Your eBay horror stories

Hi,

1.First check if seller has refund policy.If does,just send Ware back by signature mail.Signature mail receipt will be proof for PayPal about Ware was returned to seller.
If seller doesn't have return policy,send email with question ,how to return bad ware.This email will be proof for PayPal about you contacted seller.If seller sent you negative answer,it is also ok.

2.Open PayPal claim as "ware received ,but not in described condition" .Write your story to PayPal in details,send them copy of ebay listing & mail receipts,emails,postal envelopes,digital photos of item etc...

It will takes huge waiting time,but your chances will be 60/40 ,PayPal more often refund money to buyer in such situations.

3.If PayPal declined to return your money,it also doesn't means total loss,please consult with your lawyer.May your lawyer will have two targets: PayPal & seller

BTW,if amount of money paid for bad ware is really huge,it may good idea to work simultaneously with lawyer & PayPal.

 

Shipments within the U.S. can be tracked with a delivery confirmation number. A seller can (and these days really must) use this to protect himself against a claim that an item was not received. If proof of shipment cannot be shown, Paypal (eBay) can remove money from a seller's account and return it to the buyer.

 

Back in the early days I has an issue with a LP I bought. Seller charged me $5.75 shipping for a $11.00 LP with shrink wrap on cover as pictured in listing.

When it arrived, it came in a Priority Mail box, and not an LP mailer. Postage cost was $3.95. So basically they charged me 1.70 handling and did not even use the right mailer.

Anyway, when I opened the Priority box, the sticky-glue edge tore the shrink off of my LP cover. Then when I pulled out the LP it was the wrong LP inside of this cover that no longer had shrink.

I contacted the seller and said that I had been sent the wrong LP in the right cover. I told him that I was not happy about being charged more for shipping than others (sellers) were charging and yet I got a wrong sized box that ruined the shrink wrap. But the main issue was the wrong LP inside of cover.

The seller wanted me to pack this wrong LP up and send it to another buyer who was going to send me the correct LP I was missing. The only real issue I had was that (besides being majorly pissed) I wanted to charge this seller $5.75 for the shipping of this LP to the other buyer. Since he had charged me 5.75, and I would need to get this same box (at post office) and pack it up, I figured he should get a taste of his own handling over-charges.

I waited until I got the correct LP in my hands before I told him to send me the $5.75 for the shipping/handling fee. He thought I was being very unreasonable and offered me $3.95, and I told him I think he was being very unprofessional. You charge $5.75 to ship an LP that costs $3.95 in postage, ok then I am doing the same is what I said. I was so pissed about my shrink wrap being torn off the jacket by not using the correct mailer, that I was making this guy pay exactly what he charges. He could not deal with this reversal of positions and soon after comunications broke off without me ever sending the guy his $5.00 LP.

Within a couple of months he was "no longer a registered user" on ebay.

 

Yeah totally agree Hans. Most of my bad experiences have been US buyers.

 

One story that comes to mind.

A seller offered a Jeff Beck japanese title. He mentioned in the title it was a japanese import, included product info from the japanese import and a stock photo that clearly showed an OBI. The item was priced accordingly for a japanese import.

You guessed. The seller sent the cheap domestic version instead. His excuse was that he entered the product details and that was the product description provided by eBay. Yeah right.

He said he would give me store credit instead. I told the seller I wanted my money back and did not want anything from his store. He then sent me an email full of insults and also left negative feedback full of insults too.

I contacted paypal and got my money back.

A "powerseller", by the way

 

Seller has not stated any return policy, and they are not responding to any emails I have sent in regard to this matter. There has been no response at all from seller, so I assume they aren't going to cooperate.
PayPal has been contacted and I will look to get a resolution and refund there.
Lawyers are out of the question in this case as the value of the item is relatively small.
I have asked around and often PayPal has received great reviews in these matters when a seller sells an item that was "not as described". Some of the item is also incomplete, and the seller's online photo also doesn't show the missing insert (I also have a before photo showing what should be there.) The seller's online info on eBay was erroneous as well. I have a strong collection of evidence in my favor I think... so I believe I should be able to at least receive a partial refund, if not a total one.
Thanks for all of your advice.

Steve

 

Be sure to report their false contact info to eBay.

 

Paul...

How is this done?
Is there a simple way to accomplish this?
I get lost plowing through a lot of eBay's links.

Many thanks...

Steve


PS. What baffles me is that while the seller probably(?) made an unintentional mistake with their online description, they still refuse to discuss or acknowledge the problem... even though I provided them with all of the relevant information. Why refuse to discuss it or work something out?
In the meantime, this same seller is continuing to sell on eBay.

 

Steve,

Go here

http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index_selection.html

Select "Buying and Finding". Then on the next page on STep 1 select "Problems with your seller" and then on Step 2 "Seller's Email Or Contact Information Isn't Working".

 

Paul...

I could report this, just in case their contact info at eBay isn't working.

But I did receive one eBay message back from them (which also arrives as email). In their one and only reply back from them, the seller refused to admit there was any problem. All they did was ask me if I read their online description, which they claim is correct.

I also have the seller's private email address.
I have sent four additional messages to this seller, and sent copies to both of their addresses thru eBay's message system and their private email address.

I'm sure they have seen the messages - they're just refusing to reply.

Steve

 

Steve,

Have you called them?

 

PayPal yes, eBay no.
I obviously don't have the seller's number... not that they would take my call.

Steev

 

I meant calling the seller.

Get their phone number by going to ebay.com. Click "Advanced Search". Then click "Find Contact Information" and fill out the form. You will get an email with their phone number.

Also, send a report to eBay that they'er a Non-Performing Seller:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/seller-non-performance.html

 

Paul...

Many thanks.
This is most helpful.

Steve

 

Glad to help. Also; click on Community, then scroll down to "Discussion Boards" and post on the Trust And Safety board and tell them about your problem. They should be able to offer even more help there.

 

The only problem I had was a Disney dress that I ordered for my daughter. It was nothing like the description. It was torn and smelled so bad from cigarette smoke. If I order clothes I always ask if it comes from a smoke-free home (if it's not listed). ACK! She wouldn't return my money or do anything about it. So I just kept it and washed it good.

Thanks for all the great information that's listed on this thread, I really appreciate it

 

Ew! I hope you gave that seller a Negative feedback!

 

Bought a Target Pretenders Learning to Crawl that was in "NM" condition. The play side was fine, but obviously, the owner had tried to clean the label side, and succeeded in taking off most of the paint. The seller apologized and offered to refund what I paid plus postage, but it's too much of a hassle to ship stuff, so I still have it. Sounds great, but looks like crap.

 

I bought several LPs from European sellers that were graded EX and EX+ and three times out of three they arrved in about VG to VG- condition.

Scuffs and scratches and sticker removal makes on covers. Since shipping was so expensive, and I found the grading shoddy, I never bought internationally again. It could happen with a US dealer sure, but returning the item is much easier. Plus I have been always been able to find imports from Germany, UK and Japan from sellers located in the US.

After that, I learned to go for Still Sealed, and MINT with shrink wrap on jacket. Or if I go for VG+, it has to be very rare, the seller has to have 99.8 or better FB, and I don't bid my high bid. I want a bargain if I must settle for less than Near Mint.

Once in a blue moon I would take a chance on an item that is listed with a seller that has poor rating. I'll tell you why. If the feedback is not so hot, and seller has some nice rare ones, chances are the bidding will top out lower than normal. There is potential for a bargain. Email the seller, as a few questions first. If they answer quickly, and fully, then I'll take a 20.00 chance. I got the Hey Jude 1988 12" UK picture disc for $21.00 from a poor performing seller. That disc was going for $50.00 from other sellers. Nobody wanted to risk dealing with a 96% positive loser. I got the item, it was fine.

 

People, you can resolve LP grading issues easily and simply by asking for large closeup photos, you realise?

Most sellers whom I ask readily oblige, and the ones that don't or offer lame excuses like "my digital camera just broke" (nice try!), well, I simply don't bid on their listings. Their loss.

This way, I have managed to cut my disappointments down to a minimum - they're usually shipping-related now.

 

No, I don't think vinyl condition shows up well in photos, at least not with a slightly above average digital camera and average photographers.

One really needs to look at feedback, looks at previous items sold, other current items selling, seller's attitude and speed at answering questions.

Also look at other copies of the same item being offered. You may see another copy of same item show up 15 min. before the one you have your eyes on, and the new listing offers a better condition record for a lower "buy it now" price. A nicer one always seems to show up, and so often it sells for less than the other one.

 

Perhaps true to some extent, but I mitigate that with 1. large photos, usually specifying to the seller which closeups I want and 2. Photoshop. Photoshop is your friend - the "auto levels" feature has many-a-time made a murky photo palatable (and useful) and revealed previously hidden scratches. For some reason, messing about with the contrast also helps reveal VERY discreet spindle trails. Try it - you might be surprised.

BTW, good feedback and attitude is mandatory, I don't bid on sellers below 99%, unless of course if their feedback is low. I recall this seller on eBay UK who once replied - "forget it I don't have the time". Well I got the last laugh - his item didn't sell. It was pretty difficult holding back firing off a snide remark in his direction, but I came through.

For some reason, all the real jerks I meet on eBay are UK sellers, and the transactions are almost always Beatles-related. People, try to stay away from UK Beatles LP sellers - (unless proven otherwise through large photos or personal experience) always assume that they overgrade!!!

"Mint for it's age" is an old classic on eBay UK - and will usually turn out to be VG- or so. Another common eBay UK tactic is giving a nice close up of a spindle hole, but placing it against a white background so that (sometimes horrific) spindle wear is effectively rendered invisible. Beware!

 

You're not going to get ebay sellers to work with you in photoshop. In any transaction you need to ask the right questions if the answers are not in the listing. If you don't get good answers that are not in the listing, move on to the next copy of that LP.

Sellers that have say - 30 items up per week do not have time to deal with custom photos for you. If they are good sellers doing it right then they have some photos up, and you should ask all the questions you need to ask. If you don't trust the answers, then pictures are not going to convince anyone of anything.

Asking for more 600dpi photos including a close up of label and spine of jacket might be worth it for a $100.00 plus priced LP. But we are talking about your average $25.00 to $60.00 album right.

Just keep an eye out for these below comments, they are a BIG tip-off that you are looking at sub-standard quality.

1. Near Mint Condition, very few scratches.
2. Nice condition, only marks are from LP being removed from jacket
3. Surface marks do not effect play
4. Only during silent passeages are there any noises
5. I'm not an LP collector, but everything looks great to me
6. Normal shelf wear
7. Very few Hairlines under a bright light
8. NM- condition, Goldmine Grading used
9. A+ condition
10. EX, EX+, Excellent Condition, EX-, any listing with these used
11. Needs cleaning, but should sound great after.

 

Beware and pay attention to #5 especially.

or "I'm not expert";

or "I don't have a record player so I haven't played it but it looks great";

or "I'm selling these for a friend".


I also hate it when the seller has "Mint" or "Near Mint" in the auction heading but in the fine print has a lesser grading listed.

 

not really a horror story but i sometimes browse synthesizer auctions and Ill see a rare one for WAY under market value. turns out that they're selling it outside of ebay. and the auctions are always the same format... centered text, colored blocking... anyway it always irritates me and I report it