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I’m sorry, I didn’t read the description

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on June 25, 2019 by Cardboard Icons

About two hours ago I posted a card for sale on eBay. It’s a modern Prizm parallel of a big rookie. The asking price is lower than others, the card has flaws that are shown in pictures and are spoken of in the description .

To this point, I’ve already gotten three offers. Yet the card is still for sale.

Why?

BECAUSE PEOPLE DON’T READ DESCRIPTIONS!

This guy was the latest. He made an offer and instead of retracting his own offer, he wants me to do it.

No. If you’re going to be a dipshit, you can do it yourself. I told that I refused and told him to go figure it out himself– and to start reading descriptions before making offers.

As mentioned above, that was the latest. One buyer made an offer and retracted it within a few minutes before I could take action.

And another guy made an offer, which sat for 45 minutes before I accepted it. And when I did accept it, he immediately asked to cancel.

When asked why … he told me he entered the wrong about.

Damn liar.

EBay has become increasingly frustrating for many. And after taking a break from eBay selling due to issues about a month ago I returned today to new issues.

So. Damn. Frustrating.

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Here we go again … another non-paying buyer on the same item

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , , , on February 18, 2019 by Cardboard Icons

For the second time in about six weeks, I am dealing with yet another instance of a non-paying buyer. And to make matter worse, this is the same item in which the last potential buyer also backed out.

A little more than a week ago I got a push notification that one of my lots of cards had an offer. I saw the offer and took it, immediately sending the buyer an invoice.

I was a bit trepidatious when the offer came in since the last buyer made an offer on the item and then failed to pay. I have learned, sadly, not to get my hopes up for a sale unless the payment is actually made.

Well, here we are, some eight days later and not only have I not seen payment, I have also not seen any communication from the buyer, despite my messages and invoices sent to him.

What the hell is wrong with people on eBay? Better yet, what is wrong with eBay not allowing sellers to leave negative feedback for non-paying buyers? I know eBay says it keeps track of the NPB’s and threatens to discipline the nefarious users, but if you ask me, a negative feedback in a case like this speaks pretty damn loudy. I mean, a quick glance at this guy’s user name and feedback score shows me 561 deals and a 100% feedback. And now a closer look shows six positive feedbacks in the last week, and one “positive” feedback in which the seller explains the buyer did not pay.

Sadly, that “negative” feedback is left as a positive and is hidden among a plethora of positives because the system is broken … the only way for a seller to advise others of what is going on is to leave a positive feedback and say something in the comments.

It’s nonsense. eBay does a pretty good job of protecting the buyers — which I appreciate as a buyer — but as a sometimes seller I’ve seen too many cases lately of buyers getting away with misuse. This needs to be fixed.

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I promise to pay …

Posted in Misc. with tags , , , , , on January 16, 2019 by Cardboard Icons

Folks, when you make an offer on a Buy It Now item on eBay, there is kind of an unwritten agreement that you’re going to pay for that item in a fair amount of time … Still coming up with excuses three weeks later is not the right way to do it.

About two weeks ago I wrote (Link) about the non-paying buyer issue that has been hitting me in recent months. Toward the end of that piece I documented the sale of a pair of cards for $200 just before the new year, but a week later I had not received payment.

Well, here we are almost three weeks after the sale and … all I’ve got is a promise that the buyer will pay.

Here’s the skinny:

I sent three reminders to the buyer and on that third one, the buyer advised that he was waiting for others to pay for items that were purchased from him so that he could pay for my items. He promised to pay me soon.

So I waited three more days … and send another reminder, which went unanswered.

I then sent a fifth reminder on Jan 15, almost 20 days after the purchase agreement was made, and the buyer responds, advising that he promises to pay me at some point in the next few weeks.

No, We’re done. A case has been opened.

This practice is unacceptable. If you do not have the ability to buy an item, DO NOT BUY THE ITEM. No seller should reasonably wait more than a few days unless some other agreement has been made BEFORE THE OFFER WAS ACCEPTED. And if some circumstance arises where you cannot pay, then YOU should be contacting the seller and not wait to be hounded about the issue.

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eBay Bucks are Great: my January 2019 purchase

Posted in Misc. with tags , , , , , , on January 6, 2019 by Cardboard Icons

If you’re not enrolled in eBay’s eBay Bucks program, and you’re a frequent user of the auction site/app, then you’re missing out.

For the uninitiated, here is the deal:  You get 1% eBay bucks on all of your purchases, which may not seem like a big deal. But several times a quarter eBay runs specials in which you can get 8%-10% eBay bucks – usually available to those using the eBay app — which some of us collectors treat like a holiday. That’s when you pull out all the tricks and hit that PC card and enjoy the reward. See a card you like for $70, buy it and get $5.60-$7 in eBay bucks later.  The eBay bucks add up for three months, and then each quarter eBay presents you with your digital eBay bucks, which are essentially used like a gift card on the site.

Obviously the more you buy, the more you accumulate.  I have gone quarters where I have tallied just a few dollars, and other times where I’ve approached $70.  This quarter, I was pretty much right in the middle at about $37.

I’m funny when it comes to free stuff, sales and gift cards, or in this case eBay Bucks, because I’m always looking for a “deal.”  I’m such a cheap-ass sometimes that I am looking to make a one-for-one transaction just so that I can say I got a particular item for free – even if it matters to no one but myself.

And so this week, after receiving my eBay Bucks, I spent four days looking for the item I wanted to obtain.  And Sunday I found it … although it was not a perfect “for free” item as I hoped.

For several weeks I’d been watching a 1998 SP Authentic Roger Clemens autograph slabbed a low grade by BGS.  The grade doesn’t matter to me, I wanted the damn signed card!

For so long Roger Clemens autographs were like unicorns to me, not like they are today where you can routinely find them in the $30-$60 range. And the 1998 SP Authentic Clemens, limited to some 400 non-serial numbered copies, is a classic as it is one of his cards signed while shown as a Blue Jays player.

The card sat for almost a month at $49.99 and then it ended early this morning with no buyers.  It was re-posted at $47.99 and I knew I had to hit it before someone else did.  The Mint graded versions are posted for the $90 range, and I have not seen any raw copies.

And so, with my eBay Bucks, I essentially got the card for about $10, plus $3 shipping of course.  Is it the most-savvy purchase ever?  No.  But it’s a big deal for me since I’d been eyeing this card for two decades, and been on the fence for about a month as to whether or not to buy this copy.

As mentioned above the grade leaves much to be desired, it’s slabbed a 7.5 — the card was nailed for “edges.”  I love BGS graded cards, but this one will be cracked and placed in some other type of holder to go along with my other Clemens autographs.

 

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eBay selling frustrations – The NPB

Posted in Misc. with tags , , , , , on January 5, 2019 by Cardboard Icons

Non-paying bidders/buyers on eBay is not a new trend for our hobby. We deal largely in commodities that fluctuate in price with any given day; and we know that buyers run hot and cold. Some people buy with emotion and make a purchase when they think they’re getting a good deal. And then afterward they back out of the purchase agreement with a myriad of excuses …

-My son bought this with my credit card – I did not approve.

-My child has a birthday coming up, I need to sell some other stuff first.

-I thought this was for a whole collection, not just one card

… you get the point.

Personally, I had a pretty good track record in this arena. Most of my buyers came through and made their payment within the first 24-48 hours, and sometimes it would drag to three days. But for whatever reason, I’ve had three of the last five items I’ve sold end or appear to be heading toward NPB status.

One of the excuses above was actually used 6 weeks ago when I sold a Chris Sale 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects auto. The buyer claimed to be a “breaker” from the east coast and appeared to be putting together a buy-back product when he made the purchase. I accepted his offer and then I waited … and waited. I hit him with two reminder notices via eBay and then he shot back that he’d be paying at the end of the week, which of course came and went. I hit him with a third reminder and then came the the most ridiculous excuse I had heard to this point. In summary it went like this:

His daughter was having a birthday soon, and he was trying to sell some items to make sure she had a present. He was asking me if he should sell his gold chain so that he could pay me for my Chris Sale card.

I stepped back from my computer when I saw this and laughed because the scenario seemed so far-fetched. I mean how did we go from him being a breaker, to not having enough money for the card right now, to needing money for a birthday gift AND he was adding a guilt trip of asking me if I wanted him to sell his gold chain. I should add that this was a base Sale Chrome AUTO under $100 at the time.

I digress, the reason this came up today is I am dealing with a new NPB who has not even responded to my two reminders. This buyer has some 1,500 positive feed backs and made an offer for one of my items; the offer was for $200. I pondered it for 30 minutes but ultimately accepted. This was on Dec, 29, a week ago today. I figured the buyer would pay Sunday, or Monday. Then realized me might be waiting for his eBay Bucks to kick in, which as most of us know happened on Wednesday. And when no payment came then I figured he might be waiting for Friday, Jan. 4 for payday.

But here we are, Jan 5 and no payment or communication. So frustrating.

Anyhow, I’ll leave you with this: If you’re buying something from someone and need an extra day or two, communicate that to the buyer. Don’t leave them in the dark — I mean we all love when eBay throws us a bone with special deals. But also don’t be one of those guys who makes an offer or hits a Buy It Now knowing you can’t pay for the item within two or three days.

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