time it is bogus, sometimes I just don't know. I try to give the benefit of the doubt wherever possible.
The thing is, when I have traded using Buy, Swap and Sell pages on Facebook, I hear them a lot more frequently, get bailed up, whinged at (my favourite 'clearly I was in first, not so-and-so, so I get the item, not her), stuffed around by waiting for people to come and pick things up, people flipping my items for 1000% profit ... the list goes on.
eBay means that I avoid this, mostly. It means that on nights like this, I can email the nice people at eBay and get them to do things like block bidders, advise me on how to not lose money on a sale I didn't make, and so on. It also means that when the buttons I ordered six weeks ago don't ever show up, I report a problem to Mr PayPal (like Mr Monopoly, but better), and he gives me some money back.
Yes, I did just bag someone on a blog, and no, that's probably not professional. The thing is that people who trade on eBay know about this, and I have been burnt a number of times. I'm happy to extend time for payment and all of those things. I am tenderhearted after all. Sellers need to remember though that they only have a small window of opportunity to claim Final Fees refunds through PayPal, and the more people hear this, the better.
I never offer pick up because I don't like being messed around. I post things the same day I receive the money (not all sellers do this!), but I also charge a flat rate of $7.50 for all postage. Postage only becomes cheaper interstate after 500 grams plus, but I can absorb this cost quite happily when necessary.
I also pay a lot to trade at markets, but it probably works out about the same with eBay fees, which sit just below 10% of the final purchase + postage costs. There are other options to set up shop, but eBay is widely used and very user friendly which makes it worth my time and my money.
Some of the problems I run into as a seller are as follows:
-new buyers - sometimes they don't pay, sometimes they bid and forget and never come back online, some are very quick with negative feedback. Others are great!
-postage - I now post using eBay's postage service. They send the tracking number to the buyer and the cost of postage comes out of my PayPal account at the end of each month. Sometimes people don't like paying postage (I hate paying it myself), but eBay has advised me that the agreed postage (whatever the seller lists it for) must be paid.
-too many questions - I ask questions, and encourage people to. Please though, if you want to buy something, ask all your questions in one email, maybe two if you have a 'a-ha' moment. It's really polite to let the seller know if you think the item is right or wrong for you, this can help them know their customers a bit better too.
Avoiding some issues:
-use the longest standing eBay account you have. I have been with eBay since 2004, and buy and sell a lot. My feedback score is 660 at the moment which means I have done completed way over this amount in transactions, that is just the amount of feedback I have received. As a buyer I really hesitate to buy from people with low feedback scores - for me, anything over 40ish is okay.
-expect there will be things that go wrong. You can offer partial refunds which is sometimes an option, you can have nasty negative feedback removed from your profile, you can solve most of the problems actually speaking with eBay Customer Service. They can phone you back too! Everyone is a winner.
-if you run into problems with a buyer, you need to report it straight away. In terms of non-paying buyers, I block them. Some people leave feedback for them, but this has to be positive feedback (sellers can only leave positive feedback), which gives them a higher feedback score. Most non-paying buyers will have other sellers leaving feedback explaining that the buyer didn't proceed with the sale. Sometimes people genuinely can't pay, but use your own judgement.
-skip the Bank Deposit bit. Bank Deposit does not really give you buyer or seller protection, it can be your word againist theirs, etc. Sometimes buyers will demand to use BD, but this is happen a lot less often now. If they do go down this road, remind them that it will probably take three days to clear.
-do not post if payment hasn't cleared! This goes for Bank Deposit and PayPal transactions. I got caught once, and never again.
-ask for help on the Community Forum... or read the forum to check if someone has had the same problem as you. Usually they have, save yourself some time by following the advice given.
That's my little eBay plug over for the day. Happy buying and selling!
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