Ebay - good service.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Lots seem to criticise using Ebay so here's a contrary view. Since it's said people are quicker to complain than praise.

Bought a computer midi tower case and PS from an (unknown to me) supplier at a good price. It arrived damaged - the front plastic panel was broken off due to it being dropped. The bottom of the steel frame was slightly dented too.

Contacted the supplier and sent some pics of the damage as requested. Two days later got a full refund via Paypal. Not required to send the old unit back. So I've got a free PS, and a case which I could repair invisibly if needed

[Ben Blaukopf]

Surely it's the supplier (unnamed!) who deserves credit here, not eBay??

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Both, I'd say. The Ebay feedback system means suppliers want to maintain a good score. Which doesn't apply to ordinary mail order.

The supplier's Ebay name is 'prouneed'

[Adrian C]

I ordered an original Sky remote control on eBay.

What arrived was a knock-off, made from plastic one grade away from cheese.

I complained pretty sharply to the retailer, and got a friendly response and pretty quick refund. Told to keep the item.

Now do I compliment postively for great customer service (the quick refund), or negatively for them attempting a rip off?

Hmmm....

[Mathew Newton]

Surely the latter. The purpose of the feedback system is to inform other potential buyers of what they might expect to give them confidence (or not).

There's nothing worthy of praise if a fraudster refunds you promptly. That's like thanking someone for not mugging you.

Mathew

[Lobster]

I'm not normally a fan of the ebay feedback system but in that respect it's good - the other thing is that you've probably got a high, good f/b score which means that your supplier probably trusts you not to be taking the mick, and isn't requiring you to return the damaged goods as proof - that benefits him by not having to cover your return shipping costs.

My big gripe with it though (when I'm selling) is that you can have a totally unreasonable, newbie buyer with a throwaway account have you jumping through hoops, basically holding you to ransom because you know he'll give you negative feedback on a whim, with absolutely no detriment to himself.

David

[Lobster]

Neutral? "Item was not original as stated, but supplier provided prompt refund"

David

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I expected to and did send several pics of the damage. At one time this would have been a chore - but not these days.

I had a buyer try to bribe me into returning some of the sum he'd paid claiming the goods were damaged, via a PM. And threatening to leave bad feedback if I didn't. I contacted him via the Ebay PM system asking for pics of the damage - too much bother. Asked him to return the goods for a full refund - too much bother. Ebay found in my favour. They don't like feedback threats - and of course I suspect they could access the PMs to see exactly what was said. He'd already left bad feedback which Ebay removed. So just stay cool and follow the procedure.