eBay

dhala54 · ‎01-19-2022

I will start this by saying over the past 6 months I have returned a handful of vinyl albums simply and honestly because they were not graded properly. The descriptions were Excellent to Near Mint and were far from it, with loud surface noise and pops. Also, I am a collector and some pressings of Led Zeppelin have certain and specific matrix numbers and letters that I ask the seller about first, only to get the album with none of the markings I asked about. I think sellers who do this should be the ones getting a fraudulent sellers warning. My 100% positive rating on eBay speaks for itself.

ma-647837 · ‎01-19-2022

@dhala54 wrote:
My 100% positive rating on eBay speaks for itself.

Buyers can only get positive feedback, so your knowledge may not be as 100% as eBay speaks for itself.

dogchow747 · ‎01-19-2022

@dhala54

"I have returned a handful of vinyl albums simply and honestly because they were not graded properly"

Lots of sellers accept returns and as long as you as a buyer do not abuse the process.

Did you do credit card charge backs or escalate complaints at any point in time?

Grading is subjective, like with ungraded coins or sports cards you will have to assume the seller probably is not a grading expert and will probably grade a little high rather than low.

I am a pretty informed guy, I know nothing about matrix numbers and beyond reading them off a record.

I am not sure that is a valid reason for a return, especially when sellers pay the return shipping.

Not trying to be a jerk, but unless a record is grossly mis-described, it will be hard to convince ebay the seller is being fraudulent. Try to understand that the specifics you are looking for are (I assume) rare, and most sellers know little about some of these specifics.

dhala54 · ‎01-19-2022

I can see you know nothing about matrix numbers. On some Led Zeppelin releases, the matrix numbers and letters tell you who worked on the pressings as far as the engineer. George Piros and George Peckham engineered pressings sound so spectacular compared to other releases of the same album. You have to hear the difference to believe it. Piros pressings have etched in the vinyl itself a AT/GP mark and a Peckham album has Porky/Pecko Duck markings. These are very sought after recordings. You should look it up sometime. If I ask a seller if those markings are present on the vinyl, and he says yes, then they should be on there. If not, then he is not being honest, and the item should be returned. There is no leeway.

kensgiftshop · ‎01-19-2022

@dhala54 wrote:
My 100% positive rating on eBay speaks for itself.

Buyers feedback doesn't mean much, since they can only receive positive feedback.

Have a great day.

dogchow747 · ‎01-19-2022

@dhala54

I just read something about early Rolling Stones releases on Decca.

It is very interesting. I can completely understand why certain pressings are sought after.

"If I ask a seller if those markings are present on the vinyl, and he says yes, then they should be on there. If not, then he is not being honest, and the item should be returned."

I see where you are coming from. If they tell you something is there and it is not, it does seem like a valid reason for return.

Are you sure it was not a honest mistake?

Maybe there was a miscommunication where the seller did not understand the specifics you are looking for? A novice like myself might confuse XARL with XZAL and reply with a answer thinking they were truly being helpful. It is very specific stuff.

I was not involved, I do not know for sure.

All I can say is sometimes mistakes happen and we get upset about it, happens to me.

Then a few days later I realize it is E-commerce and this is the perfect place for confusion or simple mistakes to happen. Sometimes people are dishonest, agree with that.

Cheers.

dhala54 · ‎01-19-2022

Yeah, actually it just happened this week. The seller knew the numbers and letters he sent me were not on there. Completely different set. AT/GP was supposed to be on both sides of the vinyl and it was only on one side. This means that Piros only engineered Side 1 and not Side 2. Therefore they will sound different. That's why I always ask questions before I buy.

lightlily_arts · ‎01-19-2022

I understand your concern, but you have to remember this is eBay with bots. If you are receiving those warnings it's because your purchase/returns ratio are excessive regardless of the reason. Accounts will get flagged for it. Your having 100% Buyer feedback is actually meaningless since sellers can only leave positive feedback.

dhala54 · ‎01-23-2022

Apparently you just don't understand my original post about fraudulent buyer warnings or just choose not too. I did not commit any fraud whatsoever in my returns. That is why I message the sellers before I buy to make sure the album pressing is exactly what I am looking for. Well, if the seller says it is and I purchase and it is not, am I expected to just keep it? These albums are anywhere from $40-$65 a piece and it is ridiculous that a fraud warning is sent to a buyer just on a purchase/return ratio. That is saying that fraud might be taking place when the individual cases prove otherwise. Also, I understand about the 100% ratings, but that has nothing to do with my original statement. The eBay policy should be updated to avoid this kind of a situation.

nocoolnamejane · ‎01-23-2022

Lilly understood perfectly:

Those emails are most likely sent by bots that get triggered after an (unknown) number of SNADs are filed.

Whether they are legitimate or not, eBay, like many other companies, have a treshold where they may choose not to business with a member. While I understand the importance of being able to tell apart pressings in order to receive the right ones, a lot of vinyl sellers on eBay are not vinyl specialists therefore eBay might not be the best venue for needs as specific as yours.

She ❤︎ Her ❤︎ Hers

lightlily_arts · ‎01-23-2022

I understood perfectly. Apparently you didn't understand that those fraud warnings coming from eBay are based on an excessive number of returns/purchases ratio a user has, which does not take into consideration the legitimacy of your returns. Again, you did mention in the original post that you have 100% feedback. I'm only pointing out that the buyer's feedback score is meaningless because buyers can only receive positive feedback. Feedback is not a relevant issue with returns.