Squirrel, I've had good luck and bad on eBay, but mostly very good. I can't add anything to what the others said except to say, "Rah rah ree, kick 'em in the knee!" ;-)

But don't you think it's reasonable to provide a picture of the broken item, though? I really don't see why it should be a big deal. And why not just be upfront that the darn thing broke.

I think I'm just going to let this other seller have her item back. I don't really need it -- how many can a person have anyway, lol. She may be right that I may not be quite happy with it anyway although I could find use for it.

Teeda, that sounds kind of what I feel I'm experiencing -- a change in the feel of the place, and, deceptive practices. Exactly! -- ripe for some competition.

I'm surprised they don't automatically scan their auctions to weed out potential problem sellers.

P.S. Teeda:
It is amazing how quickly someone jumps on you with some of these things. Like eBay Rage. I have so many eBay emails, account messages, invoices, etc., right now that I'm confused about who I asked or owe what and how many days have passed (I do ask if shipping can be reduced rather than just autom paying priority and insurance). I'm just waiting for someone to freak out on me because something isn't paid right away. One seller sent me an email about non-payment, all caps, at 3 days. I'm not even sure it was that long. Her auction said something like 7-10. It was ridiculous and she was the same way before the sale. Two others started lecturing to me about buyer's remorse simply because I asked whether the shipping charges could be lowered in any way. The broken item lady, well, I think she's just losing it or something.

Back when, I was dealing with the overseas group and they were very much into customer service and satisfaction. It was a delight!

Since PayPal charges no fees to the person sending money, and it usually does cost something to get a cashier's check or a money order (unless you have an old-fashioned local bank), I would always use PayPal if the seller accepts it.

For a low-volume seller, PayPal fees are 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. This means that on a $10 sale, the PayPal fee is 29 cents (2.9%) plus 30 cents, for a total of 59 cents. This is 5.9% of the sale amount.

However, on a $100 sale, the PayPal fee is $2.90 (2.9%) plus 30 cents, for a total of $3.20, which is 3.2% of the amount.

Higher-volume sellers get lower percentage rates, but the 30 cents never goes away.

That's for "premier" and business accounts. Personal accounts pay NOTHING to receive money sent from a bank account, but their percentage fee for credit-card payments is 4.9% (and they are limited to 12 inbound credit-card transactions a year).

One of the organizations I used to direct considered using PayPal to accept donations online. We never did it, but the PayPal fees were competitive with what we paid on our Visa/MC merchant account for transactions where the card wasn't swiped. We also looked at third-party processors; the fees were similar, but worse for us since we didn't have enough volume to meet a monthly minimum.

squirelhaven, it would have been nice if she offered to send a photo of the broken item, but she really doesn't have to do that. Some sellers would take the time to comply with your request, but others would consider it a form of harrassmement and an accustation of lying.

If my buyers have questions about shipping costs and would prefer a slower, more economical method of shipping, they ask before they bid. After you've bid and won is not the time to be asking about different ways to ship the item.

I know you don't intend to create suspicion, but with so many "defaulters" out there, a seller really could interpret your questions as a change of mind.

Wow, thanks for the look at problems and other issues with eBay. I've been buying on eBay for more than 7 years, but haven't done as much recently because of postage costs. That's not eBay's fault - that's our postal service, which has to depend on items that rely on fuel to transport items from place to place (trucks, airplanes, vans). UPS and FedEx have also gone up. Both my MIL and I realized how much postage had soared when we went to ship packages to each other for the holidays....TERRIBLY high. (She told us, next year she'd only mail gifts, but the goodie box was going to have to stop.)

Personally, in over 150 transactions with eBay over 7+ years, I've had only 2 problems. One was settled with an agreement not to leave each other feedback either - a DVD that didn't work and I figured out this was a bootleg AFTER I got it. (I compared it to the same video that a friend of mine at work had bought legitimately.) The other was a DVD that I ordered for Christmas last year at the end of November, and the seller kept putting me off. eBay told me it was past the 45 day mark, and couldn't help me. But after I complained, a week later the item arrived. No feedback on that one either, but it would have been negative if I could have left some.

MOST of the sellers have been gems to deal with. MOST of the sellers have shipped right away, the items were what I ordered, and I've been happy.

The only other problems I've had with eBay and PayPal are with sellers who refuse to ship the item to another address other than the one my credit card is listed at. When I order something for work and ask work to reimburse me, they give me a hard time and tell me to have items shipped to the work address. I ask, but sellers feel compelled to ship to my home address.

DonnaR/CA

I've encountered more and more sellers who wait a long time to ship, which is very disappointing since I always pay with PayPal immediately. I had one recently that took twenty days to get here! I gave her a positive feedback and noted the time it took. She wrote me a lot of nastygrams and left me a neutral feedback -- first not positive one I ever got. So I can understand where a couple of bad experiences can turn one off eBay buying.

Craigslist is looking better and better these days, as is the local thriftstore.

I often ask about shipping before the bid, if it's unusually high I guess. I don't bid unless I'm willing to pay the listed amount for shipping but always confirm how they're sending it if I win because I really don't need fast delivery and I find sometimes they are planning to charge me to insure a $5-$10 item for $1.65. I guess if I were a seller I wouldn't want to spend my time on details that might not materialize. Same as a buyer. Besides, when one is looking at so many things, it's hard to keep track of those discussions. I don't even bid on a lot of the stuff I think I might and watch a lot of stuff.

Oh, she did go into the honesty thing. And acted like I was harassing her simply by inquiring. That's too bad, but I don't know her from Adam so there's really no need for personal offense, and, the customer is always right :) Since she broke my item, I don't think it's asking a lot to be up front and honest about it and even to provide a photo. No one knows who they are dealing with in these transactions and we all know the types of deceptive things that go on, so it really does alleviate any suspicion to just be upfront about it all at the outset. She changed her story and I think she over-reacted and it was weird.

As far as changing one's mind, I didn't say anything along the lines of changing my mind. I was proceeding through checkout.

I find it unpleasant.

I won a bid for a Thomas the Train Toddler bed and some matching items. Her location was within driving distance from me. I actually won it for 65.00 which was a very good price. I was too excited, emailed the seller right away asking if I could arrange pick-up and for a final invoice without shipping.

I received an email two days latter stating she would not sell at that price and that eBay made a mistake as it was supposed to have a reserve price. She offered to sell it to me at 300.00, next email raised it to 350.00. I started looking around to see what others were selling the same item for and found a pictures in New York - exact same picture as hers. I asked her about it and she claimed she used someone else's photo because her camera was broken.

I was at all times very nice but felt I may have hit a scam being that she used anither sellers picture, refused to sell, and upped the price two times, .

I reported it to eBay as seller refused to sell and that she offered to sell for a much larger price than the wining bid.

Get this - after sending me a very RUDE email for reporting her - she filed an unpaid dispute against me.

I explained the situation to eBay (again) and the unpaid dispute was removed without a strike against me.

However, there was never any support from eBay for her refusal to sell. I saw the bed listed by her a few months later.

I was shocked by the non support by eBay. Got a Thomas bed off Craig's list for 125.00 and my Grandson is thrilled.

I did not leave feedback for the seller. I just decided to let it go.

Other than that - I have had good experiences with eBay purchases (including a pretty good deal on a Wii system - just not sure that the support is there when things don't work out.

As for shipping, I compare to other sellers with like items when the shipping seems high, if it is out of line - I skip bidding on the high shipping cost items.

The worst thing about eBay is - too much eye candy can be addicting (at least for me!)

btw, I did maybe 40 transactions recently. !! So it's really only a handful of odd situations in the mix. Most are uneventful. But this round of buying is definitely in contrast to my previous experiences of a number of years ago.

I just think it's odd and unpleasant to ask a simple question at checkout about shipping options, say, and get some lecture about buyer's remorse and such. Just answer the shipping question, lol, and mail the dang thing!

Perky, it's hard to understand how you can win an agreement to buy at $65 and then be charged $300. I don't know how she'd have a leg to stand on. If it was an error, fine, but she certainly couldn't hold any other price tag than was listed over your head. Wouldn't that be sweet!

donnar, (not that you would do this, but just as an example) if the seller ships to any other address than the one listed on the credit card, a buyer can claim they never received the item, and the seller will find themself out the cost of shipping, the price of the item, and the item itself when the buyer has the CC charges reversed because it wasn't delivered.

As a seller, I stopped taking ALL credit card orders years ago, in large part because of people wanting (actually demanding, and in some cases getting downright shrill) that the item be shipped somewhere else.

Believe me, after 10 years selling on ebay, I've learned there is more to being a good customer than just paying promptly, and that despite what you may have heard, the customer is NOT "always right".

Within reason, of course. The customer is always right and it makes for a pleasant shopping experience. That doesn't mean you have to comply with ridiculous or unsound demands.

With all the scams these days, the purchaser is required to be able to provide the billing address if an item is being shipped to a different address. Often the authenticity code on the back of the card is required also to prove they are in possession of the card.

Well, I woke up this morning thinking how eBay is just like any other shopping experience. When you go in to a store and you don't like the atmosphere or how they feel about their customers, you just don't shop there! So, I won't go back to scolding shop owners :) or those that don't seem to be dealing with their customers and products above-board.

And that's that for this big-spender!

Squirrel, please don't give up on eBay. Not all sellers are difficult to deal with; you've just come across some who are. Give other sellers a chance. Surely, you've had at least a few good buying experiences on ebay.

eBay has some guidelines that a seller must follow in order to qualify for Seller Protection against a scamming buyer and some sellers won't deviate from those rules.

That being said, there are those of us that will trust that a buyer is on the up'n up and do ship to another address, but we may ask for Signature Confirmation.

Some sellers only ship Priority because of the free shipping boxes provided by the P.O. 1st class mail might be cheaper for the buyer but a problem for the seller as far as packing.

Sometimes the customer is right and sometimes the seller is right. Different situations result in different responses to buyers and sometimes there just isn't a good answer to a request.

I think I'm just really disliking the shipping. I just paid an invoice and the $25 item cost almost half as much to ship. Don't know what I've been thinking -- a shopping spree -- but it's all add-on fees! If I bought 40 items and shipping has averaged at $8 each, that's $320 in S&H. What an idiot! I got sucked into that big money machine :)

What really got me the other day is when another buyer advised they were not sending my win without even asking first. That makes no sense to me and it was the second time in two weeks that I'd lost an item after I'd won it! Too casual and uncaring towards one's customers, imo, and a double-standard in terms of responsibility to fulfill an auction agreement, which really bugs me cause it's made very clear on the buyer's end that they are obliged to follow through. The first item was something I was just so looking forward to and she made it an unpleasant (though unimportant) experience rather than a simple disappointment.

Anyway, this second lady is quite nice and polite. It's all paid for now, as I did decide to get the item anyway. Maybe she saw I bought others like it and thought I was planning on selling them or something! I just do things like that, lol. I guess I have a collection now! and think I might like that!

I should add up all the shipping just to see.

It's also really confusing, too, to keep track of. I'll have to turn off my email for eBay. I get so many emails on the stuff, from every direction, as well as their Message Center ones, and the addresses are different than the shop names and sometimes there's only an item number without an image, description, or the previous message dialogue they're responding to. So it's just too hard to keep track of -- unless of course you are a normal person and just getting a couple things!

btw, Mona, I've never given negative feedback on ebay. I looked at my hx and see I did put one neutral in there years ago because another shop owner had congratulated me on a great find/buy but did tell me the item was misrepresented as an antique (no real issue to me) -- and the shop owner was also not replying to my emails during the transaction.

I'm undecided about the broken item. I do want a picture!

Excuse me, that's

"it's made very clear on the buyer's end that we are obliged to follow through."

I didn't read all the comments above so hopefully I'm not repeating anything.

I find shipping costs to be outrageous as well on Ebay. I have, in the past, emailed the seller to inform him/her that their shipping costs are too high and tell them what the actual charge should be for an item from their location to mine. This is based on my knowledge of weight which I will research on the internet. For example: I wanted a faucet, just a Moen, and the shipper wanted $25 for shipping. I emailed and said I would pay $10 since that was a ligitimate amount for this item at its weight and distance. He agreed and it worked out.

I will overlook items that are obvious padded, and if they won't negotiate, I move on. I don't believe in stealing!

Squirrel - just log into your account and view the items you won, then you can click on the payment icon. No need to get all the emails.

I always pay right after winning and assume that by bidding I am agreeing to the shipping terms and as a seller I will not ship to a different address than what paypal lists. Too risky. Just set up to paypal accounts if need be...one for home and one for work.

Out of almost 200 transactions, I have only had one issue and it was resolved fine. I even sold a car on ebay!

So far I have had success with EBay. I pay at once so I will not forget unless I am adding another item and need the invoice updated like with the lamp shades to the lamps.

I never sold yet on EBay but when I have more time, I may try to.

OK. There is definitely something wrong here. Another seller refunded for a similar item I purchased, with a note -- 'changed mind.' I met the reserve price on that with five other bidders.

Now, if I had given the other back because I still had these, I wouldn't have either!

I do believe another little item was refunded also and am trying to find out. That item wasn't selling and had been relisted and I was the only bidder. It wasn't a dirt cheap asking price and the shipping was too much, so I'd think he was getting what he wanted at the outset.

This is just plain wrong. !

Maybe they read this thread :) ?

So Mona-with-the-seller-tools -- Do sellers 'screen' their sales looking to eliminate those who might be reselling their stuff, for instance? Is there a big seller's bulletin board/forum out there 'Potential Scammer,' or 'Accused me of Lying,' or something? I don't post negative feedback, even when there is a problem, and I don't have negative feedback on my account. I pay early and don't give anyone a hard time, just simply ask about the shipping. I sent one box to another address, but it wasn't questioned or refunded that I know of. Yes, I've bought too many things (40?) and some are similar.

I knew this whole eBay experience was fishy this time.

Squirrel, there are no rules against reselling what you've bought on ebay. In fact, I just bought my DH a golf club where 20 of the same clubs are listed and one buyer seems to have bids on every listing. He's not doing anything wrong and the seller is not canceling his bids.

First thing, I'm not sure why you're confused about what you've won; paid for; had shipped; waiting for delivery, etc. It shouldn't be that confusing. When you go to your Summary page, click on Won items and your winning auctions and the status of payment should appear.

The changed mind thing.....you're saying the Reserve Price was met and there were 5 bidders. You were the highest bidder and you won the auction. Before you got an invoice and paid, the seller said she changed her mind about selling you the item. Is this right? Or did she officially cancel the auction before it ended?

If you won the auction, wait 8 days and file a non-performing seller dispute. Sge may respond to an email from ebay. If not. go to the dispute page and say you no longer wish to communicate with this member and close the dispute this way. Then leave a negative stating she would not complete the sale. And by closing the dispute in the above manner, she also gets a strike against her. 3 strikes and she's off eBay.

Please email me; I'm trying to figure out why there's a pattern of sellers reneging on their auctions. Or could you give me your eBay ID ?

The summary page is easy to pay by. It's just trying to keep track of message communications. Some had said they could forgo the insurance or ship slower but the invoice didn't indicate it. And my emailbox just gets so darn full of stuff from eBay all day long. I just sorted it all out and filed them.

I'll send you an email. I looked and she's a new seller with 0 feedback and no other items for sale. So, I guess that's a bit of a different circumstance.

I don't want to force anyone to sell something they don't want to, but I think it's very unfair if they're giving it to someone else who bid higher after the sale or something like that. I don't need them, really, and I've spent way too much anyway.

Yes, the auction closed, ending at the reserved price. She asked how I wanted it shipped and I immediately sent payment this morning. It was refunded later today. No issues at all.

I'll send you an email. Maybe you can better eBay! Thanks.

Ok, for the record .... the last cancellation was for a ups label! Why I'd get a 'cancellation' - 'changed my mind' about a ups label is, well, confusing!

One to go.

Squirrel, I just finished reading all this and I see that this situation is seriously obsessing you. No one wants to get scammed or taken advantage of. Some things about Ebay work well and some things lead to a frustrating dead end, with no one really to complain to. I've had one or two experiences over the years, both as buyer and as seller, and since I know that I'm honest and willing to work with someone, I do know that the other person was not playing fair. Whether because of ignorance, or to make more money, they weren't fair. But anytime you choose to deal with an individual you cannot see or talk to, you are taking some level of risk. And on Ebay, since you are not always dealing with pro sellers, the customer is Not always right.
The occasional ebay seller may just be a woman who wants to get rid of her aunt's antique mirror and doesn't know squat about it, about shipping, or about honoring the winning bid. She gets an email two hours after the auction closes begging her to sell to the 2nd buyer instead, for $30 more, and maybe the 2nd buyer tells her to just cancel the sale. She does, and YOU get zapped. There may be no accountability either. It just depends on what can be proved. And she may never sell another thing. Negative feedback doesn't impact this seller.

I think that since you are getting bogged down in an abundance of messages, responses, lowered shipping, and freaky sellers, perhaps you should step back and reassess. Talk to Mona and see what she says. Print your emails and make notes on them. Start a file. It's a little extra trouble, but it's better than having dozens of items in the works at once and not knowing whether you're coming or going. And try to let these last things go. You can file your grievances, but after you do, drop it. There's no real recourse.

I just want to say something from the seller's viewpoint about shipping. Businesses can usually ship cheaper than Ms.Red hauling her package down to the post office. So Ms.Red's shipping may be higher than Pottery Barn's. Also, Ms.Red may be only guesstimating. But she feels that if she's a bit high, the buyer can see the costs before they bid. And if she lowballs herself on shipping, (like the time she had to ship a pair of shoes to Hawaii) she may not make a penny on the item or the shipping, and will have to eat it due to her own mistake. Either way....getting an email from buyers asking for lower shipping can be off-putting. Some are discreet in their inquiry and I check into other options for them. Some are just annoying.
That's how it hits me.

Red

Sounds like you got an email from ups after the seller had processed the shipping and then went in and cancelled it. I usually ship via ups and it will send the buyer an email.

Not sure what is going on overall..but I agree its odd.

estreya - Wow ... i'm reading this with great interest. I was planning to put several items on ebay following a thorough "clean up" of my home, the most valuable of which is an old coin. But the experiences shared here are quite horrifying ...

Maybe Craigslist is a better way to go?

Be careful with craigslists too as there are scammers there also. For something like a coin, I might trust ebay more then craigslists.. You know the scams where someone pays, then you ship it out only to find the payment they sent bounced? That's what you want to avoid. With ebay I'd imagine you can mention you will ship once the payment has cleared.

At citydata forums in the people search section, there's a post about a "Bill Armstrong" that sold on craigslists & ended up taking a lot of people. If you'd like the link I can send it to you. In the end it looks like this person won't stand trial on a lot of the charges because of the amount of each sale. Had they been more, he'd be in jail for a long time.

Squirrel - But don't you think it's reasonable to provide a picture of the broken item, though? I really don't see why it should be a big deal. And why not just be upfront that the darn thing broke.

Yes, I also agree that the seller should provide a picture. If I was the seller and something honestly broke then I would upload it to my photo sharing site, then email the link. I understand that people change their mind on selling all of the time (also have seen it happen) and think that any seller that takes offense to asking for a picture of the broken item is probably not being honest themselves.

Squirrel - I have so many eBay emails, account messages, invoices, etc., right now that I'm confused about who I asked or owe what and how many days have passed (I do ask if shipping can be reduced rather than just autom paying priority and insurance). I'm just waiting for someone to freak out on me because something isn't paid right away. One seller sent me an email about non-payment, all caps, at 3 days. I'm not even sure it was that long. Her auction said something like 7-10. It was ridiculous and she was the same way before the sale.

It isn't pleasant when they do. I'm still upset about the one that freaked out on me and can't pull their latest reply because I'm still upset.

I usually have to look in the sent folder to see what I said, then in the inbox to see their reply. Having IE 7 where I can have multiple tabs open is nice. I dislike sellers personally emailing me because one never knows if the email is a fake or not. Most emails I've gotten that appear to be sellers have been spoofs. I forward them to spoof@ebay.com

Mona - squirelhaven, it would have been nice if she offered to send a photo of the broken item, but she really doesn't have to do that. Some sellers would take the time to comply with your request, but others would consider it a form of harrassmement and an accustation of lying.

Maybe squirrel should mention to ebay that they should enforce a broken item photo policy. I think if more buyers told ebay that sellers should offer pics of broken items, that ebay can then help protect buyers a little more and weed out the sellers that are dishonest and do take emails from buyers that did not win, offering more money.

When I was bidding on all of those ornaments, I seriously thought to email one seller asking if she'd take more but I didn't because I was afraid she'd turn me in.

SH

On the keeping up with emails from ebay, I too had a difficult time keeping up with email notifications of payment received, shipped, etc.

I created a folder in my inbox called ebay. Then I created subfolders called: pending,payment recieved, shipped, shipment recieved.

I just move them into the appropriate folder when read. after the transaction is complete and I am happy witht he transaction, I leave feedback and delete the emails related to the item.

I was frustrated and printing until I finally found a system to work for me.

Roselvr, thank you for your words of caution and advise. I'll somehow figure out what to do. Maybe i'll make it my 2008 project ... :)

I hope everyone works out their issues without further frustration, and Perky_2, congratulations on having developed such a workable system! Who knew it would be so complicated. Remember when it was all about garage sales? :)

I had an interesting, and beneficial, experience after losing a bid. I was bidding on a hand crafted item and was outbid by quite a lot. After the auction ended, the seller emailed me and offered to sell me another, nearly identical item for my maximum bid. He had a large amount of great feedback so I went for it. Boy did I feel like I got a deal! It arrived quickly, was gorgeous and I couldn't have been more pleased. I ended up bidding on another of his items and the same exact thing happened. Weird in a way because clearly he was able to sell the items for more. I guess I wouldn't be happy if I was the winner and knew about this transaction but it doesn't break any rules (I don't think) and everyone ended up pleased.

You were lucky, dccnm. If you bought privately from him outside of eBay you would have had no recourse if you paid and he didn't deliver. And depending on what you paid for the item he may have saved a nice amount of $$ by not having to pay listing fees as well as final value fees or paypal fees.

But, don't you think it may be more than a coincidence that you as the 2nd highest bidder were offered the item at your highest bid? Twice?

Could it be he's having someone continually outbid you so your offering amount goes up higher and higher?

If the highest bidder was the only one outbidding you both times you may have been "shilled".

Hmmm. Maybe. The transactions were completed through Ebay however. I can't remember how it was done but it was, complete with feedback and PayPal payment. (I think he set it up as a Buy it Now and then emailed me so I could go and purchase it) I wouldn't complete a purchase outside of the system. Way too cautious for that. Re: outbidding me purposely...I suppose that was a possibility but the original items did show as sold and eventually appeared in his feedback. Regardless, I was happy. I didn't actually get into a bidding war. I usually determine what I'm willing to pay upfront and put that maximum in on my first bid. So in this case I definitely ended up paying what I felt to be a fair price. I wasn't the second highest bid either I don't think but don't recall for sure.

You make excellent points however. There appear to be a million ways to work the system and scam people.

Shill bidding is a legendary outlaw practice on eBay. On more than one occasion, I have suspected that I was involved in an auction with a shill bidder. This has often been the case when the most active bidder is someone who has a history of placing bids with a particular seller but rarely wins the auction! One time, after having won the item, I suspected the presence of a shill so strongly that I confronted the seller directly. She ended up reducing the price of the item, post auction!

I was curious (and annoyed with my terrible memory) so I just went back and checked. Both times it was a "Second Chance Offer" and I was NOWHERE near being the second highest bidder. I suppose he probably offered the same deal to all the bidders that at least bid higher than me. Seems like volume is his thing. At least it's up and up. And his pieces really are amazing!

That shilling thing is impressive. I haven't really bought tons from eBay so definitely am naive about the various scams. Good for you marthavila for confronting her and getting the price reduced. Did you still purchase the item?

Yes Dccnm, I did go ahead and purchase it. As perturbed as I was that she had manufactured a bidding war, I really wanted that item. :) (Plus, my actual bid had not been unreasonable --even though it had been unreasonably pushed.)

But, I must say -- you really do have to be alert on eBay. Once, I won a chaise that the seller claimed to be an item from the art deco era. Cost me $1475. Well, the shipper she used was horrendous. Packaging was inadequate and the darn thing arrived with a broken leg. When I called in a furniture restorer to give me an estimate on the damage, he laughed heartily at the sight of the item. He then went into a detailed explanation as to why that chaise was no way an art deco piece. In fact, he was certain it had been newly-manufactured and only made to appear antique. I still had to fight with the seller to get my money back! Ended up submitting a fraud claim to eBay and threatened to lodge a civil suit as well. Although I finally got my money back, it took a whole lot of wrangling with her attorney. I'm a long time eBayer and I love it, but my experience has also taught to me practice "buyer beware"!

How about feedback? Anyone annoyed that sellers don't give feedback any more 1st?

I bid, then pay for an item, holding up my end.. shouldn't the seller give me feedback?

"How about feedback? Anyone annoyed that sellers don't give feedback any more 1st?"

As a seller, I never give feedback first. I always wait for a response from the buyer to let me know that the item arrived safely and that they're happy with it. This buyer's response is usually in the form of feedback. Once I get feedback from a buyer, then I leave my feedback.

When I'm buying, I always try to establish contact with the seller before bidding. I usually ask a few friendly questions about the item, to try and get a dialogue going. You can tell a lot about a seller this way.

I always try to leave feedback for my buyers as soon as delivery confirmation shows the package has been delivered. Sometimes, though, my buyer leaves feedback immediately after receiving the item..before I can.

I think holding a buyer hostage over feedback is not good selling policy. IMHO,it's an indication that you're not sure the buyer will be happy with the quality, appearance or shipping condition of the item.

If a seller is dealing with a buyer that has a good, honest reputation and the item sold is as described and packaged securely and has arrived at its destination, then I think a seller should leave feedback without waiting for a buyer to leave feedback first.

But that's just me.

Monablair, when it comes to feedback, you are definitely my kind of seller! I have always believed that those sellers who leave feedback first are demonstrating that they believe in what they are selling. I have never had a problem with lost or damaged goods, differences in auction descriptions and actual items, buyers remorse, etc., when dealing with such sellers. BTW, none of this is to say that others of you on this thread who are eBay sellers are somehow "bad" sellers if you don't leave feedback first. But, IMHO, once I've sent my payment,I'm taking a leap of faith (of sorts) that the seller will come through. When a buyer takes a similar leap by posting feedback first, the online marketplace feels more like an even playing field.

The 'normal' sale price of an item on ebay is 1 bid increment over the second highest bid.

Dccnm - What that ebay seller appears to be doing is entering a ridiculously high top bid that thereby reveals each other bidder's maximum bid amount. Then he can decide whether or not to offer to sell you a 'widget' at whatever your maximum price was, without risking having to sell to you at a penny less than your maximum. He's using a fake high bid (or self-buying shill) to find out your absolute maximum bid.

I buy a lot on ebay, and generally use sniping software to enter my bids at the last minute. On the 30 or so items I've bought recently that way, I've only had to pay my maximum bid once.

Not to say you didn't get a "good" deal Dccnm.
But I'd sure bet you didn't get your "best" deal and that this seller's not being honest.

I always try to leave feedback for my buyers as soon as delivery confirmation shows the package has been delivered. Sometimes, though, my buyer leaves feedback immediately after receiving the item..before I can.

I think holding a buyer hostage over feedback is not good selling policy. IMHO,it's an indication that you're not sure the buyer will be happy with the quality, appearance or shipping condition of the item.

If a seller is dealing with a buyer that has a good, honest reputation and the item sold is as described and packaged securely and has arrived at its destination, then I think a seller should leave feedback without waiting for a buyer to leave feedback first.

But that's just me.

With some sellers I've sent emails during the bidding, then again after letting them know I'm happy. I still don't get why they can't leave the feedback 1st. I've gotten messages both by ebay messages and via a note in the package to leave feedback, but why should I have to do it 1st?

I understand some have been screwed by buyers with feedback, but as you say.. I'm starting to feel like I'm being held hostage. I have maybe 56 feedbacks out of 200+ items we've bought. Pretty sad.

To answer the question originally asked, "is anyone else getting discouraged with eBay?" ... lately, yes, even since my last response in this thread. Several times I've been beat out at auctions, and I think it's the sniping software that does it. I don't have that type of software and it annoys me (BIGTIME!) when I get beat out of an auction by someone using it. I'm one that if I really want an item, I'll sit at the computer when it's close to the ending. I know I'm being sniped when I continually up my bid and keep being outbid immediately, especially :02 from the end of the auction. If anything frustrates me about eBay these days, it's that software.

I'm sure that for those that use this software, it's a blessing - particularly for auctions that end in the wee hours of the morning. But for me, constantly on the losing end, it's not.

DonnaR/CA

I'm with McClark over the seller first feedback issue. When I sell, I rarely use a tracking service, I ship mostly usps priority. I expect that the buyer will receive their item, make sure it is as I described, then, post feedback for me. Once I see their feedback, I post mine. Also, I always make an enclosure letter that states, "I will be posting positive feedback for you as soon as you receive your item and leave feedback!" I think that's clear.

I have occasionally as a seller, gone ahead and left feedback w/o any from the buyer. I do this when the item has clearly had time to arrive and there has been no feedback for weeks. At that point, I have to assume that they are a lazy buyer and just didn't take care of it. I then leave positive, but w/o any glowing accolades, etc.

Here is Ebay's comment on feedback:
"While leaving Feedback is voluntary, eBay encourages all members to leave Feedback after each transaction is complete. There are different philosophies on whether the buyer or seller should leave Feedback first. Each member may choose the best approach to leaving Feedback for them."

As a seller, you are waiting for basically two things. One, that the buyer received the item in a timely fashion. Unless you keep nudging them via email, you don't know.** Two, that they are satisfied, happy, or at least, know they got what they bid on. Again, you only get this through feedback.
As a buyer, you are doing feedback on how speedily your seller got your item to you, and on whether or not that item was as described.

To my mind, the tranaction is not complete until the item has been received by buyer and the buyer is either satisfied, or we have taken care of whatever issue is in the works. How you handle the 'transaction gone wrong' is a definite determination of what feedback is deserved, and again, that determination is made when both parties see the deal as done. Let me give you two of my own examples....

Most recent: I purchased a brand new sconce from an ebay seller. I paid, she shipped. Sconce arrived broken in box. Her packing left a lot to be desired. I used to pack UPS packages for a store, so I know what to look for. I emailed that the sconce broke and offered to send photos. She commiserated, told me this hadn't happened to her before with a sconce, but immediately did an Ebay dispute and refunded all my money. I left her a good positive. She did the same for me. Had she left me a positive before we resolved this, she had no way of knowing whether I would trash her for my opinion of her packaging.

Some time ago, I shipped drapes to a buyer and saw by tracking, (one of few times I have used it) that she had received. Since she had absolutely oohed and aaahed and emailed gushings over the drape photos in the auction, I almost left feedback the next day. But about a week later, I got an email asking me why I wasn't sending her drapes? She was bent. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was being scammed. Also, I had already deleted (lesson learned!) an email that (I thought) had come from her, telling me how wonderful they were and how pleased she was. (Turned out, that was from the buyer who got some pillows I had made, but she had same first name) So, now I'm mad, but I send her the tracking info, which outlined that the package was left on step by side door. The same day I get an absolutely apologetic email telling me that they had stopped using that door and the package had been out there all week. She gushed over the drapes and wrote me wonderful feedback. I responded in kind. Only then, was that transaction done.

Red

"Maybe squirrel should mention to ebay that they should enforce a broken item photo policy."

I agree. They should make sure it becomes the rule for sellers AND buyers. If you're going to claim it's broken, you should have to send pictures to PROVE it's broken before you get a refund for the buyer, and before you can cancel a transaction if you're the seller.

IMHO, Ebay has become so annoying, that I rarely sell there anymore, but when I did, I made the buyer pay for insurance on every single item. I have a SOP if I get a message from a buyer that an item is "broken". I am shipping very small items, less than 1.5" square, wrapped in bubble pac, packed into a *tin can* (not a cardboard box), then placed in a tyveck envelope, so let's just say that while it's possible the item could arrive broken, it would pretty much have to be run over by the mail truck to do it.

Anyway, I tell them that since it is insured, they can return it to me for a refund, or I can send them the insurance receipt and they can take the broken item and the original packing to the PO for a cash refund. I let them know I'll be including a picture of the item on the invoice for identification purposes. (I design the page in such a way that they can't just cut off the pictures.) You would be surprised at how many people start immedietly making excuses that they didn't save the can or the envelope, or whatever, and couldn't I just send them another one? I basically tell them, sure, no problem, just cough up another $XX.XX and I'll get that right out to you. I've also had at least one person ask for another invoice - without the pictures, and another one asked if I could send an invoice with the pictures at the bottom of the page, because they claim the "mailman" requested it. (Still LOL at that one) I wouldn't be so hard hearted about it, except I already offer a refund if they just have a case of Buyer's remorse; just return the item and you get a postal money order by return mail. But these people have been trying to get something for nothing.

I've also been seeing cases where the buyer claims the item was sent to the wrong address. Over the years, I've have a number of buyers who wrote demanding a refund and/or another item. I've even ran across one "gentleman" who was using his ex girlfriend's ebay account, -and her checks- to purchase "gifts" for his "sister" halfway across the country. Uh huh. He was livid when the item was delivered to the ex-girlfriends (the address listed on the account -and- the checks), and I refused to send him another, but oh well. Even though he changed the "mail to" address a couple of days after the item was delivered (apparently when he realized he wasn't getting it), Ebay backed me up on that one, no problem.

This is why I ONLY ship to the address they have listed with ebay for that account. If you're buying a gift, you get it delivered to your home, so you get a chance to open and inspect it, and then YOU can send it along to whoever. As a buyer, I've never had any trouble on ebay, and it's still one of my favorite places to shop, but as a seller, it's gone downhill quite a bit over the last few years.

donnar57: I used to be annoyed by the same thing, until I learned how to bid on ebay. The worst thing to do is to sit at the computer constantly bidding. Decided beforehand exactly what you are willing to pay--your highest possible bid. Then, 30 seconds before the end of the auction, just bid it. If you win, you will probably win at less than your maximum bid. If you lose, it's no big deal because you weren't willing to pay more than the amount you bid, anyway.

Save yourself the frustration!

Donnar57: Sometimes, when you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Like you, I used to get terribly frustrated by being outbid in the last seconds of an auction by a sniper. Then, I wisened up and joined www.esnipe.com.

As a self-confessed sniper for years now, I couldn't be happier. When I see something I want, I submit my best bid, often several days in advance of the end of auction. Esnipe won't enter it until I instruct it to -- normally no more than 7 seconds before auction end. Sometimes, if I see my best bid has been outbid before the end of auction, and I really want that item, I will edit my bid on Esnipe. Many times, I have entered an Esnipe bid and gone away for hours, days even, unable to watch the results online. Doesn't matter, the software does the work for me. It also helps me to avoid getting hung up in bidding wars.

I agree that it's a shame to have to pay extra to win online auctions because of online technology. However, the cost is not that great if you really want something badly: 1% of the item cost, from a minimum of 25 cents to a max of $10.00 (the latter fee is for all items $1k and over). IIRC, Esnipe offers a trial run of 14 days for free. Check it out and see whether your winning ratios improve with it and, if so, whether it's also worth the additional cost. BTW, rest assured that I am not associated with Esnipe in any way and there are plenty of other sniping agents to check out if you are interested! JMHO

Several times I've been beat out at auctions, and I think it's the sniping software that does it. I don't have that type of software and it annoys me (BIGTIME!) when I get beat out of an auction by someone using it. I'm one that if I really want an item, I'll sit at the computer when it's close to the ending. I know I'm being sniped when I continually up my bid and keep being outbid immediately, especially :02 from the end of the auction. If anything frustrates me about eBay these days, it's that software.

I'm sure that for those that use this software, it's a blessing - particularly for auctions that end in the wee hours of the morning. But for me, constantly on the losing end, it's not.

I'd like to see them do away with it myself.

When I sell, I rarely use a tracking service, I ship mostly usps priority.

When I ship with USPS I usually pay the 65 cents to have the web tracking put on it. For the cost, it's a decent service.

As a seller, you are waiting for basically two things. One, that the buyer received the item in a timely fashion. Unless you keep nudging them via email, you don't know.** Two, that they are satisfied, happy, or at least, know they got what they bid on. Again, you only get this through feedback.
As a buyer, you are doing feedback on how speedily your seller got your item to you, and on whether or not that item was as described.

To my mind, the tranaction is not complete until the item has been received by buyer and the buyer is either satisfied, or we have taken care of whatever issue is in the works. How you handle the 'transaction gone wrong' is a definite determination of what feedback is deserved, and again, that determination is made when both parties see the deal as done.

Thanks for posting your view. I'm pretty much a realistic buyer with shipping. I pay attention to where the item is coming from and know that something on the West coast takes a long time to ship. If something gets here in a week I'm happy :) I know that not everyone thinks like this, so I can see where you are coming from.

As a buyer, I still feel that the seller should give me feedback 1st since I bought the item & paid on time. If sellers are fearful of negative feedback, it can always be retracted.

I agree. They should make sure it becomes the rule for sellers AND buyers. If you're going to claim it's broken, you should have to send pictures to PROVE it's broken before you get a refund for the buyer, and before you can cancel a transaction if you're the seller.

I agree and think it's a great idea. With the Barbie we got, I took pictures of everything and uploaded them, sent a link to the seller; he could care less; stopped communicating with us. We even tried contacting ebay & fair trade. On an item that cost over $250, it hurt pretty bad to have to make the decision to not send it back to the seller & tie our money up.

I've also been seeing cases where the buyer claims the item was sent to the wrong address. Over the years, I've have a number of buyers who wrote demanding a refund and/or another item. I've even ran across one "gentleman" who was using his ex girlfriend's ebay account, -and her checks- to purchase "gifts" for his "sister" halfway across the country. Uh huh. He was livid when the item was delivered to the ex-girlfriends (the address listed on the account -and- the checks), and I refused to send him another, but oh well. Even though he changed the "mail to" address a couple of days after the item was delivered (apparently when he realized he wasn't getting it), Ebay backed me up on that one, no problem.

I hope she changed her passwords!

My advice to buyers on eBay is to place a bid in the highest amount + shipping you'd be willing to pay for the item. And then WALK AWAY! If no one bids close to your amount you won't have to pay your top dollar bid. If you're outbid and lose, then you have the satusfaction that someone probably bid more than it was worth.

Too often bidders let the bidding become personal and they get carried away and end up paying more than they intended just for the satisfaction of having "bested" the other bidders. That is a foolish way to bid on eBay.

If you feel you must play mind games with other bidders, then place a lower bid than you intend to pay. And then bid again one increment higher and do this 5-6 times and end up with the highest bid you really intended to place. Your original bid will not increase. The bidding history will merely show you have placed 5-6 bids, one right after the other and your top bid will not be revealed.

A bidder getting outbid by you several times in a row will see you have consistantly raised your optimum bid and may be inclined to walk away from " a battle" with a determined bidder such as yourself.

Also, about delivery confirmation. If you print a shipping label through PayPal or Click n Ship it's included for free with the shipping charges.

I feel the buyer has done her part when she pays for an item, so when I sell, that's when I leave feedback. I expect the same as a buyer, and feel that holding back feedback until after I leave mine is a bit of a 'hold-up'.

Well Sweeby, I bet you are right! I would never have figured that out. Good news is I love both items and believe I paid a fair price for them. But now I do wonder if all of the other bidders whose max was greater than mine did the same. He really has figured out how to work the system and in a manner not apparently easy for eBay to discover, correct?