Seller beware!

[robs]

Decluttering is meant to be liberating, but my recent experience is just frustrating and depressing. Wish I hadn’t started…

It is time for a clear out – stuff accumulated over far too long and just never used anymore, so it was time to get rid (a little pressure from SWMBO also..). I could throw it all in a skip and walk away, but most of it is good usable stuff and should be of use to someone. I hate waste and some of it is worth a little number of squids so have had a go at flogging it on the bay.
I’ve been using the bay for some 15 years. Used to sell a lot of records and have 1200+ excellent feedback. Have only used it for a few bits and pieces in the last three years or so since returning from Oz. So I put a few things up, some for collection only.

Immediately, the collection only stuff is receiving queries about can I ship it…

Can I ship a fishing rod to Australia? No. Germany? No. Italy? No.

Can the buyer arrange a courier to collect and take it to Scotland – OK.

Said rod is paid for, two weeks after winning, by Paypal, after several messages along the lines of:
“Hi, I sent you a message before I'll pay next week my son gets married this weekend so watching the pennies I'll not let you down fri at the latest cheers XX 👍”

Here we go….

I pack it up (not easy!).… and three weeks later it’s still sitting in my hall waiting for them to arrange the courier...

A printer sells for 99p. Collection only. Paid for with Paypal.
“Could I deliver it?” No.
“It’s 150 mile round trip so I might not be able to do it soon”. OK….
“I won’t be able to collect it, please keep the money” ..err…OK.
Why bid if you are 150 miles away and it is clearly collection only?

A NOW TV box. A couple of quid.
“Can I get Sky Sports on it” Yes, if you buy a subscription.
“OK thanks.” Bids and wins at £3. Pays by Paypal.
A couple of days later …“Can I get IPTV on it”. No, I don’t think so.
“I don’t want it then”. Sorry, you bid, you won, it’s yours.
“OK, don’t bother posting it, keep the £3”. Ok
Several days later… “I’ll try it, please post it”.
So I do…then..
“Hi there,
Thank you for sending the item. I received it today. I tried to to start it but no chance. Any idea for this issue. Can you help me.
Thanks
XXX”
I reply with the instructions and link to website etc..but thinking …here we go…
“I fit all the cable HMID and the power supply. Nothing happen. The box itself got indicator but this indicator I think suppose to be on.
But it does not. Either the power supply faulty or the box itself.
So I am not sure what can I do in this situation.
Thanks
XXX”

I can’t be bothered to argue, realize I am dealing with an idiot, send postage to return it and get it back. Surprise….it works fine. Report buyer to eBay.

eBay decides against me (in favour of someone who’s been with them for a couple of months and no selling = no revenue for them…strange business decision methinks).

Do people really have nothing better to do in their lives, or are they really just idiots doing these things?

I told the bay where to go and won’t use it again.

So after that disaster, a try at Gumtree (yes I know they are owned by the bay..).
Have posted a few things up today. One an old PC (not shoddy though, i5 + 4GB + graphics card), in great condition and working fine. I’m not using it and it was taking up space. Put a fresh install of Win 10 on it. Some screenshots of the properties etc on the ad. £75.

A guy (Susanna according to the mails and texts!) turns up an hour earlier than arranged to pick it up. I have to go out to my office to unplug it (I had been updating Win10 on it). Takes it away…an hour later I get a call saying it’s not working…

”I’ve changed the graphics card on it and it won’t boot up. Either the motherboard or the CPU is faulty”.
Well, it was working fine when you took it….
“Can I have my money back?”.
No…you’ve been changing parts of it …not my responsibility or liability if you broke it...
Hopefully left at that. We shall see!

Am I just unlucky…. or are there just so many scamsters and idiots around now that you can’t sell anything safely anymore? I thought it was always buyer beware, not seller!!

The skip is looking quite attractive now. I jest – alternative is the charity shop, but not sure they will take electrical stuff.

Maybe cards in the local shop window is where it’s at?

Anyway, have posted a couple of things in the classifieds here tonight. Hopefully a better class of buyer (if anyone is interested!) 😊

 

[sean99]

For cheap stuff (under 50 quid) just freecycle it.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

I remember putting a turntable on eBay a few years back, with a sensible BIN price, collection only... twice I had people hit BIN and then ask me to courier it, which I quite rightly refused to do... then I started getting silly offers from people wanting me to practically give it away... so I did, to my best mate's dad who uses it regularly.

I had another deck (Rega) to sell a couple of weeks back and stuck it on Gumtree for what I thought was a reasonable price, I had multiple enquiries and sold it at full asking price within two days.

I do sell high-ish value items on eBay sometimes, with shipping allowed and haven't had any issues, I guess due to the kind of people buying them. I won't ship a turntable which is why I won't put them on eBay.

I can't be bothered with eBay for low value items because that's where I have had people mess about. I tend to use local Facebook selling groups for those and sometimes just offer stuff free to collector, you won't get any comebacks from that.

 

[ian123running]

What a pain! Depending on how much stuff and location, a car boot sale? We took a bunch of de-clutter items to our local one not long ago - most sold, not always for a great price. The left-overs went to charity shop or trash. This was was also quite a diverting way to spend a morning and of course it's all cash with 'buyer-beware' clear to all.

 

[stevec67]

Sell it on here. I'd have a PC with W10 for £75, I'd have your arm off. Likewise a now box for £3.

 

[Rcook]

Sell it on here. I'd have a PC with W10 for £75, I'd have your arm off. Likewise a now box for £3.

I would have had the PC too.

Ebay is full of idiots, they drive me potty - the number of people who don't seem to understand 'collection only', or think it doesn't apply to them, staggers me. A few years ago I stated putting a list of terms and conditions at the end of each listing. It mostly seems to put the idiots off - they are all basic common sense, but address all of the stupidity I have encountered over the years. Occasionally you get some cretin send me a message along the lines of "Why are you so hostile to buyers/you have lost a customer etc", to which I reply "No one is forcing you or anyone else to buy from me. If you take offence, you aren't the sort of person I want to deal with"

 

[Ellenor]

I sold an Arcam Dac on eBay. About a month later I had an email off the buyer saying it didn't work. He also sent me a pic of it with the cover off showing a blown component. He wanted £25 off me to get it repaired. luckily eBay sided with me on that one.

I sold an old Land Rover to a German guy via an eBay classified ad some years ago and he was a total pleasure to deal with, paid me full asking price and had it picked up on a low loader. Sent me loads of pics when he got it and even invited me and the family over.
Just this week sold a split screen camper van to a German woman and once again no trouble. Had a few twatty enquiries from uk people though, no I won't take 5k off the asking price thanks

 

[Lee T]

Decluttering is meant to be liberating, but my recent experience is just frustrating and depressing. Wish I hadn’t started…

It is time for a clear out – stuff accumulated over far too long and just never used anymore, so it was time to get rid (a little pressure from SWMBO also..). I could throw it all in a skip and walk away, but most of it is good usable stuff and should be of use to someone. I hate waste and some of it is worth a little number of squids so have had a go at flogging it on the bay.
I’ve been using the bay for some 15 years. Used to sell a lot of records and have 1200+ excellent feedback. Have only used it for a few bits and pieces in the last three years or so since returning from Oz. So I put a few things up, some for collection only.

Immediately, the collection only stuff is receiving queries about can I ship it…

Can I ship a fishing rod to Australia? No. Germany? No. Italy? No.

Can the buyer arrange a courier to collect and take it to Scotland – OK.

Said rod is paid for, two weeks after winning, by Paypal, after several messages along the lines of:
“Hi, I sent you a message before I'll pay next week my son gets married this weekend so watching the pennies I'll not let you down fri at the latest cheers XX ��”

Here we go….

I pack it up (not easy!).… and three weeks later it’s still sitting in my hall waiting for them to arrange the courier...

A printer sells for 99p. Collection only. Paid for with Paypal.
“Could I deliver it?” No.
“It’s 150 mile round trip so I might not be able to do it soon”. OK….
“I won’t be able to collect it, please keep the money” ..err…OK.
Why bid if you are 150 miles away and it is clearly collection only?

A NOW TV box. A couple of quid.
“Can I get Sky Sports on it” Yes, if you buy a subscription.
“OK thanks.” Bids and wins at £3. Pays by Paypal.
A couple of days later …“Can I get IPTV on it”. No, I don’t think so.
“I don’t want it then”. Sorry, you bid, you won, it’s yours.
“OK, don’t bother posting it, keep the £3”. Ok
Several days later… “I’ll try it, please post it”.
So I do…then..
“Hi there,
Thank you for sending the item. I received it today. I tried to to start it but no chance. Any idea for this issue. Can you help me.
Thanks
XXX”
I reply with the instructions and link to website etc..but thinking …here we go…
“I fit all the cable HMID and the power supply. Nothing happen. The box itself got indicator but this indicator I think suppose to be on.
But it does not. Either the power supply faulty or the box itself.
So I am not sure what can I do in this situation.
Thanks
XXX”

I can’t be bothered to argue, realize I am dealing with an idiot, send postage to return it and get it back. Surprise….it works fine. Report buyer to eBay.

eBay decides against me (in favour of someone who’s been with them for a couple of months and no selling = no revenue for them…strange business decision methinks).

Do people really have nothing better to do in their lives, or are they really just idiots doing these things?

I told the bay where to go and won’t use it again.

So after that disaster, a try at Gumtree (yes I know they are owned by the bay..).
Have posted a few things up today. One an old PC (not shoddy though, i5 + 4GB + graphics card), in great condition and working fine. I’m not using it and it was taking up space. Put a fresh install of Win 10 on it. Some screenshots of the properties etc on the ad. £75.

A guy (Susanna according to the mails and texts!) turns up an hour earlier than arranged to pick it up. I have to go out to my office to unplug it (I had been updating Win10 on it). Takes it away…an hour later I get a call saying it’s not working…

”I’ve changed the graphics card on it and it won’t boot up. Either the motherboard or the CPU is faulty”.
Well, it was working fine when you took it….
“Can I have my money back?”.
No…you’ve been changing parts of it …not my responsibility or liability if you broke it...
Hopefully left at that. We shall see!

Am I just unlucky…. or are there just so many scamsters and idiots around now that you can’t sell anything safely anymore? I thought it was always buyer beware, not seller!!

The skip is looking quite attractive now. I jest – alternative is the charity shop, but not sure they will take electrical stuff.

Maybe cards in the local shop window is where it’s at?

Anyway, have posted a couple of things in the classifieds here tonight. Hopefully a better class of buyer (if anyone is interested!) ��

I must be one lucky son of a B reading this.

 

[twotone]

I sold a boiler part to some guy on ebay, it was a second hand gas valve I think from memory and was sold as such, price of the valve including postage was about £30.

Three years later he got in touch to say that the valve was faulty and could he have his money back.

I've given up selling stuff on ebay, not worth the hassle.

 

[Getgaff]

I’ve been very fortunate selling on eBay, sure I get a few low-ballers but a polite refusal does the job.

I have noticed eBay are now forcing sellers like me to include a ‘best offer’ option with BIN sales. I couldn’t remove it from a listing I placed yesterday, yet only a week ago it was possible to exclude it.

 

[Getgaff]

I sold a boiler part to some guy on ebay, it was a second hand gas valve I think from memory and was sold as such, price of the valve including postage was about £30.
Three years later he got in touch to say that the valve was faulty and could he have his money back.

Seriously? Unbelievable. Hope you had fun telling that buyer to go fornicate elsewhere.

 

[twotone]

Seriously? Unbelievable. Hope you had fun telling that buyer to go fornicate elsewhere.

Yip seriously, I just told him he was onto plums.

 

[Rcook]

I’ve been very fortunate selling on eBay, sure I get a few low-ballers but a polite refusal does the job.

I have noticed eBay are now forcing sellers like me to include a ‘best offer’ option with BIN sales. I couldn’t remove it from a listing I placed yesterday, yet only a week ago it was possible to exclude it.

This is a source of great irritation to me too.

 

[Lee T]

I’ve been very fortunate selling on eBay, sure I get a few low-ballers but a polite refusal does the job.

I have noticed eBay are now forcing sellers like me to include a ‘best offer’ option with BIN sales. I couldn’t remove it from a listing I placed yesterday, yet only a week ago it was possible to exclude it.

This is a glitch, give them a call to sort it for you.
I have sold a few things recently with no such issue.

Before you know it a new forum myth will be born.

 

[Lee T]

Must admit, I can see why some here are experiencing problems, a good attitude goes along way when dealing with anyone.

 

[Getgaff]

This is a glitch, give them a call to sort it for you.
I have sold a few things recently with no such issue.
Before you know it a new forum myth will be born.

I’m not so sure. I have two options;
Auction; or,
Buy it now + offers

No option to remove offers

https://imgur.com/gallery/EaNNL

EDIT: Apologies, you are right. By switching away from the quick listing tool into the advanced listing tool allows you to regain control over the best offer option.

 

[lennyw]

I sold an old Land Rover to a German guy via an eBay classified ad some years ago and he was a total pleasure to deal with, paid me full asking price and had it picked up on a low loader. Sent me loads of pics when he got it and even invited me and the family over.
Just this week sold a split screen camper van to a German woman and once again no trouble. Had a few twatty enquiries from uk people though, no I won't take 5k off the asking price thanks

German law is quite strict with regards to ebay, so it's probably not surprising (I've sold lots of items here and never had an issue). As I understand it, you can be taken to court if you breach the sales contract (eg pull out of the sale after the end of the auction if you haven't got as much as you hoped) so I guess everyone takes it a little more seriously.