Gut Feelings = Nonsense

[powell-memorabilia]

I continue to read about sellers canceling or considering cancelling a sale because of a “gut feeling.”  Even worse, some have actually claimed to have “spidey senses.”  Do the adults on the boards actually think that they have the same powers as the one-of-a-kind Peter Parker?  He is a fictional character, mind you, that received those powers in a bizarre set of circumstances.

Folks, none of us are psychics, and no god has bestowed on you a special early warning system for scams.  No one is scamming you for a $10 cookbook, and there is no grand plot to swindle you out of two pairs of underwear and a candle.

From a recent HMS study, 62% of gut feelings are flat-out wrong.  

[dirk12955]

While I agree 100% that some sellers mistakenly see a scam around every corner and under every rock,

After 24 years selling on ebay as a seller,   I can recognize a problem transaction 

  immediately and I'm almost never wrong.

I've been buying from and selling to other human beings since 1968 and can see a problem coming

from a mile away.      

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

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@powell-memorabilia wrote:

Folks, none of us are psychics, and no god has bestowed on you a special early warning system for scams.  

From a recent HMS study, 62% of gut feelings are flat-out wrong.  

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Well,  yes we do have a mechanism against possible danger and it's called our fight or flight response. Gut feelings are very important for humans when they suspect something could cause danger or harm  (animal kingdom as well) so scams could possibly fall into this category as well. 

calling out my fellow nurses to back me up, Mam, Bon!

[12345jamesstamps]

I have never cancel a sale...sometimes "gut feeling" is out there. 

But I usually just make sure I don't spend the earned money of a big sale for a month or so.

We will all get a lousy sale at some point at selling.

[ten_o_nine]

You're absolutely right! It's astonishing how some sellers on eBay attribute their cancelation of sales to a "gut feeling" or "spidey senses." Newsflash: Peter Parker's fictional powers aren't real, and neither are yours!

It's essential to rely on facts, evidence, and concrete indicators when making decisions, rather than unfounded intuition. As you mentioned, the likelihood of being scammed over a $10 cookbook or a few pairs of underwear is incredibly low.

The statistic you shared from the HMS study is eye-opening: 62% of gut feelings are incorrect. This highlights the importance of critical thinking and objective evaluation in decision-making.

Thanks for promoting a rational approach and discouraging the reliance on unproven instincts. Let's keep the eBay community grounded in reality!

[ittybitnot]

From a recent HMS study, 62% of gut feelings are flat-out wrong.

@powell-memorabilia 

Does that infer that 38% are right?   I would think in general, some humans are more intuitive than others. Some are more in touch with life events in general, have more experience and a better capacity for what is called 'incidental learning'.   

For example, it  doesn't take a psychic to know that a the combination of a newbie seller + Iphone + eBAy + freight forwarder + phony claim is going to be trouble around here.    

Unlike others, am not able to always 'spot a scam a mile away'.  Maybe there are lots of people simply smarter than me, and it is not super powers at all. So  I spend time reading and learning to fine tune and improve my gut feeling and spidey sense, no matter what it is called. 

[slati_2013]

I do not cancel sales but I  can tell when one will be trouble. It starts with the buyer asking countless questions that are already answered in the listings or they should know if they are buying the item in question.

I have a buyer who says he is returning an item he bought. I tried to explain to him how the item works. He would not listen. Insistent that he is working with someone else who is an expert in the item. I gave up and accepted the return. 

So yes, you can tell who will be trouble, but if they buy and pay, I ship. I deal with whatever happens. 

[a_c_green]

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@powell-memorabilia wrote:

From a recent HMS study, 62% of gut feelings are flat-out wrong.  

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...and 72% of all statistics are just made up. 😁

Okay, kidding... who or what is HMS? I'd be curious to know how they reached that result.

[evry1nositswindy]

@silverstatetreasureboxes I'm not a nurse, but I have a degree in psychology.  Yes, fight or flight response is a real phenomenon.  I've got your back!

[lakefor94]

@powell-memorabilia 

After 24 years and the last 7 as fulltime online sales, I had better be able to sniff out trouble and know when to pull the trigger.  None of that takes extra sensory perception. Just solid sales experience and the ability and perserervence to get out the shovel and do a little digging. No rocket science to it. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

Developed over many years, I believe one’s gut instincts can be the result of keen judgment, coupled with experience and application of one’s knowledge.

The human brain is a marvel—it can absorb myriad data, and in a split second,  give helpful feedback to its owner. That is, if one has the mindfulness to notice.

It is not the sole element of my decision-making, but I have come to rely on it as another trusted source of information when making important or difficult choices.

[1786davycrockett]

@ten_o_nine 

"Newsflash: Peter Parker's fictional powers aren't real, and neither are yours!"

Good to know -- this costume has begun rising in the crotch, and I'm getting constant chills from living in this cave, and I have better things to do at night than prowl the city, hunting down evil.

Perhaps I can find a buyer for this slightly used Bat-Car on Facebook Marketplace.

(Special discounted price of $1800.00 in eBay gift cards. . ..)

[greatmidwestcoin]

Yes, I do. Under my main selling ID, I sell items in the hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. I've been here 24 years and I do have a good business sense of a possible dead-beat buyer. Especially after the sale, I Google the address and name of the buyer. If either doesn't pass the smell test, I cancel the sale. I will take the rating hit versus losing big bucks. Until you sell several million dollars' worth without a loss, you will never understand. If you have to cite a study for anything, you have already lost. And you seriously sell pages cut out of magazines for $12.50? Good luck!

[reallynicestamps]

I usually Google addresses because I am nosy and easily bored. 

The only ones that worry me are gated communities. Those people are paranoid.

[greatmidwestcoin]

Nosy? LOL Well, then there is that too. The ones showing a vacant lot worry me.