The eBay Experience !

Have questions about the equipment used for macro- or micro- photography? Post those questions in this forum.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

The eBay Experience !

Post by RobertOToole »

Normally I try to not shop on eBay but there is no way around the fact that there are some superb deals there. But sometimes even a simple easy transaction can go wrong. You can't help but laugh about it. How bad can sellers get?

This clean Beseler 50mm should be easy? $35 with free expedited shipping! :-k

_bes-50.jpg



BTW, FYI, I use these for the iris mounts (not the optics). This lens line is made by Rodenstock and share iris mounts with the Rodagons/Rogonars. Also you can find Rodagon 50mm lenses for cheap, without the Rodenstock label. (at one point Rodenstock lost the rights to use the name Rodenstock when Linos took control). The good part is the iris body is always labeled made in Germany but the lens and brand is always on the lens cell never the iris mount.

From:eBay
Sent:May 7 :Order placed
Sent:May 7 : Payment date Payment method PayPal ( paid immediately)

From:eBay
Sent: May 11
SHIPPING LBL CREATED USPS AWAITS ITEM SECAUCUS, NJ 07094

You sent a message (Robert)
Sent:May. 16 :Did the item ship?

New message from The seller: eye_be_me
Sent: May. 17 :
I shipped the item last week (which means I left it in my apartment office for USPS to pick up). I checked today and the USPS didn't take it. Sometimes they are lazy. I will make sure they take it today.

You sent a message (Robert)
Sent:May. 17
Thank you

New message from The seller: eye_be_me
Sent:May. 20
The seller added shipping details - USPS First Class Mail (seller sold the lens with EXPEDITED shipping but I'm not complaining) #-o
(No tracking information provided)

From:eBay
Sent:May 21 01:32
The case was resolved (from eBay) We refunded you Unfortunately, we didn't receive valid tracking information from the seller. We're sorry you had a problem with your purchase. The refund includes the purchase price plus original shipping.

New message from The seller: eye_be_me
Sent:May-21-21 03:00 (3 am?)
The item was shipped First Class Mail. You did receive it. I have reported your THEFT to eBay authorities. ( is there such a thing? eBay authorities? :shock: )

From:eBay
Sent:May 21 2:30pm
DELIVERED IN/AT MAILBOX
TORRANCE, CA 90503

The seller shipped it in a reused/recycled amazon envelope! {-(

_bes-50-2.jpg


I will actually pay the seller for the item but I'm going to wait awhile.

For some reason I find this transaction really amusing, how many mistakes/bad decisions can one seller make? The seller has some serious issues

My biggest mistake was ignoring sellers feedback rating.


Best,

Robert

RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by RobertOToole »

re-cap and update!

May 7 :Order placed

May 11: SHIPPING LBL CREATED USPS AWAITS ITEM

May. 16 : You sent a message (Robert) "Did the item ship?"

May. 17 : The seller eye_be_me sent a message "..........I will make sure they take it today."

May. 20 : The seller eye_be_me added shipping details - USPS First Class Mail (No tracking information provided)

May 21 : The case was resolved (from eBay) We refunded.....we didn't receive valid tracking information from the seller. .....
May-21 :The seller: eye_be_me sent a message.......You did receive it. I have reported your THEFT to eBay authorities.
May 21 : 11 hours later: From:eBay DELIVERED IN/AT MAILBOX TORRANCE, CA 90503 The seller shipped the lens in a reused/recycled amazon envelope!

May 25: my items sells
Buyer ID: eye_be_me
Item: Newport MB-3 Compact Magnetic Base Used Free Shipping
Sold for: US $45.00
May 25: refunded buyer
eye_be_me has been refunded.

RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by RobertOToole »

_block-bidder.jpg

link: https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/BuyerBlock?


Block buyers from your listings

If you don't wish to sell to certain eBay members, you can put them on your blocked list. Members on that list will be unable to bid, buy or make an offer on any of your listings until you remove them from the list. You can block up to 5,000 User IDs.

To block a member, enter the member's user ID or email address and click Submit. Separate user IDs with a comma.

To remove members from the blocked list, select the members' user ids and delete them. Remember to inform the members so they can resume bidding on your items.

You can restore a past blocked buyers list by clicking Restore list. Remember, you can only restore blocked buyers lists from 3 months prior to today, inform the members so they can resume bidding on your items.

Scarodactyl
Posts: 1617
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by Scarodactyl »

Wow. That's a potential mini nightmare with what he might have been attempting there.
Some people.
Might be worth contacting eBay about.

RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by RobertOToole »

Scarodactyl wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 12:34 pm
Wow. That's a potential mini nightmare with what he might have been attempting there.
Some people.
Might be worth contacting eBay about.

Seems like its not about the $35 for some reason? :-k

Glad this was not over some high dollar item!

Also glad the guy lives 2888 miles away and better yet, I don't have my real address registered with eBay!

Scarodactyl
Posts: 1617
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:26 am

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by Scarodactyl »

I wasn't imagining anything physical--just a dummy purchase so he could leave bad feedback. That could be pretty anmoying to hash out.

RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by RobertOToole »

Scarodactyl wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 2:56 pm
I wasn't imagining anything physical--just a dummy purchase so he could leave bad feedback. That could be pretty anmoying to hash out.
I wasn't thinking " stalker " but with the purchase I was thinking he might try to report he never did get the package, the item prices were pretty similar so it would make sense.

Still I'm glad the seller is in NJ. :-k

You can never tell with eBay, they are very inconsistent handling feedback. I have over 1000 x 5 star feedback ratings on eBay since 1999 and 1 negative feedback rating which puts me at 98.5 % positive. The buyer said I was "nasty" and harassing him/her. Had nothing to do with a transaction but EBay refused to remove it. I did not harass the buyer or anyone else for that matter.

How does 1 out of 1045 = 1.5% anyway? Thats like .009 %?

Duke
Posts: 100
Joined: Tue May 12, 2020 10:06 am
Location: Leningrad, USSR
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by Duke »

Well, a shame, that escalated over nothing, I mean, $40, issues with the shipping & packing — got the item either way. Is this worth that much trouble, burned brain cells in the stress and frustration, wasteful really.
The ratings are calculated over the period of last 12 months, I think, unless EBay changed it again.
“Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science.” - JCM

RobertOToole
Posts: 2627
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by RobertOToole »

Duke wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 7:50 pm
Well, a shame, that escalated over nothing, I mean, $40, issues with the shipping & packing — got the item either way. Is this worth that much trouble, burned brain cells in the stress and frustration, wasteful really.
The ratings are calculated over the period of last 12 months, I think, unless EBay changed it again.
The idea was just share my experiences so others can learn by my poor experience. This was just a minor inconvenience really, I'm not stressed at all about it, I've had much worse experiences.

I seem to run into more difficulties on eBay than most people anyway. I've lost count of how many times a lens, or lens + camera was shipped to me in an envelope!

Hopefully the issue is over.

Best,

Robert

rjlittlefield
Site Admin
Posts: 23561
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:34 am
Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by rjlittlefield »

RobertOToole wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 3:24 pm
How does 1 out of 1045 = 1.5% anyway? Thats like .009 %?
I am reminded of Amazon's recent changes in their "stars" system.

It is now the case that Amazon's ranking can say 1 star N%, even though exactly zero 1-star ratings have ever been submitted.

For example take a look at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D65ZZK . At this moment that kitchen scraper is reporting 1 star 1% and 2 star 1%, out of "179 global ratings". But if I ask to see the 1- or 2-star reviews, the response is "Sorry, no reviews match your current selections."

I recall reading an explanation that Amazon replaced simple counts with some arcane estimation system (using AI techniques, of course) that attempts to provide some sort of "unbiased" estimate of what stars should have been assigned, based on what stars actually were assigned, combined with a plethora of other information including the text of the reviews, rankings of similar other products, and god only knows what else.

Amazon's own explanation says "To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness."

All I can say is that it's now more important than ever to read the words and see what the complaints, if any, actually were. This of course assumes that the words are from real reviews, which has its own dangers.

--Rik

enricosavazzi
Posts: 1474
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2009 2:41 pm
Location: Västerås, Sweden
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by enricosavazzi »

rjlittlefield wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 9:13 pm
[...]
For example take a look at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001D65ZZK . At this moment that kitchen scraper is reporting 1 star 1% and 2 star 1%, out of "179 global ratings". But if I ask to see the 1- or 2-star reviews, the response is "Sorry, no reviews match your current selections."
[...]
I am getting the very same message a lot lately when trying to read the feedback left to sellers on Amazon. It kind of defeats the purpose of the feedback system if you cannot actually read the feedback to get an idea why a given seller is getting negative reviews.
--ES

Duke
Posts: 100
Joined: Tue May 12, 2020 10:06 am
Location: Leningrad, USSR
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by Duke »

RobertOToole wrote:
Tue May 25, 2021 8:02 pm
The idea was just share my experiences so others can learn by my poor experience. This was just a minor inconvenience really, I'm not stressed at all about it, I've had much worse experiences.
I see, it got me bit nervous even from just reading this unfortunate story. :D I hope all be fine from now.

Packing and shipping fragile goods is, certainly, one of the main problems on secondary market/internet auctions, I wish eBay would somehow regulate this subject, impose rules or standards, at least just remind sellers with a note on how to properly pack the shipment.

(Not totally related, but) Recently I've discovered broker company for buying of Japan yahoo auctions. I've already received few packages thru them, and really pleased with the very careful packing and fast shipping (DHL delivery to Russia took only 6 days - amazing!). Really pleasant experience, such a drastic improvement over Shipito/Qwintry I use in US and Europe. For only ~10$ they contact the seller, arrange the shipping to their warehouse, where they take photos and repack the item, and ship to you as you please at very affordable prices.

Maybe what we need is such a middleman company, that would pick up the item from hands of the seller, pack and deliver the package in the hands of the client in the most responsible manner. Maybe such company even already exists, we're just not aware of it.
“Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science.” - JCM

Macro_Cosmos
Posts: 1511
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2018 9:23 pm
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by Macro_Cosmos »

Yeah, eBay's feedback system is based on a period of 12 months. So after a year, that one negative should become history.

I've had many headaches regarding to the site. Got someone claiming they didn't get the item after 2 months I posted it, I was overseas at the time too. Regardless, eBay told him to shove it and of course he then went to PayPal, which asked me to produce a "shipping invoice slip" as if there's only one country called USA in this world (AusPost doesn't offer such a thing, it's called tracking and I added the signature option). It was shipped during Christmas too, AusPost told me the system is different (they're not USPS or FedEx) and no such thing exists, they wrote a letter saying it's been safely delivered and signed for. Pay"Pal" still sided with the buyer because I can't abra kadabra something out of thin air.

I decided to just leave my account at negative balance until they had the audacity to send a debt chaser after me. This made me mad, so I went to the AFCA (https://www.afca.org.au/) and filed a complaint. To my knowledge, Pay"Pal" must hire people to deal with this stuff, they ended up backing off and refunded me $50 extra which was postage and eBay fees compensation, and they probably wasted many thousands in the process all for a measly $500 from some brat still studying. It does feel good to win a case against some faceless tyrant corporation that plucks 3% out of my revenue on top of eBay's 10%.

chris_ma
Posts: 570
Joined: Fri Mar 22, 2019 2:23 pm
Location: Germany

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by chris_ma »

Macro_Cosmos wrote:
Wed May 26, 2021 6:31 am
To my knowledge, Pay"Pal" must hire people to deal with this stuff
I think this is one of the problems with all those big companies - they try to save all they can in human customer support and replace it with algorithms and automated forms.

recently an UPS shipping went astray (again) and I called their german contact line, and I always ended up with an automated voice telling me the same wrong information that I could already see on the tracking webpage. the somewhat funny moment when you get an option in the phone menu "if you want to talk to a employee, say: yes", and you actually dare to say yes, and they play back an automated response anyway, and hang up afterwards.

I did eventually manage to get a human being on the line (hint: say no to everything - no to: "do you want tracking info" etc etc until you arrive at "other options", then say no to everything *again* till at the very end they had no other choice to put me through).
he talked german quite fluent, but from the connection quality and delay it must have been somebody sitting on the other side of the planet, which was very kind and helpful and told me he'll have the driver to call me and it will be delivered to my door in the afternoon.
sure enough nobody called and the parcel was dropped off at the next UPS service point for collection.
chris

Lou Jost
Posts: 5942
Joined: Fri Sep 04, 2015 7:03 am
Location: Ecuador
Contact:

Re: The eBay Experience !

Post by Lou Jost »

"Recently I've discovered broker company for buying of Japan yahoo auctions."

I have to say that the lenses I get from Japan are almost invariably packed better than I could do myself. I am always impressed with the attention to detail and huge amount of clever padding. I would be surprised if a repackaging middleman could improve the packing significantly.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic