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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-21-2004
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 4:10 pm
So believe it or not, I have ANOTHER eBay problem. I'm chalking it up to a bad month of eBay - normally I never have problems and I've only had to make a claim like twice. I'm starting a new topic though because it's not a NWOT problem this time. I purchased a CIS system (continuous ink system) for my printer in January. It was preloaded with ink so I wouldn't have to bother with that. It came in the mail a few days later. There were air bubbles in the tubes so I emailed them that I was unable to install it because I was afraid of the air bubbles on the very same day it came. They took 3 days to reply and said "please follow instruction cd" and that was it. (it was very obvious they were asian and didn't speak English too well). So I go to the cd which was kinda confusing in my book and you guys see the updates I do and the game I'm maintaining - I don't consider myself a dummy where technology is concerned. It says to install and then run head cleanings til the air bubbles go. So I run like 4 or 5 and say this is not helping. . .so I email them that it's not printing right - the ink leaks and leaves splotches on the paper and there are still air bubbles. Also, the glue holding the plastic thing they have to hold the tubes that feed the ink into the cartridges has come loose so I have to keep pressing it down between print jobs to make sure the tubes don't get tangled. They don't reply. Meanwhile, one of the tubes pops out from the cartridge spraying black ink all over the place. The tell me, oh that's no problem a few days later - just use some gumwater to fix it. I reply with I don't know what gumwater is or where to get it, can you please send me some - better yet, can you please replace this unit as it is faulty. I also include pictures. They reply don't worry, we are sending out replacement parts and you don't have to use the gumwater if you don't have it. I email them a few more times over a couple of days expressing concern that sending me replacement parts is not what is needed and that I'd much rather they exchanged it or let me return it. They say no, just use the replacement parts - they finally address the air bubbles and say that this it's a "normal phenomenon". The parts come with no instructions on how to fix it. I email and they don't reply for a couple days. So I go to another site and figure it out and it works for like a day. During that time, I notice that the ink levels are going down really low - I've run like 2 maybe 3 more cleanings by this time and there is almost no ink left. I'm thinking this is ridiculous - these wells were full when I got it and they say that this is supposed to last LONGER than 3 or 4 cartridges lifetimes. So I email that concern that something is wrong because it's still blotchy and I feel that's why the ink levels are low. No reply. Then all of a sudden, the "replacement part" breaks in half and the tube flies off again - it also gets caught in the thing that holds the ink catridges in place and causes it to run off track. Basically it completly broke my printer. I inform them of the tragedy and there is still no reply. I wait a week and then filed a complaint on eBay and bought a remanufactored printer from Epson (I love this printer SOOO much). Still no reply and to make matters worse, the CIS system is sitting on an unfinished bookcase and notice that the magenta ink well has leaked all over a shelf. Finally, nearly 2 months after ending the auction, I left negative feedback saying "CIS system broke my printer, directions unclear - ink well leaked - POOR emails." They retaliated and left me a negative as well saying "Do not buy or sell to. A Crook and poor eBayer! No communications!!!". I was floored that they had the audacity to do that! Anyway, they replied that they sent me replacement parts and I replied to theirs "8 emails from me is no comm? funny how this is my 1st negative in 4 years..." I know that people are just going to have to look at that and figure it out for themselves, I'm not so much mad about the negative (even if it's my first) as I am about what happened next. They field for a mutually withdraw feedback rating. . .so it's very clear to me they only left me the neg. feedback to force me to withdraw my feedback. Here's the other thing. I first asked for a refund/return/exchange 13 days after the close of the auction and I filed my complaint at 28 days. They ignored it until the negative feedback and then they replied to the complaint saying send it back and we'll exchange it no problem even though you normally need to do that within 30 days of purchase. So I replied that I have 8 emails in which I requested a return/exchange/refund. I also stated, that after accussing me of being a crook, how can they believe I will trust them to proceed honestly? I left it that at this point in time the ONLY way I'd agree to an exchange is if they paid for shipping. Of course they refused so I took the claim further saying it wasn't as described. Now I'm waiting for the investigation to be done.... This afternoon, I did a little nosing using that great link Regee gave - toolhaus.org. I found that even though they have a 98% rating, they have like 200 negative/neutral/withdrawn feedback all bascially saying the same thing. It's just they sell ink cartridges and ink so much that those positive feedback cover up the bad ones. It doesn't really look like this guy has any positive feedbacks where this system comes into play - I wish I had known about that site before. I'm wondering is there somewhere I can go - eBay or otherwise - to complain about him or is this one of those buyer beware, you gotta do your research...
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, March 24, 2006 - 8:35 pm
I would pursue it with eBay.. this is the sort of high volume scammer who give the whole site a bad name with people. Unfair to so many good sellers and buyers.
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Sunrvrose
Member
08-13-2001
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 12:58 am
I was going to send you a Private Mail, but realized that the info could be helpful to others, so am posting here. <º> Here are my EBay rules. Tons of feedback, current and positive. I don't do business with anyone who has less than about 99.6%. And preferably 100%. If there are any negs, see what they are about and see how the seller responds. If the seller tried to cut someone else's throat, they will try to cut yours. See where the item is coming from. I try to choose the area closest to me. Carefully read the listing. If they cannot express themselves clearly in the listing, I don't buy. I have no problem with people who don't have english as their first language, but I don't buy from them if they can't be very clear about the listing. Always check shipping and handling. I make a lot of my buying decisions based on this. I'm just not going to pay $7.00 for anyone to send me a one ounce widget. AND ALWAYS....See if you can get the item locally for about the same price. (this example has nothing to do with your deal) A friend of mine wanted certain older glass/ceramic bowls. She bid, she won. Then the seller notifies her that shipping will be something like 30 dollars. Being a noob, she just cancelled her bid. But she found the same bowl set at a local thrift store for about 10 bucks for the set.
Please do not solicit or post eBay member names. Thanks! Mod <º>
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-21-2004
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 7:30 am
Well I have filed a claim saying that the item was not as described and I took tons of pictures but there was no place for me to send them on eBay. Plus it felt like this claim was more so I could get back the money and honestly, it's not so much the money for me as the fact that he's scamming <º>. I did go with this guy compared to a couple others because of the feedback but I just didn't dig deep enough. That website Regge gave is awesome!
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 9:59 am
Well this sounds like a fairly typical eBay situation. Post a genuine negative feedback and then get hit with a bogus one in retaliation. Not that it helps at this point but IMO those CIS things are a lot more trouble than they are worth when you take into account the time, effort, and risk involved. Unless you print very high volume.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-21-2004
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 12:30 pm
well I'm a printaholic and I do a lot of home publishing, that's why I thought I'd switch over cuz I buy new ink cartridges every week... yeah, it IS typical - I wanna know how we can stop it. It's not the first time I've been threatened and I've always been afraid of losing my 100% so I've always chickened out and either left neutral or nothing at all... ps sorry mods - I didn't even think!
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 12:35 pm
Believe me you have my sympathy! You do print a lot if you are buying new cartridges every week. I know there are some CIS that work, but you need volume to make it worth while (and it sounds like you have it!).
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Merrysea
Member
08-13-2004
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 12:45 pm
Grace, have you thought about switching to a laser printer? Toner cartridges last much longer than ink!
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 1:04 pm
this is the folder for ebay advice. I've always been a buyer, and would like to now become a "seller" but don't know the first thing about it. Could someone help me to get started and walk me through some of the in's and out's? I would surely appreciate it.
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 1:22 pm
ready to take notes re: Landi's question/answer
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 1:30 pm
It's a little "safer" being a seller as you get the money first then you send the item out. Always ask for feedback as soon as the item is received. It is important to have a 100% (or very close to that) feedback number. Make sure you have the option for "ask the seller a question" and always answers those really quickly. Paypal is a very convenient form of paying that many buyers prefer... That's what comes to mind first of all. Also, when listing something, think of all the possible keywords (and spellings) that people might use when looking for your item.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 1:31 pm
You also might want to set up that automatic shipping calculator thing. Don't overcharge for shipping as buyers can get ticked off at that.
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Dipo
Member
04-23-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 1:32 pm
HAs anyone used the I-soldit.com people for their ebay sales? I am thinking of taking a bunch of stuff to them so I can just be done with it. Didn't even think about the feedback stuff, I wonder how I find out if they have a good record.
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Tabbyking
Member
03-11-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 1:42 pm
grace, the minute i looked at what you bid on(and i always do see what the item was when i see a negative) the negative would not bother me a bit about dealing with you, since you were the buyer. i have heard over and over that the biggest sales fraud anywhere is printer ink. some people don't have the product at all, many have faulty equipment (that's why they have it to begin with), and more people lose money over ink sales than any other online product. i would just be sorry that you didn't know not to buy ink online! i'd still deal with you..... and, i'd bring a date! 
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Crzndeb
Member
07-26-2004
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 1:48 pm
Sometimes people get ticked off at shipping charges, but I think that some buyers forget there are materials involved to pack up the item, the actual packing time, the driving to the post office (not to mention gas prices), the waiting at the post office. I think some buyers forget that some sellers do this as their job and should be paid accordingly for time spent. Maybe some sellers include all that in the calculator, if they're not, they're working for free.
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Tabbyking
Member
03-11-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 2:03 pm
landi, take good pictures. describe the items in detail, including any 'less than perfect' things, such as small scratch on edge of frame, or small hole in lining of coat. photograph that area, too, if there is something noted. do not charge a bundle for shipping. state that buyer will pay actual charges for shipping via ups, fed-ex or usps from your zip to theirs. only include packaging costs if you have a large or breakable item that needs extra bubble wrap, etc. and make that additional cost clear in your description. sometimes key words will grab a larger group, even if they aren't the item itself. for example, when i sold some 40's bakelite costume jewelry of my dh's late aunt, i mentioned the ones that were gifts from her longshoreman husband, who had worked in the san fran bay area. well, someone whose dad had worked as a longshoreman ended up buying some of the stuff for his wife and he had only seen it because he had typed in longshoreman when he was looking for items. i plan to sell again once we are settled up north. i would guess in the fall. my ebay name is banos. i have excellent feedback but i haven't done anything for a while. ran out of stuff to sell and i have been too busy! at least i am moving near enough to a large town to go to thrift stores and garage sales, pawn shops, etc., to start selling again. i have sold 3 original fabric cabbage patch kids, a 'remember the maine' candy dish (over 176 dollars, and i bought it for 5 or 10 a few years earlier), kids 'gently worn' clothes, that were freshly laundered, wrapped in tissue paper (the little girl's outfits i included a little pair of colored, lace-edged socks with. i went to k-mart and bought 6 pair for maybe $4 and i included a pair with each little dress, jumper or short set i sold of my dd's). i sold a pair of nike shoes of my ds' for 45 dollars. he had paid over 100 dollars and worn them maybe a month before his feet grew. at a garage sale, i would have been lucky to get $5...i made $935 one month just on kids' clothing. i need to find more 'unusual' items. ebay is so huge now, that even signed baseball items i have might only go for a few dollars! if you have a signed card, guess what? there are a dozen more just like it out there! our largest sell was a go-kart which the man drove up from los angeles the next morning to pay for and pick up for his son's bd. my best find on ebay was a limited edition howard miller wall clock with chimes and a signed litho by thomas kinkade. some guy had been given it by kinkade for hosting a fundraiser golf tourney several years back. the guy had no idea who kinkade was, didn't even open the clock. i got it for 198 dollars and my husband met him at hewlitt packard the next morning to exchange cash for the clock. i have it above my fireplace and it's going to have a place of honor at my new house, too. i love it!!
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Tabbyking
Member
03-11-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 2:07 pm
Crzndeb, i figure if judge judy won't let you charge for time or missed work or gas prices, i can't either! LOL my dh took a day off work to take apart a tell city corner table, make a huge crate, deliver it to fed-ex in a town 45 miles from us, and it wasn't even our table; it was for an elderly woman i had listed it for. we did not charge the guy who bought it anything but the 46 dollars it cost us to ship it fed-ex... and guess what she gave us in return? drum roll, please! the next time i took her to bingo, she told me if she won on a certain paper, she would give me half the money. whoopeee! guess what half of 25 dollars was then (still is, come to think of it!) and she didn't even win LOL
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 2:47 pm
Crzn, actually, a seller should know how to work around shipping costs. You can obtain almost all shipping materials free from USPS, and you can have USPS pick up your packages at no charge. Since most all eBayers ship Priority Mail, I really get tweaked when I have to pay additional costs. The costs of packing materials are miniscule, too, in the long run. So adding $2.00 (or more!) to a $4.00 shipping charge just doesn't cut it. If the seller needs to recoup expenses or time, then the starting bid should reflect that. Making money off of shipping charges is b-s. (It is shipping I am paying, not shipping and handling.) Landi, I don't know what you intend to sell but accurate descriptions and good pics are very important. If you are selling clothing, be sure to include the measurements, not just the size. There are far too many sellers who don't include the sizing, and oftimes I just won't bother to bid on an item if the seller cannot bother to include enough information for me to make an informed decision. And as Tabby said, be specific. If you are selling vintage glassware, be specific if there are scratches or chips. If you are selling jewelry, be specific if a stone is missing or the item is tarnished. If there is a known value of the item, include it. For example, if it (really is!) new without tags, include that information and then include the price that was on the tag. If you plan to sell in large volume, be sure to set up before you begin. Go to usps.com and order priority mail shipping supplies. Set up an account with USPS.com so you can print click 'n ship labels with postage. Purchase any additional shipping tape (USPS provides priority mail tape in rolls) and bubblewrap or styro peanuts, if necessary. And if you are not selling something that you made (you're doing resale), be sure that you have boxes that can accomodate all different sized objects. For your buyer, offer insurance as an add-on (do not require it unless the value of the item is high... I resent having to pay $1.30 insurance for a $5.00 auction item). Treat your customers with respect. I will buy from the same sellers over and over again, if I think they are honest, if they treat me respectfully, and if I just generally like 'em! Repeat feedback doesn't count towards your feedback score, but it does show up as total numbers (feedback scores include feedback from unique, not repeat, folks). Look into auction companies that can help you manage the auction. Be sure to set up a PayPal account for payments. Decide if you want to also accept checks (with a 10-day hold) or money orders, too. And respond to any customer questions and the end of the auction immediately. Like, within 8 hours, if you can. Let the seller know when you've shipped the item. If you go the PayPal route, they also offer a shipping service of some sort.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 3:20 pm
I totally agree with Costa about the shipping. The buyer does not care about the seller's time and should not have to pay for it. You can "pad" the shipping a tiny bit, bit people get aggravated if shipping is high. A lot of people even offer free shipping, they just need to make sure the bidding starts off high enough. That is a much better way than charging too much for shipping.
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Grannyg
Member
05-28-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 3:33 pm
These folks are right about the shipping charges. I look at the item and the feedback and the next think I look at is shipping charges. If they are high, I just keep looking cause somebody somewhere is gonna have almost the same thing with reasonable shipping. I hate those high shipping charges. Make the item a little higher on the starting bid to cover your expenses if you need to but don't stick it on shipping. The same thing goes for handling. I always take that into consideration in how much I'm willing to pay for an item.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-03-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 3:46 pm
Yes, yes, yes. Couldn't agree more about the shipping! I always check the shipping and I rarely buy from those who use the "automatic" calculator, because unless they're living next door, the shipping is always sky high. The seller is supposed to be making money on the item, not on the shipping. I would add that I now only buy clothes/fabric like items from ones that specifically say "smoke free home". After buying a Halloween costume that reeked like it had formerly lived in a saloon, I learned that lesson the hard way. I'm also interested in any experience with those 3rd party sellers. I've been meaning to call them and see if they will take a collection of small things to sell. I have some Tasha Tudor prints but I just don't seem to have the time to sell these days.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:03 pm
Yeah smoke free is a must. I got the kids these novelty pillows and they were full of smoke, had to quickly toss them in the washing machine.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-03-2002
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:26 pm
I wish a washing machine was all it took the get the odor out of that Halloween costume! I washed it probably 3 times trying vinegar and borax and oxy clean, etc. I finally put it in a trash bag with newspaper for a week. Then put it in a trash bag with baking soda for another week. Then washed it 3 more times. It was a lion and the fur was starting to come off by the time I was done with it, but it didn't stink any more. I've also bought used books that stunk of smoke, but slipping some newspaper in between a few pages and letting them sit a few days did the trick.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:57 pm
Shipping CAN include any bubble wrap -- that is part of the packaging and it certainly ain't free! To list an item, ebay makes it very simple and walks you through it. Just be sure to check each item for extra fees before you click on it. The other thing I've done recently is to set the auction up to prevent people from bidding who have a -1 rating or lower or who have unpaid bids against them. You can set that when you get to the "Payment and Shipping" step. If you go all the way to the bottom of that page, choose "edit preferences" you can set it up to prevent known deadbeats from bidding on your items. Good luck! 
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Eeyoreslament
Member
07-20-2003
| Monday, March 27, 2006 - 7:23 pm
If I were a seller, I'd rather list a low price, and a bit higher shipping (still keeping within the going rate total). All people look at the price, not all people look at the shipping.
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