eBay grief, actually not really any big deal.
My first choice is Local, I like to see and touch first, and I want my $$$ to stay close to home, where it benefits my friend and family.
... but Many things I can't get locally.
I buy mostly tools, electronics, makeup, etc. and seldom spend more than a few hundred dollars.
Amazon is good, but prices are not that great, and selection of computer parts is poor.
Their returns are easy and quick, but you do pay for that.
eBay presents a much larger selection, and often Great prices. Astounding sometimes.
Downside: lots of true bargains are shipped direct from China, Hong Kong, Turkey, etc. Well heck, that is where it is made, overhead is low, and shipping has gotten much cheaper.
But: service quality has gone way up!
the last few weeks we got a rare run of problems...
1. a $8 makeup gadget, it came from China, broken in transit or before, hard to tell.
2. $12 cell phone battery, made in China, shipped from Istanbul, Turkey, it was the wrong size.
3. towel rack gizmo, about $25. bad design, not usable. that was sold from California, USA.
return requested thru eBay messaging:
1 and 2, I got same day response, profuse apologies and instant refund, no return required.
3 wanted photos to show how it does not work, I sent them same day. 3 days and No response. Today I requested eBay assistance: they responded within an hour with a prepaid shipping label, refund upon receipt. To be Clear, that is from eBay, not the seller.
(eBay owns PayPal, they got the $$$ and the float time)
Would I spend a bunch of money sight unseen? Yes. Sometimes.
I bought a $20,000 vehicle once. It was agreed that I would see and drive before actual payment... I flew out, seller picked me up at the airport. It was great, it looked better than expected. After a 30 minute after test drive I handed the Cash over, and drove it home.
The purpose of this message? Too Much Coffee. Have a good day all.
Peter Ehlert, post: 453436, member: 60 wrote: makeup, etc.
What kind of makeup, MR. Ehlert?;)
I saw on the tube recently that Amazon was experimenting with the idea of providing a location where buyers could actually look at the product prior to purchase....to provide what Amazon considered a "more complete purchaser's experience".
I thought "wait a minnit...that's called a "brick and mortar" store!
Amazon has supply warehouses spread all across the USA.
I doubt that they are ready for the massive crowd that would flood thru their doorway.
Being rather isolated, I've bought tons of stuff off ebay. So much that there are piles of gizzmos lying around that I haven't yet had time to implement. Probably 70% is direct from China and my experience is that they are the most honest and respectful sellers, better than the privateer United Kingdom and NZ sellers. They fear bad feedback and will bend over backwards to put things right. For example I bought two radio antennas from China, one arrived with a cracked base but I was able to glue it and it's fine. I sent them a photo, just to let them know in case they wanted to review their packaging etc, and they replied offering a full refund for both. I replied that that was not necessary but they insisted and gave the full refund. Having said that you do need to be careful with cloned stuff. I bought 2 gps batteries from China that did have the OEM label on them (Sanyo I think) at a third the price from that of the dealer, but they are crap, so obviously not OEM.
Peter Ehlert, post: 453436, member: 60 wrote: eBay grief, actually not really any big deal.
I've been buying merchandise from EBay for years. I recently bought an item that was too good to be true and of course it was. Had to file a fraud complaint with USPS and EBay cheerfully refunded my money (to paypal of course) two days later with all sorts of apologies.
What ticked me off recently was a local seller here in home town wouldn't entertain a look see at a Wild level they had for sale.
They knew we were probably not 2 miles apart.
I moved onto a heap of drill bits, same seller, I would have bought but refused to pay postage on.
No deal either.
They knew who I was as I'd stated all that up front and being a surveyor wouldn't buy unless I could have look.
It was in good condition, well looked after, I was told. Pffft to that liberal statement.
Some folks are of a scared gender. They have been warned... Don't meet in person... It's simple backwardness... Sometimes. Maybe ask to meet at McDonalds. Or a suitable public place.
I had one like that one time. Turned out they were tweekers.
N
I bought a super cheap Trimble R10 setup for a rediculously low price on eBay using PayPal. The seller tried to scam me by sending me a phony shipping number. I complained to eBay and PayPal. eBay did nothing, but PayPal took care of everything and I was never charge a dime.
Moral of the story always use PayPal.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 453545, member: 291 wrote: Some folks are of a scared gender. They have been warned... Don't meet in person... It's simple backwardness... Sometimes. Maybe ask to meet at McDonalds. Or a suitable public place.
I had one like that one time. Turned out they were tweekers.
N
Police stations around my area are now reserving two parking spots for online transaction meetings. Located literally at the police station, they also have multiple cameras directed right at the meeting area. I guess that tends to give people a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling of security.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 453545, member: 291 wrote: Some folks are of a scared gender.
Personally I would never meet anywhere with anyone for a purchase made online. Scared, no, human instinct/gut feeling yes.
My son is in law enforcement and I have learned from him to follow your gut feeling (or instinct as SWMBO calls it) when it comes to strangers. 😎
ozzy84, post: 453452, member: 9840 wrote: What kind of makeup, MR. Ehlert?;)
Don't know about Mr. Ehlert but I use Nivea for shaving cream and Oil of Olay afterwards. 😉
FL/GA PLS., post: 453593, member: 379 wrote: Don't know about Mr. Ehlert but I use Nivea for shaving cream and Oil of Olay afterwards. 😉
Maybe he's born with it... Maybe it's Maybelline!
I've had no issues buying or selling on Craigslist. Ebay used to be a decent place to buy, but I've had my fill of it, along with their rules. Craigslist is more casual, local, and you don't give them a commission.
We have a local group on the "Face" for Free-Sell-Trade, our SOP is to meet in a public well populated parking lot at local grocery store, NEVER at our house or place of business.
SHG
FL/GA PLS., post: 453593, member: 379 wrote: Don't know about Mr. Ehlert but I use Nivea for shaving cream and Oil of Olay afterwards. 😉
my lovely bride uses various products, not my concern to remember what and why
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paden cash, post: 453457, member: 20 wrote: I saw on the tube recently that Amazon was experimenting with the idea of providing a location where buyers could actually look at the product prior to purchase....to provide what Amazon considered a "more complete purchaser's experience".
I thought "wait a minnit...that's called a "brick and mortar" store!
that's basically the sole remaining function of B&M best buy stores. pretty sure they readily ackowledge it too.
