eBay fiasco

Doc Hoy · August 18, 2015, 07:50 PM

Not certain if this is the place to put this. Not even certain if there is any place to put it.

This post comes in the way of a mea culpa.

Boy I blew this one. Have some Hornady shell plates for sale. Put them on eBay and they didn't sell.

Went through a cycle which repeated about six time of:

Fail to sell - lower price and relist - Fail to sell - ......

Finally one of them sold. Got paid and mailed it off. Got positive feedback.

Then decided not to relist the others as the price had gone down to ten bucks and I was paying for shipping. I figured I would give up. BUT, I neglected to pull the listings.

Guess what. They both sold and I missed it. I wasn't watching the auctions because I thought there was no auction.

So....

Auction ends with a sale. Buyer immediately pays for the two plates. I missed it. Didn't ship them. He contacts eBay an opens an action. I get wind of it via eBay.

Still didn't realize that the other two had sold. Told him I shipped his plate (The one that sold previously.) Obviously I hadn't and obviously the buyer was miffed.

Once I finally realized what had happened I refunded his money and shipped the plates to him free of charge. After all, I was about two weeks late.

I will probably get negative feedback which I richly deserve. It would be my first negative feedback since I started on eBay in about 1995. 772 feedbacks and none negative. But I deserve this one because I really blew it.

I am not Catholic (heck, I am not anything) but this is confession.

KEYBEAR · August 18, 2015, 08:07 PM

I have had to call E-BAY to get things right you can find a real phone number if you Google e-Bay . (THE ONLY WAY)

Pay/Pal is a totally different thing . I sold a high dollar Bench Rest Scope to a guy that seemed to buy a bunch of stuff . He paid with Pay/Pal fast I shipped same day . It took five days to get to his post offices and three more for him to pick it up . Pay/Pal would not release the money for two weeks .
Yes I called Pay/Pal (got that number from Google also ) In the end I cancelled Pay/Pal and feel better for it . I also had 100% Positive feedback .

Doc Hoy · August 19, 2015, 01:13 AM

Both eBay and Paypal have a lot for shooters to complain about. About the only group of eBay frequenters who should be consistently happy are the high volume sellers.

Over the years the organization has shifted its policies to emphasize that group and de-emphasize others.

I can't fault them for those policies. Business is business. But the persecution of shooters is hard to predict and hard to be impartial about.

Theohazard · August 19, 2015, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Hoy

I will probably get negative feedback which I richly deserve.

I hope you don't, and I don't think you deserve it. Yeah, you screwed up, but you more than made up for it in the end. I'm assuming you sent the buyer a message explaining what happened. That, combined with the fact that he ended up getting the plates for free, means he might very well leave you positive feedback.

Doc Hoy · August 19, 2015, 11:49 AM

As far as the feedback is concerned, I would be happy if he just enters no feedback at all.

Just as I have never received negative feedback, never have I had an auction go so badly that I thought it was appropriate to leave negative feedback to another.

I have told other eBayers that if I were to leave feedback they would be unhappy about it and hence I was just not going to leave any feedback at all.

I do eBay for fun, but I am serious about treating other folks with respect and to provide an experience that makes them happy.

Onward and upward.

AK103K · August 19, 2015, 06:43 PM

Ive sold quite a bit of stuff on EBay, and much of it gun related. For the most part, its been a good experience.

Im kind of surprised that you didnt get an email from them, each time it listed, ran out, and sold. My mail box was usually loaded with mail from them at the end of the week, for each item I listed/sold. Ive actually had them call me at home, for some items I wasnt supposed to list. You get scolded for infractions of some pretty silly rules.

PayPal can be both good and bad. Fast pay, but they are overly restrictive on the sellers, when it comes to their buyer satisfaction policies. They will lock your account, before the USPS, or other shipping services, have even begun to look for the item. It can be frustrating, but its really a pretty rare issue. In the 12 years Ive been selling (and buying) there, Ive only had two instances (fairly early on) where it was a problem, and both of those were sales outside the US. I quickly learned it wasnt worth the effort/risk, and stopped shipping beyond the US.

Doc Hoy · August 20, 2015, 01:52 AM

I get emails from eBay but I don't pay attention to them since I follow the auctions very closely (most of the time)

Yes, overall my eBay experience is good, even with fire arm associated auctions.

I have had about three auction pulled over the years. All of them were because I was trying to sell something they had a problem with.

The first two times it was because some pimple faced high school kid misinterpreted their policies and didn't understand firearms. This was some years ago.

It seems they have gotten a little better.

I agree with you on overseas shipping. You never know the full story until you get to the post office.

T. O'Heir · August 20, 2015, 01:51 PM

"...Both E-Bay and Paypal have a lot for shooters to complain about..." Yep. Starting with their company policy of funding the people who want to take your firearms away from you.
They're owned by the same rabidly anti-firearm people. They have been known to close accounts and confiscate funds being held 'on account' too.

AK103K · August 20, 2015, 03:26 PM

Lots of companies fit that same bill. If you boycott them all, you wont be buying much.

I know their policies, and couldnt care less. I also enjoy allowing them to help me fund my gun related stuff, by using them to sell the same. If they were really that anti gun, there wouldnt be anything gun related on sale there. Like most things in a capitalist society, its the money that they care the most about, and just from what Ive seen and sold on EBay, they make out quite well, just in the gun category.

As silly as many of their rules are, its still pretty easy to get around them. You just have to be creative in your descriptions of the item, so you beat their word censors. It also seems a lot of times, its all random, as Ive sold multiple items that were exactly the same, in the same week, yet one auction was pulled, when the other was not.

August 18, 2015, 07:50 PM	#1
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	eBay fiasco Not certain if this is the place to put this. Not even certain if there is any place to put it. This post comes in the way of a mea culpa. Boy I blew this one. Have some Hornady shell plates for sale. Put them on eBay and they didn't sell. Went through a cycle which repeated about six time of: Fail to sell - lower price and relist - Fail to sell - ...... Finally one of them sold. Got paid and mailed it off. Got positive feedback. Then decided not to relist the others as the price had gone down to ten bucks and I was paying for shipping. I figured I would give up. BUT, I neglected to pull the listings. Guess what. They both sold and I missed it. I wasn't watching the auctions because I thought there was no auction. So.... Auction ends with a sale. Buyer immediately pays for the two plates. I missed it. Didn't ship them. He contacts eBay an opens an action. I get wind of it via eBay. Still didn't realize that the other two had sold. Told him I shipped his plate (The one that sold previously.) Obviously I hadn't and obviously the buyer was miffed. Once I finally realized what had happened I refunded his money and shipped the plates to him free of charge. After all, I was about two weeks late. I will probably get negative feedback which I richly deserve. It would be my first negative feedback since I started on eBay in about 1995. 772 feedbacks and none negative. But I deserve this one because I really blew it. I am not Catholic (heck, I am not anything) but this is confession. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

August 19, 2015, 01:13 AM	#3
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	I guess I am just trying to salve my conscience.... Both eBay and Paypal have a lot for shooters to complain about. About the only group of eBay frequenters who should be consistently happy are the high volume sellers. Over the years the organization has shifted its policies to emphasize that group and de-emphasize others. I can't fault them for those policies. Business is business. But the persecution of shooters is hard to predict and hard to be impartial about. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

August 19, 2015, 11:49 AM	#5
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	I explained it as best I could As far as the feedback is concerned, I would be happy if he just enters no feedback at all. Just as I have never received negative feedback, never have I had an auction go so badly that I thought it was appropriate to leave negative feedback to another. I have told other eBayers that if I were to leave feedback they would be unhappy about it and hence I was just not going to leave any feedback at all. I do eBay for fun, but I am serious about treating other folks with respect and to provide an experience that makes them happy. Onward and upward. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

August 20, 2015, 01:52 AM	#7
Doc Hoy Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2008 Location: Naples, Fl Posts: 5,440	Absolutely plus 1 to everything AK said.... I get emails from eBay but I don't pay attention to them since I follow the auctions very closely (most of the time) Yes, overall my eBay experience is good, even with fire arm associated auctions. I have had about three auction pulled over the years. All of them were because I was trying to sell something they had a problem with. The first two times it was because some pimple faced high school kid misinterpreted their policies and didn't understand firearms. This was some years ago. It seems they have gotten a little better. I agree with you on overseas shipping. You never know the full story until you get to the post office. __________________ Seek truth. Relax. Take a breath.

August 20, 2015, 01:51 PM	#8
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...Both E-Bay and Paypal have a lot for shooters to complain about..." Yep. Starting with their company policy of funding the people who want to take your firearms away from you. They're owned by the same rabidly anti-firearm people. They have been known to close accounts and confiscate funds being held 'on account' too. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

August 18, 2015, 08:07 PM	#2
KEYBEAR Senior Member Join Date: January 11, 2012 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,059	I have had to call E-BAY to get things right you can find a real phone number if you Google e-Bay . (THE ONLY WAY) Pay/Pal is a totally different thing . I sold a high dollar Bench Rest Scope to a guy that seemed to buy a bunch of stuff . He paid with Pay/Pal fast I shipped same day . It took five days to get to his post offices and three more for him to pick it up . Pay/Pal would not release the money for two weeks . Yes I called Pay/Pal (got that number from Google also ) In the end I cancelled Pay/Pal and feel better for it . I also had 100% Positive feedback .

August 19, 2015, 06:43 PM	#6
AK103K Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2001 Posts: 10,223	Ive sold quite a bit of stuff on EBay, and much of it gun related. For the most part, its been a good experience. Im kind of surprised that you didnt get an email from them, each time it listed, ran out, and sold. My mail box was usually loaded with mail from them at the end of the week, for each item I listed/sold. Ive actually had them call me at home, for some items I wasnt supposed to list. You get scolded for infractions of some pretty silly rules. PayPal can be both good and bad. Fast pay, but they are overly restrictive on the sellers, when it comes to their buyer satisfaction policies. They will lock your account, before the USPS, or other shipping services, have even begun to look for the item. It can be frustrating, but its really a pretty rare issue. In the 12 years Ive been selling (and buying) there, Ive only had two instances (fairly early on) where it was a problem, and both of those were sales outside the US. I quickly learned it wasnt worth the effort/risk, and stopped shipping beyond the US.

August 20, 2015, 03:26 PM	#9
AK103K Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2001 Posts: 10,223	Lots of companies fit that same bill. If you boycott them all, you wont be buying much. I know their policies, and couldnt care less. I also enjoy allowing them to help me fund my gun related stuff, by using them to sell the same. If they were really that anti gun, there wouldnt be anything gun related on sale there. Like most things in a capitalist society, its the money that they care the most about, and just from what Ive seen and sold on EBay, they make out quite well, just in the gun category. As silly as many of their rules are, its still pretty easy to get around them. You just have to be creative in your descriptions of the item, so you beat their word censors. It also seems a lot of times, its all random, as Ive sold multiple items that were exactly the same, in the same week, yet one auction was pulled, when the other was not.