Thread: Are problems that common?

I've read a lot of threads about problems with e-bay and USPS. What percentage of the time does this happen? I've bought a few lower price coins, less than say $100 and never had a problem. Just lucky? My daughter bought and sold for a few years at a low level and had a few unreasonable people but never a negative. Thanks for the input.

The "problem" is that folks only report when they have a "problem". They never report when things run as smoothly as a well oiled machine.

ME?

I've been selling and buying in eBay since 2004 and have never had a problem that was worth reporting or seeking someone elses's opinion on.

I've sold thousands of items and have never had a problem with shipping.

I've purchased thousands of items and have never had a problem with receiving them.

I personally think that the incidence of problems with USPS are less than 1/100 of a percent compared to the volume of mail they handle.

I've never bought or sold on eBay and I've never had a problem with the Post Office. Oh, and the airlines have never lost my luggage.

Originally Posted by 19Lyds

The "problem" is that folks only report when they have a "problem". They never report when things run as smoothly as a well oiled machine.

In the past, I've had lots of issues with USPS, but it was the delivery person and not the service as a whole. Overall you're right... problems are rare and it's not worth losing sleep worrying about them.

In nearly 500 transactions, I only ever had one "problem" on ebay, and it was handled between myself and the buyer, resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties, and positive feedback left for/by both in the end. It has, however, been nearly 5 years since I used EBay, so things may have changed, I wouldn't know.

Only problems I've ever had with USPS have been quite "localized". A specific letter carrier being inattentive, or a particular local post office giving poor service. Only "systemic" problem I have with them is that their tracking system is laughable.

I had about 4 or 5 transactions til I had a problem, a seller when notified of a problem denied the problem existed, practically accused me of lying. I have not bought anything off that venue since.

I have been on ebay since 1997. I have had 2 missteps in that time. One as a seller and one as a buyer. Nothing major on either.

I've had over a thousand transactions on eBay and only a few ptoblems and in every case it was not the post offices fault. It was due to poor packaging by the seller. (I don;t sell on ebay, just buy.)

Each person has different chances of running into problems. It depends on the buyer/seller and package handler. Some people are lucky and never get problems while some people get tons of problems. Its really a game of luck sometimes.

With that been said, I have only had one problem in about 2,000 transactions. And that was due to the USPS.

Never had a problem on buying and selling. Had over hundred transactions so far.

As 19Lyds says, if you read the forums you could come to the impression that there are a LOT of problems happening, but you have to remember that it is the problem transactions that get discussed. You may see reports of fifty bad transactions, but how many thousands of good transations took place during the same period that you never hear about simply because they are not "newsworthy" of being talked about? News by it's very nature tends to be bad because it is the out of the ordinary.

I've shipped and received many thousands of items using the USPS over the last two decades. One item arrived damaged, one item was opened and the contents stolen and one item was delayed for several months before delivery (this was an international shipment). That's it.