The eBay "best offer" SC.

[protege]

Not quite Ebay....but close enough. Many years ago, my parents were unloading their '81 Volvo wagon. Nothing really wrong it with--no rust, ran well, etc. We'd just bought a slightly-used minivan, and really didn't need the wagon. It would have made a great sleeper with a Mustang 5.0 V8 in it, but I digress...

Anyway, the car had to go. After about a month of being shuffled around in the driveway, my father took it down to where he had his advertising agency, and leased an extra parking space. The car still hadn't sold by then, so he lowered the asking price a bit.

That's when the schmuck enters the story. This fool took the car for a test-drive, and then couldn't make up his mind about it. Either way, he asked us to hold it, and handed my father a $400 check as a *deposit.* $50 would have been *plenty,* so I have no clue why he gave that much. Maybe he was serious about the car, maybe not.

Several weeks went by, and we never heard from the guy...and assumed he didn't want the car. Dad was pissed, but cashed the check. No sooner did he do that, then the guy called threatening to sue us. Dad told him to fuck off--he had to rent an extra parking space, pay for temporary tags and insurance on the car, not to mention that he was making payments on the minivan. The guy never did follow through, and we kept the cash.

[Jester]

We recently bought an item for $0.99, had it shipped to us for about $700, then sold it for nearly $30,000.

Okay, you HAVE to tell us what the hell you bought for a buck, shipped for 7 bills, and then sold for 30 large. The curiousity is killing me!

Also, I would like to thank all you people. Because of this thread, I have "rediscovered" ebay and am probably going to spend more money there than I should, once again. (Already spent $15, and am looking at/bidding on some other stuff.) Grrr.....it's all your fault! I hate you all! (Insert more random rambling that would befit an SC who blames everyone but themselves for their own actions.....)

[Depot Denizen]

I was poking around yesterday and saw a great one-day special for a Wii - starting bid at $0.99, $36 shipping. I watched and waited...people were sniping at it all day long, and the damn thing went for over $300!

Now, one thing I don't understand, is this. Why do people get into bidding wars days or even hours before the end of the auction? I try and wait, and get in a low bid a few minutes before close. I'm not about to pay more because some idiots get into a pissing match over something.

[bigjimaz]

1. Bid once.

2. Bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay including the shipping cost.

3. Use your credit card through Paypal to pay.

4. Choose experienced sellers who have a history of selling the item you are considering.

5. Check the seller's feedback. Both received and left for others.

6. Choose sellers that have at least a 98% seller rating. The higher the better.

7. Be patient when waiting for shipping. Once the package is shipped, it's not the seller's fault if it takes a while to arrive. Do not expect your package to arrive overnight when you paid for Media Mail. General shipping times for the USPS are:

Express Mail: 1-2 days depending on origin and destination.
Priority Mail: 2-4 days.*
First Class Mail: 2-5 days.*
Parcel Post: 2-8 days.*
Media Mail: 3-10 days.* Longer to AK, HI, GM, VI, APO, FPO addresses.

All times are averages. I've had Media Mail packages go cross country in 2 days and take 2 weeks to cross the state. *Days are Mon-Sat. The USPS does not move anything on Sundays or holidays (except some express mail deliveries)

8. If you make a bid and win, PAY FOR IT!

9. Never use the feedback system as blackmail or leverage to get things done.

10. According to policy, if you use Paypal as your money handling system, you MUST ship the item within 7 days AND use an online trackable service like deleivery confirmation or other shipping service tracking, or you are not covered by any protection plan.

11. If you accept Paypal for payment, you MUST accept all forms of payments they handle, ie: credit card, balance transfer, checking account, E-checks.

12. Contrary to popular belief, the seller IS libel for shipping damage even if the buyer doesn't purchase shipping insurance.

I could go on and on, but I think these are the top gripes we see on the eBay boards.

[Andara Bledin]

Now, one thing I don't understand, is this. Why do people get into bidding wars days or even hours before the end of the auction? I try and wait, and get in a low bid a few minutes before close. I'm not about to pay more because some idiots get into a pissing match over something.

Because they're stupid. The true bidding warrior's way is to snipe - bid the maximum you are willing to pay at the last possible moment. The uninformed and ignorant hate snipers, but the truly savvy know it's the best way to go.

Okay, you HAVE to tell us what the hell you bought for a buck, shipped for 7 bills, and then sold for 30 large. The curiousity is killing me!

Well... I can't remember what it was advertised as, but the seller was one of the highest-volume sellers on eBay, has some of the worst descriptions ever, and also some of the worst customer service. But if you know what you're dealing with, you can make a steal.

This particular item happened to be shown a single image, in a crate. The picture sucked unless you knew exactly what you were looking at. But the title and description were useless, so anyone looking would have to be looking at their items specifically to find a gem such as this.

What it was was a tail aeleron for a helicopter. Who we sold it to was the company that had manufactured it in the first place. The total turnaround was about 20 days.

^-.-^

[Imogene]

11. If you accept Paypal for payment, you MUST accept all forms of payments they handle, ie: credit card, balance transfer, checking account, E-checks.

Which is fine and dandy, until you realize that PayPal charges the seller for the buyer using a credit card through them. Doubly so if the buyer then decides they want their money back, and PayPal charges you again.
Not that I went through that...

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

9. Never use the feedback system as blackmail or leverage to get things done.

You probably are aware of this, but ebay is now handing out suspensions to sellers whose feedback ratings are in the bottom 5% of sellers doing similar volumes during a 90-day period (ebay does not tell you what 90 days are considered!). So of course the net effect of this is buyers can use feedback as leverage to get things done. Especially if you are selling in smaller volumes. So sellers should be aware that one or two rogue buyers can get them booted.

Also, if you get a buyer who doesn't pay you, and you file the unpaid item dispute and close it after not receiving payment, if the buyer responds to the dispute but doesn't pay they still get to leave feedback. So if you commit the heinous crime of having one or two buyers not paying for their items, you as a seller can be suspended for that too.

Which leads me to another rant--those stupid-ass detailed seller ratings where sellers have 5 stars and buyers can rate sellers on such things as item description, communication and shipping. Real nice way for a buyer to rip apart a seller without leaving a negative feedback, having their name attached to it, and risking a negative feedback in return--the DSRs are completely anonymous. And those eventually will also be used to suspend sellers who fall below the minimum approved standards.

Really smart of ebay to give all the leverage to the buyers, when sellers are the ones paying all the fees. Okay, stepping off the now.

11. If you accept Paypal for payment, you MUST accept all forms of payments they handle, ie: credit card, balance transfer, checking account, E-checks.

Actually, you are allowed to block e-checks, but nothing else.

[Killer Bees]

I've never understood how people get addicted to eBay. I would never buy or sell anything on there - it's too risky and I dislike being dicked around when my money is at stake.

Temped at a bank once where the staff got together and bought the birthday girl a fibre optic lamp (where you brush to fronds and they change colour). It was $40 and was delivered the day of her birthday. Everyone was excited and she opened the box to find the lap base (silver plastic) was smashed.

The guys tried contacted the seller, but he refused to do anything about it saying it was their problem because he packed it in tact and they should take it up with the post office. That was enough for me.

Another time a manager I worked with who fancied himself as an interior designer was buying art from eBay. When our office was being painted, he chose the colours (gunmetal grey and some drab baby shit olive colour). And the paintings he bought were disgusting and awful - kind of like the stuff you'd find at the Goodwill shop. All Australian outback scenes in brown and gunmetal grey and baby shit olive.

Worse part was, he expected everyone to praise his taste. I just said, "uh huh" and walked away. I didn't need to get into an argument with a self delusional moron.

[Andara Bledin]

1. Bid once.

2. Bid the maximum amount you are willing to pay including the shipping cost.

3. Use your credit card through Paypal to pay.

4. Choose experienced sellers who have a history of selling the item you are considering.

5. Check the seller's feedback. Both received and left for others.

6. Choose sellers that have at least a 98% seller rating. The higher the better.

7. Be patient when waiting for shipping. Once the package is shipped, it's not the seller's fault if it takes a while to arrive. Do not expect your package to arrive overnight when you paid for Media Mail. General shipping times for the USPS are:

Express Mail: 1-2 days depending on origin and destination.
Priority Mail: 2-4 days.*
First Class Mail: 2-5 days.*
Parcel Post: 2-8 days.*
Media Mail: 3-10 days.* Longer to AK, HI, GM, VI, APO, FPO addresses.

All times are averages. I've had Media Mail packages go cross country in 2 days and take 2 weeks to cross the state. *Days are Mon-Sat. The USPS does not move anything on Sundays or holidays (except some express mail deliveries)

8. If you make a bid and win, PAY FOR IT!

9. Never use the feedback system as blackmail or leverage to get things done.

10. According to policy, if you use Paypal as your money handling system, you MUST ship the item within 7 days AND use an online trackable service like deleivery confirmation or other shipping service tracking, or you are not covered by any protection plan.

11. If you accept Paypal for payment, you MUST accept all forms of payments they handle, ie: credit card, balance transfer, checking account, E-checks.

12. Contrary to popular belief, the seller IS libel for shipping damage even if the buyer doesn't purchase shipping insurance.

I could go on and on, but I think these are the top gripes we see on the eBay boards.

4) Not vital (everyone starts at 0), but a good rule of thumb.

5) Also, check their "Received as Seller" as opposed to "All." If they have a lot, consider using offsite resources such as toolhaus.org

6) Percentage is important, but not the last word. Check their numbers and do the math manually. If more than 2% of their transactions are "not Positive," then that's a warning sign. This is more meaningful with larger profiles. Profiles below 100 will show problems out of proportion due to the small size. In any case, check what the non-Positive comments actually say. I've had excellent results with low-rating sellers because I didn't care about "slow shipping," or something similar.

7) The FTC gives a mail order seller (everyone on eBay, legally) up to 30 days from payment in which to ship. 30 days is way too long, but it's still legal. Unless a seller promises a tracking number within a short amount of time, I don't even start wondering where my items are until two weeks after payment. Three weeks if I mailed a check. Also, remember that it's the postmark that matters, not the day it was delivered.

9) *nod* Just never mention Feedback. In a dispute, it turns into a threat, and threats like that never make things better.

10) If you are a seller, those rules apply if you want the Automatic Seller protections. You are still protected if you don't follow all of those rules, but it's a lot more hassle. And remember, if a buyer rips you off, contact the USPS for postal fraud. This goes for when seller's do it, too. All eBay transactions (regardless of stated ship method) count as postal fraud when someone tries something. It may take time, but the post office will go after people. If that fails, contact their local law enforcement or attourney general.

11) Actually, it seems you don't have to take e-checks. That big seller we made all that money off of won't take them, and neither will a couple of our other favorite sellers.

12) As I think I mentioned earlier, insurance is to protect the seller. If you can afford to re-imburse the buyer, go ahead and make it optional. If you can't then by all means, make it mandatory. Just saying you're not responsible doesn't mean jack.

...

Along with the Feedback, another thing to check before bidding is the seller's recent and current listing history. If you have a seller that has sold a dozen or so items every month for the last year and is suddenly listing 100s of high-demand items, run far away and don't look back.

Oh, and don't even attempt to purchase electronics on eBay unless you like to gamble or you do a lot of homework.

^-.-^

[Jester]

Contrary to popular belief, the seller IS libel for shipping damage even if the buyer doesn't purchase shipping insurance.

Oh great, NOW you tell me. I took the other comment to heart, and paid for insurance on the two items I bought today!

The good thing, though, is I rarely buy anything that is likely to get very damaged in transit. So far I have bought books, pictures, clothing (mostly sports paraphernalia), and DVD's. Nothing has arrived damaged in any way. I also have not had a bad experience to date on ebay. And while I haven't bought much, I am happy to say my buyer feedback is pretty kickass--some examples:

"Very Quick Payment! Great Asset To Ebay! Wonderful! A+++++++"
"FAST PAYMENT! Great eBayer. Flawless transaction!!! A+++++++"



(This is probably all because once I win something or agree to buy it, I pay for it immediately via paypal. Why shop for something if you aren't going to buy it?)

[bigjimaz]

I stand corrected. I just checked and now see that you can block e-check payments. Please forgive me for the misinformation.



What I mean when I say that the seller is libel even if uninsured is this.

According to eBay policy, the seller is responsible to get the item to the person buying it in the same condition as described.

If you offer something for sale on ebay and the buyer uses their credit card through Paypal, if the item is broken, or not as described, the buyer can start a dispute. If the item is found to be not in the condition described or has broken in transit, the seller has not adhered to eBay policy. Paypal will refund the buyer from the seller's account without the seller's authorization. If you don't have any money in the account, Paypal will give the money to the buyer and put a hold on the seller's Paypal account to cover their loss. Even if Paypal finds in favor of the seller, the buyer can still go through their credit card and do a chargeback.

This is why a credit card is the safest way to pay for anything bought online.

By the way folks, even though your Debit card has a credit card logo on it and can be used as credit, it IS NOT a credit card. Check with your issuing institution for the protection offered when using a debit card for online payments. I have a debit card from 2 banks. NEITHER offer any insurance or chargeback protection.

[Der Cute]

seller is libel even

LIABLE.
Liability, responsibility for fixing issue.

Libel.
Slander, on paper. (a false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person) a la Google.

cutenoob

[Kogarashi]

11. If you accept Paypal for payment, you MUST accept all forms of payments they handle, ie: credit card, balance transfer, checking account, E-checks.

12. Contrary to popular belief, the seller IS liable for shipping damage even if the buyer doesn't purchase shipping insurance.

11. The problem I've had with this one before was that PayPal charged me a fee for every transaction on my credit-card-ready account, not just the CC payments. That was, admittedly, some four years ago, so I don't know if they've changed that since, or if it was a fluke, or what. (Anyone know?) That's why my hubby has a PayPal account too, that's set up to take CC payments. When someone wants to pay with a CC on something I sell, I refer them to hubby's account instead of mine to make the payment.

12. Unfortunately, lots of sellers don't realize this (I didn't, until now), and will just say "Your loss" should something happen. ::grumble::

[myswtghst]

(This is probably all because once I win something or agree to buy it, I pay for it immediately via paypal. Why shop for something if you aren't going to buy it?)

I'm the same way. I rarely bid, and if I do, it's on things I really want, so I pay immediately.

[Namrepus221]

I really dont' like paypal.

I perfer postal money orders. Less fraud, easily tracked by the USPS, not to mention they have a better means of dealing with a scam artist (you cash the money order and say you never get it... 5 years in prison for mail fraud )

Paypal irks me cause there is no real arbitration process, you have no way to prove anything happened on either side and paypal can lock your money away for as long as they feel like.

But anyways.....

I make use of places like Misspelled Auctions and such if I'm searching for a deal. I got one hell of a nice LCD monitor for my Nintendo Gamecube for about $70 when it retailed for arround $250