Community weekly poll: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not
- 9/21/07 1:03 PM
Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not? No
by hoopest - 9/22/07 11:14 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I prefer to use reputable dealer sites instead of gambling on whether or not someone unknown is trustworthy.
Problem on ebay
by jules2u2 - 9/22/07 2:19 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Three times I have had an issue on ebay. Once paypal was able to refund the money. The second I kept an open dispute on paypal until the issue was resolved. I didn't close it until I had the item in hand.
The third was a little different and taught me a very valuable lesson. The seller after I wrote to see if the item was sent, advised me that the item was in the mail. I understood this to mean that they had actually gone to the mailbox themselves. As it turns out, they had taken my purchase then used that money to purchase the item on Amazon.com to have delivered to me and charged me $20 in shipping for what Amazon would have charge me $3.99. The seller made money off me for an item I could have purchased myself cheaper. Oh well, lesson learned. I did thank the seller for this.
Ebay for the most part is good. But if you continue to have this problem, do take it to court or go about whatever legal means you can so the rest of us can continue to buy and sell with confidence that what is being sold is truthful.
taking it to court can cost you big time
by magnusfl - 9/22/07 2:52 PM In reply to: Problem on ebay by jules2u2that what ebay expects you too do but did you know you can not take it to court wewre you are but in the state and city the seller is in and did you also know it could take several court apointments on top of that so it often cost more in airlines and hotels which are not recoverable then the item was worth
Scammed at Ebay
by clownlady - 9/22/07 3:46 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've made several purchases through Ebay. The first few went very smoothly. Then came the first non-delivery, with virtually no followup by Ebay because the vendor had disappeared. Ok, it was a relatively small amount of money, so I tried again. A large purchase came through briliantly. Then came anohter bad experience - and more frustrations with the resolution board. Never was resolved to my satisfaction - got a product, but not what was ordered (anybody want to buy two rings?). The last time I used Ebay, i paid through Paypal - hey, I thought, here's an extra level of protection. NOT! Paypal paid the invoice TWICE, wouldn't credit the first, Ebay wouldn't get involved, Paypal actually sent the account to collection! The vendor was paid twice, but didn't seem to want to give up the second payment until I brought in the "legal beagles!".
Shop at Ebay again? NO WAY! Same with using PayPal.
Ebay, friend or foe?
by championmotorsports - 9/22/07 4:04 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My fiance' and I own a motorcycle/atv shop and we use Ebay alot to buy and sell parts for our customers and I can honestly say we have yet to have a problem with the small stuff, it is the bigger and more expensive items that we are always losing out on, and it is usually when we are selling them. If it isn't Ebay removing our listings for some stupid reason, it's the buyer not paying for the item. We recently listed our Lamborghini Countach Replica on Ebay, the first time we listed it EBay removed it because they said a third party accessed our account, there was 2 hrs left, 40 people watching it, and 9000+ that looked at it, go figure, so we went through the process and relisted, this time we got a bid but we never got the money, we received the $500 down payment, but the remaining $24000 never arrived. We went through the whole process of calling the guy, e-mailing, filing disputes, and even calling the cops, we never got our money or a resolution, we did though get charged for the relisting fee 3 times when it was suppose to be free and that was just one of our problems, everytime we list an item over $1000 we get screwed. We had a Flow Bench listed, we started the bidding out at $1500, the last day the price was up to $2450, we went to check our listing and Ebay removed it because we had our website listed in our listing. They said you can only list your website if it has extra information about the item your selling, well if Ebay would've payed attention we had a whole page explaining what flow testing is and how to use the machine, we relisted it and lost out on $650, thanks Ebay! We also listed a Suzuki Quadrunner on Ebay again the same thing someone bid, won, and diappeared. What did Ebay do..... NOTHING! My fiance' is to the point where he has had it, we use Ebay alot, have excellent feedback, have never caused a problem but for some reason we always get messed with. I personally like Ebay and will continue to use it as I don't exactly blame Ebay for our problems, well not all of them anyway, but in this day and age it's really hard to trust anyone, especially when you can't see them and don't even know their name. I do believe Ebay needs to step it up in the unpaid items department, especially when it's a $25000 car, that's a rediculous amount of money for someone to scam on. The problem with this guy was that he never used Ebay before and wanted to know why he received an e-mail saying he was outbid but still won the car, I tried explaining to him that someone probably bid, then retracted their bid, which is what happened, and that I contacted Ebay and they said it doesn't matter if it says he won , he won, well he wanted a full fledged explaination from myself and Ebay about the situation before he paid and we never heard from him again. He wouldn't answer his phone or e-mails, it was basically a waste of time and Ebay wouldn't back us up. I think something needs to be done, I mean we are hard working people trying to make some honest extra money, I think Ebays screening process should be a bit more thorough, it's like someone gets banned, then makes up a fake name and rejoins, what's that all about, for real. I don't know I guess it all comes down to being honest and trying to find honest people, which is hard these days.
No problems
by IronManCurtis - 9/22/07 6:46 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've bought and sold on eBay for years, with no problems. I always read the fine print, and ask questions. I am *very* skeptical of any eBayer with negative feedback. I read feedback carefully. Most of us bend over backward to get positive feedback, and things really have to go awry before we give negative feedback. One, maybe two, might be cranks or kooks. More than that and I'll look elsewhere.
I'm slow to give feedback. I wait until the transaction is complete AND the item proves to be as advertised. If it's going to die, it'll probably be within the first month or so. Once I'm reasonably convinced it's as represented, then I give feedback.
Occasionally there are problems. I'm not quick to jump to conclusions. First, I communicate with the seller/buyer, and wait patiently for responses. Sometimes they're out of town or on vacation. More than a couple of weeks with no response sends up a red flag. Fortunately, that has never happened to me.
When dealing with others, I'm polite, respectful, and patient, to a point. If it becomes apparent that I'm being taken for a ride, I get tough. I politely let it be known what actions I contemplate if the issue is not resolved quickly. If things go unresolved, then I take the appropriate actions.
When paying via credit card, we have the option of cancelling payment. This is a very good reason to always pay with plastic. This usually keeps sellers honest.
Using eBay
by mike.searles - 9/22/07 11:03 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've used eBay as a buyer about 35 times. I've only had one small problem and I should not have bought from the seller. I bought 2 fleece dog beds that were very inexpensive. However, the shipping and handling charges were ridiculous (that's how he made his money)! I asked if he'd ship the beds together and give me a break on the shipping costs. No.
The 2 beds arrived TOGETHER in the same box. However, I was charged shipping and handling charges twice. I tried contacting him many times, and got no answer. I gave him negative feedback explaing what happened. He gave me horrible feedback. But I could reply to his feedback and told people what he was like.
Everyone should read a seller's feedback and look for any red flags. This seller had tons of buyers, so his overall score was high. However, if you looked through several pages of comments, a lot of people complained about the shipping and handling charges. But they were smart - they gave him a neutral and complained. He didn't give them bad feedback.
So, use your gut feel also. I did, but I ignored it!
amelia
E_Bay PERFORMANCE/SECURITY
by mountaineer - 9/23/07 8:18 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I find the comments on E-bay security and integrity quite valid. My own experience indicates that there is NO PROTECTION even when using Pay-Pal. They will obviously tell you otherwise. Have you ever read the disclosures on the Pay-Pal web? DO SO. They (E-Bay) provide almost no assurance in your buying experience-Contrary to the security they project. I have just been scammed (my latest), although there was not a lot of money involved, and, in this case, I paid by personal check. I protested to E-Bay but have heard nothing and suspect that my complaints were dumped in the "round files". I did submit a rating for the crook who cashed my check without sending the merchandise and fully expected a negative rating from him. To date no negative rating from him. Am I to suspect that this person has a conscience? I strongly doubt that. Anyway, I do suggest that anyone who has been scammed submit a protest to E-Bay and maintain a copy of all correspondence from both E-bay and the seller.Remember that both E-Bay and the seller hope that you will write this off as an "oh well". Keep all information in a file as there will most surely be a class action suit at some point in the future and this data will be all important.I suspect that there are a lot of people out there who have been scammed on E-bay. E-Bay does not advertise this information for obvious reasons as their business would suffer. The only other recommendation I can make is to monitor feedback religiously. Keep in mind that a NEUTRAL rating of any kind is probably a negative as the questionable seller does not want a negative input on his record and will "compromise" to prevent that from happening. Also look for similar complaints from other people who are doing business with this seller. Let the buyer/seller inputs be your guide. Early in my game one seller requested that "WE" compromise and that I withdraw my negative input with E-bay which I promptly rejected.You have to understand that some people make a living on E-Bay and a negative/neutral rating means money lost. In passing, just remember that pay-Pal is only an intermediary: Your own credit card company is providing the revenue. PayPal is in the enviable position of just seeing that the charges the buyer agrees to are passed on to the correct credit card holder and, for that, they collect 2-3%. Don't you wish you had a no-risk guaranteed money machine like that? Also the fact that E-Bay insists that you list your bank account checking number with Pay-Pal after you have conducted a specified amount of trading should be a BIG RED FLAG. Nuf said
-Tried it a few times
by andy419 - 9/23/07 10:50 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I don't go on e-bay reguly but I do occasionally buy things on there that you can't easily get in the shops or are much cheaper. I have bought about 10-20 things on e-bay before and I have never got scammed or heard of anyone that has been scammed. I have never sold anything on e-bay though.
Used it a few times
by oldhouseman - 9/23/07 12:52 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've used it a few times to shop for train models I can't find anywhere else. Some of the stores I shop at have now set up "storefronts" on eBay, but I haven't been there to check them out, nor have I sold anything on eBay. I find that I have to carefully check out the seller and ask a lot of questions about items I'm purchasing, just as I would if I were shopping through the classifieds or on Craigslist. It is strictly Caveat Emptor.
For those items that I have purchased, I have no complaints.
Ebay Transactions
by halibutt - 9/23/07 4:42 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have over 200 transactions on Ebay. I have had only one go bad. The item I purchased was broken in delivery. When purchasing from Ebay always check feedback from whom you are buying. Watch for low number of feedback comments and comments that are not positive. Stay away from items that are too good to be true. Don't spend more than you can afford to lose if the transaction goes bad. If you suspect a scam you can contact the Attorney General's office in your state.
bad experience
by fishpoint - 9/23/07 8:32 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This happened to my mother not to me but she's a regular eBay user, as am I, and I can see why she was fooled. She bid on a set of sterling silver flatware valued over $1500. The value was not a mystery, since you can buy it in stores. Used flatware sells for less than new but there is still an "going price" that one would expect to pay. My mother bid up to a reasonable price, but still quite a bit less than the real value. Sometimes on eBay you get lucky and get a great deal, as we all knew. But she was outbid and dropped out, and that was that. But after the bidding closed she got an apparently authentic email from EBay telling her that the winning bid had been withdrawn and she was the winner after all. It looked exactly like it came from eBay. BUT --here's the giveaway--they wanted her to send money via Western Union, and to a PO box, maybe it was even in England I don't recall. At this point any savvy eBay user would know something was afoot. The person doing the scam had a more or less believable story about settling an estate with this silver and being in transition, and needing to use a PO box--all very believable in the context, although in retrospect a dead ringer for a scam! But Mom did want the silver, and her high bid was still an incredibly good deal. So you can guess the end of the story--she was out more than $1000, and of course no silver ever appeared. Eventually we went back and traced the original transaction, which had gone to the highest bidder and emailed them to see if they had really dropped out and of course they had not. They had paid for and received the silver, no problem. The scammer was someone else sending out second chance offers. Shortly after that eBay sent out a warning about second chance offers, but too late.
Ebay said there was no recourse because of using western union, which they specifically say you should not do.
ebay
by coachy60 - 9/23/07 10:23 PM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Very easy,Get someone to show you.ps All imfo at ebay der.
Never
by stevent1992 - 9/24/07 12:51 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I find ebay intimidating, and hard for a newbie like me, and being raised in a family, I'm taught to buy things the old fashioned way, but the way the world is heading, you'll be expected to do it the "online way" interestingly I gave one of these services a go but I went into complications, because they could not 'ship' the product to my location along with other jargon. I gave up. Turns out it was at the store.
Ebay and the Idiots who Run it.
by buddhak0n - 9/24/07 1:31 AM In reply to: Poll: Do you use eBay? If so, how often? If not, why not by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Years ago I used to use Ebay because basically as a Business "Model" it allowed a business person to reach a whole new group of potential customers and the transactions were relatively pain free if not as profitable as a standard retail transaction..
THEN I experienced the TRUE Ebay...
Ebay is a scam.. Think about it... It's Board members sell items they do not own. It's "company" manufactures and sells absolutely nothing. It does not honor any contractual terms. It is not "liable" for the criminal behavior of it's clients. And frankly Ebay is simply a place where people can congregate in the pursuit of federal wire fraud and bank transfer crimes.
I owned a business. I would often sell equipment through Ebay. On several occasions, the buyers would receive their goods and claim they had not received them and then would proceed to have their Credit Card companies "charge" back their cards for the amount of the purchase.
When informed of this practice, Ebay would tell the owner of the merchandise, well they are not responsible for the acts of their members.
The shipper's insurance would refuse to honor the sale price of the merchandise and took 9 months to pay anything and basically I would lose 500-1000 dollar cameras and 2000 dollar computers and laptops and nobody would pay anybody back.
I refuse to sell anything on Ebay because Ebay and it's board members are nothing but criminals seeking to issue Stock that they can then sell on the Stock Exchange for basically violating the personal property rights of another person for monetary gain.
I no longer patronize companies who have no business model.. Ebay also will Undercut you and sell your business interest to a corporate entity and then attempt to steal your product with the help of another company or subsidiary.
They have no business ethics and they have no Fraud policy other than to warn you that "Fraud" does take place and we can't be held liable.
Frankly if I had the time to press the issue I would've sued Ebay and it's affiliates but they being basically small time crooks aren't worth that amount of money and time investment.
Good Luck and Happy trading.. you'd be better off with Craigslist and dealing with PEOPLE IN PERSON.
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