Jump to content

Im done selling gear on eBay, due to dishonest Buyers


synthetica

Recommended Posts

  • Members

After 12 years of many successful gear auctions, I am fed up with eBay and the dishonest buyers who by gear. In the past month I have had 2 cases opened against me for refunds by buyers on gear that was practically brand new, factory fresh because the buyer did not know what they were buying and wanted to send it back. EBays Resolution Case policy almost always sides with the buyer even when the buyer is being dishonest. None the less I will be closing my account on Ebay, as it is not worth the hassle any more. It really used to be a great way to sell gear but not any longer.

Anyone else have any bad buyer horror stories?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I sold my Triton a couple of months ago. Almost gave up on ebay this time...

1st listing, winning bidder had no feedback and had only created their account that same day. I canceled their bid and re-listed.

2nd listing, winning bidder didn't pay, then came up with a silly explanation of not thinking shipping charges would be added. When I raised an unpaid item case against them they got abusive, obtained my contact details from ebay (can't believe how easy it was for them) and started to stalk me by email, phone, etc... kinda scary. I gave in to the intimidation and canceled the auction just to be rid of them.

3rd listing... renewed my faith in mankind. Great buyer, paid on time, and was very happy with his purchase. Sigh of relief.

Overall not a great experience, but it worked out in the end. So I might use ebay again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My {censored}ty eBay experience was as a buyer. Purchased a AX7 keytar from a buyer with a 99.7% "positive" rating. Item was listed as being in "excellent" condition, all the buttons working and only "cosmetic" scratches.

The item arrived - there was a HUGE crack in the "neck" of the unit. It was not just a superficial thing - when you held the unit with your hand on the neck - the crack actually flexed. It wasn't anything that happened during shipping - because you could see the discoloration of the plastic around the crack itself. The "all the buttons" claim was roughly 50% true.

I opened the box, took one look at the device and immediately started a claim.

Never again. I'll take my chances with Craigslist - and only on items that I can see prior to purchasing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yea seems it works both ways both bad and bad.

I dont want to get into any details here as it is not the place, but in both cases eBay found in the dishonest buyers favor to submit a full refund to them.

ironically the items returned to me were resold and commanded an even higher price than originally sold for to the dishonest buyers and the second buyers were extremely happy with there purchases. One of these the original buyer claimed it did not work but was in perfect working order when I received it back.

Even so the whole process is extremely frustrating so much so that I will no longer subject myself to it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

For me, Craigslist is the way to go. When buying, I get to check out the item thoroughly before handing over the money, there are no shipping hassles, no shill bidders to drive up the price artificially, no items broken in transit, and I get to haggle with the seller in person. And when I'm selling gear, there are no listing fees to pay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I've had a few lame experiences on Ebay too.

One of my listings said US shipping only and some guy in France won the auction. We had to do a neutral feedback thing, which still kind of bugs me because I've got 100%+ except for the one neutral.

Then I sold an Alesis Micron to a dude that refused to pay or respond. Had to re-list. A pain in the ass and a waste of a week and a half.

Bought a relatively pricey remote controlled helicopter that was listed as "New in box" but the factory seal had been broken and there was a big scuff on the nose. When I politely complained to the seller he promised he'd give me a full refund if I left him positive feedback, and stupidly I trusted him. The tosser only gave me half of my money back. So I tried filing a complaint with Ebay for feedback extortion and sent them the chain of emails. They didn't do a damn thing. Although I ended up getting a bit of revenge by posting about the seller on some RC hobby forums. Plenty of folks thanking me for warning them, as many had considered purchasing from him.

Then I had an issue with their policy change that froze my PayPal funds until feedback was left from the buyer. I used my card that was tied to the account and got overdraft fees. I had no clue they'd changed their policy and the funds showed as "available" but they really weren't. It's crap, and also ridiculous that I had to wait weeks for the buyer to release the money after it had arrived.

I'm not having much luck selling some gear right now. I know it's the holidays and a bad time to be selling gear but I really don't want to have to list it on Ebay. My Craigslist posts get shoved down in a matter of hours, drowned in a ocean of cheap gawdy guitars, free pianos and consumer grade Casio boards. rolleyes.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Quote Originally Posted by zoink

View Post

For me, Craigslist is the way to go. When buying, I get to check out the item thoroughly before handing over the money, there no shipping hassles, no shill bidders to drive up the price artificially, no items broken in transit, and I get to haggle with the seller in person. And when I'm selling gear, there are no listing fees to pay.

 

In the real world you know more or less where the "avoid" zones of town are. The web affords this shady element free, anonymous run. Worse, I think it's built into the equation.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

What you guys are experiencing is normal in retail world. There will always be abusive buyers, sellers, etc. There will also be good people that you deal with. If you want to stick your neck out there and do business, you have to be ready because different types of people will respond...

Similar things will happen with Craigslist, buyers will want your items then back out, or when you meet with them they'll say "this is all I've got in cash..." which will be substantially less than what you agreed on... and so on.

Still, I usually try Craigs first to avoid the feebays, but even in an area as big as the Atlanta metro area, it's still difficult to sell things. I've been trying to sell a microphone for less than what it goes on Ebay, for months now. And I just ended up trading a guitar that I was selling for months as well - trade plus cash turned out to be more than I was asking for, but at least I got some cash and an acoustic that I needed anyway...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I've had a bizarre run on stuff, particularly buyers coming up with what i'm pretty sure are false 'faults' to try and haggle a refund.

One guy bought a pair of tannoy speakers from me that worked fine. He then complains that the sensitivity of them isn;t right and he knows this because he has an identical pair already that give a different loudness per watt. O_o and keeps asking me what i'm going to do about it, I tell him it seems unlikely something has failed in both that has no detrimental effect other than to alter the sensitivity so perhaps the manufacturers changed the spec? then he starts saying they're damaged and he wants a refund, then after about a week of arguing he decides that they arrived bashed up too only he didn;t mention it before and has fixed it anyway.

Another guy I sold a minidisk player to claimed it was a biological hazard due to the levels of cat hair and that it was so bad he couldn;t physically touch it and had to pick it up with tongs and carry it into the garage. I told him not to take the piss, he left me negative feedback with abusive comment that ebay are too half assed to remove.

I think some people will come up with any old crap just to get a couple of extra quid off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

It's true that whether you're selling on Ebay or CL you have to do your research and be aware of all the different scams people will try to pull. If you're selling on CL, it's a good idea to include as a byline "local cash sale only, no shipping, no scammers," etc. If they know up front that you're onto their game, scammers will tend to pass you up since they're really looking for that segment of the population that doesn't know how it works.

Craigslist certainly has its problems. The fact that it's free has invited opportunists of all sorts. Here in Austin, I've seen sellers list items for 2 to 3 times what they're worth FOR YEARS ON END just because they can.

The flip side is that I've dealt with sellers on CL who were very appreciative of the fact that I (1) showed up at the agreed upon time, (2) showed up at all, (3) came with a real intent to buy the item, and (4) was willing to pay a fair price based on market value. That illustrates how bad it is -- when people are so surprised and relieved that it goes smoothly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yeah it really sucks how much eBay went downhill, it seems like once they started implementing all the new "buyer protection" stuff a few years back it just went to {censored}, it's like these scumbags KNOW they can rip you off and eBay will do nothing about it and in fact protect THEM, it really is bull{censored}....

I was very fortunate that I had pretty much nothing but positive experiences on eBay, but this was years ago, and it was great cuz I was able to buy a ton of great stuff and then sell it all when I went 100% ITB....I only had a few minor inconviences, and they were always from zero or low feedback buyers, but luckily I never had any major issues...

It really sucks that it is what it is now, cuz it used to be a great way to buy and sell gear...oh well....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

this always happens when i sell an ipod or iphone

Hello,
Thank you for your email,I am okay with the price but I am sorry I
wont be able to show up because I am having a very tight schedule so
I wont be available to see the item but I want it shipped directly to
my cousin who is currently in Nigeria via Canada Xpress Post(Air
Mail) or most preferably UPS
seems legit
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Quote Originally Posted by zoink

View Post

For me, Craigslist is the way to go. When buying, I get to check out the item thoroughly before handing over the money, there are no shipping hassles, no shill bidders to drive up the price artificially, no items broken in transit, and I get to haggle with the seller in person. And when I'm selling gear, there are no listing fees to pay.

 

this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I had a flawless record as an ebay seller for almost a decade before I finally stopped using them for the same reasons.

My breaking point was selling a Oberheim Matrix 1000 in used but working condition to a dishonest buyer who as far as I can tell had buyers remorse and simply wanted his money back. He stated that it did not work when he received it. He even admitted to opening up the unit and tinkering with it in order to try to "fix" it even though he wasnt an electrician, and hammering the unit to try to straighten a bent rack ear. Even after providing all of this information from our EMAIL conversations to the rep handling the dispute case, ebay sided with the guy. I had to refund his money and if that wasnt enough, the buyer gave me my first negative feedback ever received after hundreds of transactions without any issues. And the best part of all was when I received the unit back, there was nothing wrong with it. No sign of tinkering, no hammered rack ear. facepalm.gif

But the thing that really put me off was the rep handling the case. It was obvious the buyer was trying to pull a fast one but all the rep could say was "Hey man, the customer is always right". Really douchebag? Are you not raking in the service fees everytime I make a sale? Am I not YOUR customer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

well, i always got cold feet when i needed to sell something on ebay, so i've got rid of most stuff on CL and have a couple of items in the closet. I'm very careful buying on ebay, and almost always send a question to the seller asking for more details about the condition or making sure it will be insured and packed well... depends on their response if i decide to bid. I have 123 purchases over 10 years and may have given one or two neutrals and can't recall if I gave a negative, even tho i've bought stuff and they didn't want to sell it, or had to send something back (maybe once). I always look at the seller experience and comments from their buyers to figure out if they are good sellers...u can usually figure it out from the jerkey comments.
That's better than a used Roland Juno G from Guitar Center that they shipped to me loose in a box, arriving not functional, but got a full refund.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Three years ago I worked for a major music equipment repair shop in Atlanta - one of the most common things we saw was keyboards coming in with missing circuit boards. Sellers would sell a keyboard on eBay (especially one that was out of production) and then would get it back with the buyer claiming that the device didn't work. Sellers would bring the keyboard to us for repair and when we opened it we'd find entire circuit boards missing. To add insult to injury, the client would then have to pay us for labor if they didn't elect to go ahead with ordering a replacement board, assuming it was available.

The only way I would sell something on eBay would be NO RETURN - NO REFUND.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have to say most of my experiences on ebay have been positive. Although I've had a few no pay / no contacts and I'm willing to bet the majority of them are either shill or hacked accounts that are meant to over bid your item to make another auction look better.

CL on the other hand is too brutal for me. When it was an emerging fad, you could buy and sell just about anything local within 24 hours (at least around here). These days you can't get a response out of anyone and then when you do it's either already sold or nobody wants your item for 6 months and it's all "well......................................... . I only have 15$ with me".

mad.gif GTFO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Quote Originally Posted by The Pro View Post

The only way I would sell something on eBay would be NO RETURN - NO REFUND.
This is what I don't understand about eBay. I actually have a NO Return policy applied to the auctions but any buyer can just open a case with Ebay and they FORCE you to accept a Return and issue a Refund regardless of the circumstances and is always processed in the buyers favor. Whats the use in allowing you to define a return policy if they are going to overide it anyways. confused.gifconfused.gifconfused.gif
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Funny I had a big problem selling this Hammond ABV. This guy was so back and forth. I talked with him on the phone. He was going to drive to hear in NYS from VA ( it should have been my first clue) to get this organ because it was a steal. It also had a 122 kit installed already. It had pedals but no bench. Anyway this guy dicked me on the sale and I had to relist it. Sometimes people with good feedback are just as bad and don

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I've had nothing but good experiences until recently.

I bought a vintage cassette tape from a guy and it arrived completely smashed. I mean, it was as if someone had stomped it into the ground.

I sent a photo of it to the seller and he said that while it wasn't his fault, he'd acquire another one and send it to me. This was several months ago, and I've received nothing. I never left him feedback. He still has my $6.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Quote Originally Posted by keybdwizrd

View Post

I sent a photo of it to the seller and he said that while it wasn't his fault, he'd acquire another one and send it to me. This was several months ago, and I've received nothing. I never left him feedback. He still has my $6.

 

I'm assuming it's not available in a modern format, or are you nostalgic for cassettes? May I ask which cassette it was? Just curious.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I remember how for years the big problem on eBay was with all of the dishonest sellers. It's true that the rules now favor the buyer (in many cases unfairly), but it's really a reaction to unscrupulous sellers of the past. If sellers were ripping people off it would undermine consumer confidence. EBay would eventually lose its customer base, and they know this.

So the pendulum swings in the other direction.

With the fee structure as it is, I don't know how people who sell things for a living can really make any money. Ebay charges a lot more than they used to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...