btgc
Mentor
Occasionally, couple of crap buys have happened from American sellers. Cracked winder, broken aperture, moldy smelly case. Yet they have habit to set BIN price and don't mind it's basically junk. Spoiled by German sellers I were guilty not to ask detailed hi-rez photos 
To be honest I must note my Lynxes have arrived from honest American sellers, but at least price weren't set like for good working stuff.
If you ask me I understand why Americans like German and Japanese cars. Because they make 'em better because of their nature.
To be honest I must note my Lynxes have arrived from honest American sellers, but at least price weren't set like for good working stuff.
If you ask me I understand why Americans like German and Japanese cars. Because they make 'em better because of their nature.
250swb
-
It just goes to show the insularity of some people in some countries. Foreigner = evil *******.
The worst thing I have bought on Ebay was from the USA, the best thing I bought on Ebay was from the USA. So I guess that means 50% are evil?
Steve
Mr_Toad
Fluffy Marsupial
I wish Google would create an auction alternative to eBay. A firm the size of Google could make it a success...and make it a far better experience for all.
From the growing fees to the incredibly bad user interface design, I've never liked eBay....but sometimes have to use it. ...such is monopoly power.
From the growing fees to the incredibly bad user interface design, I've never liked eBay....but sometimes have to use it. ...such is monopoly power.
Jan Van Laethem
Nikkor. What else?
Ebay
Ebay
I've had a really bad experience from a US seller on a 40 USD transaction. The item never arrived and the seller refused to send me a simple proof of shipping. After several emails back and forth to try and come to an agreement, my negative feedback on Ebay was met with insults and a negative feedback for myself as a buyer! So much for Ebay protection. In the end Ebay will never take sides in a conflict. To make matters worse, the seller replied on Ebay that he had given me a full refund and then had the guts to put the item I bought back up for sale.
To offset this, I've had hundreds of marvellous buying and selling experiences from all over the globe, including the USA. Even within the so called 'PIGS' countries, things work out great. I live in Spain and have done many successful deals with Italy. Great people can be found everywhere. So can the opposite.
Ebay
I've had a really bad experience from a US seller on a 40 USD transaction. The item never arrived and the seller refused to send me a simple proof of shipping. After several emails back and forth to try and come to an agreement, my negative feedback on Ebay was met with insults and a negative feedback for myself as a buyer! So much for Ebay protection. In the end Ebay will never take sides in a conflict. To make matters worse, the seller replied on Ebay that he had given me a full refund and then had the guts to put the item I bought back up for sale.
To offset this, I've had hundreds of marvellous buying and selling experiences from all over the globe, including the USA. Even within the so called 'PIGS' countries, things work out great. I live in Spain and have done many successful deals with Italy. Great people can be found everywhere. So can the opposite.
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hausen
Well-known
To many generalizations in this thread, a bugbear of mine has always been reluctance of US sellers to interact with the rest of the world. Can understand third world countries being a problem, but UPS and Fedex are massive throughout the world so there are no excuses for lack of POD info. There will always be issues where ever you sell anything but to insinuate all the problems are outside US borders is worse than insular.
Brian Legge
Mentor
I've had a few purchases over ebay which didn't pan out. A few times sellers offered partial refunds, other times they didn't and it wasn't worth pushing.
I've only had one transaction lead to a paypal dispute and that was on a sale here. Granted, that was the only time I put down enough money to take it that far. Selling I haven't had a complete over ebay. Here I've had to help a few people learn how to use the camera as they believed it was broken initially.
All things considered, I'm surprised I haven't had more issues on random chance alone.
I've only had one transaction lead to a paypal dispute and that was on a sale here. Granted, that was the only time I put down enough money to take it that far. Selling I haven't had a complete over ebay. Here I've had to help a few people learn how to use the camera as they believed it was broken initially.
All things considered, I'm surprised I haven't had more issues on random chance alone.
thegman
Mentor
Never had a problem on eBay out of about 180 transactions, except recently some guy bid on a Summicron DR, and then had "family problems" then had to back out. It seemed to me more like he found a better deal (he bid a bit too much in IMHO), and simply changed his mind. Nobody lost anything, but obviously I'd rather he honoured the agreement.
mfunnell
Shaken, so blurred
There are, it seems, problems inside the US as well...
is often specified. Are Hawaii and Alaska noted hotbeds of vice, fraud and corruption? Just asking.
...Mike
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
I guess people just don't want to hassle with different shipping quotes, or want to offer shipping included and are afraid of eating the difference of like $10.
agour
Established
I've had people 'buy' things, then never send payment. Pretty annoying when the reason you're selling is for fast cash..
I've also bought screen protectors that didnt fit the item. Left negative feedback, and recieved a full refund. Before negative, the seller will ask you to post the item back. If I've bought 2 and one got binned, Im not going to the hassle (and cost) of going to the post office to send a £1.50 item back. The seller should just sell what they are advertising!
I've also bought screen protectors that didnt fit the item. Left negative feedback, and recieved a full refund. Before negative, the seller will ask you to post the item back. If I've bought 2 and one got binned, Im not going to the hassle (and cost) of going to the post office to send a £1.50 item back. The seller should just sell what they are advertising!
Jockos
Well-known
I second this. I can understand that you don't want to sell to the Ivory coast, but Sweden is a fairly civilized country and even tough Posten AB does not deliver on saturdays, they beat the crap out of USPS when it comes to traceability.
Paul T.
Mentor
This insularity, and willingness to label others is weird.
AS for people (and they often seem to be in the US) who won't ship abroad - fine, but don't boast about the fact that you're limiting your own sales. Most competent sellers know to state shipping charges for tracked delivery upfront, in which case there's only a small chance of problems.
As one poster noted before, eBay is like real life. Lots of good people, and a few time-wasters. Overall, it's a fantastic addition to our options.
My son sells his old computer games and models, and uses the cash to buy rare Warhammer figures he collects - when I was a kid, I was forced to buy that kind of thing from magazine ads, with weeks of delays and often much highter shipping charges, or accept the lousy choice at my local store. Although I hate the sellers' charges, eBay has allowed me to raise the money for my Leica camera and lenses, my GF1 and other stuff, it means my cupboards are slightly less crammed than they would be otherwise... and complaining about it is like complaining about the weather.
The problem isn't that UPS and FED EX aren't available...it is that they are super expensive to ship with internationally (which is why people use the postal service instead). Many people from outside the US do not want to pay for proper trackable shipping with insurance... and that leaves the seller with an issue once something goes wrong in the mail chain. The seller is SOL if the package doesn't arrive correctly and they didn't get the proper shipping and insurance. Paypal always supports the buyer. It's easier and safer to just ship locally.
Did you ever think we do this in the US out of experience and NOT OUT OF IGNORANCE?
Steve M.
Mentor
The problem I have w/ shipping outside the US is, well, the shipping. Even if I use an expensive form of traceable shipping, make sure it's insured, and declare it's honest value (this last part a lot of people do not like at all, but oh well), what happens if customs sits on the package? Or "loses" it and no one ever files a claim over there in customs. Have you ever tried to get any information out of customs, either yours or someone else's? Ha!
Buyers get irate, and I don't blame them. They paid for the item and I furnished tracking, but where the heck is it??? I have absolutely no control of events after it leaves the US border, and have seen time and time again eBay will grab the money from my bank account and give it to the buyer. Now I've paid paypal and eBay's fees, paid for the shipping, lost all the money for the item AND don't have the item anymore! One would have to be pretty idiotic to have that scene play out more than a few times. Within the borders, USPS always pays a claim. UPS, whom I consider as evil a company as eBay, won't. They totally destroyed 3 Epson 2200 printers that I carefully packed and shipped through them (we're talking well over $1000 here). Never paid a red cent on the claims because they said they were poorly packed.
That's the problem w/ these giant companies. They have their "policies" that are designed to protect themselves, not their customers. They take control over events out of our hands, and we're essentially powerless to address customer complaints ourselves. When I ship US only, I avoid all of these problems and know that if there's an issue, I won't get my money stolen from me. It's a no brainer at that point to decide on US only shipping. Shipping into the US is a breeze. No camera item I ever bought showed any sign of being inspected by US customs, and was never held in customs. It's shipping OUT of the US that's the problem.
Buyers get irate, and I don't blame them. They paid for the item and I furnished tracking, but where the heck is it??? I have absolutely no control of events after it leaves the US border, and have seen time and time again eBay will grab the money from my bank account and give it to the buyer. Now I've paid paypal and eBay's fees, paid for the shipping, lost all the money for the item AND don't have the item anymore! One would have to be pretty idiotic to have that scene play out more than a few times. Within the borders, USPS always pays a claim. UPS, whom I consider as evil a company as eBay, won't. They totally destroyed 3 Epson 2200 printers that I carefully packed and shipped through them (we're talking well over $1000 here). Never paid a red cent on the claims because they said they were poorly packed.
That's the problem w/ these giant companies. They have their "policies" that are designed to protect themselves, not their customers. They take control over events out of our hands, and we're essentially powerless to address customer complaints ourselves. When I ship US only, I avoid all of these problems and know that if there's an issue, I won't get my money stolen from me. It's a no brainer at that point to decide on US only shipping. Shipping into the US is a breeze. No camera item I ever bought showed any sign of being inspected by US customs, and was never held in customs. It's shipping OUT of the US that's the problem.
Every week or so another ebay thread starts and the posts are duplicates from the previous.
eBay sucks, buyers suck, sellers suck, countries suck, shipping companies suck, the fees are too high, yada yada.
Yet everyone seems to keep using them.
eBay sucks, buyers suck, sellers suck, countries suck, shipping companies suck, the fees are too high, yada yada.
Yet everyone seems to keep using them.
Gumby
Mentor
No offense intended, but maybe a seller who gets items returned needs to do an examination of concience and figure out why items are getting returned. Stuff happens (like the time a buyer obviously broke the camera I shipped by improperly manhandling it and claimed it mysteriously broke in the mail) but threats never preceeded the refund. I'd be asking "why" ratehr than dissing ebay.
Jack Conrad
Well-known
I have an ongoing deal with someone from Czech Republic who won the bid
on a lens when it was clearly stated US shipping only. So I sent a "cancel transaction" request through ebay after sending an email stating my requirement.
He has refused the cancellation request.
The problem I have with international shipping is cost. It has nothing to do with Xenophobia. It's simply too expensive to ship the small amount of items I sell overseas. It locks up the money in my paypal account untill the buyer receives the item and gives positive feedback or for 21 days, whichever comes first. And buyers are horribly lax about giving any feedback at all.
On average, to ship even a tiny lens international costs approximately $50, USPS priority medium box including insurance. So, if I sell a few items in a week, several hundred dollars can easily wind up in Internet purgatory, to be released at the whim of some damned computer program at some undisclosed time whenever it decides to release the funds. RACKET!
Instant debit and NO credit.
This past week I sold 12 items. I simply cannot afford to float international.
It's a bummer. Selling International brings much higher bids.
Oh, and also, as far as I'm aware, there is NO tracking or address confirmation to international locations either. Once it hits Customs at the border, it's gone... until the buyer receives it and gives feedback.
on a lens when it was clearly stated US shipping only. So I sent a "cancel transaction" request through ebay after sending an email stating my requirement.
He has refused the cancellation request.
The problem I have with international shipping is cost. It has nothing to do with Xenophobia. It's simply too expensive to ship the small amount of items I sell overseas. It locks up the money in my paypal account untill the buyer receives the item and gives positive feedback or for 21 days, whichever comes first. And buyers are horribly lax about giving any feedback at all.
On average, to ship even a tiny lens international costs approximately $50, USPS priority medium box including insurance. So, if I sell a few items in a week, several hundred dollars can easily wind up in Internet purgatory, to be released at the whim of some damned computer program at some undisclosed time whenever it decides to release the funds. RACKET!
Instant debit and NO credit.
This past week I sold 12 items. I simply cannot afford to float international.
It's a bummer. Selling International brings much higher bids.
Oh, and also, as far as I'm aware, there is NO tracking or address confirmation to international locations either. Once it hits Customs at the border, it's gone... until the buyer receives it and gives feedback.
Set up your auctions to prevent international buyers, if you don't want international buyers.
International shipments over $250: use express mail.
International shipments over $250: use express mail.
zerobuttons
Well-known
You obviously didn´t bother to investigate what the possibilities are, regarding shipment tracking. Please edit your posting and remove this misleading information.
Also, back to the first post, if buyers threaten negative feedback, ebay will remove it. It's called feedback extortion:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html
When I come across a difficult/unreasonable customer, it's actually a relief when they threaten a negative. This means I will ultimately win and retain unmarred feedback.
Many of the posts with ebay complaints are simply because people aren't doing their homework...
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-extortion.html
When I come across a difficult/unreasonable customer, it's actually a relief when they threaten a negative. This means I will ultimately win and retain unmarred feedback.
Many of the posts with ebay complaints are simply because people aren't doing their homework...