a bit concerned

katy1987

hi everyone, this is my first time posting on the ebay forum so be nice! i hope i am just over-reacting.

on saturday i won an auction for a camera plus accessories on ebay, for a very good price! today i messaged the seller and asked when he/she was intending to post the camera. the message i received in return was a little odd, to my eyes. i'll paste the conversation here:



Dear [SELLER],

Hi, I was just wondering if you had a date in mind to post the camera? I totally understand if you have work/family commitments to work around, so no rush- just wanted an estimate if possible! Thanks very much, best regards, [me]

Dear [me],

Hey,

If I dont get r*ped for time in the bank I'll get it posted in the
morning. To be quite honest I dont want to post it to you as you
got a freaking bargain, but I need rid to pay for a 17 - 55 2.8

Got a phone number/email address and ill get you some decent
images of it.

I'll do my best to pack it but as ever with posting
stuff I dont know what theyre going to do to it in transit!

Sorry for being a bit out of contact, ive been 'stuck' down in
Bournemouth for a big club night im involved in.

Cheers, [SELLER].

---

(underlining mine)

perhaps it's just me, but i found that utterly bizarre. for starters, i censored the word the seller actually used at the start. second, why would they use my phone number to send me pictures. in fact, why would they need to send me any pictures since the auction included pictures, and the item is already bought and paid for!?

the big worry for me is what they have said about me getting a bargain and the insinuation that the item might get damaged in transit.

i have sent back the following reply, making an attempt to be friendly in response but certainly not divulging my phone number!


Dear [SELLER],

lol, indeed i did get a bargain! i was all set to get a [xxxx camera] until i realised [xxxx cameras] were actually going for less!

glad to hear the proceeds are going towards a nice lens though.

good point about the postage- would you be prepared to pay for the postal insurance when you send it and bill me? if you'd rather i paid in advance perhaps you could get the price of it (just weigh parcel and you can get the price on royal mail's website) and i will send the extra via paypal.

thanks v much, [me]

---

in hindsight i wish i had made my response a little more stern sounding and less chummy- cringe.

i can't help but wonder if i am about to be swindled... i get the impression i'm about to receive a damaged/apparently damaged camera and have it blamed on the postal service, forcing a return and refund. is there anything i can do if this does happen?

of course, it could be entirely innocent and the item may arrive in perfect condition, but i just have a funny feeling about it all. any insight would be appreciated into how i can protect myself from a dodgy deal here. hope you don't all think i'm insane.

greenoo000

Does sound weird. Maybe he/she wasn't sober when they wrote it!!! It may be a different strange sense of humour! I think you'll have to just keep your fingers crossed that it comes in one piece, and if not just claim through ebay/paypal the usual ways. - I wouldn't bother contacting them again.
I thought your response was good in this case - a stern response may have wound them up.

soolin

I would not have suggested paying extra for insurance, none of that is anything to do with you it is up to the seller to cover himsef against loss.

I would be quite alarmed to have received that message from any seller, he sounds a bit like one of those selllers we come across on here sometimes where evrything is too much bother and all buyers are a blooming nuisance and interfere with their private life.

However, all you can do now is leave it and wait for camera to arrive. If it is not exactly as described (and check it thoroughly) open an SNAD case immediately.

thepedestrian

did they mean "rapped" i.e. across the knuckles ? - maybe ?!

- are you sure its an actual camera you won and not just pictures of an actual camera?!

Esoog

thepedestrian wrote: »

did they mean "rapped" i.e. across the knuckles ? - maybe ?!

I doubt it These days it's a fairly common phrase really - although I'd stress between friends not a random stranger over the internet

Katy, the seller might just be a tool, I wouldn't worry just yet. Quite why someone needs to big themselves up to an ebay buyer (ie "look at me I'm involved in a big club night") is beyond me though heh

katy1987

Quite why someone needs to big themselves up to an ebay buyer (ie "look at me I'm involved in a big club night") is beyond me though heh

indeed. bit sad.

no response from him/her (i'm inclined to say him- sorry boys) this morning. they must be in the bank :rotfl:

thank you everyone who replied, you've put my mind at ease for now. just got to wait for the camera (or some pictures of it at least!! )

Esoog

katy1987 wrote: »

indeed. bit sad.

no response from him/her (i'm inclined to say him- sorry boys) this morning. they must be in the bank :rotfl:

hehehe .....

katy1987

update!

well, long story short the camera is here and all seems fine, although i am still testing out all the features to make sure nothing is amiss.

long story long (:D), i had another message from the seller. ignoring my plea for postal insurance, they said that they had left the camera with work to post. this just made me more worried as it seemed as though the seller was removing himself from any responsibility for the camera's safe arrival. i waited a couple of days, then asked if he had a tracking code as it hadn't arrived yet. he wrote back quick as a flash with a code and explained that his work had refused to send it because he hadn't left enough money for postage. (£22! :eek:) but that it had finally been sent that day. he was apologetic about this.

so, today it arrived, special delivery, not particularly well packaged (camera was in its box, which was inside a huuuuge jiffy bag so it could bounce around in transit). it really did cost £22 to post! or £21.65, similar. i was a bit surprised by this as it's not THAT heavy.

so all seems great, although i am half expecting the seller to ask me to pay for that postage. i paid £10 initially. bearing in mind the good price i got for the camera, and the fact that i asked the seller to put on postal insurance and said i'd pay for it, what are people's thoughts on this? did special delivery cover the 'insurance' aspect of it or was that unnecessary expense on the seller's part?

soolin

The only way of adequately insuring the item was to use special delivery. Standard mail only covers up to £41. £21.65 is the special dleivery cost for up to 10kg .

pug_in_a_bed

Insurance is to cover the seller not you, they can't make you pay for it after the sale so don't fret

katy1987

thanks soolin for the clarification, i think the poor seller was as surprised as i was by the cost of that!

pug, it's not really that i'm worried they'll force me to pay, it's just that i did offer! (see earlier posts for my exact phrasing.) i don't want to be cheeky since i did request that he put the insurance on, but as you say it's to cover the seller, not me. if he comes back and asks me to repay it, i think i will do so. if i hadn't said anything in the first place there wouldn't be an issue at all. doh!

anyway, i think this thread can be closed now. i am happy with the way things have turned out. thanks to everyone who posted with advice