Im worried about my recent/ future ebay sales

We (CT) should keep a record of all sellers who fail to serve the buyer correctly (fake coins, AT, overgrading (the homemade ones), etc)

Might help CT members and viewers out.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Keeping a list of bad sellers is dangerous and could get CT sued. Much safer to keep a list of good sellers.

 

I've bought coins on eBay for years. I just recently started selling. What amazes me is how few buyers actually even leave feedback.

I remember when sellers used to not leave feedback until you as a buyer had left your positive feedback. This resulted in the situation described above in which the seller essentially held the buyer 'hostage' until positive feedback was received. Then eBay changed its policy, such that sellers leave feedback once payment is received. I agree with this policy, after all, once a buyer has paid, what else do they really need to do to fulfill their end of the bargain?

So now as a seller, as soon as payment is received, I leave positive feedback for the buyer. In my experience so far as a seller, I would say that about 25% of the buyers out there don't even bother to leave feedback. So this policy change has definitely tilted the table in favor of the buyer.

I will give GDJMSP props here! I remember reading a post of his a while back saying something to the effect that as a seller, you will quickly learn a lot more about the coin business than you can during years as a buyer. I have to say he's right.

 

I have been selling on ebay for 2 years. And I have had miniscule amount of problems with buyers. You must must protect your self and use comon sense.

I have a rule of all items that are 50 USD and over are automaticly sent via tracking and insurance. I also state some countrys that I always send with tracking number.

The majority of people on ebay are honest people and as I state I have had very few problems considering the ammount I have sent over the world.

The only time somone made an attempt to steal from me was a man in the US. I did contact ebay and they said he was under investigation but 1 year later he is still there.

 

Oh my! This note is actually one on my wish list, I would be honestly psychopathic!
I was going to direct your attention over to:

But then I realized your the OP of that thread.

IF you don't mind by me asking "Is it the same guy?" If you don't want to post here PM ME

 

'Nuff said! :hail: that very line makes me think twice about selling on ebay.

Because then you have to Prove you sent him a Barber, he has to prove he recieved a Jefferson and paypal always sides with the seller.

OUCH

 

None of this works when you ship to non-US destinations.
Outside of the US is a REAL crap shoot.

I find this part really odd, lots of American sellers think that non US destinations are no go areas and you get no proof of delivery.
Most countries Postal systems are more advanced than the USPS and most countries Post Offices offer online tracking in English.
I`m able to track items sold to people in Russia or Saudie Arabia just as easily as I can in the US and it is all acceptable to Paypal and eBay .

​

 

Totaly agree on your point, US postal system is slower to get written confermation then Russia is over here. It takes USPS a month to send over the signature to Icelandpost.

 

USPS Track & Trace used to be good up until the new security clampdown, I would send a trackable item and within 5 days it was visible on the site showing that it had arrived at JFK and was on its way to the recipients state or home town.
Now I`m getting folks 4 weeks after shipping saying where is my item.
The site seems only to get updated after delivery.

 

As an American....I LOVE IT!!! The only problem with the map is that it gives us way too much credit, most Americans couldn't even identify where "Yurop" is.

 

You will love this one then, Sound up LOL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE

 

There's probably no way to protect yourself fully, but pre-planning and common sense precautions will help.

As either a buyer or seller, always use PayPal, BUT set it up with a separate bank account and a separate credit card, both used ONLY for ebay transactions.

As a buyer, pay through PayPal, but use the credit card backup option to pay. This gives you the added option of instituting a chargeback if the sale goes south.

As a seller, accept the PayPal payment, but as soon as it's received, transfer it out of the PayPal account into your special checking account, and from there to your regular account.

In either case, don't leave any more that $20 or so in your PayPal account, and only the minimum required in the special checking account.

As far as feedback, as a buyer, I leave feedback as soon as the item is received and determined to be correct. If there is a problem I contact the buyer by email and/or phone for resolution before leaving feedback.

As a seller, I do not leave feedback until I know that the buyer is satisfied, as indicated by his leaving positive feedback. If no feedback has been left, I used to contact the buyer to confirm that all went well but now I just let it go and don't leave any for them.

ALWAYS use a trackable method to ship. UPS is a lot better than the USPS in this regard. If the item you're shipping is valued over $100, insist on signature confirmation of delivery.

There's no way for a seller to protect himself against a buyer insisting that he got the wrong item; or for a buyer who receives a mis-identified or totally incorrect item, but a seller's finances can't be drained if there's only $20-$30 for PayPal to tap into, and a buyer can let the credit card company champion his fight.

 

I am in the seller leaves feedback first camp.

I'll ding a seller on communication if he makes me leave feedback first. Only right. A buyer's job is done when he pays.


Edit:
To make it clear, I sell too. I leave feedback when I am paid, and buyers appreciate.
I also communicate plenty to make sure all is well, and it reminds them to leave FB for me.

 

I think Numismania hit the nail on the head.

I resent the Bay's pro buyer position, high fees, and excessive medddling in my business. Its like the restaurant who gives its regular customers crummy tables and bends over backwards for any newbie off the street. I hope, sooner or later there will be someone who will compete with the bay offering sellers lower fees and drop all the pro buyer nonsense. There are ignorant buyers on the bay who will ding you on shipping cost. I offer "free shipping" and simply mark up the item accordingly.

 

Screen the sellers by looking at their feed back before you commit to a bid. Unfortunately, the best you can do about buyers is set a limit as to how few feed backs you feel comfortable with and state that in your listing. Many sellers don't want to sell to people with less than 10 FB responses. I had a guy that won the bid on an item I had for sale. No pay, no pm either. Turns out he had only 5 FBs and one was negative. I filed and got my fees refunded. If a seller hasn't sold items for a while, there won't be a separate listing of "feedback as a seller". You can get a rough idea of how they do business buy looking at the feedback they have received as a buyer by looking for words like "lightning fast payment", etc. Stay away from sellers with mostly one-word "mashed potatoes" FBs like "nice" or "thanks".

 

If you can, screen bidders, also. I have an item for sale right now. It's a doubled die, and there are 3 variations of the DD. This one particular 'potential' bidder asked which one it was, to which I answered him. It was due to the wording of his message that gave me mixed feelings about him. This 'question asker' has almost 500 feedbacks, ALL as a buyer, never sold an item. I then check the feedbacks he left.....34 total FB's left (remember, he has received almost 500 as a buyer). Out of those 34 feedbacks, 32 of them were NEUTRAL, 32!!! He has left 2 positive feedbacks out of 34 total feedbacks left on almost 500 purchases. Obviously, sellers are leaving him FB upon receipt of funds, but out of close to 500 transactions (that he has been left feedback for), he has been gracious enough to leave 32 neutrals, and 2 positives.

What do I do after sending him his response? I block him from bidding. I'm not going to go through any BS (I have 100% FB, and always ship within 48 hours of receiving payment, always use delivery confirm, always add the tracking info to the auction, and always send it to the buyer in a message via the ebay system, also, so the buyer doesn't have to inquire, and always ask that all was well when I see the item has been confirmed as delivered). I blocked him as I pride myself on my service, description of items (though my photo skills aren't the greatest, you can clearly see my item is exactly as described...I don't 'shop photos like alot of sellers), quick shipping, and supplying the proper info. I don't need a turd like that dropping a neutral on me after giving the service I do, let alone getting dinged on my DSR (I do charge for shipping, but I ship Priority Mail, use the USPS's ins and delivery confirm...it always cost me more than I charge, yet I still manage to get dinged on shipping...but that doesn't bother me, because Ebay has made it so buyers damn near expect delivery to their door. If you don't ship for free, you get dinged. It doesn't bother me much, as I don't sell enough to qualify for the seller discount, but I'll be damned if I'm going to deal with a person that will only leave feedback once for every 17 transactions, and 98% of the time it's a neutral.

The worst thing that happened is Toolhaus has been been blocked by ebay so sellers can't see how bad their potential buyers can be. Though, I always check feedback left by a bidder before the item ends. I'd rather not sell something than give great service and not get the proper feedback I deserve. Granted, if I screw up (which hasn't happened), then that's one thing, but to see a loser leave me less than what I deserve, I'd rather keep the item.

edited to add.....the above is best case....it's people like this former potential bidder that cause problems, and I'm not about to send a $150 item, get a SNAD filed, have my money taken from me, and get a 'box of rocks' returned to me, with a del confirm....thusly giving my item away, losing my money, and futiley fighting for my money back, which I know I'll never see again. I'd rather keep the item, as I said.

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I need to rant about paypal and it probably isn't worth a new thread.

I sold one of my graded 25th Anniversary Silver eagle sets on ebay in November, and the buyer wasn't happy. They wanted the OGP (even though it wasn't listed in the auction or shown in the pictures). I disagreed and we went back and forth a few times and then came to an agreement that I would send the OGP for free if they paid for shipping. Both sides were happy, or so I thought. The packaging is delivered, positive feedback is left by both sides. Then, out of the blue, the money disappears out of my paypal account. It turns out that the seller filed a chargeback with their credit card for a merchandise problem while we were going back and forth. They then cancelled the chargeback when they got the OGP on Dec 11th, but I am still without my money. The buyer, their credit card company, and me are all ok with this transaction but paypal has decided that it will be 75-90 days before the issue is decided and then I MIGHT get my money back. In fact, they have it listed as a "resolved" dispute, with me losing my money and the original transaction reversed.

The moral of this story is that, as a seller, you have no protection from a chargeback if the buyer knows the system. I bought my postage through Paypal, with tracking, insurance, and signature. It shows delivered and the buyer left me positive feedback. None of this means anything. If the buyers credit card company finds in their favor, I lose my money and my coins. There is no requirement to ship them back in order for the buyer to get their money back. It is simply criminal. To add insult to injury, Paypal is charging me another $20 to fight the chargeback. I lose that money either way. If you are selling, don't sell anything on ebay that you can't afford to lose because it is not possible to protect yourself on there anymore.

 

Used to be, selling on ebay (before they made it totally in favor of the buyer, honest one or not), the seller could say that tough luck if it was lost in the mail, and it was the buyer's responsibility to pay extra for insurance and tracking. Now, it's pretty much standard that the seller has to have tracking on everything otherwise an unscrupulous buyer can claim not to have gotten it, and ebay will favor that one, give back the money and the seller is out plain and simple. Used to be a buyer (and seller) could give much more honest feedback, but now sellers have to give positive feedback, and buyers are strongly discouraged (through the "are you sure process", etc) to only give positive feedback or not give any at all. Yes, ebay has totally overreacted, but they can't exist if people don't buy. Ebay has plenty of people selling stuff, even when a large amount of sellers have left. And they have increased the fees from sellers, so that they are getting more, so if they lose some sellers over that, that's ok; Ebay then knows that seller has chosen to not have as "good" or "wide" an audience for their wares. If the seller can't find someway to exist and go by ebay's changes, then tough luck to that seller. Ebay doesn't care (Very similar to WalMart's policies over what it dictates to it's suppliers, so that Wal Mart is making the profit and the suppliers are making a pittance). Ebay has also "limited" the postage and handling costs on many items a seller has, even if it costs more for the seller to ship it, as well as taking a percentage of those costs in fees. And they are trying to make sellers as much as possible offer "free shipping".

I think that ebay has lost their opportunity to really make changes that are good and profitable for both buyers and sellers. Yes, there are some quality sellers, but they have never made their reputation as a first class place to shop. I, personally, if I can, go to Amazon and shop there for stuff. Unless ebay can offer a somewhat same experience on some items or for the truly unusual (that Amazon doesn't carry).