Being a buyer makes me realize how many other sellers aren't that great.
Summary: quadcitypickers shared experiences as a buyer facing issues with seller practices such as improper shipping methods and poor packaging, despite preferring sellers with extensive positive feedback. Several participants shared similar experiences, including inadequate packaging and misleading reasons for canceling purchases. tobaccocardyahoo discussed the balance between packaging quality and cost, while others provided insights into creative but effective packaging solutions. The discussion highlighted frustrations with buying from sellers and the variability in seller reliability, regardless of feedback scores.
I'm not an expert seller by any means, but I've listed and shipped out around 12,000 packages all by myself. I can still count on one hand how many arrived damaged.
My significant other collects stuff and buys around 10 items a month on her own account.
I taught her a few things, basically don't buy from sellers with less than 95% feedback, don't buy from brand new sellers, etc.
Despite this, just in the last 2 months:
2 sellers used media mail for something very much NOT media mail.
A seller sold something, didn't ship it, didn't reply to messages, never responded to the INR case. Wasn't a pricing mistake or anything. They've since listed and sold other things as well. She later left a neg. If the seller messaged her saying they were having an emergency of some sort that would of been understandable. Zero contact.
A seller sent something without any packing material, luckily a durable item so it was otherwise fine.
A seller sent a vintage board game and mailed it in two pizza box shaped boxes taped together with zero packing material or cushioning. Board games use thin cardboard and the box got caved in as a result.
I took a look at these sellers, all pretty much "veteran" sellers with well over a thousand feedback.
I try to give people benefit of the doubt, but if you have 1k selling feedback and have been selling over 4-5 years, sending things media mail that aren't media (one was a vintage inflatable skeleton) and using zero packing material is not excusable.
Wondering if anyone else here also sells and buys and has some "seriously?" type of transactions to share that you wouldn't think you'd encounter with long time sellers.
luckythewinner
·1 month ago · EditedI have bought thousands of items on eBay over the past 20 years. I can count on one hand how many arrived damaged. And I don't look at the seller's feedback or time on eBay at all.
gurlcat
·1 month ago · EditedI buy here a lot and yeah there are tons of bad sellers, not just lazy or clueless, but scammers too. This is why I have to laugh whenever some seller comes here rippin' hellcats because they think eBay should take their side on something, as if only buyers can suck and then lie about it.
babyers88
·1 month agoI really do not buy much of anything on ebay, but as a seller, shipping cost is kind of crazy so I do sometimes have be creative, but in a good way such as the Cereal box (I would not use) but I do sometimes use sturdier food boxes if the size is right.
Many many years of becoming more proficient is the only way to not pay enormous shipping cost.
you might be surprised to know that many consumer items are "certified" to ship in the factory box, so it's easy to bag-it and tag it.
but.... other things like auto parts ARE NOT, because those typically ship palatalized and shrink wrapped in a pattern stack or double boxed
once separated they are intended normally to be sold over the counter, as such auto parts typically require extra packaging to arrive safely.
grann-4629
·1 month agoI received a DVD box set packed in a cereal box. It fit perfectly in the box and was
lined with bubble wrap. It was a very cool package to receive and I thanked the seller for bringing me a smile.
adamcartwright
·1 month agoI hope your wife left FB on that pizza box disaster.
quadcitypickers
OP1 month agoIt wasn't an actual pizza box, just the size of one, they cut the side out of both and taped them together. But when you have such a long piece of cardboard without any void fill, even a pound of weight will crush through.
hartungcards
·1 month ago"2 sellers used media mail for something very much NOT media mail."
OH, THE HUMANITY !
chapeau-noir
·1 month agoActually, it's a problem.
redlinear
·1 month agoYep, I've had two sellers cancel my purchases in the last two weeks.
One claiming their "supplier" was out of stock (although they had 18 quantity showing)
The other claimed their "supplier" dropped the item and broke it (they were showing 8 quantity and I bought two)
Both were kind enough to explain to me how to find and ask them to cancel the transactions.
I replied to both, You cancel it for Out of Stock or Damaged. Any other reason and I'll report it.
Just getting sick of this kind of thing from buyers
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 month agoThere are Ebay sellers who pack inadequately. There are Ebay sellers who bulletproof their packages. And there are Ebay sellers whose packaging is "good enough" and have only a small number of damaged items each year.
I used to bulletproof. I no longer do. My packaging is "good enough" that I have about one complaint about damage, each year. Time is money, shipping weight and a larger packager can cost money. I keep my packaging time to a minimum acceptable level, and seek to minimize the size and weight of my packages.
Those buyers who send me a note when they order telling me how to pack, get their stuff packed my way, and usually leave positive FB about the transaction.
Some EBay sellers do a good job packing things they know how to pack and are clueless about how to pack other things. That board game seller probably does not ship many of them, if they get damaged. Sometimes it helps to buy from a specialist. A seller with 1000 FB can be totally ignorant of a specific item they are offering, so FB is not going to help a buyer decide who to buy from.
When I buy online, I take a very conservative approach. I do not buy anything which is important to me on Ebay unless I am an expert in it - these are usually things I collect. I buy things which I do not need to rely on, arriving on time, or working. I assume that if they fail after the MBG period, I am going to throw them away.
I buy mass market products online from Amazon or Walmart. I do not buy from 3P sellers on Walmart. I do not buy seller fulfilled items on Amazon, unless I know the seller. I do not buy other items which are not shipped by Amazon. I prefer sold by and shipped by Amazon items to 3P seller items.
When I buy at flea markets, I have similar rules.