The big eBay issues thread

RID Scourge · Post by **RID Scourge** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 3:24 pm

Ah. Glad to hear that you got your stuff.

What always annoys me are the people, who will say something along the lines of "Payment is due within x days of auction's close," then turn around, and sit on your package for a month before shipping it. I had a really bad string, where that happened several times, in my early days of collecting GI Joe.

There was even a case, where I had to email a person to be like "Hey, could you give me information on when you sent it? I still don't have the package." I didn't get a reply, but it was there the next monday, and when I checked the postmark date, it was the same day I sent the email.

I think the thing about it that pisses me off the most is that I generally pay for the item within an hour of winning, by paypal. In all honesty, if I've paid for something, instantly, I'd expect the person to at least ship it by that weekend.

Certainly, things come up, but it's common courtesy to send some kind of notification. It doesn't even have to have details. Just something along the lines of, "Something came up, and I won't be able to ship it until this date. Sorry about that." If a seller were to take the time and consideration to write an email like that, they'd still be elligible for a positive feedback. On the other hand, if I have to write an email to someone to ask them why I haven't received my item after a month, any excuse they give is going to stink like bulls***, and they won't get feedback (because let's face it, the way feedback is set up, if you give someone a negative, then they'll just give one right back to you).

Maraudermus Prime 2 · Post by **Maraudermus Prime 2** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 3:09 am

It took over 6 months for my Godzilla Attacks NY Playset to reach me, with no reponse form the seller. It did come, however, and Godzilla doesn't fire his Atomic Blast anymore. It never did.

Good to see you got 'em

RID Scourge · Post by **RID Scourge** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 3:41 am

Damn. That's beyond the time that you can leave feedback. I'd have all ready filed a chargeback through paypal by then . . .

Ackula · Post by **Ackula** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 10:24 am

I've got one for ya. I won an auction for Machine Wars Starscream a week or so ago, guy only took a MO so I promptly mailed it out. Yesterday I get a package from the seller and open up to find Machine Wars Soundwave and not Starscream

Then after messaging the seller he had the nerve to tell me to mail it back and he'd send me the Soundwave later. Ummm.. I won an auction for STARSCREAM. After several messages explaining what happened he finally understood and after a bit of him acting high and mighty he agreed to mail me my Starscream, and I agreed to mail the Soundwave back after receiving the right figure.

The thing that worries me is I looked at the auctions he had going on the same date and someone else won an auction for the Soundwave he sent me...so I just really hope this other buyer did not receive my Starscream in error..because I obviously received his Soundwave. And bottom line is I have no intentions in returning the wrong merchandise until I receive the correct merchandise.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:43 am

Originally posted by Denyer
Fingers crossed this won't go tits up. Just got a message from buyer saying that "the memory appears to be faulty as it cannot write to memory" -- even guess between the card simply needing formatting

I think this one chalks down to stupidity rather than malice -- I refunded the greater chunk of the bid (which wasn't all that much to start with) and got the card sent back alright in good faith. Turned up FAT32 formatted with a few music files on it. Clearly hadn't been formatted in the camera. Bah.

Tip for anyone dealing with a lot of cards/cameras: most are FAT (i.e. FAT16) devices only. Sticking 'em into a card reader and formatting from within Windows will most likely reformat as FAT32, which then won't work in other things.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon May 28, 2007 10:04 pm

Okay, I'm selling some bits on ebay, as per usual: -

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZblue ... dgeQQhtZ-1

[Yeh, someone could claim this is a plug, but there ain't much anyone here's interested in as I've tried to hawk most of it to our esteemed membership before...]

Now, problem is those Gobots probably aren't worth that much, and I'm a bit worried about the 0 feedback chap bidding on most of them... Partially because I'm a bit worried whether he'll cough up - I dunno, how do I politely word that in a message to the bloke? Do I just wait and make sure I don't rely on the money until it's in my account? The other thing is, it looks a Hell of a lot like I'm using a shill account... how easy is it to prove that this isn't me if it comes up?

Only I could stress about doing alright out of some old toys :s

Post by **Denyer** » Mon May 28, 2007 11:12 pm

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
the 0 feedback chap bidding on most of them...

+1 since we've been talking, apparently:

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI ... d=ford5413

Do I just wait and make sure I don't rely on the money until it's in my account?

Wouldn't rely on it until some time after you get feedback from the other person, as there's always the possibility of PP claims.

other thing is, it looks a Hell of a lot like I'm using a shill account...

There are other bidders on other stuff... it isn't unusual for a new bidder to register specifically for a set of auctions. Plus IPs/times likely would clear you (them online from somewhere else at the same time, or accessing at intervals that (combined with your access) would preclude sleep.)

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue May 29, 2007 11:16 am

Yeh, I think I'm just being a paranoid bastard overall - everyone;'s got to start somewhere, and if the bloke likes Gobots... not sure what everyone's got against poor ol' Jeeper, though

As for the latter, I forgot... he definitely bid on stuff while I was logged on, so ebay should have a record of that

Mirage · Post by **Mirage** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:17 pm

welcome to my little rant!

i received a transformer in the post today, a lovely bt blue prowl i paid a pretty penny for the dude, it was wrapped in just brown paper, the bloody drivers side wing mirror is snapped off and the gun/engine is missing, some ebayers shouldn't be on there, bloody w**kers!!

well, i'm done, like i said short but sweet, thank you for your time.

slartibartfast · Post by **slartibartfast** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:32 pm

Originally posted by Mirage
thank you for your time.

de rien.

Target · Post by **Target** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:58 am

Will you leave any feedback?? If you do how do you know if the w***er won't give you negitive one in return?

Simular thing happened to me, paid £25.50 shipping and like yours came wraped in a brown sheet of paper!! grumble grumble.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:51 pm

minor "WTF do you expect" grumbling...

Question from tvpinkpinkpinkrose789
tvpinkpinkpinkrose789( 10)
Positive feedback: 100%
Member since: 17-Oct-05
Location: Worcestershire, United Kingdom
Registered on: http://www.ebay.co.uk
Item: Gobot Royal-T Robo Machine - Bandai Transformer MR-19 (130141194553)
This message was sent after the listing closed.
tvpinkpinkpinkrose789 is the winner.
Just received the transformer which was really a speedy delivery I took it out of the box gave it to my little boy who started to transform it and the wing came off.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0141194553

MY GOD WOMAN, IT'S A ****ING ~25 YEAR OLD ROYAL-T. I don't mean it in an elitist that-bloke-off-Toy-Story-2 sort of way, but Royal-T's fragile little guy... I tried to emphasise "display" in there. Christ, only about a year or so ago I broke one. Anyone else selling TFs and getting this sort of crap? Who on earth buys their kids tiny fragile toys that old?

Hrrrgh. Any idea how exactly I should respond? I know the figure was fine when I sent it because I packed it in jet mode, and then wrapped it well (3 layers of bubblewrap, then put in a fairly large box)... She's not getting a refund because she gave it to a child, I wouldn't give anything that old to a kid, but how do I couch that nicely?

Civ · Post by **Civ** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:35 pm

I would explain that the toy is 25 years old. Toy laws back then and today are totally different. Hell, even the way they make the toys nowadays is totally different and much more robust. The older toys simply aren't robust enough to take rough-handling. The keywords "little loose" and "worn" (especially worn) indicate that this toy has seen better days but still looks good. Hell, you even said "it still displays well". Even over time, the plastic becomes more brittle and most plastics have what's known as a "shelf life" or pretty much an expiration date. As of now, I know of no plastic that retains its original mechanical properties over 25 years. You're sorry that the toy broke but you did state "display" and that she needs to be more careful.

Unfortunately, it doesn't explicitly state that this toy is no longer suitable for young children (for the inexperienced and/or the thick) and she might be able to counter with that if she takes it to e-bay. If she pushes this, you may just have to swallow the loss but in the future, write a disclaimer which pretty much states, "this toy is friggin' old and not good for young kids any longer. Buy at your own risk if you or your kid are gonna play with it."

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:53 pm

I've caved a bit and offered her a refund for the item only, mainly because I don't think her kid should be upset because of her stupidity 9and because, end of the day, it's £2 and my girlfriend's account, so these things have to be kept clean-cut)... though I have put pretty much all of that in my response... it seems like the kid actually snapped the wing clean off - I know that that wasn't like that when I sent him, and if you've got a Royal you'll know it won't break that way in anything approaching decent packing as the connection's hidden away inside the diecast chest part... My mind just boggles that someone would buy such an old toy, advertised as being in less than ideal shape, to a kid without at least giving it a physical once over first.

Civ · Post by **Civ** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:31 pm

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
My mind just boggles that someone would buy such an old toy, advertised as being in less than ideal shape, to a kid without at least giving it a physical once over first.

I wish I could say that I'm surprised, but I can't. Being an engineer and working with assembly workers who aren't exactly mechanically adept, I've seen stuff that has just simply blown my mind. The saddest part is that I can't explain why this happens. I don't know if they simply don't think, if their minds are preoccupied with other thoughts, or they just don't know how to think that way at all to begin with.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:09 am

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/uk/200710.shtml ... 0-09115347

"We are pleased to announce that between 23rd October and 31st December 2007 inclusive in the Photography and Toys & Games categories, the Gallery listing upgrade feature will be free and Insertion Fees will be reduced. For example, a listing with a Gallery photo starting at 99p will now only cost 5p compared to 30p normally, a massive saving of 25p per listing. Final Value Fees will be increased, but you only pay these if your item sells."

5.25% --> 8.20% in most cases.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:07 am

Dastards.

Halfshell · Post by **Halfshell** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:20 pm

Originally posted by Denyer
" [...] but you only pay these if your item sells."

Well that makes it perfectly alright then, doesn't it? I mean nobody sticks stuff on eBay with the intention of actually flogging it...

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:07 pm

I do like the way they've phrased it - as if we've always been paying final listing fees for stuff that didn't shift. Wonder why just Toys and Photography got picked on? Because they use the most gallery pictures ('s a guess) and it'd be most likely they could get this one past people there?

I'm not arguing with the free gallery thing, seeing as I do select it for any toys, but unless your item sells for not much at all, you're losing out there...

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:49 pm

It's aimed at bulk sellers of new stuff, I guess, who do have a volume of unsold items and haven't worked out how much of their profit margin disappears between buying stock, eBay fees and PayPal fees. The side-effect is vintage/loose sellers lose out significantly the more they sell.

I think eBay's moving slowly towards gallery pictures being compulsory (without them, buyer experience is less --> Christmas push) and they're simultaneously trying to work out how much they can shaft sellers for by newspeaking it as value-added.

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