Give newbies a break?

soolin

I have absolutely no objections to newbies buying my items, in a lot of cases they are so eager to do things properly that they pay quickly and leave wonderful feedback when they get their goods the next day.

Soo

Curry_Queen

Having had my previous account trashed by some rogue -ve feedbacks I decided to start over again and I was surprised at the discrimination and rudeness some people show to newbies. Obviously I wasn't a newbie to Ebay, having previously bought and sold a fair amount, but it opened my eyes to how often people would try to scam you thinking you were inexperienced :eek:

I always give newbies the benefit of doubt (we all had to start somewhere) and I often find a friendly email to follow up a bid reassures both parties that all is ok

somersetapple

Perhaps I was just lucky but I had no problem getting started on E-bay, either as a seller or a buyer. I bought a few things first and like Soolin said you really want to do it properly so you make sure you read everything before you bid and get the payment off as soon as poss, unlike some 'old hands' who skip over the details and end up wasting your time.
I'm only 'pottering about' with E-bay very smalltime so I don't know that much about it but I'm very grateful to those sellers who were happy to deal me when I was a 0/lowfeedback squirt!

Somersetapple

Hintza

As has been said we don't have a problem with newbies, we all were once.

But I think from experience when we see that 0 in the feedback column after a few hours and no contact our hearts sink.

Even a rating of 3-4 means someone has done things right and are interested in ebay and what it offers.

However the big zero can be anything:-

1. Kids larking around
2. Someone coming home from pub !!!!!!
3. Competitor taking your auction out
4. Nigerian scammer
etc etc

All newbies have to do is make contact and keep comms open with the seller and most will bend over backwards to help them out. Many struggle with PayPal registration that can take ages to sort out but at the end of the day good comms makes for happy sellers.

One other problem if a newbie isn't happy they have a tendency to hit the old negative button before exploring all other options....I was guilty of that as a newbie...:o

coupon_king_2

I have to agree with Hintza

Unfortunately 3 of my last 4 transactions have been won by people with 0 feedback .... not one of them paid , waited a week for payment , had to wait another week to get fees returned .... The annoying thing was I had a feeling all 3 were messing about but couldn`t offer under bidders the items on the slim chance payment would arrive. When I did eventually offer items to the 3 under bidders not one of them took them either

I finally relisted my items and 2 of them sold for £14 LESS than what I was offered first time round

So while not wanting to be unfair to new ebay members... I myself think its just not worth the hassle

Sofa_Sogood

Thanks people - I didn't begin this as a pop at people on here (because I obviously don't know who you are ) but as a pop in general.

It's all these auctions I see where people with less than 10 feedback etc are, imo, viewed as being 'suspect'. I can understand it to some extent, but like some of you have said, we have to start somewhere. And some people might not reach ten purchases in a year. Would they be classed as newbies?

lemming64? Sometimes if I make too many transactions in too short a time, the bank must block paypal lol, so if it's a payment by cheque, it can be a welcome relief And if it's worth buying, it's worth waiting for I think.

angelcake? I'm shocked lol.

soolin? I think you understand where I'm coming from Because I'm usually logged in all day I know if I've won an item straight away. So I hit that paypal button as soon as I can. That's what makes me think that maybe these non-paying newbies aren't newbies after all? It's just a thought.

Curry-Queen? You'll understand me too then lol. But who should start the communications? On my first purchase I did, but only to say I was new and unsure of the protocol (and paypal lol), but the seller was really helpful. I just get the feeling that scammers might not be as new as people think. But that's just the way I think. But I've bought a couple of things and there's been no communications whatsoever from the seller apart from feedback. Nothing! That's bewildering to me, not a word from them at all.

Thanks somersetapple for the reply. After my other half was nearly ripped off for a couple of hundred pounds I avoided eBay like the plague. It was only because of soolin and others that I thought I'd give it a whirl. Looking at the bank statement maybe I should have avoided it lol, but I read all the posts about it, took the advice given on here, like reading feedback etc and took the plunge. I'm glad I did, but happier still that I read all the posts on here first.

Hintza? That's what saddens me about eBay. Sellers being messed about. I know newbies do sometimes, but reading your post makes me think it might not all be newbies - again. How would they know how to scam? I wouldn't know even now. I have to agree about the help giving from buyers about paypal though. I got in a kerfuffle with it, but received great advice. And I was only spending a couple of quid, just to test the water etc, so I appreciated the time taken.

Reading coupon_king's reply made me think it might not be 'newbies' either. I obviously could be wrong, but as a newbie (that's just lost that shiny gold pawn thing ... yay lol), I'd never dream of not seeing a transaction through to fruition.

Thanks for the replies anyway. I'm off to find an auction with my name on it

Hintza

My best advice for newbies is to buy a few small things for a pound or so and build up a bit of feedback.

Nowdays its easy tobuy on here cheaper than in the shops.

One which I found the other week were energy saving bulbs, usually £3> in the shops and some great bargians on here.
Another one was Trolly Lolly 99p inc P+P lives on your key ring and when you go to a supermarket that still takes £1 coin...you don't get annoyed like I used to.
A few of those and your feedback will be 10 in no time.

Sofa_Sogood

I've got past 10 Hintza. I managed that in about 10 days :eek:



But it's good advice all the same. Thanks!