posted on September 7, 2001 05:42:32 AM new
Hi all - I've heard many posters say that a bidder should have asked questions before they bid. But I have a problem with that. I usually look at items via a 'search'. So I have (a page/pages) of listings that match my 'search'. I click on one that sounds interesting. But if I click on the 'ask seller a question', I can go ahead and do it but then I can't hit the 'back' button to get back to my 'search' page. I have to re-do the search.
It's a hassle and that's why I generally don't bother writing. Does this happen to anyone else?
Related topic - I bought two pairs of shoes from the same seller. I liked the shoes and they were at a decent price ($12.50 each, one supposedly 'new' (but it's not), the other 'slightly worn'.) Ok, I was the only bidder. Seller says $7.50 shipping each. I ask if she'll give a discount since they're both going to the same place. She says No. Auction just says 'buyer pays fixed shipping charge' but there was no mention of what the charge was.
Anyway, I paid, got the shoes, postage (priority) was less than $8.00. I feel like leaving a neutral. Or should I just leave a positive with a 'high shipping' comment?
posted on September 7, 2001 05:52:16 AM new
Question 1... I hit the back button after asking the question, always works for me.
Question 2....If both pair of shoes were shipped in the same box, neg the seller, he is ripping you off.
If the shoes were shipped one pair to the box, then a neutral for him ripping you off on shipping.
He does not deserve a positive at all. buyers need to start warning other buyers about these rip off sellers.
And before anybody jumps on me with "should have asked first", you wouldn't ask JC Penney or Sears, you would expect them to treat you fairly.
posted on September 7, 2001 05:55:35 AM new
Goodness, what kind of an antique computer are you stuck with? I have a very lowly webtv and can always back up into the search, even if I have left Ebay for say, Paypal.
On my real computer - an imac - there is a "go" function on my toolbar which lists all the pages I have been to, so I just click on the most recent search page.
What happens, do you lose the search information, or what? Perhaps someone more tech savvy can help solve your problem.
In any case, I always ask a question if I really want the item, even if it is extra work, which it always is!
You will find that many of us previously burned buyers will pass on any auction that does not list, in dollars and cents, the exact method and cost of shipping. The method is important because many sleazy sellers state $3.95 shipping, for example, hoping to mislead you into thinking it is going Priority when they intend to send it by a cheaper method.
The only exception to listing a specific shipping price would be an item over 5 pounds when differing zone rates would apply.
There was no reason for the shoe seller not to specify the exact shipping costs, except to gouge you as they did. That is why I will never bid on such vague and imprecise auctions. It is a flashing red light for me.
I do not let the appearance of a bargain price fool me. That seller could have asked for $10 or $15 shipping per pair and been within the ebay rules!
[ edited by litlux on Sep 7, 2001 06:03 AM ]
posted on September 7, 2001 06:07:40 AM new
I'd leave a neutral, not just for the shipping issues but also for the "new - but wasn't" pair.
If your browser "back" button won't let you do this, try using the "history" function (shows prior pages visited) and/or updating your browser..what version is it?
posted on September 7, 2001 06:10:49 AM new
I just had a thought as to a possible way around your search problem. Be sure to sign in before doing the search, and then use the "watch" feature. After the search is over, you can go to your my ebay page and send emails to the "watch" items you have questions on.
Assuming you receive a satisfactory email in return, you can go back to the watched item and place a bid. That would be a good use of that feature!
posted on September 7, 2001 08:43:30 AM new
>Hi all - I've heard many posters say that a
>bidder should have asked questions before
>they bid. But I have a problem with that. I
>usually look at items via a 'search'. So I
>have (a page/pages) of listings that match
>my 'search'. I click on one that sounds
>interesting. But if I click on the 'ask
>seller a question', I can go ahead and do
>it but then I can't hit the 'back' button
>to get back to my 'search' page. I have to
>re-do the search.
>It's a hassle and that's why I generally
>don't bother writing. Does this happen to
>anyone else?
I get this occasionally depending on how much surfing I've been doing and how long ago I cleared my browser cache and history.
One way around this is to >file>new window before initiating contact with the seller. That way you won't lose all the search deatils...
posted on September 7, 2001 10:20:32 AM new
I think that the "bidder should have asked" is sometimes used as a gigantic cop out to allow sellers to rationalize unscrupulous practices.
Shipping costs stated in odd figures universally known to be priority rates are purposely deceptive. No one can convince me that that someone's material and handling charges + first class postage just happens to be a priority rate. These sellers rely on buyers making what should be a reasonable assumption, then fall back on the "well, you should have asked".
Besides safety reasons (package would be too heavy etc if combined), what would be a legitimate reason for refusing to combine shipments (and if you tell me they are prepackaged items, they better arrive in two different boxes).
Item in nice condition (except for that huge chip in the back)-buyer should have asked?
posted on September 7, 2001 10:32:53 AM new
If seller insists on a transaction which is different from what buyer expected, based on the posted description, buyer should not follow through.
Buyer is under no obligation to seek further information. Seller is responsible to provide an accurate, full description of the intended transaction in the auction listing. However, given that no one, buyer or seller, wants a failed transaction, sometimes it makes perfect sense to inquire about some ambiguity. "Is this the model 7F or model 7G?"
Buyer is NEVER required to wonder if seller is pulling a fast one. Demanding shipping beyond what buyer would normally expect is trying to pull a fast one.
posted on September 7, 2001 10:48:00 AM new
Utopia would be that buyers COULD not only ASK questions but also GET answers before bidding.....however the reality is that NO buyer sits in front of the computer 24/7 waiting for a question they SHOULDN'T have to answer because it SHOULD have been IN the auction description in the first place!
For the MANY of us out there who search auctions closing THAT day, you sellers who think it is "perfectly acceptable" to neglet to mention what shipping and handling REALLY amounts to on a 3# item; or slides by with "actual shipping" as a cost; or uses the "$3.95" ploy and then ships 1st class for $1.25 deserves the lower bids you receive.....and any resulting feedback!
Why do sellers quickly acknowledge that a great amount of activity occurs in the final couple of hours of an auction but want to hide behind the "buyer should have emailed me" excuse? Less than totally above board sellers KNOW that the odds of finding a seller and getting thru the eBay "forwarding" system and getting a response in time to place an INFORMED bid just is NOT going to happen??? Many buyers; new & old alike; check the feedbacks, place a bid, and cross their fingers that they are not going to be unpleasently suprised if they win the auction.
I have noticed that lately I am taking FAR FEWER chances like that with uniformative auctions and spending HIGHER dollars on the ones that tell me EVERYTHING up front in their ads!
(edited because my fAt fingers hit the wrong button!!)
[ edited by thepackratsattic on Sep 7, 2001 10:50 AM ]
posted on September 7, 2001 10:58:58 AM newWhy do sellers quickly acknowledge that a great amount of activity occurs in the final couple of hours of an auction but want to hide behind the "buyer should have emailed me" excuse?
Just because someone waits till the last couple of hours to bid(I wait til the last couple of seconds) doesn't mean you have to shop the going going gone list. Shop the new today list... and bid when you want to.
