I have just been eBay'ed.

[andybarton]

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It isn't unknown for Ebay sellers to try and wriggle out of sales if they don't get as much as they wanted.

 

I sold a Leica lens a couple of years ago for about 40% of what it was really worth. That's the risk of an auction.

 

The purchaser had the brass neck to email me a couple of weeks later to say that she'd seen an identical lens go for the "right" price, so "thanks very much for the bargain."

 

I'm afraid that I forgot to reply.

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[earleygallery]

I sold a Leica lens a couple of years ago for about 40% of what it was really worth. That's the risk of an auction.

 

The purchaser had the brass neck to email me a couple of weeks later to say that she'd seen an identical lens go for the "right" price, so "thanks very much for the bargain."

 

I'm afraid that I forgot to reply.

 

Andy, that's the risk of not putting a reserve price on the item.........although it's very rare these days that stuff goes much below the typical market price, there's just too many people looking on ebay for a 'bargain'.

[stunsworth]

I've never bothered with reserves, and tend to start auctions at 99p. The first couple of days can be worrying, but have always worked out fine.

 

As I've mentioned before my worst eBay experience was someone who won the auction for an M2 and then refused to pay because it was too expensive.

 

I've had a few negative experiences, but for lower value items. There was a guy who bought a CD and then returned it backside it was scratched. It was pretty obvious he'd done it himself with a screwdriver, but there was nothing to do but refund the sale.

[kivis]

+1

I made it very clear to buyer what the problems before I sent it out. Nonetheless a lesson learned.

[Erik Gunst Lund]

I made it very clear to buyer what the problems before I sent it out. Nonetheless a lesson learned.

 

The point here was to make sure about the condition before putting it up for sale!

[Guest Randle P. McMurphy]

The point here was to make sure about the condition before putting it up for sale!

 

Sure - but Shit happens. I bought a Nikon F2 on Ebay some weeks ago and

in the Describtion the Seller wrote "with Nikkor H 1,2/50" instead of 1:2/50.

 

I saw this at the Pictures so it was no Problem for me. But he worries about

and apologized for this and asked to sendback my Money..........

[Guest Randle P. McMurphy]

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I sold a Leica lens a couple of years ago for about 40% of what it was really worth. That's the risk of an auction.

 

The Risk of one is the Chance of another. Auctions are always play with fortune.

[jaques]

A lesson learned.

 

I'd never sell anything on eBay. Just too much hassle and aggro.

 

well- I sold over 1500 cameras on ebay (and 1000 lenses or more)... had one deal go sour and lost $400 in 10 years... had a few assholes to deal with as well of course- that's life though- not ebay as such.

 

In this case: I would have refunded the guys payment and cancelled the sale as soon as he threatened me.

 

 

not a big fan of their corporate ways, hate paypal and their dispute resolution is a load of BS- the trick is to know the system and understand the limitations- but it is a very large market...

[lct]

...hate paypal and their dispute resolution is a load of BS...

Would you mind to elaborate on this? Just curious.

[tgray]

My point is that it even if you do everything right in terms of descriptions, etc., writing things like 'no returns' don't really offer any protection. You can ship a spotless item, it can arrive with no damage, the buyer can hit it with a hammer and then complain. And they have about a month window in which to do it. They can simply say that you, the seller, misrepresented the item. At the very least, Paypal will sit on your money or freeze your account.

[earleygallery]

not a big fan of their corporate ways, hate paypal and their dispute resolution is a load of BS- the trick is to know the system and understand the limitations- but it is a very large market...

 

Paypal makes it easy to buy stuff from abroad, or to buy larger ticket items you might not have the cash ready for.

 

As for dispute resolution, as I've said, it worked in my favour - I was quite impressed actually. Just be aware of - and follow - their T&C's.

[Photoskeptic]

About four years ago someone hijacked my eBay acct and used it to post 400 (!) fake items for sale all of which cost less than the posting fees. It took about four weeks to get straightened out and I quit using eBay. Then last year I had a few items to sell and began eBaying again. This time someone hacked into PayPal and stole my debit card number and charged about $400 in Xbox games. That finished me with the whole business.

[250swb]

You can ship a spotless item, it can arrive with no damage, the buyer can hit it with a hammer and then complain.

 

And you really think psychopaths like that are the norm in Ebay? Somebody who wants to get at you so much they are willing to smash a perfectly good item just to get their money back? You can create victim based fantasy to cover most aspects of life in which the world is out to get you. The thing is, the world is only out to get you in such a scenario, look a little deeper and you will realise everybody else is doing fine.

 

Are we all grown up here? Over 10 years old? Has nobody the ability to put life into perspective? You go out everyday in your car, you could have a crash. You pay for the damage with a credit card, it could get cloned. You have a heart attack because of the stress, you could die. Nobody thinks about that, but give somebody a chance to have a go at the millions of perfectly good transactions made on Ebay everyday all of a sudden we are supposed to believe the scenario bad behaviour is endemic. Well, if you aren't willing to get the risks of buying and selling on Ebay into perspective you won't want to go out in your car, because the odds are you will have a crash more often than be ripped off on Ebay.

 

Steve

[Ivar B]

I have done many deals on eBay and I have been pleased in about 99.9 % of the cases.

 

In the last weeks, I have also sold 3 lenses through the forum. The problem is that there is no official feedback system, and I quite understand that sending thousands of dollars or euros across the globe to someone you have never met, can be a problem, I have asked potential buyers to contact previous buyers and they have, and everything has gone very smoothlt indeed, I guess that forum activity could be a signal as to if a seller is legitimate or not, but it would have been as asset if a formal feedback program could be put in place, like on eBay.

 

Part of eBays problem is that sellers cannot leave negative feedbacks for buyers, I guess this comes from the many past cases of retaliotary negatives. However, just as in this case buyers can be very unreasonable as well and there is basically nothing you can do about it as a seller.

[spydrxx]

I've bought and sold hundreds of items (mostly camera gear) on Ebay over the years, with only 3 problems. Rule #1 - ALWAYS be 100% honest and clear in your pictures and descriptions as a seller. I recently thought I had done so with a Leica lens but the buyer was quite upset upon inspection. Instead of contacting me, he left negative feedback and had the lens CLA'd. I contacted him after reading the feedback and offered him a full refund and asked specifically what the problem was. Turns out something happened in transit (probably the helicoid grease froze). I assured him that wasn't the way it was sent...he thought he got a good batgain all in, so kept the lens, but I got stuck with less than stellar feedback. Never had an issue with Paypal - as a buyer or seller. I think too many people just don't bother reading the fine print, and procedures before they jump into the auction fray, then blame everything and body but themselves. A story which can end badly.

[tgray]

And you really think psychopaths like that are the norm in Ebay? Somebody who wants to get at you so much they are willing to smash a perfectly good item just to get their money back? You can create victim based fantasy to cover most aspects of life in which the world is out to get you. The thing is, the world is only out to get you in such a scenario, look a little deeper and you will realise everybody else is doing fine.

 

Thanks for that. Sold a $3000 camera (for $2000, but that's ok) with an impeccable description and was totally given the runaround by the buyer. He complained about shipping costs even though it was very clearly stated what they were in the ad. But hey, I figured I'd cut him a break - it only ended up being another $10 or so out of my pocket and life's too short to worry about that. Then once I sent the camera, Paypal locked the fund for 21 days until I received positive feedback. The guy refused to leave feedback, because once you do, you can't open up a claim. I was in frequent email contact with him during the whole process up until the end. He said the camera arrived in good shape, thank you, I'm happy with it. I asked if he'd leave me feedback since he was happy and he stopped emailing me. I sat on pins and needles for three weeks until my money was finally released because I realized, at any point during that time, he could have complained and gotten a refund. He never did leave feedback. Oh, and that was the second of my only two big ticket items I tried to sell on ebay.

 

Of course, seller's can't leave negative feedback anymore, so you have no warning about this kind of stuff.

 

I don't run around life thinking I'm a victim. I've had many positive experiences buying and selling on forums, craigslist, even ebay. I've been using ebay since 1999. I use it less now because I don't think it adds a lot of value for the way I buy and sell. What's wrong with recognizing that the system has changed and might not be worth it for me? Selling only high ticket items very infrequently seems pretty risky to me. I also don't actually think you get particularly good prices there, what with the paypal and ebay fees. I'd rather just sell it for 10% less at a forum with a lot less hassle.

 

And no, I don't think a buyer would do that just to get their money back. I do think there are people out there who are willing to game the ebay/paypal system to get a free 21 day trial out of an item.

[ganzosrevenge]

I will NEVER use ebay for the following reason:

 

Let's say I sell you a good, and it has a pedigree from an expert (ie: Sherry, Tamarkin, DAG) that it's an authentic specimen, albeit a special edition, a one-off, or even an obscure model. Now you go and cry to Ebay that's it's fake, and you want your $$ back. You as the buyer will get your $$$ back, but on the grounds that the good is destroyed with sufficient evidence (ie: video, photos of the destruction, etc.,). For a company such as Leica that issues special runs and the seller has due documentation, this can be disastrous because even with an expert's opinion, the buyer has final say to say "is this contraband". Thus, I'd rather deal in person with someone or over the phone than on what has become a large rummage sale where the buyer, not the seller with documentation, is arbitrarily viewed as the expert.

 

Jason

[jaques]

Would you mind to elaborate on this? Just curious.

 

Paypal says it investigates fraud. In reality it does no such thing. Even if you see the robbery happening before your eyes and can prove it they have no capacity to listen to you. Paypal just applies various rules and protocols. People you speak to have zero power or initiative. The process is arbitrary and Kafkaesque. The entire (ebay/paypal) philosophy is waited towards the buyer and honest sellers must take great care (as well as honest buyers). Scammers who know the system too well are stealing thousands every minute via paypal and ebay and have been for years. It is a tiny percentage of total transactions but represents an infinity of frauds and a vast sum of money.

 

Luckily almost all the dangers can be minimized to a massive degree if you understand the system and take care: avoid risks, calculate the percentages, understand you enemies, etc. Most scams are obvious.

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[jdlaing]

In over a hundred transactions I have had only one problem in which a purchaser got "Buyer's Remorse" and filed a claim against me with PayPal stating he received an item that was different from the description which it was not.

 

I answered the claim with all the emails and description of the item. They accept them as attachments in the Dispute Resolution process.

 

It took over a month and a half for PayPal to finally decide in my favor.

[bocaburger]

I've sold a ton of stuff on ebay with very few problems. I apply the same philosophy as I do in my professional dealings with people, and it seems to work out. I figure I have a choice, I can assume a little risk and deal with the occasional jerk and get, give-or-take, the retail value of my stuff...or I could skip the hassle and trade it to a commercial outfit, for half that.