I buy and sell some on eBay.
My biggest problem as a buyer is the seller's bad packing, resulting in opening a package and having a dozen bits of couplers, brake wheels, and other items dribble out as well as what I thought I was getting. I even got an Athearn F7 with the two right side sideframes sheared off.
As long as I know the value of what I am looking for, I have done well on eBay most of the time.
But not always. What your eBay war story?
Ineffective packing is one of the problems with buying anything that needs to be shipped to you. Some eBay sellers do take the easiest, quickest and cheapest approach. Maybe they just don't know how to properly pack their items. Or, they simply may not care. I've had sellers put model trains loose in a box with zero packing material. Others have very carefully packed a boxed model in a nice strong shipping box, but then failed to put use any packing material inside the model box.
Funny you should mention it...
I just received a loco yesterday that was not only ineptly packed, it was a cheaper version from one of their other auctions, and it had been cannibalized for parts when both were listed as new! I've sent several messages through eBay, and no response so far. I'll give it another day before opening a PayPal dispute.
The seller has a 100% rating, but it's no guarantee.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
My war story is simply not following ebay's policies and going outside of ebay to make a deal, which I wound up getting burned on. I ordered several good condition used Atlas turnouts in an ebay auction, only to get burned when I asked the seller if he had anymore, and we set up a deal via email not eBay, and I wind up receiving half Atlas #4 turnouts (what I ordered) and half snap switches which didn't even have the switch boxes with them. I raised hell with the seller, and he threatened to leave me negative feedback, even though he got my money as soon as the deal was done, and he refused to refund my money on the snap switches, saying if I didn't leave him positive feedback, he was going to report me to ebay. We finally agreed to just not leave any feedback either way, and he blocked me from his buy list, even though he was the one who sent the wrong turnouts and misrepresented his sale to me.
Lesson Learned: NEVER EVER EVER go outside of Ebay's auction and do a backdoor deal, because you WILL get burned.
rubicon_in_ga's post is a sad tale. There was no recourse to eBay because it was outside of eBay. Kinda like calling the police to report stolen illegal something of yours (maybe more sorta like). I never thought about the implications of doing an off eBay deal if it went wrong.
The seller acted waco as well as dishonest, but cunning to take advantage of the off eBay nature of the deal. It appears the seller had to make rubicon_in_ga wrong in order to feel justified in burning him.
I had a set of rolling stock for sale once. On the first day it closed on a buy it now bid instead of a starting bid 75% cheaper. Later on in the day I recieved an email from another seller on ebay claiming that this same bidder is making thousands of dollars in bids.
Well it was one of the first sales that I followed up on with a phone call to that person direct with the intention of gathering information on intended payment and also an address to turn into that state's DA if needed. Anyways when the smoke cleared ebay put a NARU on this member and I left a neg feed back, and relisted the auction.
Well, the relisted auction had a winning bidder the first day. Again I was in possession of a phone number provided by the winning bidder in only one email. I was halfway dailing when the light came on and showed me that I was dailing the same exact phone number.
I cancled the sale, turned over to ebay security and let them have all the data. That account was basically closed and NARU'ed instantly. When that happened I recieved a few more "Trashy" trailer talk type emails worthy of Jerry Springer which was again forwarded to ebay and banned by IP headers/subnet at the firewall and marked spam.
I relisted it a third time. 5 weeks later the rolling stock had found a home with someone who wanted them and would run them well. I ate some money in the best possible packaging job with a box/foam/box bubbles and a third box plus the absolute best in confirmation, tracking, insurance etc etc...
Fortunately the item arrived safely.
It took 3 bidders, two problem buyers and 6 weeks but I sold the durn thing.
I purchase losts of train products from ebay...so far so good, however I purchased a MP3 player from ebay, the person that sold me the player had purchased the item on a side deal with another seller. The problem was that I purchased the player when the seller hadn't recieved it from the side deal yet. The side deal ended up not going through. The paypal payment I made went to the side deal person...not the seller...I was given that email adrress to send the $$ to
The seller sent me an email explaining that the side deal ws going bad...!!
I actually phoned the seller . he was not willing to help..saying he had no money to refund to me.I managed to get ahold of the third party seller....luckily he was a decent guy and refunded me my money
Believe it or not, the seller gave me negative feedback saying he never recieved any money from me...
I put the following in comments for his negative feedback.....attention..this seller is a crook....email me for proof....I will send proof of seller ripping me off....he'll rip you off too
1 week later he cancelled his ebay membership
I've had pretty good luck with buying and selling on eBay. However, on a recent purchase, I bought 3 freight cars from somebody. When they arrived, they were in "kit" form, even though they were assembled in the sale pictures. Now don't get me wrong, if they truly were kit form I wouldn't complain. The reason they ended up in kit form was because the seller didn't properly package the models and they ended up falling apart in the trip to my home. Two of them looked as though they were rolling around in their boxes, but the third one looked like it was purposefully damaged. I ended up emailing the seller and sending him links to the pictures I took of how the trains arrived. He said I could return them if I wasn't happy with them and he would refund my money. I would have returned them, but it took him well over a week and a half to send me my purchase. I paid for priority mail, even though the postage marked on the box stated media mail. His "honesty" in advertising (because I know for a fact those models were broken way after he took his sale pictures), the lie in shipping price and his wording in his emails didn't instill a sense of trust in this person. So I opted to keep the cars and consider them future repair projects. I didn't leave this guy the deserved negative feedback because he held my feedback hostage, so I know if I left negative feedback, he would have done the same to me. Here are some pictures of one of the models. The first is how he advertised it (his picture) and the second is how it arrived (my picture). Enjoy and learn!
TONY
"If we never take the time, how can we ever have the time." - Merovingian (Matrix Reloaded)
Also,
if a bad seller does leave you feedback and they are banned from ebay, I believe that any feedback that the seller had left is removed. Dont hesitate to take apropriate action because you were threatened.
well dealing with model trains, R/C Boats, R/C Cars and video games on E-bay I have only ever had a problem when ordering one item. Well it was the same item 2 different times. Walthers RD4 coal hoppers in NS colors. The first guy took almost 2 months to send them to me and that was after the E-bay and paypal disputes and threats of a lawyer (yes I was calling them to see if and how much to handle this) I finally got my item and he got banned for doing this same thing to a few others. About a year later I found another good deal on some Walthers RD4 coal hoppers and I used the buy it now from an E-bay store. Well it took about 3 weeks to get these ones with phone calls E-mails and the like all unanswered. Every thing else I have ever ordered has been a great experience, I just wont buy any more RD4 cars from anyone on E-bay.
A Veteran, whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."
I sell on eBay and I would hope that my feedback would tell the story of how I treat my customers. To me, without happy customers, I don't have a chance of continuing a successful eBay business.
When I first started selling (years ago) I had acquired a number of camera lenses, all Hasselblads. I posted them at 50% of their used selling prices which I researched in professional photo resources. I posted 8 various lenses and didn't get one bid on any of them... I turned around and re-listed them at .99 each. They all sold for way over the previous listing prices except for one. It was a highly desirable lens and rare enough to have been bid up to $2000! I had the most exciting eBay experience of my life as a I refreshed the page in the last few minutes of the sale as it climbed from $250 in huge $ segments to the winning $2000 bid. The winner paid immediately and I carefully sent the lens off and wallowed in my success. Then the story gets sad. The customer took the lens to a respected pro camera repair facility in New York and found that the lens had a flaw that was as costly to fix as the cost paid for the lens. The customer called me on the phone, told me the bad news and I refunded his money the day I received the lens (or I should say paperweight) back. That's how I expect to be treated and that's how I treat my customers. They're some great sellers out there, and we respect our customers and treat them as friends. At least I do.
Neutrino wrote:I sell on eBay and I would hope that my feedback would tell the story of how I treat my customers. To me, without happy customers, I don't have a chance of continuing a successful eBay business.....
I sell on eBay and I would hope that my feedback would tell the story of how I treat my customers. To me, without happy customers, I don't have a chance of continuing a successful eBay business.....
I'm in total agreement. As a seller, I've had only one small incident. A buyer said the wheels on a Bowser steam engine had more wheel wear than my description or pictures indicated. I sent an explanation of how I graded the wheel wear (based on the old TCA standards), but offered to take it back anyway for a full refund including return shipping. Nothing more was heard except a "neutral" feedback. I'm not sure what the buyer really wanted - I'm guessing he was fishing for a reduction in price.
As a buyer, I have had it with seller's holding their feedback hostage to mine. I will not be doing business with those sellers any more. My part of the transaction is complete when I have promptly paid what the terms of the auction stated and required. I am owed feedback on well I completed my part. The seller is then responsible for properly and promptly shipping me the described item, packaged to avoid damage. Conscious failure of the seller to do any of the above is grounds for less than positive feedback - without impacting my feedback.
As for war stories as a buyer, my only negative experience was a Woodland Scenics kit shipped in its original box that was falling apart. Only the paper wrapping was holding the box together.
just my thoughts and experiences
Fred Wright
loathar wrote:A brand new Athearn turned into a used Bachman in the mail. The seller said he'd refund my $$$, but I liked it and it ran well so I kept it.
IF ONLY THIS WAS THE CASE FOR EVERYONE.....................good for you!
fwright wrote:As a buyer, I have had it with seller's holding their feedback hostage to mine. I will not be doing business with those sellers any more. My part of the transaction is complete when I have promptly paid what the terms of the auction stated and required. I am owed feedback on well I completed my part. The seller is then responsible for properly and promptly shipping me the described item, packaged to avoid damage. Conscious failure of the seller to do any of the above is grounds for less than positive feedback - without impacting my feedback.
I totally agree Fred, but I'm afraid withholding feedback is the rule for sellers, not the exception. Out of many purchases I can count on one hand the number of times I have been given feedback at the point of purchase. Since I'm usually buying vintage parts, I don't have the luxury of selecting from a list of dealers, so I haven't been able to tell the truth of some of the transactions because of the damage to my rating. This is the major weakness in the rating system.
fwright wrote:As a buyer, I have had it with seller's holding their feedback hostage to mine. I will not be doing business with those sellers any more. My part of the transaction is complete when I have promptly paid what the terms of the auction stated and required. I am owed feedback on well I completed my part. The seller is then responsible for properly and promptly shipping me the described item, packaged to avoid damage. Conscious failure of the seller to do any of the above is grounds for less than positive feedback - without impacting my feedback. Fred Wright
I also hate feedback held hostage by sellers. If they don't post feedback for me in a timely manner after I pay them, then they won't be getting feedback from me when I receive my purchase. I'll do as much as e-mailing them to let them know that I got my things, and hopefully they'll get the hint to post feedback for me. If not, then I won't help out their rating either. It's a two-way deal this feedback thing.
I've bought several things off ebay and have been burned several times. My rule of thumb is to spend no more than $50. The last time I bought a Tyco pipe unloader. I had one as a kid and thought it was fun. The seller said it was in good condition and operating. When it arrived it was missing several gears from the inside and there was no way it was working. There were a few places that were broken. When I gave her bad feedback for misrepresenting what she was selling she got a little upset. She told me I shouldn't have done that and that I should have given her a chance to make it right. She should have represented what she was selling correctly. I have had some really good expriences too. If someone rips you off on ebay expect nothing from ebay. They are worthless for help. There are some good sellers but there are a lot of crooks.
RMax1
Ebay---YOU PAYS YOUR MONEY AND YOU TAKES YOUR CHANCES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TheK4Kid
Sellers that withhold feedback are a pain. What are they afraid of. As a general rule I like to post feedback when I get the money. Then the buyer knows I got it. I've had sellers, due to "volume", not ship in a timely manner. They claimed they had missed my payment notice from Paypal. I let him slide because I had bought from him before. Posting is just a courtesy.
If you are so afraid of getting bad feedback on an item, don't sell. If it is a bogus complaint, they are easy to spot. More often then not there is a response to the negative feedback. You can spot a liar on either side most of the time.
I just laugh when a seller waits to post feedback until I do. I do give them the benefit of the doubt though. Sometimes sellers do so much business that they just set aside a certain day to post feedback. If you sell enough at once, there is always that danger. It becomes a pain. Some sellers just have a higher threshold for it than others.
I always post feedback when I recieve payment and after shipping the item. I dont live and die by this ebay account. Once in a while the buyer complains and you take care of it. I had a damaged red caboose boxcar that needed a home and it found one. The funds was refunded and it was not a problem at all. I sometimes use ebay more as a vehicle to find good homes for unwanted rolling stock, the money is secondary in that situation.
Once in a while I will learn through delivery confirmation that the item did indeed arrive but no feed back from the buyer for several weeks. An email usually clears that right up.
Over 500 transactions over 7 years or so on eBay and only 2 or three poor. Most of mine in the 5-to-30 range, vintage 1940s through 50's HO collector. (I can get today's new stuff from a brick and mortar shop at 20-30% off and he is always there. pays local taxes, volunteers on the rescue squad and employs several other people).
A lot has to do with the character oif the seller. The photos, not descriptions should be your guide. WYSIWYG. Don't assume anything. When in doubt ask early in the week. If a business venture, expect top performance, they usually have clear policies, too. Items sold by other hobbyists are usually well described to a fault and packed well. General merchandise and inexperienced sellers are the ones to watch. They know little about their items (it shows in the descriptions) and often don't know how to pack as well. And some good people dont know how to pack, period.
So when in any doubt or when buying from someone for the first time, clearly state that you value your purchase and you can tell them what you expect, to put peanuts or crushed paper, bubble wrap etc. in the inner box, etc. As for innacurate descriptions, always assume the worst and if it is still worth it to you, buy it. Otherwise another will come up soon. Know or learn more about your prospective purchase than the seller! Especially if buying vintage models. Most of the sellers at the lower part of the hobby are pretty honest, check out those ratings, the new system is quite specific and the sellers don't get to see what the buyers individually indicate!
If something is too good to be true, it usually is and others have already skipped it. (But not always!) eBay is a great resource for learning about items too, and that part is free!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
R. T. POTEET wrote:I never have and probably never will sell or order anything on ebay but I read these responses to this post with some interest and I have one question: what is "feedback"?
If you really want to know what this feedback thing is, here's a link to eBay's definition of it: http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/feedback.html. Basically this feedback thing is like a ratings system. When someone buys or sells something, the other party then posts a "report" of sorts to let others know what it was like to deal with a person. The higher the positive feedback a person gets, the more piece of mind it offers to others that want to deal with him/her. Now there are limitations to this rating system since you're only allowed a small number of characters to place a comment for any given transaction, so a very detailed report is not possible (this is usually desired when it comes time to post negative feedback). There is also the chance of getting a negative remark from someone else (purposefully or by mistake). This action alone is no big deal, but there are people out there that won't deal with anyone who has a negative strike to their name, especially if it's recent.
As silly as it seems, feedback is a part of eBay and a lot of people take it for granted. I use it to gain an idea of what outcome I can expect from a buyer/seller. It also helps to read others' comments about people to see if a person's actions are frequently good or bad.
R. T. POTEET wrote:One of my grandmother's favorite expressions was "Stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime." A good percentage of these responses thus far indicate that a whole bunch of you people stepped over a dollar and picked up a dime!!!
Not necessarily. You could make this argument for someone who bids on something currently available because they're drawn in by a low price and then get burned, but for some vintage parts or equipment there is simply no other option.
As it turns out, the seller in my auction is a very nice older woman who is caring for her ill husband and selling off his collection at the same time. She got confused, because she's not a model railroader, and her husband is too ill to help out. She is very apologetic, and is working on getting the item I won. Sometimes there is a legitimate explanation. Hopefully it will all be resolved soon.
StillGrande wrote: Sellers that withhold feedback are a pain. What are they afraid of. As a general rule I like to post feedback when I get the money. Then the buyer knows I got it. I've had sellers, due to "volume", not ship in a timely manner. They claimed they had missed my payment notice from Paypal. I let him slide because I had bought from him before. Posting is just a courtesy. If you are so afraid of getting bad feedback on an item, don't sell. If it is a bogus complaint, they are easy to spot. More often then not there is a response to the negative feedback. You can spot a liar on either side most of the time. I just laugh when a seller waits to post feedback until I do. I do give them the benefit of the doubt though. Sometimes sellers do so much business that they just set aside a certain day to post feedback. If you sell enough at once, there is always that danger. It becomes a pain. Some sellers just have a higher threshold for it than others.
I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!!!!!!!!