jdgm Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 I actually enjoy looking at and using ebay and have had mostly good experiences as a buyer and seller though also 3 not-so-good; when they want to pay cash on collection they invariably try to short-pay you, this has happened twice....I've had winning bids (on stuff I'm selling) not paid, withdrawn, etc and I've been sold wrong-description goods too. So I agree with bbp on this one. They do hold all the cards and they are a money-making business trying to run a very big and hard-to-administer operation on the big bad internet, and they try and protect the buyers from scammers and follow all the legal requirements so they don't get sued. And when corporations make money they have to keep on finding ways of making more and more. @Jimi - I am reading your posts in the UK. Please excuse this remark but your comments do seem a bit paranoid to me!!! Big Brother just ain't that intelligent, efficient or interested. It comes down to something like this; because of the mass media, internet and democratic capitalism we are in the age of information overload. There's tons of it out there and here I am adding more..... 'Useful' information has a potential market value it has never ever had before in human history. People like to show off and more people like to collect stuff....information is 'stuff' like the music I've collected in the form of 1000s of LPs and CDs over the years. I now have much more in my collection than I have time to listen to. So there is not just a lot of information out there but total overload, i.e. far too much to take in. Therefore we are also in the age of lost (and WRONG) information. Regards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 In the middle of the editing process I found a prohibition on shipping outside of The US on my guitar. It made some specific claims of "controlled" wood product or species... I am not a power-seller.... Well, in that case, it doesn't matter who you are. It's illegal. There's a law against it. I heard about that in connection with the fossilized walrus ivory bridge and pins that came on a recent purchase off ebay. For whatever reason, you can't sell this, or apparently even some woods, outside the U.S. The world supply of these things is apparently seriously depleted (and the 'movement' of such stuff is highly restricted). Our so-called representatives make the laws. Talk to them about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Most of my pedals and attenuators are sold through eBay. I don't love their fees, but in hundreds of transactions I've not had any problems. My refund policy is set up ahead of time in every listing - buyer pays return shipping. So I eat the original shipping and the buyer eats the return shipping. We're both equally miserable. Seems to work. I've only had a couple of returns with no hassles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_L Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 I just finished selling my last item on eBay. And I mean 'last'. No more. It took 9 months to sell a high-end watch. The number of scammers, con-artists, laughable bids/offers was getting ridiculous. I encountered someone pirated my add to use as a scam, and even received harassing emails, which eBay will do nothing about. Then there were the horrendous charges from eBay and PayPal. I'll go to a pawn shop before I use eBay again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 @Jimi - I am reading your posts in the UK. Please excuse this remark but your comments do seem a bit paranoid to me!!! Big Brother just ain't that intelligent, efficient or interested. Precisely why the Government has solicited the tech experts @ Google, eBay, Verizon, etc. etc. etc. to do their bidding for them in return for relaxing potential regulation legislation and tax relief thru their revenue penalizing arm of The IRS. Agreements are on record with these companies/entities and the ISP's and network tech people are quite well capable and equipped to handle such intrusive monitoring without much effort... And yes Cougar, it is unconstitutional and illegal, but the duress one would be under to not only find the unwilling recourse that one would be met with in addition to the fact that we've all "agreed" to these terms by clicking the "I agree to the eBay/Google/Verizon/Et Al terms and conditions" button when we sign up for such network and internet services... We've contractually consented... Without a viable option to refuse consent other than being denied access to such important communications services... It is what it is and making a living and paying a mortgage, supporting a wife, and raising a daughter are far higher priorities on my list of hills I wanna die on... I do what I can when I can... I know it all sounds paranoid, but it is truistically the status-quo! Still I cruise eBay consistently and am not afraid to use it for transactions even knowing the potential consequences and byproducts... But I do tend to head to Reverb.com primarily these days... It is truly a viable alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Still I cruise eBay consistently.... Yeah, me too. I've bought quite a few guitars off ebay, and I've gotta say, I've been super lucky and gotten some really nice guitars, and a couple of really rare ones, too. Of course, the seller's 'rating' is always a consideration. A couple recent acquisitions have really medicated my GAS... or depleted my pocketbook, so I'm staying away for a while! Selling? They take a huge percentage! Yeah, they provide a countrywide/worldwide market, but still. Then there's paypal, who takes their cut as well.... I've got a couple guitars to sell. I'm not anxious to go the ebay route. I guess I'll try the trading post first.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 On a related note, I have sold quite a few pedals on Reverb lately. Lower seller fees and it's music gear only. No complaints so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 On a related note, I have sold quite a few pedals on Reverb lately. Lower seller fees and it's music gear only. No complaints so far. I've certainly checked there when I've been in the market for something. (I should have picked up a rare Masterbilt AJ500RC that was on there. ) Good to hear about lower seller fees. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 On a related note, I have sold quite a few pedals on Reverb lately. Lower seller fees and it's music gear only. No complaints so far. I don't know man. Last time I was looking on there I saw a guy trying to sell a used Boss DS1 for $30. That's just crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I hadn't used eBay in years until two weeks ago when on a whim I bought an early '70s 135mm lens for my new-found toy (Leica M8-2). When it arrived (super-quick) it was patently obvious - but only to someone who knew what was what - that the focussing 'eyes' were out of alignment. I contacted the seller by email with a view to return-and-refund... "Are you saying it was damaged in the post?" (Clearly it wasn't; the wrapping/padding etc. was bomb-proof). "I cannot say when it was damaged but I can say that it will never again - repair costs taken into consideration - be used as a lens." "Would you like to get it fixed and allow me to pay for half of the repair costs?" (!) "Erm...No. It will never be financially sound to repair the lens." "Could you repair it yourself?" (I'm not joking here)... "No. It is damaged beyond reasonable repair. Did you not suspect something was wrong when you tried to focus the lens yourself?" "Oh, I'm a collector. It is in very good condition and was a fine addition to my collection." "Well, I'm a photographer and, good nick notwithstanding, it's useless as a lens." And on it went for a couple of hours. Clearly he was hoping the new buyer would have no real idea what to expect from the item as they were pretty scarce 40 years ago and very few people nowadays have useful experience of how they actually perform. Most 'newbies' (if you like) would probably just assume 'that's how they are meant to be, I suppose.' Seller agrees to refund, from that moment, all costs including my return postage fees. But then the troubles start... Seller won't refund as paypal hasn't yet paid him. He now thinks I'm scamming HIM... I tell him package is in the post as we speak (by now we have exchanged 'phone numbers). Paypal doesn't have a button for him repaying my costs including posting fees - although those same fees are included in paypal's own refund procedure... ...and so on... I still don't know if I've been given a full refund but it's highly unlikely. As it was a simple transaction between, as it transpired, two (relatively) honest individuals we could have sorted it out within a couple of days quite easily. I suppose it's all good if it means that honest folks don't get scammed too often but some of the extra steps required make sorting out simple matters a lot less straightforward. I don't mind losing the return post costs and if (hmmm) it was a genuine 'mistake' and the seller really didn't know it was merely a nicely engineered paperweight then I'm fine with it all. But paypal have been at me for almost two weeks to fill out a 'Satisfaction' email and I'd like to tell them what I think of their service.....but there is no option for quite that reply either....... P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 But paypal.... I'd like to tell them what I think of their service.....but there is no option for quite that reply either....... Heh. Hopefully you'll get your chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I sold 2 big items on ebay last month; Studiomaster 24-8-2 mixer and Tascam 38 tape deck. The mixer cost me over £1500 in the late 80s and it sold for just £54! Have to pay fees of about £35 so far, these get taken from my Paypal account. I am selling more; 4 x old rack fx units, patchbay, rack trays and 4U case, a guitar pedal - these start tonight and tomorrow, auction lasts for 10 days. And I just won/bought a used PedalMods-modded Boss GE-7 eq (see link). Should arrive tomorrow.... http://www.pedalmods.com/mods/boss/boss-ge7.html It's worth using for this kind of thing - win some, lose some - and like one other member I've been very lucky with at least one guitar. Stuff like photographic equipment especially lenses is a bit riskier.... @P. I hope you get a refund - you should - but you the buyer usually have to bear the cost of return postage, I've done it a few times (have not heard of ebay making sellers pay return cost myself yet)....as a buyer it's still a POA....I expect you know London Camera Exchange? Of course, it's not as though I'm addicted to this like ksdaddy is....I can stop anytime y'know.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I sold 2 big items on ebay last month; Studiomaster 24-8-2 mixer and Tascam 38 tape deck. The mixer cost me over £1500 in the late 80s and it sold for just £54! Wow! I can't believe the mixer wasn't even slightly sought-after. That comes as a bit of a shock. As far as my situation went; Yes, I had fully expected to swallow the return costs but before I had even got to the end of the 'file-a-claim' stage paypal listed 'seller pays return costs' in the settlement which was a surprise. The seller was happy to do so but I doubt it happened. I don't even care enough to check, TBH. Does LCE still exist?! They must be 'vintage' themselves by now... Good luck with the latest offerings! EDIT; Snaps taken after unpacking said lens. Just for fun can anyone else spot what might be slightly out-of-whack here? P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 The rangefinder extension seems poorly misaligned to my eyes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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