So, are all eBay transactions as poor as this?

[Mr. Moo]

Hey guys, remember those great deals I told you about? How I got a bunch of great stuff for under $400 through eBay, Neiman Marcus Last Call, etc.? Well, the eBay purchases turned out to be total duds. I bought two jackets, one described as new without tags and one as gently worn, and they were both used and abused. They both came from reputable, high rating 99.5%+ positive sellers. Is this the norm? One has already asked me to return the item for a refund, and I'm waiting to hear back from the other. I'm now weary of such purchases on eBay, as I thought I was being careful by going with sellers with tons of positive feedback.

Thoughts?

 

[johnny_flapjack]

Odd. I've purchased many things off of ebay and MOST were as described. NWT usually means just that - but the buyer does have to be careful not to end up with a ventless low-gorge big shoulder pad number that still has tags on it from 1984. At least it sounds like one seller is taking care of it. Hopefully the other one comes through as well.

 

[Egdon Heath]

No, don't sour on eBay. Bad apples abound everywhere. There are hundreds of thousands of sellers posting, all independent of each other. So you had a bum experience. Happens. But you will be very pleased with yourself the day you buy from a lady in Omaha what will turn out to be your favorite bathrobe that you never would have known existed until there was an internet and then an eBay.​

 

[MiniW]

ebay is very subjective. As a seller I've sold some absolute garbage in the past and had the buyer loved it. On the other hand, I've sold some gems for next to nothing and had complaints. There's not much you can do to change the seller, each transaction you make is likely to be with a different seller each time. What you can do is be very knowledgeable of the item you intend to purchase. Ask for pictures of tags or other visual clues that will help you identify the value of the item. If you suspect the item may not fit, ask the seller if he/she thinks the item is larger OR smaller than sized. Don't infer anything in the question or the seller can adjust the answer to try to make the item more appealing to you. NWT should mean new with tags, but new items aren't necessarily a good deal as someone pointed out, no matter how cheap it is. Lastly, retail price is one of the oldest gimmicks for getting a sucker to buy something that he/she doesn't know much about. Yes a NWT Tommy Hilfiger sweater may have retailed for $350 at Macy's, but it doesn't mean you should pay anywhere near that for it. If you have any doubt that the seller is a real person, ask a intelligent question about the item and see what you get. You will either get an intelligent answer back or a sincere "I don't know the answer." If the auction says that refunds are no allowed and you ask "May I return the shoes if they don't fit" then expect an answer like "the return policy is listed in my auction."

Hope this helps.

 

[bmulford]

NWOT is really difficult to assess. That's where reputation and clear pictures come in handy. I'd say 5-10% of what I've bought off ebay was different than described.

Just do your homework and recognize that some deals are too good to be true.

 

[Tarmac]

also the 99% feedback means less these days. Someone who sells 20 top notch items per year and gets one negative will then have a 95.0% rating, they go away from ebay and stop selling. While the dude selling 500 knowingly-fake gucci sneakers per day will have a 99.5%

 

[mafoofan Jr.]

The whole point of the new feedback system is to eliminate small, one person, sellers. I got one negative feedback and my perfect score is now 98.5% and I sell a few items every month or so. What this means is that buyers should act with as much discretion as possible when it comes to giving feedbacks for sellers. I'm usually more sympathetic to the small guys, even when the service is crap.

Originally Posted by Tarmac

also the 99% feedback means less these days. Someone who sells 20 top notch items per year and gets one negative will then have a 95.0% rating, they go away from ebay and stop selling. While the dude selling 500 knowingly-fake gucci sneakers per day will have a 99.5%

 

[lizmasc]

The sellers well have to be doing their best to fix these issues and refund the items in case something is wrong. The way the ebay policy currently is, is that it revolves around the buyer and it protects him on ebay. In case something is wrong you can just leave a negative feedback on the seller and he can't do much about it (and that will really hurt him in the long run)

 

[dbtbandit67]

did you buy from sellers that offered a refund policy? and what about the pictures? were the pictures misleading? i would not let a few bad experiences totally discourage you from buying on ebay. since ebay is such an open-ended marketplace, it just takes a little more patience to deal with, i still believe it's worth the effort. you should use every option available to you which includes filing a dispute if the sellers are not cooperating and leaving negative feedback.

but in general, cheap luxury brands are going to be cheap for a reason. like cheap authentic luxury purses are likely to be cheap because they are used and worn down.

did the listings promise the items to be new and un-used?

 

[idfnl]

Originally Posted by dbtbandit67

did you buy from sellers that offered a refund policy? and what about the pictures? were the pictures misleading? i would not let a few bad experiences totally discourage you from buying on ebay. since ebay is such an open-ended marketplace, it just takes a little more patience to deal with, i still believe it's worth the effort. you should use every option available to you which includes filing a dispute if the sellers are not cooperating and leaving negative feedback.

but in general, cheap luxury brands are going to be cheap for a reason. like cheap authentic luxury purses are likely to be cheap because they are used and worn down.

did the listings promise the items to be new and un-used?

The thing that sucks about the refund policy is that you dont get refunded the shipping and then have to pay to ship back... not to mention the waste of time.

I just ask for a partial refund which usually works.

 

[KObalto]

Most of my Ebay experience has been good. I've gotten some nice stuff from Mack who posts on here, but I once bought an Oxxford jacket from a guy who described it as "excellent condition with no flaws". When I received it, it was quite used and had 3 tears in the lining. When I informed the seller, he said he'd only seen one tear.

 

[Holdfast]

I don't think I've had a truly bad experience as a buyer yet. Sometimes I've been a little disappointed in what I've received, but always within reason. And sometimes I've been delighted with a pleasant surprise and a major bargain.

If you really want to reduce risk - buy only NWT from sellers with good feedback.

The volume of feedback isn't an issue, but a track record across similar items is a good sign. Willingness to respond politely to questions is another (esp. for smaller sellers; big sellers probably have too large an inventory to do this). Though as an occasional seller, I must admit some of the questions I get asked leave me scratching my head in confusion due to either their inherent oddity or just because the phrasing is so bad I can barely understand what's being asked.

Touch wood that I stay lucky with both sellers and buyers in the future. I think good communication is really important too. When selling, I send an invoice to the winner after the auction closes, and another message when the item has been dispatched. If I haven't been given feedback after a few weeks, I often follow-up with a quick email, just to check the buyer's happy and the item got there OK. As a buyer, I do the mirror image - pay promptly, email if I haven't heard from the seller after a few days of paying and leave feedback promptly once the item's arrived and am happy. Also, if you know there are going to be delays in the process, mention them - for instance, delayed global shipping due to the volume of airmail over Christmas, or if you're going to be away for a few days, or whatever. It's worth flagging up this sort of issue in the invoice, just so buyers are aware. Same if you're a buyer and know you won't be able to pay for a few days or whatever because you're out of town. It just makes life easier all round.

 

[Dewey]

I'd say I truly pleased with less than half the stuff I land from ebay. Factor those expectations into your bidding and you will do well in the long run. I never, ever bid like an article of clothing is a sure thing. FWIW I've bought at least a hundred items of clothing from ebay.

I've also learned to go very slowly coming to a final judgment of a purchase. Generally I hang an item on a porch for a few days to air, try them on a couple of times, brush them, measure them, and take my time before I go to the tailor with them or wear them for the first time. Swinging from wild enthusiasm to angry disappointment is not productive. Most purchases are OK and a good value for the dollar.

 

[Bhowie]

Half of all jackets I have bought off of ebay have serious measurement issues.

 

[SuitingStyle]

Based on piror poor experience, I NEVER buy used or NWOT items on ebay now.
Once I bought an Isaia suit from an trusted member on this board on ebay , decrisbed as MINT.
Paid almost a price of a new Isaia suit. When I received it, it has sighs of wear everywhere, I was quite pissed. It just shows that NWOT or "Excellent" conditioned items on eby has a lot gray area, and room for deception, regardless of who you buying it from.