The 'Special' eBay users buying Retro Games!

[Mayhem]

Youre right, always check with sellers abroad before buying.
Id highly recommend blocking bidders from abroad as there are some fantastic eBayers out there, especially in europe. Ive got some regular buyers, some which i email before listing to sell to.

I assume you meant NOT block bidders from abroad here...? From my last selling spree on eBay, 90% of the buyers were from outside of the UK...

I had one guy, maybe no surprise a zero feedback, be a little slow on paying but he got there in the end (I think he was in the middle of getting a Paypal account sorted at the time). Aside from that, no issues at all. I think I manage to avoid the wackos...

[Cauterize]

I assume you meant NOT block bidders from abroad here...? From my last selling spree on eBay, 90% of the buyers were from outside of the UK...

I had one guy, maybe no surprise a zero feedback, be a little slow on paying but he got there in the end (I think he was in the middle of getting a Paypal account sorted at the time). Aside from that, no issues at all. I think I manage to avoid the wackos...

Sorry, my mistake! Im typing too fast! I swear there is a very slight dyslexia within me as i mix my words up at times!
Ill go edit my post to correct it

[egparadigm]

In regards to leaving positive feedback for a quick payment... Id highly recommend all sellers to NEVER leave feedback first. This just opens you up to negatives flying in.

I always used to do it that way, but changed recently. I figured that since they had upheld their end of the bargain by paying, they deserved positive feedback. I think I might be more cautious in future, thanks to your warning.

[t-bone-retro]

Looks as though Ebay has stopped treated neutrals as negatives in terms of your feedback % now - mine has gone back up to 99.8% again now from 99.5%

[cutmymilk]

I'm on 100% now, despite me having had 2 negs in the past. I think its just for the last year now.

[mekanor]

Ive only recently been selling on ebay and out of all the items i put up i didnt have any problems. However ive had a few dodgey sellers.

It seems that there are a few complaints about buyers who decide they dont want the item. Not too long ago i bought jet set radio gba off a guy who then emailed me saying he didnt have the item. he refunded and all and was quite polite so i didnt feel to give him a negative but i still felt ripped off. same recently, bought the rouge squadron 3 demo disc or whatever it is and after about a month of it not coming finally complained. the guy refunded me straight away so im not going to neg him but i still would have preffered the item to show up.

[Randal-Lestat]

I once bought a game off of someone, and when they sent it to me it only had one disc (it should've had 2). They ignored several polite emails, so I lodged a complaint. About a week later I got a cracked disc in the mail. I left the guy neg feedback with an honest version of events, and then he left me bad feedback saying that I had refused to pay etc.

I can sympathize with the good sellers on here who cannot leave bad feedback for those that deserve it, but it was annoying that some guy could give me bad feedback like that when I had been so reasonable, and had even dropped my complaint because I simply wanted the situation to end. Especially as I have never been given bad feedback before or since.

I once managed to win some boxing gloves for a bargain price. The seller promptly emailed me to say that he had just checked the gloves, and they had been left in his basement and got moldy and so obviously he would have to cancel the transaction.

Another time I ordered a bike off eBay for £100. It wasn't in the condition that I expected and I sent an email saying this. Their response was that I could return it to them (at my own cost) and they would check what was missing and replace anything that needed replacing. I told them that this wasn't worth the extra expense and that I didn't have great faith in the company at that point.

I left neutral feedback, saying that they had tried to resolve the situation but that I was still obviously unhappy with the item.

They then emailed and offered me £35 to mutually withdraw it. I accepted as it would've been costly to return the item and I could do without the hassle. I saw from their feedback that they had a lot of mutually withdrawn feedback, which I had been silly enough to somehow not see before.

A lesson learned I guess.

[chaoticjelly]

I've had a few problems with people on eBay..

Most recently I got a negative feedback, why? well the item was sent a few days late, I explained this to the buyer and they said it was fine, to use their expression "no worries, no rush", after I'd posted it, a week later they claimed non-receipt. I sent another off a few days later since Royal Mail stipulate a certain number of days that you have to wait before you can claim for a lost item. When he got the replacement he negged me.

I also sold an item which is used for removing the BIOS password on older Toshiba laptops, I sell these for only £5, if the laptop was sent to Toshiba, they do the same thing except it costs over £70, so of course most people are over the moon with the tool I sell that can be used over and over again.. anyway I get a buyer, he's very polite and apologises two days after winning, saying that he has been having problems with his PayPal account and he'll pay soon. I said no problem and described the other payment methods I would accept.

After a week there was no payment so I emailed again, he told me that he still hadn't got the code for his PayPal account.. fair enough I said, and explained the alternative payment methods again. A few minutes later he paid! I sent the item off, and then a week later he claimed non-receipt via PayPal.

I contacted a few others that he bought off, who had advertised standard (non recorded delivery) postage, and surprise surprise, he had claimed non-receipt via PayPal with at least 5-6 other sellers. I sent a replacement anyway, recorded, the signature never came up.

In the end he cancelled the dispute, and I was down for an extra item and postage. 95% certain all along he had the original item..

Also that reminds me, I sold some replacement NES connectors on eBay once, and I sold two to a chap in Middleton, Manchester. This was someone else who claimed non-receipt. Anyway I asked him to wait a few more days since not enough time had passed for them to be classed as lost with Royal Mail, but he opened a dispute via PayPal anyway.

Whilst looking at what he was listing, I noticed he had two NES consoles for sale, each one advertised as having a brand new NES connector fitted. Since I was the only seller of these on eBay at the time, I let him know that he had been rumbled, his reply? "oh they arrived yesterday" and then he cancelled the dispute..

Also I sent an item to someone in the Netherlands a few weeks ago, he claimed non-receipt, I didn't have a replacement so I refunded him and claimed off Royal Mail, then he bought from me again.. strange I thought, and of course a few weeks later claimed non-receipt of that item too... I said I would put a claim in but only replace if Royal Mail paid out.. which they did.

I sent the third item out to him, and again, he claimed non-receipt, at which point I declined to give him another replacement or a refund, and explained that he should be speaking to the Dutch postal service about the problems with delivering to his address.. I give people the benefit of the doubt when something doesn't arrive, but I wasn't born yesterday!

Also I've just been emailed today about a phone I sold for my sister, the buyer tells me how happy they are with the speed of dispatch (bought Saturday, received Tuesday), and the condition is as described, and it is a lovely little phone but they "can't get to grips with it" and apparently "it isn't the one that my partner wanted" so they want to return it for a full refund..

The best question I ever received about an item was when I was selling a pair of my sisters rock climbing shoes, a young lady asked "will these fit my feet?" - well if I knew the answer to that question my love, I'd hardly be selling on eBay would I? I'd be down the bookies placing my life savings on that horse that I psychically know is going to win today

[superstarbeejay]

I sold a spanish copy of singstar on ps2 this weekend. I clearly described it as being spanish with spanish songs multiple times.

I got an email today asking to return the game for a refund as "it is not a UK version and half the songs seem to be spanish".

[JammyD]

I had a buyer who gave me great feedback, but accidently left it under 'neutral'.

[Mayhem]

I sold a spanish copy of singstar on ps2 this weekend. I clearly described it as being spanish with spanish songs multiple times.

I got an email today asking to return the game for a refund as "it is not a UK version and half the songs seem to be spanish".

I can't begin to tell you all the stories (mostly non eBay related but a few are) regarding people who just can't seem to read properly. Like they don't have the time to comprehend the words in front of them and just blindly venture in regardless, or want to be told directly.

Simple case in point. A good friend of mine used to work in a sandwich shop. More than once they would have the CLOSED sign visible because it was just past the shut time and someone would knock on the door and ask to be let in because they wanted to buy something. Blindly ignoring the large CLOSED sign hanging in plain sight in said door!

[samanosuke]

I left the guy neg feedback with an honest version of events, and then he left me bad feedback saying that I had refused to pay etc.

If you're going to neg someone, do it at 11.45pm on the 60th day after the auction. It gives them no time to neg you in return and also stops them leaving some snotty excuse

[fallenangle]

People not reading properly are the bane for me even just as an occasional eller. I only sell via Amazon as the whole thing is much simpler. Although I'm stupidly candid in my descriptions of the condition of my goods I have learned that it is good policy to e-mail the buyer before dispatch just to make sure they understand what they've bought and actually want it.

Even though properly listed I've had people order CDs when they wanted audio cassettes and visa versa. I've had one guy who bought the three reference books I was sellng. Each volume was separately described as their condition varied and, most importantly, they were separately listed not sold as a series.

He gave me 'neutral' feedback because the series apparently comprised of four books and he was unhappy he'd now have to look for the fourth one elsewhere. So I get my 100% feedback ruined because of something I wasn't selling - go figure.

As a buyer I had my first bad experience on eBay earlier this year with a fellow listing PSOne controllers. No items, no refund, only one direct communication filled with excuses and at least one blatant lie in month of hassle.

To top it all after I'd won my Paypal dispute he waited six weeks and then left me negative feedback! As a low volume buyer who has been carefully cultivating their feedback, paying very promptly and sending friendly coms when required etc it severely dented my previous 100% rating. But I'm glad to say that now eBay have removed the offending comments and I'm back to 100%. But it definitely put me off, I think I've only used eBay once since then.

[chaoticjelly]

If you're going to neg someone, do it at 11.45pm on the 60th day after the auction. It gives them no time to neg you in return and also stops them leaving some snotty excuse

Sellers can no longer leave buyers negative feedback.. so you can neg someone at any point. If the seller leaves a "false positive" i.e. a positive feedback with negative wording, it can be removed by eBay.