Do you ever get tired of Ebay?

[MegaDrive20XX]

Today, I got a game "Genma Onimusha" for Xbox in the mail, from a guy I bought on Ebay. Normally I would never buy these days because of past experiences with the quality of disc games.

Because, lately I have seen more and more people lie about the games condition and using fake images to say "This is the item up for bid". When I recieved my game, it was covered with ugly "GameStop" stickers and the disc looks like my cat was using it for target pratice....

Well the game works great, but I just get annoyed by so many who sell Saturn, PSX, PS2, Xbox, Cube titles out there. Lie about the condition and expect you to pay for their game and shipping fees (Shipping fees is another harp I have on as well, can someone explain to me why people charge $6.95 or $7.95 to ship one DVD/CD Cased game?)

Basically, what i'm trying to say, is I'm getting pretty sick of Ebay, to the point I don't even want to buy a game from their site anymore.

I'm an honest seller to them, why can't I get the same amount of service from them? If mine says 100% and theirs says 100% in feedback, wouldn't you like to see the same results you give to people?

[The_EniGma]

ive never won summat from ebay seems theres always some1 who will bid higher than me :angry:

[Aussie2B]

I'm already sick of eBay. I only like it for selling stuff, but even then I feel like I get screwed over. Why is it that when I sell a brand new perfect copy of something I get much less than shifty sellers who are selling a beat up copy? >(

As for buying stuff, I've bought very little in the last couple years. As The_EniGma said, there's always some idiot willing to rip themselves off by bidding insane amounts. It really gets annoying because I'm usually going for very obscure stuff on eBay that no knows about or cares about, and I STILL get competition that outbids me in the end. I did have a great transaction just recently with a seller I bought a huge lot of Nintendo Power issues from, though, so not every auction goes badly.

[digitalpress]

I don't get sick of eBay per se, but like you, I certainly get sick of some of its users. Two things kill me.

1. When someone uses a stock photo then vaguely describes the condition (if at all) of the game. I've just learned to steer away from those. Another problem with those stock photos is they don't account for "greatest hits" versions of the games, so you also don't know what version you're getting on these auctions.

2. Trickery in the listings really annoy me. I recently won a Ratchet & Clank 2 game. It was "in case" and there was a photograph that wasn't a stock photograph. Seemed like what I wanted until I got it. The case was one of those clear generic cases. When I went back to the auction it never specifically said that that picture was the game I was bidding on.

Live, learn, adapt. Study the aucitons and if they're not spelling it all out don't bother (or email to ask). If you get lied to at least you have it in writing!

[orrimarrko]

I never buy current games on eBay, unless they are sealed (Brand New.)

By the time you add shipping into the mix, it's usually not worth it. I wait, and eventually get the game from Target for $19.99 or less.

With any used game, you are taking more risk than the money you are ultimately trying to save.

Ask yourself one question when you see cheap, cheap games (for modern systems) on eBay.

"Why so cheap?"

The answer is simple, and USUALLY (not always) applies in most cases. The seller got it for next to nothing. When there's a deal that is too good to be true, it usually is.

People will use Stock Photos to avoid showing you the real condition. Some don't have cameras, but it's just easier to use a Stock Photo, then put some ommission or disclaimer in the description.

Just avoid two types of auctions, and more often than not, you'll be fine.

1. Stock Photo, with NO detailed description. You could be getting total shit.

2. Any auction that has some kind of disclaimer about "As Is", "No guarantee", etc. Any seller worth a damn will stand behind their auctions.

Finding cheap ass games is relatively easy these days - just look at the Circuit City Sell-a-thon.

People simply aren't going to sell mint quality, complete games for $1 on eBay - there's something wrong with them.

Good luck,
Steve

[Cmosfm]

I agree with DP, you kinda have to have experience otherwise you're very quick to get frustrated.

I just had a guy win an auction from me, a new guy, and he e-mailed me a few days after he won saying he couldn't pay with paypal and to put it back up for auction...I of course explained to him that I could not do this, that the item was already won and I've already paid the fees to sell it to him, and he will have to pay or I will be following up with a negative feedback and I will be reporting him to eBay as a NPB.

Well, the guy e-mails me back telling me I'm an asshole and that I treat eBayers like garbage, and that thanks to me being such a jerk he was never using eBay again. O_O

:roll:

So yeah, he didn't give it any time to experience it whatsoever...and then gave up, I've been using eBay for over 5 years and I've never once bought an item that was not in expected (or near) condition, never been ripped off (they tried a couple times, I caught em), and my overall experience is beyond stellar.

Selling is great, I just remember whenever I list an item, that there's always a chance that it may sell for my .01 starting price...I don't get mad...because I'm always prepared. :)

[Rogmeister]

I'm not tired of Ebay. I don't use it all the time but in spurts and I've never really had that much of a problem except for one guy a few years ago who took forever to send me the Sega Saturn I'd won from him. He did send it eventually, though...whew. I usually try to pay attention to the descriptions but have only really been a bit disappointed a few times and in those cases it was usually because I wasn't paying attention to the small details. I've found some good deals and those more than make up for the few petty annoyances I've had.

[dreams]

2. Any auction that has some kind of disclaimer about "As Is", "No guarantee", etc. Any seller worth a damn will stand behind their auctions.

I don't necessarily agree with that one.

A lot of people I know make their auctions as-is, because some buyers can be just as ruthless as those sellers we always complain about. They have a defective game or system sitting at home, they win your auction for a working one, then tell you that the one you sold them doesn't work. They return to you the defective one (although you don't know it) while keeping the working one and you return their money. That's definitely not fair to the seller so they protect themselves by stating that the auction is as-is with no returns.

Then again, we had a problem with a lot auction we won and some of the games honestly did not work. The seller bent over backwards to get us replacement games and we sent the defective ones back to her.

It's a very fine line. Basically comes down to how much you trust people.

[MarioAllStar2600]

Does a crack addict get sick of crack? :P That is pretty much what you just asked me.

Although there are alot of really poor ebayers, the good ebayers strongly outweigh them. I set guide lines on what I will bid on. I usually on bid on stuff with a photo (not stock) unless its really cheap. If there is no description you have to ask for one. Never bid on anything without a good description. Those are my guidelines. Also make sure he has pretty good feedback. Stick by your guidelines and you probably won't have many more problems with ebay. I don't at least.

[SoulBlazer]

That's why I buy and sell most of my stuff on Amazon. :)

I only use EBay for special cases.

[gamegirl79]

I find myself using ebay less and less for video games. Other miscellaneous stuff (new in the box car speakers for example) I have good luck with, but video games on ebay have gone beyond the ridiculous point for me. No matter what I bid on, the price always shoots through the roof to some insane amount.

I have bought a couple BIN games on ebay over the past couple months, but that's it. Everything else I look for in the wild. :o

[Dreamscape]

I'm not tired of Ebay. I don't use it all the time but in spurts and I've never really had that much of a problem except for one guy a few years ago who took forever to send me the Sega Saturn I'd won from him. He did send it eventually, though...whew. I usually try to pay attention to the descriptions but have only really been a bit disappointed a few times and in those cases it was usually because I wasn't paying attention to the small details. I've found some good deals and those more than make up for the few petty annoyances I've had.

Same here, I have been an ebay user for several years now, but I don't use it much at all. When i am about to buy something, i use ebay as a last resort. I look at all my options, and I pick the best one, and if I have to use ebay, I make sure I am very careful, so I don't end up with a bad seller. I also check the ebay insanity section to see who to avoid, *cough* Brinn *cough* LOL

[kevincure]

I still think eBay is great for game collecting. Honestly, 90% of games are as cheap on ebay as they are in the wild - you can often find lots for 1-2 bucks per game. That said, I never buy from the "online pawn shops". Think of the condition of the shit you find at a normal pawn shop - who wants that? I also avoid anyone with feedback below 99%, and usually 99.5% is too low for a major seller. I only buy from sellers that provide photos and detailed descriptions. I've only had one minor problem with ebay in 2 years, so it's still quite good.

[Cauterize]

never bidded on there... doubt i will too...
only selling... soon my "crystal screen Mario Game & Watch" :-P

[Cmosfm]

I still think eBay is great for game collecting. Honestly, 90% of games are as cheap on ebay as they are in the wild - you can often find lots for 1-2 bucks per game. That said, I never buy from the "online pawn shops". Think of the condition of the shit you find at a normal pawn shop - who wants that? I also avoid anyone with feedback below 99%, and usually 99.5% is too low for a major seller. I only buy from sellers that provide photos and detailed descriptions. I've only had one minor problem with ebay in 2 years, so it's still quite good.

I think you're TOTALLY off key with the 99% mark. I'd say 96%, I'm an excellent eBayer but even I'm at 98.6%. Do you have any idea how many positives you have to get to pull up ONE single negative? I know I've got 559 positives and 8 negatives, and most of those were from eBayers who got there game, it didn't work, so BOOM...negative! How about sending me an e-mail asking for a refund instead of jumping to negative for a 1.00 game?

Then you have retaliation feedback, basically, if a seller wants to stay about 99% he better DAMN sight never EVER leave a negative feedback for another user...because every negative left, you run the risk of a retaliation feedback. How is that for fair? I'd rather deal with a guy that actually does his part and leaves negatives when there due (thus resulting in some unfair negs for him) than to deal with a user who trys to stay cautious and never leave them.

Then you have the "i only leave feedback once you do" ebayers, the ones that sell a shitty item but threatens a negative feedback on the buyer when they threaten a negative on the seller. (i.e. Brinn1)

Either way, I guess as a seller who tries his best on eBay, and hearing you say that...basically...you wouldn't bid on one of my items because I'm not perfection in the feedback department, I'm slightly offended. Maybe you need to broaden your outlook when it comes to eBay.

[Kai]

I still sell on ebay but I try not to buy too much anymore unless it is a really good deal. There are still some good deals to be found. Lately I've been trying to get a copy the the old Lucasarts game "The Dig", but boxed copies seem to be going for $15.00 - $20.00. I have been randomly bidding on it for the past few months and finally won a nice complete copy last week for $3.25. Then there was the time I got a top loader with 14 games including miracle piano for $25.00 BIN. :D

[Vroomfunkel]

I pity anyone won't bid on an item if the seller has less than 99% feedback. It doesn't take a hell of a lot to get unwarranted bad feedback, no matter how careful you are. I like to think that I am as good a seller as you could find .. but I still have two negs ... both from people who won my auction and never paid. I left them a neg, and they left revenge feedback.

Despite requesting contact after 3 days and payment after 7 days, I gave both these guys almost a month to come through ..

What I think ebay should do is to disregard feedback from people who are no longer registered users. Both of the guys who left me negs got suspended not long after ... presumably for not paying for other stuff. I think it sucks that their feedback still counts against me.

Vroomfunkel

[Daria]

I think you're TOTALLY off key with the 99% mark. Yeah that is a little unrealistic because of retalliation feedback. To that extent I agree with you.



I know I've got 559 positives and 8 negatives, and most of those were from eBayers who got there game, it didn't work, so BOOM...negative!

Erm... did you just admit to selling untested games that don't work? That would earn you a neg, or I would expect it to earn me one if I did that. How hard is it to plug in a game and to make certain it plays before you sell it? And it's kinda of a pain in the ass to buy a game, find it doesn't work, and then try and prove it to the seller for a refund. If the game was cheap I'd figure it not worth the hassle and neg you then and there.

Unless you ment NES games, which won't necessarily work between nes to nes.

Personally though I like to take pictures of my games pluged into their respective consoles and playing on my tv set. Kinda kills the "My game didn't work" claim before it ever comes up.

[pookninja]

no,im not tired of ebay.i usually win at least 1 game a week on ebay.i usually buy import games and genesis stuff there.i have gotten lots of good deals on ebay,and have always gotten my stuff from sellers,no problems.because of ebay.i now have a hook-up in japan(yamatoku),and i get all kinds of import games and magazines for great prices.ebay has been great for me. :)

[Cmosfm]

I think you're TOTALLY off key with the 99% mark. Yeah that is a little unrealistic because of retalliation feedback. To that extent I agree with you.



I know I've got 559 positives and 8 negatives, and most of those were from eBayers who got there game, it didn't work, so BOOM...negative!

Erm... did you just admit to selling untested games that don't work? That would earn you a neg, or I would expect it to earn me one if I did that. How hard is it to plug in a game and to make certain it plays before you sell it? And it's kinda of a pain in the ass to buy a game, find it doesn't work, and then try and prove it to the seller for a refund. If the game was cheap I'd figure it not worth the hassle and neg you then and there.

Unless you ment NES games, which won't necessarily work between nes to nes.

No, I didn't "admit" to selling untested games. I make sure all games play before I send them, and yes...it was NES. I'd really much appreciate that you ask me if I tested it before I sent it before jumping down my throat about it.

FYI, the buyer for that auction has 7 feedback, 5 positive, 2 negative. :roll:

[Daria]

I think you're TOTALLY off key with the 99% mark. Yeah that is a little unrealistic because of retalliation feedback. To that extent I agree with you.



I know I've got 559 positives and 8 negatives, and most of those were from eBayers who got there game, it didn't work, so BOOM...negative!

Erm... did you just admit to selling untested games that don't work? That would earn you a neg, or I would expect it to earn me one if I did that. How hard is it to plug in a game and to make certain it plays before you sell it? And it's kinda of a pain in the ass to buy a game, find it doesn't work, and then try and prove it to the seller for a refund. If the game was cheap I'd figure it not worth the hassle and neg you then and there.

Unless you ment NES games, which won't necessarily work between nes to nes.

No, I didn't "admit" to selling untested games. I make sure all games play before I send them, and yes...it was NES. I'd really much appreciate that you ask me if I tested it before I sent it before jumping down my throat about it.

FYI, the buyer for that auction has 7 feedback, 5 positive, 2 negative. :roll:

I wasn't jumping down your throat, I was pretty much saying if you sold untested games then you'd deserve any negs that resulted from it.

If the buyer was lying that's a completely different senario. However the way you worded it suggested that it wasn't an isolated incident and that you felt him getting a non working game shouldn't be considered your fault. :P

I'm sorry if it sounded harsher then I ment.

[Cmosfm]

I think you're TOTALLY off key with the 99% mark. Yeah that is a little unrealistic because of retalliation feedback. To that extent I agree with you.



I know I've got 559 positives and 8 negatives, and most of those were from eBayers who got there game, it didn't work, so BOOM...negative!

Erm... did you just admit to selling untested games that don't work? That would earn you a neg, or I would expect it to earn me one if I did that. How hard is it to plug in a game and to make certain it plays before you sell it? And it's kinda of a pain in the ass to buy a game, find it doesn't work, and then try and prove it to the seller for a refund. If the game was cheap I'd figure it not worth the hassle and neg you then and there.

Unless you ment NES games, which won't necessarily work between nes to nes.

No, I didn't "admit" to selling untested games. I make sure all games play before I send them, and yes...it was NES. I'd really much appreciate that you ask me if I tested it before I sent it before jumping down my throat about it.

FYI, the buyer for that auction has 7 feedback, 5 positive, 2 negative. :roll:

I wasn't jumping down your throat, I was pretty much saying if you sold untested games then you'd deserve any negs that resulted from it.

If the buyer was lying that's a completely different senario. However the way you worded it suggested that it wasn't an isolated incident and that you felt him getting a non working game shouldn't be considered your fault. :P

I'm sorry if it sounded harsher then I ment.

I originally opted to omit the quotations around the words "didn't work" in my original post...guess I shoulda left em it.

And I'm not sure if he's lying, or if it really didn't work on his NES (which is probably the case)...but either way an e-mail was in order to ask for a refund.

And yeah, you sounded pretty harsh there.

[number6]

I don't know cmosfm. Looking at your Terms of Service on one of your recent auctions I would never bid on any of your items for sale. I don't think this is a very reasonable way to expect payment :



Item must be paid for within 24 hours of auction end. Please take note of this, after 24 hours the item will go back up for auction and negative feedback will be left.



So if I use an automated Bidding program and I am away for the weekend unexpectedly and I forget to cancel my bid you will leave me negative feedback for not paying in 24 hours? Seems very restrictive and a little unrealistc to me. I can see from your negative feedback left for NPB's that you don't seem to follow through on this threat. The impression from your terms though would make me think you are an unreasonable person. From reading your posts in this forum I know you are a reasonable person and that's why I am shocked.

So even though you have a decent feedback rating you seem very impatient and unreasonable with your terms. To me anyway.

All this leads to the point I am trying to make. Your complaint about the unfair negative feedback you have received :



most of those were from eBayers who got there game, it didn't work, so BOOM...negative!


Is possibly to be expected because in your terms you say:



All items work unless stated otherwise.


So when the games did not work for the buyer's in question they simply applied the same feedback justice your terms say that you will apply to them. That's one possible explanation for the newbies anyway. I think it's best not to talk about what you are going to do when someone does not pay in your auction. It sets the wrong atmosphere in my opinion. It may also draw out people who like to start trouble as well who have no intention of buying your items.

These are just my observations and I am sure others will interpret it differently.

[Daria]

Ok well again, didn't mean it like that and I apologize. (:

Anyway I'm kinda sick of video game sellers on ebay on it hasn't stopped me from buying games on ebay. Guess I'm just a glutton for punishment. Although I have learned to be more outspoken about asking questions.

I'm sick of auctions that use stock photos and descriptions, and I'm very sick of sellers who mail complete NES games in bubble mailers when you've paid full price for shipping. How can you be so petty to fuck your customer over a couple bucks shipping? >.<

And then there's the auctions where people out right lie about the condition of the game. If there's a huge blockbuster sticker on the manual why can't you be assed to write that up in your description? If the box is water damaged mention it god dammit!

Overall I've found video game sellers to be extremely petty. Neither my parents experience rampant dishonesty in the items they purchase of ebay (which they do on a regular basis).

Maybe the video game crowd's younger and more irresonsible as a whole? Or maybe the sellers expect their customers to be kids? I really don't understand why it's such a different experince.

[-hellvin-]

I use ebay for nothing but buying boxes and manuals so sometimes I get tired of waiting for new auctions of that stuff to show up cause they dont come around often. The other thing that irks me about buying that sutff on ebay is lately some of the auctions have been going unbelievably high....kinda sucks.

[calthaer]

You gotta learn to sniff out the rogues on eBay; not too hard once you get the hang of it. A lot of it is just general "reading between the lines" like DP mentioned.

I've bought all sorts of games on eBay from time to time, but never any rare games - they go for way too much money. Much easier to hunt the resale shops and the brick-and-mortar shops of local Gamestops or something for those deals. I found Tactics Ogre for PS1 in EXCELLENT shape, original case and manual, for only $35 at a Gamestop once. It was behind the counter, had to search using their web feature.

It's the only place to find some obscure games, too...some PC games...a special edition GBC...it's just a little bit of this and that. A non-gaming item that was an EXCELLENT find was the ultra-rare G.I.Joe Super Special #1 - the last issue of G.I.Joe that Marvel ever printed - for a mere $35 (my max bid was WAY higher than that - it was the last issue I needed to complete my set). It takes time, patience, and a healthy amount of bidsniping to find the right item for the right price on eBay. Use the watch feature, set your watch to alert you when it gets to the last hour, know your limit.

[Aussie2B]

I wish people didn't automatically avoid auctions with stock photos. :/ Not everybody is fortunate enough to have a scanner or a digital camera. The only thing I have for picture-taking is a cheapo webcam that takes TERRIBLY blurry pictures. I only use it when I absolutely cannot find a photo of the item online. For common things, I use a stock photo. I try to make up for it by thoroughly describing the item to the best of my ability (I usually have a whole paragraph just about condition in my auctions).

I'm wary of stock photo auctions myself, but with eBay, you're needlessly cutting out options for yourself when you make rules with absolutely no exceptions. Not every seller who uses stock photos is dishonest about the item. I make my decisions on an individual auction basis.

[PapaStu]

eBay has allways been a spurt sorta thing for me. There are times where im on it to no end, searching for stuff, and buying like a mad man. Then I dont touch the site for a while, sometimes a long while at that (not buying for almost a year when I became active again).

Ive been taken by pictures that are "stock" ones, pictures that the seller has recyled, pics that have been stolen. Having been variant hunting lately, I am almost always forced to email the seller to ask about discs and what not, and if they dont answer my questions satisfactoraily they just dont get bought. My usual creed is no pic (that isnt stock) no bid. However if I can get the info im looking for from a seller with no photo or a stock one, I'll take a swing at it. If A seller responds back slowly, or not at all, I just avoid their auctions. I get grumpy, but I dont let it ruin my experience. Talk to the seller/buyer alot and your usually safer in the long run. It might seem annoying, but this is the only way to know that you'll be happy with your purchase. Its worked for me.

[Azazel]

From my own personal experiences.

Generally 50% to 75% of the stuff I get from sellers the condition is much worse than what it was listed for in the auction. Even if you complain to the seller it generally doesn't do much good.

I think the whole feedback thing with sellers that they won't give feedback till the bidder leaves feedback is really stupid. I've sold for 4 or 5 years and have always left feedback first and I've never gotten a negative once and have a rating of 530. I think the whole retaliation feedback thing is just as stupid. A lot of times giving negative feedback to a bidder is a waste of time as even if they get booted off of Ebay they can get another Ebay account just as easily. Personally no seller is ever going to be perfect. Having a few negative can be okay as you can show that you really didn'ty do anything wrong and tried to make things right regardless if your a seller or buyer. Generally those auctions that require payment in 24 hours I would stay far away from.

I personally really don't use Ebay much if at all anymore.

[Aussie2B]

Retaliation feedback is a real pain, regardless of if you're the seller or the buyer. I once bought a N64 expansion pak that showed a photo of it in the box and it was described as "brand new". When the package arrives, all I get is the expansion pak and the little tool. :/ I leave a neutral saying that the auction was misleading (and the seller had yet to leave feedback), and of course I get a neutral right back saying something like "buyer failed to properly understand the auction". Yeah right. :/ I read every damn word of that auction before purchasing the item, as I always do.

[kevincure]

Aussie...anyone who sells regularly on ebay needs a digital camera. You can get cameras that take the 400x300 pixel ebay photos for 50 dollars. The reason to avoid stock photos is that most people using stock photos really *do* have bad quality product.

Vroom and CMOS: As for the "99% feedback", it obviously doesn't apply as much when someone has only 100 feedback total. The revenge feedback can happen. I actually look at comments, so if a seller replies that a neg was revenge, I can easily find out. But negs for things like "not as described" or a 97.5% 3000-feedback seller mean I absolutely won't bid.

Think of it like shopping in real life. I won't buy from a merchant that isn't trustworthy, and I won't buy a game if I can't physically inspect it. Same goes for online: no pictures or bad feedback means no sale.

The other ebay problem is descriptions, as someone noted above. The descriptions need to be accurate. I would say half of my ebay feedback notes that the game was "as described", "just like the auction said", etc.. Noting nicks on a game may lower the price occasionally, but honesty matters more than the quick buck. I've had a ton of repeat customers and have privately sold a number of rare items to overseas buyers who I've met through ebay and who were happy with my evaluation of the product. Be a merchant, not a pawn shop.

[Daria]

I wish people didn't automatically avoid auctions with stock photos. :/ Not everybody is fortunate enough to have a scanner or a digital camera.

It not auctions with just stock photos that I avoid but auctions with stock photos and stock descriptions.

[briskbc]

I have been selling on eBay for 6 years and I am getting quite tired of it. I have $300 worth of stuff to put on but I can't motivate myself to do it. I love hunting for the things I sell but that's about it. It's not the moron buyers. About 10% of them really don't pay attention to the fact I live in Canada and the item has to pass throught customs slowing down the process. Even though the auction says, Location: BC Canada. I always get at least 2 emails after each series of auctions expressing concern over my honesty becuase it has been a week and their item hasn't arrived. That's being nice. Most the time it's "What the crap is going on. My game hasn't arrived yet. What's the hold up." :angry:

But almost everyone is nice. Too bad we tend to remember the bad experiences more than the good. I didn't intend for this to be a venting post but it turned out that way. Well, I'm going back to stare at Turbolister and think about the work I should be doing

[SegaAges]

eBay is excellent.

I go onto eBay almost every single day.

It is fun to go through and actually find good deals. I am up to about 45 2600 games (counting dupes). That is all thanks to eBay. Every single auction for the 2600 games, I paid about 30 cents per game.

Every once in awhile, you find a deal that makes you cream your pants. One time I got Mario 64 complete with 2 strat guides for about $8. The box was seriously in absolutely perfect condition.

I have never sold on there, but plan on selling a 1st edition Firby on there once I get some pics of it up (I have no clue how much these things go for on eBay, but I am sure that I can make some money from it).

At least 25% of my entire collection comes from eBay. The best way to use eBay for games is to find random games. I have all the next gen systems, so I will randomly look at each system and find a game or 2 that is a good deal.

But...
I have gotten many of my next gen games from Blockbuster, just because there is 1 not even 3 minutes from my house and they have an excellent selection of games for outragously low prices.

But yeah, eBay is awesome as long as you know what you are doing. I have been buying from eBay for about 5 or 6 years, and have never once had a problem with anything on eBay. It is funny, because I have had way, way more problems buying from people in this forum right here than I have with eBay EVER!

[calthaer]

Oh yeah re: retaliation feedback:

I absolutely will not leave feedback for any seller who does not leave me feedback on my payment first. I recently had a seller that asked me to give him feedback on an auction - I told him I wouldn't because I disapproved of the process of reserving feedback as "ammo." He whined a bit and then I said "look: I have already taken the risk of sending money for an item that I did not have in-hand, and am unwilling to take the risk of sending feedback first as well. Sorry." I said it nicer than that, but still.

He gave me positive feedback then and I gave him some. Just don't give them feedback at all. If they whine, then too bad. Get someone else to give them an A+++++++++!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cmosfm]

I don't know cmosfm. Looking at your Terms of Service on one of your recent auctions I would never bid on any of your items for sale. I don't think this is a very reasonable way to expect payment :



Item must be paid for within 24 hours of auction end. Please take note of this, after 24 hours the item will go back up for auction and negative feedback will be left.



So if I use an automated Bidding program and I am away for the weekend unexpectedly and I forget to cancel my bid you will leave me negative feedback for not paying in 24 hours? Seems very restrictive and a little unrealistc to me. I can see from your negative feedback left for NPB's that you don't seem to follow through on this threat. The impression from your terms though would make me think you are an unreasonable person. From reading your posts in this forum I know you are a reasonable person and that's why I am shocked.

So even though you have a decent feedback rating you seem very impatient and unreasonable with your terms. To me anyway.

All this leads to the point I am trying to make. Your complaint about the unfair negative feedback you have received :



most of those were from eBayers who got there game, it didn't work, so BOOM...negative!


Is possibly to be expected because in your terms you say:



All items work unless stated otherwise.


So when the games did not work for the buyer's in question they simply applied the same feedback justice your terms say that you will apply to them. That's one possible explanation for the newbies anyway. I think it's best not to talk about what you are going to do when someone does not pay in your auction. It sets the wrong atmosphere in my opinion. It may also draw out people who like to start trouble as well who have no intention of buying your items.

These are just my observations and I am sure others will interpret it differently.

I put 24 hours in there just to get payments fast, check over my recent feedback left, etc etc. You'll see I have not left feedback for anyone not paying withing 24 hours. I give up to a week most of the time, but I like my payments fast so I put that in my rules. I am very reasonable, and I have rules stated, but the old saying goes "rules are meant to be broken". Hell, if it's more than a 5.00 item, and the buyer can't pay via paypal, I'll usually accept a money order even...though it states that I accept paypal only.

I like to make my rules very thorough, I've been using eBay for 5 years, my rules and habits have changed a lot...and there posted just to make sure people understand that I take eBay seriously. I'm very sorry if you see that as otherwise.

Anyways, all items do work unless stated otherwise....but this is NES we're talking about. Some people have nice clean NES systems or a toploader (like I test mine on), and some people have systems that work like crap. Just because it works on mine, and not on theres, doesn't mean I'm a bad seller nor does it warrant negative feedback. My PS2 won't play purple back disks, if I win an auction for a purple back game...and it doesn't work...should I leave a negative?

I think you're focusing on small points in my auctions that really do not need focusing on. I'm one of the most reasonable eBayers you'll ever come across. Hell, I even leave feedback as soon as items are paid! So if you look over my feedback, you'll see, I gotta be doing SOMETHING right!

[Push Upstairs]

I still search stuff out on Ebay because sometimes there is no way i can find what i want locally or on DP here.


As far as using Ebay....wel you gotta do your homework. Price, shipping, feedback, and picture/condition are all things to be considered.


The bad part about Ebay nowadays is that damn bid sniping software. Talk about taking the fun away from bidding. Not only is it shitty to be outbid like 2 seconds before the auction ends, but it also takes the execitement out of bidding as well. :(

[Aussie2B]

Aussie...anyone who sells regularly on ebay needs a digital camera. You can get cameras that take the 400x300 pixel ebay photos for 50 dollars. The reason to avoid stock photos is that most people using stock photos really *do* have bad quality product.

The beauty of eBay is that everyone is not a regular seller or making a business out of it. Sometimes Joe Schmoe has one thing or a few things to get rid of, and that brings in more options for buyers. I personally sell a few things maybe once or twice a year (if that), so it would be stupid to buy a digital camera for the sole purpose of eBay picture taking. When you're a broke college student living off of Top Ramen, even 50 bucks is a lot of money. That's food, that's bus fare to school for a month or two, that's a bunch of cheapo games, and lots of other things that take priority over a camera. Like I said, it's a judgment call. If I see a stock photo auction (or an auction with no photo), I check out the feedback, the description, and maybe email the seller before I rule it out.

[number6]

I think you're focusing on small points in my auctions that really do not need focusing on. I'm one of the most reasonable eBayers you'll ever come across. Hell, I even leave feedback as soon as items are paid! So if you look over my feedback, you'll see, I gotta be doing SOMETHING right!



I am only pointing out what would turn me away from your auctions without doing any real intense research. Normally when I see restrictive terms I just move on unless the item is incredibly rare.




I put 24 hours in there just to get payments fast, check over my recent feedback left, etc etc. You'll see I have not left feedback for anyone not paying withing 24 hours. I give up to a week most of the time,


If you had bothered to read the whole post that you quoted you would know that I did look at your feedback left and I stated that "you don't seem to follow through on this threat". I could see that you don't leave negs after 24 hours, but the point is when I see terms like this I normally click the back button immediately. I only checked your feedback because you are a fellow DP member that I respect. The point is, regardless of how you actually treat people, your terms come accross as being a little rude.

Obviously you have had great success on ebay despite my observations. I was not trying to be rude to you or anything. I was simply trying to provide another perspective to you. I only made the observation because you seemed to be offended when someone stated that any seller with a rating below 99.5% is probably not a good person to deal with on ebay. You seemed to think that your negative feedbacks were undeserved and I was merely pointing out that there may be things that you have done that offended your buyers and you may not have even realized it.

It may seem to you that I am focusing on unimportant aspects of your auctions, but what does that say about your perceptions towards other peoples points of view? I know there are other ebayers like me who dislike threats placed in auction terms. If you think it is OK to be a little offensive to get your point accross that is your business. Also realize that ebayers like myself rarely if ever leave negative feedback and always try to resolve any problems before leaving fb. I also usually pay within minutes of auction closing. Maybe you would get less neg happy buyers and more instant paying happy buyers if you had more friendly terms? I think it is best to treat others the way you would like to be treated.

[SegaAges]

I noticed many of you are saying things about eBay that should be brought up, but don't need to be.

eBay has it setup for the buyer to get things and know what they are getting as long as they know how to read and pay attention (I have never sold, so I can't vouch for how good selling is on there).

There is feedback right there so that you can check a person's previous deals they have done. Many times a neutral will slip through when you are looking for negatives. Many times a neutral will say something very important about the way a person sells. Maybe the person likes to wait 2 weeks before sending out their product. Maybe the person doesn't sell exactly what a buyer paid for. Many times the neutrals help out way more tyhan negatives. I noticed, from my experience, that most negatives are left almost through anger that the deal didn't go exactly as planned, but neutrals happen when something small slips through, and many times there is not retalitory feedback for neutrals. I have never left a person a negative, but have left many neutrals because there are always small factors which makes the deal go the ways it shouldn't.

I had one guy leave for college and forget to send my game. I could have gotten angry and left a neg, but I was patient, nice, and waited it out. It took about 2 months for the game to arrive, so a neutral got left.

There is a small feedback system here on dp, but not near good enough to tell if you are going to get ripped off or not (I have gotten ripped off twice from here, and one of the people was on the good traders thread). I won't give the names, because that is a matter between me and them (and the fact that since there is no "bad" sellers thread on here, I think that dp wants to keep bad deals behind closed doors, which is cool by me and very understandable), we don't want people to think every deal is a bad one, because I have done some outstanding deals on here for excellent products.

The feedback system is very good on eBay. If they have some negs, just read why. Make sure the neg isn't out of anger. If they have nuetrals, make sure to read them. Also make sure to not care about 6 months ago, why, because everybody makes mistakes and 6 months ago is time enough to recover.

I am no expert on eBay, but enjoy it.

One thing I can't stand about eBay, snipers. Many people have said it before, but I would honestly rather get into a bidding war than a sniping war. Since you never know what you are going to find on eBay, you might as well have some fun trying to get it.

Wait, there a few other things that get annoying about eBay. The spam. You will see a ps2 going for $25, and after getting to the bottom, it says, "Information on how to get a ps2 for $25, not actual system".

The last thing that annoys me about eBay, there are way too many people with huge pocket books. Now this I can't control, and I think it is good for these rich people to spend money on cool things, but they always seem to want the same strange things that I am looking for :)

Like I said though, I know I am not alone, it is awesome to get an extremely good deal from eBay. Every once in awhile I will bid on something that goes unnoticed by anybody, and I get it for 1 cent. I actually got my gorillaz self titled album for 1 cent.

Even with all of these flaws, eBay is the best place I have in this city to get games I couldn't get anywhere else.

[KirbyStar27]

sometimes... but its a mainstream place to get games! :)

[Dr. Morbis]

I love eBay


I hate eBay


I find this indespensible:


http://auctiononlinedirectory.com/cgi-bin/negs

[YoshiM]

Tired of it? Naw, I usually pop on there regularly to see what's shakin'. Like SegaAges there are things that kinda tick me off but there's not much I can do about it:

Sniping: I do it too, but it's a kick in the pants after you've waited days for an auction you bid on to end and in the remaining few seconds someone just plops in and snags it.

Deep Pockets and monopolizing: This probably annoys me more especially on items that seemingly have "little" value with the gaming community. I've been on a crusade to get Rainbow and Hot CoCo magazines for the Color Computer (along with other CoCo items) and there are a couple of bidders out there that either have credit cards or money is no object. During one week one bidder I've seen a lot all all the Rainbow magazines sewn up-no matter how much I or others bid this person had the highest bid. Easily dropped about $150-$200 on magazines and uncommon diskette games (three games in an auction went for about $50 and my jaw dropped).

Okay so they have more resources, no biggie. That's where the "monopolizing" comes into play. When I see the same names snagging a bunch of stuff, including items I knew they won previously, that gets me. Give someone else a chance. You the people who also happen to take the last cookie without asking?

High shipping: here I am, surfing eBay and happen to find an item at a good price. As I read the description, not believing no one wants this item for the song it's being sold for, I notice the shipping is like two or three times more than the asking price. What gives? It shouldn't cost $6 to send a game cartridge through the mail-boxes can be either free or cheap and postage is maybe...MAYBE $3 priority for one cart. There was a company who sold Jaguar items who was notorious for jacking up shipping.


Otherwise, eBay is usually fun to sift through. Never know what one will find.

[tyranthraxus]

Shipping fees are my pet peeve, a lot of the time its not worth the trouble
of buying because people gouge on them. When I used to collect cards I
would see auctions were people wanted $5 for card worth maybe 1 or 2
bucks that can be shipped for 50 cents in an envelope with a scrap of cereal
box cardboard for protection! When I sell I charge exact shipping and will
state if I have a handling fee (usually 50 cents or a buck) when I need to
purchase supplies to protect an item (like bubble paper, etc.). I try to make
sure everything is well packed as I would expect it. I hate those morons
who sell you a boxed game and then stuff it in a bubble enevelope and
wonder why I complain about it arriving crushed :angry:

But as a Canadian buying off ebay is a disadvantage, many people won't
ship outside of the U.S. (yes, I ask) or will jack up their handling fees when
they do.

Still there is some great deals on there and I find that in many cases buying
games from older systems like NES and the Ataris is often cheaper there
than what the thrifts want. But I find for modern consoles I would rather
buy used games locally than deal with all the problems mentioned above.

- calthaer - nice score, good to see there is another Larry Hama fan here.

[Mason P.]

I only buy on Ebay and have had too many people forget to leave me feedback, or take their sweet time (3 months to deliver) and then tell me I am going to have to leave my feedback first. Well First off I only Pay with paypal, second I have like 150 different positive feedbacks and no negs and dont really care if I get any more feedback. I have enough that it is proven that i am a great person to deal with. I usually send payment within 1 hour of auction ending. With all that, when i send my payment I just let them know that I have completed my end of the transaction first therefore I will only leave feedback once mine is left first. I had one guy question me. I just said i don;t really care about the feedback and asked if he did. He said yes and shortly after thinking about it he left mine.

I think they put too much power in the sellers hands. they dictate too much of the rules.

[Aussie2B]

The last thing that annoys me about eBay, there are way too many people with huge pocket books. Now this I can't control, and I think it is good for these rich people to spend money on cool things, but they always seem to want the same strange things that I am looking for :)

Haha, I can relate to that. Granted, if I didn't shop "in the wild" and from other online sites, I would be doing a lot more eBay shopping myself, but boy does it irk me to see a buyer with a MASSIVE list of stuff purchased (even just out of the recent stuff that you can still view). It's even more annoying when every item is quite pricey. I mean, what the hell, man? I don't care who you are, no one can fully appreciate that stuff if it's all purchased at once.

It's especially annoying with game soundtrack fans. I swear, nearly every game soundtrack fan is a rich yuppie. They throw around their money like there's no tomorrow, and they don't care in the slightest about getting a good deal. All they want is to pick up that one particular album they MUST have at that very moment just so they can throw it in the pile with the other hundreds of soundtracks they own. :/ While I'm sitting there just trying to get a decent price on one single album and it takes me an eternity to get it at a reasonable price.

[Push Upstairs]

High shipping fees....yes i laugh when i see that.

Sell an item for $.99 but charge $10 shipping. Why?

Another is the illustrious seller who charges *handling* fees. So i have to pay you to cram it in an envelope & take it to the post office? No.

I avoid any auctions that include either of these.

[Aussie2B]

A lot of big sellers hire people or use services to pack and ship the goods, so that's where the handling fees come from. Of course, that's the legitimate reason; there are plenty of people who are just trying to rip people off with shipping costs.