A bad run, or poor sellers?

[dewdrop24me]

Is it just my bad luck, or are some sellers only interested in selling shoddy goods? Boy have we had a bad run!! Don't buy much through Ebay, but over the past few months, we have had - damaged fan, trousers not the colour and length as described, shirt that still had sweat stains, was damp, and rolled in a ball. Dog lead - wrong length, house phone - wrong model, runners - wrong size, belt - wrong colour, jeans wrong measurements. After contacting one seller, I was told that 'that was all I had left'. And then complained they wouldn't reimburse for return postage. We didn't want 'any other item' - we wanted the item we had purchased. And unfortunately, Ebay has become harder with assistance. Does make us cut down buying through Ebay.

 

[davewil1964]

Most sellers would probably consider you cutting down on buying a good thing, given eBay will sanction a seller on the slightest pretext.

You do seem to have a lot of bad luck (and probably several defected sellers), though.

A few thoughts -

Don't buy clothes if measurements aren't provided. If measurements ARE provided, as is generally the case, then -

READ THE DESCRIPTION!

Alternately, you might, please, consider buying used clothes from your local OP shop, or even, heaven forbid, trying the new clothes fom a real shop experience.

[polly.the.cat]

Buying on ebay is no different to anywhere else, even new items in a b&m store (bricks and mortor).  Ask, Ask, & Ask any and all questions about the said product new or used, till you are satisfied that you have the information that will encourage your purchase or not.

If you do not ask the right questions at the time of purchase, you may not receive what you believe you are getting.  More so as being bought through no real touch, no real view, before purchase, remember you are on the internet.  What colour are green pants ?  l know 18 different shades of green fabric, which colour green are we talking about ?   Do you see where l am coming from ?

Hope that this helps you, and yes there are many fine people here to help answer a question, if asked. All the best for your future purchases.

[wendshees-rocks]

Something else to consider when buying clothes online, sometimes the colour you see on your computer is different to the actual colour of the item. The colours can vary between my phone, my computer and my husband's computer. Sometimes if you are after an exact colour, you should go to a normal shop.

Also, sometimes sellers muck it up unintentionally. I listed something as 12cm instead of 120cm. I also recently got a negative feedback because I missed a small scratch on something. I certainly wasn't out to deceive or mislead anyone,  it was a genuine error on my part. I just didn't see it. I accepted the neg and moved on.

[springyzone]

Most of the answers seem to have focused on the possibility of colours varying on monitors, but I think there are several genuine problems/issues

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 damaged fan,

trousers not the colour and length as described,

shirt that still had sweat stains, was damp, and rolled in a ball.

Dog lead - wrong length,

house phone - wrong model,

runners - wrong size, 

jeans wrong measurements.

In my opinion, if measurements & lengths are very incorrect (I don't mean 1 or 2 mm out) then that is not acceptable & damaged items that were not described as such are not acceptable either.

It's easy to say to people not to buy second hand clothes or not on ebay but I have bought and sold them before & it shouldn't be a problem if things are carefully described. There's nothing more annoying (well, there is, but you know what i mean) than buying something described as 'as new' or new without tags or excellent condition & finding it is well worn with caught threads etc. 

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Have you just had a bad run?

I haven't struck these problems in quite a while. I think the secret is to pick your sellers really carefully, look at the photos very closely. A lot of chinese stuff will be cheap copies & as long as you know that, it isn't too bad. Oh and maybe keep away from electronics & phones, they seem to cause grief for almost everyone.

After contacting one seller, I was told that 'that was all I had left'. And then complained they wouldn't reimburse for return postage. We didn't want 'any other item' - we wanted the item we had purchased. And unfortunately, Ebay has become harder with assistance. Does make us cut down buying through Ebay.

If something is significantly not as described,  and a seller won't do anything about it, make a claim each and every time. You are entitled to get what you paid for.