posted on September 3, 2000 05:28:40 PM
I catch a lot of flak for not feeling sorry for sellers with bad terms and even worse business practices. Well time to talk to the buyers it seems according to many AW posters that all sellers except the scam artists are great people. We all know that's a laugh but humor ole networker.
First Off Buyers Didn't you know you are not supposed to expect the item to arrive in as described condition. How dare you complain when they botch or hide defects in their products to get you to buy them.
Next Hand Didn't you know that if the handlings Fees aren't in the TOS it is perfectly okay for the seller to pad and inflate them in the EOA.
Third and very important I know in the real business world handling fees are used to offset the cost of packing material and the little incidentals of shipping products to you. Didn't you know that old newspapers, used peanuts, and the boxes from dumpsters cost somebody money so the seller is entitled to mark them up as they choose.
Moving right along Didn't anybody tell you that because they listed their items in the hope that somebody buys them. You are supposed to bend over and kiss booty and bow down to the outlandish ego driven unprofessional terms.
And before closing How dare you buyers complain about bad service, terrible packing, and poorly described merchandise. Didn't your mother tell you that we are supposed to accept whatever a merchant hands us and be glad he/she was there to sell us this junk.
Finally the end Buyers I realize that customer service is the standard in which a business is measured today. But I leave you with this Who said this was business this is ebay. So don't expect high service and quality that is associated with real business because ebay hasn't quite evolved to real business yet. [i]Cheer up though Meg Whitman is working hard to change that concept. The problem is these yard sale mentality ebay sellers refuse to become profession ebay sellers, that yard sale mentality allows them to take your money and not do anything for it but throw your item in a box charge for insurance and then don't insure the darn package and pocket that cash. Which by the way they marked up 100% to a whopping $1.70 for insurance that cost 85 cents.
So please stop aggravating this type of seller by bidding in their auctions.
ps Please whenever you place a bid please by all means buy the item we wouldn't want our sellers to be aggravated with having to file NPB. No telling how much excess markup they add to their auctions to cover the time to fill out that form and relist.
posted on September 3, 2000 05:39:21 PM
Ok networker67, you've convinced me to change my s/h to s/s. That stands for shipping and service. I'll throw in the handling for free. But I will have to raise my service fee to fair market value. You thought all those "free" checks the oil change place does as a service are actally free? Ha, you pay about $15 extra for it. Fact is retail places have a standard price and tack all the service fees into it, auction sellers can only add that after the auction. Paying for service is a fact of life. Get used to it, no one is your slave!
"If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it."
posted on September 3, 2000 06:24:00 PM
Networker,
It's getting old. I'm sorry you can't sell on ebay anymore but you did have more than a little somethin to do with it. Quit trying to tear down the sellers who CAN still sell. It makes you look petty, vendictive and harrassing. http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/[email protected]/
posted on September 3, 2000 07:00:56 PM
kitsch1 - Talking about terrible selling practices and lack of professionalism among the ranks has nothng to do with ebay. Besides the post is addressed to those bad buyers out there. How dare they expect great service.
Buyers we know all sellers aren't bad but apprently when sellers go on and on about bad buyers its aokay. Talk about those bad sellers and all of a sudden its vindictive. Makes hard to tell the good sellers rom the bad ones because the good ones rubber and defend the behavior of the bad ones. That sounds like the excuse that law enforcement gives for the thin blue line.
posted on September 3, 2000 07:10:38 PM
quickdraw - Why can't an auction seller take the item and figure out how to price it in the market where the cost and overhead are included and the market determines the profit.
I know the store already has the price figured in they are smart enough to realize that if they price the item then add all the varibles of business in after the price no one would buy it.
No one is complaining about fair shipping and handling fees. However some sellers have lost their minds with the concept of fair. In a few threads I have used the cost principle to break down what a fair handling charge is all varibles and markup included. In case you didn't realize its what the retailers do when they set price. However often times I am seeing what is fair further inflated another 125% or more. Paying for service is one thing paying for inflated services and then not getting them in many cases is robbery.
posted on September 3, 2000 07:13:05 PMn a few threads I have used the cost principle to break down what a fair handling charge is all varibles and markup included. In case you didn't realize its what the retailers do when they set price. However often times I am seeing what is fair further inflated another 125% or more. Paying for service is one thing paying for inflated services and then not getting them in many cases is robbery.
And you were elected to right this wrong by.......??????
posted on September 3, 2000 07:36:10 PM
networker67
Why not start a HELPFUL thread for buyers to clue them in on what they can do to help make the transaction successful?
Why fill Auctionwatch with your eBay Q&A grudgematch?
I don't read the Q&A, so very many of your comments are more than a little too inside baseball for me.
I'd never read a word you'd written until you came to AW and I find much of it to be argumentative, negative, spiteful, full of hurtful and wrong-headed stereotypes, and just plain useless.
You are poisoning the well. But there's still time to reform. Start a POSITIVE thread, with some useful tips and no hateful innuendo.
posted on September 3, 2000 07:54:50 PM
Networker-I WAS a business owner for over 25 years and YES you set your prices to include ALL your expenses (and there are many) plus a profit. That is why people don't shop with small retailers! That is why everyone goes to discount stores and now the internet! We all want to get fabulous stuff at cost or below. I was watching a talk show where one of the host said they NEVER buy retail anymore. They only buy on the internet AND they use one of those search engines that tells you who the CHEAPEST is. Won't be long there is NO profit on the internet either. But that is getting off topic----
I have been studying the auction sites for about 8 months now-that is NOT a long time. However, I have noticed prices that I just can't believe. I find myself wondering HOW they are making anything, but some obviously are. Many posting here make their living doing this. My hat's off to them. I don't really know if they truly realize what they have achieved.
I am primarily a buyer. Having been a business owner, I tend to have empathy with the sellers. I have never had a bad expierience with a seller. I know there are probably sellers who should not be selling. I am sure there are buyers who should not be buying. BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYONE BLASTING SOMEONE FOR MAKING A MODEST PROFIT. I am sure there are those who make great profits. We all love to hear the stories of the little widget picked up for a $1.00 that went for over $400. How often does that happen? The auction venue allows for people like me to get hard to find or unique items at prices I could not hope to find anywhere around where I live. If I could go to the next town and hit the Walmart and find the item at the same price as on ebay, I would buy it from Walmart. Do I feel ripped off when I find that I am going to be charged $6.00 S/H on an item I just won for $50 that I could not find in my area for ANY price? If I was lucky enough to find it, I doubt it would be for $50.00, so NO I DO NOT FEEL RIPPED OFF. As long as a seller ships my item to me quickly and it is as represented, I am satisfied. I am more interested in the quality of the sellers service and product, than in the amount of the shipping & handling! I think we buyers need to keep in mind, if sellers DON'T make a profit, they will stop selling and if they stop selling where will be go to buy?
posted on September 3, 2000 07:58:30 PM
vargas - Because a buyer has the only obligation to reply to the EOA then pay for the item. So what's there for a buyer to do. In business the rest of the deal is on the seller.
He/she has to package and ship the item.
They have to address the damages in shipping. They have to make sure the item meets the description from the auction.
So discussing the unprofessional crap that yard sale mentality sellers try to force on people is not productive. Sorry vargas it is productive unless you happen to be one of those yard sale mentality sellers
Now if you like we can have a few threads on why sellers are responsible for damages and the insurance of packages. But each time we have one of those the yard sale mentality sellers find a way to ruin it.
We could also have a thread on why ebay sellers should first look to the unprofessional practices of other sellers before they hang their buyers. Wait a minute we have one of those going rightnow But if I recall correctly the yardsale mentality selelrs broke that up with some help from the Q and A'ers you mentioned.
I started a humorous thread about an ebay seller at an IRS audit. Wait a minute the yard sale mentality seller don't want to even fanthom discussing taxes and running the operation like business.
Okay but to make you happy check the thread I am about to start right now. I bet you 25 dolars that the yard sale mentality seller manages to ruin that one two.
posted on September 3, 2000 08:00:00 PM
vargas - Because a buyer has the only obligation to reply to the EOA then pay for the item. So what's there for a buyer to do. In business the rest of the deal is on the seller.
He/she has to package and ship the item.
They have to address the damages in shipping. They have to make sure the item meets the description from the auction.
So discussing the unprofessional crap that yard sale mentality sellers try to force on people is not productive. Sorry vargas it is productive unless you happen to be one of those yard sale mentality sellers
Now if you like we can have a few threads on why sellers are responsible for damages and the insurance of packages. But each time we have one of those the yard sale mentality sellers find a way to ruin it.
We could also have a thread on why ebay sellers should first look to the unprofessional practices of other sellers before they hang their buyers. Wait a minute we have one of those going rightnow But if I recall correctly the yardsale mentality selelrs broke that up with some help from the Q and A'ers you mentioned.
I started a humorous thread about an ebay seller at an IRS audit. Wait a minute the yard sale mentality seller don't want to even fanthom discussing taxes and running the operation like business.
Okay but to make you happy check the thread I am about to start right now. I bet you 25 dollars that the yard sale mentality seller manages to ruin that one too. Why because we are about to discuss that new cancer of payment due in 10 days on TOS's.
posted on September 3, 2000 08:16:19 PM
I keep thinking of an old saying...
"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."
(apologies to the REAL teachers out there..you guys are great!)
It seems the originator of this thread, (and numerous other similar threads) thinks he is a teacher. Unfortunately, I think he may be one of those who can't so he is trying his hand at teaching.(unsuccessfully I should add)
Could someone clue him in on the fact that he really isn't qualified?
Oh, could someone also let him know his teaching method (being belligerant, dogmatic, and downright boring...not to mention the constant put downs of those he is trying to "instruct" ) doesn't endear his "students" to him.
As a teacher he earns an F
[ edited by amy on Sep 3, 2000 08:17 PM ]
posted on September 3, 2000 08:33:48 PMnetworker67
Boring. You are no longer making your point.
It's time to get yourself a manager and stop handling yourself.
posted on September 3, 2000 08:37:14 PM
I know I'm in the minority here, but Networker has a point...
Please re-read his first post. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes, how would you like to be treated as a buyer? And if that means you want good service, why can't buyers expect that from you? Double check your TOS to make sure they aren't too rigid. Life is too short!
My written TOS? NOTHING. NADA.
My unwritten TOS: Pay me in 30 days, fine. If I have to, I will neg. 30 day money back guarantee.
BTW, I have received no negs yet (knock on wood). Can you imagine, no negs, with a TOS like that???
posted on September 3, 2000 08:56:05 PM
ksterni - They don't get it and are too busy trying to defend their precious egos and TOS's to care.
amy - Won't justify that nonsense with an answer. But will say this the message is being received and hopefully some seller somewhere is rethinking being a yard sale mentality ebay seller. And some buyer is reading your replies and figuring out that maybe some of these people shouldn't get my money on ebay.
bitsandbobs - And you said that to make yourself feel like you contributed something worth while to the title of the thread.
barrelracer- the board hasn't been disrupted and wasn't until certain sellers decided to steer from the issue of the thread and attack the poster. What's the matter you guys getting upset because maybe just maybe some new buyer now knows to ask about padded shipping fees, knows to avoid demanding TOS's, and most importantly how to spot a good seller and seperate them from the yard sale mentality seller. Well if that has disrupted Auction Watch someone must find it refreshing. Besides how many threads about the buyer who sent payment on day 12 my TOS says 10 can you rubber stamp in a week.
Instead of whining about the thread start one of interest to you. Wait a minute the only thing that interest you guys is threads that cry and complain about buyers. Why not start a thread you can be proud of and teach me what Auction Watch users really want to read. I welcome reading those threads of true interest to the critics of my threads. Well I am waiting.
posted on September 3, 2000 09:03:22 PM
Sulyn, excellent post from an informed source. Funny how it's the very auction format, where buyers set the price, that generates all this angst over $1 handling fee, which is generally accepted in every other sort of mail order business. It seems a pretty clear, straight line between those objections and buyer's greed. They don't mind paying 90% off retail, but God help the gouger who dares charge an extra buck for their time standing in line at the post office. Further, despite all the complaints about rip offs, how many have actually quit buying? It seems buyers come back again and again because they know they're getting a fantastic deal, and what's more, delivered right to their front door. Obviously Networker has an axe to grind, and I doubt he'll get over it any time soon.
posted on September 3, 2000 10:18:23 PM
YARD SALE SELLERS??? You sound like a YARD SALE BUYER....the ones that come up to you with the crystal vase in mint with tags for three dollars and ask if you will take one. Or after you have already quoted a more then fair price on a group of items you then look around and say can you put this $5.00 item in the deal with no extra cost can't you. YARD SALE BUYERS like you should understand that many items go for far below what they are worth on ebay. You sound so hateful and mean all by means of being very overly sarcastic. If you are so upset with ebay sellers "YARD SALE SELLERS" go to your local Antique Dealer with the crystal vase I sold for $1.00 after talking me down and buy it from them for $40.00 or take Prozac or something and get off these boards and find something to do that is happier for you. YARD SALE BUYER INDEED......emmmmmmmmhhhuhhhh
posted on September 4, 2000 06:43:24 AM
"They don't get it and are too busy trying to defend their precious egos and TOS's to care."
networker67
Oh really? Well here's my auction TOS:
Buyer to prepay $3.20 for USPS Priority Mail.
International shipping costs may be higher. (My state here) residents, please add 7% sales tax. All packages valued higher than $30 insured for your protection, at no cost to you! Item ships immediately upon receipt of money order, check, PayPal or Billpoint payment.
Pretty straightforward, no nastiness that I see here. I have LOTS of repeat customers, too.
My feedback? 784 positives, 411 from unique users, no neutrals, no negatives.
Why scare some new Auctionwatch reader? There are plenty of nice, friendly, honest businesspeople on eBay.
A thread of helpful tips presented in a positive manner will do much more to instruct and inform than a thread full of negative, nasty rhetoric.
You're mad at eBay and you're taking it out on everyone here.
No wonder your posting privileges have been suspended.
posted on September 4, 2000 07:30:39 AM
If you ignore them, they will go away. Told you months ago when they had their lovers spat here that this joker is just jere to disrupt but no, some of you like radh & twinsoft applaud him as a champion. Well the courts warned him to stay away from eBay so now he is here to make your day.
