Chapman 500 on ebay.....ungentlemanly conduct

[Dave Burr]

The blaggard!!

When I was newer to Ebay and its foibles I saw a rod with a buy it now price on it, I put in a high bid which took the price close to that figure so put in the buy it now price. I was contacted by the seller who said he was going to remove the buy it now price as the rod was obviously going to make more money if he left it to run. We exchanged words on the subject of integrity and he removed my bid which promptly dropped the price of the rod and it eventually sold for less than I'd been prepared to fork out. Moral victory but I lost out on a rod I dearly wanted.

Another time I received a rod that was not as described in that the top section that 'the ferules separate with a loud pop', was looser than size 13 wellington boot. Chummy reluctantly agreed to take the rod back but when I sent it he claimed (I cannot prove either way but I have my suspicions) that he didn't receive it. Stupidly I had sent it by cheap parcel post as it was an inexpensive rod but it led to weeks of claiming some of the money back from Royal Mail.

Ebay is full of pitfalls and the unwary are likely to be eaten alive, on the other hand, I've made nearly 200 transactions that have been faultless. 'You pays yer money you takes yer chance'.

[Chevin]

I once won a Daiwa Mission Brolly System for the opening bid of £1.99 as no one else bid on the item, the seller contacted me within minutes of the auction ending to inform me that the £10.00 postage fee was a mistake and the item was collection only, I responded that that was ok and if he would provide a collection address I would come and collect, I never got a reply, I didn't think I would as this was just a ploy to get out of the sell. After the allocated time period I raised a complaint through Ebay channels to report this guys actions to protect others. The outcome was that he told ebay that I had arranged collection and failed to collect using the excuse that I had Flu and this had cost his wife a days wages Ebay threatened to close my account if I didn't withdraw my complaint

[AshbyCut]

Are Ebay and Ebay sellers are getting worse ?

I've been on the Bay of E for around 10 years now and have been involved in around 1000 transactions as both buyer and seller (as of now 817 have bothered to leave feedback), including everything from a postcard to cars and motorcycles.

Virtually all of the experience I've had as a buyer and seller has been nothing but positive, but I've certainly noticed a shift in the past few months ... especially in 'vintage' fishing tackle.

I've certainly noticed that some descriptions have become more "embellished" (being charitable !!!), and that the use of certain words like "rare" and "excellent original condition" is flourishing.

I've also noticed an increase in listings which, whilst not claiming this are faultless, omit the mention faults that are readily apparent when the item arrives ... like my recent Sealey Flocast experience.

I still believe that the majority of people are honest and decent.

I once ordered a two piece waterproof jacket and bib and braces outfit and, due to an error on the part of the seller, two sets arrived within 2 days of each other. Without being prompted I posted one set back, and received a letter from the seller thanking me for my honesty, and enclosing a voucher for future purchases to the value of the goods I had returned !!!

I wouldn't have been able to afford to accumulate the little cane collection I have without the Bay of E, but then I have been buying things which I knew needed attention and work for the most part ... buying with low expectations and mostly being pleasantly surprised ... which is the way I think you should approach ebay.

It's not just there that problems can arise ... I once bought a vintage bike engine from the adverts in a well regarded motorcycle publication, and when it arrived the serial number had been freshly ground off !!! The seller said that's how he bought it ... the publication took no action, allowing him to continue advertising ... the police were disinterested ... and I was stuck.

[Chevin]

AC I would have to agree with everything you say, I have only been caught out/misled by a listing, on only a few occasions. All but the one I have described above were resolved without issue, I have also had a similar experience with an item that was lost in the post and the seller refunded my money only for the item to turn up a few weeks later (it had gone to Ireland for some reason), I contacted the seller and repaid for the item.

It has been mentioned many times on this forum that we have a wall of shame for dodgy sellers, is there a reason this cannot be done.

[Ljm183]

I have only been caught out/misled by a listing, on only a few occasions. All but the one I have described above were resolved without issue, I have also had a similar experience with an item that was lost in the post and the seller refunded my money only for the item to turn up a few weeks later (it had gone to Ireland for some reason), I contacted the seller and repaid for the item.

I have been caught out a few times in the past 5 years with ebay listings/sales and all but one was resolved without issue,
the one being a member on this forum all with his post,s in the for sale or swap section .

I myself have had a couple of ebay sales returned for faults i had missed and these were refunded in full including return postage.

[Nigel Rainton]

I've never had any problems with eBay or Paypal, buying or selling :-)

[Greentura]

i had the same sort of thing happen with a two piece fishing suit, first one didn't arrive for a couple of weeks, called the seller and he apologised and said he would send another out, it arrived with a letter of apology too and a week later the original one arrived. I called the seller and told them and he said it had neen claimed for on his insurance so i may as well keep it. i felt a bit uneasy about keeping something that had in effect been paid for bu all of us that pay insurance to send things then thought, that makes up for the rod that went missing in the post (not eBay sale so not covered) so i put it down to karma and re sold the surplus suit, gettin exactly the same amount as i had lost on the rod, Karma again?

[Bluedun]

Most of the fishing tackle items I've bought on ebay have been from companies, and they've been fine. Bought a couple of multipliers from private sellers and all well there too. The only problem I've had was a piece of furniture that had a fault, but the seller accepted a reduced offer and refunded the rest - concerned to get good feedback. They described me as "honourable" in mine, which is how I came to be a member of parliament.

[Mario]

I've bought plenty of books from eBay which on whole I've been very happy and saved myself some money

[Mushy]

My experience has been varied but I must say generally OK, I found a great old Wizard on one hand and a Lucky Strike with split ferrules, which were not mentionned!, on the other. OK it cost me a bit of money but I've still got a lovely rod in the making, that's the great thing with cane, all but the worst can be restored.

I think that you just have to accept that probably 1 in 5 (?) transactions might not be great.