Ebay Question -- How would you handle this?

[Shreggor]

Right but what if the seller is just a casual seller who sells random stuff they have around their house. Not everyone is an expert in everything they sell. We don't know all of the details. Did the seller put a photo?

And I would not risk ruining someone's reputation on Ebay if they were willing to work with me. No feedback is fine. But negative feedback can ruin a person.

Example: I sell my old cds because I no longer use cds. I try, I really do, to listen to every cd I sell in full before I list it as in "great shape!" but sometimes, I really don't have time to. I give them a visual inspection. But sometimes that is not good enough.

Say one of the cds arrives to the buyer damaged. I said it was a great shape because it had a tiny scrape that I didn't notice. Now say the buyer contacts me and I offer them a refund. But then they proceed to go and leave negative feedback anyway, saying I sold them "trash" or "shoddy merchandise" or that I "lied about the condition". Did I do any of those things? Intentionally? No. Are the dozens of other items I sell likely scratched? No.

Just don't leave feedback at all. The only way I would use negative feedback would be if someone refused to work with me.

Not everyone who sells on Ebay is a pro. I'm not and I have no desire to be. I only make about $400 a month with these sales. I have no desire to do any more than that. Once my house is de-cluttered, I will probably stop selling, actually because there are way more sketchy buyers out there than sellers. In the 10 years I've been using Ebay as a buyer and seller, I have never come across a bad seller but have had issues with numerous bad buyers.

Also - I routinely have to pay out of my own pocket to ship things. If you don't ship stuff regularly, how do you know if shipping is inflated? Do you have any idea how much shipping materials cost? I get people complaining about my shipping prices all the time and I have never once charged more than what I actually paid to ship. Sometimes they complain when I charge LESS than I charge to ship. It's expensive. A medium sized USPS flat rate box is $10.70… And that's before bubble wrap, shipping tape, etc.

 

[DVCBELLE]

This is why people will quit buying on Ebay- b/c others aren't willing to leave true feedback.

I'm sorry but if you sell me a CD and it is not in the condition you stated IT IS YOUR FAULT. You should not list an item that you did not fully inspect.

In this situation - I would leave negative feedback - this is iif he doesn't refund your shipping - this is info people need to know.

I say this a both a casual buyer and casual seller

 

[nunzia]

Right but what if the seller is just a casual seller who sells random stuff they have around their house. Not everyone is an expert in everything they sell. We don't know all of the details. Did the seller put a photo?

And I would not risk ruining someone's reputation on Ebay if they were willing to work with me. No feedback is fine. But negative feedback can ruin a person.

Example: I sell my old cds because I no longer use cds. I try, I really do, to listen to every cd I sell in full before I list it as in "great shape!" but sometimes, I really don't have time to. I give them a visual inspection. But sometimes that is not good enough.

Say one of the cds arrives to the buyer damaged. I said it was a great shape because it had a tiny scrape that I didn't notice. Now say the buyer contacts me and I offer them a refund. But then they proceed to go and leave negative feedback anyway, saying I sold them "trash" or "shoddy merchandise" or that I "lied about the condition". Did I do any of those things? Intentionally? No. Are the dozens of other items I sell likely scratched? No.

Just don't leave feedback at all. The only way I would use negative feedback would be if someone refused to work with me.

Not everyone who sells on Ebay is a pro. I'm not and I have no desire to be. I only make about $400 a month with these sales. I have no desire to do any more than that. Once my house is de-cluttered, I will probably stop selling, actually because there are way more sketchy buyers out there than sellers. In the 10 years I've been using Ebay as a buyer and seller, I have never come across a bad seller but have had issues with numerous bad buyers.

Also - I routinely have to pay out of my own pocket to ship things. If you don't ship stuff regularly, how do you know if shipping is inflated? Do you have any idea how much shipping materials cost? I get people complaining about my shipping prices all the time and I have never once charged more than what I actually paid to ship. Sometimes they complain when I charge LESS than I charge to ship. It's expensive. A medium sized USPS flat rate box is $10.70… And that's before bubble wrap, shipping tape, etc.

I very rarely say anything is "great shape!" unless I'm sure it is...it's all perception. I look at each item carefully, but yes, Ican miss a stray pencil mark in a book. For a CD I would say, condition is fine with light scratching. Also, if you are selling cds, you can ship media very cheaply or even first class super cheap. No need for priority prices. If I wonder how much to charge I weigh my items in their packaging before I list them..I go to USPS site and put in my zip code and one far far away and then get a fair price. I build in a tiny margin..no more than a quarter or two for incidentals...sometimes I end up eating some shipping. The buyer can also figure out how much it should cost to ship this same way. Sometimes it is ridiculous what it costs, but I explain in the listing..it will weigh such and such and this is the rate from USPS. Even though I try like mad to keep everyone happy I will occasionally get someone who really just wants trouble. I always take back an item and give full refund in the rare instance this happens..my worst one recently was a guy wanted a refund but to keep the item...filed a negative and opened a disupte. I kept saying the same thing over and over..return for refund inluding shipping. Finally that's what happened, so I don't know why this guy wanted drama. Then, when I have someone like this I block them from any further auctions. Overall, though, people are nice and I've had good experiences buying and selling.