Good old flea bay!

[AddictedToScopex]

I think it is a joke at times when you see some sellers with over 2000 negs. Just how many does it take before they shut you down? I filed a formal complaint about a company after they sold me 25 'mepps' lures that turned out to nothing more than cheap crap. They even used a picture showing 25 actual mepps spinners and claimed in the listing that they were legit spinners. I went ballistic when they arrived and were the cheapest nastiest things with no name on the packaging. I lost my postage costs as I had to post them back. How is it fair for me to lose out when they blatantly lied from the start. Needless to say the first thing I did was get my refund followed swiftly by leaving negative feedback. I then got in touch with ebay and sent them a screen shot of the listing before the seller could change it and said I wanted it investigating as they had at least 100 negatives for the same thing.

 

This seller is still trading and has descriptions such as the one on this listing which clearly state that the listing is for '12 long spinners MEPPS'!!!!!!!! They arent f'in mepps!!!!

 

Mepps my arse

 

How are they still allowed to do this? It is clear from the photo that they arent but still if someone is in a rush or doesnt notice and buys them without looking properly then they lose their postage costs. They clearly know what they are doing. If you ask me ebay is far too soft and it leads to situations like this.

[Dick Dastardly]

Ian I totally agree that no matter if buyer or seller a wrong un needs dealing with.Its just that Ebay dont seem to bother with either! as indeed ATS's example shows.

 

Yes we all know the possible pit falls and do have a choice (as others have pointed out) but that surely doesn't mean we have lost the right to expect a company that is charging for a service (be it through listings,final value fees or the Paypal and lets not kid ourselves they ain't the same! fees) to ensure (as best they can) fair play?

[Dave H]

There are laws such as the sales and goods act and the trades description act that in many cases can be applied to transactions and this can be applied in a ‘pick up’ unless it’s says ‘Sold as seen’. The reason being as it is a contact that can be visibly seen by both parties. I could bang on about so many consumer rights that 99.9% of the population no nothing about which stands in their favour.

As an example...did you know that if you return an item and you are asked for a receipt and you say you have not got one they are not legally allowed to turn you away as no proof of purchase? They the retailer has to find proof that you bought the item from them and if they can’t through their system they are legally bound to give you your money back. A receipt is not a legally bound contract Paid on a card is usually easily found on the system but cash then that is a nightmare and rarely found. Companies now in general keep till receipts for 6 years and obvious on the system 6 too. However it is widely accepted that if it has no receipt then people will not return (they may have lost it or whatever) and it’s regarded as fair by both parties but it is not the Law. And believe me I have purchased and returned goods that many would not even think of returning because it stands to reason they can’t...

Some of the thieving laws you would believe totally stacked in the thief’s favour

Another example. I purchased a £300 pair of new motorbike gloves once for £20 it was not intentionally done but the guy acted with real attitude so I went ahead with my rights. I was totally in my rights to do so. If the manager of the shop had known what rights he had as a retailer he too legally could have rejected it from a seller’s viewpoint but he did not know the law and so lost out. Clothes shops especially places like Primark I could kit my whole street out and it would cost them a quarter of what they would pay for them by just knowing the law but it would be a very sneaky thing to do and not right and lose many employees jobs but I would be legal to do it.

Now applying these Laws to e-bay I am not sure where you stand as a third party is involved. As I said E-bay is a legal minefield. In fact retail is such a massive grey area and the biggest grey area of all the rest of the industries put together it really is.

[Tigger]

I've bought quite a few things off fleebay which where described "as new unused, mint condition" and upon opening the parcel the item has been well used or has damage which was obviously done before it was posted. Then the seller says it must have been done in the post. I simply post it back to them (must be registerd and signed for) and get a refund....simples. I know it's annoying but I have to be honest and say that Paypal & ebay don't mess about and after the alloted time they have to give to be fair they've always refunded me straight awa. It is a pain that under those type of circumstances (item damaged or not as described) that you have to pay the return post.

 

All in all I think ebay is great and without it I wouldn't have some prized posessions and some of them at a great price .

[AddictedToScopex]

I agree that ebay is very good at times but it is the postage cost issue that always gets me. If a company admits to sending an incorrect item or it is damaged etc then they should refund all costs incurred by the buyer. There shouldnt be a penalty to the buyer for a companys mistakes.

[Dick Dastardly]

And as mentioned Ebay is now often the best source for some things.

[Newt]

Feedback too is a bit of a farce as many members are in fear of giving Negative feedback even though they are 100% in the right because the seller who is 100% wrong will give them negative feedback just out of spite and/or to defend their product so it gives a mind set to others as maybe they were not at fault?

 

Since its been over two years since the feedback rule change that only allows sellers to leave positive feedback or no feedback, I think you are a little out of date with this moan.

[Emma two]

I ebay lots, both buying and selling, I love it and have had some great bargains. Sub Urban living in a national park has it's advantages, shopping for a wide variety of items isn't one of them. And anyway I'm not fit enough to walk around shops.

 

I have had very few bad experiences on it, one which springs to mind as a buyer, was a couple of years ago I sent off for a buy it now lure rod and reel 'combo', what arrived was a bit of a joke, a big sea boat multiplier and a cheap freshwater lure rod, nothing at all like the items listed and which I thought I had bought. It was a dealer and I rang them up straight away to complaint, I sent the items back and that where I made the second big mistake, by failing to register the parcel to be signed for. Over the next few weeks and lots of emails I realised that I had been the victim of a scam. They pointedly denied having recieved the returned items. I should have read their feedbacks before buying. I even contacted some other buyers who had been conned in a similar way. The 'firm' sends out deliberately wrong items and relies upon a percentage of buyers sending them back without registering the post, they keep the buyers money and get the items back to resell. I got advice from my local trading standards office and the bottom line was that I had lost my money, however I could make a court case of it, I would have to pay a nominal fee and I would almost certainly lose the case, however, the other party would be summoned to MY local court in Cumbria and they would have to travel up from the West Midlands for the day which would cost them time and money so I would at least get some satisfaction. I went for it, and the seller offered recompensation rather than come all the way up here , to face court and so far as they knew another type of hostile reception.

 

The whole episode took a few weeks and so by the end of it time to leave feedback had ran out, so I didn't get the chance to leave them a negative.

 

The moral is, ALWAYS send returned goods by registered post.

 

And look closely at feedbacks here

 

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ms=negative_180

 

 

A couple of years ago I bought a hen house, it is very good, still in use still looking almost like new, just been through it's 3rd winter and is dry as a bone inside. I though 'these are good, get another'...the second one was rubbish, its still up and housing half a dozen hens because we have almost totally rebuilt it. I only realised what rubbish it was as we assembled it, we would have had to pay to send it back, too big for the PO we would have had to get a carrier, and as a one off not on a contract it would have been expensive. I think some 'business' seller know this and use it to their advantage (scam).

 

I am a good seller, I know that I am, I treat those who buy from me as I would be treated. Buyers can be a bit of a pain at times too. Yesterday I was asked by someone to cancell a transaction because they had 'forgotten' about buying from me too. The sale was only £2.45 for some fly dressing feathers, a bit pathetic for less than the price of a decent cup of coffee! I wouldn't have the cheek to try and wriggle out of a deal for that price.

 

Overall though EBay has been good provided a bit of money, and lots of bargains, item which I would not have found in local shops.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Emma two

[poledark]

There are some good sellers on ebay, I have just bought a couple of old sea reels (for parts) and the seller only made 45pence after postage. Still got them quick

 

Den

[PeterNE1]

I wonder how many more times we'll see threads like this? Surely everyone in the civilised world has by now realised that there ARE ups AND downs to ebay - and very definitely bargains to be had along the way.

BUT it IS a site flawed by many problems.

Unfortunately the only way I can realistically see ebay doing anything about it is if / when a realistic competitor emerges: until then they have a captive market, virtually a monopoly, so why bother fixing anything? - particularly as THEIR profits are pretty spectacular, regardless!

Edited February 22, 2012 by PeterNE1