Ebay ''sellers'' getting worse ?

[Unkle]

I've noticed recently that there are more and more bad deals not going through on Ebay. I have 2 very recently , purchased quickly , fairly bid on and won , but both sellers have ''disappeared " into the mist. Mastercard will refund the money, but the process is such a pain . Is it a sign of the times ?
Ebay asks you to wait for things to be shipped, but only gives you a 30 day window to file any complaints . Some mail takes that long just to get to and clear customs ! Then ebay's policy is to only refund a portion of your purchase if it's over a certain amount . What a scam ! Truly buyer beware , as the system is totally stacked against you ! Right now Mastercard will refund you and maybe debit their account if it still exists , but what a pain for a $40 dollar item ! I will also bet once you have too many ''refunds'' , you will get cut off . Any comments ?

[joker72z]

I have had a couple of poor experiences as well but they were minor purchases. Unfortunately I just purchased some wheels froma guy in California and I didn't pay attention to his feedback score. I have wanted the wheels for a while so I sprang for them and now it's crunch time.
I had to threaten him with the Paypal complaint and ebay complaint process and more negative feedback before he would even respond to my email. then he wanted me to call him from Toronto to talk on the phone? I advised put it in writing so I can capture it for the record.

Luckily, he shipped my wheels yesterday. Unlucky for him, he still gets negative feedback because he pissed around and didn't meet the obligation.

Lesson: Deal with 100% feedback and a good number of transactions. Check for recent history and even then, cross your fingers.

Chris

[5thhorsemann]

Ebay is a risky way to buy anything, I've not been burned persay, but I have been less than happy with some stuff I purchased. My pollicy is as follows: only buy super cheap, use only paypal, and hope for the best. And ONLY buy from 100%ers with lots of feedback, 40 or more.

[Zs-ondabrain]

I guess I've been lucky so far. I've made about 20+ purchases on eBay and all have been good. Though I just heard from a DZ-Start customer that he had already purchased a Nissan Maxima Switch button and paid $90 for this "Next to IMPOSSIBLE to find item!!" as listed, when in fact, they are around $30 and less, depending on where you look.

Do your research people, it'll pay off in the end. And like 5thhorseman said, only use 100% feedback sellers. Or close to 100%.Dave

[SportBikeMike]

You can't automatically dismiss a seller who had less than 100% positive feedback because they're might be more to the story. I recently got the only negative feedback I've ever got in my life. I sold my Gibson Flying V electric guitar to a buyer in California and heard nothing from him in 3 days. I finally got an email from him asking for more time to come up with the money (guess I'm old fashioned....I would never even bid on anything unless I had the money readily available). Anyway, I said fine, but after a few more days nothing, so I sent him an email saying please pay ASAP and that I want to move the guitar. A few more days pass and still nothing, so figuring he's no longer interested in the guitar, I relisted the guitar which sold immediately and the guy paid within a couple hours (the usual). Anyway, the original buyer gave me negative feedback saying that I sold "his" guitar from underneath him and I should have called him (long distance) blah blah blah. So remember there are two sides to the story and people that get negative feedback don't always deserve it. Some people are just d-bags who like to hand out negative feedback.

[Dobber]

It is definitely " Buyer beware ". I have not been burned yet, but you have to do your homework. So much of that " RARE " stuff on there is way over what you can buy it for retail and readily available. Also if they only get positive feed back from one good sale they will have a 100% positive profile. eMail lots of question to the seller and go with the gut.

[Travel'n Man]

A Flying V with hot humbucker overwound pickups - makes me want to go fire up my Marshall!! Oh, what the hell, why not!! My ears ring all the time anyway!

[padam07]

You can't automatically dismiss a seller who had less than 100% positive feedback because they're might be more to the story. I recently got the only negative feedback I've ever got in my life. I sold my Gibson Flying V electric guitar to a buyer in California and heard nothing from him in 3 days. I finally got an email from him asking for more time to come up with the money (guess I'm old fashioned....I would never even bid on anything unless I had the money readily available). Anyway, I said fine, but after a few more days nothing, so I sent him an email saying please pay ASAP and that I want to move the guitar. A few more days pass and still nothing, so figuring he's no longer interested in the guitar, I relisted the guitar which sold immediately and the guy paid within a couple hours (the usual). Anyway, the original buyer gave me negative feedback saying that I sold "his" guitar from underneath him and I should have called him (long distance) blah blah blah. So remember there are two sides to the story and people that get negative feedback don't always deserve it. Some people are just d-bags who like to hand out negative feedback.

I have had good luck with ebay selling and buying. I have also had a dead beat bidder but I went through the proper ebay process so the situation you are in didn't happen. If a buyer does not pay then you have to report him and ebay does have a waiting period that has to go by before you can relist the item. Basically ebay notifies the buyer and if that buyer doesn't come through with a payment then you can relist and the original buyer wil get a strike against him/her. Too many strikes means you will get banned by ebay. The good thing though is the relisting is free. Always go through the proper processes if you have any issues.

[SportBikeMike]

I have had good luck with ebay selling and buying. I have also had a dead beat bidder but I went through the proper ebay process so the situation you are in didn't happen. If a buyer does not pay then you have to report him and ebay does have a waiting period that has to go by before you can relist the item. Basically ebay notifies the buyer and if that buyer doesn't come through with a payment then you can relist and the original buyer wil get a strike against him/her. Too many strikes means you will get banned by ebay. The good thing though is the relisting is free. Always go through the proper processes if you have any issues.

Yeah thats what I should have done. Fortunately won't the negative feedback fall off my record after a year? I think the feedback percentage only goes back for one year if I'm not mistaken.

[SportBikeMike]

A Flying V with hot humbucker overwound pickups - makes me want to go fire up my Marshall!! Oh, what the hell, why not!! My ears ring all the time anyway!

Allright! Rock on!!

[MEZZZ]

Ive done many hundreds of transactions on Ebay and have been burned once many years ago for the paltry sum of $20. The guy had 2,000+ transactions and 100% feedback too. Not usre what happened but in the next couple weeks he had racked up 20+ negatives for not shipping, I am guessing the poor guy passed away.

Actually, Ive been burned twice, counting my Z that I bought sight unseen and relying on the sellers word. He answered all email questions to my satisfaction and seemed like a decent guy over the phone. I wont go into details but I agree, go with smaller purchase from a reputable seller and NEVER buy a car without checking it out or having someone do it for you.

I had bought 2 other autos on Ebay as well as a Harley sight unseen and was VERY happy with those transactions. It only took one bad transaction to change my ways forever : )

[Unkle]

To clarify, I meant very recent ebay transactions - and then I look , and the guy racks up over 15 ''red'' complaints AFTER my win- so they start with maybe 5 good honest deals, then go on a big rip off spree never to be seen again ( with the same ebay user name ) . People , watch out I say !

[Oiluj]

I've had a couple bad experiences with eBay purchaces, but they have been rare. I use eBay on a fairly regular basis.

You do need to know the value of what you are buying so you don't pay too much, and it is somewhat a buyer beware environment. I only use PayPal as it provides some protection.

[ajmcforester]

I really only buy stuff for my Z on ebay, and I'm not impressed with ebay the changes they have hurt the buyers. My policy has become if I can't find it else ware then I use it.

I was going to sell my parts that didn't sell hear on ebay but I don't like how they do business so I hope they sell they are taking up to much room.