The Ebay/Gamestop/Craiglist/Amazon/Goodwill/etc rant thread

[snes_collector | 56]

Is there anything more frustrating than missing local ads off stuff you want for your collection, only to see it all on ebay a couple hours later?

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

On 6/8/2020 at 7:41 PM, snes_collector said:

Is there anything more frustrating than missing local ads off stuff you want for your collection, only to see it all on ebay a couple hours later?

This always pops into my head when that happens. 

 

[TDIRunner | 2,727]

On 6/8/2020 at 6:41 PM, snes_collector said:

Is there anything more frustrating than missing local ads off stuff you want for your collection, only to see it all on ebay a couple hours later?

Yes.

Same situation as above, except that you didn't miss it.  You were first to arrive for the stuff in the local ad, but someone backdoored you, and then you see the stuff on eBay a few hours later.  I consider that much more frustrating.  

[wyansas | 131]

I'm going down big time.  I sold 6 lots of 26-44 NES games each to a Canadian buyer for a couple thousand dollars total and shipped them in flat rate priority boxes.  You can probably already see where this is going.  Rookie mistake.  I make sure every game I sell is functional by getting them to at least the title screen on my NES and then selling them as TESTED.  Another mistake, probably.  Canadian buyer now says 18 of the 190 games he bought from me don't work properly, and he's demanding a full refund and return shipping.  Shipping them to Canada only cost me $19 tops because of the Global Shipping Program and the flat rate boxes.  On the way back from Canada, I would guess these boxes are going to cost up to $50 each plus import fees.  I offered to refund him the cost of one of the 26-game lots he bought but I doubt he'll go for that.  He wants me to suffer, because...

When the auctions were live, he sent me a message offering an absurd amount for one of the lots.  I ignored him because the offer was double what I thought it was worth, and I thought he was a scammer.  I should have blocked him then, but I didn't.  He then wins six of my auctions, but he doesn't pay for over a week.  I sent him a message after 3 days reminding him to pay, and he responded saying that eBay was requiring him to pay for all 6 at a time, and he didn't have enough money right now.  He said he would have the money on Sunday, 9 days after the auction ended.  I didn't trust this guy, so after 5 days had passed without payment, which was already by far the longest I had ever waited for a payment, I filed non-payment claims on all 6 lots.  The claims set the payment deadline to Monday, a day after he said he would pay.  He did pay on Sunday, and afterward he sent me a message saying that it was "rude" of me to file the non-payment claims, and I responded by explaining the reasons I had to be suspicious and told him that was the longest I had ever waited for a payment.  I thought I was polite as possible in that message, but maybe not.

So now he wants to return all six lots because 18 of the 190 games don't work properly.  Either he can't get them to load, or they stall during gameplay, or the save battery doesn't work.  I was able to get every game to load to the title screen, but I didn't extensively play test them or check to see if the save battery worked.  I listed them as TESTED, but didn't explain what that meant.

Now I don't know how to handle my auctions going forward.  I still have several hundred games to sell, and I don't know how to do that.  I think it's clear that I either have to start extensively play testing and checking save batteries on every game or list them all as untested and stop shipping to Canada, but I don't know if I want to do that on eBay.

I would be curious to hear what people think, honestly, about any of this.  About how I did, about the buyer, about eBay or how I should list games going forward.  Don't hold back if you're critical of how I handled any of this, I want to learn.

Edited June 10, 2020 by wyansas

[Tanooki | 4,930]

I'd get in contact with ebay and try and figure it out if you have a sparkling reputation they may help you out.  He's being patently rude and unreasonable about a full refund.  I'd try and find out what games supposedly don't work and if they're not spread over every box, he has zero right to demand a return on a working bundle.

 

For years ever since I saw the mass paranoia and steady drip of scamming a-holes in that massive thread NA had I went and dug into my ebay account and learned you have to cross over various things on there to truly ban a region or country, and that's what I did.  I tried doing one but still the system would despite blocks allow buys from outside of where I wanted, so I blanket banned every continent to start, then countries in the case of NA to keep out the rest.  I've never had an international buyer since that time unless they used one of those shipping services, which ebay disallows technically and are clear if the intermediary doesn't whine, the buyer behind it loses all claims so I let those slide.

 

Just ban everyone outside of your area if you're in the US, a few less buyers, a lot less import forms, scams, and massive import fee return charges as it's not worth it.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

4 hours ago, wyansas said:

I'm going down big time.  I sold 6 lots of 26-44 NES games each to a Canadian buyer for a couple thousand dollars total and shipped them in flat rate priority boxes.  You can probably already see where this is going.  Rookie mistake.  I make sure every game I sell is functional by getting them to at least the title screen on my NES and then selling them as TESTED.  Another mistake, probably.  Canadian buyer now says 18 of the 190 games he bought from me don't work properly, and he's demanding a full refund and return shipping.  Shipping them to Canada only cost me $19 tops because of the Global Shipping Program and the flat rate boxes.  On the way back from Canada, I would guess these boxes are going to cost up to $50 each plus import fees.  I offered to refund him the cost of one of the 26-game lots he bought but I doubt he'll go for that.  He wants me to suffer, because...

When the auctions were live, he sent me a message offering an absurd amount for one of the lots.  I ignored him because the offer was double what I thought it was worth, and I thought he was a scammer.  I should have blocked him then, but I didn't.  He then wins six of my auctions, but he doesn't pay for over a week.  I sent him a message after 3 days reminding him to pay, and he responded saying that eBay was requiring him to pay for all 6 at a time, and he didn't have enough money right now.  He said he would have the money on Sunday, 9 days after the auction ended.  I didn't trust this guy, so after 5 days had passed without payment, which was already by far the longest I had ever waited for a payment, I filed non-payment claims on all 6 lots.  The claims set the payment deadline to Monday, a day after he said he would pay.  He did pay on Sunday, and afterward he sent me a message saying that it was "rude" of me to file the non-payment claims, and I responded by explaining the reasons I had to be suspicious and told him that was the longest I had ever waited for a payment.  I thought I was polite as possible in that message, but maybe not.

So now he wants to return all six lots because 18 of the 190 games don't work properly.  Either he can't get them to load, or they stall during gameplay, or the save battery doesn't work.  I was able to get every game to load to the title screen, but I didn't extensively play test them or check to see if the save battery worked.  I listed them as TESTED, but didn't explain what that meant.

Now I don't know how to handle my auctions going forward.  I still have several hundred games to sell, and I don't know how to do that.  I think it's clear that I either have to start extensively play testing and checking save batteries on every game or list them all as untested and stop shipping to Canada, but I don't know if I want to do that on eBay.

I would be curious to hear what people think, honestly, about any of this.  About how I did, about the buyer, about eBay or how I should list games going forward.  Don't hold back if you're critical of how I handled any of this, I want to learn.

All my NES auctions are set to "Returns not accepted" and I make no claim that the games work in my listing. That being said, of course I've checked them all and I know they work before I ship them.

If a buyer has a complaint about something not working, I remind them that I do not accept returns and made no claims as to the functionality of the item. I subsequently offer them:

• an exchange if I have an extra cart. I will not send them the replacement cart until they send me back the non-working cart on their dime; or
• Full refund as long as they send everything back on their dime; or
• A small partial refund

I have no clue if my offers are within eBay policies, but buyers are usually happy with one of those options. And the partial refunds lost to scammers are just the cost of doing business.

Good luck!

[Tanooki | 4,930]

This is going on currently, check this dickweed out on ebay.

 

I put up an OEM NES AC adapter + RF modulator cable for $15 a couple days ago.  The guy messages me just this exactly as pasted:

17:04 - Best I can do is ten

17:05 - Best I can do is ten and free shipping

A bit annoyed with the lowball, then lower ball when I wasn't even giving the option I wrote this:

 

Haha no. That's just a rude message to even send like that. If you don't like the price, ignore it.

 

And he immediately looking to bully the lower rate comes back with this comment: I don't think it was a rude message I can get both these here in the store for 20 bucks What's your asking is outrageous trying to rip people off I think $10 is a fair price for something that used in this old

 

I left it with this: Sure if that's what you believe go for it. I've seen what they tend to sell for individually so I bundled it. Just don't bother bidding at this point, there's plenty to go around. And you were rude to start making an offer, then immediately retracting it lower to that value shipped. If I was accepting offers I'd have put it on there.

 

He hasn't written back and if he does I'm not responding.  I blocked the dumbass from bidding anyway which I haven't done in some years.  I don't like entitled feeling collectards looking to take advantage of others being forceful and rude, a really poor approach.

[Tanooki | 4,930]

2 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

All my NES auctions are set to "Returns not accepted" and I make no claim that the games work in my listing. That being said, of course I've checked them all and I know they work before I ship them.

If a buyer has a complaint about something not working, I remind them that I do not accept returns and made no claims as to the functionality of the item. I subsequently offer them:

• an exchange if I have an extra cart. I will not send them the replacement cart until they send me back the non-working cart on their dime; or
• Full refund as long as they send everything back on their dime; or
• A small partial refund

I have no clue if my offers are within eBay policies, but buyers are usually happy with one of those options. And the partial refunds lost to scammers are just the cost of doing business.

Good luck!

Good strategy, and a nice fade for the average person too.  But eBay themselves are double talking in their rules and basically lie out of their collective asses to sellers.  You have the NO returns accepted choice and it appears firm on our end.  But if you're a buyer and don't like an items for whatever reason (including damage or not showing up supposedly) they can demand a case.  They'll want you to contact someone at least once, but ultimately they let a computer do the work unless you escalate complaining on a lost verdict.  The computer almost always even with NO returns sides with the buyer.  All they have to do is click a lie on the 'why' and as long as they're not stupid enough to use 'I do not like it' you will lose.  That only works when returns are accepted (part of their best offer sucker move to get the best rates and exposure) so you're told one thing, the buyer another, and the computer throws you under the bus.  At that rate you're stuck on the phone, you go over stuff, you go over notes, and hope they decide to side with you, or at least re-imburse you for taking a shipment back.

[DoctorEncore | 3,690]

39 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Good strategy, and a nice fade for the average person too.  But eBay themselves are double talking in their rules and basically lie out of their collective asses to sellers.  You have the NO returns accepted choice and it appears firm on our end.  But if you're a buyer and don't like an items for whatever reason (including damage or not showing up supposedly) they can demand a case.  They'll want you to contact someone at least once, but ultimately they let a computer do the work unless you escalate complaining on a lost verdict.  The computer almost always even with NO returns sides with the buyer.  All they have to do is click a lie on the 'why' and as long as they're not stupid enough to use 'I do not like it' you will lose.  That only works when returns are accepted (part of their best offer sucker move to get the best rates and exposure) so you're told one thing, the buyer another, and the computer throws you under the bus.  At that rate you're stuck on the phone, you go over stuff, you go over notes, and hope they decide to side with you, or at least re-imburse you for taking a shipment back.

Yeah, I realize there is no true defense for an honest seller, but so far, so good!

[wyansas | 131]

3 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

All my NES auctions are set to "Returns not accepted" and I make no claim that the games work in my listing. That being said, of course I've checked them all and I know they work before I ship them.

If a buyer has a complaint about something not working, I remind them that I do not accept returns and made no claims as to the functionality of the item. I subsequently offer them:

• an exchange if I have an extra cart. I will not send them the replacement cart until they send me back the non-working cart on their dime; or
• Full refund as long as they send everything back on their dime; or
• A small partial refund

I have no clue if my offers are within eBay policies, but buyers are usually happy with one of those options. And the partial refunds lost to scammers are just the cost of doing business.

Good luck!

Even if you say you don't accept returns, if a product arrives damaged or non-functional, you have to accept returns according to eBay's guidelines.  This puts NES games with 30 year old save batteries in a tricky gray area, and buyers have a lot of leeway to not be satisfied.  I'm going to talk to ebay on the phone sometime soon, but will probably eventually bite the bullet and accept the return and all that goes with that.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

1 hour ago, wyansas said:

Even if you say you don't accept returns, if a product arrives damaged or non-functional, you have to accept returns according to eBay's guidelines.  This puts NES games with 30 year old save batteries in a tricky gray area, and buyers have a lot of leeway to not be satisfied.  I'm going to talk to ebay on the phone sometime soon, but will probably eventually bite the bullet and accept the return and all that goes with that.

^^^^That.   Unless you're listing items with the official "For Parts/Not Working" descriptor, all people have to do is say the game doesn't work and you're getting a return forced on you whether you accept them or not.

I don't accept returns either, but I try to test things to a reasonable extent.   If somebody wants to return for another reason, then I usually accept as long as they pay return shipping (which normally deters the average "changed my mind" person) as I'd rather eat a little bit of shit and resell it rather than having somebody break something and send it back.

[wyansas | 131]

3 hours ago, Tanooki said:

He hasn't written back and if he does I'm not responding.  I blocked the dumbass from bidding anyway which I haven't done in some years.  I don't like entitled feeling collectards looking to take advantage of others being forceful and rude, a really poor approach.

That's the thing to do in my experience.  It's tempting to respond to lowballs, but I've found it's best to just ignore them.

[A_Feisty_Pickle | 244]

On 6/10/2020 at 10:46 PM, captmorgandrinker said:

^^^^That.   Unless you're listing items with the official "For Parts/Not Working" descriptor, all people have to do is say the game doesn't work and you're getting a return forced on you whether you accept them or not.

I don't accept returns either, but I try to test things to a reasonable extent.   If somebody wants to return for another reason, then I usually accept as long as they pay return shipping (which normally deters the average "changed my mind" person) as I'd rather eat a little bit of shit and resell it rather than having somebody break something and send it back.

Even if you list in for parts / not working category ebay may force a return. I've experienced that first hand. : ')

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

1 hour ago, A_Feisty_Pickle said:

Even if you list in for parts / not working category ebay may force a return. I've experienced that first hand. : ')

Oh yuck.   How the hell did they do that?

[Scrobins | 1,719]

On 6/10/2020 at 9:04 PM, Tanooki said:

The guy messages me just this exactly as pasted:

17:04 - Best I can do is ten

17:05 - Best I can do is ten and free shipping

You shoulda just said “well then I guess your best just isn’t good enough”

[A_Feisty_Pickle | 244]

3 hours ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Oh yuck.   How the hell did they do that?

I don't remember all the details since this was about a year ago and I can't view the listing anymore, but I sold 2 broken PS4 consoles I got for cheap. When I was testing them to get a basic idea of what was wrong with them I got to the PS4 logo screen and nothing would happen after. I put in the listing exactly what I tested so the buyer would have an idea on what they would need to do to fix it. My theory is whoever won it was either fishing for a partial refund to help them make a better profit, or they decided it was harder to fix than they thought and wanted out of it. 

It was listed in For Parts / Not Working category, was in the title, item condition, and description. I spent over an hour on the phone with different customer reps and they all said tough luck. I guess in the future less details are better so they can't say you mislead them. I guess I'll just put "broken not working" and leave it at that. I had to eat shipping both ways but I still ended up making a few bucks in the end at least. Just part of doing business I guess. 

[Tabonga | 2,314]

Not a rant.  I have something coming from Amazon today - I clicked on the tracking and a map of my neighborhood popped up that showed where the vehicle with my package is and the number of stops (6) before my house.   Pretty neat and useful.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

4 minutes ago, Tabonga said:

Not a rant.  I have something coming from Amazon today - I clicked on the tracking and a map of my neighborhood popped up that showed where the vehicle with my package is and the number of stops (6) before my house.   Pretty neat and useful.

Is it an Amazon car or UPS?

[Tabonga | 2,314]

1 minute ago, captmorgandrinker said:

Is it an Amazon car or UPS?

No idea - I am guessing an Amazon car - they are likely tracking the vehicle rather than the package. I will watch for it.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,649]

1 minute ago, Tabonga said:

No idea - I am guessing an Amazon car - they are likely tracking the vehicle rather than the package. I will watch for it.

If you miss the car you can tell by the label on your package.

[Tabonga | 2,314]

2 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

If you miss the car you can tell by the label on your package.

The driver was just here - it was an Amazon vehicle. I asked the driver and he said that he thinks they have been doing it a couple of months.

I usually don't click on the tracking since in the past it hasn't shown all that much that is useful.

[Scrobins | 1,719]

Jeez, be careful about smack-talking eBay: https://www.cracked.com/article_27992_dont-trash-talk-ebay3B-they-might-threaten-you-mafia-style.html

[NESfiend | 1,514]

My wife bought me a sealed game on ebay for father's day. 2 days and no shipping info or contact from seller. Then he sends a refund with a stock reason that the item is either damaged or out of stock. Other than negative feedback, is there anything we can do? I'm pretty pissed and will complain to ebay if he will see any ramifications. I assume they can't enforce the sale, but that crap shouldn't go without any sort of penalty.

[Tanooki | 4,930]

They'll flag the account to set it up to see if it happens more and if it does then it gets into being suspended or banned, but right now, he's free to be a dick and decide you don't deserve the item and that's that, unless you're not the first.

[Psychobear85 | 141]

5 hours ago, NESfiend said:

My wife bought me a sealed game on ebay for father's day. 2 days and no shipping info or contact from seller. Then he sends a refund with a stock reason that the item is either damaged or out of stock. Other than negative feedback, is there anything we can do? I'm pretty pissed and will complain to ebay if he will see any ramifications. I assume they can't enforce the sale, but that crap shouldn't go without any sort of penalty.

Just chalk it up as a loss and look elsewhere, eBay could care less and people don’t care to look at feedback