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Is there an Alternative to eBay?

Started by MagicMo, August 31, 2013, 02:17:27 PM

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MagicMo

To make a long story short, I am done with selling on eBay. I recently had a bad experience that makes me no longer want to sell through them. I felt bullied by a buyer and returned his money including shipping. He accused me in an email of being misleading and scamming him. He accused me of not being truthful in my listing and left me negative feedback and was going to report me. To top it off , the item he purchased ended up selling for .99. YES 99 cents. I listed the item as is for parts or repair. I called ebay and they told me he was right and I was in the wrong. The radio did not have tubes and should have stated that. I had no idea...I pictured everything in my listing.
I will no longer give anymore money to a company that does not let me voice my opinion or state my side. The buyer was a bully that got his money back plus he still has my item!
I felt as though all my rights as a seller were taken away and he was able to write bad feedback. I was unable to leave him bad feedback as a seller. There is something seriously wrong with this system and it not only angers me but it is simply not fair.
I am looking for another option to sell. I will no longer give eBay another penny.
Thanks for listening and if you want to see the listing that I scammed the buyer on here is the link.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/300949037206
Mo
Practice Kindness :)

Haf

I Can absolutely understand you. Ebay has abridged sellers rights over the last years. Wonder how long the can go on this way until nobody is willing to sell there as fees increased too. Sadly there is no real alternative choice to me, neither for selling nor buying.

Haf
Telephone:
0049-030-55474418
1-415-449-4743
1-604-757-7474

WesternElectricBen

#2
I understand you to Mo,

My brother was selling some stuff and the people said "the item has not reached the destination." But, long story short we got lucky.

I don't know what idiots work for eBay, and why would a "hacker" would buy something like a radio, (generally older people buy stuff like that) and I'd think most "hackers" are into new tech...

Though, I like to figure things like that out, this probably isn't our average "hacker" as he obviously has a 1971 chevy van (user name 71chevyvan) and he buys radios, as his feedback was made by several people who sell radios etc.

Ben

MagicMo

Quote from: Haf on August 31, 2013, 02:30:29 PM
I Can absolutely understand you. Ebay has abridged sellers rights over the last years. Wonder how long the can go on this way until nobody is willing to sell there as fees increased too. Sadly there is no real alternative choice to me, neither for selling nor buying.

Haf

I was thinking the same thing. Huge companies are born from others mistakes. It's time for a new way to sell or buy.
Mo
Practice Kindness :)

twocvbloke

Sounds like a case of buyer's remorse, they thought they got a bargain in perfect shape, and the description, which is pretty straight to the point and accurate, they decided to ignore...

Yeah, ebay is a buyer's market, I could happily buy something and demand my money back for whatever made-up reason and I would get it, because ebay sides with the buyer, ever since they dropped the seller's ability to leave negative feedback, it's just gone downhill for sellers, so I don't blame you for wanting to find an alternative... :-\

The best way to get around these sorts of buyers is to include a couple of T's & C's that legally they can't get around, cos if they buy it then they agree to them, and they can't claim ignorance cos it'll be there onscreen in black & white, and if ebay say you're in the wrong, then hire a lawyer and set them on ebay & the buyer, and make sure that they pay the lawyer fees... :)

MagicMo

#5
The funny thing is, I gave him his money back regardless. PLUS SHIPPING!
The foreign Lady from eBay told me she can't take his feedback down or she could loose her job. Really? I asked her if eBay was willing to loose the money from my listings over this and she plain out said "YES." How's that for customer service?? I sell thousands a month.
I know this is only a little bump in the road and I may sound like I am overreacting but it never feels good to be called a scammer or liar when you're  the one being scammed. It just made me think that anyone with half a brain can play this eBay game and get what the want for free. AND EBAY DOES NOTHING ABOUT IT!
The one upside is that it took 122 people to find the bully.  
Mo
Practice Kindness :)

jsowers

When you used "for parts or repair" you essentially said it didn't work. You never claimed that it did work or that it had tubes. That's what "as is" means. You buy it as it is, warts and all. Your picture of the insides shows no tubes. Yes, you were scammed by the buyer and eBay incorrectly took his side.

For those who sell on eBay, a lesson to be learned from this is to describe and photograph your item in incredible detail. They give you about two rows of pictures. Take that many pictures, inside and out, top and bottom, so there is no question. Describe all the flaws as best you can. That way the scammers have little recourse. Yes, it's a lot of trouble for a 99-cent item. I have never sold on eBay, but if I did, I wouldn't start anything that cheaply. It would go in the trash, or back in the basement, if it didn't sell for at least $9.99.

Mo, you need to take some deep breaths and chill out a little and then reconsider selling on eBay after some time has elapsed. Yes, it hurts, but you have to take the bad with the good. I've had plenty of disappointments with eBay and they start to dim after a few days have passed.  You can also respond to that negative feedback with "I never claimed it had tubes."
Jonathan

RotarDad

#7
Mo - I wouldn't let one bad apple spoil your use of a very good tool (Ebay).  You've got 135 positive feedbacks in the last 12 months (and someone already gave you good feedback on top of that negative one).  You can't make everyone happy all the time so hold your head high and just move forward...  I don't worry about buying something from a seller with a couple negatives.   I still buy on Ebay (and sell sometimes) even though some people don't pack things well and damage results, etc.   The good sellers and buyers (and finding the sweet BIN sometimes) way more than offset the bad stuff.  I say keep selling and know that a 135 to 1 feedback ratio is really stellar in our imperfect world.
Paul

TelePlay

I have a hard time understanding how someone who is into old tube radios and would buy one in "as is" condition for parts for a buck would do so and then raise the specter of no tubes when the back photo shows the metal shielding can for the 3rd tube from the right as empty (the one circled in yellow). The rest of the tubes could be short and not seen but that can had to have had a tube that stuck up through the top hole and with it being empty in the photo, I don't think the buyer had a case. It is also the case that the eBay CS person doesn't know a tube shield from a spark plug and as such did not have the knowledge to fairly settle that complaint.

dsk

I guess you always may get bad experience with all solutions, and markeds.

You may of-course try to sell telephone-stuff here, but not always as expansive as at eBay.

I have been buying at Etsy without trouble, but will still say eBay's better.


And you could look at http://tinyurl.com/nwh3e96 Whats your Next Dream Phone thread and pm people if you have their dream.

dsk

southernphoneman

magicmo,i to have had the experiences as a buyer and as a seller from ebay, and I personally have purchased 2 items from you and have been treated like royalty, and my reaction to what ebay did to you is going to be the phone I just listed is going to be removed . good luck magicmo,southernphoneman.

MDK

Tell me you got the radio back. The buyer should have seen it's a beauty and a bargain in any condition. The parts that are there are worth more to an antique radio guy than anywhere near what he paid for it.

Doug Rose

Mo....I have been selling on eBay for over 15 years. I am a collector first, a seller second.

Sh*t happens! You cannot please everyone. Be honest and the let the chips fall. I get really upset with the PITA buyers, Janet is my customer service. I get pissed, she smooths everything over. I have a temper. There is always a PITA, whether at work or eBay. Take a deep breath and start again tomorrow.

eBay is the best Antique store in the world, everyone sees your items for a whole week and you get fair market value. You know that!!

Don't let the bastards get you down! Start listing tomorrow...Doug
Kidphone

K1WI

     I have to agree with Doug, same here buyer first , then a seller.  I also agree there are a lot of "pippones" (Italian slang) out there.  Been using e-bay for a long long time and only had three bad dealings two as a buyer and once as a seller.    The only negative I  ever received was very similar to your latest experience. Sold a rather valuable  car instrument panel and some of the bulbs were missing. Sold for 99 Cents like yours and I got a negative hit.  !!!!  BUT looking back and thinking as a buyer I had to agree I made the mistake. Did  getting a negative for an item that went for a song  seem appropriate to me , absolutely not , but the buyer didn't feel that way.
     Other times I've been truly supprised by the good out there . There is one seller (of phones) that will refund any excess  in cash in the package for shipping cost if he finds a better way to send.  Recently I sold a set of my personal license plates and the buyer wanted to make sure they would not get lost in transit , asked if he could pick them up in person , and would not accept a refund he already made for shipping.
     Even with
all that goes on with e-bay it still beats almost any other market , although I do miss the handshake at the conclusion of a transaction. (hey I'm and old timer)

Andy F    K1WI

Andy F    K1WI

LarryInMichigan

Maureen,

You certainly have my sympathy.  I have not sold very much on ebay and so far have not encountered a really bad buyer.  To me, anything that is listed "for parts or repair" means that the item is likely incomplete and almost certainly non-working.  I expect that this buyer is probably just an angry jerk who like to take out his frustration on others.  Just be glad that he is not your father/husband/neighbor/coworker/etc..

As far as ebay's customer service, it is outsourced to the Philippines like so many  other companies'.  The reason that it is outsourced to there is because of the agents' willingness to work for very low wages, not their superior service skills.  It is probably safe to assume that they have never bought or sold antique or vintage items, so the concepts you try to explain to them go right over their heads.  I used to have a brokerage account with ETrade which also outsourced their calls to the Philippines.  The agents taking the calls had absolutely no understanding of financial issues.  I discovered that ETrade had been sending checks and debit cards for my account to the wrong address, and the outsourced agents could not understand why it made any difference, nor did they have any idea how they could correct the problem, even if there were a reason to correct it in their minds.  I am sure that none of them had ever held a brokerage account.  Needless to say, I closed the account as soon as I could.

Somewhere there should be a list of problem ebay buyers (and sellers also), so that people can try to avoid them.

Larry