akiralx Posted February 5, 2012 Share #61  Posted February 5, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) After 12 years and a feedback of nearly 1000 (both buying and selling) I have been shafted only once and even then managed to bet my money back from Paypal. It's a buyers market and eBay will always side with the buyer..... sad but true...  Sure, there are some real s**ts about but no more than any other marketplace, whether virtual or real....  ... but where else would you find such an easy, quick and economical place to sell secondhand gear ???  Same here - 987 transactions on eBay, never a problem. Some transactions well into four figures.  Only time I have been burned is when I bought an M lens from a forum classified ad, described by a regular user as in 'excellent condition'. When I finally got round to really using it a week or two later, turned out its helicoid was broken.  I'll stick to eBay in future... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 Hi akiralx, Take a look here I have just been eBay'ed.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
RockyIII Posted February 5, 2012 Share #62 Â Posted February 5, 2012 Bummer. I had a brand new 50mm Summilux in 2009 that had a problem with the aperture blades. Since the lens was, and still is, on a long backorder, I sent it in to Leica in New Jersey for repair rather than back to the dealer for exchange, and it came back and worked fine. I later sold it, and just before shipping it I tried the aperture one last time, and sure enough, bad luck, the same problem recurred. I notified the buyer, and he backed out with my blessings. I sent the lens back to the dealer from whom I had purchased it, and they got it repaired and sold it for me. Of course, I got less money, but I did not want to have the sale of a defective lens on my conscience. Â Rocky Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted February 5, 2012 Share #63  Posted February 5, 2012 It's important to check and be correct in what you say, bit bugbear of mine is people posting stuff on internet forums as fact when they really don't know.  Well, let's see, am I supposed to go sell some items to check? The last two times I sold on ebay, I did not see an option for things other than Paypal. I can't go back in time to check now. And things could have since then; I don't know. I do know that when I listed the items, it APPEARED to me that paypal was the only option. Maybe there was something hidden somewhere.  Google 'ebay paypal only' and you'll see a couple of years ago there was a lot of press about this. From my quick checking, I found, referenced from wikipedia, that:  In late February 2008, we will require sellers to offer PayPal as a payment method in the following cases: For all sellers who have a feedback score of less than 100  As I had and still have less than 100 feedback scores, I might have gotten hit with that. I don't know - I can't go back in time to see. Of course, I might have had the option for payment at local pickup, but I clearly wasn't going to use that since I was selling internationally, so it was essentially paypal only. Lastly, it might be possible that selling rules are different for different countries.  Check out this article for more: eBay fuels fires of resentment with new PayPal-only policy  It's a real bugbear of mine when people are patronizing on forums like you just were to me. Like I said previously, if Ebay works for you guys selling big items, then great, continue to use it. I've had better and more profitable selling experiences not using Ebay, so I'll continue to not use them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 5, 2012 Share #64 Â Posted February 5, 2012 Well, let's see, am I supposed to go sell some items to check? The last two times I sold on ebay, I did not see an option for things other than Paypal. I can't go back in time to check now. And things could have since then; I don't know. I do know that when I listed the items, it APPEARED to me that paypal was the only option. Maybe there was something hidden somewhere. Â No need to sell anything, look at other people's auctions. Click the 'Postage and Payment' tab on this one for example, you'll see options other than Paypal. Â Leica M5 35mm Film Camera Body - Black - 1971 Very Clean and Working | eBay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 5, 2012 Share #65 Â Posted February 5, 2012 tgray, no need for the rudeness, I'm not being patronizing just trying to be correct. Â You need to offer paypal as a payment option when you list on ebay (and I'm personally unhappy with that, even though I have always offered it, but I never like being forced to do something!) but you can always - have always - been able to offer any other terms you wish, i.e. cheque, postal order, cash on collection etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted February 5, 2012 Share #66 Â Posted February 5, 2012 I did not know that PayPal was mandatory for sellers. Good thing for buyers no? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
koray Posted February 5, 2012 Share #67  Posted February 5, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have completed over two thousand transactions on eBay, most of them are sales. What I learned from these exchanges is that the most of the people are really nice, honest beings. Both eBay and Paypal charge you, but at the end, you can always reflect that on your prices and there are always a buyers out there to pay what you ask for. I think eBay is a very mature platform coming from 12 years of eBaying experience. I have got over a thousand feedback and no negative ones. I've been most active in the last few years.  However, I have got some rules for myself to ensure selling success:  Inspect the item your are selling extensively. Test it and make sure it really delivers what you are promising. Clean it properly and if it is missing caps/leads/accessories, find them or buy them for a better final price. I prefer 30 day listing with high buy it now prices in the case of rare items. If it is a 99p listing, make sure it ends in the evenings (except Fri and Sat since people like hanging out then) for your target area. Today there are lots of wealthy Eastern buyers, so a high buy it now price for good condition items is a more sensible approach. I prefer offering free shipping, this attracts more buyers! Sell Worldwide! Seriously, I can't understand sellers limiting their target crowd only to their homelands. It is really not so different from a local sale. Take very good photos of the item with even lighting (bounce flash or softbox) and note all cosmetic/functional defects. Host photos outside eBay (photobucket works great and saves money) and insert high-res ones in your listing. Make sure you put watermarks on photos to discourage sellers stealing them. Write an extensive description of your item, its history, features, and condition. Have a fixed set of sellers terms & conditions and include them at the end of each listing. Put strict buyer requirements on your selling page setup (based on feedback score, location, etc). Offer full refund for returns. Out of all my sales, I had only one or two returns, really. If you are selling a very expensive item create a clear video of packaging process to show the adequacy of packaging and the final condition of the item before you dispatched. It helps fending rouge buyers off, even in Paypal cases. Put appropriate labels on packages (fragile, do not bend, etc) so that customs personnel pay attention. Make sure you post items to Paypal confirmed addresses and using only trackable and insured postage methods. Follow customs declaration rules fully. After dispatch update your eBay and Paypal accounts with the tracking numbers so that you are fully covered as a seller. In the case of a Paypal dispute immediately offer full refund for a return - unless the buyer has (intentionally) damaged the item (this is where packaging documentation helps). This will only cost you one or two way postage, but it is worth it. There is no point in wasting time. The buyer has to prove return tracking number. Document opening the returned package, just in case. If you want to fight the dispute, provide all necessary documents to Paypal and depending on your sales history you can get your refund (I did, once, when some buyer bought with a stolen card and the payment was reversed; it took two weeks though).  I hope this helps to new sellers! Read eBay rules first and make sure you understand them fully. It is a good idea to start with selling low cost items first with large profit margins. This way you can swallow your losses much easier. I was bitten only once by a dishonest buyer who apparently dropped a lens on the concrete floor and asked for a refund, which has cost me £50. If you consider that I made over £20K over many years of eBaying, it is a negligible loss, really.  I can't think of distance selling at a forum classifieds section. I honestly don't think it has any protection to a buyer, so I wouldn't sell there as well.  Koray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
opho.to Posted February 5, 2012 Share #68 Â Posted February 5, 2012 A lot of people have been saying they prefer bank transfers over paypal. Can I ask why? Â Surely, if I buy something on ebay and pay by a bank transfer, if the item never arrives there's nothing I can do? While with paypal I can get my money back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 5, 2012 Share #69 Â Posted February 5, 2012 I did not know that PayPal was mandatory for sellers. Good thing for buyers no? Â It is in the UK, seems they've been unable to apply the rule in all countries (so why not UK?). They brought the paypal rule in about a year ago I think, certainly it used to be just another option, but then ebay bought paypal..... Â In most cases I would always offer it anyway, it's just if you're selling something of higher value it means swallowing more charges, although as a buyer I'd be hesitant to buy a high value item without the paypal protection, unless I'm collecting in person. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabrispino Posted February 5, 2012 Share #70 Â Posted February 5, 2012 Thank you very much for your rules very clear and honest. I've learned something new today. Best regards Fabrizio Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 5, 2012 Share #71  Posted February 5, 2012 A lot of people have been saying they prefer bank transfers over paypal. Can I ask why? Surely, if I buy something on ebay and pay by a bank transfer, if the item never arrives there's nothing I can do? While with paypal I can get my money back.  1- to avoid the paypal charges 2- to avoid scammers/charge backs  But yes, as the buyer you have more protection with paypal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted February 5, 2012 Share #72  Posted February 5, 2012 tgray, no need for the rudeness, I'm not being patronizing just trying to be correct. You need to offer paypal as a payment option when you list on ebay (and I'm personally unhappy with that, even though I have always offered it, but I never like being forced to do something!) but you can always - have always - been able to offer any other terms you wish, i.e. cheque, postal order, cash on collection etc.  I found your statements pretty rude, just so you know. Check and money orders (through the mail) are definitely 100% no longer allowed in the US on ebay and haven't been for years. I used to buy things with money orders all the time on ebay, but several years ago, that ceased being an option in this country. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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