My eBay experience today.

[*Brum6y*]

Over the years of playing around with electronics and computers, I have accumulated a cable or two.  However, when I wanted to check out a particular product, I found myself short on HDMI cables (I didn't have any!) - so I had a look on a couple of websites, including eBay.

I found a Seller who was offering HDMI cables at auction with a one cent start and 'Free' postage.  Some of those had sold at prices less than $1 - so I went to check the Seller background.

This seller has been a member since mid 2005 and has a feedback score of over 10,000 with a rating of 99.2%.  Over 1500 of the feedback came in the last 6 months with around two dozen non positive ratings.  This seemed not unreasonable - but then it got interesting.....

In trying to read the feedback comments, I was somewhat stymied - since the vast majority of them were in Italian.  The Seller ID and Store name were clearly Italian as well, but then there were some other observations on geography.

The listings stated: Item location: MELBOURNE, Australia
immediately beneath: Postage:  FREE  - Standard delivery from outside AU
but somehow I think this entry under the Seller profile is more informative: Location: China

OK - so not being in a hurry and fully expecting the possibility of a slow boat from China, I decided to throw a dollar at one of them ... well, actually, it was $1.17.

I won it for 31 cents.  Being a conscientious buyer, I immediately paid. (Yes, I used PayPal.)

I then threw my unspent budget of $0.86 at the next auction ... and won a second cable for the princely sum of 30 cents, which I also promptly paid.

I let the next auction slide until my curiosity got the better of me, whereupon I placed the entire balance of my budget - a whopping $0.56 - and won a third cable ..... for 20 cents.  It, too, has been paid.


I now await delivery of three 1.5 metre current spec HDMI cables - apparently PHILIPS brand, with a Lifetime Warranty - for a grand total of 81 cents, including delivery.


Even though I reckon it's odds-on they are coming from China and I just might see them before the end of the month, that is just insane economics.


I just could not bring myself to lash out with the remaining 26 cents of my budget............

[*smee*]

And so youve sodomised the poor prick with 4 lots of paypal transaction fees instead of waiting and paying in one go , and you sound like youre proud of it ! Ok the second one might have been an after thought but to keep doing it

You are a bastard of a man !

[*Yibida*]

Yeah brums I'd Neg you from azzhool to breakfast time for that you barstool !

poor blighter probably has six kids to feed and an EX -wife !

how do you live with yourself !   

[***Mr Magoo 2U***]

you were ripped orf by a chinese italian living in south yarra brumbs .... hope you feel better now


if the cable do arrive i want one

[*wheels*]

I now await delivery of three 1.5 metre current spec HDMI cables - apparently PHILIPS brand, with a Lifetime Warranty - for a grand total of 81 cents, including delivery.

apparently PHILIPS brand

[*Brum6y*]

And so youve sodomised the poor prick with 4 lots of paypal transaction fees instead of waiting and paying in one go , and you sound like youre proud of it ! Ok the second one might have been an after thought but to keep doing it

You are a bastard of a man !

20-20 hindsight is a marvelous thing.

It might interest you to know that before I placed my first bid, I checked out what other items the seller had listed with the thought in mind of making the exercise a better deal for the Seller.  All they had on offer were these cables that were going for silly prices.  So I thought 'What the heck' and gave myself an amount to see if I could snare one -  which would either turn out to be a bargain ... or something I could write off without a second thought.

Each attempt was a completely independent decision, with no immediate intention to make any further purchases.  As such, yes I am proud to have made payment quickly.

As for the PayPal fees, does anyone know what the rates are for Chinese sellers?  Even then, I have not caused this seller to incur any more fees than they would have been otherwise charged if purchases were made by different buyers.  My bidding actually increased their sales revenue.  FWIW, on the 12th and 13th of September, one third of their sales of this cable went for one cent - and the prices I paid were 2 to 3 times the median price.  The only rationale for this that makes any sense to me is that the seller is introducing these cables at these prices to get 'known' and that they will be hoping for more competitive bidding down the track.


Still, I will make this very clear ... If I had planned to buy 3 cables at the outset, I would have made only one payment.

Yeah brums I'd Neg you from azzhool to breakfast time for that you barstool !

poor blighter probably has six kids to feed and an EX -wife !

how do you live with yourself !   

By giving him positive feedback if the cables just show up!

you were ripped orf by a chinese italian living in south yarra brumbs .... hope you feel better now


if the cable do arrive i want one

If Yibs knows the guy, then I will voluntarily pay him an extra $1 if the cables arrive ... and work.

I now await delivery of three 1.5 metre current spec HDMI cables - apparently PHILIPS brand, with a Lifetime Warranty - for a grand total of 81 cents, including delivery.

apparently PHILIPS brand

Yes, well.... The listing states that quite explicitly - but I added 'apparently' for the same reason.

I have no misgivings nor unrealistic expectations about what I might receive.  If I get 3 cables that work, I will have done well.

[*wheels*]

Brums, I bought a thingamingy once from a Chinese seller for 1c incl postage. It worked great for a year or so! I'm not sure what it's called but you sit the camera memory card into it and it plugs into the computer's USB port.

[*smee*]

Ive got one of those things , mine is a stash brand and it has various slots for different dize memory cards , it  cost about $20 I think

Did you buy one every ten minutes for the rest of the day and stick it to him with individual paypal payments ?

[*Brum6y*]

Well, I have been notified that the items are on the way.

I even received the following message from the seller:
hi
we have sent the HDMI cables you buy, as for the limit of weight of large letter au post ,we seperate the items into two envelopes. Pleaese wait patiently for a few days
regards


I sent them a 'thank you' in reply.

[*Yibida*]

Hope ya proud of yaself brums, six littlie kiddies are going to bed hungry tonight !

My relative Luigi san Zhang smith will be trading insolvent soon !

It's because of westerners like you taking advantage of honest Italian Chinese people in 3 world counties !    

[*Brum6y*]

My offer still stands...

If Yibs knows the guy, then I will voluntarily pay him an extra $1 if the cables arrive ... and work.

That would mean I'd end up paying more than twice what I bid.


Just get them to send me a PayPal invoice for it.

[*CountessA*]

Ah well... it will be interesting to find out what you actually receive, Brumby.

[*Brum6y*]

It will.

The last time I bought a computer cable (from a different seller, but it was from China) was a DVI-I to DVI-D + VGA split out cable.  Such a cable was over $30 here in Australia - but I got it for about $6 or so, delivered.

When I received it, I was quite amazed at the build quality (as far as I could tell without cutting it open).  It appeared quite solid, was heavy for its size, had decent quality connectors and non flimsy cable all very neatly molded together.

I've had it for a few years now - and it's never missed a beat.

[*Brum6y*]

Prompted by concerns aired here, I contacted the Seller to address the matter of the multiple payments and associated fees.

Their response:

"hi,dont worry,it doesn't metter. in this case,just because the cable is for feedback.so we have to reduce the cost.but it's ok.:). regards"

Since the seller has a five digit feedback score, the only reason I can come up with to explain their desire to gain 'feedback' is so that the percentage figure (which is only calculated over the last 12 months) has a reasonable level of activity to buffer the odd non-positive rating.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

[***Mr Magoo 2U***]

Prompted by concerns aired here, I contacted the Seller to address the matter of the multiple payments and associated fees.

Their response:

"hi,dont worry,it doesn't metter. in this case,just because the cable is for feedback.so we have to reduce the cost.but it's ok.:). regards"

Since the seller has a five digit feedback score, the only reason I can come up with to explain their desire to gain 'feedback' is so that the percentage figure (which is only calculated over the last 12 months) has a reasonable level of activity to buffer the odd non-positive rating.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

i would say you cracked the case brumbs, seems bizarre tho

[*Brum6y*]

While seemingly curious on the surface, it would seem to fit the sort of profile eBay is forcing people to adopt to protect their ability to sell.

My seller friend also has concerns about this.  The percentage of buyers who leave feedback is less than comfortable.  Over the last six weeks I am told it has been about 45% despite every indication that their customers are quite happy.  This means that one Neg would have an effect more than double its true representation of total transactions.

It seems fundamentally and incredibly flawed that a rating system which controls the ability of a Seller to operate is based on a voluntary action - especially when there is no inherent benefit for the buyers who provide the business-saving 'Positives'.

[***Mr Magoo 2U***]

While seemingly curious on the surface, it would seem to fit the sort of profile eBay is forcing people to adopt to protect their ability to sell.

My seller friend also has concerns about this.  The percentage of buyers who leave feedback is less than comfortable.  Over the last six weeks I am told it has been about 45% despite every indication that their customers are quite happy.  This means that one Neg would have an effect more than double its true representation of total transactions.

It seems fundamentally and incredibly flawed that a rating system which controls the ability of a Seller to operate is based on a voluntary action - especially when there is no inherent benefit for the buyers who provide the business-saving 'Positives'.

that is so true, much of ebays system is never well thought out from a dual perspective of buyer and seller its all slanted towards buyer in terms of expecting sellers to just lump many things including the old issue now of sellers not being able to leave any feedback about the performance or otherwise of the buyer

most buyers now view the feedback thing as a bit of a toss or game and dont really care if they do or dont but it still figures high technically in the feedback and search ratings stakes and can have a disastrous effect

I think ebay are so out of touch but its more like they really dont care as long as the bucks keep flowing in

[*wheels*]

I think there are a lot of large sellers who use cheap items with free post to keep the percentages up on their feedback. They would have to be making a loss on the items but I guess they write it off as Advertising the same way large retailers do with Loss Leaders.

[*smee*]

apparently if you sell 10,000 things at 1c each it makes you an expert on the PS boards too

[*wheels*]

PowerSellers
The place for PowerSellers to share tips and best practices.

Hardly any posters on the PS board these days. Very rare to see any "tips" about eBay, mainly just a place to vent about buyers or eBay.

[*smee*]

Yes ... All that gets posted there now is threads abou getting negs or neuts
or other minor gripes .... a bit of ebay and buyer ashing and thats it

Oh and then you get the posers that claim theve been packing anspsting all day etc aking outtheyve got a triving business happening ... So you check out their sales history only to discover theyve sold 5 Mills and Boon novels , or 3 tupperware egg cups over the previous 3 days and reaped a massive $2.50 in turnover .... But because theyve got 10,000 or more feedback , th other clowns on there treat them like the messiah .....

[*wheels*]

The percentage of buyers who leave feedback is less than comfortable.  Over the last six weeks I am told it has been about 45% despite every indication that their customers are quite happy.

Brums, I've never really looked before at what percentage of buyers leave feedback for us.

I've just checked June through to August and it is one third, so only 66% have left feedback. Not a problem really as long as the feedback and DSRs that are left are all good.

[*wheels*]

Speaking of feedback ..

I just checked our recent feedback on one ID. The buyer has said "Item received today" but I couldn't recall that ID so I looked at the order info and the sale was 6 weeks ago! Then I looked at the buyer's feedback left for others and they've obviously left that for a seller ages ago and have kept using the same text.

[*Brum6y*]

I must tender an apology.

Today I received my 3 HDMI cables in 2 padded bags, bearing Australian stamps and postmarked Dandenong.  So my expectation was incorrect - the items were in fact in Melbourne ... Ashburton, to be precise.

As for the cables themselves, they appear to be a 'no frills' construction of reasonable sturdiness.  The 'backshell' is just molded plastic, the metal shield has a slightly textured surface, but the contacts look well formed and the cable between the two plugs is approximately 7mm in diameter.  I could well imagine these being the sort of OEM supplied cable for inexpensive equipment.


I won't get a chance to test them just yet - but I will let you know when I do...

[*CountessA*]

It could be a Cable Guy thread.

... Re feedback - a good point has been raised. There are many buyers who are happy with their purchases but who do not leave feedback. They see no need; they've got the item which they purchased, and it's not their job to go on a green dot trek. But lord oh lord, if they're unhappy with their purchase, it's a different story. Buyers in that case will be straining at the leash to leave feedback reflective of their buying experience. And it doesn't need to be the seller's fault... If the buyer has bought something that's the wrong size/colour/shape/model, and it's their fault, there is at least a reasonable chance that the buyer still wants to vent, and one way to do so is to give the seller an equivocal comment and either neutral or negative feedback. "Okay, I guess" with a neutral... or "Not what I expected" with a negative... or "It's broken" with a negative... and it may be that the item was broken by the buyer after it arrived!

Even when the negative feedback is warranted, that negative has a higher impact on his/her overall feedback rating than the negative actually warrants!

(Mind you, that's assuming the seller is an honest seller who isn't inflating his/her own feedback with "own goals", so to speak.)

[shyer]

not sure if right thread look at this ebay ad i spotted

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221117880058?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

nice way around the 8% final value fee

[*wheels*]

Shyer, that's like the Chinese sellers who advertise .99 dresses with $300 postage. Some buyers don't seem to care, others will complain if you add 50c for packaging in your shipping price.

[*wheels*]

How's this for an eBay experience.

New listing today.

Start time:   05 Oct 12:56
Sold time:   05-Oct 13:00

It took me more than 4 minutes to take the pic and do the listing!  

I can't remember a quicker sale except when we've had buyers request a special listing and they've been ready and waiting to hit the Buy Now button.

It always worries me a bit when I see a quick sale because I wonder whether I made a mistake with the price and put the decimal point in the wrong place or something. Either that or I think maybe we could have put a higher sell price.

Anyways, a quick sale is always a good sale!

[*Brum6y*]

Wheels - for a sale like that, I think somebody must have already been browsing your store.  It would not get indexed that quickly for general searching.

And assuming you've triple checked your listing, photos, pricing, etc. you make sure you didn't slip up....  Congratulations!!

[*smee*]

Ive had a really quick one like that too a coupe of years ago

If its a relist of an identice item youve previously  sold  or from a template that youve  used before it can get indexed really quickly as nothing has changed since they last indexed it .... Change one minor thing though ad you join the listing queue .

[*wheels*]

It was a new item but I had used Sell Similar. You're probably right Brums, they may have been looking at another similar item that was in the store at the time which also sold this afternoon. If sales continue like this I'll be happy.

[*smee*]

Yes .. Sell similar without changing the wording llsts instantly

[tellomon]

And so youve sodomised the poor prick with 4 lots of paypal transaction fees instead of waiting and paying in one go , and you sound like youre proud of it ! Ok the second one might have been an after thought but to keep doing it

You are a bastard of a man !

Yeah brums I'd Neg you from azzhool to breakfast time for that you barstool !

poor blighter probably has six kids to feed and an EX -wife !

how do you live with yourself !   

Two Amigos shredding The Horse.

I don't regularly ever visit post in this neighborhood, but...I gotta say.

It was eBay that brought us together.
It is eBay that's gonna tear us apart.




word

[*Brum6y*]

I don't see eBay as a risk of that nature or significance.

It does present numerous provocations that provide opportunities for discussing various aspects of the online marketplace that range from sensible, through curious and right past bizarre.


I do not debate the sentiment behind those two chastisements and I understand the melodramatic presentation - but the truth is I would never outwardly plan to purchase and pay for multiple items that way.


What is far more curious in my opinion is that the seller feels they have to go through an obvious loss transaction several times over as a part of trading on eBay.  It doesn't really equate to a "loss-leader" exercise either.

[*wheels*]

  Um, Brums have you been chewing on a dictionary? 

[*Brum6y*]

Errr.... no...

But what can I say? .... Countessa inspires expressiveness.





(There is one thing though .... when I was in primary school I was known as "the fastest dictionary in the west".)

[*smee*]

I used to object to the teacher telling me to look it up in the dictionary if I asked how to spell a word ...

I pointed out that as words were listed in strict alphabetical listing in a dic , I actually needed to know how to spell it in order to find it in the dic and to therefore stop being a dick a just teach me to spell it like he is paid to do

[*CountessA*]

Oh, I can truly imagine that scene. Perhaps the teacher was hoping to get you interested in reading the entire A-G (unexpurgated version), with an interest in the thrilling sequel, H-P, and of course that superb finale, Q-Z. The same characters remain throughout, but I have got to admit there's not much of a plot.

My sordid admission: I did read the dictionary (Collins English School Edition), and I wrote a book review on it. (I thought it was funny and clever at the time... and I've got to admit the teacher's face was quite a picture. But she did not believe I'd truly read the entire thing at first!)

[*smee*]

You need a check up from the neck up

[*CountessA*]

 

[***Mr Magoo 2U***]

You need a check up from the neck up

i thought you were in the hull lockup for using mall strike mini heli drones to eliminate your toy shop competitors ..... kerrect moi if rong

[*Ubbie Max*]

Nil Ebay experiences to report.

[*wheels*]

My eBaying today ..

Some great purchases arrived in the mail, nearly finished my Christmas shopping. My postie lady loves me because she said that she gets paid per parcel, not per house, so she likes shopaholics like me who receive several parcels a day.

Some great sales over the past few weeks. I love the Christmas shoppers. 

[*smee*]

I sold something today that I debiratley sacrifecd sp some funds would jump into my paypal a/c cos I want topay a supplier by paypal ...

Guess what ... First buyer for ages  paying bank deposit ..
The one time ... Arghhhhhh ..
Never mind

[*wheels*]

We've had a lot of bank payers lately. Add them to the ones who pay in cash when picking up (and buying 3 times as much while they're here) and we've made a great saving on PayPal fees.

[*smee*]

Oh yes ive had cash on pick ups , but very few bank deposits

But Murphy , the sod that he is ,decided to lay down his law today

[*wheels*]

Without a doubt, the quickest and most on- the-ball eBay seller I've dealt with.   


 

[*Brum6y*]

Any accolades are worth taking!


You've gotta be doing something right!

[*smee*]

Ok then if were in bragging mode , 2 of my last 11 feedback received

   The best seller on here! Awesome


   Best recommended seller everrr more than 100 % trustworthy    


Now if only I had sold 5,000 Mills  and boon Novels or 10,000 packets of Jap pumpkin seeds for 20c each I would be considered an expert on all things ebay on the PS board

[*wheels*]

Don't you hate it when you get a really great feedback comment followed by one that says

OK

or

.