Yep, have the same thought every time I'm stupid enough to bother. The only time I ever made any useful money was selling my Wii and that was only because it was worth a fair chunk and they paid in cash.
Despite being huge eBay is a long way from what it set out to be and, as you say, definitely not a place for casual buyers and sellers.
Honestly, I haven't had any issues.
Out of all the things I've sold, I may have had a half dozen not sell, and I'd say it was more no one wanted them. I say that because I watch how things go with other sellers who have similar items. When I checked on the other sellers, their items weren't selling either, and many had listed their item for less than mine.
I've also found your selling tends to be affected by your seller rating. The higher your rating, the more likely people will be to buy your item for a bit more. They'd rather do that than risk a bad sale with someone who has a lower rating, and sometimes even a lower price than yours. I understand the logic. I do it myself sometimes. Pay a bit more to deal with a better seller. :)
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That's as bad as paying import duty of the value of the good including postage. IMO, postage should be exempt.
I guess I assumed that was pretty much the same thing. I think I'd rather use Amazon anyway, not that I have yet.
Just sold my son's wood turning lathe on eBay - I had weighed it at 28kg and so asked £15 P&P
I miss-weighed it, when all packed and ready to go it weighed 37kg and so cost £18.95
My fault, so I decide to swallow the extra £3.95 (and the £5.40 in packaging)
it sold for £62, and he paid the £15 P&P so I 'grossed' £77
the post and packaging actually totalled £24.35 - so I'm already down to £52.05
but wait, eBay wants £6.20 'final value fee' - oh, and £1.50 FVF on P&P! - now I'm down to £44.35
and there's more, paypal gets a fee too - that's £2.82
so out the £77 total paid I got £41.53 (about 54%)
but it was picked up on time, shipped overnight, delivered next day and signed for at 2:04pm
the buyer even left me positive feedback for a quick delivery... all seemed well...
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today, 48 hours after delivery, the buyer has contacted me saying the box was severely damaged
several parts are missing and some of what is there is badly damaged,
the box was very wet and had a huge hole in it!
he wants to return it and have his money back!!! (all £77 that he paid!)
oh, and eBay says I should pay for the return as there are 'problems with the item'
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I actually think he is being genuine, there doesn't seem to be any previous issues showing in his feedback. If it was me, I would be wanting my £77 back too. I have asked him why he signed for such a badly damaged package, to keep all the packaging and take photos of the damaged parts. I have also started contact with the carrier to see what's gone on and suggest a claim against the insurance I paid extra for.
I suspect the answer I will get might be - "well, they signed for it, so it must have been ok on delivery"
fuck, fuck, fuck, I can easily see eBay making me refund him £77 and the carrier leaving me holding the bill :(
It is the carrier's problem, Jon - not yours. Tell the custmer to file a claim with the carrier. I am assuming you did not use a sledgehammer to load the merchandise and didn't load it from the bathtub.
eBay doesn't play that way, if anyone is able to make a claim from the carrier it will be me as I am the one who booked and paid them
[edit] oh, and the tracking info shows he signed for it as being in good condition ... numptyEDITED: 14 Mar 2015 23:36 by JONCOOPER