eBay sellers, help me understand ...

Gilbert

the significance associated with this restriction. This is not an attempt to bash a seller, I understand as a buyer I should know the terms of purchase PRIOR to bidding, and I also understand that if I really want the item (and I am bound as a winning bidder) I will comply with the seller's terms.

What I don't understand is:

VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover & PayPal accepted from eBayers with feedback ratings of 10 or higher.

why should it matter how many eBay "feedback ratings" I have. I suppose by this statement, 11 negatives or 11 sales and no positive purchases could be construed as having more credibility for accepting a credit card.

I've been a member of eBay for more than 2 years; I just don't make many purchases through eBay, primarily because I prefer to deal with "businesses" and those with "sound business practices" as opposed to individuals conducting internet business. Why? To minimize the hassles sometimes associated with conducting business with someone other than one whose primary business is coins, plus, I'm quite selective in who I will conduct business with.

coinguy1

Gilbert, that is an interesting restriction you mentioned. It sounds as if the seller would prefer to do credit card business with buyers who have more established feedback histories on Ebay.

Personally, I'd rather take a credit card than a check from someone with little feedback. I'm as confused as you seem to be by this.

UncleJoe

The problem with accepting credit card payments is that the buyer can simply call the credit card company to undue the transaction.

I assume this seller just wants to see a little history under the buyer's belt before he accepts credit card transactions from him.

Joe.

BAJJERFAN

When a buyer purchases or pays with a credit card he has grievance redress or dispute resolution available (whether rightly or wrongly) thru the credit card company. Apparently this seller believes that a veteran eBayer (10 or more positive FB's) is less likely to try to screw him. edited to fix the typos

DCAMFranklin

Gilbert- I don't have such a restriction and I wouldn't even consider it. However, I believe the reason he might make such a policy, is that he is concerned about the seller requesting a charge-back from PayPal. They will step in a reverse the charge pretty without much evidence. And according to some Members will actually "freeze" the account while the issue is being resolved. I obviously can't say for sure what the seller's intent is with this restriction, but I think he feels the more established buyer is less likely to create such a problem. I've heard from other sellers that is not the case.

newbiecollector

Not having been a big buyer on e-bay and only a modist bidder I actually can't understand the hard line. I am not saying it is wrong but it does leave me confused.

Of course, you folks are probably talking at price levels way above what I have done but ... thats a comment from an
in (un) experienced e-bayer.

jbsteven

i believe ah-collectables on ebay has a similar policy but am not sure, I have seen both quite a few times.

Gilbert

Puh-leeze!

I hope NO ONE takes the inference that I bought ANYTHING from ah-collectibles. I might "liberate" the appropriate coin from such a slab, but, I would NEVER contribute to his bottom line.

What do you mean by "I have seen both quite a few times."

jbsteven

What do you mean by "I have seen both quite a few times."

I have seen 2 policys similar to what you described and I am doing this from memory so I might be a little off or wrong.

66Tbird

IMHO,,, BAJJERFAN,,, hit it right on.

jbsteven

gilbert:

here is what I was thinking from ah-collectables auction
"*** We will not accept bids from bidders with a zero rating. Bidders with a 1 - 9 rating please e-mail us at sales@ahcollect.com before bidding. We request you provide us with your name,address, and a reference. *** "

nencoin

UncleJoe nailed it on the head. I think the reasoning is quite sound - the more positive feedbacks a buyer has, the less likely that he is someone who is dishonest, and who will reverse a credit card charge. We had a buyer reverse a credit card charge on a $10,000 coin. He has since skipped town, the police are involved, and we are out $10,000. Had we taken the precautionery measures that we do today (after learning the hard way through unscrupulous eBayers), we'd probably still have our coin or money.

We ask for references from many of our bidders who have feedback ratings of less than ten (or a poor positive/negative feedback ratio). It may seem unfair or intrusive, but sellers - just like buyers - need to take every possible step in order to protect themselves.

chris

Outhaul

"here is what I was thinking from ah-collectables auction - We will not accept bids from bidders with a zero rating. Bidders with a 1 - 9 rating please e-mail us at sales@ahcollect.com before bidding. We request you provide us with your name,address, and a reference"

No doubt AH Collectibles does not want to be involved in a transaction with anyone with a seedy reputation

Cheers,

Bob

Gilbert

Bajjerfan wrote:

When a buyer purchases or pays with a credit card he has grievance redress or dispute resoultion available (whether rightly or wrongly) thru the credit card company. Apparently this seller believes that a veteran eBayer (10 or more positive FB's) is less likely to try to screw him.

66TBird wrote:

IMHO,,, BAJJERFAN,,, hit it right on.

I took the first part of Bajjerfan's post as a measure of protection for a buyer, but, I'm a tad confused why this would be considered "screwing" him (when appropriately used). In that light (my interpretation), it could be construed as a seller minimizing a buyer's avenues of redress.

In any event, I called the seller and was informed that it is a protection for the seller; to prevent fraudulent CC usage primarily, at least according to the person I spoke with. Of course, they wouldn't budge on accepting my CC, and suggested a MO, cashier's check or bank wire (yeah, bank wire). Didn't spend bank wire money.

Hey, I was just anxious to get the coin, and considering the upcoming holiday, wanted to avoid a slow postal delivery. I'm just going to send a check, wait the appropriate time and think a little harder about another purchase. I know that may sound like the wrong attitude, but, should I have to be happy about being inconvenienced for being a selective shopper. Don't get me wrong. I won't let this transaction cause me to ignore a good deal or a nice acquisition from this seller, nor am I of the mistaken belief that my purchase is of any significance to his "big picture"; it just happens to be about all I can do in this instance.

edited to add, Nencoin wrote:

UncleJoe nailed it on the head. I think the reasoning is quite sound - the more positive feedbacks a buyer has, the less likely that he is someone who is dishonest, and who will reverse a credit card charge. We had a buyer reverse a credit card charge on a $10,000 coin. He has since skipped town, the police are involved, and we are out $10,000. Had we taken the precautionery measures that we do today (after learning the hard way through unscrupulous eBayers), we'd probably still have our coin or money.


the restriction doesn't say "positive" feedbacks, only ten. Yeah, I suppose it's implied, but I don't think what is implied versus what is said should be enforceable.

Your example seems to be another matter entirely. I agree with anyone's need to protect themselves when dealing with an amount such as $10K; in that case, I think a little more background would have been appropriate before accepting such a charge. It is apparent that either your client wasn't who you thought he was, or he was going to burn you anyway.

And while we're on this credit card topic, I've had the ocassion to challenge a charge on my card, but I've never gotten the impression that I could just call up and say reverse this charge without some appropriate justification, like I didn't buy it, I never received it, the item I received wasn't what I ordered, etc. Even in those cases, the charge was HIA pending investigation.

Oh, and Outhaul, my reputation pre-seeds me. , not the other way around. And I still wouldn't contribute to AH.

BAJJERFAN

My point is that credit card companies should be in the money lending business only and not the dispute resolution business. Apparently is relatively easy to whine to your credit card company if you are unhappy with your purchase or it was delivered and stolen from your porch or mailbox. An unhappy buyer can have the transaction reveresed and the seller is basically screwed.

coppercoins

<< <i>the restriction doesn't say "positive" feedbacks, only ten. Yeah, I suppose it's implied, but I don't think what is implied versus what is said should be enforceable. >>



Actually in a sense it does say ten "positive" feedbacks since only positive feedbacks give rating points, and the seller does state "feedback rating of ten or higher". Negative feedbacks subtract from the user's overall rating and neutral feedbacks don't add or subtract from the overall rating...so the only way for a user to obtain a feedback rating of (10) is to have ten more positives than negatives, neutrals don't count.

Outhaul

Gilbert,

Not meant as a shot at you

mr1931S

credit card is much safer for a seller...i agree with Mark...

besides,on higher ticket items ($500 or more) where the buyer might be wanting service of escrow,the fees to the buyer are less for using a credit card than other forms of payment...and the transaction is alot faster...

some sellers get so hung up on their feedback ratings they forget what it is they should be trying to do...

customer service,sellers...remember that concept?

presleyh

NEVER NEVER NEVER take a credit card on the phone. Unless you have a swipe of the card and the signature on the slip you are 100% at risk up to 1 year later. If the card holder calls his bank and cancels the card endorsement you as the seller have no recourse at all. The bank just takes your money out of your checking account. This has happened to me. When it did i called everybody to find out why. The buyer would not return emails. My bank said that is standard policy. The buyer's bank isn't allowed to tell you why the endorsement was canceled. Only the buyer can say why they took your money. I know he got the product and was satisfied with it. I wondered if he used a stolen card, or if he filed bankruptsy and the bank went back 6 months and reniged on all transactions or if the guy was just a crook. I will never know. But i'm out $350.00, with no recourse.