posted on August 17, 2001 09:30:23 PM new
Geez, stupid little problems today!
Bought a few 'dinks' Thursday.
First one was a BIN deal.
No shipping amount stated in the TOS, just said actual cost.
I emailed the seller asking for the total, and I got an invoice back stating to check the listing for shipping costs!
I look again and there still is no price quoted.
Off goes another email asking for the shipping charge again.
Dink #2's TOS states $3.00 shipping in the US. (and we are)
I send the payment via PP and a few hours later get an invoice with a shipping charge of $3.50!
Off goes another email asking what's up wit dat!
Both of these sellers have nearly 1,000 feedbacks so they are not new to this game.
Trivial???
Sure. But it's this kind of simple error that drives ya nuts!
Dink #3 & #4 come with seperate invoices, (same seller, same time),each wanting $5.00 for shipping.
And off goes ANOTHER email asking if it's possible to combine the shipping on these two items. (I always check to see if a bidder has won more than one of our auctions just for this reason)
Dink #5 had 'seller now takes PayPal for fast shipment, if you agree to pay a $1.00 handling fee'! Gee, an illegal surcharge auction. I emailed the seller and he sold me one without bidding, so no surcharge due to fee avoidance???
Dink #6 & #7 had to be paid via MO, no PayPal, so I didn't bother. I have already learned that even with well over 800 all positive feedbacks most sellers still won't take (or at least hold for 10 days) our personal checks.
My fault I guess, I had a little extra funds in our PayPal account to goof with for the last couple days.
(I should have just gone to HQQTERS a few more times......)
posted on August 17, 2001 09:54:36 PM new
MY LATEST VENT.
HOW DARE SOME RUDE PEOPLE BREATHE!
(Not me of course, I'm the victim)
How about the JERK that stated in his TOS that "Shipping any where in US is $5.00" I go to PP and was charged $6.00. Guess my fault too, because I wanted the bleeping thing so I paid and sent an email to Joe Sunshine Seller to let him know of the problem. (Dear Sunshine Fellow- I was over charged $1.00, yadda yadda) He sends me this message:
(This is true, names changed to protect him, although when I finally do get my bleeper I am leaving less than wonderful FB)
"WOW, THAT STINKS. YOU PAID ON PP?"
I send him a notice that "Yes, accidents happen, people mis type, bla bla- and I am happy to take the cash in my package or maybe you can send something of equal value" (Yeah, what can a buck get you- just 20 mins of long distance!!) So not only did he not respond to my latest email, I did not get my bleeper bleep yet and when I let him know that it has been 13 days since end of auction without me having my package, guess what message I got? RIGHT.
Okay, my vent is over. Hope someone had a better transaction.
posted on August 19, 2001 04:34:25 PM new
I mostly see sellers complaining about buyers on these boards. It's nice to hear the other side once in a while. Whether sellers like to admit it or not, there are some real "winners" among their ranks, too. I've been buying (and occasionally selling) on eBay for about three and a half years, and I've compiled quite a list of them. Here are some of my favorites. <G>
<Warning! Vent Alert!>
Sellers who seem to think they're writing a novel when they compose their item description. Please, just describe the cosmetic condition and whether or not it works properly, OK? If I'm looking at your auction, I already know the details. Oh, and let's make that description accurate, please. There are more than a few sellers who apparently need to learn what "mint" means.
Sellers who post a "laundry list" of demands that I, the buyer, must meet in order to be "allowed" to bid on their auction. Gee, aren't they special? <G> Later, dude. I can usually find a less demanding seller offering the same item, often in better condition, in 10 minutes or less.
Sellers who post a stock shot snagged from some company's web site instead of a picture of the actual item they're offering. I understand that not everyone has a digital camera or a scanner, but in that case, don't post a picure at all. Of course, I very likely won't bid on an auction with no pictures, but you're fooling yourself if you think using stock shots will increase your chances of getting bids. An offshoot of this is sellers who use pics lifted from other auctions, with the caveat that "picture is not of actual item, but the one I'm offering is just as nice....", or words to that effect. You've seen them, I'm sure.
Sellers who have no idea what they've got or what it's worth. I'm not a generic or impulse buyer. I search eBay for specific types of merchandise, and I know a good deal about the things I'm looking for. I can't count the times that a woefully off the mark description and/or an unrealistically high opening bid or reserve has made it painfully obvious that the seller knew nothing about the item he or she was trying to sell. Wise up, folks. Everything over 20 years old isn't "rare" or "collectible."
Sellers who advertise "no reserve" and then set a high opening bid. Sorry, but if you've set an opening bid at damn near what I'd expect to pay on the open market, you've got a reserve, no matter what you want to call it. I've seen a lot of those run their course without a single bid. Gee, I wonder why.
Sellers who use WOW!, L@@K, MUST SEE, type in all caps, use a zillion !!!!!, or use terms like "Minty" in their headers. What the heck is "Minty?" Does that mean it smells good, or it'll taste good if I lick it? Geez! See ya later.
This one isn't a peeve, it's just a personal preference. I usually won't bother with reserve auctions where the seller won't tell you the reserve. If you don't want to tell me how much you want, why should I tell you how much I'll give you?
Last, but definitely not least, keyword spammers.
There are more, Lord knows there are, but those are IMO some of the worst. To be fair, the good sellers outnumber the idiots, but the idiots do exist. I know there are sellers who'll read this and say, "So what? There are always other buyers." That's true. There are always other sellers, too, and if you as a seller are guilty of any of the things I've mentioned (and a few I haven't), they'll be the ones getting my business.
posted on August 19, 2001 05:36:50 PM new
I don't have an issue with the reserve being unknown. I don't have to know what the seller wants for something with a reserve;if what I am willing to pay isn't enough; I am not out anything. If it doesn't sell; the reserve might very well drop the next time. The reserve is to protect the seller from being shortchanged on an expensive item and give the little guy a chance to bid. Nothing wrong with that.
OTOH the seller who puts the item at a high starting bid tick me off. They are clueless on the bidding process.
posted on August 19, 2001 06:17:52 PM new
Seller uses reserve, buyers come to AW and complain..."I won't bid on a reserve auction. I won't play the seller's game...it is just a game. If the seller needs a certain price then he should just start the auction at that price. I don't like it when the seller tries to trick me into bidding by starting low and having a reserve".
Seller starts at a price he needs to cover his investment and make a profit and buyers come here and say..."The seller who puts the item at a high starting bid tick me off. They are clueless on the bidding process"
OR, they complain about "Sellers who advertise "no reserve" and then set a high opening bid. Sorry, but if you've set an opening bid at damn near what I'd expect to pay on the open market, you've got a reserve, no matter what you want to call it. I've seen a lot of those run their course without a single bid. Gee, I wonder why."
Seems like no matter what a seller does there will be someone (or a group of someones) who will bi*ch about it.
If the seller does no reserve and sets his opening bid at the point needed to cover his investment and make a profit, then he has satisfied the first group I mentioned...BUT, he has offended the second group. If he uses a reserve he will mollify the second group but the first group will boycott.
A seller can't please every possible bidder out there so the seller should just please himself.
Otherwise he will have a nervous breakdown trying to satisfy the totallly opposite positions of the various buyer camps.
posted on August 19, 2001 08:12:54 PM new
It is silly and irritatingly common to find listings yelling NO RESERVE when the start price is at or above a fair BIN.
posted on August 19, 2001 09:09:28 PM new
Microbes..uh uh..nope..only way to please them all is to say...FREE, first one to bid gets it free!
"course, then you will have those who complain because you are starting the auction at a time of day when they are at work and can't "bid" in time to be first!
I hold to my first statement..a seller can't please everyone!!
posted on August 19, 2001 10:20:39 PM new
Silly sellers, no one expects you to please everybody, just your winning bidders. soldat2 sure ran into a string who didn't do at that.
posted on August 19, 2001 10:35:33 PM new
>>"I mostly see sellers complaining about buyers on these boards. It's nice to hear the other side once in a while."<<
Ok, how's this. Almost every problem buyer I've had on Ebay has been another seller. You always get the standard "that's not the way I do it" emails.
posted on August 19, 2001 10:40:43 PM new
Figmente..you only want us to please the "winning" bidder?
Then why did you say..."It is silly and irritatingly common to find listings yelling NO RESERVE when the start price is at or above a fair BIN."
That is the statement of a potential bidder, not a winning bidder. Your complaining about something that irritates you BEFORE you win the bid, not after you win. Reserve, no reserve, high opening bid, low opening bid, TOS rants...all have to do with things that occur BEFORE the bidder even bids...and according to those doing the ranting, are things that make them NOT BID on the auction in question.
posted on August 20, 2001 04:42:22 AM new
>Almost every problem buyer I've had on Ebay has been another seller. You always get the standard "that's not the way I do it" emails<
o-o-t-b I wonder if that's because we, as sellers, all think that we have the besy way to 'handle' buyers....
(I know that I think my way is the best, at least for me)
The careless mistakes are just lazy people not paying attention to their biz, but the seemingly goofy TOS's may just be goofy to us 'fellow' sellers.
posted on August 20, 2001 07:40:20 AM new
These are the questions I always ask when the topic of reserve auctions comes up:
To sellers:
What is the point of putting a reserve on a listing and then announcing what the reserve is in the description? What value does this bring?
To buyers:
What is the difference to you between a reserve and a high hidden proxy bid placed by a previous bidder? Isn't a reserve basically the same thing?
As a seller I don't use reserves. Nothing I sell is worth one.
As a buyer, reserves don't move me one way or the other.
I have never understood the controversy surrounding reserves except for the times a HUGE one is applied just so the seller can figure out how high people are willing to go for an item without actually selling it, and then makes an off line deal with one of the "unsuccessful" reserve bidders.
Gerald
"Oh but it's so hard to live by the rules/I never could and still never do."
posted on August 20, 2001 08:02:26 AM new
Reserves are fine to me - I understand that sellers aren't out there to give their stuff away. What does bother me though are reserve auctions that start at a dollar - what a waste of time. If sellers stuck to eBay's old guidelines of making the opening bid at least 25% of the reserve, that would be fine. But when you bookmark an auction the first day and the opening bid is a dollar, then on day 5 the bidding is at $200 and the reserve hasn't been met, to me it's just a hassle.
I'm not sure why some sellers put their reserve in the auction description, but it worked for me once - I was the buyer. I wanted those curtains and I got them. But I might have played bid a buck more here bid a buck more there throughout the week if the reserve wasn't stated in the auction. Or I might have not even bid because I thought they were more than I wanted to spend.
Sellers can't please everyone, nor should they try. For instance, I'm just a happy camper that the kinds of things I sell don't attract teenagers who've logged on w/their parent's ID. I'm also not a user of $1NR auctions - which doesn't mean I don't think it's effective, just that I don't use them.
If people don't want to bid on an item of mine that starts at $20-50, that's fine. Generally items I start that high are going in shops or malls for much higher and my opening bid is a hell of a deal. I'm not much interested in dealing with people who are of the opinion that I should give my inventory away. If that sounds snotty, it isn't meant to be. One of my good friends owns a retail store and I don't ask her ever to give me deals on her stuff because I don't expect others to give their inventory away either.
I may sound a bit uptight about this, but the "garage sale" mentality on eBay was starting to get to me. I found a few other venues to sell on, and I'm much happier. There are some things for which eBay is just tops - for the price, you get more views of your item than anywhere else. For other things, other sites, and b&m's are better.
posted on August 20, 2001 08:08:26 AM newWhat is the point of putting a reserve on a listing and then announcing what the reserve is in the description? What value does this bring?
I don't do that, but if it gets someone to look at your listing, I'd say that's the value of it.
posted on August 20, 2001 02:11:22 PM newI don't do that, but if it gets someone to look at your listing, I'd say that's the value of it.
That is one of the reasons I support the idea of putting some sort of symbol on the index/search results page to indicate that an item has a reserve. I think it would eliminate those that merely use the reserve and a ridiculously low opening bid to suck in users from the index and search results pages. (I mean the $1 opening bid, $25 reserve auctions)
Gerald
"Oh but it's so hard to live by the rules/I never could and still never do."
posted on August 20, 2001 06:35:33 PM new
This thread and others like it just go to show you the bottom line of all this madness-half.com (especially) and Ebay have created the most persnickety group of buyers I've ever seen and I've been in retail for 25 years. It's sick (see my most recent feedback on both sites and this is my username on both) what some of these people have the audacity to complain about (and they are complaining about something I either already was forthcoming about in the description or a service I never claimed to offer in the first place). Don't get me wrong, over 99.5% of the people I deal with are really nice but wow...I never had people like this in the brick and mortar world.
posted on August 20, 2001 08:31:08 PM new
>It's sick (see my most recent feedback on both sites and this is my username on both) what some of these people have the audacity to complain about<
With over 3,300 positives and only 7 negatives I sure don't see much of a problem for you anyway.....
Although we're a relative 'newbie' to ebay with only about 1,100 positives (no negs.....yet) I have seen some pretty lame comments on our feedback as well.
We got a neutral from a newbie stating the item shipped fast but was just ok!
(it was a whopping $4.99 auction)
I emailed the buyer and stated that they should have contacted me before they left feedback and I would have done whatever it took to make it right. (we send a note in with all the items stating that also)
I also stated that in the few years that we have been on ebay I would be quite happy if everything that we bought was just OK.
>I never had people like this in the brick and mortar world.<
You are very lucky....... I have been in that same world since 1974 and I meet them almost on a daily basis!
I think that they are more meticulous than persnickety......if there is any difference.
posted on August 20, 2001 08:57:50 PM new
What's really telling is all 7 of those negatives are from non-paying bidders. What I was referring to was a back-handed positive from someone complaining that their tape wasn't rewound! I never promise to provide this service and have never had anyone complain about such a minor thing. Then another entry on my new half.com account which was heretofore 5/5 (perfect)wherein this guy complains about a price tag and how it left a sticky residue when removed (obviously anal-retentive). The problem with this was that I said in my description there was a price tag on the thing. Just having to put things like that in your description these days is very telling. I could understand if we were talking about something like china but I'm describing a generic CD jewelcase. Unreal...
posted on August 20, 2001 10:16:59 PM new
I don't see any sellers (yet) defending or making excuses for keyword spammers, wannabe novelists, clueless sellers or TOS Nazis, but it *does* seem to strike a nerve when you question reserve prices. Therefor, I'll confine myself to that subject for the most part. Just remember, folks, it's not reserves as such that buyers have a problem with. There's nothing wrong with a seller making sure he doesn't lose on his investment. It's *hidden* reserves (or disguised reserves in the form of high opening bids) that tend to tick some of us off.
One seller, after a brief rant on that subject, states that no matter what a seller does, someone will b*tch about it. I suppose that's probably true. If you gave some people a million dollars, they'd complain about having to go to the bank. In general, though, if the seller keeps it short, sweet and honest, posts properly exposed, sharp pictures that are big enough to actually see the item, and doesn't resort to annoying gimmicks (WOW!, L@@K, etc.), silly buzzwords or other aggravating "attention getters", I think most buyers will be content with that. I know I would.
Another states that he's never seen such picky buyers in the brick and mortar world. Maybe so, but on the flip side, I've never walked into a shop in the brick and mortar world where I've had to guess the price of everything I wanted to buy, either.
"I'll give you 30 quatloos."
"Not enough."
"OK, 35 quatloos."
"Still not enough. Try again."
See ya. I'm off to Wal-Mart. <G> To me, a hidden reserve is exactly the same thing. Not a big thing, just something I prefer not to deal with. Not to say that I absolutely refuse to bid on a hidden reserve auction, but if someone else is offering the same item with no reserve....well, you figure it out.
Nor, for that matter, have I ever walked into a shop in the "real" world where I've had to make a decision whether or not to buy based on advertising stock photos or the proprietor's description. Imagine that.
"Well, don't I get to see the actual
thing I'm buying?"
"No, not 'till you buy it."
"Don't you even have a picture of the
real thing?"
"Well, no, but the stuff I'm selling is
every bit as nice as the ones in the
pictures, believe me."
Are you going to do business with this guy? I don't think so. Why, then, would you expect anyone else to?
As I said, the good sellers outnumber the bad ones. Most eBay sellers are doing just fine. My complaints were directed toward the minority who aren't. If any of the good ones were upset or offended by my little venting session, that wasn't my intention. However, if anyone passing through recognized themselves in anything I said, well, if the shoe fits.....
posted on August 21, 2001 05:11:33 AM new
I've got two items up right now that should both go for 250 ~ 350 each...
One I started at a dollar with a 250 reserve, the other I started a 99.00 with no reserve. The one with the reserve already has a $250 bid. (it took 24 bids to get there, but it did)
The other, has no bids yet. I hope it doesn't go for 99 bucks, since I paid 100...
Yeah, the $1.00 start with a high reserve seems like a "cheap trick", but it produces sales.
posted on August 21, 2001 05:30:42 AM new
>What I was referring to was a back-handed positive from someone complaining that their tape wasn't rewound<
I saw that blue but it was so stupid I just passed it by with a smile.
>I could understand if we were talking about something like china but I'm describing a generic CD jewelcase<
Remember that "One mans junk........"
>I've never walked into a shop in the brick and mortar world where I've had to guess the price of everything I wanted to buy<
Great point johnb! The exception to that would be some antique markets were nothing is priced. (although that is changing)
How many times have you only had to ask once for a price and then walked out? The owner gives you the 'once over', acesses your ability to pay and quotes you the price of the moment.
posted on August 21, 2001 05:36:47 AM new
Hi Microbes, by all means, if it works for you then you should use it, and by the looks of those two auctions it does. I almost never look at auctions that start at a dollar, but I realize I'm probably in the minority.
>I've never walked into a shop in the brick and mortar world where I've had to guess the price of everything I wanted to buy<
Guess you've lucked out and never been to our local Safeway. Drives me nuts - I usually ask them if it's free.
