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Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Eric the Shed on 02 May 2014, 07:30:44 AM
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Hi folks
As a recent seller on eBay thought I should share a couple of thoughts.
1. I have just sold some figures for a ridiculously low price. It was only when I got to parcelling these up I see the buyer is in spain. Mt details explicitly say that I only ship to uk. Could I cancelled the sale on these grounds? In the end I accepted the deal as I did not want to affect my rating
2. A recent buyer contacted me after I had posted his goods stating that the address given by PayPal was wrong. Indeed he went as far to say that he had actually moved and forgotten to update address. He stated that the old address was a vacant property and had no access.
I responded by saying that there was little I could do. No parcel had been returned to me.
He then opened a dispute stating he had been to the old property but there was no parcel.
This deal was wrth the princely sum of £3.80. In the end I offered him a full refund as the eBay forums suggested that even with the wrong address the customer is still right.
Thoughts?
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Unfortunately this seems to be the way eBay is going. I've put off selling stuff recently because of problems like this. How come if the property had no access they were able to confirm there was no parcel?
The same thing happened to me with a buyer bidding on something, winning it and only then mentioning that they were outside the UK. I asked them to pay recorded delivery (which only really works till it is passed to the other country's mail system) or accept in text the potential loss if it went astray. As it was, the buyer was a nice guy and we kept in touch till the item arrived.
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Ebay is set up for businesses not small sellers, there are a plethora of rules that put sellers at a disadvantage which is why I haven't sold anything there for years. Unless you have the turn over to absorb the scammers and the idiots you're in for a rough ride.
Whatever you do will be wrong. If you'd sent to a non Paypal address you'd be wrong too because that violates the rules. The empty property guy is either an idiot or a scammer, either way it's all your fault according to ebay, all you can do is move on having learned.
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Ebay is set up for businesses not small sellers, there are a plethora of rules that put sellers at a disadvantage which is why I haven't sold anything there for years. Unless you have the turn over to absorb the scammers and the idiots you're in for a rough ride.
Whatever you do will be wrong. If you'd sent to a non Paypal address you'd be wrong too because that violates the rules. The empty property guy is either an idiot or a scammer, either way it's all your fault according to ebay, all you can do is move on having learned.
This really, for those sales where you have items bought by another outside the UK I usually try as quick as possible to send them an invoice. I also state at the bottom of the blurb that should anyone buy from outside the UK postage will be null and void. I think you can set up your postage charges so it filters to UK prices only.
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You can put 'UK only' until you are blue in the face, people will always bother you or just bid anyway.
The ebay filters will stop someone from bidding from a blocked country only if their principle address that they have registered to them is outside those on the 'allowed' list.
If they change their address to a UK address (in your example) before bidding it will allow this.
I once had a winning bidder who lived in Regent Street.....until I got a message from a fella in Italy telling me that was what he had done so he could bid, and would I post to Italy instead please...!
You have been warned.
;)
Oh, and ebay can be a complete git nowadays, which is why I try and sell as much as possible through the Bazaar nowadays.
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You can put 'UK only' until you are blue in the face, people will always bother you or just bid anyway.
The ebay filters will stop someone from bidding from a blocked country only if their principle address that they have registered to them is outside those on the 'allowed' list.
If they change their address to a UK address (in your example) before bidding it will allow this.
I once had a winning bidder who lived in Regent Street.....until I got a message from a fella in Italy telling me that was what he had done so he could bid, and would I post to Italy instead please...!
You have been warned.
;)
Oh, and ebay can be a complete git nowadays, which is why I try and sell as much as possible through the Bazaar nowadays.
Very true come to think of it I have been caught that way. Italy being the old story normally ;D
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Yeah, as a Seller you are at a decided disadvantage. Try to set up your selling preferences well in advance on the system, as well as stating them in the listing. For expensive items, make sure you only send them via a postal service that tracks and has a signed delivery. After that you just have to take it on the chin the few times you do get dicked over; frustrating for sure, but hopefully statistically slight enough that you don't suffer too much.
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Out of genuine curiosity why do a lot of UK sellers have a problem with posting outside the UK? Surely its no more work than posting within the UK. If it's a fear of fraud can you not just insist on registered/tracked postage?
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For simmilar reasons, including the fact they take 10% of postage, ebay is all but dead to me....
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Out of genuine curiosity why do a lot of UK sellers have a problem with posting outside the UK? Surely its no more work than posting within the UK. If it's a fear of fraud can you not just insist on registered/tracked postage?
The reason I state that is that I dont need to go the post office.
I can just stick stamps on to the required value, especially for figures etc...for example: under 100g and I can just stick a Large Letter stamp on the envelope and chuck it in a post box.
Just so much easier.
Although I only use ebay as a last resort nowadays as their policies are so unfriendly to sellers.
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Ebay Rules for the small seller -
If you don't want to ship World Wide, don't you don't HAVE to list Internationally - it's fiddly to do, but it can be "set up". This actually prevents anyone outside of the UK bidding on your Goods - as well as this, check if (some canny people can get around it) someone outside the UK has managed to Bid, if this is the case - cancel the bid immediately, and block the bidder. There are plenty of Guides online about how to do this sort of thing.
IF a Buyer does the "can you ship to another address please" the answer is - don't period, refund the money, cancel the transaction, report it to ebay, don't leave FB and if the Buyer leaves you Negative, point out to Ebay he hasn't the right as A - he's had no goods fron you and B - he tried to break Ebays rules and get things shipped to the wrong address.
ALWAYS (and I mean always) ship things with some form of tracking - my Mrs always adds a couple of quid to the starting price to cover this, even if a bidder/buyer states they don't want tracking (and alarm bell for sure) ship it with tracking anyway. If they try and leave Negative FB for you offering a better and more secure service you can actually in such circumstances ask Ebay to remove such Feedback, and even though Ebay states its impossible to remove Negative FB - Linda has got them to remove it no less than three times. In addition means that even if they try and pull the "wrong address" crap, you can actually prove delivery which 90% of the time covers you - and if by some miracle it doesn't, you can still track your parcel and/or reclaim your goods or put in a claim with the Royal Mail if you can't.
After all that, Block the Buyers and complain about him as well - Buyers can still get "Strikes" against their account, enough strikes they are banned from Ebay anyway.
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Out of genuine curiosity why do a lot of UK sellers have a problem with posting outside the UK? Surely its no more work than posting within the UK. If it's a fear of fraud can you not just insist on registered/tracked postage?
Registered Delivery outside the UK can get very, very expensive. Personally I don't mind taking the time to quote for a few different postage costs - US, Aus, EU etc.. - but because the costs are often prohibitively high and it does take a little time, presumably some people feel it's just not worth their while.
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Ebay Rules for the small seller -
If you don't want to ship World Wide, don't you don't HAVE to list Internationally - it's fiddly to do, but it can be "set up". This actually prevents anyone outside of the UK bidding on your Goods - as well as this, check if (some canny people can get around it) someone outside the UK has managed to Bid, if this is the case - cancel the bid immediately, and block the bidder. There are plenty of Guides online about how to do this sort of thing.
IF a Buyer does the "can you ship to another address please" the answer is - don't period, refund the money, cancel the transaction, report it to ebay, don't leave FB and if the Buyer leaves you Negative, point out to Ebay he hasn't the right as A - he's had no goods fron you and B - he tried to break Ebays rules and get things shipped to the wrong address.
ALWAYS (and I mean always) ship things with some form of tracking - my Mrs always adds a couple of quid to the starting price to cover this, even if a bidder/buyer states they don't want tracking (and alarm bell for sure) ship it with tracking anyway. If they try and leave Negative FB for you offering a better and more secure service you can actually in such circumstances ask Ebay to remove such Feedback, and even though Ebay states its impossible to remove Negative FB - Linda has got them to remove it no less than three times. In addition means that even if they try and pull the "wrong address" crap, you can actually prove delivery which 90% of the time covers you - and if by some miracle it doesn't, you can still track your parcel and/or reclaim your goods or put in a claim with the Royal Mail if you can't.
After all that, Block the Buyers and complain about him as well - Buyers can still get "Strikes" against their account, enough strikes they are banned from Ebay anyway.
Thanks for the good advice. I've just started selling a few bits (ones that don't sell on the Bazzar here first) and have set my preferences to block people with low ratings. I know hat may be a bit unfair on the new obeyers but it makes me feel a bit more secure :)
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Thanks for the good advice. I've just started selling a few bits (ones that don't sell on the Bazzar here first) and have set my preferences to block people with low ratings. I know hat may be a bit unfair on the new obeyers but it makes me feel a bit more secure :)
You are entirely welcome, I'll pass the thanks onto Linda (it was her info - she's the eBay wallah)
Ebay really isn't set up to be "user friendly" anymore though. but if you are careful its still "OK"
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Registered Delivery outside the UK can get very, very expensive. Personally I don't mind taking the time to quote for a few different postage costs - US, Aus, EU etc.. - but because the costs are often prohibitively high and it does take a little time, presumably some people feel it's just not worth their while.
This is why I post items here "US Only" because I find every time someone asks postage costs to (Europe, Asia, Africa,) I never hear back from them again... Bitter reality I am sad to observe.
Gracias.
Glenn
EDIT: Yes there are very rare exceptions and I salute those brave individuals!
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That all makes sense I suppose but I find that if you are up front with international postage costs people take it into account in their bidding.
On another note I am one of those individuals who annoy 'UK only ' bidders by asking will they post to Ireland. So far no one has refused and many did not even know that they had resticted the sale (at least thats what they've told me).
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I can't understand the way e-bay works anymore. I don't think they want small sellers using their system.
The changes just make it pointless to sell spare or unwanted new minis. I only sold mine to get back my costs from packs where you only wanted a few figs from a blister etc. I often sold things at a small loss (usually a £1.00 a foundry, copplestone etc wee man, but always recorded post due to supposed missing items that had to be refunded in the past) just to save a new mountain of lead from being created. A mountain that would grew untouched for years ;)
But since the post has gone up in the UK , e-bays charges on the item and their own posted charge (which is only estimated, as only my local post office can weight them and seize them before post)at the end of the bill plus euro tax. It costs me more than I pad for the blister in the end.
The only overseas sale was to Spain for re-enactment items which while I didn't make a loss I can of lost the lot as special delivery only covers you to the Spanish border. Luckily the Spanish postal services did their job and the buyer was an honest chap.
Sorry to go on one but e-bay makes me see red some days :(
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That all makes sense I suppose but I find that if you are up front with international postage costs people take it into account in their bidding.
On stuff over £20 or so I usually do the same, giving plenty of options (as I said, US, Aus and EU minimum), because more potential Buyers means more bidders means more money. Because a lot of UK Sellers won't post outside the UK, you do have something of a captive market and even if the final Buyer isn't from overseas, very often you'll find overseas bidders have pushed the price up nicely during the auction.
Putting the costs up front, instead of waiting to be asked, will also catch more people because human nature is often quite lazy and we can't always be bothered to check postage costs if we can't see them immediately.
Anything less than £20, I just don't bother.
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As a buyer, eBay UK is my main source for all classic and near contemporary Citadel metal, as the former and sometimes latter is offered at almost the price of a used car or computer - thank-you GW.:( Have lost interest in bidding, so focus on Buy it Now auctions and though the search function is set to those who'd ship stateside, strangely most of the results are UK only and so I have to go through eBay UK to find willing sellers.
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Registered Delivery outside the UK can get very, very expensive. Personally I don't mind taking the time to quote for a few different postage costs - US, Aus, EU etc.. - but because the costs are often prohibitively high and it does take a little time, presumably some people feel it's just not worth their while.
Exactly this. I have to pass up tons of auctions for cheap items due to exorbitant shipping. I'm not going to pay an extra $20 on top of $12 shipping just to buy a $7 item. That's bananas.
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Exactly this. I have to pass up tons of auctions for cheap items due to exorbitant shipping. I'm not going to pay an extra $20 on top of $12 shipping just to buy a $7 item. That's bananas.
And that is why I quit routinely listing those numbers. I suppose I should consider it time spent marketing to the few people who don't mind the cost but I don't.
Gracias,
Glenn
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Do you mean you don't list small items anymore, or that do list items but you don't tell people what you will charge for shipping? Uh, I'm hoping it's the former. :?
Personally, for those times I'm a seller myself, I'm not worried about false claims on an item worth less than $10. I'll insist on tracking for purchases with a value over $50 (maybe over $30 for certain countries), but by doubling or tripling my shipping costs for items below that I'm just chasing away bidders.
I've always been willing to run the risk of small losses as the cost of doing business and that's what I always tell people who wish to sell on ebay. Myself, I've been lucky enough to not had a problem yet, but I wouldn't bat an eye refunding $15 on a lost - or "lost" item. If you look at the large, professional sellers, they don't insist on tracking, or if they do they have a value threshold and that's what I try to emulate.
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Do you mean you don't list small items anymore, or that do list items but you don't tell people what you will charge for shipping? Uh, I'm hoping it's the former. :?
Personally, for those times I'm a seller myself, I'm not worried about false claims on an item worth less than $10. I'll insist on tracking for purchases with a value over $50 (maybe over $30 for certain countries), but by doubling or tripling my shipping costs for items below that I'm just chasing away bidders.
I've always been willing to run the risk of small losses as the cost of doing business and that's what I always tell people who wish to sell on ebay. Myself, I've been lucky enough to not had a problem yet, but I wouldn't bat an eye refunding $15 on a lost - or "lost" item. If you look at the large, professional sellers, they don't insist on tracking, or if they do they have a value threshold and that's what I try to emulate.
Let me clarify. I did not mean to confuse. :(
I don't ship outside the USA anymore on Ebay, period. The atmosphere of the process on Ebay makes me uneasy. As a buyer I have had some bad experiences and while in the last few years I have received my money back but there were several incidents early on with Ebay/PayPal where the answer was essentially, "They were crooks/practicing IP infringement/not shipping 'sold' items but tough luck you don't get your money back." That has not been the case lately, else I would not be offering anything on Ebay. It is much easier to get refunds now on items not shipped than several years ago so as a buyer I do appreciate that.
I don't routinely advertise to ship outside North America on any site anymore because I am something like 1 for 30 on "What does it cost to ship to <insert European country other than the UK here>" questions responding affirmatively to the cost. LAF has been the only place I have any positive experiences in selling old war game stuff outside CONUS and primarily it has been to the UK. LAFers may take a moment to bask in that statement. :) Obviously a better class of war gamer exists here than on... other... sites?
I agree, when an item costs a buck or two but postage makes it cheaper to buy retail in large lots and get the break on shipping, why should you buy my single item or a small lot?
The postal charges frequently are insane appearing (IMO) and the consistent silence after my responding with the numbers from the potential buyers (close to 75% never even respond with, "Um, no...") tells me the potential buyers are in shock too.
I am not willing to run the risk of loss because I am not a business, just some guy trying to get some cash for my old war game items. I don't have a margin for 'lost in shipping' and if the items are not desired from others, (which is fine because there is a lot of stuff that sells on Ebay I won't take free; tastes/preferences differ between people,) than I see no reason not to destroy them and make space in my hobby area. My recent selling of Mage Knight Steam Horses and Steam Rams is based on shipping them to people who had evidenced an interest and I asked them to pay shipping and whatever they felt the figures was worth to them. I may try that with my larger (more than - ;) - 15 mm) metal super heroes when I get a chance later this month (hopefully.) Edit: it strikes me that model here on LAF that may actually be a reliable model to get space for myself and provide figures/books/rules/etc. to others with minimum hassle. To quote Gru, "Light bulb!"
For example, there are some cards for Heroclix/etc. type games plus some Villians and Vigilantes scenarios, (one in shrink wrap, to my chagrin,) in my shredder pile this week that failed to sell on Ebay after three tries and some Heroclix maps I need to cut up into manageable chunks and put in the shredder for the same reason. It's easier on me just to get rid of the stuff rather than post/sell/box/ship the item and end up with a loss.
I am debating with myself if I want to bother selling my remaining Heroclix figures at all anymore when the trash can is a much easier and quicker way to make shelf space. They certainly were cheap enough to buy off Ebay/retail to not justify the time spent selling them on Ebay if I am being honest with myself.
I really am tempted to invest some equipment to melt old metal figures and make/obtain some molds to make terrain pieces out of the melted figures. It would be easier in so many ways. Actually I like that idea a lot. Maybe after I find out all the difficulties in doing that I might change my mind and just trash them but certainly I need to research that as a possibility. Molds for rocks/walls shouldn't be too technically challenging, even for me. :o
I am digressing, time to stop.
Gracias,
Glenn
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I don't routinely advertise to ship outside North America on any site anymore because I am something like 1 for 30 on "What does it cost to ship to <insert European country other than the UK here>" questions responding affirmatively to the cost.
I don't think you're alone there and certainly that sounds very similar to my experiences.
I will quote for outside the UK on items over a certain amount (kind of £20-ish but I don't have a hard and fast rule about it; a lot depends on how heavy it is of course) but rather than wait to be asked, I will include the shipping costs on my listing. This helps me to pick up more international Bidders right from the off and 1 from 30 isn't so bad if you're getting several hundred viewings - it only takes one interested party to push the price up.
But yeah, it's a bit of a pain, it does require more time and effort on my part to weigh the item properly and calculate various shipping costs and I completely understand that for some people that is just not time well spent.
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Upon re-reading my last post I (obviously) made some modifications ("Edit:" and strikethrough font) because it came over far too negative than I think the reality called for.
It also seemed to imply to some (okay, one person,) that non-UK Europeans were somehow at fault for not wanting to pay insane shipping. That was not my intent (apologies to any who perceived that.) Postage realities are just that - realities - no matter how unpalatable we find them.
Gracias,
Glenn
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To be blunt F#*k Evilbay. They have seriously flawed policies that are always in favour of the buyer and now even take a chunk of your postage costs too.
I've given up using them completely.
Really sorry I can't help more- I guess a letter asking them on what legal basis they think that the customer is right in supplying an incorrect address would be worth it(?).
Also, maybe contact the customer and ask if he/she is willing to meet the costs of the postage as they were in error. It's only fair really.
Darrell.
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Paypal/eBay doesn't always favor the buyer, not even in most cases, based on the comments on the Buyer fora. It's more 50/50, with those providing evidence, more likely to get a favorable ruling, though this isn't always the case, based on the Seller fora. The perception, based on both fora, is that Chinese sellers are receiving favorable treatment, even if selling knock-offs and running scams - never received a $9.99 shaving strop and made the mistake of waiting 2 months to file a claim. As for taking a cut of the shipping, it wouldn't have to come to it, had sellers listed items for pennies and charged it's value in the shipping.