The six golden rules of ebay discussion area

verynewmoneysaver

soolin wrote:

If you don't pay then the seller will probably start the NPB process against you and ebay will put a strike on your account. The seller will also probably leave you negative feedback to warn other sellers that you are a non paying bidder.

Soo

What is the NPB process

soolin

verynewmoneysaver wrote:

What is the NPB process

NPB stands for non paying bidder. Ebay have a process that sellers can use to reclaim their final value fees on the sale and put a strike/warning on a buyers account. After 7 days the seller can start the NPB process and if you don't pay within another week the process will be closed with a strike on your account and a credit on the sellers account.

However, that still leaves the seller out of pocket on his listing fees. If you really want to get out of this without a negative you might try offering the seller a sum of money to cover their expenses, a few dollars should do it.

One thing to consider though both if you decide to pay or if you decide to offer the seller money to cover his fees, is how are you going to pay? What were the payment terms on the original auction and are you happy you can meet them?

Soo

tujags

One thing to remember that consumer laws are different in foreign countries. I bought a Bulova Watch from a large online store in California. First problem they would not accept Paypal for international sales only Western Union I was suspicious but Ebay confirmed they were legit. I asked them (the store) why it was because if an international purchaser reported to Paypal that they had a problem then Paypal immediately docked the money from the Sellers account whether the complaint was legit or not & getting their money was hard work. The watch arrived OK but after a short time I had a problem. The seller in USA is not liable (apparently) & referred me to the manufacturer for service, I contacted Bulova & the result was I had to return the watch to Bulova in New York. To date the watch has been back & forth across the Atlantic 6 times it has been repaired,replaced, & finally changed for a different model of the same value & this is running a bit fast so may have to go back again! Why did I buy a Bulova? I had an Accutron for 30+ years very reliable & wanted a replacement over the intervening years Bulova are no longer in the UK & all but their top range watches are of Asian origin badge engineered in USA.
So an interesting experience & maybe a warning about buying expensive(ish) items abroad but for all that no criticism of Ebay & in fairness Bulova's service department have always responded positively & paid for the shipping costs of my much travelled time piece.

verynewmoneysaver

I contacted the seller and she has said that she was also shocked at the postage, and will not hold me to the sale. The details of the sale are still up on Ebay with payment pending. How do I get them removed?

soolin

verynewmoneysaver wrote:

I contacted the seller and she has said that she was also shocked at the postage, and will not hold me to the sale. The details of the sale are still up on Ebay with payment pending. How do I get them removed?

You cannot remove the sale from the ebay records, as far as everyones ebay accounts will show the sale went ahead.

Whatever your seller has said you are both still able to leave feedback.

When browsing ebay auctions remember three things, firstly feedback. Read it as some positives can tell you quite interesting things. Secondly payment, can you pay using the sellers listed methods? I personally would not buy anything where paypal is not accepted, so if I don't see paypal I move onto another auction. Lastly, post and packing, if it isn't shown either ask seller what it will be , or walk away.

Never bid without knowing the final price.

Soo

verynewmoneysaver

Thank you Soolin. You have been very helpful.

megsykins

Thanks Martin for a good guide, particularly for people new to eBay.
I use eBay regularly - I find it cheapest for technical / computer things but will check kelkoo first and always take P&P into account.
I also back what someone else already said, which is check high st places and supermarkets such as Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons, Wilkos, Home Bargains, etc first - you'd be amazed what they have!
What annoys me is when people are blatantly ripping people off (not just a few %extra), for example, there are lots of fluffy heart-shaped fairy lights available on eBay - one seller has them on buy-it-now for £9.50 plus £4.50 p&p - I have these SAME lights and know they cost £4.99 from Morrisons, whoever buys these from eBay is being ripped off.

chickpea

I first started using Ebay just a few weeks ago. I bid for three items, all designer clothes/accessories. One item, which was really cheap, was a pretty obvious fake, but I wasn't that bothered because like I say, it was cheap. On the next item, the seller backtracked after I'd agreed to buy it because they thought they could get more for it. Then when I wouldn't agree to say the deal was 'mutually' broken (coz it wasn't) seller wanted ME to pay sellers fees. And sent a load of abusive emails to that effect (for something like £4.) The next item I 'won', I paid for immediately and waited for it to arrive. Which it didn't..THEN I realised buyer was no longer registered. then ebay emailed me to say the item was fake and not to proceed with purchase...too late. So I tried to contact seller - no reply. I had to complain via paypal, then wait a week in the first instance, then even once it was decided in my favour, I have to wait a further week until paypal attempts to get money from seller. BORING! And I still don't know whether I'll get my cash back! No, I'll stick to regular shopping in future. It's much simpler getting a refund from M&S. And they have some GREAT accessories at the minute..!

Not sure where this posting will appear, sorry if it's the wrong place!

Voyager2002

darbooka wrote:

Regarding some of the rants concerning postage, of course there's a limit to what can be considered reasonable; however, as long as the postage price and means of delivery is clearly specified up front there's no real basis for any bidder to be infuriated.

Well said. An additional consideration is that ebay receives a percentage of the selling price, but not of the p and p fee. As a buyer, I always consider the total cost to me (price plus p & p) and decide whether or not I am happy paying that total for the item in question.

An additional complication is that some sellers state that if the item is defective they will refund the sale price, but not the p & p. I take this as a 'red flag' and am very cautious about such sellers

Voyager2002

natanddan1 wrote:

another way of getting more buyers to see your listing is to title your listing with certain words.

eg. (if selling a mobile phone, Nokia 6310i) you could list it as -

Nokia 6310i (not samsung, sony ericsson, lg)

This way your listing will appear in all auctions with the above names in it!
You will be amazed at how many hits this generates on your listing

As a buyer I find this practice a real pain! If for some reason I want something by Samsung (say) then seeing such a listing is a real waste of time.

I refuse to buy from sellers who do this, and I know that many other ebay buyers do the same.