Ebay sellers that anoy me

[Catkins]

Hate to open old wounds here;-

But as a buyer I leave feedback when I received the parcel. However if I feel a quick note to the negative is required then I will send a message to the seller (I've only felt it could be helpful on one occasion) and it is possible that there might be a very good reason for any issues.

When it comes to sellers leaving feedback, I would prefer it if the sellers waited until I had left feedback, but I understand that to some sellers they leave feedback to acknowledge payment - and because if they don't do it ASAP then they might forget.

Again as a buyer I try to pay at the end of an auction, but if there might be any reason why I would wish to delay payment, then I will contact the seller and check that it is okay for them.

As for the "Business" sellers, I only know of one - Rails of Sheffield - and I have had no problems with them at all.

[steveb860]

The one thing that strikes me is the actual amount of Loco's listed that "have never been out of the box" or "never run". I find this incredibly hard to believe, the first thing I do with a new shiney is run it. Do other people NOT do this, are they all collectors who have fallen on hard times and have to sell their prized collections

[Hobby]

I have two that haven't left their box yet... There for future projects and bought because they were priced "right"...

[The Stationmaster]

The one thing that strikes me is the actual amount of Loco's listed that "have never been out of the box" or "never run". I find this incredibly hard to believe, the first thing I do with a new shiney is run it. Do other people NOT do this, are they all collectors who have fallen on hard times and have to sell their prized collections

I'm a bit like Hobby in having one or two that have yet to leave the box - enroute to surgery or painshop. But it is an odd fact that stuff does turn up quite frequently at auction and the boxes have clearly never been opened - whether it's old shop stock or from collectors I don't know but as (to my knowledge) a couple of Ebay traders whose wares appear regularly in another thread buy from an auction I attend there might be some truth in it - until they open the box and remove the loco etc to take a pic. Talking to a chap in the auction house a couple of days ago he was saying that two of their regulars are now getting stuff onto Ebay on the day they bought it at the auction - it seems they're looking for a quick turnround (and profit).

[gandy]

as a buyer, i really dont touch ebay unless theres something i really want, or a bargin (like mechano dockside locos at £7 a pop) its to much of a pain and things are often over priced/gets silly, ive often been outbid on an item for it to sell for more then what it costs brand new!

 

as a seller, i do quite well, i often sell alot of stuff for a friend whos thinning his collection (hes been a collector for years, and has almost every scale in CN and a number of american roads) i tend to post items the next day after i get payment, if they take a few days to pay, i'll wait a few days to pay, i dont drive and i walk the 4 mile round trip to the post office, i reuse packing and charge at cost/touch more for packing and the effort to post the item/s smaller items always go 2nd class recorded, and larger items by whatever is cheapest, this seams to keep the buyers happy as i have 100% feedback (apart from one muppet who "pushed the wrong button" on his iphone and never changed it, got it sorted when i got in touch with ebay about this matter.

 

i also have a habbit of buying cheap crap from shows and selling it on ebay, everything is honest, i dont buy locos/stock unless its dirt cheap (like carboot sale cheap) i normal pick some stuff out those 10p bags and stick them on ebay, will often get at least £5 for something like old triang stuff, loco plates, crap figures etc.

from time to time i put an add in the paper and get a box of stuff people dont want for a tenner, sort it out, junk whats worthless and sell the rest. so far the biggest "win" was a non running Hornby 0-4-0 cheapo saddle tank loco, listed as non running twice, brought for £3 at car boot, sold for just over £30, ive also picked up brand new Hornby decoders from local shops/hattons stick them on ebay with a 99p start and they always end for a few quid more, upto £5 more.

 

you could say its unfair, but im only doing what ever 2nd hand trader dose, buy cheap, sell for profit, if someone wants to pay money for something, im not stupid enough to refuse.

[gandy]

opps i forgot to say, the old thing that really bugs me on ebay (sellers) is when they clearly have no idea what they are selling, yet claim its their own, i often seen basic models, be it Hornby, Bachmann being sold as "handbuilt" or "rare" when they are not, or sometimes something listed brand new, yet no box, i wouldnt even think about touching these iteams because i half suspect they may be stolen, if someone dosnt know what they are selling, they have stolen it, or they are a salesman by trade.

[forest2807]

if someone dosnt know what they are selling, they have stolen it

 

And what about people who are selling the possessions of a recently deceased partner or spouse? They aren't all experts in model railways; how can they be expected to describe an item accurately with the precise terminology or specialist jargon that we are all familiar with to varying degrees? I find your comment crass and insensitive in the extreme.

[JZ]

I had a seller who offered combined postage. He was charging £1.60 per single item. I bought 12 from him and he genrously gave £1.60 off the total p+p bill. Despite saying that they would be posted 1st class recorded and "well packed" they came 2nd class and wrapped in old Tesco ready meal containers held together with what was probably PoundShop economy sellotape.

[lakeview770]

Plain and simple I have stopped using it, in my opinion its got away from what it was when it started out. We have been using it from almost its launch here in the USA and like many people have said before me we seem to have some of the same problems as many others. We sold 2 items to one guy who lived in Hawaii (not part of the contiguous united states) and it takes longer to get there from the lower 48, I clearly specified that I was going to be away for a couple of days (called away at short notice) during the auction but was contactable and this guy used the buy it now and started screaming that he hadnt got his stuff I also put in the auction 3 to 4 days handling time after the auction, the guy gave me 2 negatives for 2 perfect items I got 2 strike and restrictions put on me despite almost 12 years of good selling yet some of the big guys are getting hundreds of negatives per month and getting away with it.. . I bought 2 books from the UK totaling about $80 and they never arrived ebay didnt want to know as it was over their specified claim time despite intl shipping to the USA is anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks.

Rant over I just prefer to go to an online reputable retailer and pay a little more

 

Andrew

[Oldddudders]

What about the (non-railway) item I bought for a reasonable price - item location London UK. Package arrived stamped from South Africa! Fortunately I wasn't surcharged for it being outside the EU.....

[Bill]

Clearly sellers who either can't or don't like to read can occasionally annoy...

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LLEDO-VANGUARDS-VA9002-THAMES-TRADER-TANKER-CLEVELAND-MOTOR-SPIRIT-/120826931575?pt=UK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN&hash=item1c21d8a977

 

The box says clearly 1/64th and it has been the listed at 1/43rd -

In fact most English trucks are made at 1/50th or smaller... yet many appear get erroneously listed as 1/43rd for some reason I have yet to fathom...

It would be really helpful if more Ebay sellers were to do the necessary homework

 

As a footnote - The Slavs and other nations across the channel seem to appreciate 1/43rd scale for trucks and buses - so why not the British?...

[steveb860]

And now when you search a Hornby class 31 (or whatever) you get more items of clothing, mugs and mouse mats than the model you are looking for.

Edited January 8, 2012 by steveb860

[Hobby]

You should try searching for bits for a Princess Car!!

Edited January 8, 2012 by Hobby

[ThaneofFife]

seems to be a lot of unhappy friends here when it comes to ebay.

 

why not try another form of buying or selling your items? a lot of people make out ebay is the be all and end all of buying and selling model railways. craigs list, ebid, gumtree to name a few.

 

if i can pick up on one point. on the issue of people ignoring T&Cs i think they do read them but choose to disregard them and thats the difference between your sensible level headed buyer and the less salubrious buyer who looks for pinholes in listings on which they can contrive a situation to their own ends.

 

most sellers are trying to cover themselves from the many unscrupulous buyers who claim not to have received items, when they had, in order to get a refund from ebay and then keep the item on top or sell it on. many seem to think this reads that the buyer is out to rip you off which is a little harsh. i actually believe a lot of disappointment can be avoided if you just do a little homework on the seller first. its very easy and will at least give you a heads up about a potential rip off merchant.

 

fact is, it is the buyer who is in the best possible position to obtain a full refund for a lost item because unless the seller bought from new and has a receipt, only the buyer has the proof of what it cost them. they have an invoice from the seller via ebay.

 

if it were left to the buyer to claim a refund for the lost item, where is his proof of what he originally paid for the item? he might have paid £10 for an item and the winning bid was £50 so he got lucky and raised £40 perhaps towards another loco or track etc.

(lets assume we all like to make a little profit here and not get bogged down with alerting the local taxman).

he wont be able to use the invoice he sent to his buyer as his item didnt cost him £50 but he would still have to send the buyer his £50 back plus he has lost his item. ive been in this situation myself and even after apologising for the apparently lost item and quickly refunding the money some buyers still seem to go into vendebtor mode and leave really negative feedback. just because a buyer sends me payment 1 minute after a an auction has ended will not change the fact that in my listing i may have said that the item will be dispatched within say 5 days.

 

the royal mail insist you provide evidence as to what the lost item cost to you and if you bought it say from a toy fair you wont have a receipt or other evidence so youll just get a book of 1st class stamps if youre lucky. ive been on both ends and take it from me its not all about a few sellers trying to pull fast ones. hopefully my comments will help bring a little balance to the issue of ebay dislikes.

 

if you want an analogy; people often refer to rogue builders but the fact is for every one rogue builder out there there is one rogue customer..............

Edited January 23, 2012 by ThaneofFife

[Talltim]

I've never had a single problem as a buyer* or seller on eBay in the past 10 years and 280 transactions. Maybe I'm just lucky.

 

*Not quite true, I bought a Bemo coach from a German seller and got it delivered to my work's PO box. After it didn't arrive I contacted the seller and they provided me with a tracking URL. I could see that it had been signed for by a member of the mailroom staff (whom I trust). I suspect that it never arrived at the PO here and that the signature was the signature for receipt of the PO box contents. Anyway, not Ebay or the seller's fault.

[Il Grifone]

AFAIK, the seller has the contract with the Post Office and has to make the claim. They also request the eBay transaction number as proof of value - too bad if it sold for less than its true worth. In addition I understand that they do not refund the postage. I hope I'm wrong here as that would be adding insult to injury - charging for a service not provided.

[John M Upton]

Please someone stop listing bloody fridge magnets, mousemats, mugs and hats in the bleeding Model Railway catergories!!! :mad: :mad:

Edited January 29, 2012 by John M Upton

[Kenton]

Please someone stop listing bloody fridge magnets, mousemats, mugs and hats in the bleeding Model Railway catergories!!! :mad: :mad:

 

... and all those empty boxes, and other totally useless items of outright junk, oh and small bags of rail joiners at highly inflated prices.

 

I think I'm pretty good at using the ebay search facility but am amazed at the utter cr@p that keeps coming up on the search results.

 

I've been on the lookout for a particular "unwanted Xmas present" for quite a while and although they keep coming up "used" on ebay searches they are always priced over "Hattons" retail or the bidding goes well in excess of "new" prices. They are not that rare - though I haven't got one yet.

[The Stationmaster]

... and all those empty boxes, and other totally useless items of outright junk, oh and small bags of rail joiners at highly inflated prices.

I resemble that remark - first thing we ever sold on Ebay was an empty box - for 21 quid (which was quite sufficient for buying a Bachmann Mk1 coach, there's money in that there cardboard

 

We no longer use Ebay partly because herself (who was the household Ebayer) got a bit hacked off with the hassle (and would be even more hacked off now I suspect) but we definitely found that what we might have regarded as 'junk' was usually something someone else was prepared to buy although quite what somebody in South America intended to do with 3 HD tinplate wagon bodies was anyone's guess (although he might have been a mate of the bloke in NZ who bought several incomplete HD wagon chassis).

[Oldddudders]

although this feedback comment, left at 18:04 yesterday evening:

"Avoid this discourteous, intemperate creep at all costs"

would suggest that perhaps you don't always extend the same courtesy to those from whom you buy!

Ourselves as others see us! Brilliant!

[Kenton]

I resemble that remark - first thing we ever sold on Ebay was an empty box - for 21 quid (which was quite sufficient for buying a Bachmann Mk1 coach, there's money in that there cardboard

 

resentment acknowledged.

 

I guess it is just that I do not understand it from a buyers view. I cannot help thinking that the only reason to buy an empty box is to sell a similar item "as new" clearly attempting to pull a fast one. Either that or there is some strange collectors out there who are only interested in empty boxes. So it is the buyer of empty boxes that I am suspect of.

 

As to their sale: I guess that is what ebay is for - selling all sorts of s/h items that you have no need for; that might otherwise end up in landfill; that keeps the postal service in business; and raises a few pennies pounds for your wallet.

[The Stationmaster]

resentment acknowledged.

 

I guess it is just that I do not understand it from a buyers view. I cannot help thinking that the only reason to buy an empty box is to sell a similar item "as new" clearly attempting to pull a fast one. Either that or there is some strange collectors out there who are only interested in empty boxes. So it is the buyer of empty boxes that I am suspect of.

 

As to their sale: I guess that is what ebay is for - selling all sorts of s/h items that you have no need for; that might otherwise end up in landfill; that keeps the postal service in business; and raises a few pennies pounds for your wallet.

No hard feelings - just thought it was a point worth making in view of what I see in the auction room.

 

The empty box thing seems to be an important part of the 'collecting world' where people appear to strive for 'completeness' - and of course putting something in an original box, which is preferably in better than 'fair' condition, will more than double the 'value' (i.e. potential sale price) of whatever it is that it goes with. It is amusing to see auction catalogues which describe not only the condition of the whatever but also, separately, the condition of the box and presence or other wise of the lube oil, 'examined by' and so on odds & ends which were there when it was new. And I have seen - and was both staggered and amused by - an auction room bidding battle over a couple of HD 'examined by' labels and some unopened original lube oil; it made Ebay look like a vicarage tea party - there are some very serious people out there buying stuff like this (and empty boxes) and selling into that sort of market can be worth the effort

 

So if you've got any empty boxes sort 'em out and get them into auction or onto Ebay (BTW 1950s lineside accessories in original boxes seem to be the coming thing judging by what I've seen of late.)

[John M Upton]

The prosecution enters the following into evidence m'lud:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LIMA-MK2E-Network-Rail-Structure-Gauging-Vehicle-No-2-/160727010715?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item256c138d9b

 

Apart from the fact the livery on this model is a load of fictional bobbins (just what the hell is all that data panel stuff on the black bit?!?) I can never take seriously anyone who claims to have 'high standards' (err oooops, he means "High Standed") with utterly appalling spelling and grammar in the description.

 

It's a mess...

[Tim Hale]

I have just encountered a seller (david 4848) who was paid immediately, delievered slowly, overcharged for postage and then was unpleasant on his feedback even though I provided him with positive friendly feedback and didn't complain.

 

Tim

[oggy1953]

I bought an item Monday before last from a well known model shop on Ebay. Item arrived last Friday but was the wrong item. I sent a message and was assured the correct one would be posted straight away. Almost a week later i'm still waiting. They wont be getting good feedback from me.