posted on October 16, 2001 06:15:36 PM new
Well I am probably your seller's worst nightmare, but I will tell you my little story and you can give me some objective advise.
The other night I bought my first bin purchase. I admit, I was a little rash and regreted it after. the thing is the guy who sells the phones that I bought isn't in the phone business. And his ad is unclear, he says phone is new, but doesn't say NIB, or sealed or anything else. Yeah, yeah, I know should have asked before.
Anyway, right after I bought it now, I emailed him asking his politely for the details of the phone (does it work and cosmetically, how is it?)--at this point I had no thoughts of stiffing him, but I was concerned when he never mailed back, not for two days. When he finally did email me back it was a "demand for auction payment" from paypal-- i don't remember the wording, anyway--but he never even addressed the issues--he could have done this out of courtesy--this is what is making me think I am dealing with someone dishonest, he states fixed shipping in his ad at 7 dollars and then charged me 7.50. I could give a rat's behind about the 50 cents but all this is making me very wary of going through with the purchase, not to mention I no longer want it anyway. So what should I do, am I justified in getting off?
thank you.
[ edited by saweemosman on Oct 16, 2001 06:17 PM ]
[ edited by saweemosman on Oct 16, 2001 06:19 PM ]
posted on October 16, 2001 06:23:37 PM new
You Bid-It, You Bought-It
It does sound like his customer service could be improved, but most of your questions should have been addressed before you bid. A request for payment doesn't sound like an unusual request, either.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:26:31 PM new
Yep, you have to go through with it. But, if his ad said fixed shipping of $7.00 and he's sent you an invoice for $7.50, I'd just beam him the amount w/the $7.00 for shipping & see what happens.
If he responds you underpaid him, just (politely) refer him to his own TOS which says $7.00.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:32:10 PM new
I've put on my armor for this one, but here goes. No, you're not justified. However, if you are really uneasy about this purchase, I would tell the seller that you're sorry about the fact that you no longer want the phone, but are willing to make restitution for her/his fees. I don't know the BIN you made, or the opening bid but this shouldn't be too much.
You should expect a neg, even if you pay the seller for their fees. It may not happen, but expect it so you're not back here in a couple of weeks calling him a creep.
Good luck.
For those that think I'm being an a$$hole, I can only say we all make mistakes. If you do the best you can to resolve them, you do the best you can. No one is perfect.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:40:20 PM new
sadie999,
I'd much rather have a customer tell me upfront they made a mistake & offer to refund my fees than deadbeat or disappear or be unhappy once the purchase arrives.
It's a bit annoying but not nearly as annoying as dealing w/an unhappy camper, especially in this day & time of chargebacks at the drop of a hat.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:52:54 PM new
Well, I have to disagree with everyone. Look, he sold it as new. The buyer is basically asking him to verify that it is new. The seller has not responded. Send another email, and ask him to certify that it is new. eBay may even have rules on what "new" means. If he weasels about at all, then I say stiff him.
I think as a buyer, you have a right to verify that a "new" product is in fact "new." If it was sold as used or as-is, then I think you'd have to follow through. But if sells it as new, make sure it's new. Let's put it this way: it should either be sealed, or he should be able to verify that it works. No reply, no money.
posted on October 16, 2001 06:59:18 PM new
Don't bother listenting to the people who say you "have to" buy. What's the old saying, the only things in life we sure have to do is death and taxes? Well, and ebay purchase isn't one of them. So what, go ahead and be a deadbeat. What's the worst that can happen? A negative? Ohhhhh, how scarry can that be! LOL! Is the seller going to report you to ebay? BFD, you can do it three times before they even give a rat's a**. And after your third time, just set up a new account.
So, if you feel uncomfortable buying from this person, DON'T!
posted on October 16, 2001 06:59:26 PM newI think as a buyer, you have a right to verify that a "new" product is in fact "new
And how are you going to do that until you pay for it, and recieve it. If it said "new" in the listing, do you think he will tell you it isn't in an email?
You BIN, you END the auction. To play 20 questions AFTER the auction is over isn't right. If you want to play 20 questions, do it before bidding.
posted on October 16, 2001 07:03:48 PM newSo, if you feel uncomfortable buying from this person, DON'T!
If you don't feel confortable don't BID. You bid, end an auction, cost a seller fee's, and don't follow thru, you are wrong.
What ever happened to "Being responsable for your own actions?" I can't believe what I'm reading.... If you want to bid, and then deadbeat, go ahead. What crap.
Ebay tells you that "Your bid is a binding contract". What part of that don't you understand?
[ edited by Microbes on Oct 16, 2001 07:05 PM ]
posted on October 16, 2001 07:21:11 PM new
"If you don't feel confortable don't BID. You bid, end an auction, cost a seller fee's, and don't follow thru, you are wrong."
And if the bidder becomes uncomfortable with the transaction AFTER the end of the auction, there's no way to retract then. Easy enough to take the negative and NPB. I'd rather have someone just not pay me, than pay and then return the item. I think that sellers can do a lot to avoid deadbeats just by being reasonable, describing the item well, and giving accurate, polite, and prompt answers to customer's questions. If at ANY time a bidder decides they shouldn't go through with the transaction, they should just not pay.
And, in case anyone thinks that ebay actually cares. ROTFLMAO!!! The only way ebay cares is if the seller actually want's to get the fees refunded. Otherwise, they don't care a bit. They don't care that people do this all the time, just sign up for a new account after the third one, and do it all over again. Heck, just think of all the fees ebay makes on deadbeats. The listing fee for starters, but also every time the seller neglects to file the NPB, or waits too long, or doesn't file it correctly, or any other arcane reason ebay throws in the way. Obviously, ebay cares more about how to keep the fees, than how to eliminate deadbeats.
[ edited by petertdavis on Oct 16, 2001 07:24 PM ]
posted on October 16, 2001 07:54:45 PM new
Seller may NOT have received your e-mail. It happens more frequently than you might think.
Some major ISPs block other major ISPs --- sometimes due to too much "spam" originating at the other ISP --- sometimes out of competitive spite.
Try sending seller an e-mail through eBay's servers. I have to do this with a couple of regular buyers. I get their e-mails, they don't receive mine. Use the "mail this auction to a friend" feature or eBay's "email the seller" feature from the auction page.
posted on October 16, 2001 11:21:20 PM new
Have you read any feedback on eBay? I was just browsing some; I was amazed by how many negatives (or responses to negatives) were left by sellers that said, "sorry, didn't have item. Offered refund."
How is offering a refund any different than bcking out of a bid, especially in a case when the seller does not respond to emails? Have any sellers here ever offered a refund? Would you have been pissed if you get negged for it?
If the seller so much as writes back and says, "Yes it is new. It works," then you should pay. If he can't fin the time to do that, who's say to say he'll other to ship on time?
As for all these calls of "Buyer's Remorse," have you ever returned something to the store? It happens. It's your money, once you send payment, that seals the deal.
posted on October 17, 2001 01:52:08 AM new
" So what, go ahead and be a deadbeat. What's the worst that can happen? A negative? Ohhhhh, how scarry can that be! LOL! Is the seller going to report you to ebay? BFD, you can do it three times before they even give a rat's a**. And after your third time, just set up a new account."
I guess you don't like being treated with respect, otherwise integrity would rate higher on your list. So literally I could spit on you and you'd probably laugh because it's not like you expect respect for yourself.
posted on October 17, 2001 07:00:25 AM newI guess you don't like being treated with respect, otherwise integrity would rate higher on your list. So literally I could spit on you and you'd probably laugh because it's not like you expect respect for yourself.
THAT was uncalled for.
saweemosman admitted they wished they hadn't bid on the auction and asked for advice about getting out of it. If they'd really been a person w/o integrity, they'd just have deadbeated & not ask for our objective opinions.
posted on October 17, 2001 07:05:27 AM new
Here is a case where all the seller needs to do is answer the email politely and reassure the customer the item is indeed new, and the sale goes forward, despite the buyers remorse. If the buyer intended to blow off the sale regardless, they would not have posted the question here.
If this deal goes sour, the seller has no one to blame but themselves for poor customer service. As a seller it is my job to defuse possible problems asap, and not answering emails is bad for business, period.
As the buyer, I would communicate once more, telling the seller my concerns and giving them assurance that the payment would be forthcoming upon resolution of the question of "new" and the discrepancy in shipping.
The buyer may be a stickler, and a pain, but that does not let the seller off the hook.
And when the NPB is filed, remember that the bidder can respond, too, with "shipping more than stated in description, seller would not respond to questions."
posted on October 17, 2001 07:41:51 AM new
Er, come to this board and start a thread that says "stiff a seller."
Man, they are 100 PERCENT BRASS, my friend!
LMAO!!!
posted on October 17, 2001 08:21:30 AM new
Did you think to ask before you bought? You know you can be suspended indefinately for pulling stunts like this 3 times.
posted on October 17, 2001 08:31:25 AM new
Capriole, I thought the same thing when I read the orginal post. LOL
-------------
What I see here are people getting way too emotional about a business transaction. You list, you sell, most pay, some don't.
It isn't personal. This person, though worried about the transaction because of the abruptness of the seller's response, didn't say he smelled funny or anything.
You go into a store. You buy an item. You change your mind. You return it. The store is out the paper and ink for the receipt and the bag. If you took it out of the packaging, they either have to mark it down or send it back to the manufacturer. When you go to return this item, do you want the store to say, "Sorry, you wanted it, it's yours?"
No, this isn't a return. This buyer changed their mind before the hassle of shipping and getting it back occurred. If s/he stands up and takes responsibility for fees, I just don't see that anything horrible has happened.
I don't condone what the buyer has done. I've never withdrawn a bid, nor backed out on a bid, and even bought something I bid on once that I didn't want when there were still two days left to withdraw the bid.
This is just something that's going to happen in business. Better to have an honest person who tells you upfront so you can relist, than all the ones we read about who string you along - some to the point where some sellers lose their FVFs.
posted on October 17, 2001 08:40:32 AM new
Well, my answer is just repeats of the previous ones I think, but I have to add my opinion.
First off, you should have asked before you bid. There is an option on all auctions "Ask buyer a question" Secondly, as I understand, you had no intention of stiffing the seller until he did NOT respond to your question. A lesson for buyers. Answer ALL emails politely. (OK, unless it's the 90th from a particular person!) Thirdly, the "demand for payment" from PayPal is probably an automated invoice machine. By now, the buyer is probably expecting you to NOT pay, since you asked questions after the auction was won, although it is possible that the questions were taken as an excited buyer.
If I were you, I would buck up and pay. I agree that by BINing you agreed to his terms and description. Either way, you will have to take responsibility for your actions; either pay and risk it not being what you wanted, or dont' pay, offer to pay fes, and hope you don't get negged and NPB'd. 3 NPB's and you get kicked off ebay. This is one auction for you to file into your memory banks, a lesson from "EBAY-U"
posted on October 17, 2001 08:45:17 AM newIf this deal goes sour, the seller has no one to blame but themselves for poor customer service. As a seller it is my job to defuse possible problems asap, and not answering emails is bad for business, period.
I'm sorry, but I don't see concrete evidence that the seller ever even received the buyer's e-mail asking for more information (again, possibly due to ISP problems).
I see that a PayPal request for payment was sent. It may or may not have been in response to the buyer's email -- perhaps it was sent because the seller never received the buyer's email and this is his way of following up when he does not receive a reply to his EOA.
posted on October 17, 2001 09:05:09 AM new
"Did you think to ask before you bought? You know you can be suspended indefinately for pulling stunts like this 3 times. Please never bid on any of my auctions."
Ohhhhhhhh, very SCARY! LOL, you mean they might actually have to set up a new account! Wow, what a big hassle that is.... NOT! LOL
Just face the facts, ebay isn't very concerned about deadbeats.
And, quickdraw29, you better be the size of a linebacker to try and spit at me. It's got nothing to do with self-respect, it's just reality. On the (very few) occasion when I have a deadbeat I spend maybe thirty seconds thinking about it. That's enough time to file the NPB and delete the invoice from my software. The most annoying thing is that ebay keeps the listing fee, but it's really a small amount and not worth the bother, just move on and get over it.
I've also had a few people win auctions and write to me a few days later with some excuse or another why they want to get out of the deal. BFD. At least they were nice enough to ask. And if they don't ask, BFD, at the 30 day point I file the forms and delete the transaction.
Some people just take this stuff WAY too seriously. Got no life????
posted on October 17, 2001 09:50:44 AM new
saweemosman, I'm a buyer. I do not sell. The advice I will be giving you will be from a buyer, not a seller that also buys.
You state, "the thing is the guy who sells the phones that I bought isn't in the phone business". Did you buy more than one phone?.
Myself, I would complete the sale from what you have stated here. However save the listing.
Should you get hung out to dry, you the then have an out. It is called constructed fraud.
posted on October 17, 2001 09:50:54 AM new
"It's got nothing to do with self-respect, it's just reality."
Now that is scary! In other words, it's alright to steal from a bank to pay your rent because that is reality that you are broke?
petertdavis thinks like a neanderthal, I'm allowed to say that because it's a fact. Neanderthals show no regard to society because their only objective is self preservation. The object of society is to raise the standard of living for all. So that raises the question, why do neanderthal's buy on ebay in the first place when they can just go to the store and steal everything they need?
posted on October 17, 2001 10:08:33 AM new
Amazingly, "most" of us have been able to discuss and debate what is obviously a "hot button" issue w/o resorting to insults or rudeness. I guess it was too much to hope we'd actually hit 100%.
