in extra categories. Since they make money off of the money you are trying to make some people have obviously higher shipping fees as eBay does not charge you based on your shipping fees. If you notice most items that have noticeably high shipping.....those items typically sell for less. Example, a friend of mine was looking to buy an extra battery for his cell phone. I told him to look on eBay. He found tons of them.....most of them with $9.99 to $12.99 shipping and handling, but the batteries sell for .99 Since the cheapest you can get that battery around here is over $20 plus tax....the .99 plus $9.99 shipping and handling is a deal. So in some cases the high shiiping fees are due to eBays fees. Some other people have flat shipping fees. If you deal in shipping lots of things on a regular basis that can make things a lot easier for you. Some people will pay a little too much......some people about right and some will get a bit of a deal. The best thing to do is to read the ad and ask questions before bidding. Myself ,I have no problem meeting people for a transaction.....but not everyone is like that.

underworld

Easter Easter Easter Easter Easter!!!!!

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[AlanRail]

I feel the Seller was unfair

so some of you will pay whatever whenever , good for you. I won't. Contracts need to be fair to both parties. Contracts that unfairly favor one party where that same party makes up the terms are voidable. This contract was unconscionable and thus unenforceable.


I'm not angry or exploding; I never have to deal with the jerk and he me.

[Anonymous]

Please read BillFromWayne's post...

Thanks.