Another reason why Ebay sucks

bbuckner22

Had a set break end 12 days ago. All of the cards were PSA graded, no surprises there. The day after the auction ended I received a message from a buyer asking me to remove one of the cards from his invoice, he said he had bid on it by mistake. I did remove the card, but also checked his bid history and saw he had won two of the same card that night. Of course, just let the seller eat it while I pay for the lower cost item. Today, I get two messages from the same buyer that he is returning two cards. Again, I check his bid history and see that he has purchased both of these cards with BIN prices lower than what he paid in my auction. So does this f**in clown continue to buy up cards until the 45 days are up and I have to refund him?

mygotta

If someone purchases something from me and delivered in a timely manner and nothing is wrong with item, I charge a 20% restocking fee and do not reimburse shipping costs.

Dodgerfanjohn

I agree that's a crappy thing to do. I'd be po'ed too.

cpamike

If it was a reputable company, you could call and tell them what this clown is doing. I'm sure they would explain to him the whole auction process and if you bid & win, you pay.

But eBay is not, so you will get the runaround and still have to refund him anyway. As frustrating as it is, I'd just block him and move on.

cardsfan73

Maybe you can share the ebay id so other sellers don't get screwed over? Sorry this happened to you.

bbuckner22

Mike hit the nail on the head, as frustrated as I am over the situation placing a call to Ebay will only escalate my ire level.

BasherBoy

have had the exact same thing happen Dave, it sucks.

japhi

<< <i>If it was a reputable company, you could call and tell them what this clown is doing. I'm sure they would explain to him the whole auction process and if you bid & win, you pay.

But eBay is not, so you will get the runaround and still have to refund him anyway. As frustrating as it is, I'd just block him and move on. >>



With all due respect, Ebay is a 72B reputable company and returns are a part of any business that sells goods online or otherwise. I think a lot of these "Ebay sucks" posts are from folks whose only exposure to selling, is cards, on Ebay.

In my business it costs my rep a few hours to sign the client, my ops team an hour or so to pick and pack and another hundred bucks to ship. As long as the client doesn't activate the product, they can call us for a return tag and cancel. We pay return shipping and we don't get any "fees" back, everything prior and post cancellation we eat. In almost all cases the client has purchased from someone else while all this is going on.

So while I sympathize with managing returns and canceled orders, running a biz and selling isn't for everyone, and if you (not you specifically Mike) can't hack managing it you can always post ads on Craigslist and have guys in your house low balling you. Or drive to card shows and sell at 35% fair value.

vintageinvestments

Out his ID and block him. Ebay is a runaway train on a track to failure. It is only a matter of time before it pops. I am a powerseller who constantly gets their promotions etc. They keep changing things up sucking fees from sellers because sales are dwindelling. I hate to sound negative but it is what it is. My sales are 30% of what they were last year and I have more inventory now. I was recently forced to upgrade to anchor store due to new fees. I am giving it two months then liquidating a large chunk. I imagine sportscard sellers are not the only ones seeing the crunch. I predict it will become more of an overpriced junk shop and a few large dealers taking consignments driving down values and making it difficult to find rare items. They are all going to auction houses.

Jason

MomandPopCardShop

I dont understand your frustration, eBay will not force you to accept a return of a properly decribed graded card. Tell the guy no returns and accept the negative which will only make him look like an idiot.

japhi

<< <i>Out his ID and block him. Ebay is a runaway train on a track to failure. It is only a matter of time before it pops.

Jason >>



Based on what? Ebay is close to a 52 week high and has been on an insane tear since 2010. A much better run that 79 topps wax!

I hate to be an arse, but there is so much misinformation about Ebay and their impending doom. All indicators are that their business is very robust, which is why you see these price increases. They know the market can absorb it.

Auction houses will never have anywhere near the scale that Ebay has. For high end items, sure, buyers will pay the buyers premium but the bulk of transactions in the card world look more like an 83 Sandberg than a 52 Mantle. I also think people are misunderstanding the growth in Auction Houses - it is more about a growing economy and overall market than business moving away from Ebay. Take a look at Sotheby's growth, it mirrors Ebay's, this isn't zero sum.

vintageinvestments

Based on what? Ebay is close to a 52 week high and has been on an insane tear since 2010. A much better run that 79 topps wax!

I hate to be an arse, but there is so much misinformation about Ebay and their impending doom. All indicators are that their business is very robust, which is why you see these price increases. They know the market can absorb it.

Auction houses will never have anywhere near the scale that Ebay has. For high end items, sure, buyers will pay the buyers premium but the bulk of transactions in the card world look more like an 83 Sandberg than a 52 Mantle. I also think people are misunderstanding the growth in Auction Houses - it is more about a growing economy and overall market than business moving away from Ebay. Take a look at Sotheby's growth, it mirrors Ebay's, this isn't zero sum.

So are you an Ebay seller? Just curious. Ebay profits are due to increase in fees. You cannot convince me otherwise. My gross is 30% this month of what is was in May 2012 and I have twice the number of items. I probably will pay close to the same amount in fees. This is how eBay is sustaining. Once sellers start to exit it will be all over. You see not many higher end vintage cards like in the past as well. I have spoken with a couple of higher eBay sellers already who are moving toward their own websites versus eBay. These are platinum and titanium sellers FYI. It's all a house of cards.....may not be tomorrow, may not be this year, but the house is coming down sooner or later.


Jason

japhi

I'm not an Ebay seller, but am a buyer and sellers will have to be where the buyers, and there is no indication that there is a lack of Ebay buyers.

I do have a fair amount of experience in Ecomm and what I've seen is small/ mid sized online stores move inventory to more efficient distribution models like Ebay, Amazon, Etsy, etc.

I get that high end items will move to AH and that's great but how many guys on this forum buy 33 Ruth's and 52 Mantles, or game worn Berra jersey's? That high end is a niche segment of collectibles and I'd agree that on those items Ebay fee's may not make sense.

Also, I'll believe all these sellers are moving to their own websites when I see it. Probstein just reduced his rates, decided not to move off Ebay. 4SC has an offline store but still sells on Ebay.

Appreciate the discussion either way, I'm under no illusion that Ebay is perfect, but it is by far the best model out there for the majority of buyers and that is what matters.

Edit: just searched the last sold items for search term Gretzky and on page 1 the high was $850, the median around $25 with lots of sales under $10. THIS is Ebay's bread and butter and until someone comes up with a better way to distribute low value items Ebay will remain king.

CNote

<< <i>

<< <i>Mike hit the nail on the head, as frustrated as I am over the situation placing a call to Ebay will only escalate my ire level. >>



It's a shame you think that way, and that you let someone else's negative attitude bring you down like this.

ebay actually has great customer service and they resolve things logically and professionally for the betterment of the service ... you just need to call them.

Your choice - venting here is helpful as is actually doing something about it. >>



Great customer service? Why, because they continue to let people sell kits for re-sealers and don't hassle the sellers of those kits?

soundgard

<< <i>

<< <i>

ebay actually has great customer service and they resolve things logically and professionally for the betterment of the service ... you just need to call them.
>>



Thanks for the laugh.