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Old 01-11-2019, 06:19 PM   #61
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Careful selling thru Ebay. As others mentioned, they represent buyer. I got scammed out of $1200. They and PayPal will not help you. They tell you to submit a claim thru FBI internet fraud site and nothing ever happens. You are out the price of the item, plus Ebay and PayPal fees. I will never sell on the site again. Everyone I know that has sold on Ebay has gotten scammed at some point. You may sell some low priced items without problems but if you list any high end items, it is a big risk. If you want to sell anything over $100, require local pick up and have them verify at your pick up site that the item was picked up and sold as advertised.
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Old 01-11-2019, 11:13 PM   #62
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I've bought hundreds of very-specialized items from eBay (Japanese swords), & if you know what you're doing, you can find some real bargains. I've found a few bad sellers, but the word gets out fairly quickly.
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Old 01-12-2019, 12:50 AM   #63
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For the most part I don't touch eBay. Over 50% of the time it's been a bad experience.
Would you mind sharing what has caused your 50% bad experiences? buying? selling? both? And enough details that we could learn from your experience?
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Old 01-12-2019, 12:55 AM   #64
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I love Ebay! Have been a buyer since early 2000's and have gotten some really good deals. Overpaid just a very few times. Recently late 2018 I started selling things on Ebay that I had collected over many years. I bought my collectibles at garage sales, estate sales, thrift shops, and sometimes regular retail stores. Must downsize now. So far I haven't made a ton of money, but have made a profit monetarily. It is time-consuming, but I'm retired, so why not do it? Plus it's kind of fun.

I hesitated before starting selling, but now wish I'd started doing it sooner. Don't hesitate! I've sold several items between November and now, and it's great to be getting rid of things not needed, and making a few bucks.
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Old 01-12-2019, 10:08 AM   #65
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I got scammed out of $1200.
As a seller, I expect. Please elaborate. I was under the impression that if you have delivery confirmation and insurance, the buyer would have a hard time claiming they didn't get the item.
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Old 01-12-2019, 10:28 AM   #66
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For the most part I don't touch eBay. Over 50% of the time it's been a bad experience.
I find this hard to believe.
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Old 01-12-2019, 11:32 AM   #67
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As a seller, I expect. Please elaborate. I was under the impression that if you have delivery confirmation and insurance, the buyer would have a hard time claiming they didn't get the item.
I got scammed out of $220, with clear evidence the buyer was lying, but it’s easy. A few examples:
  • Buy an item, use it for up to 180 days (approx 6 months), break it and return for a full refund (you have 180 days if you use PayPal).
  • If you break say item A you bought anywhere that you’ve owned for a long time, order another exactly like it on eBay, item B. When item B arrives, claim it was broken, return item A for a full refund (including shipping) and keep item B. Won’t work with unique items (serial number, very rare), but it can work with lots of everyday items.
There are other similar angles. Many eBay sellers just refund without even asking for the item to be returned, and unscrupulous buyers know that. Again, I’ve had 4% scam buyers, it’s a cost of doing business on eBay. I block those buyers from further purchases, but that just means they scam another seller.

If you want “revenge” the most you can do is insist the buyer return the broken item including all packaging so you can file a claim with USPS or whoever. They might not want to be bothered, but seems unlikely to me. And as you might imagine, filing a claim with USPS is a waste of time, probably because they have no way of separating legit damage from bogus damage.
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Old 01-12-2019, 11:48 AM   #68
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The PayPal return policy is void if the item is described correctly, so be honest, take lots of pictures and describe the item well. See the complete policy here.https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mp...y-and-security

In 15 years and over 2000 transactions I’ve had 2 returns. One for a size issue and the other was for what he said was a defect I did not describe, which actually was probably true.
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Old 01-12-2019, 11:50 AM   #69
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I got scammed out of $220, with clear evidence the buyer was lying, but it’s easy. A few examples:
  • Buy an item, use it for up to 180 days (approx 6 months), break it and return for a full refund (you have 180 days if you use PayPal).
  • If you break say item A you bought anywhere that you’ve owned for a long time, order another exactly like it on eBay, item B. When item B arrives, claim it was broken, return item A for a full refund (including shipping) and keep item B. Won’t work with unique items (serial number, very rare), but it can work with lots of everyday items.
There are other similar angles. Many eBay sellers just refund without even asking for the item to be returned, and unscrupulous buyers know that. Again, I’ve had 4% scam buyers, it’s a cost of doing business on eBay. I block those buyers from further purchases, but that just means they scam another seller.

If you want “revenge” the most you can do is insist the buyer return the broken item including all packaging so you can file a claim with USPS or whoever. They might not want to be bothered, but seems unlikely to me. And as you might imagine, filing a claim with USPS is a waste of time, probably because they have no way of separating legit damage from bogus damage.
You have to state a return policy in the listing. Mine says the item must be returned within 30 days. Buyer pays shipping. That is a standard for Powersellers like me.
For valuable items, always buy insurance.
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Old 01-12-2019, 12:05 PM   #70
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......... I was under the impression that if you have delivery confirmation and insurance, the buyer would have a hard time claiming they didn't get the item.
When I got burned (for a relatively small amount), the buyer had moved but not updated his address with eBay. I sent the item to the listed eBay address, which was delivered with tracking but no insurance. So, even though it was clear that it was delivered to the wrong address due to the buyer's error, eBay gave him his money back. Even if I'd paid for insurance, I'm not sure there would be a claim, as it was delivered.
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Old 01-12-2019, 12:14 PM   #71
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Even if I'd paid for insurance, I'm not sure there would be a claim, as it was delivered.
USPS insurance won't pay if there's a delivery. Third party will (u-pic, etc) but the payment requires a claim in which the customer has to help.. with like an attestation that they didn't get the item, etc.

Amazon is tough on INR's without signature, but I thought amazon/paypal were more reasonable for the seller.
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Old 01-12-2019, 01:56 PM   #72
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The PayPal return policy is void if the item is described correctly, so be honest, take lots of pictures and describe the item well. See the complete policy here.https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mp...y-and-security

In 15 years and over 2000 transactions I’ve had 2 returns. One for a size issue and the other was for what he said was a defect I did not describe, which actually was probably true.
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You have to state a return policy in the listing. Mine says the item must be returned within 30 days. Buyer pays shipping. That is a standard for Powersellers like me.
For valuable items, always buy insurance.
We don’t all want to be Powersellers and that’s eBay “protection” that PayPal can ignore. All a buyer has to do is claim the item was damaged within 180 days, and send it back to the seller at his/her expense - no authorization needed. That’s exactly what happened to me, and I had proof the buyer damaged it himself. The buyer claimed it was damaged in shipment 30 days after he received it. eBay told me they wouldn’t honor the claim after 30 days. PayPal couldn’t care less...they refunded the purchase price including shipping as soon as the buyer provided evidence he’d returned the item. No notice or discussion. When I then cried foul with eBay, they said so sorry, we’ll refund your eBay fees but that’s all we can do.

Again I’ve only claimed a 4% scam buyers, and only 1 significant $. And I was happy with eBay until PayPal pulled the stunt above. My other two scam buyers were on $10 and $20 sales, I just ate them, not worth fighting.

Buyers on eBay can expect to be 100% happy, sellers not quite that high...

From your link:
Quote:
Purchase Protection covers all eligible purchases where PayPal is used, as well as payments made through our website. To take advantage of Purchase Protection, we require, among other things, that PayPal accounts be kept in good standing and ask that a dispute be filed within 180 days of your purchase or payment.

What’s covered with PayPal Purchase Protection
You bought a book, but received a DVD
You bought an item described as “new,” but received something that was used
You purchased 3 items, but only received 2
The item was damaged during shipping
The item is missing major parts (that the seller didn’t report)
You purchased an item described as authentic, but received a knockoff instead.
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Old 01-13-2019, 11:16 AM   #73
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Interesting to see all the responses by eBay sellers on this thread. Never have looked at this opportunity, but have purchased online for years.

I search for items we want online and end up evaluating the item and seller by price and seller rating, and if the item is exactly (or similar to) what we desire. Usually avoid overseas sellers, but have done it when the item is exactly what we want and delivery isn't excessive. Overseas delivery appears to have greatly improved over the years.

As for purchasing - find that Amazon is not competitive in most recent purchases. Jeff's advantage with no tax and minimal shipping charges (if any) has almost disappeared. I have ordered on eBay and had the item shipped to our home in an Amazon box sealed with tape labeled "Prime". Appears that some eBay sellers are also Amazon sellers, or prime members and just might be making money off a slightly higher price difference of what a Prime member saves on shipping charges - which I've found can be excessive on Amazon.

I avoided eBay for a number of years, as I once purchased an advertised "new" Sony Walkman, but what arrived was a new low quality imported pocket radio. When I complained to eBay back then - was told I could return the item (at my expense). Return shipping would have significantly reduced the refund. IIRC, eBay used PayPal exclusively back then. I understand why eBay has toughened up their policies. I buy small items off eBay now and am happy with using virtual credit card numbers and getting most items with free shipping and usually below Amazon.

Walmart online has a lot of competitive pricing and like the hassle free returns to a local Walmart store if not happy with purchase. Also can avoid shipping costs if shipped for pickup at our local Walmart store. Just bought a fireproof file safe from Walmart online, and price was significantly under what Amazon and eBay wanted (and was free shipping to our house).

I have also found that if I've searched online for specific items I'm evaluating for purchase, I've found direct sellers of those items (and some just happen to also sell on eBay or Amazon). Last year, bought new spare tire kit and trunk bed liner for new 2018 car at a Florida dealership at better pricing than offered on Amazon and eBay (seller was on eBay IIRC).

Lately, I've found items online and purchased from sellers other than Amazon or eBay due to price and shipping being much lower. This is becoming more common for us, and purchases at Amazon almost non-existent with eBay falling off significantly as well. Bought a vacuum cleaner for our daughter last year locally from Ace Hardware. The pricing was well under Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. And who doesn't love the constantly changing Amazon electronic pricing scenario (ever drop an item into your cart and have the pricing go up?). Gotta shop around....
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Old 01-13-2019, 12:33 PM   #74
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I have ordered on eBay and had the item shipped to our home in an Amazon box sealed with tape labeled "Prime". Appears that some eBay sellers are also Amazon sellers, or prime members and just might be making money off a slightly higher price difference of what a Prime member saves on shipping charges - which I've found can be excessive on Amazon.
This results from one of two methods:

1) the seller on ebay is also an amazon seller, and uses amazons warehouses and fulfillment channels to ship orders wherever they well. It's a service amazon offers to sellers called multi-channel-fulfillment

2) (more likely) the seller is using amazon as a drop shipper, usually charging more on ebay, then using their prime buyer account to purchase and have the item shipped to you via amazon, and pocketing the difference. Several items I sell on amazon are listed by drop shippers like this on ebay. The margins on this are usually small, but for the seller the effort is very minimal. There are hundreds of these sellers, if not more, all over ebay.
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Old 01-14-2019, 07:41 AM   #75
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eBay experience

Shipping is the big problem for me and selling. Even if the buyer pays for shipping, it's a pain to do it most times. And invariably, it costs way more than the estimate to ship. So, you need to be very careful or use a reserve price to ensure shipping costs don't wipe out any profit.
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Old 01-14-2019, 08:11 AM   #76
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Shipping is the big problem for me and selling. Even if the buyer pays for shipping, it's a pain to do it most times. And invariably, it costs way more than the estimate to ship. So, you need to be very careful or use a reserve price to ensure shipping costs don't wipe out any profit.
I resorted to adding $1-2 packaging costs to every order. It's baffling how eBay can't calculate the exact shipping price (even after I've provided the package dimensions/weight in advance), yet as soon as you go to print a shipping label there it is...
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Old 01-14-2019, 08:15 AM   #77
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Does ebay no longer let you set the price for actual shipping in the listing?
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Old 01-14-2019, 08:54 AM   #78
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We used to love it , but not any more . Son ended up with 2 I pad computers . Both in boxes plastic wrapped . He put one on Ebay . The customer declined the purchase because the screen was cracked . Now my son never opened the packaging when he got it . I think he screwed up and ordered 2 from Amazon . But any way our son claims he was sent a used I pad back with a broken screen . Ebay sided with the buyer.
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Old 01-14-2019, 09:03 AM   #79
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I just wanted to chime in regarding Craigslist as I only have experience with Ebay as a buyer.

I would be very hesitant to use Craigslist to sell. It’s reputation as a haven for thieves and scammers is well earned.

My nephew used to sell iPhones and iPads via Craigslist, but stopped when he was robbed at gunpoint in a McDonalds parking lot.

Last summer I was looking for a bike and saw one on Craigslist. The seller gave me an address to meet him that evening. Before departing, I looked up the address on Google Maps and saw that the address was not in a residential area, but an industrial area of body shops and a junkyard. I got suspicious and cancelled the meet up.

Finally, my son’s car got totalled and he tried to sell the set of winter tires he had for the car on Craigslist. The only responses he got were from scammers. Then he tried to use Craigslist to give away the tires and the only response was from some guy who wanted us to deliver the tires to him.
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Old 01-14-2019, 09:15 AM   #80
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Does ebay no longer let you set the price for actual shipping in the listing?

You can set a fixed shipping price; or you can do a calculate shipping price based on dimensions and weight and the buyers location.
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