| Thistle 18.05.2013 05:21 |
Sorry, just a bit of a rant: I'm selling a few things on eBay UK at the moment, and have them all on "Buy It Now". Every item I'm selling now has "Watchers" on it. Now, what grinds my gears about this is, well.....WTF??? Why are you "watching" a BIN item??? You're either going to buy it or you're not!!!! - it's not like there's anything to watch out for, like the price going up, or down - watching it only serves to: a) see someone else buy it through the BIN process b) see it go unsold. I swear to fuck, last week I had 10 watchers on an LP and not ONE question. No-one bought it, or made an offer. I re-listed it, and it now has 8 watchers.....6 of whom were watching before. What is the point in this mentality????? I really couldn't give a shit if I don't sell, so it's not sour grapes - I just want to know why you'd watch an item you'e going to do nowt about? |
| magicalfreddiemercury 18.05.2013 07:16 |
This sucks, but I know people who 'watch' BIN items because they have the same thing (or similar) to sell and they want to see if it ultimately sells for the asking price and/or how long it takes to do so. In your case, since so many are watching, maybe some are thinking about bidding but aren't sure if the price is fair. If they see what someone else has paid for your item and then they see the item offered elsewhere, they'll know how much it's worth. Just thoughts. Either way it's a pain in the ass. |
| Thistle 18.05.2013 09:25 |
^ yeah, that does make sense: but said item hadn't been on eBay for almost two years!! You're right, it's a massive pain in the hoop :) |
| YourValentine 19.05.2013 05:40 |
I collect silver coins and I watch "buy now" sales all the time. Other than music you have to sell doubles in order to have money to buy an expensive new item and observing prices is vital. Do not take it personal, checking prices is very normal, you do it when you walk through a shop each day. |
| Thistle 28.05.2013 05:09 |
^ yep, point taken :) But some other things I find silly and frustrating: one item I had started at 99p and was in mint condition. I did put a reserve on it, but it was a low one. It had just one watcher on it, and they decided to put a bid on - in the very last minute - for the 99p. Erm......duh! The frustrating part was said item sold for almost £100 in much lesser condition previously. And I sold an LP to someone, and it went missing in the post. Normally, I'd get proof of postage,but because this was a run of the mill job, I just sent it standard mail. I have no proof it didn't get there, but I gave the benefit of the doubt, and refunded. I was completely professional all the way, kind and courteous and all that,and the refund wasn't grudged: as I'm using eBay as a business, I thought customer service prevails. Weeks go by, and, after I leave him positive feedback, with a note on the feedback to apologise for the missing item, I get NOTHING back. My selling profile is relatively new,so paypal still make me wait a month for release of all payments - I'm basically relying on feedback so they can see I'm decent at what I do. But shitheads like that don't help! I guess I need to take it on the chin, but the mentality is somewhat off, all the same. |
| YourValentine 28.05.2013 08:52 |
Using ebay is a tricky thing and you can fall into many traps. Many buyers think they owe you nothing because they pay in advance but forget that feedback is important for buyers as well because it is important to know that a seller has good feedback. I do not sell on ebay but I would not send anything important or irreplacable (records in a swap, for example) unregistered.Even if I trust the recipients, it depends on the country they live in and the size of the package etc. You never can be sure if the package does not get actually stolen in the mail. As to the reserve - I do not know how it works but you should not go below the minimum price you want. After all, you would refuse to sell your aunt's silver to a low bidder on a flea market, as well. |
| David Jones 13.06.2013 14:00 |
YV is correct. I also check stuff on my phone when I'm on the move and watch with the intention of buying when I'm at a desktop. Maybe people do that too but forget to get to desktop? |
| Thistle 25.08.2013 21:24 |
The eBay nightmare continues - all in one day, this happens: 1 - a William Shatner/Patrick Stewart autographed photo I'm selling finishes as £100. The winning bidder contacts me to say he's made a mistake, and wishes to cancel. Great! 2 - I see that another bidder had actually only been beaten by 11p, as his bid was £99.89. I contact him with a second chance offer. 3 - he says he no longer wants it, unless I drop the price to £50 and sell it outside eBay. When I ask him why he's bid almost £100 if he only wanted to pay £50, he claims shill bidding and reports me for scamming. There were only two bids in 10 days, FFS. The listing started at £90 - why would I want to risk my account, reputation etc for an extra £9.89? Nice one - £100 lost and now the stress of an investigation. 4 - I have to open a non-payment dispute with a buyer from Brazil. I've been contacting him for days to ask for payment, and have sent him invoices, reminders etc. He didn't get back to me. But get this - he's now left me a negative feedback, claiming I added to the postal price. No way! The listing clearly stated that he needed to contact before buying for the correct price, which he didn't. The fucker got the CD on a best-offer, and then doesn't pay or make contact. He's even left me shitty ratings for item description, postage, dispatch time and COMMUNICATION. WITHOUT HAVING PAID!! WTF??? so I contact him to offer him reduced postage - at my loss - and the fucker still does not respond. I now have ebay telling me the feedback cannot be changed, and I'm stuck with reduced seller rating. And another £25 down!! 5 - I have to open yet another non-payment dispute for a guy who bought 2 weeks ago. The item was only £7, and he told me yesterday he'd be paying this morning....... 6 - I've just had a cancelled bid, at £90, for Star Trek costume cards. £222 down in one go!! |
| mooghead 08.09.2013 12:04 |
If I had a Star Trek item to sell I would have went to a Star Trek fan site and sold it to people who wanted it and not people who wanted to rape my arse. Avoid ebay. Be wise. Use your brain. |
| Thistle 08.09.2013 15:26 |
^ yeah, like selling nice Queen items on a Queen "Collectors" forum and getting heehaw response :p I see your point, but it's part of my wee business - I'm not just a private seller hoping to make a couple of quid on a house clearout. |
| Thistle 08.09.2013 18:26 |
Here are the two latest ones: 1) Japanese guy buys Queen at the BBC USA picture disc from me for just £58. It is signed by Brian, and has COA etc. He asks me before AND after buying about the condition of the sleeve, which I tell him is generic. He asks if it has a sticker, and I tell him no - it's generic. The picture even shows the sleeve! So, he pays, and I send it - only for him to open a case "not as described".....because the sleeve doesn't have the sticker on. I tell him this is not the issue - the thing is bloody SIGNED, and he got it for a good price. He then tells me he's sending it back. I agree in principle, but as long as he's paying the postage. He agrees. Ebay then force me to give a FULL refund, including postage. 2) A guy from France buys Queen, YDFM on orange vinyl. It's the DJ promo 12" in generic black sleeve, and is unplayed. He get's it for £25 - bargain. He gets back to me telling me the record is perfect, but is annoyed that the sleeve (which is not even mentioned in the listing as it's generic, replaceable and irrelevant) has a price-sticker on it and is only VG condition. He wants me to take action or is going to leave bad feedback. WTF?? I'm not a bad seller - everything I list is accurate and is set at a fair price. Why am I attracting these idiots? And why don't ebay protect the seller, too? I'm beginning to think Moog is right. Ebay is supposed to be an important tool in my selling business, but this - all in the space of a month - is very off putting. |
| Thistle 13.09.2013 06:40 |
Thistleboy1980 wrote: Japanese guy buys Queen at the BBC USA picture disc from me for just £58. It is signed by Brian, and has COA etc. He asks me before AND after buying about the condition of the sleeve, which I tell him is generic. He asks if it has a sticker, and I tell him no - it's generic. The picture even shows the sleeve! So, he pays, and I send it - only for him to open a case "not as described".....because the sleeve doesn't have the sticker on. I tell him this is not the issue - the thing is bloody SIGNED, and he got it for a good price. He then tells me he's sending it back. I agree in principle, but as long as he's paying the postage. He agrees. Ebay then force me to give a FULL refund, including postage.And guess what....I also got hit with £27 customs charges at my end when the item came back to Glasgow. I escalated it via ebay, as I don't feel I'm responsible for this: what have they done? Given him a full refund including postage and tell me to pay the customs charge. Job well done, ebay. If I don't, even though the buyer agreed to ALL charges, then the item will go back to him. He's now not responding to the case, so effectively has reneged on his side of the deal, but has still admitted he's to blame. |