neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 08:25:52 AM new
Recently I bought a postcard lot of 211 postcards on eBay ..here's part of the listing:
"This is a high quality lot with very good retail cards in it! The average card in this lot could easily retail for 6.00 each with at least 75% of the cards in this lot retailing for 10.00 or more! This is the real thing! The cards are in very good condition. I have scanned a few as a sample of the lot. Sorry, but I had to place a reserve on this auction due to the quality of the cards. The reserve is set VERY reasonable!"
I received the postcards this weekend and what do I find? GARBAGE! 96 of the postcards were duplicates (and in many instances 3 and 4 and up to 7 of the same worthless postcard!) the rest were of cactuses (oops cacti) and other completely WORTHLESS subjects...THIS WAS NOT A "HIGH QUALITY" lot!
So i write the seller and tell him I am not happy and want my $ back..he writes back:
"There is nothing in this lot that conflicts with the way it was described....I am not in the habit of taking back items because they simply weren't ones that you happened to be looking for....These postcards are no different from most of the other older postcards bought and sold everyday on eBay, and nobody should know that better than yourself."
Well, that's right..no one knows better than I what a bunch of garbage this lot is!
GRRRRRRRRR..now what??
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msincognito
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posted on June 9, 2003 08:36:41 AM new
Bummer! I hate getting all excited about eBay purchases and then feeling so crestfallen when it's just a bunch of junk.
Sounds like you got hit with a pump'n'dump ... the auction description has "trust me" written all over it (and brings up the question .. if he really thinks they're worth that much ... why is he selling them as a lot?) Every time I see that much hype combined with every little actual detail, I get suspicious - but it took a few times getting burned before I got my radar adjusted.
I don't do postcards much, but the response sounds like the seller clearly knew he was overstating the value of the lot. I also don't know what the generally accepted protocol is in the seller's category for specifying the number of multiples. If you really believe the seller overstated the value AND you paid far more than you believe the cards are actually worth, I'd consider appropriate feedback ...
If they went cheap and you're mad because they're just an "average" bargain rather than a knock-your-socks-off screamin' deal, then I'd probably hold off ... but that's your call. Sorry for the disappointment!
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ShopFromYourSeat
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posted on June 9, 2003 08:47:02 AM new
Is he a Power Seller? Don't they have to guarantee satisfaction & accept returns.
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eauctionmgnt
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posted on June 9, 2003 09:00:34 AM new
Neglus,
Sorry to hear about your bad purchase. It is certainly frustrating when you buy a large lot and it is full of duplicates (with no mention of that in the description!) I certainly let people know if there are duplicates in my lot. However, I think that the duplicates are your most valid complaint. I would ALWAYS be skeptical when some says "this widget retails for $xx.xx." Retail is VERY subjective, especially on collectibles. If I price an item for $100.00 in my store... that is MY retail price. (doesn't matter if you can pick it up at joe's junk shop at 10 for $1.00!) In fact... in this case, the reason he's probably dumping all the cards is BECAUSE he thought they were worth what he stated, tried to sell them at that, and couldn't!
Honestly, I'm afraid I have to lean with the seller on this one. If you received the number of cards stated, in the condition stated, and received ALL of the samples... then I think you probably got what was described (and shouldn't leave negative or neutral feedback). You can certainly choose not to buy any more from the seller! While it is dissapointing, I would ask more questions before-hand on vague description auctions so that you truly know what you're buying.
Maybe with your expertise you can look through the cards and find different ways to list them that will make even the junk cards become attractive (look for dog pictures!, etc...) I hope that you are able to at least recoup your lossses even if you aren't able to make the amount of profit you had hoped on this deal. Best of luck to you!
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LINDAJEAN
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posted on June 9, 2003 09:12:00 AM new
I know what you mean! I have purchased from several Ebayers who stated the cards were "top quality" only to find junk.
But, then I buy a batch like those I received on Saturday. 100 postcards, mostly older...no scans but only cost me $12.00.
It was packed with 1910 through 1930 street scenes and small towns. Great deal!
I just don't leave any feedback for those I don't like and mark them down to NEVER purchase from again. Then, I combine them in lots by city and hold onto them until I have enough to list them where someone who looks for things from certain cities usually snaps them up.
Hope you didn't pay tooooo much for those!
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 09:46:46 AM new
No way to list those cards..they are ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS!!!! just burn listing fees!! and yes Linda  I did...guess I'll just neg him and expect neg in return...I guess you find sleezebag sellers in every category!
You'd think he would at least offer to replace the duplicates (triplicates, quadruplicates, septuplicates etc)....!!!
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LINDAJEAN
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posted on June 9, 2003 09:50:27 AM new
I agree. With all the duplicates I would leave a neg as well! Obviously their intent was to dump their unsellable cards. For that, they deserve a neg!
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Libra63
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posted on June 9, 2003 10:09:01 AM new
How did you pay him. PayPal, personal check etc. I know what you mean I ordered greeting cards and what I got were duplictes of Happy birthday to an 80 year old. I left a negative. I didn't pay a lot but worthless even down to the 80 year because I know nobody who is that old...
Be sure your negative is to the point. Give it a lot of thought....
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auctionace
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posted on June 9, 2003 10:13:55 AM new
That's the huge difference between buying at a store and at an auction like ebay. That auction was really a grab bag auction and full of gamble. I see thousands of auctions for rings and jewelry that have lines like " I sell these rings at flea markets all the time for $3 - $5 and they are great sellers " yet they are offering the rings for lots of 100 for only $5 and some of the lots have a $7.95 BIN price. These sellers barely describe the items ( or stretch the truth ) and use poor photos that do not allow the quality of the items to be seen. 98% of the time the auction items are not worth even a few cents but sometimes you hit the jackpot. That's what an auction frequently is, deceptive selling with a very slight chance of a great deal.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on June 9, 2003 10:13:57 AM new
Is he a Power Seller? Don't they have to guarantee satisfaction & accept returns.
No, and no.
The first and foremost requirement for maintaining PowerSeller status is keeping your eBay account paid up.
This should tell you everything you need to know about eBay's priorities.
eBay "strongly recommends" that PS have a return policy; however, it is not required.
--
California voters: Be a part of the first-ever successful gubernatorial recall! Defy media pundits! $21 million of our money is going down the tubes daily because of our incompetent corrupt governor. Visit http://www.recallgraydavis.com to download your recall petition.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on June 9, 2003 10:21:24 AM new
I'm with eauctionmgmt on this one...I think our OP was mostly a victim of his or her own expectations.
That said, I got bit the same way on over $500 of "designer and antique sterling silver jewelry". Three or four pieces were what I expected; the rest was crap. I was taken in by a chatty, friendly, we're-all-just-folks-here description. (Me, the writer! You'd think I'd know better!) Heck, this clever gal even went on and on about how she's cleaning out her drawers and she's sure she'll find lots more sterling pieces and she'll throw 'em in free! So don't worry if they're not listed here!
(There was one additional piece: junk.)
So, yeah, I know what it's like to think you know what you're getting but be hornswaggled instead.
We all want to make that big haul and have that box full of treasures arrive in the mail. Man, what a letdown when it turns out to be crap.
--
California voters: Be a part of the first-ever successful gubernatorial recall! Defy media pundits! $21 million of our money is going down the tubes daily because of our incompetent corrupt governor. Visit http://www.recallgraydavis.com to download your recall petition.
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LINDAJEAN
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posted on June 9, 2003 10:29:09 AM new
I agree with fluffy on many counts. I bought several large lots with words like quality etc. But, they did not say they were all "quality" cards and did not mislead me as I feel the seller did in the auction discussed.
I would leave a neg. I have not in the other cases because I felt they were not misrepresented. It was a gamble and I took it. But, this one did not sound like a gamble and it obviously was not at bargain basement prices.
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 10:35:02 AM new
EXACTLY LINDA!
ace - i have to take an exception with you about all auctions being grab bags...there are "grab bag" postcard lots and then there are ones of "higher quality" and I assumed (wrongly) that this was one of higher quality because of the verbage in the listing...I bid on the "grab bags" all the time ( and i have received a lot of garbage) but wouldn't THINK of investing as much/card in one of those auctions...this seller out and out LIED about his auction content and if he doesn't offer a refund or to replace the duplicates, deserves the neg he is going to get!
He has a listing now that says he has a real photo PC and it clearly is NOT one (real photos bring much more $$ than other pc's right now)He is either not qualified to sell postcards or is purposely misleading his buyers!
[ edited by neglus on Jun 9, 2003 10:36 AM ]
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 10:51:32 AM new
I don't think it pays to be cute in the neg..or maybe i am just so po'd i can't find the creative side of my brain..how's this for a neg: BEWARE! SELLER USED MISLEADING TERMS -I GOT GARBAGE! 96+ DUPLICATES
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kiara
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posted on June 9, 2003 11:04:04 AM new
We all want to make that big haul and have that box full of treasures arrive in the mail. Man, what a letdown when it turns out to be crap.
I love the pursuit of hidden treasures and have purchased some lots that have been excellent and others that were crap. One jewelry lot was written up in such a way that I had great expectations but arrived tossed into a dirty old plastic bag and was one big snarled mess of chains, etc. There was no "real gold". I did sweet-talk the seller into a partial refund and it taught me to be more careful and take time to ask questions before bidding.
neglus, I don't blame you for being angry. By saying it's a high quality lot, quoting prices they could retail for, and by placing a reserve it does lead the buyer into thinking that the lot will be good. The ad is misleading and it's always a letdown to receive something crappy.
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auctionace
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posted on June 9, 2003 11:12:08 AM new
I'm saying that all auctions in lots that do not specifically state what each and every item is at least a type of grab bag auction. The misleading jewelry auctions usually have three or four pieces of desirable jewelry nicely photographed and then a nondescript pile of other jewelry in the background. The sellers then describe the livin' heck out of the few great pieces and quickly brush over the other stuff and tempt buyers with terms like " estate " or " unchecked by me " or " bonus items I'll throw in ". Human nature tends to believe the items may be all like the featured stuff.
When we were kids all of the grocery stores had gumball machines by the door. The glass bubbles were filled with gumballs and lots and lots of prizes and even highly prized items like watches or skull rings. It appear like the machines were filled with a high percentage of prizes but the guy that filled the machines mostly put the prizes on the visible outside portion of the machine. That is the unscrupulous marketing we grew up with and still see everyday in places like ebay.
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Twelvepole
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posted on June 9, 2003 12:37:01 PM new
Did you email the seller and ask if something specific was in the lot? or even what was in the lot besides the ones shown?
I agree neg the seller here, but a few emails may of saved you some $$$
AIN'T LIFE GRAND... 
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 12:48:41 PM new
No i didn't email the seller...i didn't really care WHICH postcards were in the lot as long as it was the high quality..good retail lot he described.
Not sure he would have been truthful in his response though....sounds like he is oblivious to the fact that his listing was misleading and firmly believes in the "buyer beware" caveat.
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mcjane
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posted on June 9, 2003 01:28:54 PM new
neglus
What do you think your chances are of recovering some of your money or even a total refund with retutn of PC if you email the seller & show him/her what neg FB you intend to leave.
If he is smart he will do something.
What is his FB like anyway?
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bkmunroe
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posted on June 9, 2003 01:34:15 PM new
I'm always wary when a seller of a lot says that I can sell each for $X. It makes me wonder why he doesn't sell them individually. Your seller states that the cards could retail for $6 each which gives the lot a retail value of about $1300. Yet, he sells the lot for %10 percent of that.
If the rest of the lot is similar to the cards pictured then he obviously misrepresented the lot and deserves a neg. On the other hand, shouldn't you have realized that the lot was misrepresented by looking at the cards in the scan. Sellers generally scan the best cards in the lot and I don't see a single card in the 28 pictured in the scan that would sell for $6 under normal circumstances. In fact, I wouldn't pay $10 for the lot of 28 cards shown if I was planning to resell them. Most of the cards shown are just common linens and Edward H. Mitchell divided backs.
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capotasto
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posted on June 9, 2003 01:46:52 PM new
"The first and foremost requirement for maintaining PowerSeller status is keeping your eBay account paid up. This should tell you everything you need to know about eBay's priorities."
When you see Powerseller, think "screw-you-seller."
"He has a listing now that says he has a real photo PC and it clearly is NOT one (real photos bring much more $$ than other pc's right now)"
I occasionally come across a PC which is an actual photograph on one side ... I call it a real photo since it is ... Am I correct?
Vinnie
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 01:55:45 PM new
BK:Maybe my eyesight is worse than yours - I couldn't tell WHAT he had in the scans (those crummy IPIX, even enlarged, are AWFUL)..oh the rest of the lot looked EXACTLY like the ones in the scan..to the tune of 96 duplicates (got 7 of the same school in Ashland Oregon)..I couldn't tell they were Edward Mitchell from the scan or I would have stayed away from the lot - they are, as you said, common and not worth the listing fee!!
I figured that he just was too lazy to list postcards individually - looks like he sells other things too (at the time of the listing he had NO postcards listed) or tired of the postcard biz...as you know, it is a lot of work to list postcards individually and not everyone's cup of tea! I didn't put much stock in the $ values he assigned to the postcards but relied on the assessment of "high quality lot" etc when making my bid. I didn't even IMAGINE that this lot was junk like the "pig in the poke" lot auctions i sometimes bid in (but never to the tune of 60 cents per card!) I relied much more on the written description than the scans because they were of such poor quality!
LIVE AND LEARN i guess....I emailed asking for $ back less his fees and costs and he refused and then turned it all back on me and said I WAS DISHONEST, harrassing him and still maintains those were nice cards!
I gave him his neg, expect one in return and am just moving on...anyone want to buy a lot of 211 (96 duplicate the rest cactus and landscapes) postcards?? 
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 01:59:15 PM new
CAP- I am a power seller and I am not a "screw you seller". I stand behind my items and will refund if anyone is unhappy and state this in my listing. I havent had to do that yet!
"real photo postcards" are just that - one side is a photograph (as opposed to printing lithos etc) and the other side a postcard back. If you examine the real photo with a mgnifying glass you will see no printing "dots" as it has been processed by photographic development and not printed. Sometimes the best key to RPPC is the stamp box ( i use these to date the RPPC)CYKO, DOPS, AZO, EKC , KODAK are examples of rppc stamp boxes.
[ edited by neglus on Jun 9, 2003 02:17 PM ]
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 02:08:02 PM new
yep..got my neg..somehow he decided i was VULGAR? Can I do anything about this??
edited to include his feedback and response:
Complaint : BEWARE! ITEM DESCRIPTION MISLEADING! I RECEIVED 96 DUPLICATES + JUNK
Response by ***** - Accurate description of item. Beware, dishonest, vulgar language, harassment.
My new negative feedback:
Complaint : Beware! Vulgar language, dishonest and harassment. Dead beat eBayer!!!!
Response by neglus - i paid-seller misrepresented items-would not refund-this is retaliatory negative
[ edited by neglus on Jun 9, 2003 02:11 PM ]
[ edited by neglus on Jun 9, 2003 02:24 PM ]
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mcjane
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posted on June 9, 2003 02:22:24 PM new
Complaint : Beware! Vulgar language, dishonest and harassment
This is subjective, an opinion.
Dead beat eBayer!!!!
This is objective, an outright lie, you paid for the auction.
eBay should remove his negative FB against you. I would persue it.
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LINDAJEAN
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posted on June 9, 2003 02:35:15 PM new
Yes, that is one of the benefits of your power seller status. You should be able to communicate with someone at Ebay who will hopefully get it removed.
A little late for the warning, but that is one reason I use a different Ebay ID for buying than for selling.
And, I don't use lindajean for either.
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neglus
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posted on June 9, 2003 03:08:00 PM new
Didnt think about using the PS support...well at least PS may be good for something!! Paid with PP so they tell at a glance that the item has been paid for and that i am NOT a deadbeat! Thanks Linda and Jane
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Roadsmith
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posted on June 9, 2003 03:36:36 PM new
Neglus: I would leave a negative because of the duplicates. To me it's inexcusable to sell a "lot" of anything and not mention that there are duplicates in the group. I sold matchbooks recently; out of 50, I had 6 duplicates and I listed each one. I think that's the honest way to do business.
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auctionace
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posted on June 9, 2003 04:13:42 PM new
I think the term high quality is the source of the whole problem. That is a very subjective term and subject to many different interpretations. One seller's 'high quality' definition is another man's 'junk' definition. When I see the term 'high quality' in an auction description I always discount it as salesmanship or gilding the lily and place little value on that term.
The odds of ebay changing the feedback are almost zero, even with the PS status.
Sorry that you got burned but you learned a valuable lession and you can now relate to the thousands of buyers that will never use ebay after being burned on a deal.
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Libra63
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posted on June 9, 2003 04:20:05 PM new
Since you paid by paypal can you do a charge back or did you use funds already in PP?
I have at times listed some very nice jewelry and never got bids. I do lots but usually not more that 4 or 5 as the more jewelry in a lot the crappier it is. I have notice some high ticket items lately that they did put their nice things first and I am sure the bidders didn't bother to look at the rest.
Sorry about your misfortune neglus. Some days it doesn't pay to get up and then lets look at the bright side most days it does pay to get up.
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