Auction sites like eBay have been around for 20 years or more now and yet it seems like there are a lot of people who still don't seem to understand how it works. Some of the people I've sold stuff to seem to be under the impression I'm a multi-billion dollar company like Amazon or Walmart with my own tech support like Best Buy's Geek Squad.
One person bought some kind of fancy lock from me and even though the box had a flyer inside giving a 1-800 number to call if you have problems installing it, who does the buyer contact? Me. Me who has never opened the box or laid eyes on the actual item, let alone has any fucking clue how to install it. And when I said to contact the company what does this person do? Lies and says the item was broken, forcing me to take the item back.
Another person bought a software program and then bizarrely asked me if I could sell him 5 more BEFORE even trying to install the first one. When he couldn't get the code to work, who does he contact? Me, of course. And accuse me of giving him a fake. And what am I supposed to do about it? Well in this case I had him send me the activation key and then I contacted the company to make sure it was legit and I got a download link for the buyer to use.
Then someone else buys a printer and waits a whole fucking month before she tries to use the thing. Then she finds out some amber light won't go off. So then she of course contacts me. Who, again, has never laid eyes on the actual product. And when I suggest she contact the company she gives me negative feedback. What the hell do you want me to do? As Bones McCoy would say, Dammit Jim, I'm an accountant, not a computer repairman!
Seriously I don't think these people understand how an auction site works. You're buying from a third-party seller. You're not buying from the company or a representative of that company or even a representative of that industry. You're buying from an ordinary person. If you want a seller who can offer tech support or can afford zero-hassle returns then you ought to have gone to an actual store like Walmart or Best Buy or wherever.
But of course then you couldn't have gotten the item for a lot less money than if you'd gone to an actual store. That's the price of just shopping on price: you're not going to necessarily get the service and other benefits of shopping at a real store.
It's like if you go to McDonald's you have to expect you're not going to get the gourmet food and ass-kissing service of a fancy four-star restaurant. It's like they say: you get what you pay for. If you're a dumbass who needs your hand held to get anything running, maybe you ought to pay a little more to buy it from someone who can do that.
But that's not the American Way. The American Way is to expect to pay dollar store prices and get luxury quality service. We're all pretty damned spoiled that way.
5 comments:
I never sell technology to anyone, and I'm sorry that your life is forcing you to do that. When one of my computers gets replaced, I usually have a friend or someone (an acquaintance maybe) that expresses interest in the old. I say with gusto, "I planned on recycling it, but you may just have it. However, I will not answer any questions about its operation in any way. If you cannot figure it out, it'll be on you to recycle it." I've learned that people continuously go back to the source of whom they bought something from to find support. If I ever "sell" anything, I'll make sure that it is something that I will never ever have to support. Boundaries are healthy.
Just state your return policy on the product page. Even if that is no returns. I sold something fast on Facebook market place recently because it was cheap. One day I'm going to have a garage sale on Facebook.
I say NO REFUNDS in every listing. I also say NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING but that doesn't stop people in other countries from trying to buy stuff. People are idiots.
I've stopped selling most things on ebay, especially tech stuff. Last time I did some dumb ass bought the thing then got buyer's remorse and fought with me about canceling the order. This after he asked me 2,428 questions about the damn thing and I was nice and answered them all.
ebay used to be a pretty decent place for buying and selling, but greedy and stupid people ruined it, and ebay 99.99% sides with the buyer instead of the seller so jackass buyers can buy stuff and then claim defects or get buyer's remorse and back out or just be a dumbass and leave negative feedback because they made a mistake and not you.
Oh, I should have known you would have that covered.
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