More eBay stupidity (2 Viewers)

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

I am constantly amazed at what goes on eBay. I sold a K&C item back in September. I just noticed that the buyer left me negative feedback on 11/26, claiming that the rifle was bent. It was not packed in that condition. The buyer never made any attempt to contact me before leaving the negative feedback, which was the first I have ever received. If he had bothered to contact me he would have discovered as stated in the auction that the figure was FULLY INSURED. He would have been reimbursed for the item.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

I have one repeat buyer who has made 9 purchases from me over several months. He always leaves a nice positive feedback but then gives me 4's on the detailed rating lowering my scores - but he keeps bidding and winning? They are all mint items in unopened boxes shipped the day after payment with a note to him saying they have been shipped with the tracking number. So I have no idea why the 4's and I think he is the only one not giving me 5's. Nothing I can do about that but it's frustrating.

Terry.

 

[Napoleon1er]

Before I joined the forum, I bought a large Britains item from Ixec, not having had any past experience with him, etc... The package arrived, but contained an empty box from another set. At first I freaked out, and sent a couple frantic messages. I came very close to leaving bad feedback, because he had not replied. But I had heard of these things happening, so I waited. Then he sent me a message, saying he had been away, and was happy to send my the right item, with shipping paid! I left all five stars and a nice comment. Thanks Ixec, and I implore everyone to wait to post bad feedback until things have been resolved. Again, Ixec is a great seller, and I will buy from him again. If I had given bad feedback, I would have made an enemy of a really nice guy. So don't rush to hasty feedback!

 

[Gideon]

Insurance is irrelevant. You shouldn't even bother with the added expense at this point. If the buyer isn't happy or if there is damage during shipping all they have to do is file a dispute and POOF, you are out the money. Item gets shipped back and that's that.

 

[Napoleon1er]

Insurance is irrelevant. You shouldn't even bother with the added expense at this point. If the buyer isn't happy or if there is damage during shipping all they have to do is file a dispute and POOF, you are out the money. Item gets shipped back and that's that.

Sorry, I don't quite get what you are saying...

 

[Phantom Warrior]

I get insurance on expensive items. I have only needed it once when a model arrived somewhat damaged. The Buyer and I agreed on a 50% refund (the buyers suggestion). He had photos of the damage which he emailed to me.

I put a claim in to Canada Post for half the sale price and got a refund cheque within a week.

Terry

 

[Beaufighter]

Insurance is irrelevant. You shouldn't even bother with the added expense at this point. If the buyer isn't happy or if there is damage during shipping all they have to do is file a dispute and POOF, you are out the money. Item gets shipped back and that's that.

Cheers:

That happened to me once and to a friend of mine as well. In both instances, the buyer had to go through the trouble of sending the item back and then enter the tracking #on the eBay site. They were refunded the purchase price and one-way shipping-in short, not compensated for the return shipping.

As for the insurance, it paid off as I filed an online claim and received a check in six working days for the sale price and the shipping amount. In addition, I also had the returned set which had two bent guns which I straightened without paint loss. The other scenario I mentioned above had the same outcome. The online claims are quick & easy as you can select the actual eBay auction # and or link on the USPS site and in both cases, USPS did not want the damaged item. I have filed claims via the "Great Paper Chase Route" and they have taken on average six to eight weeks with follow up phone calls and bringing in the damaged item.

In short, I insure everything and I would recommend doing so to anyone selling on eBay. By the way USPS is much easier to deal with regarding claims. FYI, UPS per their code requires four inches of padding surrounding the actual shipped item on all sides. eBay also has a secondary insurance carrier now that you can select & use but I find no need to experiment with a new process as the USPS system has worked well for me.

Thanks,
Marc

 

[joesgis]

I am constantly amazed at what goes on eBay. I sold a K&C item back in September. I just noticed that the buyer left me negative feedback on 11/26, claiming that the rifle was bent. It was not packed in that condition. The buyer never made any attempt to contact me before leaving the negative feedback, which was the first I have ever received. If he had bothered to contact me he would have discovered as stated in the auction that the figure was FULLY INSURED. He would have been reimbursed for the item.

The same thing recently happened to me! The guy drops a neg FB on me (my first ever!) an entire month after the purchase, and he never once tried to contact me to tell me that there was a problem. In the neg FB comments he stated that the item arrived damaged, but common sense dictates an attempt to contact the seller. I accept returns, I paid for shipping and I paid for full insurance!! Of course, ebay was of absolutely no help w/ this situation. I tried contacting the buyer and asked him to let me know what he wanted me to do in exchange for his consideration in revising his neg FB, but of course the coward didn't respond. Lastly, and even more puzzling, as stated above, the buyer took over 30 days to leave the neg FB. He was disappointed enough to leave neg FB, however, HE BOUGHT FROM ME AGAIN IN THE INTERIM!?!? So I, not knowing there was an issue at all, could not block this secondary buy from this guy. Apparently, this relative newbie to ebay does not realize the weight neg FB carries and how hard sellers must work to keep their slates clean of such a scarlet letters. Bottom line: ebay has become a joke. I don't sell on ebay anymore because of such predatory buyers. I would consider selling on ebay again only if the balance between the buyer and seller relationship is restored. Sadly, ebay's best days are far behind it. I will not stand for it.

Joe

 

[Gideon]

If you are able to get a claim check from USPS after an item has been reported damaged, please tell me how this works. This is news to me!

My understanding was the buyer had to file and that if the package was sent back to me that the insurance on the initial shipment was void.

 

[MarkeytMaker]

I have one repeat buyer who has made 9 purchases from me over several months. He always leaves a nice positive feedback but then gives me 4's on the detailed rating lowering my scores - but he keeps bidding and winning? They are all mint items in unopened boxes shipped the day after payment with a note to him saying they have been shipped with the tracking number. So I have no idea why the 4's and I think he is the only one not giving me 5's. Nothing I can do about that but it's frustrating.

Terry.

That's weird!

 

[Builtrite]

Gideon,
I'm with you on the insurance...never had luck with getting UPS or USPS to pay a refund for damage..And once a buyer files a claim that I shipped an item that was not described correctly on ebay, because there has been damage caused in shipping...i loose any dispute and have to refund...

 

[Iron Brigade]

I am constantly amazed at what goes on eBay. I sold a K&C item back in September. I just noticed that the buyer left me negative feedback on 11/26, claiming that the rifle was bent. It was not packed in that condition. The buyer never made any attempt to contact me before leaving the negative feedback, which was the first I have ever received. If he had bothered to contact me he would have discovered as stated in the auction that the figure was FULLY INSURED. He would have been reimbursed for the item.

Dear "Toy Soldier Brigade":

I started selling on eBay in August 2005 right after I got my 1st digital camera for posting photos. I normally have insurance coverage on my listings. I never had a lost shipment, but have had several damaged situations. I have always used USPS postal service. A couple of the USA damaged cases resulted in the buyer filing claim with USPS and apparently their got their money on the purchase price.

I had a couple of NON USA cases in which I told the persons in Europe to file a claim through thier local Post Office. I also called the USA Post Office and USPS set up a Insurance claim file to be coordinated with the NON USA post office. In both of these cases the buyer did not follow through on filing any claim for insurance coverage. Apparently both buyers decided to just fix the damage rather than turn over the toy soldier set to thier post office for Insurance. Or else the buyers decided that the damage was not as bad as they were telling me via E-mails and it was easy to fix afterall and did not bother to go to thier post office for filing claim.

I still think it is best to have insurance coverage on more expensive items. However, I had a repeat buyer in Florida state he did not want to have Insurance coverage as it meant he had to go to the Post Office to pick it up as no one was home during the day to recieve the shipment. He also noted he lived in a very safe area and he was not afraid of box being stolen before he got home. As the last item he purchased was a sturdy K&C WW2 Japanese tank I was not too concerned about any damage. Florida buyer gave me an E-mail stating he was assuming responsibility for any damage, etc if anything did go wrong.

In any case, regardless of some problems with eBay I have found it to still be the best method to sell toy soldier items.

"Iron Brigade"

 

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

I have a better one. Bidder from Greece, bids on an item. I send him an invoice and never hear from him. Month goes by and I'm still waiting. Now I'm pissed and want my fees credited back to my account. I mistakenly filed an auction cancellation. I should have filed a non paying bidder claim. eBay denies my claim because the bidder tells them he wants the item. Bidder then emails me telling me he had a car accident and needs 10 days. Two weeks go buy, no money no email. Now I'm even more pissed. A week later he bids on another one of my items, and sends me an email demanding that I combine both items and shipped them for free ! Now I'm really pissed. I then file a non paying bidder claim for the second item. Bidder emails me that because of the civil unrest in his country he needs more time. After about a half hour on the phone with eBay they finally agree to refund my final value fees. The eBay customer service rep was an ***, trying to make me feel like I was at fault. I tell him i would rather smash the item in the street before i sent it to this idiot. At that point I asked him what was happening with eBay ? How I have been using them for at least twelve years and have steadily watched them slide down hill. Sellers have no rights anymore, and eBay let's deadbeat bidders do anything they please. You can't even leave negative feedback anymore. Now I just leave negative comments as positive feedback. Hopefully others will read and be warned.

 

[boerboy]

I have a better one. Bidder from Greece, bids on an item. I send him an invoice and never hear from him. Month goes by and I'm still waiting. Now I'm pissed and want my fees credited back to my account. I mistakenly filed an auction cancellation. I should have filed a non paying bidder claim. eBay denies my claim because the bidder tells them he wants the item. Bidder then emails me telling me he had a car accident and needs 10 days. Two weeks go buy, no money no email. Now I'm even more pissed. A week later he bids on another one of my items, and sends me an email demanding that I combine both items and shipped them for free ! Now I'm really pissed. I then file a non paying bidder claim for the second item. Bidder emails me that because of the civil unrest in his country he needs more time. After about a half hour on the phone with eBay they finally agree to refund my final value fees. The eBay customer service rep was an ***, trying to make me feel like I was at fault. I tell him i would rather smash the item in the street before i sent it to this idiot. At that point I asked him what was happening with eBay ? How I have been using them for at least twelve years and have steadily watched them slide down hill. Sellers have no rights anymore, and eBay let's deadbeat bidders do anything they please. You can't even leave negative feedback anymore. Now I just leave negative comments as positive feedback. Hopefully others will read and be warned.

Well I had my share of eBay troubles with costumes but I developed an "Teflon" approach dealing with them so they can not make me "pissed" anymore
1. If a buyer does not pay in 7 days or whatever time stated in your terms, send him a reminder, and if you are still not paid next day after that , file "non-paying" buyer claim immediately . If a buyer pays after that : leave a positive feed back for him , if not put him on "ban list" to prevent him from future bidding on your items. Tell your eBay friends his handle so they can protect themselves as well.
2. Ship all International parcels over $100 total by Priority mail, and over $250 by Express mail if a destination permits. All other parcels ship by First Class.
3. Do not even bother to use USPS insurance , you will never get your money back .. Use U-PIC insurance (www.u-pic.com) or similar instead. It will let you insure all parcels including First Class International. U-PIC insurance rates are cheaper then USPS, claims are easy to submit and they always pay , usually in 10 business days.
4. Do not bother to argue with your buyers who complaint unfairly, you just can not win with current eBay policies...try to settle with them amicably usually by giving $5-$10 partial refund and then put them on your "ban list" if you feel like that.
5. If we had an alternative to eBay it would be an empty site in a NY minute but we do not .. try eBid, Bonanza or build your own online store which is the best...

I hope it helps.
Al

 

[jazzeum]

That Greece story is something else. Whenever I hear buyers tell me they're sick, I know I will not get paid.

Al, great advice. Had never heard of that insurance service. Otherwise, insurance is just a waste of money. You just hope it gets there.

 

[Toy Soldier Brigade]

Thanks for the third party insurance link. I will have to try them. Glad to see they give volume discounts. I am contemplating just listing items directly on my site and tossing eBay to the curb.

 

[IXEC]

I have one repeat buyer who has made 9 purchases from me over several months. He always leaves a nice positive feedback but then gives me 4's on the detailed rating lowering my scores - but he keeps bidding and winning? They are all mint items in unopened boxes shipped the day after payment with a note to him saying they have been shipped with the tracking number. So I have no idea why the 4's and I think he is the only one not giving me 5's. Nothing I can do about that but it's frustrating.

Terry.

Terry, yes there is something you can do about it...BLOCK HIM, from bidding....oKay..he's your high bidder..SO WHAT...I've had to block my best buyer..he would give me 1's on my DSR's for no GOOD reason...I lost my Top Rate Sellers rating because of him...In the end, it cost me more $ losing my eBay discounts than any profit I made from my "BEST BUYER" ....drop him...if every eBay seller would do that to guys like this, than THAT would send a message...and Maybe..just Maybe...sellers would'nt get screwed by eBay because of these jokers ...

 

[Beaufighter]

That Greece story is something else. Whenever I hear buyers tell me they're sick, I know I will not get paid.

Al, great advice. Had never heard of that insurance service. Otherwise, insurance is just a waste of money. You just hope it gets there.

I completely disagree with your comment regarding insurance as I have had no problems at all filing claims with USPS online and receiving the respective amount from them within 7-10 days. It is just a matter of doing the homework with respect to filing the claim completely and correctly along with the link to the actual auction or website, etc. where the item was purchased showing a value. As for UPS, as long as there is four inches of padding around the actual item you are sending, they have to pay up. If you let the respective UPS store pack it they are responsible no matter how it is packed. Once again, just a little research and some pointed questions resulted in my six being covered.

~Marc

 

[boerboy]

I completely disagree with your comment regarding insurance as I have had no problems at all filing claims with USPS online and receiving the respective amount from them within 7-10 days. It is just a matter of doing the homework with respect to filing the claim completely and correctly along with the link to the actual auction or website, etc. where the item was purchased showing a value. As for UPS, as long as there is four inches of padding around the actual item you are sending, they have to pay up. If you let the respective UPS store pack it they are responsible no matter how it is packed. Once again, just a little research and some pointed questions resulted in my six being covered.

~Marc

Marc, I am glad that USPS insurance works for you, but not with just my luck: in 90% cases if there is no damage to outer box USPS does not pay.
Besides with 300+ parcels shipped a month, "the respective UPS store " and 4" of padding will eat up a lot of profit which is not so great on the first place because of greedy eBay/PayPal "fellowship"
Al

 

[jazzeum]

Maybe that works domestically Marc but overseas you're at the mercy of the several post offices. Good luck on that. Domestically, I never use the USPS and I mean never. It's only UPS. I find the tracking tool of the USPS completely useless. With UPS, I can track shipping progress.