E-Bay customer service, buying bearings.

[valrene9600]

I decided to install a sliding hatch using roller bearings and looked around the web.

 

To cut this all short I ended up ordering 4 very expensive bearings from the USA and also paying an extra fee to deal with customs etc.

When they arrived they were also the wrong size.

 

Ok so I decided to send them back. I sent them not to the seller but the supplier and enclosed the invoice, but did manage to advise the seller I was returning the goods.

 

What I'm trying to say is this all took place whilst I am under the influence of high Morphine intake which I explained in a covering letter to the supplier, all the seller got was a standard click on the "I want to return this item".

 

Every single penny including shipping has been credited back to my bank account. So I am asking is this common with on line shopping sites or should I put this down to good American customer service that being married to a US citizen I know exists.

 

Interested how others have fared shopping on line.

Edited October 16, 2016 by valrene9600

[Alan de Enfield]

It is the way Ebay works - the customer is 'always right' and the seller has to 'pay-up' irrespective of the 'fault'

 

I purchased a new 'tablet', which when it arrived was not as advertised, I sent it back by Royal Mail (to an address in Glasgow) and it was returned to me as 'not known at this address'.

 

I contacted ebay customer service, told them the story, and whilst on the phone, emailed a scan of the 'proof of postage', and a picture of the 'marked up' 'gone away' envelope.

 

The service representative immediately (whilst still on the phone) credited my Paypal account with the full amount (plus the 'return postage'). On asking what I should do with the Tablet, they said "just keep it, you have tried to return it, its not your fault.

 

Folks complain about ebay but I have found it a very safe & secure source for buyers - not so much for sellers.

[Sea Dog]

Folks complain about ebay but I have found it a very safe & secure source for buyers ....

Absolutely. It's the only way such an enterprise could work.

[valrene9600]

None of my experience was the fault of anyone other than myself yet I still received 1at class service, including shipping cost refund that was the last thing I expected to be refunded.

[bigste]

Lot of scammers on ebay because of the customer is always right policy. Ok for buyers but not for sellers. If you are selling don't take paypal for anything expensive or you may suffer.

[Murflynn]

on the other hand I have bought a couple of items of negligible value which either arrived broken or didn't arrive at all.

 

the sellers have been unresponsive to several messages and negative feedback, and I can't be arsed to raise a dispute for a fiver.

[Dave Payne]

I sell on ebay, i dont enjoy it.

 

posted some coffee to a buyer, two weeks later they messaged me, no hello or hi or anything else pleasant, just 'where is my coffee i have waited two weeks now'

 

my reply was polite and apologetic and that royal mail had lost it but i would get another out to them when i was in the shop next (2 days later), response again was rude and along the lines of 'i have waited long enough i want it asap'

 

I issued a credit.

 

Manners cost nothing.

[Murflynn]

I bought a full case of rare Bushmills 16yr-old single malt on Amazon from a German seller, cost £600. Nothing arrived, got a full refund within a week from Amazon. The seller was non-responsive. Some kind of scam.

 

That whisky is selling today for more than £100/bottle (and it's still worth it if you have that kind of cash lying around).

[Guest]

I have bought and sold on Ebay a fair bit, most of my experience has been good. Always the odd muppet, but such is life.

[Chewbacka]

on the other hand I have bought a couple of items of negligible value which either arrived broken or didn't arrive at all.

 

the sellers have been unresponsive to several messages and negative feedback, and I can't be arsed to raise a dispute for a fiver.

I have raised 2 or 3 disputes over about 5 years and it is so easy and involves minimal effort.

[Dave Payne]

the rubbish part as a seller, is that if you do not use a signed for service, the buyer can claim they didnt get it when they did and will get a 100% refund.

 

Now its easy to say all sellers should send signed for, but the costs of this added to the cost of goods, ebay fees, paypal fees, postage make it very difficult to remain competitive against those who do not use the signed for service.

[Alan de Enfield]

the rubbish part as a seller, is that if you do not use a signed for service, the buyer can claim they didnt get it when they did and will get a 100% refund.

 

Now its easy to say all sellers should send signed for, but the costs of this added to the cost of goods, ebay fees, paypal fees, postage make it very difficult to remain competitive against those who do not use the signed for service.

 

The one to watch out for (as a seller) is :

 

Buyer pays by PayPal and says they will collect.

Buyer collects.

A week later they start a 'complaint' with PayPal / Ebay saying they have not received the 'goods'.

Ebay ask you why, you tell them the buyer collected.

Ebay want proof, you have no proof.

 

Ebay / paypal refunds the purchase price and deducts it from your bank.

Buyer now has his money back - AND - the goods.

 

I now take a photo of the buyer collecting goods (eg a Trailer this week) and get them to sign a receipt saying they have received the goods.

[Chewbacka]

 

The one to watch out for (as a seller) is :

 

Buyer pays by PayPal and says they will collect.

Buyer collects.

A week later they start a 'complaint' with PayPal / Ebay saying they have not received the 'goods'.

Ebay ask you why, you tell them the buyer collected.

Ebay want proof, you have no proof.

 

Ebay / paypal refunds the purchase price and deducts it from your bank.

Buyer now has his money back - AND - the goods.

 

I now take a photo of the buyer collecting goods (eg a Trailer this week) and get them to sign a receipt saying they have received the goods.

If I was selling anything expensive I would only accept cash on collection and for the above reasons not paypal.

 

Added - I have collected a few things and in most cases they would only accept cash on collection. I guess it is not only safer for them, but also saves on bank fees.

Edited October 16, 2016 by Chewbacka

[Laurence Hogg]

Lot of scammers on ebay because of the customer is always right policy. Ok for buyers but not for sellers. If you are selling don't take paypal for anything expensive or you may suffer.

 

A little "far fetched" comment. As a long term trader on ebay I find Paypal extremely fair and also ebay, yes it is in favour of the customer but that is killing what scammers there were. It is a well protected way of purchasing.

[Athy]

If I was selling anything expensive I would only accept cash on collection and for the above reasons not paypal.

 

 

Absolutely: if you're going round to the chap's house to collect it, why on earth would you wish to pay using Pay Pal?

[Alan de Enfield]

If I was selling anything expensive I would only accept cash on collection and for the above reasons not paypal.

 

Added - I have collected a few things and in most cases they would only accept cash on collection. I guess it is not only safer for them, but also saves on bank fees.

 

Completely agree - unfortunately if, when you do your listing, you do not accept PayPal, then the message comes up that it is a condition of listing that you accept paypal, hence, when you list a 'buy-it-now' and the buyer clicks it, then they have the option of paying by Paypal, and having the 'protection that that affords them'.

 

If you can communicate with the buyer prior to them pressing the 'BiN' button you can make an 'arrangement' with them such that they pay you cash, without doing the 'BiN'. You can then de-list the item as 'lost, broken or not available' and save your 10% sellers fees as well - not insignificant on a £3000 item.

[WotEver]

Absolutely: if you're going round to the chap's house to collect it, why on earth would you wish to pay using Pay Pal?

Convenience?

 

I've bought things on a Saturday and collected on Sunday and couldn't have got the money out of the bank if I'd wanted to. So I paid instantly via PayPal and the seller was perfectly happy for me to drive down and collect.

 

Likewise I've sold stuff occasionally by the same method (car tyres and a caravan awning come to mind).

[valrene9600]

Not having had a great deal to do with selling on e bay since moving aboard 11 years ago these comments have been interesting.

 

Being a buyer nowadays I just say that Amazon with their click an collect in thousands of outlets has revolutionized deliveries to people out working all day.

E Bay seem to be behind here with click and collect at Argos but perhaps that will change.

 

What theses new approaches to home delivery has done is to greatly reduce the earnings of a delivery driver as the giants battle prices and delivery points.

 

Anyway well done to e bay/PayPal for sorting my erratic ordering whilst almost comatose.

[Mitchellmoxo]

i run my business on ebay and if a customer decides they want an item but dont want to pay for it then ebay will happily refund them if they make any noise. And if I dont comply then I run the risk of getting bad feedback which will have a direct impact on my sales

[Athy]

i run my business on ebay and if a customer decides they want an item but dont want to pay for it then ebay will happily refund them if they make any noise. And if I dont comply then I run the risk of getting bad feedback which will have a direct impact on my sales

I have noticed that some sellers seem to have an obsession with feedback. Does it really make much difference? If I see, for example, a desirable blues 45 for sale, I don't look at the person's feedback before ordering it, and I have not yet been let down in the course of hundreds of transactions.

I rarely award the full five points in all the feedback categories; do other people do so?

[Chewbacka]

I have noticed that some sellers seem to have an obsession with feedback. Does it really make much difference? If I see, for example, a desirable blues 45 for sale, I don't look at the person's feedback before ordering it, and I have not yet been let down in the course of hundreds of transactions.

I rarely award the full five points in all the feedback categories; do other people do so?

Knowing how sensitive most if not all sellers are about feedback, my rule of thumb is that if I am happy to use them again then I give 5 stars for everything.

[Athy]

Very generous of you - but surely that leaves them nothing to aim for, and means that they are unlikely to strive to improve the standard of their service and/or products? If you award full marks to a seller after several transactions with them, that's more understandable.

[valrene9600]

Just wondering if I will get asked to give feedback. Of course under the circumstances it will be positive but not been

asked yet.

[cuthound]

I have recently bought a combination pack of colour and black ink cartridges on Ebay.

 

Only the colour cartridge arrived. I emailed the seller, asking if the order had been split, or was it a packing mistake 11 days ago. Didn't get anything back know.

 

Resent the email 5 days ago, still no response.

 

Sent another email today, advising that I will raise a complaint on Ebay unless I get correspondence explaining what is happening by close of play tomorrow.

 

Assuming that I don't get a response from the seller I will return the colour cartridge, get a refund from Ebay (Paypal) and give the seller some negative feedback.

[FORTUNATA]

Speaking as someone who has seen a lot if the cons of life, my instict tells me Ebay is a con. I'd strongly advise not get involved and seek alternatives. It is set up in such a way as they have no responsibility for transactions that take place. They have no address and I traced them to a simple account in a london bank. In fact, Ebay lost a parcel I sent to a buyer in Ireland in their Global Shipping sorting office. The system was set up so the only person that could be blamed was the seller. I found no way to contact Customer Service but they buyer was fine. The buyer confirmed he was sure the Sorting Office had lost the parcel. And sure enough it did arrive to him - 6 months later. Some weeks later, Ebay threatened me with debt collection and demanded fees. I sent a postal order cheque for ten pounds they claimed I owed from months ago. I also asked why they'd not compensated me for the parcel that got lost. It's about time an alternative to Ebay be set up. So long as the public assume it's the same fun company it was in the nineties, more people will encounter problems.