Why I Don't eBay - Buy First, Ask Questions Later?

[Grastens]

My first listings since a wrongly-assessed negative feedback on some Striker wheels, I put up several listings for Audi Quattro parts. I was careful to provide photos, and listed every item as used.

Somebody purchased one such listing at full price. I was pleased - I told him I would get a detailed quote at the post office tomorrow, as that is when I can make the trip.

Then he asks me about the condition of one of the parts included. I tell him it was used (and the listing made this pretty clear). At this, he asks me to cancel the auction.

Explaining to me that he needs that specific piece in new condition, he has the nerve to tell me I should have more detailed information, and that it is his right as a buyer to know these things before buying. This infuriated me because apparently he also needed to be prompted to ask questions before buying. Am I missing something with this philosophy?

So anyways, I cancelled the order for him, and am doing my best to get over it. I figure he actually ruined my day in the end because the resulting low is lower than what would have happened if it did not sell at all.

Given such a buyer, what would you do besides comply and cancel? Should I leave feedback? I have half a mind to pull all my listings completely and be done with people like the one I just dealt with.

[mr crispy]

Are you able to report him as a none payer? Probably not now you've cancelled. Best thing in these circumstances is put it behind you and relist the item. Even though he's caused you the embugerance, at the end of the day you haven't lost any money and you still have the item to resell. Dwelling on things like this make me mad, hopefully just sharing your experience here has helped mate.

I get annoyed when bidders clearly haven't bothered to read the listing or want to know your "sale price". I usually give them a reply along the lines of "I don't know what the sale price is yet because it's an auction...But if you want me to end this auction early, make me a generous offer and we'll see" 😜

[Grastens]

Unfortunately I cannot tag him as a non-paying buyer, but I can still leave feedback. Is this sensible?

Edit: I filed a buyer report. I was told this is anonymous to the buyer, so at least I know something is at least in theory supposed to get done. Even if nothing happens, I did something, unlike that other user who unfairly-assessed me so long ago...

[KEV THE REV]

As you were specific in describing the parts ( I guess they were all used parts?) then the onus is on the buyer to read the description properly and ask any questions BEFORE buying , and so you could then hold out for the money , but it sounds like it was probably better for you to cancel the deal rather than risk a retaliation negative feedback for something that isn't your fault ( a usual 'peabrain' practice) . I wouldn't pull the other auctions as most eBayers are level headed reasonable and literate people , just hang in there and put it down to experience and block him as a future bidder / buyer

[MadInventor]

I had a couple of buyers muck me about, so for now I've just given up with selling stuff on Ebay, unless it's collection only stuff. It's just too much stress and hassle as a seller for the little cash it pulls in. I had one item returned unopened by a buyer, even though I had cleared marked the listing as no returns, and also added this in the description. Ebay is just too buyer biased at the moment.

[Backlash]

First up, I would file a non paying bidder, together with a report to eBay about what happened, and ban him from bidding on your future listings.. With any luck you may get your listing fees refunded..

Second, I would put an update, or additional text in ALL of your listing (old and new), something to this effect.. "Please note that all of these parts are USED, and as such have marks, scrapes, scratches, and minor wear on them.. Also, I am happy to answer any questions that you may have about the items, so please do not be like (insert buyers eBay name here) and ask all questions BEFORE bidding..

[67CamaroSS]

I just got back into selling on ebay and totally agree that they are "too buyer biased". I sold a used QD Midnight Pumpkin, explained in the description that it was used, that it had no remote, that it I could not test it, that it was missing the battery door and had a missing rear taillight and missing bumper. I also added pictures and listed SOLD-IS with NO RETURNS and asked them to ask questions BEFORE bidding.

Buyer takes a week to pay for it and when they get they open return request saying "item doesnt work and missing many pieces". I responded right away and asked the buer to tell me what pieces were missing and if they had read the desription or looked at the pics before buying it. They didnt respon and ebay makes me wait 1 week from when they file their claim to even be able to ask eBay to review it. Then it goes to ebay and they say they will make a decision in 48 hours only to get another notice 12 hours later that their review will take another 5 days. All this time, they have had my money "on hold" with paypal.

Luckily the buyer decided to close the case and the Paypal hold was "released"

I consider myself lucky they didnt screw me even though I felt I had properly described the item and clearly posted that is was sold as-is with no returns.

[Dojo Dave]

Last year I had purchased a 1:16 scale brushless system thinking I could mod it to work on an old chassis I had. Box was not sealed when I received it and was ready to plug and run.....I opened the package saw it was not the right thing and placed it on the shelf. Two weeks later I list this new item as new... sell it at a loss. Explained what I had done when I received it, buyer claims doesn't work was used and there was wear on the connections, and tells ebay I must have shorted the thing when I soldered the connections. ..eventually he drops the claim but leaves a scathing negative report.... you can't win unless you say it's practically scrap and give it away. ..and then they still want money off... I find a local friend for My chassis dispersing... keeps it in the family

[Grastens]

Thank you all for the advice. Fortunately, no listing fees were incurred to my knowledge; if there are any from having to relist I will make sure I get them back. I already filed a complaint to eBay about the buyer; since I had previously cancelled as per the request, I could not open an unpaid item case (which would have been ideal) and instead sent a description under the 'buyer made unreasonable demands' scenario. I take comfort in the fact that I did at least one thing this time.

He requested more photos, saying I must have 'repaired' the part he wanted. I mentioned repairs, but specifically stated which ones, which were not even close to the one he was asking about. I finally relented and sent him something along the lines of:

"Considering that I have had to cancel a previous order placed by you, I will no longer deal with you. Please stay away from my listings, and do not waste any more of my time. I will only ask once. Are we clear? Good - thank you."

He has not replied since, and hope he does not. One more buyer like him and I am back to listing on TamiyaClub, where at least people ask questions before they buy! I would honestly rather not sell than deal with stuff like this.

[Nobbi1977]

You can block individual buyers from bidding if they become a pain. On the whole I find EBay ok, I sell mainly bike parts and maybe people are more realistic about the term "used" then

[Wez-li]

If an item is "used" but fit to use in some way as described, ie needs bits to finish it off. then I just list it as "parts not working" can't really go wrong there.

EBay is "buyer biased" but I think that's a good thing. There's probably more dodgy sellers out there than dodgy buyers.

In 10 years I've maybe had less than 10 problematic transactions, and still have 100% feedback as a seller/buyer on there at time of writing (probably change over weekend now I've said that!!) if you ever get an unfair negative eBay can remove it.

This happened to me when I sold a TV & stand, but with a crack on the tv screen, fully highlighted in the title & description + photos, buyer won it and said he only wanted it for the stand but he'll come collect it, turned up said it was the wrong stand, didn't pay ( huge sum of £10) and went and left me negative.

I rememeber another time I sold some rear tail lights for my 1:1 evo, totally mint and well packed, buyer complained that they were cracked, sent me back a pair of old dusty cracked lights, utter scammer but I lost out in the end. Life's too short for me to worry about people like that.

At the end of the day I've had some great deals on there so will continue to use it, The fees are more of a problem than the consumers imo, but that's a different topic

[speedy_w_beans]

When I go to sell RC stuff, I post essentially the same listing on Tamiyaclub, RC Tech, my regional RC racing forum, and Craigslist. It doesn't hurt to have exposure in multiple locations.

From past experience I found mostly window shoppers and lowballers coming from Craigslist, but I've sold a thing or two there. Abbreviated email replies work the best; don't waste your time typing up paragraphs for a stranger. Give that person a "yes" or "no" and that's it. If they're serious they'll ask for a phone number to discuss or type more than "do you still have it?" in their email.

Surprisingly, I sold quite a bit of re-re stuff on the regional racer forum. I can only guess that re-re kits were a novelty compared to the usual assortment of Associated, Losi, Mugen, Kyosho, etc. rollers. The nice thing about selling this way is I actually met every buyer face-to-face, and the chat about the hobby was as nice as selling the item.

RC Tech actually worked pretty well for me, but it requires bumping the listing on a daily basis if you want to remain visible. The lisitngs rotate quite a bit on a daily basis, which means quite a bit of traffic reading listings. There is trader feedback for both buyers and sellers there. I think the challenge is you are not going to get any serious consideration if you just join the forum and list something; you have to post and build some reputation, and also build a trader rating, to get more attention. The national exposure beyond the regional forum works well.

Tamiyaclub works fine for international exposure of Tamiya items for sale, but international postage is a barrier unless you have something really special to sell. I I tend to limit the sale to a national level to avoid all the questions about international postage only to have the sale fall through. If someone is tenacious and really wants to pay international postage, then that's fine. I just see more people be disappointed about postage than anything.

I've looked into eBay in the past and don't care for the fees. There are enough free venues for selling stuff.

[Yonez]

I never sell on eBay, only buy. But I share your thoughts on international shipping Speedy.

If I find something I really want on eBay I contact the seller and ask for international shipping. I'm careful to note that I know shipping is expensive and point to my long history of perfect feedback and experience in buying this sort of item. Most sellers are happy to add international shipping then, especially the smaller ones who seem to only ship nationally because they they're unsure about interntional shipping. A few have even started shipping internationally after getting my guidance on how to do it.

[Grastens]

Incredibly, the same buyer bought the same item again! Should I shut him down or just see if he pays?

[Incredible_Serious]

Incredibly, the same buyer bought the same item again! Should I shut him down or just see if he pays?

Do you really want to go through with the same hassle again?

I'd be reporting him to eBay for his shenanigans, blocking him, and then relisting.....

Of course, that's just me.....

Alex

[Grastens]

I misread that - I was looking at the old listing; happily, the parts were bought up by a buyer who paid promptly!

Faith in eBayers restored, I realize he did so before I could send a detailed shipping quote, but as I can combine shipping on the two it should not be a big problem. I will lose some cash but he used Buy It Now, which is higher than the minimums I expected on a bid. So all I need to do is make sure I can give satisfactory service and then I will renew my enthusiasm for selling

[speedy_w_beans]

Don't take this buyer's actions personally. I had a local kid string me along four or five times over a period of two months asking about the same brushless system I had for sale. I finally told him to stop bothering me because he was wasting my time; he had no intention of completing a deal. I actually held the items for him a few times before I wised up.

I had another regional buyer ask for my bank account information so he could direct deposit payment. I think he meant PayPal, but he said bank account, and I turned him down vehemently. He claimed he did business with several sellers the same way.

There's a chance this buyer went looking for a new part and can't find it. Just confirm he's read the listing completely and wants to proceed with the purchase. If he still wants to buy, try to move forward with it. If he cancels again block him and leave some negative feedback since he did it twice.

One of the harder lessons in life is to ignore what people say and simply react to what they do. Watch what a buyer does, set some limits for yourself, and take action as necessary. Did he end up on the wrong branch of the flowchart? Too bad for him; move on to the next buyer.

[Wooders28]

When you deal with 'the public' you do start to wonder if evolution passed some people by!!

The fees are more of a problem than the consumers imo, but that's a different topic

The main reason I haven't sold on ebay for a while, I would rather let someone on here have RC bits for buttons than pay their rising fees,(even though I didnt sell much when I listed in the sales section).

[KEV THE REV]

I just got back into selling on ebay and totally agree that they are "too buyer biased". I sold a used QD Midnight Pumpkin, explained in the description that it was used, that it had no remote, that it I could not test it, that it was missing the battery door and had a missing rear taillight and missing bumper. I also added pictures and listed SOLD-IS with NO RETURNS and asked them to ask questions BEFORE bidding.

Buyer takes a week to pay for it and when they get they open return request saying "item doesnt work and missing many pieces". I responded right away and asked the buer to tell me what pieces were missing and if they had read the desription or looked at the pics before buying it. They didnt respon and ebay makes me wait 1 week from when they file their claim to even be able to ask eBay to review it. Then it goes to ebay and they say they will make a decision in 48 hours only to get another notice 12 hours later that their review will take another 5 days. All this time, they have had my money "on hold" with paypal.

Luckily the buyer decided to close the case and the Paypal hold was "released"

I consider myself lucky they didnt screw me even though I felt I had properly described the item and clearly posted that is was sold as-is with no returns.

Sounds like you got a fair decision in your favour based on the description you gave in your listing against the so called 'problem' the buyer had . I think sometimes the seller gets a fair trial - but not always!! , so all eBay sellers should make sure they describe well - very well

[KEV THE REV]

When you deal with 'the public' you do start to wonder if evolution passed some people by!!

The main reason I haven't sold on ebay for a while, I would rather let someone on here have RC bits for buttons than pay their rising fees,(even though I didnt sell much when I listed in the sales section).

Many moons ago selling / buying RC on Ebay was a great and fair place , but sadly the money grabbers and rip-off merchants have taken over and more of these 'bad deals' are taking place . TC is the only sane place to be these days