Thursday, April 27, 2006
Ebay Pt2 - Who is your Audience?
Ebay brings together people from all walks of life, and certainly a few that are running through theirs. On the phonograph record pages, their is a mish mash of participants, records, descriptions, and prices. That's what you expect on Ebay, right? Let's wade through a few subjects that all travel down the road of integrity.
The Grading System: You get one "point" for every positive feedback comment, but only one point from the same seller ever. What that means is that you may get 10 positive feedbacks from one seller over time, but only one of them count on your official score. The others are just counted on the overall tally. That may be the best argument for overhauling the system. Why not score them all? There was a positive transaction, so count it! Negative's can be given if you are unhappy with the deal, and neutral marks get posted when something may be wrong, but the dog didn't get kicked in disgust. When you have a bad experience, many are afraid to post the unflattering coments because of retaliations. Some sellers actually say they will give you what you give them, with no regard given to the quality level. So you say you have a 100% feedback rating? Don't worry, some deadbeat will destroy it. Just like getting the first dent on your new car, you can breath easier once it happens! And the ratings? They are important, but don't discount someone with less than a 100 % rating.
What about those sellers? Look at the their feedback. See what has transpired lately, and pay attention to it. Many sellers add verbiage that they have a money back guarantee. Some include postage in the said refund, but most don't. Examine their shipping prices. Do you really want to pay 7 bucks for a media mail 45 inside the USA? I recently bought the De Castro Sisters CD on Ebay. I didn't buy it from the seller with the cheapest product price, but rather the lowest overall price. Can you believe one seller wanted 9.95 to ship a stinkin CD inside the states? 78's are expensive to ship, so keep that in mind when making a decision. If they don't list it, ask! From the "How Do You Do" department, I bid on a book of 15 45's and was the winner. I asked for the total, and the seller charged me 15 bucks for shipping! I asked if he was using Fedex Overnight, and no amusement was forthcoming. I forgot to ask before the auction closed, so I paid it. The day before the records arrived, I got a frantic email from the seller. He said he mixed up the orders and he sent me the wrong ones. He asked me to let him know how much the shipping charges would be for me to mail them back. See where I am going with this? Without delay, I told him 15 bucks. After much grumbling I got a money order for the full amount. And speaking of asking, if you have a question about the item, ask it. A quality seller will answer you accurately and within a day. Bonus points go to the seller that POSTS the question and response on the listing.
Buyers have issues too! What do you do with those pesky thugs? Check the feedback they have left for others. Yep, see if you can spot any trends. I did that with a buyer earlier this year. Seems he had quite a history of receiving broken records in the mail. I sent a 78 in an absolute bulletproof box that was about 18 X 18X24. He still tried the same thing on me. I clued him in to the past feedback he had been leaving, and I didn't hear anything back. If the buyer has won your auction, there's not much you can do. Or is there? Many sellers have notes in the listing that potential customers can't have negative feedback or less than XXX marks. You can cancel their bid if the self imposed rules are not followed, and offer the record to the next highest bidder. This is not without issues, but does provide an avenue of recourse. You can't always see how fast buyers pay, but you can state in your listing that you expect payment or contact within a certain length of time. I bought a record once from a seller that had very stringent rules. He laid out a step by step procedure to use, and you had to pay for the item within 24 hours or he would whack your feedback. I seemed to get it right, and I was even on vacation in Africa!
Do you insure? If you are buying an expensive record, I would recommend it. Purchasing 78's? Check with the seller first to see how they package it. It might be a good idea to pay the couple of bucks. No one wins if the record breaks, but at least your wallet is back to square one. I once got a Jive Bombers 78 sent to me in a lightly padded envelope. Can you believe it arrived safely? No, it was NOT a flexidisc.
Next time: Bidding outside of Ebay, more on listings, and random thoughts to finish up this three part look at buying records on Ebay.
