# Pitting problem eBay users **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 3, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862 "2005-01-03T18:33:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/21 "2005-01-04T05:33:34Z")
I won an item on Ebay.au from someone who lives about half an hour away from me. This was on the 4th of December. The seller does not accept PayPal and required direct bank deposit. After emailing personally and also using the Ebay ‘contact seller’ option, by 18 December she still hadn’t provided me her bank details so I could pay her. I sent another email warning her I’d be complaining if she didn’t get back to me. On the 20th December I sent an email to Customer Service. This prompted an actual reply from the seller on the 22nd December: > [@seller](#): > > Hello Happy Person… > > Where am I sending it 2? > [@My Response](#): > > My address is XXXXXX. > > Ideally I’d like to do a direct-deposit for you as I don’t have cheques, but I can arrange a postal order or something if you’d prefer. Just advise me of the best way to send on the money to you, and I’ll get it taken care of today (if DD) or tomorrow (if money order). > > Great to finally hear from you! on 28 December: > [@seller](#): > > bsb XXX-XXX > account no: XXXXXXXX > > state bank > > cheers on 29 December: > [@My Response](#): > > The payment was processed today. Westpac advises that it will take > approximately 24 hours to go through - so you should receive it by > Thursday afternoon (or Friday morning at the absolute latest). So far, no response. It’s taken over a month to transfer an item from someone who lives in my vicinity, and I still haven’t heard anything about when I can expect it to arrive. This bitch sucks. By making a direct deposit there’s a clear record of funds going to her bank account from mine, so if she doesn’t come through on this I’ll have a clear follow-up. ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/22 "2005-01-04T08:47:33Z")
> [@Selkie](#): > > Even if shipping rates are stated up front, there’s nothing to prevent a seller from using first class even if the auction stated they would use priority mail, or for charging a fee for packing materials and using the cheapest, shoddiest, obviously inadequate materials available. Geesh… I got a lot of really nice eBay branded boxes from the post office for free, with the Priority Mail logo printed right on them, and I print out the labels for the boxes from PayPal. If I say “Priority Mail,” by golly that’s the way it goes. As easy as it is to get \*\*free \*\*Priority Mail packing materials and print the labels out at home and just drop them in the package slot at the PO (or even call to have the carrier pick it all up) there is just no excuse for not sending things Priority Mail if that’s what the buyer has paid for. I sell used and new wristwatches and Salvation Army items, none of which is difficult to pack securely. I can’t imagine anyone having any real problem with small collectibles, but then again, if some dirtbag \*\*can \*\*get away with it, it’s a sad commentary on life today that they surely will. ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/23 "2005-01-04T08:56:02Z")
> [@stegon66](#): > > One item was lost or at least the buyer said they never received it. I issued a refund as it was a low-cost item) A buyer of a wristwatch that I sold for about $6 told me that it arrived dead. I offered him the choice of another similar watch at no charge, or a refund. He wasn’t interested in the other watch so I gave him his money back. Sure, he could have been shining me on about it, but to me it was better that I do what I felt was honest. I didn’t ask for the watch back, not worth the inconvenience to the buyer at that price. The same person bought another watch from me out of the very next group I listed for sale and left me very enthusiastic feedback. Another watch that I thought was genuine (had all the logos and a serial number and everything) turned out to be a fake. That one, since it sold for a lot of money, I asked the buyer to send back to me, and when it arrived I refunded his bid and the shipping to send it back. He was satisfied with that and left me positive feedback after he got the refund. I now have the tool to get that kind of watch back off, so I can check the movement inside (one of the best ways to find a fake). eBay selling is a real high level course in “live and learn.” ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/24 "2005-01-04T09:02:32Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > I charge a flat $5 fee to ship almost anything. Priority mail is (I think, it’s been a few months since I put anything up) $4.35 for up to a pound, and delivery confirmation is 40 cents. Nuts to that. Priority Mail is $3.85 for up to a pound, and if you print the shipping labels out through PayPal the delivery confirmation is **FREE**. You can also get eBay boxes in three different sizes from the post office for **FREE** and they will ship them right to your door in 7 to 10 business days (I actually got mine in 5). You can also use the built-in shipping-cost calculator to have eBay determine the cost automatically. Take some of that postage money you gouged people for and buy yourself a postage scale. You can get a good one at any office supply store. There is absolutely no excuse not to weigh what you sell. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/25 "2005-01-04T09:09:56Z")
> [@stegon66](#): > > Well, erm, no I don’t :o > > Mostly DVDs with the odd CD/graphic novel/book. 🙂 > > FWIW, I do make a small profit on shipping - I mail single DVDs (mostly what I sell) via First Class Shipping. I charge $3.00. FC shipping averages $1.50 but I mail the discs in Jiffy padded envelopes and I always insert something into the DVD case to keep the disc on its hub. Plus there’s the time spent going to and waiting in line at the Post Office. It’s a buyer’s market right now so I don’t feel too guilty about the profit on shipping as the buyers generally get a good deal on their purchases. I don’t mind if sellers make a small profit on shipping, I mean after all, they ARE spending time and money to ship things. They have to purchase the packaging, package the stuff, drive it to the post office wait in line to have it weighed, all that crap. I think that their time, as anyone else who is performing a service should be paid for. What irks me is when it’s blatently not just the “handling” part of shipping and handling, as in the guy is charging you 2 well earned bucks for his time and materials, but when he adds on 12 because he thinks you won’t know that it’s really only 5.35 from Ohio to Alaska. Luckily, all the sellers I’ve purchased from have been honest, but some of the ones whose items I’ve looked at, but ended up not bidding on, did exactly this when asked what the shipping was. I even emailed one back with “that’s funny, another seller sent me the exact same bottle you’re selling for only 5.35”, when this seller was asking 19 bucks shipping to Ak for a little vase. ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/26 "2005-01-04T09:20:14Z")
My only two negative feedbacks on eBay are from sellers, that said “quick to leave negative feedback.” So, literally, the only thing I did to “warrant” it was to leave them negative feedback, and they pretty much admitted it. One was a local guy selling a dinner table for pickup. I used Buy it Now, he sent me an email with a phone number and such, I asked the total and the email address to Paypal the money to and when/where we could pick it up. After a week, several emails and at least two phone calls, I never got an answer. Then after a week he wrote me to say someone else had already taken the table and the listing was a mistake. Due to the first email, I suspect he just got a higher offer from someone he knew/saw the table in person, and wrote me off. I was PISSED, because it was two weeks before Christmas and I was trying to find a table for my apt so I could have a dinner party. I missed a week’s worth of ending auctions of tables I might’ve been able to use/afford because this sorry asshole couldn’t tell me that he sold it to someone else. So I left neg. feedback that said “took over a week, several emails and phone calls for seller to tell me auction was a ‘mistake’”. And I got negative feedback. Second was some dealer of cheap silver jewelry. I paid immedately after the auction ended, and after a month I was wondering where my stuff was. I never got a single email from them, despite several inquiries if they’d shipped the stuff yet. It wasn’t until I left negative feedback for the seller that they finally responded – by leaving me retaliatory feedback. I don’t care, though. All my other feedbacks are good. I don’t hestitate to leave neg. feedback and have left plenty for deadbeat bidders. I don’t really have a problem with the shipping issue, as long as it’s stated up front. I understand that a lot of the eBay sellers charge low bidding prices and inflated shipping as a way of skirting some of the eBay fees (since the fee is based on the ending auction amount.) As long as they state UP FRONT the “shipping” charge, I don’t really care what they charge. I consider it part of the final price. Now, if I pay for insurance, they’d better well actually insure it. I charge $10 flat rate shipping on all my flat artwork. Yeah, I could ship it for probably $2 first class post, but I buy priority, insurance and deliv. confirmation on every. single. thing. I mail domestically, it’s not optional. The actual charges usually work out to $6-7 per mailer. Plus the cost of the cardboard mailer. I spend a lot of time preparing my shipments very carefully though and include extra stuff like an informational packet on the care of the artwork. I’m upfront about all the charges though and what they get for that price, and I’ve never had a single complaint about my shipping charges. I ship once per week because i don’t have a car, and I try to be as upfront as I can about estimated delivery times. For the most part, my experience with eBay has been positive. I’ve bought a ton of stuff and had relatively few problems, aside from some sellers slow to respond to emails. Mostly, though, I think as long as you know how to recognize suspicious/bad sellers, it can be a fun place to find a lot of cool, hard to find things. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/27 "2005-01-05T00:18:48Z")
> [@infamousmom](#): > > Nuts to that. Priority Mail is $3.85 for up to a pound, and if you print the shipping labels out through PayPal the delivery confirmation is **FREE**. You can also get eBay boxes in three different sizes from the post office for **FREE** and they will ship them right to your door in 7 to 10 business days (I actually got mine in 5). > > You can also use the built-in shipping-cost calculator to have eBay determine the cost automatically. Take some of that postage money you gouged people for and buy yourself a postage scale. You can get a good one at any office supply store. There is absolutely no excuse not to weigh what you sell. Gouging? Hello? And WHAT money I’ve been “gouging” people for? Did you miss the part where I ship packages that cost $6.00 for the same $5 as the packages that cost $4.00? Priority Mail IS $3.85 for up to a pound, so I was mistaken there, and the delivery confirmation is .45 not .40, so it’s $4.30 as a starting point. I get my boxes free from the postal service, but there’s packing materials as well (bubblewrap and peanuts) which I never add a “handling and materials” charge for. I will say that I have been looking at eBay’s postage calculator (remember, I haven’t listed anything for a while now, so there’s all kinds of new things I am not aware of fully) but this is the first time I’ve heard about printing out labels through Paypal to get delivery confirmation free. I handwrite my labels - perhaps I SHOULD add a handling charge to my auctions for the price of printable labels and ink jet refills :rolleyes: You are free to think that I’m making some enormous profit on shipping - it’s no skin off my nose, and as I said, my reputation on eBay is a good one. I do eBay as a hobby, a way to make a little cash off the endless amounts of STUFF that keep finding their way into my house. I do it in a way that is convenient for me. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/28 "2005-01-05T03:56:35Z")
I only buy off of eBay, and I have to say - I usually only deal with sellers from Hong Kong, and they are pretty quick on the draw with communication (but a little rushed and direct as to be impolite). The few American buyers I’ve dealt with were a little slower, but still courteous. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/29 "2005-01-05T04:51:55Z")
I sell lots of shoes on eBay (just got my 400th feedback!) and a variety of other odds and ends (mostly electronic and PC related) I get at thrift stores, or buy at retail if there’s a great sale and flip. I charge 9.95 flat shipping for shoes in the continental US and have \*never\* had a single person complain about shipping. I tried shipping first class but after a few shipments vanished or took over a week to arrive I went to priority and I do priority for 95% of all stuff under 100 . Over that I use UPS. My per item shipping costs average about 7.50 +/\_ per item. Some are as low as 4.00 and some (damn CA buyers ;)) are over 12.00, but 9.95 is my flat rate to all. It’s really quite an education as to what people like and don’t like. One of the odd things is how some 200 - 400 high fashion women’s shoes in perfect condition occasionally come up, and the best people will do is 20 - 25 for them, but people will crawl over each other to get a pair of frumpy orthopedic Euro mules like Borns and Birkenstocks etc. Another odd thing is how accusatory and impatient some immigrant American buyers are. Regardless of your feedback, if it’s not on their doorstep 3 days after payment they think you’ve absconded with their $ 20… They don’t seen to grasp the size of the US and mailing times. I just got my first negative feedback recently where some clueless newbie ( I was her second purchase) left me a negative feedback when her flute for her grandson had not arrived 3 business days after she paid for it (it arrived on the 4th day) . She did this with no communication to me whatsoever. I’ve now got to decide whether to leave her a scalding negative reply or not. I sent her the withdraw negative feedback form, but received no reply. She sent a letter of apology to me below but has not used the withdrawal option. I’m still pissed. > [@](#): > > Sorry I should have waited one more day before getting worried, 10:00am 12/17/04 I look out-side and your package is thier,I have it thank you(sorry for the bad review). I sould practice a little more faith esspicaily at this time of year. Please have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. yours truly XXX ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/30 "2005-01-07T02:03:48Z")
I hate that “WHERE IS MY ITEM” attitude. I’ve had to add disclaimers to my items saying “I ship with the USPS first class. You’ll get it when it gets there- I cannot hurry them. Please wait 7 mailing days before messaging me on the whereabouts of your item, particularly at holiday time.” Sheesh- I had a PRIORITY shipment take 5 business days just before Christmas, and people were bitching about first class taking 4 or 5 days. Thems the breaks! I swear, this year I’m not selling at all in Dec. It’s not worth the headache. ---
**Author:** ![Domokun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Domokun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Domokun)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/31 "2005-01-14T15:05:13Z")
My first and last experience with Ebay went something like this: Won an auction (no other bids) for the starting price (something near £10) then toddled off to Paypal the seller full of excitement at this brave new world. And waited. And waited. About a week later I shot off a nice email. Needless to say, no reply. Another week and another email, still bugger all. At this point I was pretty sure I’m never going to see this item but Paypal’s refund agreement seemed carefully worded to weasel out of reversing any charges so I just wrote the whole thing off as a thieves charter, left my negative feedback and left Ebay for dead. Forgot about the whole thing then a few months later the bastard seller starts this very long and drawn out mediation process to get my feedback removed! Promised to refund a couple of times which never materialised. Wrote me a bizarre e-mail in very broken English (the first I’d heard from him) saying he’d only refund if I sent him something worth £10(!?!) then kind of disappeared. Fucking Ebay. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/32 "2005-01-14T17:07:51Z")
The only ebay seller I had trouble with was a charmer who, when I bid on two auctions of the same item (one for me, one for a co-worker), didn’t give me a break on postage, and after I had sent them a money order for the two items, shipped one and reported me as a non-paying bidder for the second! Even then, I left neutral feedback after receiving the second item. ---
**Author:** ![rorty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@rorty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rorty)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/33 "2005-01-15T10:30:30Z")
I’m tired of paying $3-5 shipping cost on a CD and having it sent wrapped in nothing but a brown paper bag and packing tape. I love opening up one of these wads and having the jewel case just disintigrate and fall to the floor. You can send a CD via USPS First Class Mail sealed safely in a JiffY Bubble Envelope all for less than $2. Stop being cheap sobs. ---
**Author:** ![Lola\_Granola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Lola\_Granola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lola_Granola)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/34 "2005-01-16T04:20:28Z")
Oooo. A subject near and dear to my heart. I work for a compnay that sells its returns, overstock and discontiued items through eBay. So many in fact, we are a shooting star. In EVERY auction, we have a section that says: “Shipping for this item is $x.xx, unless you live outside the US. Then shipping is :$x.xx” Without fail, we get people who send us nasty e-mails slamming our shipping. Right now I have a guy from the UK who is DEMANDING I refund a portion of his purchase price, because I charged him $15 for a 2 lb box that had a postage of $12. I tried explaining that the box costs me money, as well as the extra time it takes to fill out the big customs form, take it to the front of the post office (most of our stuff is shipped bulk mail in the back. Just drop off and run!) and have the box inspected by a postal employee. So I felt like telling him, “Dude! You owe me money!” but I refrained. :rolleyes: My point is, if shipping is clearly marked, and someone doesn’t like it… DON’T BID!!! I’m not forcing you to buy that little trinket you spied. No one is holding a gun to your head when you push the “Bid Now” button. And bitching to me after the fact is only gonna piss me off. Alot. :mad: All my negitives have been retaliatory, usually from NBP. You know what? I don’t care. 99.9% of people love my company (and moi) so the rest can go stew in their bitterness. ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/35 "2005-01-16T17:06:47Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > this is the first time I’ve heard about printing out labels through Paypal to get delivery confirmation free. Correction, if you do it through the USPS website, it is free. If you do it through PayPal, not only is it free, but you can optionally leave off how much you paid for shipping (so instead of the buyer seeing $4.85 on the label, for example, they see **nothing** ) and avoid an argument from all but the nitpickiest of sellers. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/36 "2005-01-16T20:52:26Z")
I agree; I haven’t yet received a damagaed item, but some of that appears to be pure luck; I’ve received delicate electronic components (like a large LCD display, for example) packed in nothing more than a recycled jiffy bag. My sole criterion for packaging items I sell is a simple one; “Could I drop kick this package without damaging the contents?” - if the answer is no, I am not happy sending it out. And yes, it is becoming increasingly common to see sellers making a nice profit out of ‘handling fees’. It’s a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/37 "2005-01-17T02:18:36Z")
Well… as legitimate as all of the posts in this thread are… [take a moment to read THIS asshat’s eBay feedback.](http://feedback.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=salesatbroadway) Keen observers will see the negative feedback that I left on January 9th. The Seller is as “nasty a bit of work” as they come. Not only did he rip me off, he ripped off at least 19 other people by taking our Money Orders and then never shipping the “paid for” items. And worse yet, after we left the Seller negative feedback to warn other Buyers that there was danger, the Seller actually left retaliatory negative feedback with those same Buyers, and bald-faced lied about receiving bounced cheques and similar crap, and how said Buyers were loser’s and deadbeats. What a horrible eBay experience - not only did we get ripped off for hundreds of dollars each, but we received utterly erroneous and dishonest negative retaliatory feedback for our troubles! ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862/38 "2005-01-18T03:17:53Z")
I’ll never use ebay for a few reasons: 1. I don’t like used crap 2. Too many people in the system with the honesty of a personal injury lawyer who runs a pawn shop below his law office. 3. Anything “rare” that I need I’ve always been able to track down using conventional means, so no need to risk my mental health trying to wade through the ebay system. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-problem-ebay-users/282862.md?page=1)