So we just ask for free stuff now?

Yeah we'll see. I usually leave a buyer feedback as soon as I receive payment but I didn't with him just in case. It will most likely be fine but I'm wary of it.

 

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Hey, it doesn't cost him or her anything to ask, and some people have learned to expect it. I agree, there is the implied threat of bad feedback, but it may just be the taught reflex to ask, like we teach kids to Trick-or-Treat to get free stuff.

I've bought coins on eBay where the dealer, unasked for and unexpectedly, sent a "free gift," such as a cheap foreign coin. It wasn't worth much--probably he got it in a bag of foreign for a fraction of a cent--but it was still nice to get a little bonus. If I had a junk box of really cheap coins, I might just put one in the envelope (assuming it didn't add enough weight to cost more postage), perhaps a modern Mexican 5 centavo or such or even a common wheat cent. Who knows, it might lead to another sale someday or at least get rid of something just lying around that you can't sell anyway.

 

I've occasionally received freebies like this too and I agree it is nice if the seller chooses to do that. But the thing is I didn't ask, they offered. It's the fact that this person just asked for it that bugs me. If you want to say, hey, I bought one of your coins, could you give me a discount if I buy more, or something like that, I wouldn't mind that. But not just asking for something for free.

 

Send them a crusty cent from your pocket change.

 

I keep a "freebie" pile of cheap coins that I can't sell. Typically, I send them to repeat customers or people who do something nice or someone who buys a bunch of coins.

For this guy, I would look for the best premium gem obverse in the pile with a scratch on the reverse, then I would make that scratch much, much worse, then send it along with his order.

 

A long time ago a seller neglected to send one of the coins that was listed in their bulk lot. They mailed it after I alerted them and included an extra bonus coin. But as others have pointed out, a different situation than asking for a freebie up front.

 

I'm guessing that the communication from the buyer might be grounds for getting eBay to remove any negative feedback they leave.

 

I've had a couple of sellers send me free gifts. One was a proof modern Jefferson nickel, was unexpected. It probably is worth 50 cents or something, but it was a nice thought. Another one sent me some sort of exotic stone "with magical powers". I might have given to my wife's grandson, he probably threw it into a pond for good luck. I've only had a couple of bad experiences with sellers, one was a well known dealer who sells in bulk and who posts deceptive photos. They readily allowed a return so no complaints really, but won't be buying from them again. I don't do either positive or negative reviews, don't have time. But I have messaged sellers who sold a really fine item for a great price and thanked them.

I don't expect any "free" items, all that I care about is getting what I ordered and if their photos are lousy and I'm not happy, then that's on me, I don't complain or ask for a return, unless they doctored the photos. My biggest complaint is with the USPS. They have hosed me twice this year, their regional hubs have thieves with sticky fingers.

 

Going to ask this because I am from a different generation. Virtually everything I do is followed with a request for feedback. Oil change, car wash, haircut… Seriously everything so I have come to ignore them…. I have made a number of coin purchases on EBay and I haven’t gone back to add the request for feedback. Nor have I looked for a sellers feedback.. In today’s buying market is feedback a seriously make or break affair? An old guy really wants to know.

 

I don't even pay attention to positive feedback on a seller I don't know much about. I only look for negative feedback. Anything more is information overload.

 

It's due to the rise of the influencers. The person says I have 1200 people who follow me on social media, give me something for free and I'll put in a nice word for you on my social media account. It's a form of digital extortion.

Now for a detour. Can we bury for once and all the oxymoron Free Gift? By definition a gift is free.

 

I wouldn't respond to buyer. Then I'd report the buyer for being the bell end that he is.

There's probably a reason I am not in sales.

 

I would hire ya. I need another dog in my office.

 

I sell antiques for fun but as a sellers if everyone that bought something from me asked for a free gift, I’d be out of business very quick.

 

In a retail store you can ask another person about the goods and services. You can talk to the employees. Online you can’t do that so feedback is important to the seller. I don’t buy online so I don’t provide feedback. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean that you have to .

 

Perhaps a longer answer than necessary, but here's my thoughts. Feedback on eBay is important when you're just getting started. If you only have a few feedbacks, people might not want to buy from you, and if you get one bad one it can seem like an overly big deal. Once you have thousands of feedbacks, the new ones don't matter so much. The biggest reason I want to get them is I know when I get feedback that the item arrived. I tend to get one or two negative feedbacks a year and it's always for something stupid, like someone in a foreign country didn't receive their order and just left negative feedback without even contacting me, or one guy gave me a negative because he felt I charged too much for shipping (I charge $1.10.) This is why it really annoys me when I see people on here who say they will only buy from sellers with 100% positive feedback, because even the best sellers get a negative once in awhile. But on the other hand, you can have the best experience with me and leave me a glowing feedback, and in a few days it's pushed off my first page and no one will ever see it, so how much does it really matter? I really only check a seller's feedback if I'm worried he might be selling fakes and I want to see if anyone is accusing him of doing so. Otherwise it doesn't matter much.

 

I actually had a buyer contact me today saying he received an empty envelope, and he could see there was a slit in the side where something had been removed. This has actually never happened to me before as a seller but it seems to have been stolen without a doubt, and it almost has to be by an employee. I was wondering if I can report this online. Not that it will get my item back or anything but maybe they investigate or something.

 

Good Luck!

I've reported large thefts to the A.G. and C.C.!

I've received multiple descriptions of how stealing can be implemented!

They generally currently only inform the public of statutes, not investigations!

I've sold thousands of items since before public internet sales existed.

I've never received even a neutral, much less a negative!

I don't charge shipping or taxes, and my prices are less than commercial sites complete charges!

It's difficult, but possible!!

 

I was going to say a few roadkill zinc pennies. But then again as mentioned, the buyer may complain and demand a return/refund and send a different less valuable coin. I'd just ignore the guy who asked for free stuff, but keep the message suggesting it on file for if/when the person tries some funny business.

 

Don't hold your breath. The USPS is completely worthless, you'll just end up getting frustrated like I did. They make it nearly impossible to contact investigators and you'll NEVER get the same person twice. It's planned incompetence. I get mad every time I think about it. BOTH times the postal service either ripped me off or lost items were times I bought way way lower than market value. About 1/3 of it. Livid!