Just want to complain about this ...

I sell some of my duplicate foreign coins on eBay. Nothing big, I just list 100 or so coins, most starting at $1 each. It lets me get rid of my doubles and get some more money for coins. So yesterday a guy contacts me and says he wanted to buy four items I had listed that didn't sell, but he forgot to bid. It was a total of seven coins consisting of two big British pennies, a large French 10 centimes and 4 large Mexican 20 centavos. Nothing special but all fairly popular coins, and I was selling them for less than $7 shipped. He totaled up the price and even gave me advice on how to ship it (which was annoying but I let it pass). So I said fine, give me your email address and I'll send a Paypal invoice, and he does, and I do.

So then today he replies and says that since we started this transaction through eBay, he thinks we should continue through eBay, though in the future we could go off of eBay. Huh? Whatever. I said if I can figure out how to do it through eBay I will, but I'm annoyed because now I'm looking at paying the fees that I could have avoided by doing it just through Paypal. I looked all around and couldn't find a way to sell them through eBay without relisting, so I wrote back and said I'll either have to relist them or you can pay the invoice. Then he writes back with this:

"You'd just have to run them thru again. But you know I checked the coin catalog on these & their total value comes to $10.20 (in the 2007 world coin catalog [in EF], they could have actually gone down in value) & on coins like these about 50 % of cataloge is all I usually pay. So I guess I'll just pass on them for now. This might all seem like a waste, but I think we both gained some experience. All the best in your future endeavors."

edited? First off, when you buy low value items on eBay, you just accept that you pay more than the book value because the seller has to make something for it to be worth their time. You buy them because you like them or you need them for your collection, not because it's such a great investment. I can't be listing auctions for 10 cents. Second of all, I wasn't looking for a learning experience. I have more than 600 feedbacks as a seller. I don't know what this guy's problem is. I refrained from responding with something snotty, but I had to complain to someone.

OK, rant complete.

 

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Annoying as all get out. I've had something similar to that once before. As if he's the authority on book values and how to run an auction. He needs to pound sand...

 

He might just have been phishing for your email & paypal addresses, too try to hack them

 

You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please nitpickers ever.

Chris

 

Well, I would let that pass. Sometime you just get people that waste your time. Anyhow, just block him. He won't be coming to you anymore then.

 

Or kick rocks

 

Sounds like he found the coins somewhere else for a cheaper price. Otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to contact you from the start.

 

This is how I take it:

These items were listed, and didn't sell, and the P.I.T.A. emailed you interested in buying them if they were available.

Why would he insist on going through eBay to purchase them? There's no need. Since they are/were no longer listed because they failed to sell, eBay is out of it as far as I would be concerned.

Secondly, if he was worried about the Buyer Protection, that's mainly through PayPal, and can be filed directly with PayPal without having to involved eBay whatsoever.

Sounds to me like he was jerking your chain right from the get go.

He forgot to bid? Isn't that kind of like I forgot to go potty and now I have crusty undies?

Good riddens to him you're better off without his business, and I would block him from future sales from your store.

Good luck.

 

Yeah, I was thinking of blocking him because he seems pretty high maintenance besides jerking me around. I can see him contacting me and wanting a refund because he didn't like something about the coins. I've made these off-eBay kinds of sales before with no problems, and I even told him that Paypal had buyer protection if that's what he was worried about. I think the most annoying part was that bit at the end where he said that it was a learning experience for both of us. Like it's Sesame Street or something.

 

You had my sympathies up until you made this statement. I understand your frustration, but hearing only one side of the story, then reading this, it makes me scratch my head. I am always willing to pay a fair price, but I could care less on whether a seller makes a profit. Not my job to overpay for items simply so the seller can recoup his investment and score a profit.

With that said, going outside of eBay has its risks. Be thankful he didn't hack your account.

 

Totally agree with this. That statement is a bit strange, considering the fact you are allowed to start the auction from much higher price than $1 if you`re looking for the profit.

Can't see a reason to be upset about all this, all you lost is 3 minutes of your time answering potential buyer, who was not obligated to complete the purchase after winning a bid or committing to BIN.

 

I've dealt with the same kind of buyer. They were telling me how much they would pay, how they would pay and when they would pay. It was always... "Please remove the item from auction and I will consider purchasing it. I will examine the items first and then I will send you my personal cheque. If they are not satisfactory, you will pay the postage to get them back and I will give you a negative feedback. I never pay for the item first. Send them by priority mail and I must receive them within 5 days."

When I get a buyer like that now, I just tell them that their email is being forwarded to ebay to be dealt with. I've only had one "high maintenance" buyer since who was a problem and that was at least five or six years ago.

I have no patience for buyers like this.

 

There is nothing wrong with selling items, that did not sell, outside of eBay, which is the case here.

 

Sorry to hear, that does sound like a pain. Congrats on just leaving it alone and just ranting on here, try to stay positive

 

Here's what I mean by that statement. When you deal with foreign/world coins as I do, many, many of them have a book value of 10-20 cents. No one is going to start an auction for 10 cents knowing that the coin will probably sell for that much. EBay and Paypal fees are much more than that. Basically a dollar is the minimum you can economically sell an item for. For example, I am completing a set of modern Mexican coins. When I need coins from the 1990s, their book value is basically nothing because they made tens of millions of them, but that doesn't mean I expect to get them for free. I am willing to pay $2-$3 a piece shipped because that's the price you pay for the convenience of being able to buy what you need and have it sent to your home. Do I care if the seller makes a profit? Not particularly, but I understand that he isn't running a charity either and I don't expect him to lose money on a deal. It's one thing when you're buying a peace dollar or something like that and try to get it for less than the book value, but there's a certain minimum price that it's not practical to go below. I sell coins at the lowest practical cost and ship them cheaper than 90 percent of people on eBay, and that's why it's frustrating to have someone quibble about the price.

 

This isn't really a "buyer", is it? :smile

Didn't say there was anything wrong with that. Just that it's risky.

That's not what you said, this is: "First off, when you buy low value items on eBay, you just accept that you pay more than the book value because the seller has to make something for it to be worth their time."

I do not have to accept that I would pay more than book value simply because I want a particular item. I can understand what you say makes sense to a seller, but to expect a buyer to pay more simply because it's more convenient and profitable to you as the seller is unreasonable. The reason nobody really wants to pay 10 times more than what it's worth is because they can usually find them in lots (more than one coin). As a seller, this would be a more economical and practical way to sell than single ten cen coins (at 10x the value). You stated you want to sell at the "lowest practical cost". Practical to who? Like I said, as the buyer I could care less. I'm looking for the most practical way for me to purchase. In this case, it would be multi-coin lots. If I was selling (and I have a ton of coins from around the world, purchased in lots) I would sell in lot quantities. As far as eBay and Paypal fees, unfortunately, that's the cost of doing business.

 

I've experienced this many times before (not with ebay), and hate it so much.

 

Well, since it's tangential to the original purpose of my complaint I'm not going to argue with you about this. I know there are a lot of people here who understand my point of view. Every coin collector pursues his or her hobby a little bit differently, and there are many who understand my way of looking at things, just as there are who agree with you. I sell my coins in a way that makes sense to me and there are plenty of buyers who seem to agree.

 

Personally if I sold I ebay I would keep it on ebay. From what I have heard from a couple of local people I know selling on ebay - this is where you really run into some high maintenance people. As for how you sell that is your choice and the same as how some buy. I do know lots are one way to really get rid of stuff you really don't want. Ebay can be entertaining at times.