Would you really sell on ebay ?

[tkamiya]

Fruitcakes and crooks are still a problem.

Yes, I know.  I have a close relationship with a business that does some on eBay as well.  They are constantly dealing with buyers who finds every little fault trying to get the item for free.  Parts swapping and returning are problems as well.  I don't have time or patience to get involved in something like this.

[CatalinaWOW]

Simon, you are pushing this off on the buyer because he didn't do some extra work.  There is blame on both sides here. 

Taking studio quality photos is hard.  But a photo good enough to avoid this problem is easy.  The attached photo is a target of opportunity from my cell phone.  Took maybe 15 seconds.  No special lighting or anything.  Finger is dirty because SWMBO was just in from the garden.

This wouldn't have prevented some people from being asses, but it things the crowd and gives some defense against challenges.

[Simon]

Excuse me! I think i know a crook when i see one. You honestly believe someone designed a PCB based on a photo that gave no pin outs? Do you seriously use photo's on the web to guide your designs?

[bdunham7]

Excuse me! I think i know a crook when i see one. You honestly believe someone designed a PCB based on a photo that gave no pin outs? Do you seriously use photo's on the web to guide your designs?

Probably not, but an incorrect photo would be an explicit SNAD (Significantly Not As Described) case and you most likely would be compelled to accept a return at your expense.  If he was looking for discount, not a return, then while he is likely an opportunist, you left yourself open for it.  Why is the photo wrong?  Was there a previous 8-pin version of the same or similar part number?  Perhaps he had the data sheet for an 8-pin part that he mistakenly assumed you were selling him.

 

[CatalinaWOW]

As I said there is blame on both sides.

A responsible engineer checks part numbers, data sheets, footprints, manufacturer and a number of other factors before committing to a design or purchase.

A responsible vendor gives complete and accurate descriptions of what they are selling.  You used a generic photo, and say it was all right.  Would you say the same about a generic data sheet, or footprint?

I am continually frustrated by the stock photos from distributors.  When the photo doesn't match the data sheet, or some other discrepancy occurs how do you decide which information is correct?  Sure you can email or otherwise contact the vendor, but it is a PITA.  And answering those questions in many cases ends up being more work for the vendor than just doing it right in the first place.

[WPXS472]

Over the years, I have had both good and bad experiences with eBay. Buyer protection certainly has gotten better of late. I have sold on eBay, but rarely do so.
A local fellow who ran a music store sold an expensive guitar on eBay to a fellow in England. It was a bit over $4K. He got his money straight away, shipped the guitar, and thought everything was fine. That is until a couple of weeks later when his money disappeared from his account. He contacted eBay and was told that the buyer reported the item as being counterfeit and destroyed it. That wasn't true, and the fellow was out his $4K. Another instance with a fellow who was selling used PLCs on eBay. At the time they were going for about $1K. He sold a couple to this fellow who emailed him and said he was going to keep the boards and get his money back too. The gentleman I know told him that he would refund his money if he returned the boards. A few days later, the person he had doing his shipping received and signed for a box from the buyer. When he opened it. You guessed, it was empty. But, the buyer had the UPS delivery log showing that it had been signed for. This fellow opened a separate bank account for eBay only and took all the money out regularly, keeping eBay from getting their hands on it. I understand that eBay would probably ban him if they couldn't get the funds to do a refund. My last dust up on eBay was with a seller in China. I bought a small GPSDO board which was advertised as tested, guaranteed working. When I got it, it didn't work. I looked at the board under magnification and found some components missing, and one cracked by a blow from something. This could not have been shipping damage. The unit was well packed. I opened a complaint stating that it was sold as working, but didn't. The seller suggested that I use the OCXO by itself. I declined. saying that I bought a GPSDO. eBay suggested that I try to work things out with the seller, but they weren't cooperating. eBay said they had to pay for return shipping. They claimed they couldn't do that. Then, they Pay Pal'ed me $5 for return shipping. I told them that Return shipping to China would be $36, if they wanted to send me that. They refused. eBay refunded my payment. I identified the missing and broken parts, ordered them, replaced them, and now it works. I did refund then the $5. Years ago, I bought something that was never delivered. When I contacted eBay, the seller had closed his account and his bank account as well. I don't think there is much that can be done about such things as that. I have some things that I need to sell that eBay seems to be the only avenue for me to pursue. I am not looking forward to this.

[Simon]

Excuse me! I think i know a crook when i see one. You honestly believe someone designed a PCB based on a photo that gave no pin outs? Do you seriously use photo's on the web to guide your designs?

Probably not, but an incorrect photo would be an explicit SNAD (Significantly Not As Described) case and you most likely would be compelled to accept a return at your expense.  If he was looking for discount, not a return, then while he is likely an opportunist, you left yourself open for it.  Why is the photo wrong?  Was there a previous 8-pin version of the same or similar part number?  Perhaps he had the data sheet for an 8-pin part that he mistakenly assumed you were selling him.

 

No idea but every seller, stockist and the parts own datasheet uses the photo. And I repeat, this twit basically claimed that he designed a PCB off the back of a photo which is a hilariously fake story.

So am I supposed to take a photo of every different 0805 resistor I sell? ebay was never made for electronics parts but plenty of sellers and customers get along fine, idiots will always find something and as a business seller I have to accept a return anyway so will always be open to abuse. I had my warning shot when he complained about the postage costs before buying and so opted to buy more to amortize the cost, then he had a better idea.

[SilverSolder]

I have sold quite a bit on eBay over the years,  been on there since the 90's.  The number of "bad incidents" have been pretty modest out of thousands of transactions.  The pleasure of finding what I need, and selling what I don't need, outweigh any problems.  Life and commerce sometimes brings problems - you deal with them as efficiently as you can, and move on?

[Simon]

As I said there is blame on both sides.

A responsible engineer checks part numbers, data sheets, footprints, manufacturer and a number of other factors before committing to a design or purchase.

A responsible vendor gives complete and accurate descriptions of what they are selling.  You used a generic photo, and say it was all right.  Would you say the same about a generic data sheet, or footprint?

I am continually frustrated by the stock photos from distributors.  When the photo doesn't match the data sheet, or some other discrepancy occurs how do you decide which information is correct?  Sure you can email or otherwise contact the vendor, but it is a PITA.  And answering those questions in many cases ends up being more work for the vendor than just doing it right in the first place.

The photo was of a through hole part just a slightly different variant but perfectly descriptive of the case type, orientation of sensor port etc. It gave you all the detail a photo could give you.

[nigelwright7557]

Ebay is charging 105 euro if i sell something for 1000.
+ paypal also want to charge 46,50
according to this site :
https://finalfeecalc.com

Would you really sell something and give them for then 150 euro for the service ?
crazy

A quick look at the alternatives suggests it is a bargain.
Having to pay for google ad words for a website is extortionate.
Other online auction sites while cheap to sell just dont have the number of buyers ebay has.
Ebay is pretty crap at times especially for sellers when problems occur but it works for me.

[Jan Audio]

A local fellow who ran a music store sold an expensive guitar on eBay to a fellow in England. It was a bit over $4K. He got his money straight away, shipped the guitar, and thought everything was fine. That is until a couple of weeks later when his money disappeared from his account. He contacted eBay and was told that the buyer reported the item as being counterfeit and destroyed it.

I heard this story on TV also with some shoes.
Those criminal buyers are making use of it, it cost to much stress to go after your money, work for nothing.
You know what i will take the next airplane to england or even tokio if that happens to me, not that tokio people will rip you off, wrong example.
Then i am there in front of a fake adress i bet.

[james_s]

This is the reason I don't sell international on ebay anymore, I've personally known several people who have been ripped off by buyers in other countries, it's nothing against those countries or the people in them, it's just a fact that it's exceptionally difficult to go after somebody who lives overseas.

[SilverSolder]

This is the reason I don't sell international on ebay anymore, I've personally known several people who have been ripped off by buyers in other countries, it's nothing against those countries or the people in them, it's just a fact that it's exceptionally difficult to go after somebody who lives overseas.

One of the many improvements they have made is that seller can now limit the countries they are willing to sell to.  You can even insist on local pick-up only (no shipping at all).  I have bought several items where I ended up driving out to visit seller and pick them up.  I've also sold a few things that are hard to ship (rims, tires, that kind of stuff).

[AndyC_772]

I'm not sure people read those restrictions, or how enforceable they are, though.

I sold an AV amplifier a few years ago, a big, heavy beast. Collection only. Within 10 minutes of the end of the auction I had an email from the buyer saying "please post it to my address", and pointing out that she had already agreed to come and collect it in person didn't go down well.

Ebay, of course, places all the power in the hands of the buyer. I couldn't cancel the sale and refund it from my end - I had to talk her into requesting cancellation, which was a PITA.

I've had people buy things and then selfishly contact me to say they want the item but aren't in a hurry, and insist that I continue to store what's now their property at my own risk, indefinitely. Again, I can't reject the purchase and refund it because Ebay doesn't provide the option.

Just this morning I had an email from someone asking about another item I'm selling right now, wanting to know how much to post to his country - but I only ever ship within the UK. The ad is clear on that, and hopefully Ebay would have prevented his account from actually bidding.

[gnavigator1007]

The only big issue I had was years ago with my very first sale. It was not a small bit of money for me at the time and having never sold on eBay before, decided to do some amateur sleuthing. Tracked down quite a bit on the buyer, their address checked out and turns out they are a sheriff's deputy from a small town. Feeling reassured, I shipped the item. Month and a half goes by, I've already sold quite a few thousand dollars in other items, and I get notice that my very first buyer is claiming a fraudulent transaction. I of course disputed the claim. Managed to track down posts the buyer had made elsewhere online proving they had indeed purchased and received the item. Still don't know what happened on their end, but I got to keep my money in the end. Whole experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I almost stopped selling altogether. Fortunately, any of the other issues have been minor. Lots of trying to maneuver overseas buyers that are using a forwarding service into canceling the order themselves so I can avoid a strike against my account. Have had a couple packages damaged in transit, but never had an issue with the buyer. Always prided myself on my packaging, so would love to know exactly how they were damaged. Mostly a fun little side hobby with occasional frustrations.

[Simon]

At the end of the day if you are doing regular business you self insure to a degree. Again this is why I mark up eaby stuff, ebay is far more likely to yield problems than direct sales from my site so the ebay cohort get to pay the ebay share of self insurance.

[SilverSolder]

I'm not sure people read those restrictions, or how enforceable they are, though.

I sold an AV amplifier a few years ago, a big, heavy beast. Collection only. Within 10 minutes of the end of the auction I had an email from the buyer saying "please post it to my address", and pointing out that she had already agreed to come and collect it in person didn't go down well.

Ebay, of course, places all the power in the hands of the buyer. I couldn't cancel the sale and refund it from my end - I had to talk her into requesting cancellation, which was a PITA.

I've had people buy things and then selfishly contact me to say they want the item but aren't in a hurry, and insist that I continue to store what's now their property at my own risk, indefinitely. Again, I can't reject the purchase and refund it because Ebay doesn't provide the option.

Just this morning I had an email from someone asking about another item I'm selling right now, wanting to know how much to post to his country - but I only ever ship within the UK. The ad is clear on that, and hopefully Ebay would have prevented his account from actually bidding.

Ebay doesn't show your (UK) listing to people using other national eBays e.g.  dot com instead to dot co dot uk.
'
However; there's nothing stopping a US resident from having a UK eBay account...

[Mr. Scram]

Part of the problem is that eBay bought almost every local competitor. They bought the market, so they can set the prices. Free market 101, or monopoly 101.

[tggzzz]

I'm not sure people read those restrictions, or how enforceable they are, though.

I sold an AV amplifier a few years ago, a big, heavy beast. Collection only. Within 10 minutes of the end of the auction I had an email from the buyer saying "please post it to my address", and pointing out that she had already agreed to come and collect it in person didn't go down well.

Ebay, of course, places all the power in the hands of the buyer. I couldn't cancel the sale and refund it from my end - I had to talk her into requesting cancellation, which was a PITA.

I've had people buy things and then selfishly contact me to say they want the item but aren't in a hurry, and insist that I continue to store what's now their property at my own risk, indefinitely. Again, I can't reject the purchase and refund it because Ebay doesn't provide the option.

Just this morning I had an email from someone asking about another item I'm selling right now, wanting to know how much to post to his country - but I only ever ship within the UK. The ad is clear on that, and hopefully Ebay would have prevented his account from actually bidding.

Ebay doesn't show your (UK) listing to people using other national eBays e.g.  dot com instead to dot co dot uk.
'
However; there's nothing stopping a US resident from having a UK eBay account...

I can see things I am selling and have sold on the www.ebay.com.au site. I have sold to overseas customers. IIRC you have to have had a number of successful sales before fleabay will let you do that.

I don't know whether paypal will get snippy about accounts and addresses in different companies. Currently they won't let me (and >500k others) enter a correct postal address; their CSRs' suggestion is to enter a false address of a "nearby county"!

[Simon]

You don't need separate ebay accounts, one login works on all sites but they are separate sites sometimes with separate rules that cater to that country so you listings only appear on the site you sell on but you can buy from any site. You can from the one account list on any ebay site you like, I tried listing on more than one country for a bit.

Amazon is the same, if you join .co.uk you have access to all 5 of the European amazon markets, they are different sites, you have to separately list products but in your dashboard you choose the site you are dealing with (money balances are even kept separate even though 4 out of 5 are in Euro).

[SilverSolder]

I'm not sure people read those restrictions, or how enforceable they are, though.

I sold an AV amplifier a few years ago, a big, heavy beast. Collection only. Within 10 minutes of the end of the auction I had an email from the buyer saying "please post it to my address", and pointing out that she had already agreed to come and collect it in person didn't go down well.

Ebay, of course, places all the power in the hands of the buyer. I couldn't cancel the sale and refund it from my end - I had to talk her into requesting cancellation, which was a PITA.

I've had people buy things and then selfishly contact me to say they want the item but aren't in a hurry, and insist that I continue to store what's now their property at my own risk, indefinitely. Again, I can't reject the purchase and refund it because Ebay doesn't provide the option.

Just this morning I had an email from someone asking about another item I'm selling right now, wanting to know how much to post to his country - but I only ever ship within the UK. The ad is clear on that, and hopefully Ebay would have prevented his account from actually bidding.

Ebay doesn't show your (UK) listing to people using other national eBays e.g.  dot com instead to dot co dot uk.
'
However; there's nothing stopping a US resident from having a UK eBay account...

I can see things I am selling and have sold on the www.ebay.com.au site. I have sold to overseas customers. IIRC you have to have had a number of successful sales before fleabay will let you do that.

I don't know whether paypal will get snippy about accounts and addresses in different companies. Currently they won't let me (and >500k others) enter a correct postal address; their CSRs' suggestion is to enter a false address of a "nearby county"!

I guess that what happened to me was that seller must have restricted sales to one country only, so I couldn't see their listings unless located in the same country.

[nctnico]

At the end of the day if you are doing regular business you self insure to a degree. Again this is why I mark up eaby stuff, ebay is far more likely to yield problems than direct sales from my site so the ebay cohort get to pay the ebay share of self insurance.

That is the way to do it. When I sell something on Ebay I price it with the Ebay & Paypal fees added to the price.

[CatalinaWOW]

That implies you are underpricing your material.  Hi

[james_s]

Excuse me! I think i know a crook when i see one. You honestly believe someone designed a PCB based on a photo that gave no pin outs? Do you seriously use photo's on the web to guide your designs?

I do rely on the photos to some degree and have been burned several times by Mouser using the wrong photo of a part. Digikey on the other hand has always shown the correct variant. IMO if the picture is not accurate then it is worse than having no picture at all, stock photos on ebay are less than useless. If there is no photo then I'll study the datasheet carefully and make sure the part number is exactly the variation I'm looking for, but if I studied the datasheet earlier and know there are a few different distinct styles of a part and I see the picture clearly shows the one I need then it's only natural to trust the photo. If you use a stock photo you had better say so very clearly otherwise you are sure to get returns.

[nctnico]

That implies you are underpricing your material.  Hi

No. It means making the buyer pay for using a platform which offers the buyer a convenient one-stop-shopping experience. As a seller I'm not going to pay for that.

As a buyer: When I start at Amazon or Ebay I usually check if the seller has a webshop. In most cases the items will be cheaper but the shipping costs may be higher. The pricing on Ebay's global shipping program from the US to the EU is quite reasonable even for heavy items.