eBay problems, resolutions, shenanigans, questions and info (not bike finds)

To be fair, as the seller, there's no risk to you if they pay you via PayPal gift. It's essentially the same as them posting you cash. The risk is all theirs.

Why they have asked you to do this is the question though? Do they want a better price?

I often buy/sell outside of eBay in order to get a better price/avoid 10% eBay fees. Always pay/get paid via 'goods and services' though.

If you're the seller and they're paying paypal gift, I can't see how this could go wrong for you, unless they've hijacked an account and the money will get returned to its rightful owner or something?

They send paypal gift money and address to you. You send item. That's it. They have no recourse if you don't send it or if you send a turd. You pay no ebay or paypal fees. They stand to lose more, I think. Maybe I'm wrong?

Edit: Too late, should've refreshed the page.

They, in essence wanted me to end to auction early and to do a deal off eBay. I wouldn't be comfortable accepting a goods and services payment from a new user with 1 feedback, hence I was thinking if I were to do via gift, if there would be any risk to me.

Lol I wouldn't do that but yea, that's what I thought. Don't think I will go through with it, despite everything, still seems dodgy.

Charlie33 just dont do it man. Offer to relist as BuyNow or leave the cash in a black bag, under the third bench, by the green car, and tell them not to look back.

Hahaha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiAA82uIULw

Currently have a watch advertised on eBay for £1000+, meaning the fees for the sale will over 100. Someone has offered me money, but only if I send them a paypal invoice. I have used them before without too much trouble for bike related stuff, but they were only for a few hundred.

Does anyone have experience of using invoices more often? Can the buyer open a case through paypal if they aren't happy with what they got or can paypal take back the money if the source later turns out to be bad?

Yeah. Protection covers everything other than gifts iirc.

As far as I can remember, charges are % on afinal price, but never more then £75. But dont take my word for granted, cause i deleted "ebay has changed" emails without reading them.

I've just bought a new keyboard for my macbook after spilling beer on it, installed it, and discovered that a few of the keys are sticky or unresponsive (they require a couple of taps to register). I've messaged the seller who has told me to return it so they can send me a new one.

Now, obviously I don't want to have to take my laptop apart again and return it, to be left without the laptop for a few days and then have to go through the ball-ache of an installation process again. I also don't want to have to pay return postage for something which is a faulty product.

What am I within my rights to do? They're a big seller and so have that eBay buyer protection thing which seems to suggest that if they're not playing ball then eBay will just take the money off them, is that right? They have their own returns policy but I think the eBay one trumps anything a seller says (which is what makes eBay a crap place to sell stuff).

I can live with the keyboard, tbh, it would just make it easier if I wasn't £25 out of pocket for it.

This is the item:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=171524858779&alt=web

@dglshrn so what outcome you would like?

if you want a keyboard for free then you are part of what makes ebay a shitty place to sell tbh.

A partial refund would do me. It's not fully working by any stretch.

Am I just being a dick? Should I just return it? (Assuming they'll pay postage)

Did you asked the seller for partial refund?

Sorry for original answer edit.

If £2.80 2nd class return post is the case. I have some leftovers in my paypal. I could transfer you that if that will cheer you up ;)

If I was a company selling 1000s of keyboards and one was faulty, I would expect to replace it/refund it. Having it returned is of no consequence as it's just going in the bin anyway, it's not something that can really be repaired if it's just crap manufacturing.
If it was a company operating in the 'real world' then I think it would just be refunded. It's not an individual person I'm dealing with, it's a largeish company. Normally on eBay, large companies will just refund a faulty item in return for feedback. This is how shit companies are allowed to continue to operate, the feedback is not actually representative of the quality of the product.
Unfortunately, eBay deals with individuals in the same way it deals with large companies so selling a set of hubs as 'used' can lead to you getting screwed by a buyer who decides that they're not the right level of 'used' and eBay will always, always side with them.

I suppose it is hypocritical of me, but I've been screwed as a seller, I might as well use some of the power given to me as a buyer.

The more I write, the more I realise how much of an arse I'm possibly being here...

It's £3.90 these days! It's more the fact that I'd be without a computer for up to a week, and I need it for work. Also, have you ever replaced a macbook keyboard?

40+ tiny screws hold it in place...

I haven't asked for a partial refund yet, I was going to see what my position was first.

Postage is £3.90 now, fucking RM. It's not even the postage though really, it's the idea of being without a laptop for a week with lots of work to be done.
And removing and reinstalling a keyboard, which is the most laborious task ever. 40+ tiny screws...

I would go to a seller first. And explaining that.

Are there usually problems dealing with Italians?

Having four separate nightmares, all based in Italy having never bought/sold there before. Two on ebay and a couple elsewhere.

Remember seeing a lot of items in the past stating that they wouldn't post to Italy. Shit postal service or something.

Here's my story:
I sold some 'antique tripod stands' to a buyer (in Essex, should have set alarm bells ringing) on the 16th, he send an email the day after asking when they would be posted. I sent them on the 19th but stupidly didn't send them recorded - I was posting a few things and because of the shape of the parcel (a tube), it didn't occur to me that the price was wrong when I asked for recorded delivery.
Anyway, he raised an issue with ebay yesterday because he claims they haven't been delivered, and me only having proof of postage, I can't say anything other than that I did send them. It was a stupid mistake, and I admitted as much, and have said that they should turn up in the next day or so, and if not then I will raise it with Royal Mail (after 15 working days).
However... he has sent me 10 messages now, starting off being a bit rude, and escalating through accusations that I haven't sent the package (he said he would ring RM and check for evidence that something had been sent, despite me sending him a photo of proof of postage), to the most recent one, where he has said that he'll be contacting the police as I am committing fraud.
Now, he is quite clearly a crank and I've stopped responding to him as I'm getting bored of it all. On the listing the postage service offered was 'Second Class Parcel', no mention of tracked. However, because it was £8 (postage was actually £5, and I have offered to refund the difference), he wrongly assumed that it was tracked and is now accusing me of falsely advertising that it would be tracked.
So what should I do? I've reported him to eBay for harrassing me, but are they likely to do anything? I know that because I didn't send it recorded, I'll end up having to refund him and claim off Royal Mail myself, but I really would rather not go through the whole process.
I have repeatedly told him that I will contact Royal Mail if it comes to that, but for the time being I can't do anything. Meanwhile, my paypal is locked (I think), and he is working himself up into a rage.
Should I just ignore him? I'm not going to refund him until the three weeks are up and I can safely say that the parcel was 'lost' (according to RM terms).
Edit: He's closed the request (presumably the package arrived), and is now accusing me of threatening his wife! This guy is a champ.
Oh, also North Yorks police will be contacting me about my 'intimidation' of him.

I know someone who lives in Italy. Her family are based in Germany. They gave up sending her letters and parcels because they never arrive, or they arrive and they've been opened with anything of value removed.

One issue is being blamed on the postal service - a record arrived in a manilla envelope, no padding, no stiffeners, no protection and it hadn't been removed from the sleeve so it's badly warped and the cover has seam splits on three sides.

The seller is maintaining it was adequately packaged and it's all mishandling by the postal service (or that I'm making it up to get a free record.)

The other bought a bike frame and is just being a demanding nuisance. A million messages after bidding has ended with questions and conditions.