KUDOS

[roccotacodad54]

   First off I know not many will read this and it'll get buried soon enough but to the sellers that do read it---------->KUDOS to all of you!

   I've been reading the posts on the sellers forum for some time now. I only buy and after reading the sellers forum I know I don't have the patience or temperment for selling. 

   How you folks can deal with the public in this day and age is beyond me.....................

[kensgiftshop]

I've been selling online since the late 90s and one thing I've figured out, you can't take anything personally.

[theteamsetguy]

@roccotacodad54 ,

I have been working in sales whether on eBay or at my day time job for over 30 years and have learned you can’t please everyone.  You can’t take things personally like Kengiftshop says and have given up trying to please everyone.

[mommaknows]

@roccotacodad54  I've been here daily, as a seller,  trying to learn some of the ins and outs, but find that I also getting anxious reading some of the posts. 

I try to keep in mind that every endeavor we choose to undertake has its inherent obstacles. Sometimes it's just part of the journey.

I hope that you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

[ten_o_nine]

Selling on eBay requires a unique set of skills, patience, and temperament. Dealing with customers, managing inventory, and navigating platform policies can be demanding. However, many sellers find it rewarding to connect with buyers, share their passion for products, and build a community around their niche.

Kudos to you too for recognizing the value of sellers and taking a moment to express your gratitude!

[christworks]

Ask anybody who works a job that deals with the public (does not have to be retail), and they will tell you that people were crazy long before smartphones came along.  The younger generations get a lot of blame, unfairly IMHO, but older generations are an issue, too.

Mom spent most of her life working the switchboard at the hospital. She routinely dealt with people who would call in wanting to be connected to their "lifelong best friend's room," yet had no idea what the name of their friend was. 🙄 She would then have to spend 10–15 minutes trying to explain to them she needed the patient's first and last name, and they'd be giving her something like, "Big Willy." She would eventually have to hang up on these people, and I can recall a few choice words she had for them after she did. 🤣

Truly most people are not like this. Most people are good people. Most people are reasonable. Most buyers are good buyers who just want their item delivered to them in a timely manner and it to arrive as described. Most are not scammers. Most don't get upset if there is something minor wrong. I have buyers who don't get upset when something major is wrong. I personally would like to reach that level, but I'm not there yet.

This is not an educational issue. This is a psychological issue. It is the deeply insecure people who are a problem. They want attention, and they will manufacture a crisis just to get attention because it makes themselves feel better. Your post is about buyers, but the same is true for sellers, too. We all have to work through the weeds to find someone who will conduct business above board.  

[chapeau-noir]

Customer service in 'this day and age' is about like it was in the 70s when I was very young and just starting work. I think the whole schtick that somehow people have changed and "nobody" (there's that Nobody doing all that heavy lifting again) has any manners anymore stems from the fact that we deal with a whole lot more people online than we would ever in person, or that a lot of people here have never had to do any customer service before to begin with, and have only the experience of a small circle of people. It has never been easy. 

[cityslickercreations2004]

Working with people can be tough. Just trying to communicate via keyboard makes it tougher with no verbal or visual cues. 

But, it has certainly improved my swearing skills.

[mam98031]

@roccotacodad54 

The vast majority of transactions go off without any issue at all.  It is rare to have to send messages to our customers as things just progress smoothly.

Please keep in mind that what you see here in the forums are almost always going to be the problems / disasters.  Very few will come to write a feel good story as most won't even post on those threads.  

Sellers shouldn't base their overall opinion of selling on the threads.  These are the exceptions not the majority of how transactions happen.

I get far more grief on the threads.  Posters come here all the time to ask for advice yet sometimes they simply don't take it very well at all.  

[conservitvs]

I’ve been selling since 1996, and at one time sold quite heavily; I’ve dialed back my selling significantly since 2023.

Between my accounts, I have over 60,000 transactions and $1.7 million dollars in GROSS sales. I can remember only a small handful of truly bad transactions and only one or two instances of outright fraud. 

By far, my worst experience on eBay has been on these forums. I was a “mentor” for about a year (recently left the program)… a truly, truly miserable experience.

[toysaver]

If they did any sort of public health study they'd find eBay sellers have more hypertension, ulcers, anxiety and other stress related disorders.   

[squinkercat59]

On some days, working retail with people face-to-face is no picnic either!

[meme6253]

You can please some of the people some of the time, But you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

[adamcartwright]

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@conservitvs wrote:

By far, my worst experience on eBay has been on these forums. I was a “mentor” for about a year (recently left the program)… a truly, truly miserable experience.

---

Sorry to hear that, but I can believe it because I have seen mentors abused here.  How pathetic for adults to treat each other that way over misunderstandings and different opinions. 

[sassykzt]

Thank you for your kind words!   I sell in a specialized, niche area so 99.99 of my customers are educated consumers, polite and very nice.  The area where I'm experiencing the most frustration is AI taking down listings for nonsensical reasons & that same AI denying appeals when receipts from manufacturer and letters from distributor authenticating are provided in the appeal process.  Caused me to sell elsewhere for less fees so in the end it's all good.  For me the lack of any seller support is most problematic.  Humans I can communicate with but the site being run by AI is where thick skin and various breathing techniques are necessary.  I am grateful for everyone on this forum!!!