eBay

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-11-2003

I just received an email from Square Trade to resolve a 'dispute' with a customer. The customer claims I never emailed her with instructions on how to pay yet admits she received the Canadian $ amount for her purchase including shipping charges and taxes (how does she think she got that information?).

In fact I sent her 2 emails and was waiting for her to advise how she was goiong to pay out of the 5 options I gave her.

Instead of emailing me directly, she goes through Square Trade which means I spent 25 minutes of my time instead of 2 minutes dealing with her failure to be more organized.

You know this will probably turn out to be a customer who is going to give me a negative feedback no matter how many hoops I have to jump through for her.

Malcolm

treasure-pot · ‎12-11-2003

Malcolm, it may be semantics but I'm not sure it is proper to refer to some of these people as customers.

I got into it recently with someone that made promises for payment for two months before I gave up and went through the NPB process.

She was hoping made and emailed me that it was a very rude thing to treat customers in that fashion.

I emailed back that I whole-heartedly agreed. However, I did find that it was an appropriate way to deal with a deadbeat-time-waster.

Unfortunately there are far too many on eBay that feel sellers should jump through as many hoops as a buyer wants to make a simple sale. You have been in business long enough to know that a sale is an exchange of merchandise or service for consideration (monetary or otherwise). If I'm not going to get paid I don't care what they want to call themselves - I paint them all with the same wide brush.

Best of the Season!

Bill

Bill

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-11-2003

Bill
Right on. A customer is someone who purchases something from you. Until then they are nothing more than a voyeur.

Malcolm

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-12-2003

Update.
So here it is a day later and the person who complained to eBay's Square Trader program that I didnt email her has not responded to my 2 emails sent yesterday even though she has opened them (Request Read Receipt).

She was in a major rush to receive drums in time for Christmas that she purchased on December 5th yet she still hasnt paid me for them, although she indicated to Square Trader that she was going to complete the transaction. WHEN????

I answered the Square Trader's investigation, sent her 2 emails and have not had any response from her or any payment!

I would cancel the deal save for the fact that I want some money for all the trouble she has put me through and that will be in the profit on the sale of the drum set.

How do these people function in life and why did God put them on earth? Even a worm gives back to the soil.

I hope her son becomes a famous rock star and leaves the house before he is 10 so he doesnt turn out to be like his mother.

Malcolm

doc_scribe · ‎12-12-2003

I'd hope that he *stayed* Malcom...just to torment her while learning to play those drums.

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-12-2003

Well we will soon find out.

She made a direct payment for the drums to my company bank account late this afternoon. however she still hasnt emailed me to tell me what colour of drums she wants.

I normally give feedback after receiving payment but in this case I will wait, maybe a year or two.
Malcolm

dan.j.m · ‎12-15-2003

SquareTrade is really nothing different than e-mail unless you go into arbitration.
The only thing I suppose its good for is that it keeps a record which can't be tampered with.

Funny thing is when a buyer once went through Squaretrade it really bit him in the behind because he didn't really know how to use it.

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-15-2003

One more update on my weird customer

I have now sent her over 8 emails since the end of the auction. Within each email I ask her to email me back telling me which colour of drum set she would like for her son and so far I have not had any reply from her.

She has deposited full payment into my company bank account and I will be shipping out drums tomorrow to her. I chose a red set. I hope she and her son likes them

(I guess she likes surprises)

Malcolm

heather0_10 · ‎12-20-2003

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only victim of ridiculous negatives. Got my first one recently from a buyer that didn't respond and communicate. Some folks are unreasonable.

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-20-2003

So far I have not received a negative or a positive from her. I sent her a complete set of drums, not knowing what colour she wanted and truly expected her to come back through Square Trade and say that wasnt the colour she wanted plus neg me.

At the same time, contrary to how I normally do things, I have not given her any feedback.

Malcolm

kpamber · ‎12-20-2003

'Tis the season for really ridiculous ebay happenings. I had a lady badger me last week for a ring that I had reserved. She "had to have the ring", needed it by before the auctions end, and wanted to pay $20 less than the reserve price, which was ridiculously low anyways! She wanted me to email the other bidders and cancel the auction and sell to her! She then emailed other bidders to say that I was unreasonable to deal with. Too much! The ring didn't hit the reserve, and she emailed me laughing about that. I'm pretty sure that had I sold it to her at the price that she wanted to pay, I likely never would have been paid for it. And, she was a 0 bidder...likely a new identity...she sure knew the system.
Time for a holiday!
Karen
I'm wearing the ring...it's beautiful.

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-20-2003

Karen
I am sure it looks more beautiful on you than her,

Malcolm

kpamber · ‎12-20-2003

Thanks, Malcolm, I needed that! LOL
Ebay keeps getting nuttier and nuttier. My son's girlfriend works in retail (she is a university student), and she has been just ripping her hair out with whacko customers and a boss that she swears has Tourette's syndrome because of her foul language this month. My son works as a waiter at an upscale restaurant, (a university student, too), and he has been putting in 12 hour days with company Christmas parties. He's tired, but enjoying it...he is also the "room service waiter" (the restaurant is part of the Radisson Hotel)...getting $15 tips for delivering one beer (as in keep the change)...he's had a great Christmas season. I'm figuring on retiring at the end of June this year (I've been teaching long enough)...had really wanted to expand my ebay business...hubby and I are thinking of taking a buying trip to England so I can stock up on my antique jewelry, and he is originally from Scotland, so he would love to go there too. Maybe we'll change that to a trip to England, I can buy what I like, and then go work as a waitress. Heck, I did it while in university and loved it!
I have also taken on a part time job in a pawn shop selling their higher end jewelry...which is a blast, and lets me touch all of the gold and silver that I need to feed my sparkly addiction...maybe I'll just do that instead of ebaying. I have a great arrangement there and enjoy it too!
Have a great holiday season, good sales, and I may be back on the seller's side in January, after a two week holiday to recoup my waning patience and energy!
Karen

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-20-2003

Karen
You know I started with eBay last Fevruary to supplement my income and my time working as a business consultant where I may work a contract for 3 or 4 months and then nothing for 3-4 months.

However over Christmas, this eBay business has tunred into a thriving business generating enough income for my son and I to enjoy life's pleasures.

Not only that, as a TA I have been approached by several people and businesses wanting me to sell their merchandise, one of them that could catapult me in terms of star colours in a matter of weeks, not months.

I am mostly interested in income so I have to assure myself on that one that I can generate some good income relative to the work involved.

I love the corporate world, high finance, Bay Street and Wall Street and often I miss it. At the same time I get nervous about this eBay thing as I could easily tunr it into a major concern for me and maybe loose the thrill of what I am doing and the seasonality of it.

Why dont you cut a deal with the pawn shop to move some merchandise for them. Let them set a price on some jewellery for you or other merchadise and whatever extra that you can make, you keep.

Maybe try to market some of their inventory that doesnt move well in a retail environment and see if you can form a realtionship that extends beyond employer/employee.

Have a great Christmas and enjoy Europe.

(Maybe you can look at importing something from Scotland to sell in North America on eBay).

Malcolm

mahsauction · ‎12-20-2003

Karen have you considered reporting her for auction interference? (re Post #10)

Terry

kpamber · ‎12-20-2003

Hi Malcolm and Terry,
Malcolm, as my mom always said, "Great minds think alike and fools never differ"...I do intend to list some items from the pawn shop, actually, did and sold one two weeks ago. It is a great potential source of jewelry, but right now, most jewelry sellers are finding things to be fairly slow. I'm unsure as to whether or not I should go with the less expensive items, or the appraised ones that would potentially get more, but I'll wait and see what January brings. It is terrific for the owner of the shop and for me, as she can sell her inventory, move stock quickly, and it is no effort at all on her part. It saves me the initial investment, as I don't have to pay until I sell, and anything that doesn't can be returned as opposed to trying again at a lower price and keeping my fingers crossed. And, working there is such a fun thing to do...as well, I am free to take any stock from her, we have a total trust situation here. The downside is that I am now proud owner of even more jewelry than I had before, because she has some marvelous stock, and I'm happy to work for jewelry. As well, her money really comes from the loans...what they sell is just gravy. The interest charges are phenomenal...I'm glad to be on the inside of the counter!!!
I am really exhausted, though, and slept for 11 hours last night...so I am really burning the candle at 3 ends!!
Ebay itself though has left me feeling kind of bummed out lately...I wish that there was a way to make both buyers and sellers accountable. I've seen some badly misrepresented things go for big bucks, and as a legit dealer, it burns (I'm talking jewelry)...
I started my ebay venture to simply sell off some excess jewelry that I had collected over the years, then got into attending auctions, etc...I ran out of my own stuff almost 2 years ago! And I have truly enjoyed it until recently, so a short hiatus will do me good.
I did report the harasser for auction interference...and it is good to know that there are some controls, and I don't think that her actions affected my sales, but it is darned annoying. It's too bad that a potentially great venue and adventure is being harmed by unscrupulous people, and it seems to be getting worse.
Anyways, happy holidays to all, and Malcolm, congratulations on making your venture so profitable!
Best,
k

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-20-2003

Karen
I have a question on one of your comments or observations. You said "I've seen some badly misrepresented things go for big bucks".

My goal in selling musical instruments on eBay, coming from a very musical family, is to put great quality instruments into people's hands for a very, very good price.

I began listing an instrument that I buy for $60 Cdn. I liked the sound, but was never impressed with the workmanship of the instrument, still it was something unusual, and very difficult for people to purchase anywhere in North America.

I thought a fair price at $100 US reserve and $149.95 US BIN was appropriate and I felt very comfortable selling them at that price.

The problem is, everyone of the 19 I sold over the last month has resulted in would bidding wars with prices going up to $362 US. I even stated the MSRP was $249 US yet people are paying more than $100 US over my MSRP.

I have shipped out 19 since mid November and have not received a single complaint.

I could probably order in 100 of these and sell them for over $200 US each but I feel guilty as I do not feel that they are worth it.

Tell me Karen, do I fall into that unscrupulous category?
I have read over my auctions very carefully a hundred times to see if there is anything I said that could be miscontrued as misleading. I have looked at my pictures and they even show some of what I would consider to be flaws in the workmanship. Nothing major but certainly nothing hidden.

Here is a link to one of the ones I sold on friday. Let me know if you think I am selling a Lada and calling it a Cadilac. Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2366033256&category=41458&rd=1

Malcolm

muminlaw · ‎12-20-2003

Malcolm,I don't see anything misleading about your listing
! If I were looking for a marimba, I wouldn't bid at this level, I'd wait for one that goes for MSRP (or less!). Now, if it was a portable piano, that might be a different story!

By the way, my computer-challenged son has just informed me that he's bought me a clarinet for Christmas! Now all I have to do, is find time to learn to play it! I can hardly wait!!!

Missing my music-making, Glenda

Glenda

kpamber · ‎12-21-2003

Hi Malcolm,
I think that your auction was amazing...you clearly state the manufacturer's price, so, no, you don't fall into that category at all. I have bid over the price stated by the seller as well, if it is for a product that I can't obtain in any other way, and I would assume that is likely why you are having such success with it, and good for you!
I am not too savvy about musical instruments, and have never looked at your auctions previously. My husband is a real guitar nut, so I know names like Fender, Martin, Takamine and Gibson...those are his favorites, and I know that he paid a rather large chunk of change for his. Mind you, with my pawn shop connections, he got great deals on them. That's how he can stand my jewelry addiction...we each have one! And we both love pawn shops, second hand stores, yard sales, etc.
But, I digress...your auctions are very well done, the price is obvious, and so, no, I would not suggest that you misrepresent your product. In the only musical terms that I know, if you were saying that a Sears house brand guitar is a Gibson, then you would be misrepresenting the merchandise.
I know jewelry very well, however, and there is lots of room for misrepresentation there. I could elaborate, but this isn't the forum to do so. Suffice it to say, it makes it difficult for a legitimate dealer to sell real quality goods at a price that they won't lose money at. Which is a real shame.
I was looking for a "mizpah" ring for my husband for Christmas. They are of British origin, and hallmarked for assay office, gold content, and date stamped. What appealed to me about them, is that they basically are a love token...manufactured in late Victorian times, meaning, in short, "May the Lord watch over us while we are apart"...Many people who went to India during the manifest destiny expansion stage of England's history gave or received them. Also, popular during the first world war. They are really only a gold ring, but the appeal to me was the history of them, and the meaning behind them. In truth, at melt value, they are pretty worthless. But, I would pay a hefty price for one, because it was what I was looking for, not readily found in this area, and appealing to me. I don't consider it to be misrepresented, it isn't. That is a case where someone has something that I want, I'm willing to pay for it, and it may make absolutely no sense to anyone as to why. I actually ended up finding a Scottish Lion ring locally that was antique, and gave that to him several months ago, thus ending my hunt for mizpah rings, but it could help explain why people will pay more for an item.
And good for you for finding such a great commodity!
Best,
k

amberwoodottawa · ‎12-21-2003

Thanks for your input
Its just that I felt and still feel funny getting $465 Cdn for a product cost of $60 Cdn.

I mean as a business person great, but it was totally unexpected and I wondered if I was misleading someone somehow and didnt see it in my ads.

Malcolm