Those eBay Lies....

I'm finding e-bay is going into the toilet.

I recently purchased 2 items.  One, a 2 meter all-mode amateur transceiver, which was supposed to work, arrived with the internal speaker broken, and the microphone in pieces.  To top it all off, the seller didn't respond when I opened a case to return it, and e-bay had to step in and give me a complete refund.  With the other, the seller took over a week to ship it, with no communication.

One of my rules is that if I buy something, something else has to leave.  So in the past 2 weeks I've sold 4 items.  One buyer paid immediately, one a day later.  I had to open 2 non-payment cases for the others, and eventually one did pay - the other was closed with a non payment strike against the buyer (which in the grand scheme of things really means nothing - a seller can block bidders with multiple non payment strikes but the number is pretty high).

I've used e-bay for a long time, and there always was the occasional problem but nothing like I've seen recently.

Once I get rid of a few more things, I'm closing out my e-bay and Paypal accounts, and pursuing my acquisition of 'stuff' (a lot more toned down these days) locally (probably the occasional swap meet - we have a good one that's held twice a year that's sponsored by my amateur radio club).

I take it that they said it worked, and when you received it, it was broken. One thing to find out is if the seller really knows what they're talking about, going by a good description and past items they've sold, and their descriptions.

Some of these sellers are broadcast techs or hams and know what they're talking about, and others are scrap reclaimers knocking down buildings and selling what they find. They find junk and check the prices that particular item has sold for in the past, and often sketchy info from outdated sources and plaster it in their listing, then they add a high-ball buy it now or starting bid.

I saw an oddball last month, guy was offering an old 5 watt AM college transmitter with an internal circuit board that didn't look too good, burn marks and tarnish from electrolysis apparently, like water droplets had gotten on the board. He wanted 500, maybe 600 dollars, saying it's a 5 watt unit, but I can turn up the power and get 25 out of it. That's the touchy LPB power control on those units, and touching it wrong can cause the power to soar! Of course the power supply couldn't handle it more than briefly...

The best thing a seller can write if they don't know equipment is "I don't know if this works or not, offered as-is, bid accordingly'. Post high res pictures of the unit inside and out too.

I've never used a mod monitor, I rely only on an oscilloscope to set modulation, and it can tell so much more about the signal quality and transmitter parameters than a mod monitor can, by feeding in sine, square and sawtooth waves from a function generator. For audio testing, you don't need the best scope either, even an old Eico with a burned in screen will work, or one of the handheld ones that looks like a phone.

..but yeah, I feel your rant.

Have found personally most sellers are honest and right on about the item and if not sure they say so....had one instance where one item I got wasn't what I expected from the description and ebay was very quick to get me a refund and also paid for the return shipping. They try to run a good ship and deal with non paying bidders or dishonest sellers as best they can. Sellers don't want negitive feedback because their reputation is at stake. Usually they will try to rectify a problem so no negitive feedback...so I found. Have found that if they say an item is new it always is.

Always look on ebey for items because things can be had you can never find in a store and I, a while ago purchased a genuine(not a knock off) Swiss Champ Swiss Army Knife(the loaded one) new for $60 shipped and in the store would have been over $100 + tax.

Mark

I recently picked up a Icom 718 in mint condition on Ebay.  So it's pretty much a crap shoot. I have been stung more by bying used gear at hamfests then I have on Ebay.

I have been a very active ebay buyer and seller for well over 20 years. I was one of the first people to sign on with Paypal the day they offered the service to the public.  My feedback is just shy of 6700, which shows how many transactions I've been involved in, and probably 30% of users don't even bother to leave feedback.

I can't say that I've ever been blatantly ripped off by a buyer OR seller. There have been a few misunderstandings along the way, but nothing that couldn't be worked out without any stress.

I sell tons (literally tons -- I love boat anchors) of ham radio gear every year. Never had an issue with a buyer.  I also buy a LOT of weird stuff, everything from electronics to fashions for my wife or one of my daughters. 

I always hear horror stories, but have to remind myself that only the people who have issues generally make any noise.  People like me who have had a good experience over more than two decades don't usually start a thread to praise the service. 

So -- just to offset all the people who have had trouble...

TIB

I've been stung far more buying gear in person at hamfests than on ebay. I could give you a pretty long list of ham equuipment purchased in person, from people who stood right there looking into my face, telling me it was a good working rig, only toget it home and discover it needed extensive work. At least with ebay/paypal you can request a refund and if you don't get it ebay steps in and gets things squared away for you pretty quick. There's ZERO protection buying from a guy at a hamfest. For me, the nearest hamfest is a 90 mile drive. the guy I buy from could easily have come from 100 miles the other side of the site, making us 200 miles apart. No system in place to quickly get refunds, or return items that way!  I always assume hamfest buys will need work. But if I buy a rig advertised as "mint" or "working" etc on ebay and it's not or it doesn't, a return and refund is a lot more likely.

I've been meaning to write a rather extensive article with a working title of "Of Hamfests and eBay"  I've been doing both for decades.  When I hit a hamfest my goal is to completely fill my SUV with the seat folded down at least two levels tall with gear, three if I can. I'm pretty well known at the fests I go to every year. Sellers actually seek me out and encourage me to stop by their tables. 

This year I promised myself I wouldn't buy any equipment I couldn't lift.  I've only got one of my regular hamfests left for the year, and so far I've stuck to the rule. I've got a basement full of great 40's and 50's rigs that I can't lift alone. I could 20+ years ago, but not any more!

TIB

I've had extensive experience with e-bay as well (around 3000 ratings).  My selling feedback is consistently at 100% - buying feedback ratings are meaningless, as sellers can't leave negative feedback.

In the past, I would generally have issues on perhaps 1 out of every 100 transactions - a seller doesn't live up to his/her commitment, or the buyer doesn't pay.

The number of non paying buyers, and the number of misrepresented items from sellers has been increasing steadily, even in the specialized areas such as amateur radio (which generally are better than consumer goods).

To some extent it might be the luck of the draw.  But I have to say that 2 e-bay disputes out of 6 transactions within 2 weeks is simply far too many.

My experiences at hamfests have been nothing but positive.  But that could be because the ones I attend are usually reasonably small, and staffed/attended by local area club members (we really do know where they live!).

E-bay does have its place and it wasn't my intention to dump over it.  For me, though, it just isn't worth the potential hassles any more.

And from what I'm seeing, it's seller be aware, and buyer beware.