posted on June 20, 2002 08:33:38 PM
I've been selling on Ebay for 4 years.
My product are is Jewelry, new, low priced ~$10.
The problem is that I've had more real problem buyers in the last two months than I've had in the prior 4 years.
I've gotten negative feedback for 5 different buyers over simple issues. The buyers seem to be really mean and nasty of late.
Also I've got 4 bounced checks recently (from different buyers) and none of them have made good on them. I got perhaps 2 bad checks per year in the past and 90% of them made good right away.
Anyone else notice a trend towards rotten customers??
posted on June 21, 2002 01:01:01 AM
Tell me about it. I thought ebays was safe, having only one bad check in the 4 years I was selling, escaped from half.com after being ripped off by fraudulent buyers for over $300.00, then I noticed my last 2 month,, i filed 15 FVF, most weren't newbies at all, but bidders with over 20+ feedback, now i have a deadbeat reporting me to squaretrade for a negative feedback which i didn't leave, and he accuses me of cashing his money, which I never recieved, and today, I have a bidder with a zeroo whos been a member for 3 years, who has a invalid email, and a invalid phone number, threatning me with a negative feedback, when i cant even contact him! Is the ozone layer melted away?
posted on June 21, 2002 11:33:53 AM
Well the good news is that square trade funally removed a bad feedback comment from one of these nuts. Problem is I had to pay the$20, and refund the buyer, and pay for the return postage (Which she used Priority with insurance, DC, Certified, and return receipt) There was nothing wrong with the merchandise she returned.
But it did take over 1 month for the feedback to get removed.
posted on June 21, 2002 11:42:26 AM
Maybe there is an overall incraease in hostility on ebay. Bad buyers irritate the sellers makeing them less friendly, which then irritates more buyers, and the whole thing spirals down.
I was suprised, when I first started on ebay, how polite everyone was, and that encouraged me to be polite also. But Perhpas everones getting meaner?? The economy?? Stock market?? Terrorists??
posted on June 21, 2002 01:12:31 PM
The world in general is getting bad. Everyone thinks everyone else is out to get them. I am a seller and have had 4 non paying bidders the last 2 months. But I also
Bought a couple of things last month auction ended May 15 and payment cleared my Bank on May 1st. Items only had to be shipped 120 miles and are not here yet. This dealer has over 2500 neg feedback 40,000 some odd pos.
but most of the negs are from the last 6 months. they are running a 7% ner rating. I called them yesterday for a tracking number they said they would email it to me I have'nt received it yet. So what can we do just keep our chin up high and keep on keeping on.
posted on June 21, 2002 01:52:56 PMMaybe there is an overall incraease in hostility on ebay. Bad buyers irritate the sellers makeing them less friendly, which then irritates more buyers, and the whole thing spirals down.
It could be.
As a buyer since December of 2001, I have made almost 200 purchases. I have received only one neg from a bad seller in retaliation (I had to neg her after spending 6 weeks trying to get her to respond after she initially acknowledged receipt of my payment - she has since gone "private", has received 89 negs in the last 2 weeks, has not shipped my win, and is still going strong on eBay).
The things that irritate me as a buyer are:
1. TOS that read like a law book ... if the buyer doesn't dot all the i's, cross all the 't's and face east every morning, they will be negged.
2. Exhorbitant shipping charges ... $10.00 US to mail a single trading card to Canada in an envelope with a 60 cent stamp on it claiming they have "handling charges".
3. Those who say "email me for shipping costs" but don't respond to their emails forcing an interested buyer to place a bid and hope for the best.
4. Sellers who use software like AuctionHelper to do their transactions. Ever try to get past one of these idiot forms if you are not a US resident?
5. Listings that include flashing lights, music and other annoyances.
6. Listings that don't include any information at all.
But, most of all it irritates me that eBay protects their sellers with all kinds of features, but buyers are told caveat emptor
posted on June 21, 2002 02:06:47 PM
I agree RB to quote your post.
******************************************
4. Sellers who use software like AuctionHelper to
do their transactions. Ever try to get past one
of these idiot forms if you are not a US resident?
********************************************
I live in the USA and still can't get past the forms. The seller I am trying to get my items from uses auction works.
posted on June 21, 2002 02:43:22 PM
You are all right! They are out there right now looking for ways to scam those of us who are buying and those of us who are selling. I recently had a person leave evil, and I really mean that!, feedback and contacted me two days later looking for her money back. She was new to ebay and did not care to find out the proper ways to settle things. If she had contacted me when she recieved the piece I would have refunded her money no problem!After I refunded her money back she put a response apploigizing...but the negative is still there! Maybe ebay needs to send some info to all of these new buyers and sellers with some input on proper edicate!
posted on June 21, 2002 03:06:21 PM
My return policy states that returns will be accepted prior to leaving feedback, once feedback is left, no money back.
posted on June 21, 2002 03:25:07 PM
But, there are STILL some terrific folks out there in eBay land! On a recent sale, I sent the item out before I received payment...I normally NEVER do this but the guy sounded really excited about the item and my "gut" said he was good for the payment...I'd e-mailed him and told him I would mail the item...To my amazement, when the check came a few days later, it was for $10.00 MORE than the purchase price...He said it was to show his thanks and appreciation for the trust I'd shown him! Knock wood...So far, I haven't run into the truly nutso buyers yet...almost all of my customers are polite, courteous and pay relatively quickly.
posted on June 21, 2002 03:29:11 PM
ebayseller1998, you shouldn't have had to pay the return postage! There are no regulations about that (in fact, quite the reverse) - which is why catalogs and "real" businesses don't cover them!
posted on June 21, 2002 06:21:41 PM
Well it only cost me $0.57 to ship it to her, so I wasn't all that worried about it. I didn't realize that she was going to hose me on the return shipping. Also it had metered postage on it, from a business not the post office, so I suspect she stole the postage from her employeer.
Also she was insisting that the item wasn't as described. It wasn't until I got it back that I could really verify that she was wrong
But the most recnet nutcase bought 4 items from me, I threw in two free items in appreciation. So she slammed me with bad FB on 3 of the 4, I guess she liked the 4th item. No mention of the free stuff in the FB. But she did say in an email that everthing must be junk if I an willing to give it away free.
posted on June 21, 2002 07:00:48 PM
I see a lot more hostility, and the amazing thing it comes from people who are trying to make the world a better place. The one's who don't try to make the world a better place actually do make it better. Look at the terrorist, they are just trying to make the world a better place because they protest America's way of living, but look at the anger they breed, and the scared people it creates, and the destruction, and higher costs due to security issues.
Someoene who negs me because I didn't respond to their second email causes me what? to hire an employee and raise costs? Ruin my day so I treat everyone bad? Cause me to lose some bids so I can't feed my family? Create rules that cause hurdles that other buyers jump across? Just so one angry buyer can boost their ego. How nice.
posted on June 21, 2002 07:55:34 PM
I had a buyer last week bid on 1 of my auctions and win, soon after the auction ended, they email me and say
How do you expect me to pay for this ?? It says you accept credit cards, now I see that you will not accept a CC for payment on this item.
How am I suppose to pay you?????
On some of my auctions I accept CC payments, and some I do not.when I am breaking even on a item,or selling below my cost, I will not pay the fee's for there convenence.
I wrote back and told them I take paypal funded payments, money orders, cashiers check, personal checks, and bidpay.com.
Plenty of acceptable payments offerend.
Some do not want to spend the 90 cents for a money order, and a 34 cent stamp, and take the time to get it and mail it, but they all want the item for NOTHING ...
I wrote a P.S. if you would like to pay full retail, plus shipping, then I will be happy to take a credit card, but like you and me included, not too many who shop ebay, want to pay retail, so I can not afford the fee's when you bought the item BELOW my wholesale cost.
He understood, and paid for the item.He is happy, and so am I.
I also liked one of your previous posts in which you mentioned not allowing people to "steal your energy." Both comments would be worth taping on the computer monitor.
posted on June 24, 2002 05:07:39 PM
I just checked my auctions. I did 93 auctions of which maybe half had closed with bids. Out of that I had 25 buyers with a feedback rating of 100 or less, 5 between 100 and 150 and the rest higher. I had NO problems with any of them. I had checks from quite a few of the buyers with low feedback, I did not hold the check and all were good. I can't complain at all. I have relisted the ones that didn't get bids and now they are getting them. I can't complain
posted on June 25, 2002 08:12:33 AM
There are many new buyers out there since eBay's last advertising push a couple of months ago. I am now getting more buyers with low feedback, and more people paying by mail instead of PP. More deadbeats, too.
posted on June 25, 2002 09:32:00 AM
In times of strife there is always more opportunism and paranoia. The fact that it has spread to Ebay is not surprising. The increased percentage of "problem" buyers is probably not any greater than that of "problem" sellers, such as those who are knowingly selling damaged merchandise or charging bigger "handling" fees etc. I would think, however, that it is easier to be a problem seller than a buyer as the consequences are swifter for NPB's.
posted on June 25, 2002 11:59:44 AM
I believe we should open our eyes to see that this is not an eBay specific problem. For some reason, mean spirited communication has somehow been permitted to be acceptable behavior. Pretty sad.
posted on June 25, 2002 04:57:39 PM
I can add to RB's list of the annoying things sellers do to irrate me as a buyer.
1. The seller mails the wrong item and when I notify the seller, he or she wants me to instantly rush the item to the post office to mail it back to the seller, even though I live 15 miles from the nearest post office. These are NOT high volume sellers, perhaps less than 75 listings per month.
2. The seller wraps a piece of antique porcelain or glass in seran wrap, sticks it in a box with no packaging materials, and then acts real surprised when I complain that the item arrived broken.
3. The seller throws something else in the box along with the item I purchased. This happens so often I do not bother contacting the seller anymore, because it is an inconvenience on my time to deal with it. I get about two packages a week like this; the last three times it was a large stuffed bunny rabbit, an ugly pair of ceramic salt and pepper shakers in a small box and a small blue glass vase. I gave the bunny rabbit to my puppy, and donated the S&P shakers and the vase to Goodwill.
4. I use the seller's Paypal Pay Now button on the day I win the auction, being sure to include the stated shipping and insurance, and next thing I know I get a NPB alert for nonpayment. I tell the sellers, for gosh sakes, organanize your records and I forward my Paypal receipt to them.
5. And the growing number of sellers who really stretch out the three business days for contacting the buyer policy, because when the weekend and a holiday come right after the auction ends, that is six days before the seller finally makes contact.
