e-Business-Formula Internet Marketing Discussion Forum

[Andrew]

Hey guys,

I recently brought a set of DVDS on ebay because I have the rest of the set of the Buffy series (My wife loves them! ) from seasons 1 through to 6.

To cut a long story short, I brought both the season 7 DVD sets on eBay... The heading on the product read:

BUFFY BOX SET SEASON 7 PT.2 DVD REGION4 BRAND NEW

From this heading I ASSUMED that I was buying the Buffy Boxed set, which was the same as the boxed sets that I already had... Anyway. I paid for the item and then contacted the seller... He told me that I should have read the body of the product details as it was only the cheap version in a amaray case.

Well... After he had a go at me for wanting my money back, it took me nearly 3 weeks to get it... After I finally got my money back, I asked him why he had advertised a "BOXED SET" which in fact it wasn't!!!

I still haven't had a reply... This really annoys me!

Has anyone else had a bay eBAY experience?

Cheers,

Andrew

[kellylowe]

I've bought a few things off ebay. Never for myself. My son is into the magic card game and he finds cards that he wants on there. He gives me the money that I gave him in the first place (allowance money), then I use my paypal account to purchase the item.

I've also purchased a few things for Jeremy from ebay...never any problems. The item is always exactly as described and always arrives.

I will shortly be listing a couple of quilts for sale on ebay. The were hand made by my husbands grandmother's neighbor. She is in bad shape financially right now, and she wants me to sell them for her on ebay. I DREAD doing this, because I don't feel like she will get what these quilts are worth. Jeremy says we should just keep the quilts and just give her what they are really worth and TELL her we sold them. I have issues with that, because it's not telling the truth. I also would like to find a way to give the quilts BACK to her, but still give her the money she needs as well....but she won't go for that. What would you do in this situation?

Sorry, I went off topic here...just call me....

Forever Off Topic Kelly

[Bettina1]

I've had very few bad experiences on eBay--mostly good. I have learned the importance of being sure about what I'm bidding on. Some product descriptions can be vague or even misleading.

[geline]

I had a minor bad experience with eBay once. I was bidding on some blouses. In the picture, they look new and nice. Well, the price, it wasn't that low so I thought it was new, only to find out that they weren't and they were faded in the real item.

[crassus]

I have had one major issue where I bought an item for like sixty dollars. I bought it from a new sellar that did not really have an ebay record. The guy kept coming up with excuses for why the item had not been delivered yet, and finally all contact was loss. So I never got the item, and then learned how important it is to look at a guys record before bidding on an item.

[Thumperfive]

if you use paypal you can try to retrieve your money, but it's a pain and uusually takes some time.. eBay is prettygood about trying to help, but it's always a case of caveat emptor!

[telegraph.hill]

Generally, I have had a positive experience with ebay.

About the worst I have had is non-paying bidders - I have had about 3-4 of these. Oddly enough it is always for stamps! (I forgot to mention I sell stamps on ebay, too. However, I soon won't be, as the collection that I have been selling is nearly all sold.)

[Thumperfive]

you can restrict who bids on your item by making sure that you clarify that no one with negative feedback can bid and so on, as long as it's in the listing itself then they can't complain when you don't sell to them.

eBay does try to help as much as they can, but it comes down to the seller.

[Peter2]

I personally have not had any bad experiences in regards to any auctions I have won however I do know a couple of people that have.

It is important in my mind to do your research before you bid, Look at the sellers feedback, If they have a number of negatives be wary, If they are a first time lister with no feedback also proceed with caution.

Send the seller a few emails asking questions about their auction item, see how they respond.

Just be diligent, do a little pre planning prior to bidding and you will save yourself a lot of trouble later on.

Regards

Peter2

[telegraph.hill]

Thanks for the advice, Thumperfive and Peter.

Yes, the non-payers were people that had little or no feedback. If the problem had persisted I may well have started to put restrictions on who could bid on my items.

And you are right about researching the feedback given to people you are thinking of buying from.

I mostly sell, rather than buy. Ebay seems to be the way I clear out my house from time to time!

Also, I have sometimes done very well by buying lovely old second-hand books from my local charity shop, which sells them very reasonably, and re-selling them on ebay.

[Thumperfive]

it's sad that you hve to worry about jerks on EBay, but they can only do so much... you have to keep an eye out for yourself!

[telegraph.hill]

Luckily the vast majority of the buyers that I come across are genuine.

[Thumperfive]

it also depends, I think, on what your'e selling and buying - with video games being a hot area the opportunities for online scams increase with the demand for such hot items as the newest systems, etc.

[telegraph.hill]

Yes - it was really odd that all the non-payers I had had been bidding for stamps!

All the people that bid on my Japanese goods, and academic books have been fine!

What is it about stamps?!

[Thumperfive]

probably becasue they're small and people think that you "won't mind" a loss or two... it's amazing the mentality that goes around this sort of thing!