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 Replies: 12 / Views: 1,806 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1590 Posts |
A General Question; how much does an ebay Sellers return policy determine whether or not you will buy from them? The reason I ask is that I on occasion sell on ebay. I have a return policy for everything EXCEPT my silver coins. For the following reason. Right before the last big correction in Silver, I sold a number of ASE Proofs. I had one buyer that won 7 auctions at around $95 each. He promptly paid, they were promptly shipped, and the day before they arrived the bottom fell out of the Commodities Market and I received noticed that he wanted to return the Eagles because they were unsatisfactory. When I showed him the tracking information that showed he had not received them yet, he admitted that he had not. And then went on to say that he did not want them because they had lost significant value and he had purchased them as an investment. This was not a BIN situation where I set high prices. These were all auctions with a .99 cent starting bid. This was a speculator that got caught short and wanted me to make up for his losses. When Gamblers lose in Vegas the house does not refund their money, and I don't understand why an ebay seller should either. On the flip side, even with my policy in place, I will for good and sufficient reason make a refund. I had a buyer contact me a week after the sale and explain that, yes it was a good coin, for a good price; but,his wife had just lost her job and the family could not afford to pay $400 into his hobby when the family needed the money for food. I'm sure many of you have had similar stories as sellers, but I really would like to hear about it from the buyers perspective. Thanks |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
I typically don't buy from sellers who say 'No Returns' - i.e., I avoid bidding on the items. But these are for collectable coins, not bullion.
I think it is reasonable to specify 'No Returns' on bullion items if you make it clear that all sales are final due to the nature of the transaction.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I don't use ebay but from what I read here, most people don't like to buy anything when there is a no return policy. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
Even if they say no returns you can still file an item not as described. With that in mind I have bid and won on a few items that had no returns. But I usually don't just because it can be a hassle if I have to go though on the filing process. If a person has a lot good feed back and has sold similar items to the one I am looking at I usually consider to be okay.
The thing I find really annoying is when a seller pastes 10 pages of generic policy in the ad. I do read the ads so I know what I am getting, so it is annoying to have to read a lot of irrelevant information.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
I hit the back button in a millisecond once I see "No Returns" on numismatic items.
For bullion, I would view a no return policy as reasonable though.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
4618 Posts |
When I was buying on ebay I would bid what I thought the coin was worth and if I was wrong, I didn't blame anyone else or ask for a refund if it was my fault. I look at the refund policy and the sellers feedback. If I see lots of negative comments I don't bid with or without a refund offer. I have sent back coins a couple of times, but only when the coin was not as described. One was a BU Morgan that had a huge scratch that was not in the photos. I contacted the seller and he said the coins were mixed up in shipments and he couldn't get the other buyer to return the coin that I had paid for. He refunded my payment before I even returned the coin and he had a No Refunds policy. I had a fight with one seller. I bought 5 error coins worth about $25. He only shipped me 4 and I very nicely asked about the fifth. He started telling me that I was lying, that he sent all 5 and I would have to contact ebay. I decided to let the issue drop, when he sent another email saying that he would refund my money, but not the shipping. The shipping was too high for 5 coins. His attitude made me mad, because I had been nice in every email contact. I told him that I would just contact ebay about the shipping. He sent me one email that I would NEVER get a refund from him, followed by another that said he had looked at my feedback and could see I wasn't someone that tried to rip people off. He then refunded me the total paid with shipping and told me just to keep the 4 coins he had sent. He had a 7 day return policy. I think that he found the coin that he forgot to ship. ANA ID: 3203813 - CONECA ID: N-5637 Clean a coin that may be worth collecting? Please DON'T! When in doubt, leave it dirty!! 
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2936 Posts |
I sell quite a lot on ebay and there are basically only two instances where I would not gladly refund the purchase price. In fact, I have the unstated policy that I also pay return shipping on items the buyer deems not up to their expectations. The two exceptions are: 1) bullion and 2) complete coin sets with keys. Although I do offer unquestioned returns on slabbed coins (The Big Four TPG's), I can see the rationale for not doing so as some sellers also follow those guidelines. Bottom line - a happy buyer is a repeat customer.  |
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Valued Member
United States
361 Posts |
For bullion items a no return policy makes complete sense. I think the buyer had a lot of nerve asking for a refund.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
I think you could have easily fought that case. Paypal is pretty decent and you could have provided those emails as proof the guy was just backing out of the deal.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1064 Posts |
I've only bought on ebay, never sold anything, and made one return many years ago, a Peace dollar that was a slider once I got it in hand; there was a little squawking, but I got a full refund. I do have a question for you sellers: are you ever afraid that you sell a coin, and the buyer invokes the return policy for whatever reason, and what you get back is not what you sold, like same type, but crappy/lesser condition? This is something that's always kept me from selling, the fear of getting screwed with a return. Am I paranoid, or has this happened to you? Would you have to go through an aggravating resolution process, and maybe give up as not worth it? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2936 Posts |
Good question JackB. That "substitution" potential is the reason I accept no returns on complete sets. It would be easy to slip in a dud on a return and I might miss it. In general, buyers (with a few notable exceptions) are honest folks. I've had to deal with a few unsavory types, but have yet (knock on wood) to lose a case with ebay in over 2,000 sales. Good photos of items being sold, good record keeping, and staying on top of outstanding accounts pays dividends in the end. Also, keep in the eBay/PayPal network and NEVER go "OFFLINE" to make a buck or two extra. That 10% in fees is painful, but it saves more pain than it causes. Paleoguy |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1064 Posts |
Thanks for the informative response Paleoguy - is the 10% cost (of sale price, I assume) for the seller the total hit for any sale? Is there a minimum?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2936 Posts |
There is a listing fee and that can be anywhere from $.15 (for a second photo) to over $1.00 depending on whether you have a minimum opening bid, Buy it Now, etc. Listing fees are a moving target as ebay has frequent "specials" on listing. A general rule of thumb is 9% of the winning bid goes to ebay. PayPal takes their cut of around 3% if it is the method of payment. Once you have established yourself as a "Favorite Seller" (criteria is best figured out from reading the ebay info on it) you receive a 20% discount off of you final fees. I suppose these fees fall into the "cost of doing business" and where else could you reach such a wide and diverse group of potential buyers? |
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Replies: 12 / Views: 1,806 |
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Posted 07/29/2011 1:43 pm
