Shopping on E-Buy

[Old Man]

I have bought some items to my bike on e.bay.
When parts arrive and they are rusty and buckled I have leaved
neutral comments to seller.
Why are they so angry for this comments?
If they dont described parts in a common way are
they looking for good positve comments?
What is your experiance?
(Sorry for my bad English)

[Tom MLC]

When you're buying stuff on ebay, the seller definately has the advantage. Pics don't always reveal the blemishes. As the saying goes, "let the buyer beware"

I always ask for more pics, or measurements, or a better description. Some sellers are very forthcomming. Others get angry when I ask for clarification. That's usually how I judge whether to do business with them. If some jerk has the part I want, I'll try to wait until an honest seller comes along.

Nuetral, or negative feedback is a two-way street. Nobody whats their reputation tarnished. I have never left negative feedback, and have never gotten any either. But if a seller really deserves it, you have all the right to let 'em have it. That's what it's there for.

[renobruce]

I am a very careful buyer. I do like Tom does and ask for more pics or details. I've been pretty lucky so far. I also sell alot of stuff on ebay, and I'm totally honest in my descriptions and try to show good pics. So far everyone has been happy with my items, thus my 100% feedback.

[bwringer]

Negative or neutral feedback is a last resort -- I would only leave a negative after doing my best to contact the seller and giving them every chance to make things right.

You also have to remember that many eBay users don't live in front of their computers -- I've dealt with some people who were perfectly honest and reasonably prompt, but who simply didn't check their email more than about once a week. If you need something quickly, buy it new, not on eBay.

As a seller or buyer, I would be EXTREMELY angry if the first time I knew there was a problem was when I saw negative feedback, or if the other person simply hadn't given me me any chance to respond or make things right.

Secondly, you probably need to adjust your expectations. Used 20-30 year old parts are ALWAYS a gamble, and some sellers simply don't bother to take very good pictures. If there's any question, email the seller to ask for better pictures or to check for something specific. Most will be happy to help, since you probbaly know more about the parts than they do and the information will help them get a higher price.

A few high-volume sellers will refuse to provide more info because they don't have time. That is their right, although they should get less money for their parts.

There are also a lot of sellers out there who have incorrect information about what the part is, what it will fit, and its condition. You, the buyer, are COMPLETELY responsible for ensuring that all your questions are answered before you bid. I absolutely refuse to accept returns for any reason (other than shipping you the wrong item) when I sell used parts, and I make that very clear in the auction terms. I, and most sellers, cannot offer any sort of warranty on a 25 year old part.

I always bid with the thought that the parts I get will be worse than the pictures. I also keep in mind that the parts may end up being useless for hidden reasons, so I never gamble more than I'm willing to lose.

[MissFabulous]

I've been buying and selling on ebay for a long time... my personal policy is something like this:

Positive feedback: I got the item as described, in a somewhat timely manner. If it wasn't timely but the seller communicated with me, it's still positive. If item wasn't as described but seller refunded or replaced, it's still positive

Neutral Feedback: Item arrived, but not quite as described, and either no reply from seller or less than satisfactory response, or it took 2 months and a lot of hassles to receive.

Negative - last resort when item doesn't arrive or is MASSIVELY misrepresented with no offer from seller to make good on the sale after substantial communication or a period of time with no response.

I don't think I've ever left a negative for a seller. When I am selling, I only leave negatives for non-paying bidders, after exhausting many resources and time. I've managed to keep 100% positive so far out of 288. Feedback is a tricky game.

I don't see anything wrong with leaving a neutral, especially if you take the time to let them know why you're disappointed before leaving it. It doesn't count against a seller's feedback and if the reason is stated, then other potential buyers can be the judge. If they're angry over a neutral, they probably have dropping feedback and are in danger of losing their account and are just mad you didn't give them a Positive to buy them time.

[jeff.saunders]

Ebay is bad and getting worse.

I ALWAYS read a sellers feedback carefully - not only the feedback they received, but the feedback they give people. Usually from this you can get a feel for the integrity of the seller. If in doubt, I don't bid... many times I've ignored an item I'd like to bid on, just because of the seller.

We used to buy & sell a large number of items on ebay, but the combination of non-paying, fraudulant and illiterate bidders, junk parts, and ridiculously high shipping & handling changes and ebay fees just frustrate the heck out of me.

You see a large number of sellers STILL selling on ebay with feedback around 95% - massive numbers of neutral and negative feedback - ebay no longer cares - they just want their big slice of each transaction.

This year we've had more non-paying bidders and crazy bidders than ever before. We've had a few motorcycle 'buy it now' auctions won by Nigerian bidders wanting to pay with phony money orders - in both cases we finally got our fees back from ebay - but it took forever and far more time and effort than it should have.

Ebay's feedback system is just a joke - retalitory feedback is becoming the norm with many of the established poor sellers - they use it as a weapon to stop people from leaving appropriate feedback.

[tkent02]

Seems the opening bids are all higher now...

Used to be if nobody else wanted something it would be nearly free.
Now a lot of items opening bids are more than it is worth, maybe people are getting greedy? You just have to be careful, some things you can see from the pics if they are good or not, others you can't really tell until you try to use it.
Anything where the price is high at all I will try to contact the buyer, can usually get an idea what kind of seller he is from that.
Overall I have done pretty well, have bought a few bogus items but not too many, nothing too expensive.