How to avoid getting SCAMMED on ebay

[cooper8168]

I just did a transaction with that guy Poon (great name) in Hong Kong. It was terrible. First,

the Nikon MC-20 Remote that I bought for my F100 was promised to me in 7 days but I

got it 3 weeks late. 2nd, I sent numerous emails to him asking what the delay was and he

never responded to any of them. A few other users have had the same problem with him,

it seems by his feedback. It was only after I left him a neutral that he finally responded

with some half-truths (he said I paid late, but he left me positive feedback about an hour

after I paid - why would he leave me feedback before he claims I paid?).

 

I understand that things sometimes get delayed, especially when coming from overseas.

But to not bother to respond to someone after numerous attempts is inexcusible, in my

opinion, and I don't care how busy you are or how much volume you do. As a buyer, I

expect a response within 24 hours and 99% of the sellers I've dealt with usually respond

within 2 hours, myself included. Poon is a rare example of a bad eBay experience. The vast

majority are

positive.

[cooper8168]

On the subject of feedback -does anyone else think it's rude when another member

doesn't bother to leave feedback for you after you've taken the time (and in some cases

put yourself out on a limb) to leave feedback for them?

 

And on a nother note, I have a serious problem with sellers who refuse to leave feedback

until the buyer leaves feedback for them first. That's dishonest, plain and simple. Holding

feedback hostage is the one of the most dishonorable practices on eBay and I refuse to do

business with sellers who state such a policy in their auctions. I state plainly in my

auctions that I leave feedback for the buyer after he or she pays me in a timely manner,

not after he or she leaves feedback for me first. This is the way it should be.

[db1]

Chris,

 

I too find it very frustrating when a buyer or seller doesn't take the time to leave feedback.

 

But as a seller, I do not leave feedback for the buyer until it is left for me. Why? The buyer has the easy part. Pay me in a reasonable time in the form I payment that I prefer.

As a seller, I have to make sure the buyer is pleased with the item. I have to make sure everything is as I said it would be.

 

So, I never leave feedback for a buyer until I get feedback saying they are pleased.

 

And one more thing, feedback is not just about how fast the payment was or the item itself. It is about the entire transaction.

 

I recently had a buyer use the buy it now option and he paid instantly with paypal. great. BUT, he emailed me and stated that if I do not abide by HIS rules, I should immediately refund his money and relist the item. HELL NO!!!!! The buyer must abide by the sellers rules. In this case, the item description said the item was "untested" and there were no refund or returns. So he emailed and said if I do not refund his payment if the item did not work he would leave negative feedback. This all happened minutes from the buy it now button being clicked.

 

I promptly emailed him and stated my rules that HE must abide by and that no refund or return would be given. Needless to say, 3 days later he left me positive feedback. I then left him positive feedback. Did he deserve it? Maybe. Maybe not.

 

So, that's the way I do things. Simple. Read my auction. Like the rules/description? If so, bid. If not, look elsewhere.

 

:)

[kelly_flanigan1]

Re <i>As a buyer, I expect a response within 24 hours and 99% of the sellers I've dealt with usually respond within 2 hours, myself included.</i><BR><BR>Many folks have other lives besides Ebay; and actually are businesses; with 8 hour days; Monday to Friday. I seriously doubt that most auctions that end at 1am are answered within 2 hours. This is abit absurd. Many folks have real jobs; kids; church; other things besides Ebay to deal with. Here we ship out paypal paid orders first; and then answer the way too many retarded questions. It is VERY common that folks demand a shipping quote; without giving their address. An ebay item can mention the same thing three times; and folks will email, you asking the same thing again. Often we add the "thing" again into the Ebay description; so it is there in bold type; mentioned four times..... 3/4's of email questions involve things mentioned already in the item description. One should write auctions at a 6th grade level or lower; and repeat things often. <BR><BR>ALOT of folks ask goofyc questions; and dont mention what their address is for shipping quotes...Many buyers will ignore a "check holding" comment mentioned in an auction; and whine like childeren when checks are held..... They are a royal pain in the rear to deal with; with massive handholding required.. a check holding customer requires 20 times as much work as a paypal customer....Paypal users often pay right after the auction closes; and the items are shipped with no fuss; no emails. Others; like the fellow I quoted WAY up this thread days ago; were emailed within 1/2 day of auction close; and then threaten one with "I am backing out"; because they have buyers remorse; and are just stinky rats. <BR><BR>My 3 ebay dealings with Poon were very very professionally done; items arrived within 7 to 13 days after payment; with no hassles. I have no fears of buying from him again; since my own track record with him has been ok.

[db1]

From one of my auctions:

 

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:

 

PAYMENT: I will accept Paypal or USPS money orders only. If using Paypal, I will only ship to confirmed addresses.

 

SHIPPING: Shipping is $15 via USPS priority mail and includes delivery confirmation.

 

PAYPAL IS PREFERRED !!!!

 

---

 

I still get idiots who pay with an unconfirmed address. And they still ask about shipping charges.

[kelly_flanigan1]

At My firm; we leave feedback about once a week; sometimes later if swamped. We do it in waves; since we are often bogged down answering retarded questions. Sometimes we give feedback instantly; if a buyer has a rating below 10; or emails us about feedback. If slow; we do feedbacks is a day or two. Our goal is to ship product first; then answer the goofier questions. If a customer smells like a dirty rat; we dont give feedback. The rat we emailed 5 times since Monday still has not responded; and has a past history of backing out of auctions by his feedback comments...<BR><BR>One fellow who sold me a broken camera still hasnt given me feedback for 2 months; in checking his record; many folks leave no feedbacks. Each of his negatives he received; he nuked them back with a negative. I didnt do enough homework; and got a camera with a working shutter; but broken wind mechanism.

[jeff_drew4]

Most of the above covers all the points I can think of except for a few. Whether eBay

or PayPal protect the buyer or the seller, if fraud is suspected, there is a sizeable legal

system available for recourse - right or wrong. If it's a $20 item are you going to

waste time and stress out legally pursuing it? Probably not. A $2000 item is a

different story and can trigger state AND federal investigations. Regarding banks: If

fraud is suspected, money orders & cashiers checks can be stopped and/or returned.

Yes there is a hassle associated with the process AND formal criminal complaints to

be filed. Wire transfers are not as efficient or as cheap as they used to be. As an

example, one can FedEx Overnight a money order cheaper than a wire transfer that

takes 2~4 days and banks charging the sender and receiver sometimes more than

$25. One other thing; I get at least 3 or 4 reports weekly from the FDIC of fraudulent,

counterfeit, stolen etc. money orders & cashiers checks. Odds are slim you will get

one for a single eBay transaction, but they exist. There are mechanisms in place for

redress & recovery (maybe), but sometimes one has to stop acting like a victim and

get the help needed to kick some crooked butt!

[kelly_flanigan1]

On Easter Night; I went to our shop and downloaded the Ebay emails. I answered ALL our messages Friday at 7pm.<BR><BR> We got over 200 + emails; more than 2/3's spam.<BR><BR> Then I checked Paypal; did invoices for several auctions; and moved their emails to the completed area. Then I replied to a mess of auction questions; shipping quotes; and consolidated the mess to the minimum amount of emails.<BR><BR> One fellow emailed us about 6 times between Auction close Saturday; and my cleanup session Easter night.. All the same retarded question; asking for a shipping quote; without giving his address. I wrapped all his panic-y emails as one wad; and emailed him for his address.<BR><BR> He bid on an huge oddball heavy item; where freight options can vary. He called us after UPS picked up on Monday late afternoon; all pissed at our service.<BR><BR> The item then went out on Tuesday. The "massive" one business delay shipping delay is due to the fellow NOT forwarding his address; as stated in the auctions description; mentioned 3 times in bold.<BR><BR> Some folks will always have Ebay problems; because they flatly cannot read; and or are all pumped up on coffee and donuts; emailing your firm at 3am "you are responding; please answer within 3 days; per Ebay rules".<BR><BR> After about 2000 positives; and 1 negative; the panic buyer condition gets to be laughable. Now we get emails "Ok to leave feedback" from Mr complainer; why bother? He has a bunch of negatives; about 5 in 90...

[kelly_flanigan1]

"you are <b>NOT</b> responding; please answer within 3 days; per Ebay rules".

[steve g]

As a seller and buyer, my approach is the same: Be firm, but friendly.<br><br>

I have averted more disasters with this technique than anything else. Also, if you feel fishy about someone, use a money order and make sure its to a non PO Box address. I had a sitation once as a buyer where they guy wasnt shipping for weeks on end. So I did a reverse phone lookup. Suprise, suprise it was some 14 year old idiot who broke the item after the auction ended and didnt know what to do. Talked to mommy and get my money plus $20 hassle fee back to me. I never made ridiculous threats, used foul language or took it to an unneccessary level.<br><br>

AND TO SELLERS: Do not leave feedback until the buyer says they are satisfied and leave feedback themselves. Otherwise you can get held hostage by complainers who want the world from you or they will destroy your feedback.

[db1]

the auction I mentioned on 4/25 has now reappeared with a new ID and now he is in the UK. surprise surprise.

[wayne_crider4]

Kelly, there are plenty of sites that list telephone numbers and internet addresses. I

found a few yesterday when looking around in other categories.

 

I am a private buyer and have 7 completed buys; One which got me for $20 which I

considered no big deal, although at the time I was pissed. I'll still buy, and maybe

even

sell something, but the market is changing as the economy changes and the deals

that existed after 9-11 are fewer. The ads for items I have looked for are fewer, have

higher starting prices, and many are buy it nows with bid pricing starting at $20

under the buy it price. There's alot of wheeler-dealer, businesses on Ebay. What was

a buyers market a

year and more back is changing as the economy has stablized. Now when looking in

multiple forums and categories I see many

unbiddded items and alot of those are simply online bisinesses.

 

David, and others, I appreciate the info you have given us all. Advice is always

welcome. But why now? Have things gotten so out of hand lately? I only ask as I have

stayed away from Ebay and have been buying privately or thru dealers.

[db1]

Why now?

 

Because there seems to be an influx of Romanian and Eastern European scammers listing tons of desireable camera equipment. Once payment is made to these rip-off artists, there is no way of getting it back.

 

I report about 10 auctions a day for fraud.

 

I just want people to be aware. That's all.

[kelly_flanigan1]

My Ebay customer I ranted about came thru with a payPal payment; and we shipped the item to him. Maybe he had some personal problems; email/computer problems; or buyers remorse. It is abit odd to get a "I am backing out of the deal" email; just 3 days after auction close; since we sent a message to him thru several channels; with no response....