Whats with buyers?

[nikel66]

I occasionally sell stuff i don't need any more on eBay - strictly an amateur and not a businessperson by any stretch. I've usually had good  experiences with  this and felt a lot of goodwill and respect between sellers and buyers. This time though I've noticed with my latest sales a change in mood and that some buyers are treating you like an enemy. 

I price items cheaply to sell but inevitably you get people trying to screw you down on price, people demanding things be sent ASAP, even when it states 3 business days. They've complained about postage costs, which are calculated by eBay and set by Australia post. They want all sorts of after sales service,  even if something sells for only a couple of dollars. Ive even been instructed on how i should package something for postage.

It's now at the stage where i think i'm going to give up on eBay because it's not worth the hassle.

[curraone]

Treat it like a test.    Respond calmly - use only the Australia Post exact postage - keep your handling time to 3 days or more -  politely respond to ridiculous offers with sensible counteroffers, and this is what will happen:

50% of the time:   you will get people trying to screw you down on price, people demanding things be sent ASAP, even when it states 3 business days, complaints about postage costs, which are calculated by eBay and set by Australia post. They want all sorts of after sales service, even if something sells for only a couple of dollars. Ive even been instructed on how i should package something for postage.

And then  you will have the rest of the buyers who behave.

And you will live happily ever after.

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

I think first off, you could probably raise the price of the things you sell. Not that I have looked, but you said you sell cheaply. We used to do that and I'm not sure it's a great idea. Of course you still want things to be competitive but my experience has been that when things are too cheap, people start to get doubts about it and wonder what is wrong. Or else they might think you are desperate. They don't always value what they haven't paid much for, anyway.

If i were you, I'd try popping the price up and if you do have make an offer enabled, set your lower limits so you don't even see offers below what you want. And if someone sends ridiculously low offers when you don't even have make an offer on your ads, I'd ignore or else just answer-NO.

Stick to your guns.

Personally, unless you are a high volume seller, I have my doubts it is going to be worth your while selling things on ebay for a couple of dollars. You'll have fees to pay and running around to post etc which will make it hardly worth your while.

I don't think most buyers are like the ones you describe but if they are cheeky enough to try beating you down on cheap items and get their way, then they'll likely complain about other things too. For some people, it's a case of give an inch & they'll take a mile.

As for your delivery dates, the buyers should be able to see those pretty clearly in the ad. I think that on any site, you have to expect about 5-10% high maintenance buyers. grit your teeth, be polite and raise your prices so it's worth the hassle.

[travelsizeme]

Hi nikel66,

I used to sell quite a bit on eBay around 10 years ago (different ID) and have only rejoined in the last couple of years to sell stuff as I gradually declutter my house after having two bubs. Generally my experience has been good, but I have had many more hassles with buyers than I ever did a decade ago (from zero hassles back then to buyers changing their mind quite a bit after buying which is frustrating!) I also started using gumtree at the same time as rejoining eBay and have had so much success with it. I know people often talk about time wasters etc but I’d say less than 5% of my interactions have been time wasters (and I’ve gotten better at sniffing them out). Most of my items sell within 1-2 weeks of listing and people have been prompt to pickup items and polite/easy to deal with. The best thing is, cash on pickup and no fees. Depending on what you’re selling, you may want to try gumtree. I only use eBay for things that are easy to post and things like old electronics and collectables where there is more demand.

With regard to the advice given above about starting price, I agree and have found the same with gumtree (too low and people think twice about it, and they seem to be more rude/time wasting than otherwise) so I’ve priced a bit higher than what I want and allow the buyers to haggle down so they feel like they have won and I still get the price I want.

Hope this helps!