I wanted to get a measure of everyone's experience on ebay. I've bought there a couple of times -- usually at some ridiculously low price. For awhile there, I had mostly good experiences, but now it's running about 50 percent.

Most recently, when I bought a sealed copy of the Criterion Spinal Tap at an obscenely low price, the seller backed out of the deal and used a really shaky excuse -- he is having problems with ebay allowing him to use their services.

Also, twice, I have had sellers try to add additional charges to the purchase that were not listed on the page of the auction. In one case, the seller wanted to add an extra "insurance charge" to the shipping costs, which had not been listed on the page, and just recently, I had a seller tell me that she wanted an additional 7.5 percent in "sales tax."

My attitude with these kinds of extra charges is that, if they are not listed on the ebay page, I should not have to pay them. What are your opinions on this, and what kinds of experiences have you had with ebay sellers?

I've done about 150, or so, deals on eBay. Other than a few buyers backing out I've had no problems. One thing I always do is check their feedback. You can usually get a good feel for the seller by reading any negatives and then weighing those comments and when, how frequently they took place against their positive feedback rating. I both sell and buy (if and when the deal is good). I guess I'd say eBay is great if you use it with some amount of caution.



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-Brian
Since the universe is curved, there cannot be any truly straight answers.

HTF AFI 100 Film challange countdown 49 to go.

My constantly growing list of DVD's
My War Films Site - filmbunker.com

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Hoc:
just recently, I had a seller tell me that she wanted an additional 7.5 percent in "sales tax."<HR>

I would have asked her to supply me with her reseller number so that I could verify with your state tax authority that she could legally collect sales tax. I would also "remind" her that collecting state sales tax without first registering to do so is a felony in most states. (I know of one well known corporation that got in some pretty hot water with the state of Illinois for collecting sales tax without a permit.) I bet she would have dropped her "sales tax" demand immediately.

[This message has been edited by Miser (edited September 07, 2000).]

Hey Hoc meister.......I have bought many items(with no bad experiences) and sold many items new and used with a couple bad experiences!!! Let us just say that I do not sell like I use to.....only used stuff I do not want!!! As far as buying goes...only if after shipping charges I am getting a great deal!!! For example, I won a copy of French Kiss on dvd in January for a total of $12.00 shipped!!! Definitely a good place to sell used items for what you paid for them in the first place!!!!

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Miser:
I would have asked her to supply me with her reseller number so that I could verify with your state tax authority that she could legally collect sales tax. I would also "remind" her that collecting state sales tax without first registering to do so is a felony in most states. (I know of one well known corporation that got in some pretty hot water with the state of Illinois for collecting sales tax without a permit.) I bet she would have dropped her "sales tax" demand immediately.
<HR>

She has a business name and is located in my state, so I assume that she has the right to collect sales tax. However, my feeling is, unless she stated something to the effect of "CA residents pay an additional 7.5% sales tax" on the item description, she must pay the sales tax out of the agreed price. Had I known she was planning on charging me an extra 7.5 percent, my ebay bid would have been 7.5 percent lower.

I've had great luck with DVDs and a few bad experiences with other things: I bought a protien skimmer for my fish tank that turned out to be defective , also I had a lot of trouble with hifi.coms auction where they screwed up my order and took 2 weeks to ship it to me when I live 15 minutes from the warehouse.

Hoc, for what it's worth, I agree with you. Sellers should list all possibly relevant extra fees. Some are obvious, such as extra for international shipping. Some are not, such as sales tax for in-state consumers, since many sales are actually person-to-person.

I've bought a lot of stuff (including a few OOP Criterions) and sold a few things, and my only problems have been when buying from overseas. I had one package which never arrived, and one package of "live recording" CDs arrived with all of the CDs broken in half during shipment. Now when I win a CD or DVD auction, I always insist on secure packaging. And I always ship stuff in a manner that I'd want to receive it.

Almost all (200+) of my eBay transactions have ended w/out any problems. I have had a few (5+/-) problems with individuals/companies.

Some didn't have the video/product that they had put on eBay for sale at the time the auction was over. Only one seller (recently) hasn't & will probably never fulfill their auction obligation AFTER I had sent my $ into them (via PayPal). The others eventually sent me my auction product.

Just so happened that I had sent my PayPal payment in just one (1) day before PayPal instituted their new Buyer/Seller Guarantee policy. Oh well, I've initiated dispute procedings against that charge w/my CC company, so I shouldn't have to pay it.

I've only had one (1) seller/auction collect state sales tax from me in my state(TX) and it was specified on the auction page.

Overall, I'd say I've had a very pleasant experience w/eBay.

I've won one auction for a DVD on eBay. That was when Paypal was giving out $10 for signing up.

So I win this auction, and I'm going to use this $10 from Paypal - I just have to wait for them to send me a confirmation via snail mail so I can get my $10. I send an email to the guy right after the auction, saying as much.

Couple days later, my DVD shows up in the mail. ??? I didn't send a payment to this guy yet - the letter came a few days AFTER. He obviously thought his kickback from Paypal for me signing up through his auction was my payment.

So, my copy of Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid ended up being a freebie. And I still had my $10 to spend elsewhere!

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"I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner."

I have only purchased one DVD from eBay (Seven Samurai CC). It turns out that the guy that I ordered from lived in the same town that I do, so we met somewhere and did the transaction there. Felt like I was a drug dealer on Miami Vice . Definitely not the norm; but my other auction buys have gone without a hitch.

Just received a dvd today which was described as viewed once....The disc is in decent shape but it had a blockbuster sticker on the back of the case!!! Should I leave this guy neutral or negative feedback for failing to honestly describe this dvd as a rental....he made it sound like he purchased the dvd...viewed it one time then sold it!!!!!

My eBay experience has been great. Although I have sold more than I have bought. Essentially, I feel that buying stuff of eBay has a definite advantage given that you can get good prices and find oop items. Also, I feel very comfortable selling, because after all, the sellers have ALL the power. The only thing the seller has to his disadvantage is: 1.) he must rely on the buyer to pay and 2.) negative feedback.

Recently, I got f***ed over becuase of the first reason. This guy won my auction for a video card and told me he'd pay me the next day. He lived in Brazil and told me to modify the box to ship. Basically, this piece of s**t didn't paid me, was a liar and made me ruin the box(since it was ruined). Still, I found a solution since I just emailed another bidder and sold the card.

Ebay is great, but only as good as the people who use it.

Don't leave any feedback for that guy who had the blockbuster sticker on his dvd. Don't even give him the benefit of knowing what the deal was with not getting feedback. Still, ask him how come he didn't tell you, and if he pisses you off, leave negative feedback.

Lately what has been bugging me about my Ebay transactions is when buyers assume something that isn't listed on my auctions. Whenever I read "assume" in their e-mails to me after they have won I think about the old saying that if you assume you make an ass out of me and u.

Got people telling me they were going to send their personal checks to me, despite the fact that my auctions don't list personal checks as a acceptable form of payment. Love the people from other countries that bid and win my auctions despite the listing saying I sell to US only.

And the other day I had someone who won a DVD from me tell me he "assumed the $4 shipping and handling was for priority mail." On that last one I figured, what the hell, it's just a bit more. But then I stopped on principle and sent it first class as I always do. My $4 rate covers the cost of the envelope, the first class postage and the time it take to package the item and go out of my way to the post office and stand in line. If people don't like the rate, they shouldn't bid.

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"I don't smoke, you don't drink and Bob here wouldn't even think about lusting after a woman. Between the three of us we're practically Jesus."

I haven't bought much, but it was all without problems. Example: Buy a 1 Farad Capacitor for $30.00 shipped. Receive it, walk next door and sell it to my neighbor for $80.00.

Been selling of ebay for nearly 2 1/2 years now. Mostly selling but buying some stuff here and there a little .

When buying things on ebay - "always" look at the payment terms and shipping terms - if the sellers is less than descriptive about their shipping practices or billing info - email them regard their shipping rates and what not. Nothing irks me than paying $5.00 for first class mail. And lastly, always check their feedback rating.

When I'm selling various items on ebay. I clearly state in the bottom my terms and condition for closing the sale. Also, I get request for speedier mail(next day,2 days and priority mail)which I do accommendate at the bidders expense. Other things to point out: Never accept Personal Checks - it's a hassle to deal with and take longer for items to ship. As an advice to other ebay sellers - never take profit on shipping(always have your expense built into the item your selling).

quote:<HR>(always have your expense built into the item your selling)<HR>

What does this mean?

quote:<HR>Originally posted by JBDomain:
never take profit on shipping(always have your expense built into the item your selling).<HR>

Unless you start your auction at your "want" price or have a reserve, you can't have your expense, built into the item. I usually start my auctions at 1.99 or some other low price to generate interest. I've seen items started at $1.00 go to $25, while the same item listed at $21.99 will go with no bids. And since Ebay started charging extra for reserve auctions, I haven't used them.

I personally don't see the harm in adding a dollar or so to the cost of shipping, to cover misc expenses, as long as the cost to ship is clearly stated in the item description. And sorry, but if someone charges $4 for shipping a DVD, I would assume it was for Priority also, but would email the seller to verify. I take the time to clearly state the terms of my auctions and rarely have problems (except for the deadbeats of course).

Oh, almost forgot...If the description doesn't state clearly that sales tax applies, you shouldn't pay it. I assume sellers on eBay are regular people selling things to make a few extra dollars, but if they're tax collecting businesses they are obligated to state that clearly. In my experience, most do!


[This message has been edited by knitewing (edited September 10, 2000).]

quote:<HR>Originally posted by asabase:
I haven't bought much, but it was all without problems. Example: Buy a 1 Farad Capacitor for $30.00 shipped. Receive it, walk next door and sell it to my neighbor for $80.00. <HR>

bringing new meaning to the phrase "being neighbourly"


p

Hoc,

Re. the tax/extra charge question, my opinion would be similar to yours. You might want to post negative feedback on the seller, and, possibly, email eBay's SafeHarbor (I think that's what it's called) if it can't get resolved.

I've been both an occasional buyer and seller on eBay, and overall, my experience has been ok. I TRY to avoid buying and/or selling to anyone who has ANY negative feedbacks, and in all such cases, email the buyer or seller to 'get a feel' about whether they're 'real'.

On buying, the one bad experience I had was when I purchased a used HP LJ IIP. After the auction, the seller kind of whined about the shipping cost. I couldn't figure it out, because the cost he quoted on the auction were in line with the printer weight (I already had another IIP). Anyway, he claimed that he was selling the printer for a charity , so I agreed to add a couple of dollars to the shipping cost (ok, dumb), and sent him a check.

So, awhile later, this HUGE cardboard box arrives at my house... At first, I'm thinking this guy overdid the packing, but when I open the box, instead of a IIP printer, there's a II (which is a lot bigger than the IIP)!

I then emailed the seller several times, but no responses...

I eventually gave the printer away to a friend (too large for my use), and left negative feedback.

As a seller, most of my auctions went smoothly. However, on one, I noticed a LOT of bidders with 0 or negative feedback were among the top bidders while the auction was ongoing, among others. Searching through eBay, I found one, in particular, who was bidding on a BUNCH of the same item.

I emailed the bidder. It turned out that some guy's brother was using his email account and bidding on a bunch of auctions (and winning some), looking for the lowest winning bid. I emailed the bidder's email account, and then cancelled his bid, and added negative feedback. I later got an apology from the email account holder.

So, my advice (both buying and selling) is to use the tools that eBay provides, the searches and the feedback system, and ALWAYs email the other party DURING the auction with SOME kind of question. This latter tip will give you some idea of whether the person will be responsive after the sale/purchase, IMHO.

Yeah, in general eBay is great... I have had over 100 positive experiences there buying and selling.... BUT there have been a several negative experiences.. 3 worth mentioning:

1. I was selling a DVD there and the person that won contacted me promptly and I gave him the information on how to send payment to me. About 3-4 days later he contacted me again and said to resend my address again because he lost it. I resent him my address and he said he would send payment. One week passed and I contacted him again and said I hadn't received payment. He contacted me back and said that he had already received the item and he didn't know what I was talking about. I explained that I hadn't even seen the money or sent his item. He said it must have been some shady seller who contacted him and he sent the money to and recieved the DVD from. I told him he was full of crap and asked him if he found it suspicious that two different people were contacting him for the same product? Anyway he refused the item and I left him NEUTRAL feedback, he left me retaliatory NEGATIVE feedback in return. Real nice.

2. I was selling a Dreamcast game. The auction ended on a Friday, I went out of town for the weekend and came home Sunday evening to 3 email messages all from the high bidder. The first one (sent about 6 hours after the auction ended) was nice enough, just the high bidder saying that he had won and that he wanted me to tell him where to send the money. The second one (sent less than 12 hours later) was a little harsher and wanted to know why I hadn't responded and to please get back with him. The third one (sent about 12 hours after the second one) told me that he was REFUSING the item since I hadn't responded to him. This of course all took place less than 48 hours after the end of the auction. I logged into my eBay account to find he had also left me a negative feedback. I immediately phoned this person to find out he was 12 years old and wouldn't pay for the item. I notified eBay and they suspended the user and removed the negative feedback. This process took about 10 days.

3. And the most recent incident: I had auctioned off a DVD set for over $100. The high bidder didn't respond to any of 3 emails I sent him. After one week I phoned the person and got an answering machine and left a message. After no response 3 days later I left another message. After no response by phone or email I left the user negative feedback and relisted the item. This was about 2 weeks after the end of the auction. About 10 days after that I logged into my eBay account to find that this user left me negative retaliatory feedback. Real nice. eBay has since suspended this user, but has not yet (maybe not ever) removed the negative feedback.

All of the incidents were with individuals that had SOME positive feedback.

My point is to be ready to be burned by some users on eBay. No matter how neutral and forgiving you are some idiot that doesn't like the fact that you left him neutral or negative feedback will leave you retaliatory negative feedback in return, and eBay is VERY STRICT about what it will remove as far as feedback goes.

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fab

[This message has been edited by fab (edited September 11, 2000).]

Question: if the high bidder defaults on payment, how do I get eBay to refund me the listing fee and eBay's commission? I had already used the feature which notifies eBay that the seller hasn't paid yet and the e-mail states to give the buyer 10 days to settle the problem. Do I have to do anything else???

No, I don't think you have to do anything else. What I did when the high bidder screwed me was just sold it to the next highest bidder.

sinned: There are 2 steps to finally get a refund when a high bidder defaults on payment:

1. File a non-paying bidder warning. The earliest you can do this is 7 days from the end of the auction.

2. If you still haven't received payment for 10 more days, you can file a final value fee credit request. Once this is done you immediately get your final value fee credited back to your eBay account.

You can do like mikerena says and sell to the next highest bidder if you want, but you should really also follow through with the above 2 steps for anyone that doesn't follow through with payment. If you don't they will not be penalized by eBay. If a user gets 3 or more final value fee credit requests claimed for auctions they didn't pay for they will be suspended.

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fab