Is it just an unreal run of bad luck or are most sellers on here garbage? Namely 1s selling tennis
Just wondering how buyers have fared lately on here? My last 6 items purchased on EBAY:
1 6 pack batteries got an envelope with ONE battery in it after 2 weeks
2 Cracked tennis racket which crooked seller hid any close up photos that would have revealed the extensive damage (YEP I returned as damaged)
3 two other items both took seller 5 days to ship + USPS then promptly lost 1
4 Another tennis racket seller listed grip wrong size NOT 4 3/8 like was in description
5 Tennis string from Ireland which seller was GREAT and it got here < week
6 Tennis racket which awful seller never shipped after a week and then I inquired if shipped?? there was no reply but apparently gave to the mailman that day I eventually got it but so mad, I opened a NAD case since badly missed latest delivery date
I would buy tennis rackets elsewhere but sadly this was only place that had them
Of course all the sellers had 5/5 rating for shipping time. Sure EBAY crookedly changes any bad rating, like ship time, to make them look good
house*of*paws
·4 months agoHi @ed307935
You've only had this eBay account for 2 months, and you are questioning whether most sellers on the site are 'garbage' ... AND you are 'sure' that eBay changes sellers' 'Shipping Time ratings' to make them look good. Wow!
I question whether ANY replies will break through that mountain of cynicism, but here goes:
tinsoldierunderground
·4 months ago@ed307935
You've been an ebay member for 2 months, I would advise you to heed the words of @mudshark61369 and learn to vett your sellers better. Yes, there are certainly less than desirable people on this platform - both buyers and sellers. But you can greatly reduce your risk of a problem transaction by scrutinizing sellers' feedback received from buyers. I can also assure you that ebay has a LONG history of favoring buyers in almost ANY transaction disputes, you can scroll through these forum pages if you have doubts.
krazzykats
·4 months agoSometimes buying used means scoring a great deal, and other times it means ending up with a dud.
Most sellers here are honest, but even an honest one can make a mistake or accidentally overlook something.
Why do some buyers hold all sellers responsible for the bad actions of just a few?
ᓚᘏᗢ
bonanza125
·4 months agoIt's more bad luck then sellers being garbage. Not all transactions are going to go smoothly especially if you purchase from an international location. Your experiences are all over the place as far as issues. The way you should approach this is you are buying stuff online. There is a risk of stuff that will not go the way you want it or suppose to be. Ebay does have a great policy to back up buyers. I haven't had the string of bad luck you had though. Majority of the time things go fine though.
fabrics24
·4 months agoIt sounds like a combination of bad luck and not vetting your sellers. Most of the sellers on this board are very reputable, and have been in this business for a long time.
Sourcing quality sellers is learned with time; you want to find sellers who have mostly positive feedback, and that respond to negative feedback calmly while following eBay's guidelines (such as refunding the buyer when the item is back in their care, accepting INAD returns even when their policy says they don't take returns, not cancelling orders when they don't have to, and not using offensive language). Ideally, it's good to buy from sellers in the same country as you to reduce shipping costs and the hassles of customs, but feedback is especially helpful for vetting international sellers, especially if the item you want are by definition international.
Ebay will almost always side with you as the buyer, and you're protected by the MBG. I know that doesn't fix not getting the items you wanted, but scummy sellers rarely last before eBay slams them with dings, or even suspension.
This place is amazing for second-hand pieces like collectibles, antiques, blind box items, and other nostalgic buys; I hope you have better luck in the future!
grann-4629
·4 months agoThis place is amazing for second-hand pieces like collectibles, antiques, blind box items, and other nostalgic buys
It used to be but not so much any more. eBay is more like a retail mall now where you can sometimes find something neat at a reasonable price.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoWhat are "blind box items"?
fabrics24
·4 months agoBlind box items are "mystery" toys packaged so you can't see what you have until you buy and open it; a lot of companies sell closed box collectibles (i.e.: little cats in different poses and colors, Disney characters, transformers, etc.), forcing you to buy as many as it takes to get the one you want.
Some people really like the surprise element, but others (like me) find it to be kind of a pain. Unfortunately, it's a profitable format since people buy so many to get the ones they want, so I doubt it'll go away.
As a solution, some people buy them, open them, and list them as open box; the seller gets to upcharge for basically giving you the exact one you want with no work on your part, and you don't have to spend all your money getting duplicate pieces of plastic.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoInteresting -- learn something new every day. But why did I think such "mystery boxes" weren' allowed to be listed on eBay?
toomuchstuffagain35
·4 months agoA 'mystery box' where the seller puts a # of items in a box and lists it and the buyer basically buys sight unseen are not allowed.
The blind bags/boxes are the way they're marketed & sold at retail. It's up to the seller whether they sell them open or sealed.
jonathanbrightlight
·4 months agoeBay has changed those rules, actually (sometime last year I think), to allow more than they did before:
Grab bags or mystery boxes may be listed under the following conditions:
The listing contains general information about what is included
The listing does not single out items with monetary or collector's value unless they are included with every purchase
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/chance-listings-policy?id=4311
soh.maryl
·4 months agoWhen a buyer opens an NAD case, the seller is REQUIRED by eBay to accept the return and refund or to refund without requiring a return, the seller has no choice in the matter. In other words, a seller can have a "No Return" policy, but cannot have a "No Refunds" policy.
soh.maryl
·4 months ago1. You are very wrong about eBay changing a bad rating regarding shipping times. Where do you get that idea?
2. You are aware that, once a package leaves the seller's hands, he is no longer responsible for how long it takes the carrier to get your purchase to you, right?
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoMy friend
That is untrue. The seller IS responsible for the performance of the carrier he chooses. That is true whether the carrier is at fault and the seller is not. That is true even if the buyer chooses the shipping method.
Both Federal and State Consumer Protection Laws say so, and credit card processors and internet marketplaces do their bit to enforce compliance.
grann-4629
·4 months agoI don't see how any consumer protection agency can hold an eBay seller responsible when his chosen carrier was t-boned by a careless driver and the item was delayed/destroyed/lost.
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoChalk that opinion up to lack of experience. Happens every day. Seller is responsible to the buyer, seller might or might not be covered by the carrier's insurance.
This is the law. The law sometimes seems unreasonable. That is because the goals of the law are often unreasonable.
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoIt depends on the terms. For the most part, eBay sales are on delivered terms. Buyer and seller have an agreement that buyer pays $x for a delivered item. Absolutely, seller is not "responsible" for the accident, but he is accountable for getting the item to the buyer.
Between the buyer and the seller, it makes sense that the seller is on the hook. The seller is the one that has charges based on COGS, shipping, necessary profit margin. That profit margin should be calculated to cover a certain level of unforeseen events. If seller does it right, he has priced the likelihood of such an event into his pricing. Buyer wouldn't be able to do that, nor should he.
tenbigdogs
·4 months agoHi tobaccoroad, I find it charming how you advise responders who have been on these boards almost since the beginning, many of whom have been invited by eBay to be eBay Mentors, like @soh.maryl @gosimus and so many others. We used to be called eBay Experts before they wanted us to get down with the people. Always nice to meet new responders! Good luck!
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoShould wrong information not be corrected? A longtime member is telling a buyer that he has to fund a return, even if seller offers free returns. That should be corrected ASAP.
gosimus
·4 months ago@tobaccocardyahoo
Would you please identify the specific statute that says this? I'd like to see it firsthand.
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoHunt it up yourself.
You are doubting what every business person with experience knows.
Some ignorant Ebay sellers from day one of the site, thought that they were not responsible if a buyer opted not to pay extra for insurance. Many of them suffered significantly from that assumption.
kathiec
·4 months ago@tobaccocardyahoo
I actually did "hunt it up". Here's what Google AI says on the subject:
The fact that on eBay sellers bear the burden of buying insurance and ensuring delivery is part of eBay's MBG policies, not something that is any way, shape, or form dictated by "Federal and State Consumer Protection law". Unless you'd like to provide proof beyond " hunt it up yourself" (which I clearly did).
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoGuess what? You got a simple minded and incomplete answer from AI.
The law is far more complex. Multiple statutes and regulations are involved including the
Fair Credit Billing Act and FTC regulations.
Co-Pilot generates a somewhat more extensive answer and can be guided to offer more detail.
AI is often inadequate unless the querier knows something about what the answer should be.
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoOr knows enough to ask the right follow-up questions.
kathiec
·4 months agoTry again. Just randomly picking the names of a couple of laws doesn't cut it. See, over the course of my career I worked for a credit reporting agency and a major bank. So I happen to be intimately acquainted with the Fair Credit Billing Act (which I would bet good money and give you great odds you've never actually read). Nowhere does it mention who is responsible for packages after mailing, only that consumers may dispute charges for packages that don't arrive. And it in no way, shape, or form dictates that card issuers must settle those disputes in favor of the consumer.
And the FTC only governs the shipping time of orders and what happens if the shipper misses those deadlines. It's silent on when responsibility for the package transfers.
Next, or did you want to pull out the name of another Act you have no direct knowledge of???
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoCorrect that there isn't a UCC requirement that seller is responsible through delivery for any and all B2C transactions. However, it would govern if/when terms of the eBay policies and listing specifics create contractual terms regarding delivery. No, eBay doesn't use incoterms, but they have them implicit in the listing. So, if local pick-up and someone chooses their own freight company to collect, the risk passes to buyer upon pick-up. Most transactions are delivered terms - effectively FOB Destination. The UCC applies to all of these transactions - local pick-up, sent through the mail. It just provides a back-up if eBay doesn't take care of the issue on its own.
gosimus
·4 months agoHunt up something that doesn't exist? No thanks, no goose chase for me. Whoever makes an assertion has the responsibility to back it up. If you want to back out instead, I'll understand.
tenbigdogs
·4 months ago>> You are doubting what every business person with experience knows. << Say what?
That is the kind of declarative statement often made by people who don't actually know what they're talking about.
@kathiec appears to have a pretty good handle on this, perhaps you should defer to her expertise.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoThank you for that insight; however, my point was that the seller has no way to control how quickly the carrier gets the buyer's purchase to him once he hands the package to the carrier. If your stance is that the seller can control that part of the transaction, hope you'll return and explain how that would work.
jonathanbrightlight
·4 months agoThe seller has no control, true, but they are still responsible to their buyer if it doesn’t arrive in a reasonable time. The carrier is responsible to the seller (because the seller purchased the carrier’s service), but the seller is responsible to the buyer even though it isn’t their fault.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoThank you for that insight.
gosimus
·4 months ago@ed307935
< are most sellers on here garbage? Namely 1s selling tennis >
Are you buying from sellers in China? If so, it's likely that your next six purchases will be unsatisfactory, too. When you get on that classic view feedback profile, as mudshark directed, among the things you're checking, be sure to make the seller's location one of them.
kibble-net
·4 months agoThey most certainly do not.
Do you have proof to back up this hefty accusation?
mudshark61369
·4 months ago@ed307935 ,
Since you are a new member you probably do not know how to vet the seller's you intend to buy from. It is best done by checking their Classic view, feedback profile page. There are instructions on how to do that in the link below. Click on Go To Best Answer
Do that no matter what a seller's feedback percentage is.
"Tennis racket which awful seller never shipped after a week and then I inquired if shipped?? there was no reply but apparently gave to the mailman that day I eventually got it but so mad, I opened a NAD case since badly missed latest delivery date".
eBay sellers are allowed up to 30 days to ship items, but most have much lower handling times. You can often find out what their handling time is by going to the Shipping: cost / service line and clicking on the See details button.
Keep in mind that not all ebay sellers are big businesses w/ shipping depts. They are individuals whose work, family, or location may slow down their ability to ship on time. Many selling used items may not know much about them.
Beyond that the ESTIMATED delivery time frame is just that "estimated", and not set in stone or even on shipper's given average delivery times. Weather and other forces beyond a seller's control can delay delivery or their ability to ship on time.
Some sellers may have a 100% rating, but all or most of their feedback is for buying. If they are a new seller or one who hasn't sold in a long time, may not know about the 21-30 day hold ebay places on their payments, which causes lots of problems. They often do not respond to messages or ship, because on their sold item page the Payment status shows Pending, and they may take messages about shipping as an attempt to scam them somehow. Beyond that the ESTIMATED delivery time frame is just that and not set in stone. Weather and other forces beyond a seller's control can delay delivery.
Buying from buyers located over seas has its own problems, You may receive a tracking number of a domestic shipper, but it is one that partners with an international shipper. Its tracking will not update until the item reaches the U.S. passes through customs and is handed off to the domestic shipper.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/I-am-new-to-eBay-How-do-I-know-if-a-seller-is-trustworthy-I-am/m-p/35202197#M528253
FYI, posting on a public forum that you filed a Not As Described (NAD) dispute because of slow shipping may earn you a spot on the Blocked Buyer List of some of the seller's who read this topic.
tobaccocardyahoo
·4 months agoYour choice of battery seller appears to have a history of negative feedback for short shipments.
Their listings scream do not buy when I look at them. They are clearly sensitive to how their listings confuse buyers and only make things work. Plus I do not trust anyone who puts free shipping and tracked in the product titles.
Too late in the evening to look for other warnings not to buy from the sellers/
grann-4629
·4 months agoYou have had a run of bad luck and your experience doesn't match mine. So far, I have made 27 or 28 buys and I am happy to say that every one has been perfect ... maybe I'm just lucky 😎
I'm not sure how eBay can improve shipping time, unless your issue is with a seller who takes more time to ship than stated in the listing. The actual time in transit or loss of an item by the carrier is beyond the seller's or eBay's ability to control.
I hope things go better for you in the near future.