In case anyone was wondering.... I bought an item for $15 with free shipping. The seller ended up spending $13.60 to ship. However, regardless of the fact that he lost money on the transaction, the item I received was not as described. I opened a case and he said he would let ebay decide since in his mind I paid less than $2 for the item so I shouldn't complain. Ebay decided in my favor. In order to get my refund I have to ship the bag back. That is going to cost the seller another $13.60 or so.
eBay, etc. General Question/Answer Thread
- Thread starter Japster
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That's ridiculous - surely they will realise accepting the return will cost money so they should just refund you now??
I don't think this seller is very bright. If he were, he would realize that after ebay and paypal fees, he was at a loss. The smart thing to do would be to tell me to keep the bag and just refund, but maybe he doesn't want me to end up with a free bag, even one that would cost quite a bit to repair.
How much seller protection is there on eBay? I've never sold before, but I'm thinking about selling a Burberry coat NWT right now. I'm a bit worried about having the item damaged in some way and then getting a charge back from the buyer. Is there any way to buy additional protection?
I've used the search function to look for answers to this, but most of the posts are negative experiences with this (could it be that strong experiences are posted more?). I do like the coat myself, so if selling it were to become a headache like that I'd prefer to keep it.
I've used the search function to look for answers to this, but most of the posts are negative experiences with this (could it be that strong experiences are posted more?). I do like the coat myself, so if selling it were to become a headache like that I'd prefer to keep it.
You need to wrap your package very securely. After wrapping in tissue paper, I always put my item in a plastic bag, then place it in the box, with lots of padding. If there isn't enough padding, the box might be smashed. You can buy insurance for your package with whichever carrier you are using, so you'll be able to file a claim if the carrier causes damage or loses the package. If the item sells for more than $750 (including shipping) you are required to have the carrier collect a signature upon delivery. There is always the risk you will get a dishonest buyer who will claim it isn't as described. Luckily, most buyers are honest. There are pros and cons to accepting returns. Some buyers will damage an item just to force a return. If you take a return, you have almost no recourse if the buyer returns an empty box or a damaged item. That is the risk you take when selling. Horror stories are very rare. You're right, when things are going smoothly, no one talks about it. You usually only see the negative experiences posted here. I've been selling for several years. Most sales have no problems.
I have been selling on eBay for 8 years with most of my items selling for several hundred up to $1500. I have had happy buyers and no problems until 2016. Out of the 12 items I sold last year, I had 3 bad buyers. I had two buyers steal from me and one left neutral feedback because I wouldn't cancel a sale right after he ran the bidding up. The hoops I had to jump through with PayPal were unacceptable to me. I am putting jewelry on True Facet and other items on Tradesy, the Real Real, etc. EBay is the easiest format to sell on, and you stand to make the most profit, but if you get a dishonest buyer, it may not be worth it. Good luck selling your coat.
When you search on-line for people's experience, you will always find a lot more negative cases than positive. People who had positive experience on eBay don't normally post on-line about it. I still think large majority of eBay transactions go through fine. I sell things from my own collection, low volume but high value items. In the 15 years I have been on eBay, I had one case open which I won. 2 negative feedback, one removed and one remaining which I responded. I have never been out of the money (touch wood!). Although if you are completely new to eBay, you may struggle in selling very high value designer items straight away. If this coat is the only item you want to sell, you may want to consider consigning it. If you have plan to sell other things in the future, you may want to start to build a selling profile on a platform. Good luck!
Thanks for all the responses! Glad to hear not everyone is having nightmare experiences with eBay. I did have some reservations about the coat being my first item and finding buyers because of that. I will keep all of your advice in mind (and head back with questions) if I do decide to sell the coat. Thanks again!
I usually ship things through flat rate box but this time I had a bigger item and bought insurance for it since it was more expensive. When I put what I assumed was the tracking into eBay it said this is tracking for insurance not the package and that the package tracking must be purchased separately. I thought that is what the "PM 2 Day" thing is? I assumed the tracking number is the number under the label part.
Did I mess up?
I took video of me packaging it and boxing it up, then I also took a picture when they had me put the address on the box. After he put the shipping labels on the box I asked to take a photo because he was taking it away and he said that I wasn't allowed to. Shipping big things really makes me nervous, just hoping I am freaking out over nothing.
Did I mess up?
I took video of me packaging it and boxing it up, then I also took a picture when they had me put the address on the box. After he put the shipping labels on the box I asked to take a photo because he was taking it away and he said that I wasn't allowed to. Shipping big things really makes me nervous, just hoping I am freaking out over nothing.
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It's in the system so you should be good. Maybe the post office can give you another tracking number to try, but this will show as delivered for proof of delivery.I usually ship things through flat rate box but this time I had a bigger item and bought insurance for it since it was more expensive. When I put what I assumed was the tracking into eBay it said this is tracking for insurance not the package and that the package tracking must be purchased separately. I thought that is what the "PM 2 Day" thing is? I assumed the tracking number is the number under the label part.
Did I mess up?
I took video of me packaging it and boxing it up, then I also took a picture when they had me put the address on the box. After he put the shipping labels on the box I asked to take a photo because he was taking it away and he said that I wasn't allowed to. Shipping big things really makes me nervous, just hoping I am freaking out over nothing.
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Oh I feel so much better! I thought maybe it was just a tracking for an insurance claim if I made one and that I didn't get the actual tracking. Thank you!
Does anyone know how long it takes for something to get delivered in Australia?
I used USPS Flat Rate Priority and tracking shows it's in Australia, but on 8/22. No more updates after that and it's September.
Should I start a claim that it's lost? Or does it typically take forever for Australia to deliver USPS mail?
I used USPS Flat Rate Priority and tracking shows it's in Australia, but on 8/22. No more updates after that and it's September.
Should I start a claim that it's lost? Or does it typically take forever for Australia to deliver USPS mail?
Have you actually heard from the buyer looking for her package? I've found shipping to Australia to be quite quick and she may have received it without an update to tracking.