Beemermark
Veteran
There was a recent thread about beware Chinese buyers on eBay. The seller has sold a lens or camera and ended up with a negotiated amount of money to "fix" the item sold. Evidently a scam. I posted that you should never, ever negotiate a money settlement you should always tell the seller to return the item.
Well today I learned something and I thought I'd post some tips I've learned over the years. (1) If the buyer says it's not as described then it's not as described. No argument buyer wins. Seller pays on shipping costs both ways. (2) If the buyer says it's defective, it's defective. No argument buyer wins. Seller pays on shipping costs both ways. (3) Seller has no protection except due diligence.
In 20 years I've had maybe a dozen bad deals. All buyers. Now I've learned that a lot of buyers once they figure out they can't actually get any cash back won't bother to return the item.
Tonight, even though I won't ship internationally and the as is marked such, a buyer in Europe bought my camera for $249 USD through buy it now. EBay automatically added $65.00 USD for shipping. You see the issue. Seller claims not as described or needs repair and I can give him maybe $100 or face $130 in shipping charges.
Buyer has excellent feedback, around 300 +. 24 in the last 6 months. Buyer has turned on a privacy feature so that I can't see what he bought in the last 6 months. I'm always interested to see if the buyer is someone buying camera gear or expensive stuff. But since eBay allows the buyer to hide this information you can't tell. But I can go look at who is leaving the feedback. My buyer buys from sellers who sell items for under $10.00, interesting.
So he (or she) is probably a very honest person that has decided to dive into rangefinder photography. But I'm not interest in wagering $130 to find out.
Well today I learned something and I thought I'd post some tips I've learned over the years. (1) If the buyer says it's not as described then it's not as described. No argument buyer wins. Seller pays on shipping costs both ways. (2) If the buyer says it's defective, it's defective. No argument buyer wins. Seller pays on shipping costs both ways. (3) Seller has no protection except due diligence.
In 20 years I've had maybe a dozen bad deals. All buyers. Now I've learned that a lot of buyers once they figure out they can't actually get any cash back won't bother to return the item.
Tonight, even though I won't ship internationally and the as is marked such, a buyer in Europe bought my camera for $249 USD through buy it now. EBay automatically added $65.00 USD for shipping. You see the issue. Seller claims not as described or needs repair and I can give him maybe $100 or face $130 in shipping charges.
Buyer has excellent feedback, around 300 +. 24 in the last 6 months. Buyer has turned on a privacy feature so that I can't see what he bought in the last 6 months. I'm always interested to see if the buyer is someone buying camera gear or expensive stuff. But since eBay allows the buyer to hide this information you can't tell. But I can go look at who is leaving the feedback. My buyer buys from sellers who sell items for under $10.00, interesting.
So he (or she) is probably a very honest person that has decided to dive into rangefinder photography. But I'm not interest in wagering $130 to find out.
