I am glad that you posted this topic, Kurt. After I post this reply, I will be moving it to the Main Coin Forum. I think that you have brought up some very important issues with buying/selling coins over the internet and this topic will get more visibility in the Main Coin Forum. I don't want to put it in the Ebay/Auction section because this topic obviously deals with much more than that venue.
I have read all of your responses with interest since I sell quite a bit on
ebay. (While I was hoping to have our internet store open by now, I'm having problems with it interfacing with Paypal properly, so I can't open it yet.)
While I find most of the points brought up so far to be common sense, I understand that there are people who don't see it that way. The main issue in question, as far as I can determine, would be, "who is responsible for shipping and fees in the event of a return?"
Here is how we handle this issue. Please feel free to criticize. Input from the members here and our customers is how we determine any improvements to our service. First of all, in my opinion, there is never a reason to charge a "restocking" fee. If an item is returned even with no reason given, there is no reason to charge that customer for the privilege of being able to see the items in-hand. Generally, what I have found is that charging a "restocking" fee enables
ebay sellers to be able to make money on a coin numerous times, even if the coin doesn't sell. Therefore, I never buy from someone who charges a restocking fee unless I am certain that I will be keeping the coin regardless.
Second of all, if an item is returned, your customer was not satisfied for one reason or another. With very few exceptions, again in my opinion, shipping charges should be absorbed by the seller. Now, I have just recently accepted a return that I do not plan on reimbursing the buyer for return shipping, but the shipping was higher because it was a larger lot of items and I would have difficulty breaking even with this return when I go to resell it. Also, there was no problem with the items, the buyer simply didn't realize the type of packaging.
This circumstance aside, I have had approximately 15 returns in the past 6 years - most of which were due to buyer's remorse on
ebay. In all instances but 3, I have assumed the cost for shipping both ways once the item was received back. I'd rather assume a $5 charge than upset a customer.
Now, as far as having a return policy, there are some auctions where I can see where this could be a problem. If you take a look at the featured auction, you will see our holiday kick-off auction. There really is no way to safeguard against bait-and-switch if someone were to choose to return this. After a lot of careful consideration, I decided to accept returns on this auction and hope that this is not a mistake. Sometimes, it is difficult to bank on honesty in people. However, I do not want anyone to feel that this collection is not being represented fairly, so the only way to ensure that belief is to offer a return on it. Also, since shipping is free, the buyer would have to pay the return shipping charges, since shipping on this auction is going to cost upwards of $100 for us. I am curious to know what you all feel about this particular situation. I have never listed a large collection in this way before, so I would like to know what you all expect from an item like this one.
As far as listing items here on CCF and than moving them to
ebay. I have done that many times. I always end the item here first, but I don't see any problems with offering something to our members first and then moving it to another selling venue. However, I do not condone listing something here and elsewhere concurrently.
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Posted 09/12/2008 10:49 pm
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