Yep, as far as razors anyway. I'm tired of the omissions and puffery when it comes to razors. There may be half a dozen guys selling razors there that I trust, and all of them participate in the different shave forums. I decided to try straight razors, on Ebay straights are worse than Bill's spoof auction in the straight razor forum. I have purchased two straights from reputable internet storefronts, and I will have another do some work for me, if he will, to get my grandfather's razor in shave ready condition, replace the scales (one is cracked), and polish the blade. If I purchase any more DEs it will be at flea markets or antique shops where I can judge for myself, or from member swap forums. New guys, take note and don't go hog wild on ebay razors unless or until you know exactly who you are dealing with.
Same here. Had a bit of a scare recently when an ebay seller took almost 3 weeks to contact me after repeated e-mails. He finally sent me the razor, but no explanation at all why he was so late. I only risked $30 or so, but it was the principle of the thing. Been reading about all the horror stories on ebay's own forum. Ebay seems to be turning into a real snake pit. I probably won't be risking my money there again. Besides, I've got 5 nice safety razors, a couple of good brushes and a soap/cream combination that works. I can even get decent blades locally, so I don't need ebay. If I do have an AD attack, I'll most likely buy from members of shave forums I trust.
I aways seem to get stuck with the guys who charge $20 to ship a $2 item... it is starting to drive me nuts, but yeah, I feel the same way.....
When you use ebay, pay attention to a number of things. The sellers ratings. How the seller accepts payment. And the pictures. If you are not sure about the condition of an item, ask for additional pictures. And if you are still not sure about the item, move on. Another will come along. St. Croix
Ditto that. I have never purchased shavery from Ebay but I have been shopping there for 8 or 9 years. So far, so good. NO problems but I do check out all the variables b4 pulling the trigger on anything. Buyer Beware !!
I got burnt once on eBay through my own stupidity, but that has made me more careful. Buying from shave forum members has been more rewarding (and cheaper!) anyway.
It's a whole different world on Ebay. We were a seller for 5 years and then quit because a lot of other sellers on there were selling similar but very inferior goods and it ruined it for the good sellers. A lot of them got out because their business tanked (no trust anymore by buyers) and the fees are outrageous.
While I despise the eBay and PayPal fees (they really get you coming and going), I've had good experiences to date both buying and selling. There are deals to be had if you're savvy and take some time out to look close. There are also still a lot of good, honest sellers. I just purchased two straights in different auctions from the same seller. He would have been well within his rights to charge me the stated $6 each for shipping, but he combined shipping for the two without my asking on the invoice. A pleasant surprise!
There are definitely some horror stories. There are others that make you pull your hair out... and then there's Loy. Check my About Me page.
DEAR MR ELLIS MY CAPS LOCK KEY GOT LOCKED IN 2005 AND THERE ISN'T A DAY THAT I DONT THINK ABOUT WHAT IT DOES TO MY EYES WHEN YOU SHIPPED ME THE MISSING RAZOR DONT THINK I WASNT THERRE FELLA STOP I HAVE SOLD KNIVES FOR 25 YEARS AND THAT SHOULD TELL YOU THAT I KNOW HOW TO SELL KNIVES It's funny if it ain't happening to you.
Loved your story. Sorry you had to go through that. We had a negative early on from a teen who was using daddy's account and backed out of the sale. Daddy called and threatened to sue us for leaving her a negative for defaulting. That's when they left a retaliatory negative. I then followed up with Ebay after daddy's phone call to have his account yanked for violating the Ebay terms of usage for letting his underage daughter use his account, backing out of a sale and a retaliatory negative. I won't write any more about vendor/customer relationships because someone on another board got bent out of shape when I used our company as an example. I still buy a lot of cooking and other stuff on Ebay though.
Feedback is not enough. I've purchased razors from 1000/100% sellers that were misrepresented. The only negative feedback I have is from some nut that claimed I was going to keep a knife, not pay him, and threatened negative feedback. The knife was supposedly mint, the pix looked good, inquiry didn't raise any red flags, feedback was 100%, but when the knife arrived it had been ground, and not well, on a wheel. None of this showed up in the pix which were cleverly taken. I have both sold and purchased on ebay, heck, I even purchased an automobile on ebay (a 79 MG Midget) . Mostly I've purchased to be fair. I've rarely been ripped off (maybe two of 400 non razor transactions), except when it comes to razors. The only razor I may purchase on ebay in the future may be a $10.00 Sheffield Straight to use for honing practice. End of story. I'm done. Bill, that is one Hell of a story. I would not have had as much patience as you. With the knife referred to above, the sob left negative feedback after our first exchange and it was so outlandish that I was completely discombooberated. The fact remains, there are only about a half dozen sellers I trust today. There may be more in the future as I learn people on the various forums, but that is just the way it is.
I was recently pleasantly surprised when a seller refunded $2.00 of my money because she had overcharged me on postage! So they're not all evil, but yeah, you really do take your chances.
Wow.... I have nothing further to add. I love your "special person" comment, I was :rofl I have been lucky on eBay. I don't have many transactions though.... One thing I am puzzled about is when people say "If your paypal account is non-registered, please contact me" and then when you contact them, they write you back "Sorry, I can't accept non-confirmed paypal" Why the heck don't they just say that? I understand why they don't accept non-confirmed , I just don't understand why they don't just stop wasting time and tell you?! I figured they would look at my dozen or so purchases over 6 years and say, "OK, lets give the kid a chance".... :ashamed001
Yeah, and the way that foreign accounts will be forever "non-confirmed". Like that, too. That being said, I'm sure there are many fine sellers on ebay but for me it's too much of a crap shoot. I guess I'm just a control freak.
Know exactly what you mean ,I won a razor for 11c US and when I got the invoice the postage was $22.85 US, I inquired about the reason for the high cost of postage as it was nearly 5 times more than I usually pay ,after a week I got some long winded reply ,so I said he can keep his razor and his postage and shove it ,then I contacted ebay and told them to shove it as well . The only two red spots I have received were from sellers that dont like the truth being told about their dealings and as usual ebay dosen`t mind lies so long as they get their money so I`m now waiting for a non receipt of funds from the seller then I will let him and ebay both have it Kind regards Peter PSwhat really annoys me is that the seller can lie and get away with it ,but what really peeves me even more is the fact that when you complain to ebay you get a great long winded reply that basically says bad luck,if they just said that at the start you wouldn`t have to spend 20 min going over the crap Pss as you can see I`m still pissed at ebay ,sorry . I must admit that 99.9%(near mint) of sellers are generally honest,all be it unfamiliar with what there selling so a bit of leeway is warranted , but that still leaves .1%that I just cant stand ,lier's ,thieves and people that take advantage of others in any way shape or form and that includes all politicians sorry I`ll get off my high horse now ( bugger me its a long way down )
On a positive note: I recently purchased a "60's Fat Boy" on ebay and paid for it literally within minutes of winning it. I received thanks from the ebayer and was told the razor would be shipped on the following monday. I then ordered 3 other items from the States and over the next couple of weeks they arrived - but no razor. The ebayer seemed concerned when I told her, and, at my request, supplied me with shipping and customs numbers and a promise to contact the postal authorities there. After five weeks still nothing. The ebayer offered to find a replacement, and if the other one arrived then I would have to make a decision about how I would deal with it. We agreed that neither of us wanted to see the other out of pocket. 2 days later the razor arrived. It was exactly as described (except it was a D4 - last quarter of 1958) and cleaned up into near mint condition (would I call that 99% mint?), with all the black in all the numbers and no brassing, rust or any other negative feature. I had received a bargain. BTW - I checked the shipping dates on the package and everything was as the ebayer had told me. I just wanted people to know that there are still good sellers out there. Her name on ebay is mumleitz, although maybe the mods may want to remove the last part.
