Same here -- Paypal got me a refund sharpish after a laptop showed up with a broken screen. 250 quid (ish) refund and didn't cost me for postage or anything -- the only thing I lost was time.
I've had the odd thing turn up that I haven't liked, too, but I figure that's all part of the caveat emptor experience. I've had a stupid American complain about UK dress sizes, a stupid Brit try and sell me a dressmakers dummy in the wrong size, and a couple of people fail to read descriptions and winge, or not like something and claim it's broken on arrival (including one muppet for whom it was probably genuinely broken, but just left me shitty feedback, if they'd contacted me I'd have tried to get a claim through the Royal Mail but if they can't be arsed why should I?)
In general, though, my experience as both buyer and seller has been good. I reckon I've made several thousand pounds selling my extraneous crap on eBay, which can't be bad...
Also, my general thing with non-paying bidders is to not waste time on them. They get a non-paying bidder claim filed, if they pay up quickly they get the item, if they don't I haven't lost anything as eBay refunds the fees. Sure I have to sell the item again, but relisting isn't really that much of a hassle. So I generally don't bother with the whole nine yards. I generally say I'll relist if I haven't been paid 10 days after auction end.
The only problems I've ever had on Ebay have been extremely low-value items (sub-£2!) with dodgy sellers.
In fact, in two cases I've been the beneficiary of stupid people - one guy left positive feedback for a book I never got round to sending him (naturally he got glowing feedback too) and another sent me a book and didn't even invoice for it... ;) -- a third guy did invoice me but sent it anyway and he seemed like a nice bloke so I paid him anyway!
The one that annoys me is tit-for-tat feedback - someone's a crap buyer/seller but gets legitimate bad feedback so retaliates. That's where my two negatives come from!
If you want to see an "interesting" tit-for-tat ebayer, look at umb61. They sell crap - badly printed and bound photocopies of old magazine reports which they claim are "reference books". And if you point out that their stuff is crap, they leave vituperative negative feedback.
I think they work on the hope that (A) their repro is so f---ing awful that nobody can tell what they've ripped off ;) (B) most of the publishers of the magazines they reprint from have long gone. (C) they're dealing in such small volumes that nobody cares.
I've never unilaterally boycotted a publisher before, Unique are the first I've ever decided are nothing more than ripoff merchants. For how to do reprint stuff legitimately and well, look at Brooklands Books who are highly respected in their field.
Unique also had a delightful habit of releasing cash-in compilations of crap with a similar title to "proper" books that had just been released..... lovely people indeed :(
Only problem I've had was with a cheque that I sent to a seller going astray and not arriving until a month after I mailed it (I will not use PayPal under any circumstances). The seller was extremely patient, and returned the original cheque to me after it arrived (I had followed up with a money order after the cheque had not been received two weeks after I mailed it).
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 12:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 12:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 12:40 pm (UTC)In general, though, my experience as both buyer and seller has been good. I reckon I've made several thousand pounds selling my extraneous crap on eBay, which can't be bad...
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:40 pm (UTC)Eh, if you don't mind it being an email interview, I don't see why not. You probably don't want to pay evil BT prices for a call to Japan anyway...
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 12:45 pm (UTC)In fact, in two cases I've been the beneficiary of stupid people - one guy left positive feedback for a book I never got round to sending him (naturally he got glowing feedback too) and another sent me a book and didn't even invoice for it... ;) -- a third guy did invoice me but sent it anyway and he seemed like a nice bloke so I paid him anyway!
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 12:50 pm (UTC)If you want to see an "interesting" tit-for-tat ebayer, look at umb61. They sell crap - badly printed and bound photocopies of old magazine reports which they claim are "reference books". And if you point out that their stuff is crap, they leave vituperative negative feedback.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:25 pm (UTC)(A) their repro is so f---ing awful that nobody can tell what they've ripped off ;)
(B) most of the publishers of the magazines they reprint from have long gone.
(C) they're dealing in such small volumes that nobody cares.
I've never unilaterally boycotted a publisher before, Unique are the first I've ever decided are nothing more than ripoff merchants. For how to do reprint stuff legitimately and well, look at Brooklands Books who are highly respected in their field.
Unique also had a delightful habit of releasing cash-in compilations of crap with a similar title to "proper" books that had just been released..... lovely people indeed :(
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 02:14 pm (UTC)Curiously, 3 people state they never use eBay at the first question, but only 2 people thereafter.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-21 08:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-27 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-27 08:15 pm (UTC)