What percentage of ebay buyers are just plain stupid?

[bigtrain]

Recently started selling stuff on ebay. So I put up an item that has recently sold there for $250.00. Mine is damaged. I describe the damage fully in the listing and include a dozen pictures including three showing the damage. The item sells for $96.00. I' m happy. Surprise! I get an email this morning telling me that the item was received yesterday but its damaged. Of course, the damage complained of is exactly the damage I pictured and described.

[sdkammeyer]

I made an attempt to run an ebay "business" about 10 years ago and gave it up for much the same reasons. Yes, some people are just ignorant.

I recently started selling things on ebay again and sure enough, within a week I had my first "idiot". (I mean that very lightly, as we ALL make mistakes)

I was selling an item as "new open box" and clearly stated in my description that since the box was already open (this was a bathroom exhaust fan) i took everything out of the box, tested the fan, made sure all the parts/pieces were there, put everything back in the box, and sealed it back up. The buyer left me negative feedback saying "it looks like the box has been opened before and i think the fan was used".

Jeez ........ wow.

Luckily I was able to point the buyer to the big bold letters in my item description that he never read and he was able to revise the feedback. I got lucky on that one, but unfortunately I know it I won't always get lucky like that. Some people just don't read, and then get defensive when you point that out to them.

[Exhibitman]

50% of them are dumber than the average ebay buyer.

[EvilKing00]

ROFL - a few years back I sold a 1987 topps barry bonds rookie to an "idiot" he left me bad feedback saying i didnt give him a bonds rookie. i just dont get people

[thecatspajamas]

"What percentage of ebay buyers are just plain stupid?"

By my experience, licking one finger and holding in the air, I'd say about 10%. If by "just plain stupid" you mean they don't read past the listing title, don't look at the photos, don't read the description, don't understand the concept of combined shipping, don't read the description, think that low-grade/worn/used items should look brand new, don't read the description, and somehow thought they were bidding on something else. Add in those who win an auction and don't pay, make an accepted offer and don't pay, and Buy It Now and don't pay, all with zero communication, and the percentage goes up. But yeah, 10% in the collectibles world feels about right. May be higher in other categories

[D. Bergin]

With the onset of more people bidding on items through their mobile devices, who don't have experience of knowing how the auctions are set up in a larger viewing format, get ready for lots more "not reading the descriptions", or not clicking on the multiple pictures.

[thxforthebp]

I recently sold a non sports signed photo. After having the item for just about the 45 day limit. I get an email saying he didn't think the item was authentic and wants his money back plus $125 extra for his time. After I issued a refund since he was threatening negative feedback and telling this to eBay he decided now that he got his money back he didn't want to even return the item which he keep for another 2 weeks. It took me contacting the police and telling him this to have him finally return the item since he had over $500 of my money tied up for over a month with his nonsense.

[JollyElm]

There are two types of people in the world: idiots and bigger idiots.

[t206hound]

Originally Posted by thxforthebp

I recently sold a non sports signed photo. After having the item for just about the 45 day limit. I get an email saying he didn't think the item was authentic and wants his money back plus $125 extra for his time. After I issued a refund since he was threatening negative feedback and telling this to eBay he decided now that he got his money back he didn't want to even return the item which he keep for another 2 weeks. It took me contacting the police and telling him this to have him finally return the item since he had over $500 of my money tied up for over a month with his nonsense.

If you ever get a message that threatens negative feedback, you should immediately report it to ebay. I had one of those a year or so ago, reported it and eBay took care of it from there.

[drc]

My dumb encounter was I sold a wirephoto to a guy (photos shown) and he was disappointed as he thought it was going to be a slide.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

There are two types of people in the world: idiots and bigger idiots.

I had a friend who used to say everything could be grouped into two categories: 'great' and 'not so great'.

As far as ebayers, I've probably met more 'not so great' sellers than buyers.

[Michael B]

A vast majority of the buyers from me have been very good over the years. I have had 2 negatives since starting in 2000 and both were morons.

1) I got a Rawlings Official Major League ball signed by Luis Gonzalez at a sporting goods convention. I described it as such as I knew the difference between ROML, ROA and RON. They buyer complained because it was not an RON even though the description was clear. Newbie, moron with a below 20 feedback.

2) This summer sold a photo out of the Jim Wiggins collection signed by Olympic medalist and world champ boxer Lou Salica. This photo was a non-glossy photo printed on heavy paper, almost cardstock. It was described as printed on thick paper. The Brazilian buyer (ciscogu) emailed saying it was a photocopy photo and signature and he wanted his money back. He insisted that I refund his money before he returned the item. I will not do that, not for $5.00, not for $500.00. He threatened me and immediately left negative feedback. Interestingly ebay agreed with my assessent of the situation and did not refund him from my paypal. They did not remove the negative, but did send several emails letting me know their investigation found I was in the right. Solution: NO more shipping to South America even though this may have been the first, it was the last.

[cpbronco]

I guess I've been lucky. I've been selling for about a year and a half and other than a couple non-payers, I haven't had any issues. Of course, the stuff I'm usually selling is low value stuff that doesn't need any authentication or anything like that.

I have read the horror stories about sellers getting scammed and the general idiots out there who apparently can't read. Twice when selling two higher value items I had bidders sent me several messages asking about stuff that was clearly described in the listing. After the second message from each of them, I just blocked the bidders. Much easier than dealing with them after the sale.

[Runscott]

As a seller, most problems have come from selling very inexpensive items that weren't sports, weren't collectible, and I should have given to Goodwill. People get very anal about very stupid insignificant stuff, but sports collectors seem to be pretty cool overall.

[Fuddjcal]

I always painfully describe items though description and multiple pictures resulting in less money.... sometimes. As far as baseballs, it does irk me when sellers don't describe them and only take 1 picture. How hard is it to take a picture of the back? You just have to not purchase from numb skulls like that I guess.

I have a case with an idiot right now after paying for an item immediately like I always do, it takes the ass clown 8 days to ship, and the item is not to me yet after an additional 9 days. I just open cases with e-bay these days like I open a can of beans...I don't care anymore. I don't try to work it out with the seller. I'm tired of their B.S. Open a case and let e-bay sort through it. I especially open a case immediately when the jack asses love to put "NO RETURNS" in their auction. If it's not as described or damaged...it's going back no matter what their stupid ad says. When I sell, they can return the Item anytime, no questions asked if their not happy, I don't really give a crap.

This idiot tells me (only after I open the case) that he will "check with the USPS because it's a package and not a letter" and provides no tracking#. (good luck with calling the usps to track a package with-out a tracking number buddy) after the case is settled, he's going to get an accurate assessment of his performance which is negative feedback no matter what he does. Yes E-bayers are about 10-20% morons and losers, which is less than the average in our society today. look around, people are idiots everywhere.

[slidekellyslide]

My latest idiot was a buyer that bought something that required UPS shipping..they made three attempts to deliver to him and UPS finally called me to tell me it was on its way back to me. The buyer who made no attempt to get this item from his local UPS tells me that I have to pay to ship it back to him. No way in H E double hockey sticks is that going to happen.

[prewarsports]

Not trying to sound sexist here but if you have a Woman buyer you have a MUCH higher potential of them being pissed off. Sell stuff women dont want and you eliminate a lot of problems. What Scott said is also true, cheap stuff brings out the a-holes in large numbers. So if you have a $9 photo of a princess, you're screwed!

I have sold on ebay for 14 years and sold tens of thousands of items with only a handful of real problems. I only sell stuff guys want in general and I only try to list things worth more than 30-40 as my bottom limit and I seem to eliminate 99% of the items that bring the problems out of the woodwork.

Not trying to be an elitist/sexist jerk, but it works.

Now if I could just find a way to eliminate the EBAY caused problems, I would be able to live a Zen-Like existance!

Rhys

[buymycards]

Rhys, I agree with you on the $30-$40 limits. All of my problems and npb's come from sales under 5 bucks and bidders with feedback of under 20. I have been thinking seriously about bundling my items and not selling anything under 30 bucks.

Rick

[slidekellyslide]

I get a lot of buyers who fish for partial refunds, but my policy is flat out return the product for a full refund, I do NOT give partial refunds. Very rarely do items get returned by partial refund fishermen. I also don't give a crap about my star rating anymore since ebay has made it virtually impossible to get the discount so I am far less likely to cave into unreasonable buyers than I was just a few months ago.

[esd10]

at the buisness i work in we sell are products on ebay which is a good way to get ride of overstock but man about 2/3 of the people we deal with are just plain dumb and they expect something for free.

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I get a lot of buyers who fish for partial refunds, but my policy is flat out return the product for a full refund, I do NOT give partial refunds. Very rarely do items get returned by partial refund fishermen. I also don't give a crap about my star rating anymore since ebay has made it virtually impossible to get the discount so I am far less likely to cave into unreasonable buyers than I was just a few months ago.

At the risk of jinxing myself, I have never had a buyer ask for a partial refund. What possible reason would they have for even asking?

I've had some knuckleheads who can't read, and in particular one SOB from Philly who returned items on a whim until I blocked him. But so far, that's the worst.

Ken

[RobertGT]

I agree with the statement that about 10 percent of eBay buyers are idiots. Most of the idiots I encounter are idiots who buy my stuff and then never pay. The vast majority of my buyers are great.

Every once in awhile I get an idiot who is also a jerk who must be immediately added to my "blocked buyer" list, like this clown who sent me this note after I had the audacity to turn down his UNSOLICITED lowball offer. I never had a "best offer" option on the card, which coincidentally sold a few hours later at my BIN price.

To: me

after a month shove it . thanks for the dumb comments, i dont care what you did in 13 yrs . what does feed have to do with covering a transaction..bye dummy"

-

I got that response after replying to his offer with this:

I think I will hold out for awhile. If it's still for sale in a month or so email me again and I'll sell it. And I've never not sent a card in 13 years on eBay. Check my feedback.
Thanks,
Rob

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

At the risk of jinxing myself, I have never had a buyer ask for a partial refund. What possible reason would they have for even asking?

I've had some knuckleheads who can't read, and in particular one SOB from Philly who returned items on a whim until I blocked him. But so far, that's the worst.

Ken

Partial refund fishers will make up reasons to ask for a partial refund which is why they hardly ever return the item. I once had a buyer do that to me twice saying the item was damaged in shipping....the first time I gave the partial refund and just went about my business...when he purchased from me again a few months later he claimed the same thing..I recognized his name and asked him for photos...he never replied to me at all, so I just went ahead and blocked him. Then a few months later he tried to bid on another of my items and got pissed off that he was blocked. He sent me a nasty email and said the item would have sold for ten times what it sold for if he'd been allowed to bid. I just ignored him...Maybe a month or so later he requested my contact info from ebay. I sent him an email telling him if he uses my address for anything I would call his local police. Haven't heard a thing since then. Ebay is full of weirdos.

[slidekellyslide]

Yeah, I am currently dealing with another idiot. Just got a message from him that says "DO NOT WANT TO BUY"...I told him it's too late and he already bought it...he comes back with "YOUR EBAY AD SAYS I CAN RETURN IT"...I told him you haven't even gotten it yet...he replies "I DONT CARE I WANT MY MONEY BACK I FOUND SOMETHING ELSE I WANT TO BUY".

Here's the item.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:X:RTQ:US:1123

His feedback is 66.7%, I think I'll cut my losses and refund him right away before I end up with another stalker idiot

His ebay id is nj1098 if you guys want to block him.

[Runscott]

That's strange. I've never had anyone ask for a partial refund, but I've had a few complain really loudly, then stop when I told them to send it back for a full refund.

My attitude did bite me once - I sold a very valuable tintype for the opening bid of $1,000 and was quite disappointed. The buyer sent me a nasty email, BEFORE I shipped it, saying that it was an obvious fake, and that he had talked with experts. This was back before ebay put all their energy behind the buyers. So he ended up with a great deal on a rare piece, and I got screwed, but my overly-large ego was still intact.

[thecatspajamas]

I definitely agree with the "no partial refunds, only returns for full refund" policy. Not only does it weed out the partial fishers, but also at least some of the bums with just enough energy to type an e-mail but not enough to actually pack it back up and go to the post office. It doesn't work every time, and I've had to eat the return shipping costs in a few instances (paid upon return of the item), but more often than not informing them of my return policy is the last e-mail I have to send.

Interestingly, eBay sent an e-mail not too long ago letting me know about a new no-hassle-returns program they were launching. In short, the buyer could opt to return the item and have eBay print a return shipping label and deduct the return shipping cost from the seller's account, all without ever having to contact the seller. They suggested I should opt in (thankfully it's not mandatory, yet) as it would "minimize necessary communication" between the buyer and seller. Shya right! Sounds like an awesome program if you want to operate a lending library and prop up the postal system with extra shipments! I went ahead and deleted that e-mail so that I don't even accidentally click on anything that looks like ACCEPT.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Runscott

That's strange. I've never had anyone ask for a partial refund, but I've had a few complain really loudly, then stop when I told them to send it back for a full refund.

My attitude did bite me once - I sold a very valuable tintype for the opening bid of $1,000 and was quite disappointed. The buyer sent me a nasty email, BEFORE I shipped it, saying that it was an obvious fake, and that he had talked with experts. This was back before ebay put all their energy behind the buyers. So he ended up with a great deal on a rare piece, and I got screwed, but my overly-large ego was still intact.

Personally I wouldn't have shipped it. I'd have probably refunded and relisted later.


The partial refunds thing is not so uncommon for at least one collectible. 16mm films are hard to photograph, and worse to try to explain the condition. Many are worn at the start but are fine after, and what's badly worn to one person is just fine for another. And since lots of feature films are 4-500 and expensive to ship there's a bit of willingness to work with a buyer if there's a problem. Especially internationally.

I've had a few things sell that didn't work out, but the buyers ended up happy. I don't have a return policy, because each situation is different.
I had a bunch of BMX helmets I'd bought from a defunct distributor. Each came in a carrying bag. One I sold the guy emaild saying it had cracks and looked repaired. I hadn't checked anything more than glancing at the color and size, so I asked for pics. He sent pics showing the edge cracking and what looked like glue near the plastic bit that covered the edge. I shipped a replacement before he'd even asked. That was my second reply. "Geez that looks bad I should have checked all of them a bit better. A good one is going out with todays mail." Talk about surprised! Even better, when he asked about return shipping I told him to keep the broken one. He wondered what he'd do with it and I told him to have a local airbrush or grafitti guy have at it and make it into a lamp base. He thought that was a great idea.

I've had a few others that were similar, but all cheap stuff. If the people are nice and I made a mistake I usually just refund and tell them to keep it.

If they're complaining, and demanding about something that's not my mistake I usually don't do much for them.
"But LL Bean has free shipping both ways"
"When I have their sales I'll do that too until then I don't pay return shipping"

And my descriptions are usually brief. (Unlike my posts)

This is a card #year player excellent condition
shipping in the US 1.50 international at cost.
And a couple nice big pictures front and back.

"How much is shipping to Florida"
"Do you have a scan of the back"
"Is this a rookie card"
"What's the card number"

Yeah, I usually wait a few hours before answering so I can be polite.

Steve B

[pow323]

At least 50% of the people on Ebay, the same as in this country!!!!!!!!!!

[jsage]

Looking for some advice as to delivery to buyers.
I always use US Postal Delivery Confirmations for all my sales.
As I am sure you have experienced, many buyers do not post feedback that acknowledges receipt of the item sold.
How long do you keep the post office "documnents" - just in case, at a later date, a buyer claims he did not receive the merchandise?
Thanks,
Jerry Sage

[Exhibitman]

I differ with most on the partial refund issue. If it is a buyer's remorse issue, that's one thing, but sometimes there is a good basis for the request. I can recall at least two occasions where I received a card that was improperly packed and ended up slightly damaged--a crease or a ding [and always when the seller has charged me for shipping]. The conundrum arises when there is a rare item for which I have been waiting and for which I paid top dollar. I'm not going to send it back for minor damage that kills the technical grade but I am definitely going to reach out to the seller and make it known that he messed up and I am disappointed. If that makes me a "refund fisher" so be it, but my view is that if a seller messes up and he and the buyer can reach a reasonable accommodation that leaves both sides satisfied, it is better than having a disappointed buyer, especially when ebay so closely ties performance rankings to discounts and other benefits, or an unwound transaction that disappoints the buyer. If it makes you feel better as a seller to know that you will never be victimized by a 'refund fisher' than it does to issue a partial refund for a genuine issue you caused, that's entirely your decision. Me, I'd rather reach an accommodation that all parties can accept and not waste my time relisting, reselling and reshipping an item. Also, the vast majority of people I've dealt with are honest and of good intent, and I prefer to assume that to be the case when I enter into a deal. Plus, my goal is to have a satisfied customer who will order from me again, not someone who had a bad experience and won't look at my next listings. If all that takes is a discount when I am at fault, I'm doing it.

One other point is that for a buyer it is often quite costly to send back an item, especially if it is large or heavy, and some of the derided 'fishers' may have been legitimate people who did not want to incur the cost. I had to return a large item that arrived in a Beckett slab that had been damaged in transit and it cost me 25% of the item price to send it back.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by steve B

If they're complaining, and demanding about something that's not my mistake I usually don't do much for them.
"But LL Bean has free shipping both ways"
"When I have their sales I'll do that too until then I don't pay return shipping"

"But LL Bean has free shipping both ways"
"Then go buy it from LL Bean."

[kmac32]

My wife recently was selling a sweater on eBay. The sweater was a large upper end sweater in excellent condition. We had pictures of the sweater, tag said large and was pictured. An idiot low feedback broad bid the sweater up and we shipped it to her. We get an email from this persons daughter saying she didn't bid on the item and she didn't know how we got her address. An hour later we get an email saying her mother had used TTY account to buy it. A few days later without contacting us, the "mother" left negative feedback saying the sweater didn't fit her and couldn't be a large sweater. At no point did she ever ask for measurements on the sweater. Maybe the sweater just didn't fit her body type ( probably obese) . Of course eBay left the feedback leaving this as our only negative feedback ever. If the buyer would have contacted us, maybe we might have helped her out. Apparently she was to stupid to know how to communicate!

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I differ with most on the partial refund issue. If it is a buyer's remorse issue, that's one thing, but sometimes there is a good basis for the request. I can recall at least two occasions where I received a card that was improperly packed and ended up slightly damaged--a crease or a ding [and always when the seller has charged me for shipping]. The conundrum arises when there is a rare item for which I have been waiting and for which I paid top dollar. I'm not going to send it back for minor damage that kills the technical grade but I am definitely going to reach out to the seller and make it known that he messed up and I am disappointed. If that makes me a "refund fisher" so be it, but my view is that if a seller messes up and he and the buyer can reach a reasonable accommodation that leaves both sides satisfied, it is better than having a disappointed buyer, especially when ebay so closely ties performance rankings to discounts and other benefits, or an unwound transaction that disappoints the buyer. If it makes you feel better as a seller to know that you will never be victimized by a 'refund fisher' than it does to issue a partial refund for a genuine issue you caused, that's entirely your decision. Me, I'd rather reach an accommodation that all parties can accept and not waste my time relisting, reselling and reshipping an item. Also, the vast majority of people I've dealt with are honest and of good intent, and I prefer to assume that to be the case when I enter into a deal. Plus, my goal is to have a satisfied customer who will order from me again, not someone who had a bad experience and won't look at my next listings. If all that takes is a discount when I am at fault, I'm doing it.

One other point is that for a buyer it is often quite costly to send back an item, especially if it is large or heavy, and some of the derided 'fishers' may have been legitimate people who did not want to incur the cost. I had to return a large item that arrived in a Beckett slab that had been damaged in transit and it cost me 25% of the item price to send it back.

I should make it clear that I will refund if I feel it is my fault...I have sometimes refunded the full price and let the buyer keep the item. I take lots of photos, or scans in the case of baseball cards, and pack extremely well. The refund fishers are almost always easy to spot by checking the feedback they give to others.

And if someone is just blatantly dishonest I don't care for their future business. I had a lady buy a Nebraska pinback button from me which she said was in horrible condition, water damaged, et cetera. I have tons of experience with pinbacks, there was no water damage, and it was in excellent shape. Did she want to return it for a refund? No, she wanted half her money back. On a whim I checked the feedback she gives to others, it was almost all negative positives and neutrals.

Overall though my experience as a seller is a good one...I sell a ton of items on ebay and it's way less than 1% of buyers that give me a headache. I also believe that the pendulum is swinging back towards protecting the sellers a bit better than they had been.

[earlywynnfan]

I usually sell baseballs, and my listings almost always start off with "Official ONL Coleman ball..." Yet almost weekly I get "What kind of ball is it on??"

Paragraph three states: "I do combine shipping, add $1 for each additional ball won." (This was just cut and pasted from an actual listing.) Again, weekly: "Do you combine shipping?"

Sometimes I think people ask just to drive me nuts.

Ken

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

I differ with most on the partial refund issue. If it is a buyer's remorse issue, that's one thing, but sometimes there is a good basis for the request... If it makes you feel better as a seller to know that you will never be victimized by a 'refund fisher' than it does to issue a partial refund for a genuine issue you caused, that's entirely your decision.

FWIW, with my "no partial refunds" policy statement, that was with the understanding that I can and do make exceptions when I screw up. I've also been doing this long enough to know when I'm either being falsely or improperly blamed for something that was fabricated or not my fault.

As others have said, approach me with a legitimate complaint and without cursing in your e-mail, and I'm far more likely to work with you than if you open your message with "Hey dummy!"

[Fuddjcal]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

I usually sell baseballs, and my listings almost always start off with "Official ONL Coleman ball..." Yet almost weekly I get "What kind of ball is it on??"

Paragraph three states: "I do combine shipping, add $1 for each additional ball won." (This was just cut and pasted from an actual listing.) Again, weekly: "Do you combine shipping?"

Sometimes I think people ask just to drive me nuts.

Ken

take a picture of the back anyway Early and it will lesson the confusion. They give you 12 free pics these days and there's no reason not to show the legal morons on e-bay what their getting. If the balls nice, take a pic from all sides and you'll get more bidders. Unless you're trying to hide the giant toning marks all over the place which most sellers love to do.

[Fuddjcal]

I especially love the sellers who insist..."NO RETURNS" LOLOLOLOLOL. ( my weeks worth). They are usually the jerk offs that pack the item like an erratic 3rd grader causing damage to the item. Spend a week thinking about sending it. Send a $200.00 item with-out tracking that doesn't come for 3 weeks or not at all. NO RETURNS SELLER = IDIOT and the first sign of trouble with the item, such as damage or Not close to the description....the item is IMMEDIATELY going back to them with tracking at my expense PERIOD. I just open a case at the drop of a hat. I am so sick of idiots that you just have to take a stand against jack-offs. No wonder the country is so f'ed up. They can't string together a sentence or put pictures that accurately represent what they want to sell. But I'm not Bitter

[BigJJ]

My wife sold a $600 handbag on eBay via auction a few weeks ago. The buyer asks to send it back. Even though we had listed "no returns", and a dozen high resolution photos, we agree to take the bag back.

The bag arrives back in a box with a hole the size of my arm.

The bag was severly damaged by the shards of the cardboard hole, and hitting surroundings while in transit.

I email the buyer to inform her about the damage in shipping, due to the gaping hole in the box. She writes that she didn't think the hole would cause damage.

In other words, she purposely shipped a $600 bag in a box with a big hole. and with no insurance.

And here's the kicker, even though she admitted via ebay messages to sending back the bag in a box with a gaping hole, ebay's initial decision was in her favor. I am now in the appeals process, trying to explain to morons at eBay, that just because someone makes a (bs) claim of 'item not as described', that this does not give an individual the right to destroy the item, and then receive a full refund.

How does the buyer, and apparently at least one person at eBay, think it is reasonable to ship back an item, and an expensive delicate item at that, in a box with a huge hole?

[BigJJ]

And then eBay asked me if I had filed an incident report with the police.

What? I guarantee you the NYPD is not properly involved in this handbag shipping matter.

It's not criminal, it's civil.

Who is misdirecting these eBay morons that you're supposed to file an incident report with the police upon receipt of a damaged eBay item.

[thecatspajamas]

Good luck with that appeals process. My experience has been that the eBay "handlers" have at least as high a percentage of idiots as the buyers, if not higher. And the ones who aren't idiots have their hands tied by the same stupid policies favoring the buyer that started the whole thing.

If you're lucky, you can get them to remove a negative feedback comment or a string of low star scores. If it's something that is going to cost eBay money to reverse, fuggeddaboutit

[BigJJ]

Well I appreciate the comradeship. Unfortunately, I bet you're right.

It appears that in ways, they may be acting uniformally incorrect. Wonder if that makes them vulnerable to class action suits.

Requiring the filing, or attempted filing, of a police incident report, in order to move forward, seems very bizarre and wrong. and costs people much time, perhaps intended.

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by BigJJ

Requiring the filing, or attempted filing, of a police incident report, in order to move forward, seems very bizarre and wrong. and costs people much time, perhaps intended.

That is a new one to me. I know they have a process for which a seller can file what is basically the reverse of an item not as described claim for when buyers return items (in case the buyer sent back and empty box, with tracking, to "prove" they returned it). I've never had to go through that, but filing a police report for what amounts to poor packaging on the return trip? That sounds like someone going a little rogue and throwing anything they can think of out there to get you derailed, throw up your hands, and ultimately stop calling/e-mailing. Either that, or the eBay handler dealing with you selected the wrong boilerplate response to your appeal.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by BigJJ

My wife sold a $600 handbag on eBay via auction a few weeks ago. The buyer asks to send it back. Even though we had listed "no returns", and a dozen high resolution photos, we agree to take the bag back.

The bag arrives back in a box with a hole the size of my arm.

The bag was severly damaged by the shards of the cardboard hole, and hitting surroundings while in transit.

I email the buyer to inform her about the damage in shipping, due to the gaping hole in the box. She writes that she didn't think the hole would cause damage.

In other words, she purposely shipped a $600 bag in a box with a big hole. and with no insurance.

And here's the kicker, even though she admitted via ebay messages to sending back the bag in a box with a gaping hole, ebay's initial decision was in her favor. I am now in the appeals process, trying to explain to morons at eBay, that just because someone makes a (bs) claim of 'item not as described', that this does not give an individual the right to destroy the item, and then receive a full refund.

How does the buyer, and apparently at least one person at eBay, think it is reasonable to ship back an item, and an expensive delicate item at that, in a box with a huge hole?

Yeah, of the few returns I've gotten back, in almost every case it was shipped back way flimsier then I sent it out in, and damaged in the process.

I had one guy buy a boxing record book from me. For some reason he didn't look at the picture or read the description because he called and complained that the book was a softcover. A Hardcover of this book doesn't exist. He wanted to return it.

I sent it to him in protective packaging in a box, he sent it back to me in a paper bag. The cover on the book was completely trashed. At first I thought it got trashed in shipping, but after looking at it closer I became convinced he simply upgraded his lower condition copy with my higher condition copy and I got a piece of trash in return.

Had another guy send me a Muhammad Ali iron on back to him because it wasn't a decal. Reinforced packing on the way to him. Put in a letter envelope with a stamp and completely trashed by the time it got back to me.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Yeah, of the few returns I've gotten back, in almost every case it was shipped back way flimsier then I sent it out in, and damaged in the process.

I had one guy buy a boxing record book from me. For some reason he didn't look at the picture or read the description because he called and complained that the book was a softcover. A Hardcover of this book doesn't exist. He wanted to return it.

I sent it to him in protective packaging in a box, he sent it back to me in a paper bag. The cover on the book was completely trashed. At first I thought it got trashed in shipping, but after looking at it closer I became convinced he simply upgraded his lower condition copy with my higher condition copy and I got a piece of trash in return.

Had another guy send me a Muhammad Ali iron on back to him because it wasn't a decal. Reinforced packing on the way to him. Put in a letter envelope with a stamp and completely trashed by the time it got back to me.

I collect postcards and buy a bunch off of ebay...I'm never surprised when my $2-$3 shipping paid for a first class stamp and an envelope with no protection. I must say though that I've never gotten a damaged postcard that was sent that way so I guess I'm lucky, but I always wonder how these sellers still have 4.9-5.0 ratings for shipping and handling.

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I collect postcards and buy a bunch off of ebay...I'm never surprised when my $2-$3 shipping paid for a first class stamp and an envelope with no protection. I must say though that I've never gotten a damaged postcard that was sent that way so I guess I'm lucky, but I always wonder how these sellers still have 4.9-5.0 ratings for shipping and handling.

As a buyer, I leave feedback as soon as the package is open. Unless there is a major problem, I don't spend time choosing. Everyone gets 5 stars across the board these days. I am a combination of nice guy, lazy and busy. I am certain I am not alone.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I collect postcards and buy a bunch off of ebay...I'm never surprised when my $2-$3 shipping paid for a first class stamp and an envelope with no protection. I must say though that I've never gotten a damaged postcard that was sent that way so I guess I'm lucky, but I always wonder how these sellers still have 4.9-5.0 ratings for shipping and handling.

I just received a rare cyanotype baseball 'in action' postcard, and the seller had simply put it in a slip and stuck it in a disc mailer. It was bent in half. He offered a full refund, but I only paid around $9 for it, and it was worth more than that to me, even bent. I just don't get it.

[BigJJ]

Ebay reversed its decision! I guess the buyer purposely shipping the item back in a box with a huge hole, and stating so in writing three times, along with photos of the box with hole, damaged bag, and hours of time, did the trick. I am amazed.

[cobblove]

Lets see the pics you took of the whole and bag?

[BigJJ]

Pics of bag are inaccessible now but here is the box with hole that the $600 delicate bag was shipped in, jostling against the shards of cardboard for nearly a week.

[Scott Garner]

Nice!