Opinions on eBay

[david_gardner2]

First off, while you can vent about eBay here (and feel free to do so if you wish) I have a fairly specific question.

 

I just finished an eBay transaction that went pretty badly (I was the buyer). What occured to me after things were

over was that I've had the same type of behavior from two other ebay sellers who sold photo do-dads. One was

selling larger format lens lock ring spanners, one was selling 4x5 film holders pouchs, and this one was (and is)

selling protective covers for ground glass. All were if radically different locations, so I'm pretty sure it's not the same

guy with three different accounts. All three transactions went something like this:

- I win auction, send payment

- Seller claims to have never received payment

- I verify payment was received

- Seller promises next day shipment

- I wait ... and wait... and wait.

- Finally, I contact seller, who slaims that shipment must have been lost. Promises to ship again the next day.

- I wait ... and wait ... and wait.

- I contact seller and ask for proof of shipment. I never hear from seller.

- I initiate a grievance with eBay. With great bluster and fluster seller claims that I was trying to con him, but he

agrees to ship out of the goodness of his heart.

 

Now, I realize that a lot of ebay transactions go bad, and a lot probably follow just this model. Here's what confuses

me. My other hobby is restoring classic cars. I buy car stuff on ebay as well, a lot more than I buy photo stuff.

Probably 5-10 times as much car stuff. And yet, very rarely do my car transactions go bad.

 

Are there just more photo hobby scammers than car hobby scammers? Or is it just considered easier to scam for

small ticket items (like spanner wrenches) than big ticket items (like Dodge Challenger fenders)?

[joseph_martines]

In all transactions remember "caveat emptor."

[lex_jenkins]

Sounds like a coincidence and not an indication of anything that would show up statistically.

[SCL]

Did you pay with Paypal?

[marc_bergman1]

Out of over 400 transactions on Ebay I have had only one go bad. This was on an item that cost less than $10. They never shipped the item. I checked their feedback closely. I noticed that their quality slipped over the last month so I think they might have had health issues. The item was from an antique store. I did not bother to file a claim.

 

I think you just ran into a period of bad luck. Unfortunately it looks like you were looking for specialty items. That limits the number of sellers. I can only advise you to carefully read the sellers feedback. You can't rely only on the percentage. Now that Ebay doesn't allow sellers to leave bad feedback for buyers we may get a more reliable feedback system.

 

Good luck.

[david_gardner2]

Joseph -

I concur.

 

Stephen -

Once by Paypal, twice by POstal Money Order.

 

Marc -

The earliest was in 2004, the last just finished. Dunno. Like I said, what really strikes me is how alike each of the bad photo hobby buys were; the bad photo hobby buys were all pretty different.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

[paf iii]

I have bought and sold on ebay for years, close to 1000 transactions, and yes there have been a few minor

problems.I was once ripped off in a credit card scam on a sale of Corvette watches to Indonesia We lost about

$400.00, Ebay helped and was responsive to the situation but amex left us holding the bag. You need to do your

homework before you buy or sell, review feedback not just percentage,i.e. do they have a history of poor shipping etc

or other repeat problems.There are many fine members on ebay but it is also a haven for thieves. protect yourself.

Paypal & ebay will resolve most problems you encounter.

[nolan_ross]

Ebay is a crap shoot. The prospect of a better deal is a slippery slope. My practice is to use ebay just to look around but if I want to buy used then I look to KEH.com or a local shop that has a lot of good gear for a reasonable price.

[SCL]

David - I've had over 500 transactions and only 3 problems...all resolved satisfactorily, either thru insurance or Paypal. I think you just accumulated somebody else's bad chits.

[gary_watson]

With respect, there's a chance you may have made your own luck. Simply engaging in a 2-3 question email exchange often sifts out the creeps, as does careful consideration of feedback. Any one kiting shipping, refusing to discuss shipping charges and alternative services, using stock/crappy images, engaging in obvious--but denied--misrepresentation, or refusing to send along valid tracking #s is trouble. Some due diligence tends to cut the likelihood of being had. I do see dodgy "accessories" sellers often and wonder what they're really peddling, especially if all they sell is iffy quality merch. Sorry about the rough ride.

[thomas_hardy1]

I've had one out of 16 go bad. I "won" an item from a company that uses their own website and eBay to sell photo stuff.

They claimed the item was backordered, and after 4-5 weeks I threatened to contact paypal to file a report. I finally got a

refund.

[Uncle Goose]

Out of the 200+ transactions I did I never burnt my wallet, sure I have had occasions that the seller didn't respond but then no money was send to begin with. But then again, I buy a lot of gasmasks for my collection so maybe that's another bunch of people and not easy target for dubious persons.

[daverhaas]

I've done 300 plus transactions on ebay as both a buyer and seller - as a buyer - never had a problem. As a seller - I've had 3 non-paying bidders 1 of whom contacted me after 2 weeks and said he still wanted the item, others I never heard from...1 transaction where the item was lost by the post office (thank god for tracking / insurance - the item showed up at the buyers house 3 weeks later.)

 

My solution - l use paypal for 100% of my ebay transactions. Never had an issue with it.

 

Scammers on EBay tend to deal with big ticket items (when the D2x was new 8 out 10 auctions for it were scams) - The typical scam is now the hijacked account were someone who has 1 - 10 transactions is selling a $3,000 digital camera when their other transactions are typically for clothes or other non-photo items. The scammer also typically wants payment via western union, not pay pal. The other scam is to send you an e-mail saying that they will end the auction early if you pay x-dollars for the item via western union.

 

I'd say what you ran into was bad karma, not scammers - at least not your typical ones.

 

Dave

[bernie moore]

I have 126 transactions on the Bay. Even bought a car and sold a car with success. There was one bad experience with a crappy phone battery listed new but used. Took a while but it was resolved. That too under 10 bucks. I guess if you screw a lot of people for a little money you can up your profits. Most have been great exchanges.

[aether]

With over 200 transactions on eBay, buying & selling photographic equipment, overall I'm very pleased with how it's all gone. When buying, you must check the description & photos very carefully. If the photos are badly taken, be suspicious. If something appears too cheap, be suspicious. Ask questions, if the item & seller are genuine, you'll get honest responses. Selling can be more difficult, you have to cover yourself and communicate well. There are a lot of savvy people using eBay, after a while you can easily spot the scammers -- e.g. the seller who keeps listing camera items saying they're for a friend and he doesn't know anything about cameras!

[alan_ginman]

If I was looking to scam people on ebay, I'm not sure I'd try and do it by selling large format lens lock ring spanners. I'd go for something a bit more mainstream than that. I guess you were unlucky. Which isn't much consolation, I know

 

Regards

 

Alan

[steven_moseley1]

"Now that Ebay doesn't allow sellers to leave bad feedback for buyers we may get a more reliable feedback system"

 

Why would you assume that?

 

Firstly, the feedback given for buyers is now clearly anything but reliable. Feedback for buyers is now pointless. There are just as many bad buyers on ebay as there are bad sellers, but now, thanks to the 'genius' of ebay, sellers who encounter the bad/nutty buyers can no longer leave any honest or transparent f/b of any sort for them...so straight away the new f/b system is fatally flawed.

 

In regard to f/b left for sellers, you may get an increase of 'honest' f/b left by timid buyers who previously were scared of retaliation f/b from the seller, but also you will now get more crazy/malicious/nutty f/b from buyers who do not care a fig about what they say in f/b as the sellers they slander cannot respond.

 

..so the new system is partly better than the previous one in one way, but is in many ways much worse.

 

cheers Steve.M.

[steve_dittmar]

250 purchases on ebay- almost all photo related. 3 or 4 really bad experiences. never buy anything from china/hong kong. And of course, never buy from "I don't know anything about cameras, but it looks real nice" unless you get it really cheap AND they have a return policy. Just bought a Yashica 635 tlr from a woman who said it looked to be in excellent shape, but didn't know if it worked. It was excellent, and, of course, it did not work. Although she had no return policy listed, she refunded all my money, and told me to keep the camera for my troubles.Now THAT is a good seller.Thanks to referrals from PN members, Mr. Mark Hama has this beauty purring like a kitten. (I sent the woman money back once I realized it was repairable) Hoping for good karma...

[david_gardner2]

Thanks all for the feedback and info.

 

Alan - You're right, it's not much consolation, but if I'm going to get jacked I'd rather get jacked for $15 than $1500, so I guess I can't complain too much.