I've had so many purchases where I was not entirely happy on ebay lately. Some never arrived, some arrived damaged. Bought a lot of airtites, couple were lightly scuffed. Bought some cd's, arrived with cracked case. Bought cell phone case, received fake item. In the past I bought items described as new, but arrived used. After sending pics to seller, she admitted it was sent used, because she needed money for her family. I let all these go. Never have I left a single negative or neutral feedback. Recently I had an item that arrived damaged, opened case, and ebay let me keep it. I feel bad, I don't want to keep it for free. I called ebay and they said to keep it. Good thing is I also purchased another item from same seller that never arrived, so it's even. How do you manage these situations? You buy 20 airtite holders and couple have light scuffs, do you let it go? Buy a cd that arrives with cracked case and scuffed booklet, do you let it go? Do you leave negative feedback or just try to get your money back?
Do you check the buyer ratings and comments for the sellers? Dissatisfied buyers are serious as a heart attack on those reviews. A lot of problems can be avoided before they get started.
-airtites.... when purchased in person are all perfect? Not always, so I'd expect no better from an individual online. -CD... if I'm buying a CD, I'm buying the CD; if it works, I got what I paid for. I've purchased both new and used CDs in person that had chipped or cracked cases, so again, I certainly wouldn't hold an individual seller on ebay to a different (higher) standard. Ebay is an online yardsale, and more often than not, like yardsales, people go there looking for prices. If one expects or demands perfection, there are plenty of venues that they can get it from.... and likely pay for it as well. As for negative feedback, it should only be left as an absolute last resort, but it seems all too many these days use it as punishment when a seller doesn't wish to coddle or bend over when expected to. Just because ebay doesn't allow sellers the same privilege, that doesn't make it a free to screw fest; a little decency and respect can go a long way. JMHO.
When something I've bought turns up damaged or not quite as described/anticipated, I have asked a few sellers to compensate by offering a partial refund, which we have agreed upon and they send back a certain percentage of the overall value of the item. And I have also offered it as an option to buyers of mine. It seems to help balance the disappointment and fix the deal as it gives the other side a chance to adjust the price for an agreeable amount without the trouble of a return. Of course you can't be too generous and must watch out for a variety of scams, so this has only applied in a handful of cases in over 15 years buying/selling on eBay. Just an idea others might consider in solving problems that can arise.
I have never left negative feedback.....welllllllllll, once I bought a roll of Mercury dimes at a bargan price and the seller backed out. Think I left a negative there.
The only constant for how I would deal with something is before ever going to ebay I would message the seller first. But like brooks mentioned some of it too has to be realistic expectations. When buying DVDs/CDs for likely 2-3 dollars with shipping included as long as the disk works I couldn't care less about the packaging, cheap plastic items like airtites will have a defect rate ect. There is generally a reason why items are much cheaper their then buying brand new from the manufacturer. Everything really needs to be taken on a case to case basis. There are some legitimate scams that get reported where yes Ebay for a refund would be the first step. But the vast majority of issues are either a simple mistake or unreal expectations for the price paid.
I generally let go the small things. Just this weekend though I left my first neutral for a seller. The item was damaged and it was never mentioned in the listing. It wasn't something that happened in shipping either. The inside panel of a 1973 first medals album de-laminated. It's quite obvious when you open the album. I have left negative for a few sellers that deserved it. One seller tried to back out of 2 MS66 Morgan's I won from him. 2 separate auctions ending on the same day and I won both for very good prices <$290. His first communication to me was something like "wow, you really got these for great prices". I won't bore you with all the details, but he claimed he was waiting on the "estate" to release them. I patiently waited, he offered to refund and i declined and said i'd wait. Then one day, he just flat out refunds me both coins and he relisted one of them as a BIN. I was angry. I negged him for both auctions and called eBay. The total time from end of auction to resolution was around 4 weeks with multiple communications between me and the seller. This was my first really bad experience with a coin seller on eBay. For the most part, 99+% of the feedback I give is positive. It takes a lot for me to leave a neg., but if I feel the seller deserves it than, well, they're going to receive one. Before leaving any neg, I will contact the seller to see if something can be worked out.
I have never left a negative for a seller. Most minor things have been handled to my satisfaction. I would probably only give a negative if a seller ripped me off and would do this really to warn others and not to ruin their reputation.
I try to give what I'd hope to receive as a buyer - patience and consideration. The "little things" you're discussing - less than SNAD - would just erase the seller from further buying consideration and that's it. Never left a Neg either myself.
Sure, E-Bay is considered a yard sale or flea market, but, when I drive by a yard sale, I only look for the things I like. E-Bay is the same way for me. If I walk into a coin shop, there is a lot of junk for sale, but I look for what,s on my buy list. With E-Bay, I usually only buy from the sellers I like and therefore never have much problem. I probably am satisfied 95% of the time. I have only left poor feedback a couple of times and it,s always with an rogue seller. E-Bay will guarantee your purchase and if the seller does not accept returns, will let you keep the item and still refund your money. Never a problem with a good seller on E-Bay!
When i sell on Ebay, i say very little about my item. I do however use as many photos as I can. Pictures speak a 1,000 words. I have only had a small handful of problems. People claiming the item was received broken (the post photos of the same model and its broken) So I always keep extra unpublished photos to thwart the rip off scammers. If i buy, i ask questions, etc....feel people out. I am happy with ebay for the most part. Yet I remain always 'on guard'.
I noticed in your reply you said that you called Ebay. Could you please send me their phone number, I have not been able to find it. Thank You Mike
I agree, I always try to put myself in the other's position. Was it intentional? Will they make it right? That's the key. Even I'm not perfect - but I'm close. I have probably left less than 5 negative feedback in the 15+ years I've used ebay. 2 times I was sent an empty box - and got my money back. 2 times were deceptive practices (inaccurate description, purposefully deceptive and faked photos) and one was for Tiger Direct sending me junk merchandise from another country (230v plug included) which was listed as new and a US model (and they ought to know better with 10's of thousands of sales) and tried to stick me with the return shipping. Boy I sure do miss the "negative buyer" feedback though. I've had so many people try to scam me! Last month I had someone ask for a partial refund because he thought he paid too much for some First Day Cover stamp sets - that he won on no reserve auction - even though he clearly stated that they were exactly as described - even a bit better condition in an earlier e-mail. It was some sort of "buddy up to the seller" and make me his friend type of deal before he lowered the boom. Then he tried to get Ebay involved. Ebay read the thread and immediately rejected his claim (for once!). As if they weren't going to review the thing and just grant him a credit! Can't protect stupid people from themselves - although Ebay makes a valiant attempt sometimes!
I brought up the subject of reviewing the buyers' reviews of sellers because there is a long running thread about some coin dealer in the Dallas area. His reviews read like a horror story but people still buy from him - then complain about getting screwed.
I have only given negative feedback one time. It was a mess of a transaction. The sell really tried to pull one on me, but we resolved it. Come to think of it I may have only given them neutral feedback because it did get resolved. Things like cracked CD case it happens when you send things in the mail so I don;t neg for things like that. Usually I don't worry about the little things.
Just purchased some things off ebay and most have been fine. Recently did receive one where I had some mint sets sent to me in envelopes. All but one set was correct, but one set had two Philly cellophane sets, and one of the Philly sets was for a different year. So I sent a msg to the seller and told him that, and asked what he would do to make it right, because I didn't want to do a SNAD for this. He said he was selling those on consignment and hadn't even looked in the envelopes to make sure they were correct, assuming all was as it should be, but he had others that he would look at later. Then he messaged me to say he checked all the others and he did find another Denver set for the year I was missing and he would send that at no charge to me and I could keep the extra cellophane set that didn't belong. I said that would be great, so I am expecting this to be resolved soon and well. I do hate to have to have a seller be out more for something like this, but I didn't think it was an intended thing, and he may have found more in his consignment that were off, so it may actually be beneficial to him. I think as a seller, he is taking the high road, and that is nice to see that he intends to make it right for me.
