I have never sold anything on ebay.

I have some higher end collectable items I want to sell, a couple of electronics (some collector lightsabers... yes I am a nerd)

As a seller are you fairly protected? Could some ass put a broken one in the box and claim I sent him a broken one?

I have pics of everything, but just a little nervous. Its not like selling here which I have never had a bad experience with

Afaik ebay and paypal usually side with the buyer.
I have tried to sell lightsabers on ebay but always get bad bidders. I tried in FB groups as well. Too many tire kickers.

Screw eBay, all of the protection is for the buyer
If you sell certain products that are more likely to attract scammers, good luck
I was recently left negative feedback because I di$nt leave a buyer feedback quick enough for his liking
Oh yeah, you can’t leave buyers neg or post feedback, just a comment

I have no personal experience with eBay, and my Paypal account is long dormant. But past threads on this site suggest to me that they heavily favor buyers, but sellers have almost no recourse for bad buyers.

Why not advertise them here? I don't know of any prohibition against such items. There's bound to be a Star Wars or other fantasy/gaming "nerd" here.

I've been buying off eBay for years. I've two or three times had sellers try to screw me. Either eBay or PayPal has made it right every time.

I have not read good things about selling on eBay, though. Obviously it works for some people, otherwise I'd have had nothing to buy . But the impression with which I've been left is eBay and PayPal make it far too easy for unscrupulous buyers to screw honest sellers.

So, if you, an honest person, are a new seller and just have an item or two to sell there, sold it, buyer (scammer) paid, then claimed a broken product, what can you do after all the back and forth? You can tell them (both the scammer and fleabay) to fuck off. You don't need them. Only thing that matters is that you can always hold your head high knowing you didn't rip anyone off. All fleabay can do is ban you, but WGAF? You don't need them.

You would do better to place stuff on a streetcorner in Detroit with an Honesty Box for payment.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
You can tell them (both the scammer and fleabay) to fuck off. You don't need them.

Here's what happens when a buyer files a dispute: eBay will examine the case and render a decision. If they decide for the buyer, the seller has X amount of time in which to issue a return tag, get the item back, examine it, and refund the buyer.

If at any point the seller completely balks, and eBay sticks by the buyer, eBay will refund the buyer and pursue the seller for restitution.

I don't know what recourse eBay has to collect.

I'd prefer not to find out. I'd prefer to deal with none of that. So I do not sell on eBay.

Don't sell anything you wouldn't want to give away.

Why not post at least some of them here?

I have been selling on ebay since 2003 and have been a power selling or top rated seller for the past 12 years ago. Yes, I have been scammed in the past but most was an abuse of return policy, I have had one item that I can remember(cell phone) where buyer sent back a brick. To put into perspective I average $150k a year in sales with my busiest right at $280k and I would say my losses due to fraud are less than $1,000 and most of that was return shipping costs.

Yes, there are scammers just like any other industry and ebay does side with buyers most of the time by making you accept a return. Can a buyer send you a pile of bricks back yes they can, it has happened to me once. Paypal is not handling ebay's payment anymore. Ebay has started doing their own payment processing and seems to have helped.

There are some negatives but in my opinion the positives outweigh the negative. In my opinion eBay opens up your merchandise to such a large audience and buyers looking for those unique items. I have sold so many items that I could have never sold anywhere else with great profits. I think of eBay as a flea market with you never knowing what you are going to find.

I know ebay is not a favorite for most and disliked by many but it has been a great source of sales for me. With that being said yes there are protection for sellers if you follow the rules as far as shipping and communication with buyers. Research is the biggest thing for your items look at what similar items have sold for and how fast they have sold. Set limits on shipping as to where you are not willing to ship. There are plenty of factors and if you need any help email in profile, I would be more than willing to help.

harvey976g, I would imagine that if you're a power-seller moving lots of merchandise you can afford to take the occasional hit when a buyer scams you. But for the casual seller that's looking to move the occasional item, one that does not which to make eBay selling part of their life, I cannot see taking the risk.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
harvey976g, I would imagine that if you're a power-seller moving lots of merchandise you can afford to take the occasional hit when a buyer scams you. But for the casual seller that's looking to move the occasional item, one that does not which to make eBay selling part of their life, I cannot see taking the risk.

I see the concern and it is a risk but I can say I never had any issues until I started moving volume.

Find a forum dedicated to the particular collectible you’re selling and join it. It has also been my experience that eBay will side with the buyer as a default.

They do favor the buyer but I haven't had the experiences that some of the stories would lead you to believe either.
I've been selling there for about 20 years and probably 2000 transactions. Taking really good photos and describing the item well then shipping promptly and communicating with the buyer has worked well for me. I have one person leave negative feedback in all that time but it was a buyer that had tried that with others to get a partial refund on a bogus claim. The guy didn't get any money and eBay even removed the negative feedback.
Not saying it doesn't happen, I just think it's over reported.

Just play it smart: Charge the buyer for insurance protection for whichever carrier you use. State that in your ad up front.

If he claims damaed item, it becomes the carrier's problem. Or, if ebay does intercede, then you can get your money back from the carrier.

I've sold a fair amount on ebay over the years. Not a power seller, just selling stuff I no longer need/want that has value. I made it a rule to not sell to anyone with even one negative review. I've never been dinged and have 100% positive reviews. I'm not sure what I'd do if someone with a bunch of negs won a sale, but I'd figure out some way of backing out.

I've sold a few things on ebay, never had an issue. I always check the "no returns" box. The buyer can use the ebay protection if they needed to. Put good pictures on your ad and don't forget to give ebay the tracking number ( in your acct. page in the sold page).

.

Let me tell you of a scam I came across earlier this year.

I sold some fountain pens. They shipped to a warehouse in Oregon. Then that warehouse automatically shipped it to Hong Kong based upon the address. Buyer claimed the pen was damaged. Sent me pictures of the "damaged" pen. I took great pictures and was convinced it was a bait and switch scam.

I contacted EBAY and let them know what was going on. Since I had listed in my a No International sells. The buyer was not covered under the buyer protection program because I did not authorized a third party shipper !!

Win for me!!

I was an eBay powerseller. Was.

WAY too much fraud for sellers. They DO NOT CARE about sellers!! "Buyers", at a rate of at least 5%, file some false claim, and they instantly refund the buyer. Even if I present evidence and proof that the item was as described, they always side with the buyer. In my case, they never even make the buyer ship the item back. They told the buyer to keep the item. So I am out the item, the shipping, and the sales fees. Its a total racket scam.

Not to mention the fees have gotten out of hand ridiculous.

Its a terrible sales platform.

Remember, most powersellers operate on extremely thin margins. eBay fees (scam), fraudulent buyers (scam). It got to the point where the scammers ate all the profit and it just wasn't worth selling anymore. Hours upon hours every week in packing and shipping, and the damn scammers got so bad, that it just didn't make sense to sell anymore at a loss.