Online Auctions, Feedback

[atblis]

I am starting to wonder about bidders. They don't seem to do it rationally.

Do people not read the feed back of the sellers? If a seller has multiple negative feedbacks regarding the condition as described, there's no way I am bidding on the item. This applies to ebay as well.

For instance this guy http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=slinganeel

The first thing I ever bought was from this loser. I didn't know any better at the time. He has what some might interpret as a good rating, but in reality he's a border line criminal.

 

[ken w.]

I buy and sell on Ebay and I do everthing I can to describe my items.I include scratches and dents or flaws in my description and show them in the pic.I have never recieved a negative.Eventually I'm sure I'll get one because you can't please everyone.However the seller you mentioned has 60.I would expect to be booted off Ebay with 60 negatives.

 

[atblis]

Yeah

I know. Ebay should boot him. I emailed all the other people he's ripped off, to try and get them to contact Ebay. Most of them did, and Ebay refused to take any action.

I haven't bought any guns off of gunbroker (everybody thinks the're worth more than I do). I won't bid on anything sold by someone who has negatives regarding the condition of the item. If they have one, and they've sold a lot of items, I will consider that. Some people are impossible to please.

 

[skinnyguy]

I have bought from ebay and gunbroker. What I normally do is first, check feedback, and feedback on WHAT. If I am buying a $10 item, no real big thing, but I've spent $800+ on computer parts from various sellers, that IS a big thing, so I check what the seller has received positive feedback for, a bunch of cables, mounting hardware, instruction manuals etc. The seller could have a positive of 3000+ and I won't buy from them because they have NOT YET SOLD a higher dollar item like a motherboard or hard-drive. If they have negative feedback, I'll track it down. WHY was it negative? Many times I've seen where the buyer was the one deserving the negative.

Another thing I do is look at the OTHER ITEMS for sale, how are they described? If it is used, do they tell you about scratches and dings and dents? How many things are they selling? If it's one or two things, look at the cost of the item, they could be clearing out the house of stuff they don't need anymore, and it's honest, or if they have a HUGE feedback count, could be this is the thing they're gonna rip you on. If they have dozens or more, they most likely are making a living and are bound to have a few negatives, but if they plan on continuing to make a living, they'd best be honest.

So, in short, it's "buyer beware". If you have a bad feeling about some deal or person, there's usually a reason, pass it up and look elsewhere, even if it means more time in getting the item you want.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

A lot of people sell on ebay because they would go out of business if they tried running a brick and mortar store like that. They know the worst that can happen to them on ebay is negative feedback. Some people are afraid to leave negative feedback because they'll get it in return.
If it's a really expensive item consider using an escrow. They don't get the money released to them until you've received and inspected the item.

 

[bogie]

He's got 97% positive, and has averaged 10 negs/year over the past six years.

Overall, I wouldn't totally worry.

If you know what you're buying, and it is described adequately, you're probably fine. I read a couple of the negs - one seemed to be irritated that something took too long to ship (I'd wait for the money order to clear too...), and someone else got defective mdse. Either it was torn up in shipping, or it started that way - a seller cannot test everything guys... May have been a better way of dealing with it tho...

Ebay is interesting because it is now one of the drivers for prices in other sectors of our economy - look at reloaders from retailers, and then check the prices on ebay.

 

[atblis]

Actually

I think he has the worst rating i've seen yet on ebay. When someone has negatives repeatedly for the same thing, there's a problem.

I did buy something from him. The first thing I ever bought on ebay. It was an Abu 5500. He described it as being "a nice in good working condition". When I got it it it looked like it had been stepped on. The frame and spool were bent to the extent you couldn't turn the handle. It was not damaged in shipping as the box was in perfect shape.

The guy is a total dirtbag. Trust me.

One change that I think ebay needs to make is the ability to sort feedback by type. I should be able to pull up all of somebody's negatives, and not have to sift through everything.

 

[foob]

I'm wary of using online auctions. Majority of the sellers misrepresent their item, or conveniently take pictures that don't show the flaws.

For some reason this only occurs to me when buying firearms, not other items. I need to use the inspection period and return them more often. Of course being out $50 shipping on a $200 item makes me keep it...