OT (sort of) -- Some venting from an ebay seller

[cubsguy1969]

Hi, guys. This is kind of off topic, but it could easily apply to sales of cards, so I'm hoping Leon will let me vent here.

Has anyone else noticed that buyers are getting more and more demanding, sometimes to the point of obnoxiousness? I’d say 95 percent (maybe a little higher) are great, but then there’s that 3 to 5 percent. People who expect everything shipped out 2 minutes after they make a purchase, people who demand tracking and insurance on a $10 item but don’t want to pay for it, people who ask you to lie on customs forms, etc., etc. Maybe it’s just coincidence and I’ve had a run of bad luck, but it seems that way.

Anyway, here’s the latest one. I sold some mid-19th century books for about $220 to a Canadian buyer. He paid quickly (much appreciated), but then asked me to lie on the customs form and put the value at $10, and to claim it was a sample. I refused, he got nasty, and we eventually voided the transacation and agreed to part ways (fairly amicably after many e-mail exchanges).

So then I send a second-chance offer to the underbidder (at $212 or something). No response. I shoot him an e-mail to see if he’s interested in the books for $200 and I’ll throw in shipping. He agrees, I send him my info, and I never hear back from him. I send him another message asking if he changed his mind. No response. I e-mail him once more, asking for him to please let me know, and telling him I’ll make it a buy-it-now just on the chance that he’s fearful my second-chance offer was a scam. No response. I give up and relist the books, with my opening bid of $100 (which I would have been perfectly happy getting in the first place). Guess who won the auction for $107. That underbidder. Should I be pissed? I don’t care all that much that he got them for cheaper. I took my chances relisting the books with the $100 opening bid. I just find it extremely distasteful that he ignored my repeated messages, backed out of an agreement without a word to me, then bid in the auction and got the books at a much cheaper price. (In hindsight, I should have blocked him. But I hate to do that to people.)

Anyway, what do you guys think? I’m very tempted to simply reneg on the auction and just take the negative feedback. It galls me to have to send this guy the books. And again, it’s not about the money. Obviously, I’d like the higher price, but that’s not what bothers me.

Feel free to share your thoughts and other issues maybe you’ve had as an ebay seller. I’ve been both buyer and seller, and I believe ebay’s weighed things so heavily in the buyer’s favor that it’s to the point of ridiculousness. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.


Rob