The ebay rant.

[Terry]

I just had 50+ N scale listings end. 15 ended without bids - 6 listings had no views at all.

I used to do a n scale group of listings like this weekly. - 6-10 ocos and the rest are cars all starting at $4  or less. Usually everything sells, or maybe a car doesn't.

All the locos sold. The gently used and RUNNING locos went for normal prices, the broken sold for repair locos brought lower than usual prices. 

To not sell 15 of the cars is insane. The cars were basically ignored. The cars that sold had 4-8 views and few had more than one bid.

The last time I ran N scale was in July and I did well. Nothing seemed weird.

This time I figure I'm out $150-200 in profits because the bidders didn't show up.

I've been playing with my trains and doing other things and it's been hard getting back into listing two sets of auctions a week. With results like this I can see more time for the 00 layout in my future.

[Terry]

This year I did about 3000 ebay sales. This Georgia scammer was the only complaint I had from a scammer. If ebay did more to block these people, they could stop this.

I had an ebay shopper ask me if a Lionel B unit could be motorized. I said NO. He bought it anyway.

As soon as he got it he complained that it "rattled when shaken."

Just OPEN ITEM! THE LOCOMOTIVE HAVE PARTS RATTLING INSIDE! IT'S STILL IN PLASTIC BAG. IAM GETTING TIRED OF RECEIVING DAMAGED ITEMS FROM THESE EBAY SELLERS! DON'T HAVE THESE ISSUES WITH AMAZON! NOW I HAVE TO USE MY TIME/GAS TO SHIP THE ITEM BACK! VERY DISSATISFIED WITH SELLER PUSHING OFF DEFECTIVE ITEMS! THEIR ARE BE SHIPPINED BAD AND THE SELLER'S KNOW IT! YOURS TRULY Ben Tripp Covington GA 🤬

I told him to take the top off and send me a picture of what was rattling. (Two screws hold the top on - and there is NOTHING inside the unit.)

What do you mean! The UNIT HAS SOMETHING IN THE INSIDE THAT'S IS DISCONNECTED/DAMAGED. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SEND YOU A PICTURE OF SEALED LOCOMOTIVE LOSS PARTS? BOTTOM LINE I DON'T WANT THE ITEM! IT WAS SHIPPED DAMAGED/OR IN SHIPPING! EBAY HAS A PICTURE OF THE LOCOMOTIVE. IT FRESH OUT OF THE BOX. RATTLING INSIDE THE LOCOMOTIVE YOURS TRULY BZ60-18

I replied:

There is nothing inside it. Maybe a light bulb came loose or one of the side windows? You can easily put either back together. YOU ASKED ME IF THIS COULD BE MOTORIZED. I TOLD YOU NO. YOU BOUGHT IT ANYWAY AND NOW COMPLAIN THAT SOMETHING IS RATTLING SO YOU HAVE AN EXCUSE TO RETURN IT AT MY EXPENSE. SHOW ME THE DAMAGE OR KEEP IT. NOTE: YOU HAVE SENT ME TWO MESSAGES WITH NO CLAIMS OF EXTERIOR DAMAGE. DO NOT BREAK IT NOW SO YOU CAN RETURN IT.

Then I looked at his feedback and sent the following messages so eBay would see them:

    You have feedback from other sellers saying you claimed items were defective and they were not. "Train not defective. Was returned and fully refunded. Taken to Train Store where it was tested (again, as it was before it was listed) and it ran perfectly. Buyer did not know how to operate it properly." HMMM. IS THIS A PATTERN? I bet it is.

A few minutes later again so ebay would see it:

In three years you've filed HOW MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT ITEMS BEING DAMAGED IN THE MAIL? Of 75 feedbacks you left in 3 years you have made at least 5 claims of damaged items. THAT'S A PATTERN OF ABUSE.

He replied with:

You Got that Right! I don't buy Freaking Junk! IF I GO TO A LOCOMOTIVE RETAILERS AND I SEE AND FEEL SOMETHING LOSE/ RATTLING IAM NOT BUYING IT! YOU NEED TO WORRY BUDDY I WANT BE BUYING FROM YOU AGAIN! JUST LIKE SOME OF THE OTHER SELLER PUSHING OFF USED JUNK! WHICH SUFFERED THE SAME (FAITH)! I HAVE BOUGHT FROM DIFFERENT SELLER'S NO PROBLEM! WITH GOOD LOCOMOTIVE! WHY WOULD I LIE ABOUT $100 USED ENGINE, WHEN I HAVE PURCHASED LOCOMOTIVE COSTING 10×. THIS, GET REAL! YOURS TRULY BZ60-18 🤬

My reply:

The shell of that is held on by two screws - one on each end inside the door frame. Why would you refuse to open the item up and see what is rattling unless you were fabricating an excuse to return the train? YOU HAVE OPENED AT LEAST FIVE COMPLAINTS IN THE PAST 3 YEARS. THIS IS A HISTORY OF ABUSE. Shame on you.

He came back with more tirad:

    I DON'T WANT IT! YOU SAID I TAMPERED WITH THE LOCOMOTIVE! WHICH IS A FLAT OUT LIE! OUT OF 3YRS I ONLY RETURN 5. JUNK ITEMS BACK TO SELLER'S! WHAT THAT SAY ABOUT YOU/ITEM! SEEMS LIKE I GOT A GOOD REP/BUYING RECORD. (GOLDEN RULE) THE CUSTOMERS IS ALWAYS RIGHT! YOU WILL STAY IN BUSINESS! HAVE A GOOD EVENING. YOURS TRULY Ben Tripp Covington GA

At this point I've had enough:

YOU HAVE SPENT MORE TIME WHINING AND COMPLAINING THAN IT WOULD TAKE TO OPEN THE TRAIN AND SEE WHAT IS LOOSE. This means you're a scammer because someone who wanted it would have checked it. BASED ON YOUR FEEDBACK LEFT, YOU HAVE FILED AT LEAST FIVE COMPLAINTS ABOUT DAMAGED ITEMS IN THE PAST 75 TRANSACTIONS. THOSE SELLERS SAY YOU WERE LYING. THAT SHOUTS SCAMMER TO ME.

As an aside, while this was going on, I had another buyer who got an AF operating log car where a truck sideframe had come apart in the mail. I sent the AF buyer messages and using photos of parts on hand was able to instruct him on putting the car back together.  This is how a normal person reacts when there is a problem.  Very different from how Scammer Ben reacted to a "rattling B unit."

He's back again:

The OTHER SELLER SOLD JUNK. SO I RETURN THE JUNK BACK TO THE RIGHT PLACE THE SELLER! 2 TO 3 LOCOMOTIVE BACK SELLER'S WHICH IS LESS THAN 5 OUT OF 3YRS. BE A RESPONSIBLE SELLER AND REFUND ME ! I GETTING MY REFUND! I HOPE YOUR SELLER PERMIT IS REVOKED! I DONE BEFORE I GO INTO MILITARY MODE! HAVE A GOOD BUSINESS CHRISTMAS 👍🙂 YOURS TRULY BEN TRIPP HA HA.

All that went down on December 15th. On December 21st Ben Tripp escalated the case to eBay and THREE MINUTES LATER eBay found in his favor and gave him a return label at my expense.

Latehr that day Ben complained to eBay that he wasn't able to use the label ebay had given him. So ebay to0ld me I had to furnish a label by December 25th or they'd give Mr. Tripp his money back and let him keep the train.

I called eBay and the support woman talked me through buying a label on the USPS website and then messaging it to Mr. Tripp.

The next day he was back again complaining he couldn't use the label. Ebay sent me the same message as before, but moved the date to the 26th. I called and uploaded the label again. The ebay support woman told me she'd marked the label as provided.

The Georgia scammer then sent me a message through ebay whining again. I think he couldn't use the label because he only has a cell phone and no printer.

This morning eBay gave Mr. Ben Tripp his money back and told him he could keep the train. I got a message:

Hi Terry,

We reviewed this case and decided to issue the buyer a full refund.

You agreed to give the buyer a refund but didn't issue it.

A refund of US $96.00 was issued on Dec 27, 2022 to the buyer. The refund includes the purchase price plus original shipping.

The refund amount will be recovered from you by eBay.

I called them on the phone and the  rep in Texas - morning calls go to Texas, said I had done everything right and the second woman had failed to mark the label as given to the buyer.  He put me on hold and took care of it. I got the money. I also went to the USPS website and cancelled the label I'd bought there. Ebay removed the feedback he'd left for me, but as of this writing haven't removed the feedback I left for him.

Ben Tripp got the B unit and his money back.

Shameful behaviour.

[starfire700]

Thanks for posting the rant. We have added BZ60-18 to our blocked bidder list.

[early0electric]

Tried to do the same but got:

Input Error
The following users were not added to your blocked buyers list:
BZ60-18: Invalid User or User not found.

[Terry]

He's still on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/bz60-18

Notice the feedback I left for him is still there, but ebay removed the feedback he left for me.

[early0electric]

bz60-18 not BZ60-18

[Terry]

ebays search engine shouldn't see capital letters as different from lower case.  Must be all those journalists and coal miners that are learning how to code.

Here's something neat I couldn't pass up:

 

 

Just gorgeous, and the ebay seller - (a woman) included a note in the box saying her family had enjoyed this on their mantle for decades, and  she hoped I enjoy it as much.

I will!

[starfire700]

Can't tell from photo, is it Converse floor toy or Lionel 2-7/8"? Either way a nice piece.

[starfire700]

We got an error message the first time we tried to block BZ60-18, but it went through on the second attempt. Ebay system throws a lot of error messages lately. Overloaded system, inexperienced employees pushing the buttons, AI Bots that are confused, who knows the reason???

[Terry]

Ebay has been slow lately for me too. Searches never load, and labels are slow.

That's just a Converse floor toy. No windup motor. It's missing one sign, but otherwise complete and just gorgeous. It's got a place up above the door for now.

[CNJRR]

I know of a lot of e bay sellers who are dissatisfied with e bay's buyer policy. And the way they side with buyers and scammers like BZ60-18.
They have either stopped selling or are looking for other ways to sell.
If a lot of sellers stop selling e bay will suffer.
S-ucks you (and others) have to go thru that.

[starfire700]

Ebay cares more about their stock holders and large Corp sellers, many of whom are in China. They no longer give a rat's ass about the small sellers that got them off the ground and built them into the large platform that they are today.

[Terry]

I feel that having people knowledgeable about the items in each category as monitors would go a long way to curing problems, but they don't even need that.

Years ago I realized that the people causing problems on ebay are repeaters. I've seen ebay accounts who leave 60 and 70 percent negative feedback.

The ebay phone people told me Ben Tripp was flagged.  This is the guy who couldn't print a label from last week.

If they cleared them out many of the problems would go away.

Here's a new one -- I just banned a guy who was bidding on my items on Saturday, then cancelling his bids on Sunday. Then he'd bid again on Monday just to cancel again on Tuesday. (He's bidding on cheap layout details. People sets, automobiles and such.) This is the 3rd week in a row. I woke up today to 3 messages from eBay about cancelled bids and said enough.

Is it a game? Is he afraid that he might win and have to send me $30 for his purchases and money's tight for him? I don't know, but it's aggravating to me so he's gone. 

[starfire700]

Ebay does need to crack down on buyers with too many bid cancellations and returns. I am not sure if it is a game for them, or the influence of the "walmart" buying policy, where you can change your mind and return anything for any reason or for no reason. Initially bidding on ebay was a commitment, and buyers were expected to respect that, but as we know that ship has sailed. Its all about the buyers and they will not do much to discipline them. I think some bidders bid on several items of interest, think about it then cancel all but the one they think is the best choice. Like Walmart shopping, putting expensive stuff in your cart, then putting the steaks or other perishables back on the cereal shelf before going to the check-out. Who has not seen this? I had a Hudson for sale last year. It received bids right away and more bids that bid it up to a very acceptable price. Just before the auction ended, the high bidder messaged, "cancel my bids". It went back to and sold for the start price. I wonder if Mr cancellation was acting for the initial bidder, getting the price to a ceiling that no one would push, so the initial bidder would get it cheap when he dropped out?  Maybe he bluffs at poker too, seems like the same thing. 

[Terry]

I never cancel bids. I don't cancel orders either. When a buyer asks for the order to be cancelled minutes after the auction ends I add $500 to the shipping price. This keeps them from paying, and then keeps them from leaving feedback later. Because they got an unpaid item strike, they can't bid on my items again.

I sold a 700E last year. The buyer got the loco and complained because I hadn't mentioned the missing chunk. I messaged back asking what he meant and he sent me a picture of a broken cab. All I could see was the last three inches of the loco from the top. No way to tell if it was the loco I shipped. It could have been a 763 or even a 773.

I sent the buyer a message saying he had to send me a picture of the entire loco, and include pictures of the missing chunk. I never heard from him again.