eBay Woes (somewhat of a rant)

[Bob The Random Boy Wonder]

Every time I list something on eBay, something similar to this happens. I'll list an item as a fixed-price ("Buy it Now") listing, and someone will inevitably message me to ask if I'll take way less than the listed price--even though I have it in bold, red font that I do not accept requests to modify the price ever on fixed-price listings, yet I still get questions about it. That's kind of the point of a fixed-price listing: the price is fixed and the seller is not willing to negotiate; otherwise they would've used the Best Offer format.

I currently have an item listed that I must sell for $100. Any less, and I lose more money than I can afford right now. It is a 26-pound item that uses calculated shipping based on weight and destination. This item ships in its own box since it would be impossible to put it in any flat-rate box offered by USPS.

Enter Nimrod. Nimrod is the most mindblowing case of the "will you modify the price to $X" requests I've ever seen. Nimrod wants me to lower the price to $30 and include insured Priority Mail shipping for free. Nimrod lives approximately 2,000 miles from me on the other side of the country, and it would cost approximately $50 to ship said item to him with insurance included. As opposed to making money--which is usually the reason you sell things--it would actually cost me $20 to go through with this transaction. In the bigger picture, this transaction makes the original $399 item now cost me $419. You can already tell this is a bad deal.

But Nimrod is furious that I find his question among the stupidest of stupid questions. He says the customer is always right (there it is again!) and that my listing entitles him to a lower price because he thinks he saw something that said so--or something like that.

What could it possibly be? Oh, yes. I tell people in my listings that I've been recognized by the board at one of my former employers for providing excellent customer service and even received a note from the CEO thanking me for my standards, so I know what it means to deal with customers. I do this because I know people are skeptical about buying things from people who don't have many completed sales transactions, and I want to let potential buyers know they can feel confident buying from me because I know what I'm doing. I have 100% feedback, but I still like to go above and beyond on things because I'm that kind of guy.

Instead of this being a positive thing, people read this and say, "oh, he's a former retail slave! I remember what happened when I yelled at the retail slaves and demanded things from them the last time I was at <insert name of big-box store here>! The manager rewarded me for my bad behavior! I'll do the same thing on this guy, and he'll have to give me what I want!"

I find this behavior insulting and very offensive. If people thought before they did things, this forum probably wouldn't exist. Instead, you have people who want to haggle to the point where you actually lose money and get upset when you don't bend to their every whim. I won't go any deeper into this because it's probably more bordering on fratching than anything else, but the point still stands.

I was wondering if any of you have had a similar situation happen to you, and if so, what did you do about it? I know I can't be the only one that attracts these people. I'm sorry this turned into a rant. I didn't intend for it to play out this way when I started writing this post.

[Marmalady]

he's a former retail slave! I remember what happened when I yelled at the retail slaves and demanded things from them the last time I was at <insert name of big-box store here>! The manager rewarded me for my bad behavior! I'll do the same thing on this guy, and he'll have to give me what I want!

I think you have hit the nail on the head here - people have got so used to being able to get their own way in stores by throwing a hissy fit, they think they can do the same to those selling their own property and get the same result.

[PepperElf]

He says the customer is always right (there it is again!)

Perhaps Jester's sig can be modified for this.

"I decide who gets to be the customer!"

[South Texan]

Would the dead silence of not responding to the nimrod get your point across?

Or maybe just a terse, "I am sorry, but I cannot accept your offer" with no explanation or any other verbage included.

Honestly, I would not expend much energry on this guy. Isn't it still true that he cannot leave feedback unless he actually buys something from you?

[Seshat]

Yes, it happens in all sorts of industries.

My best friend is self-employed, and she labels certain phone numbers "Pest #". So far she's up to Pest 4, but it's only been a month......


BTW: Pests get ignored. She's contemplating auto-ignore, but sometimes the texts are still amusing.....



Edit to add: An offer to sell is not a contract. Neither is an offer to buy. You actually OWE these people nothing. Anything you give them - including your time - is a gift, provided out of courtesy. Never forget that the time spent processing these emails cuts into your profit: replying to the stupid ones is entirely up to you, and can be done without. IE: you can just ignore them, and tell your email program to file-13 them.

[sms001]

Please don't apologize BTRBW! Rants are needed (and appreciated) here just as much as "Just the facts, ma'am" stories. Lets us all know we aren't alone in feeling that the idiots really are idiots, not just us being obtuse.

I agree with Marmalady, I think you've pegged the "reasoning" behind this ludicrous request dead solid. The SCs are becoming so used to getting their way at every level of retail that the thought that a complete stranger wouldn't lose their own money for the privilege of accommodating them doesn't even cross their minds.

I would suggest mailing this ashhat something along the lines of "Why should I ship this to you and waste a trip to the post office, when I could throw the item away and then toss a twenty into the trash with it from the convenience of my own home?" but it's pretty unlikely to sink in.

Not too familiar with e-Bay these days, (gave up on them several years ago) but can you block him? I personally wouldn't bother, as his ilk will be cropping up constantly if you are making this a business... might as well get used to it. And in that vein, try not to take it as an affront; you're really dealing with entitlement issues here, not superiority issues. They don't think they're smarter than you, or that you're dumb enough to fall for their request, they literally don't understand why they can't get something at someone else's expense.

[Mr Hero]

I'm curious what you're selling for such a great deal at 1/4 the price.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

OP your experiences are part of the reason I ditched Ebay long ago. That and their increasingly asinine selling policies that highly favor buyers over sellers.

I sell on Amazon now, it's not perfect, but at least I don't have to deal with the lowball nitwits anymore (I still get them on Craigslist sometimes though...).

[PepperElf]

I agree with Marmalady, I think you've pegged the "reasoning" behind this ludicrous request dead solid. The SCs are becoming so used to getting their way at every level of retail that the thought that a complete stranger wouldn't lose their own money for the privilege of accommodating them doesn't even cross their minds.

Plus the SCs are use to being able to go over the employee's head to the manager, supervisor, boss... so they don't know how to actually handle talking to the person at the top. they think they can still get someone "higher up" who will force the transaction.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I used to get the same thing with people asking if I'd ship internationally.

I made the decision to restrict shipping to U.S. buyers only and even blocked foreign bidders in my seller preferences. This is because I didn't feel like learning the customs requirements, and because all my buyers were U.S. anyway. It was also a pretty good way to block out the Nigerian scammers.

But it never failed. All the time I got "Will you ship this to (foreign country)? Will you ship this to (foreign country)? Will you ship this to (foreign country) and mark it as a gift on the customs form?"

No, no, and hell to the no. I ended up selling all my stuff anyway.

[protege]

I think you have hit the nail on the head here - people have got so used to being able to get their own way in stores by throwing a hissy fit, they think they can do the same to those selling their own property and get the same result.

When my dad and I would hold garage sales, we'd get quite few people pulling that crap. It was almost always the older retired people whining about prices. A few even played the "fixed income" card. Never mind that we're *all* on fixed incomes...and they'd show up in an expensive car, usually a Buick or Cadillac. It never mattered what we were selling, or the price tag on it. It was always too expensive and we were "ripping them off." Seriously? How exactly, are we "ripping them off?" Last time I checked, nobody forced anyone to attend the sale. Nor did we force anyone to buy anything.

I actually had one guy scream at me because I wouldn't come down on the price I wanted for a wooden trunk. My reply? "Don't buy it then." Didn't like that response, so I told him to get the fuck off my property. Didn't like that either, but there wasn't a goddamn thing he could do about it.

[mhkohne]

I was wondering if any of you have had a similar situation happen to you, and if so, what did you do about it? I know I can't be the only one that attracts these people. I'm sorry this turned into a rant. I didn't intend for it to play out this way when I started writing this post.

Rant on, brother! I've already posted about some of the nit-wits I've seen on Ebay. These bozos have some serious issues!

And remember, the only response you owe this guy is a simple 2 letter 'No'.

[starsinthesky]

My husband and I only accept paypal for ebay. Never money order or check, etc. Like your post in bold, highlighted. Still people would ask if they could pay another way. One time we had an item sell and the winner emailed us and asked for our address to mail the payment. So I respond that per the auction listing we only accept paypal. The SC responds that we are not allowed to only accept paypal, that must accept a moneyorder as well, that he was going to report us, etc. I just responded paypal or nothing. I can't remember what happened.

[Bob The Random Boy Wonder]

I'm curious what you're selling for such a great deal at 1/4 the price.

It's a piece of electronic equipment from a relatively-popular brand. It does have some cosmetic defects and missing parts, but research shows someone sold this equipment in worse condition than mine missing the exact same parts for $150 not too long ago. All that in mind, I feel like $100 is way more than fair.

I would suggest mailing this ashhat something along the lines of "Why should I ship this to you and waste a trip to the post office, when I could throw the item away and then toss a twenty into the trash with it from the convenience of my own home?" but it's pretty unlikely to sink in.

Would the dead silence of not responding to the nimrod get your point across? Or maybe just a terse, "I am sorry, but I cannot accept your offer" with no explanation or any other verbage included.

I usually don't make it a point to respond to anyone making these requests, but this one was so egregious that it made me angry. I actually messed with the guy a little bit. I told him if he could provide a logical reason why I should complete this transaction and lose money and do so in 500 words or less, I'd have the item out the door the next day. That's when he came back with this whole "the customer is always right" bullhockey.

Sorry, Nimrod, you lose. I asked for a logical reason, and you only tried pulling what you thought made you look clever. Instead, you look stupid. Thanks for playing. Johnny, tell him about his parting gifts!

Not too familiar with e-Bay these days, (gave up on them several years ago) but can you block him?

Unfortunately, this happens far too often to block people for doing it.

I also received hundreds of requests to lower the price on some college textbooks I was selling not too long ago. I have a habit of treating all my books like babies, so they ended up looking brand-new after the semester was over. I thought $75 was a fair price for one packet given the condition and the custom-edition printing. Everyone that haggled got ignored. I saw it this way: if you don't want to pay $75 for something in like-new condition, you can either buy it new for $200, in much-worse condition for $150 used from the bookstore, or not buy it at all and fail.

I did end up selling that packet of books for $75, so it all worked out in the end.

A few even played the "fixed income" card. Never mind that we're *all* on fixed incomes...and they'd show up in an expensive car, usually a Buick or Cadillac. It never mattered what we were selling, or the price tag on it. It was always too expensive and we were "ripping them off."

Sad to say it, but this sounds exactly like something my grandma would do. Every time I discuss business with her, I keep track of how many times she says the word "ripoff". I could make a drinking game out of the whole thing if I dealt in the drink!

[emax4]

Tell them, ""if you want it shipped overseas, ask that question to the winning bidder if he or she decides to sell it to you.."

I've been a dick before on eBay, but only a few times. I clearly laid out the rules on an item I was selling, but some guy made a lowball offer so I replied back in a patronizing manner. Another time I had no intention of buying the item but the item was on Consumerist.com. Starbucks had a lifetime card for $600 and free refills in the same visit or something like that. The seller had such a card but was offering $5000 for it or something. I called him out on his math and stated he put the listing in as one card when it should have been 6 or 7 of the same card. He said something like, "My math skills are up to par". I doubt he sold it anyway.