Tired of getting shafted on eBay

[Lanse]

So today I had about my 5th or 6th ebay NO PAY in the last couple of years, which is an extremely high percentage (likely 25%+ of my sales on there) considering that I dont sell hardly at all. To make a long story short, I'm selling an extra MIG gun from my shop.

This individual asks all sorts of needy questions about it, once replying an hour after sending his last question demanding to know why I hadnt answered him yet, etc. Then, today the guy buys the thing and then messages me something along the lines of "lol its too short I dont want it" shortly after. Now I'm stuck with ebay charging me sellers fees/commission on the item, which I cant get reversed unless I go through a lengthy process to deal with a "no-pay" which by the way includes practically nothing bad happening to the buyer. In the mean time, I cant relist this item, I still have it, and I'm out all this time and frustration.

I think they need to suck the money out of his account on there personally, he committed to buy it and entered a legally binding contract to do so (per eBay's own policy), its not fair to me to walk away from it at this point. To me, its his and what he does with it is his problem. If he didnt want it, he shouldn't have bought it, but he chose to click "BUY" and then "CONFIRM PURCHASE". If he had been nice and there was an easy way to do so, I probably would've been willing to just cancel the whole sale.

I understand about returns, but I'm not wal-mart, I'm not a large seller who does this professionally, I'm just "surplusing" out a small number of things I dont need anymore. This is the equivalent of going to a yard sale with an "all sales final" sign up, buying something, saying it wont work, and then being a jerk to the man behind the table and then genuinely surprised when he won't give you your few bucks back for the item.

I've decided to dispose of the mig gun (Ive been trying to sell it unsuccessfully for a number of weeks, those BERNARD mig guns are absolutely HORRIBLE tools, I know why I dont want it but I thought some people would like/use them), and cancel my ebay and paypal accounts over this.

Quite frankly, its just not worth my time. I really wish eBay would stand behind their sellers (who make them money, I'll add) and not just allow individuals like this run amuck on their site unchecked. This is far from the first time this has happened to me, and I'm tired of getting the short end of the stick on whats supposed to be a simple and fair process.

Well there's my rant for the day. Theres a lot of wisdom on this board, how would you guys handle this situation? I try to be patient with people and work on forgiveness/moving on but some days its harder than others.

 

[Mike M]

I quit selling on ebay many years ago when they required you to accept paypal plus the fees kept going up. Many of the bigger items I sold I used to get cash on pick up. I still buy stuff on there. Mainly new items sold a lot cheaper than anywhere else. I too got stuck with several no pays and had to go thru the process to get my fees refunded.
I have a lot of bad apples from craigslist too. But at least it is free to list.

 

[BushogPapa]

Will "Pay-Pal" work for you..?

 

[Russ from MN]

I use craigslist and cash, only got nicked once, bought a camera that ended up not working right.

 

[newfarmer9]

I gave up on E-Bay years ago. I never really did buy or sell much on there but it just kept getting more and more complicated and the fees kept going up and up.

Now if I have any odds or ends to get rid of I take it to a local consignment auction.

 

[Spudm]

Perhaps you would have better luck advertising it on a YouTube video....

 

[Robert Major]

Hi Spudm
Just maybe someone that he's annoyed with some of his comments on his viewers on said channel, is yanking his chain and paying him back!. The clue might be in "it's to short L.O.L", kinda sounds like a tube type answer on a video to me. There has got to be a few guys out there been told they know nothing and are armchair mechanics, and keyboard commandos that would love to get one over on a guy without leaving their "Armchair".

 

[sotxbill]

Ebay works well only.. .because it protects the buyers so they know that they wont get screwed...

So this means you get a lot of customers. lots of sales, large area of exposure.. But it also exposes you to a lot of flaky buyers.

Craigslist on the other hand is a free for all... biggest gun wins... buyer and seller beware.. and no one is protected... You dont get any safety, no legal, no money transfer, nada, nothing. In God we trust, everyone else pays cash and has a body guard. However there are no fees but lots of fleas.

I use both. I buy extensively on ebay, and sell extensively on craigslist. I buy parts ....but sell tractors.

 

[Dean]

I no longer use eBay and haven't for years.

Dean

 

[Dick L]

Live is complicated! To keep it the least complicated you can it takes an enormous effort to stay calm. It goes totally against the saying, --- Those that remain calm through all this confusion does not fully understand the situation.

 

[rustyfarmall]

I've not used Ebay for several years now. It could go completely away and I wouldn't even know it.

 

[Adirondack case guy]

Maybe you should use the local Pennysaver or news paper and look the buyer in the eye!!!
Loren

 

[Royse]

Have you shipped it yet?
If not you should be able to cancel the sale.
I haven't done it in a while but it used to be an option.
One of the reasons they accepted was "buyer requested to cancel".
It was under the action pull down of on the auction IIRC.
Same place where you could select "mark as payed", etc.

 

[Stephen Newell]

I stopped selling on ebay about 15 years ago because of their fees and lack of customer service. Things must have changed since then. Then it didn't count as a sale until the customer paid.

 

[LarryH]

ebay is dead and gone

 

[GordoSD]

You are not "shafted". Follow the ebay rules. File a dispute. When all is said and done you still have the item and you don't have to pay anything. Read the ebay rules just as you would read the operators manual for your tractor, LOL.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Lance,
I have an idea that could make us rich. Mix vasoline with Teflon, Market it as a pain relief for people getting shafted.

Think it will work?
George

 

[redtom]

I sell on ebay still. Not a lot, maybe 50 to 100 small items a year. Havent been burned yet. I don't like the fees either but don't know of an alternative way to sell obscure small items with a small market for them. I obtain some odd things that have value to a relatively small market. These items would end up in the trash otherwise. Craigslist for me is usually a joke and waste of my time attracting only the lowest common denominator of tire kickers and idiots that have no intention of buying.

 

[1206SWMO]

We've been on ebay for 18 years now mostly as buyers...I wouldn't want to be a seller right now..
In over 4000 deals my wife got cheated out of $25 many years ago and I got screwed out of $400 on
1456 IH tractor injection pump..

I and the wife buy lots of stuff on ebay...We could drive a million miles and never find some of the
items that we find and buy on ebay..Just today I received an original Massey Harris 101 Junior sales catalog
that I bought for $9.00..Ebay has let me find tractor sales literature that I could never find elsewhere..

About 6 years ago I hit a deer on the way home from work at 11:15 PM..I knocked out a headlight..
I immediately got on ebay and found one for less than half what a car dealer wanted..Believe it or not the
very next day at noon the UPS driver delivered my headlight..It came from Lenexa,KS 100 miles away..

 

[504]

I like my Bernard gun! But I do not need another one.

 

[Brendon-KS]

I've also purchased numerous pieces of vintage tractor literature on eBay. I've never had a problem either as a buyer (the majority of my activity) or as a seller (only about a dozen sales total).

 

[kevinstuff]

As a buyer I just bought 2 cuisinart
Bread makers at 11.00 each plus free shipping
Was buy it now and paid up right away
the next day seller says his store software
Screwed up , seller canceled sale and
Refunded purchase price . I thought a
Sale is a sale ,I thought seller would have
To follow thru even if it was his mistake

 

[John B.]

I would cancel the transaction and it would be up to him to then cancel it at his end and you won't be charged any seller fee. Many sellers actually go thru with the high dollar transactions and pay cash at time of pick up and the seller then offers them a discount if both agree to cancel the transaction. So both seller and buyer come out ahead and are both happy. My motto is if I don't like it not many others will either. So why try to sell something I wouldn't want would be me wasting my own time and I think this is what happened to you. I've been selling on ebay for 15 years and you have to take the bad with the good. There's more good than bad on there. If you go to "MY EBAY" page pull up the item under the sold file then click on "Cancel Order" is all you have to do. Then he has so many days to agree to cancel the transaction and if he doesn't it will automatically be canceled. It's easier than you think. I've done it too many times.

 

[JD Seller]

I have NEVER sold anything on Ebay. I have not bought anything on auction in a long time. I buy a fair amount of stuff off Ebay but I just use the buy-it-now. I some times will make an offer lower than the buy-it-now price. I just bought two hydraulic motors that way. The seller knocked off $10 each since I was buying two at one time. I pay right then. I do that on any thing I "win" on auction too.

On selling stuff I use Craigslist. I have had pretty good luck. The stuff I am selling is rarely under several hundred dollars an item so I am not dealing in large volumes of people.

My youngest son sells motorcycle parts on Ebay. He sets his price and only ships when payment clears. He had one or two guys try to beat him out of stuff but he takes the time and effort to follow all avenues under the rules and so far has not lost anything.

 

[John B.]

When you list an item use paypal as your only term of payment. When they pay immediately they're not so likely to back out.

 

[John B.]

I just had 5 auctions end this evening. One buyer bought all 5 items and paid with paypal. He also saved on shipping cost. Back in 2005 I had two counterfeit money orders mailed to me. Both checks were in the amount of $2500.00 each. I suspected they were counterfeit as soon as this member contacted me. My intuition was correct. He emailed me for 6 days straight and telling me what I needed to do and where to go becaue the FBI was interested in the case. After 8 days I never heard any more from them. I knew by then the checks were fake after talking with my bank. I was to take out my portion of the money then wire the remainder ($4500) back to some person thru western union. Red flag when they say this!!!

 

[Galen Houk]

I sell mostly larger items like tractors and lifts. We used to use ebay but the fees and deadbeat buyers have driven us away. I don't take PayPal because the fees are often several hundred dollars and I work on very small margins. All of our last sales have been dead beat "Buy it Now" buyers. They hit buy it now with no intention of buying anything. The ebay process requires a long wait if you want the buyer to get a mark against them. I take the wait because I think the deadbeats should get kicked off. Not sure how that works anymore. I am just tired of all the non paying buyers. With this site and Craigslist, I have much better control of the transaction. I buy small items on ebay and I think that is more what the site is for now.

 

[ditchwitch]

Now dont take this the wrong way but if it happens that often to you maybe your doing something wrong. Like not enough good info on what your selling or maybe the pictures are not quite good enough. I would think if put as is no returnable item maybe that would stop alot of rif raf describe it as is even if you have to type it a couple times. The only reason i say this is i have sold several things on ebay and bought a lot and never have had a problem.

 

[tractorguy2]

I sell on ebay. Non payers are common. I get four or five every year. It's not that big of deal. If they don't pay in four days. You report the item as unpaid. If the buyer doesn't respond in four more days. Ebay gives you the fees back and gives the buyer an unpaid item strike.

I really think ebay should put a red number with a negative sign next to the buyers feedback number to indicate how many times they have not paid for an item.

The biggest shaft on ebay is having to refund money when the shipper loses the package. When the tracking shows the item was shipped. it should be the buyers problem. Not the sellers.

The seller gets shafted way more than the buyers do on ebay that's for sure.

 

[tractorguy2]

The seller can cancel a transaction. All he has to do is state a reason. Item was lost.Item was damaged,and the list goes on. It will lower the seller's DSR rating.

 

[M-MAN]

Just remember it works both way's. For every buyer that weasels out of a deal there's a seller cancelling one because he didn't make as much money as he thought he should. They are both weasel's!

Someone mentioned that items lost in shipping should be on the buyer and not the seller. Problem with that is the shipping company will NOT talk to the buyer. Only the shipper can file a lost package claim. I purchased two wheels for my M at a great deal a few years ago. UPS lost one in the hub 30 minutes from my house. Woulden't talk to me and the seller refused to contact them. He preferred to refund my purchase price. Woulden't have cost him a dime to contact UPS for me but I reckon he was ticked he didn't make as much as he thought he should have.

 

[RLA]

I buy a lot on Ebay, so far never been shafted by a seller. I choose to only buy with a Money Order
& I won't ever do any electronic transactions, If the seller agrees to that I will bid & buy, if not
I won't bid.;.

 

[Ron-MO]

While there are a few bad sellers/buyers as you described, the vast majority are honest, and I feel the benefits far outweigh the negatives. Where I live, I buy a lot of things I otherwise would do without, not only on ebay, but online in general. Prime example was this past week when I purchased some oddball plumbing fittings that no one carries locally, but I was able to purchase easily on ebay. It is now rare that I buy automotive items direct from a local store as I can usually buy for as much as half what the locals get for the same exact item. I know some feel I should be supporting local, but I look differently at it. You either compete, or your out of business -- sorry, but that is really always how it has been, just different competitors now, and sellers must broaden their vision. You can retrieve a refund for your seller fees, but you may need to file a claim. I have done this a few times, and never been burned so far. I had an item recently that sold, I shipped, and it was lost. A bit of a pain, but I did get refunded my fees, file a claim with USPS and received a full refund for not only the item, but shipping as well. It would have gone much quicker, but the buyer never reported that he did not receive until a month from the date of transaction. In addition, I find there are items I can sell on ebay, that I would probably never sell or definitely would not get nearly as much for by selling on Craigslist or local ads. Don't get me wrong, some small inexpensive items are not worth the hassle, and I never try selling anything that will not bring at least $20, and the shipping cost. Fees and shipping are simply too high to bother with less, as there have been a couple times I ended up in the hole due to fees and shipping cost, but that was my own fault for not investigating more.

 

[ericlb]

my 2 cents, i dont sell on ebay, but ive bought a whole bunch, i think like any public place ebay is going to have its share of morons and kids who just dont understand every place they buy something isnt Walmart,where you can buy something, use it, then return it and get a refund, ebay, is like any other place you look at the pictures, you pay your money, and the item is yours period, i have had one or 2 pieces that wernt exactly in the condition i thought they were, but they still worked as intended, never a just plain bad part or a wrong part, i would think a poster asking why you havent responded in less than 1 hour must be either a kid or somebody else who is used to hovering on computer forums all day and cant understand most folks have to work, and its not out of line for it to take a day or so for a response to a question

 

[Butch(OH)]

I must be lucky?? same as my Craigs list response below I have had 99% good luck on Ebay both as buyer and seller. I have two accounts, one personal and one business and just looked them up for giggles. I the last 12 months I have 450 transactions that total over $22,000 on ebay. How many bad deals? None. Didnt receive a couple items, contacted eaby and had my money back in a week. I dont all that bad deal?? We purchase many repair parts and pieces for my company on ebay and we keep track of retail prices vs what we pay. I am talking about V-belts, bearings, seals, hardware etc etc. Just on major items, those costing over $100 we saved over $30,000 using Ebay last year. Got nothing bad to say about it from the buyers side. On the sellers side the minuses are that costs are getting pretty high and Ebay sides with buyers on almost every conflict.

 

[dr sportster]

Your making it sound way harder than it is. You think that's bad try selling a Jap Bike with no shipping . That will take about three or four auctions with the first three irresponsible bidders.

 

[sotxbill]

(quoted from post at 11:02:26 11/29/16) Your making it sound way harder than it is. You think that's bad try selling a Jap Bike with no shipping . That will take about three or four auctions with the first three irresponsible bidders.

Lots of bidders DONT read the entire listing.... and then bid and dont realize its a LOCAL SALE ONLY....

 

[jimg.allentown]

Well, you can say what you like about eBay, but I can tell you this:
eBay opens up a marketplace for the rare and unusual stuff that you could never sell in a lifetime. Now, it can be sold in a matter of days. Looking for that odd piece at a reasonable price? Some guy in upper Shickshinny might have one. You would NEVER find it without eBay.

Yes, there are scam artists out there. There are also millions of potential buyers. eBay brings sellers of rare or unusual items together with folks looking for those items. It also opens up a whole world of cheap merchandise that might otherwise cast a LOT more. I have bought numerous items from eBay that would have cost me much more money otherwise. A good example is when I needed a motor for my clothes dryer. Local parts houses wanted from $250 to $350 for the motor. Found a brand new one on eBay for $56 delivered to my door! That was 4 years ago, and it is still working perfectly.

I guess you either love them or hate them.