Yeah another eBay/Selling rant.

Or perhaps it is simply Monday morning malaise. Another week and everything is still the same. And next week I will be a year older.

Actually I feel almost nothing good or bad. It just is. More embarrassment than anything. Otherwise I would not care. There is some annoyance about wasting time. Normally wasting time does not bother me as that is just the way of things.

Last week I finally had a buyer for that box of Bulova watches I want to get rid of and move away from. Problem is that it has been nearly a week and they have not paid.

I am a patient person, and more or less mostly forgot about this (other than checking in the AM for any updates.) I am more interested in playing with my watches or anticipating getting parts to fix them. I have dozens more similar to these. The only reason I want to move away from them is to focus attention and avoid the distraction.

I was told over the weekend that I should report the buyer. I looked this AM and the only choice I have is to cancel and re-list the item. I will credit that eBay does have decent phone support, with fairly quick call back times. So one can at least talk to a live person. This however seemed to be a complete waste of time. I thought that when one agreed to purchase something it was a legal contract. That failure to pay was something eBay did and was aggressive about. Ebay does not have a way to send Guido over from the collection agency and make them pay.

Seems that this is only the case if the buyer gets reported multiple times. Or if the other party is stupid enough to send emails. In this case the buyer has simply remained silent. I guess hoping it will go away. That they were not serious about the BIN offer.

If it matters the name of the buyer is 'Beranda Studio.' and they are in Florida.

What really irks me. Is that I had listed the items here as one person hinted an interests. I do have a bit of a collecting problem (I would not call it hording.) This was to be my great entry into selling and downsizing. I have some other things I would like to get rid of, without basically throwing them in the trash.

Now I feel really embarrassed. And I do not embarrass easy. I also feel I have blown other chances at selling stuff. That I am completely incompetent at it.

Mostly I simply feel meh. That selling is simply not my thing. That it requires aggressive nature and force. That they buyers are simply out there to attack the unwary sellers.

Not that I feel that way as a buyer. While I am a somewhat passionate and aggressive impulse buyer, I actually think the seller is a nice person who is simply wanting to get along in life and is willing to deal with this sort of 'stuff.' Probably why I prefer in person communication. Of course I want to get something for a low or fair price and do grumble about the high costs of living in this world.

I guess the options I have are to withdraw the item I had listed here, which feels like I really messed up and done everything wrong.

I can then cancel the eBay sale and re list the item at a lower price which would work out to something like 2 bucks an item (which is which the lot supposedly sold for.) This also makes me feel incompetent and a fool for being sucked into eBay which profits from the listing and overhead fees.

Of I could not re list the items as a lot. I could list the items individually. I think each item is worth between 1 and 5 bucks. I had originally listed the lot at the higher priced value. Then over time reduced it. Down side of this is that instead of having to deal with one thing I would have to deal with 20 things. And there would be some of it which would simply not sell.

I remember the guy who ran the local antique mall, telling me that only a few percent of the stuff really sells at price, the rest simply sits around. I suspect the number is closer to 3 percent when one takes a load to the flea market or rents a stall in a consignment shop. As I buyer I know I see the same stuff all the time.

Probably why the stuff that does not sell is given away as a loss leader.

It really does make one question the concept of free will. That the world really is predestined to run the course to final judgement. What really is luck anyway? Why does the screwdriver slip and run through a hairspring? Or a cap jewel jump like a tiddly wink when one taps it with an oilier that contains a nearly invisible drop of lubricant?

I have noticed the stuff I bit on this last week (apart from some parts from a jaded ebay seller based on their snarky comments) I underbid on. Some of the stuff I can get from the material dealers for the same as I bid.

The thing is I mostly feel neutral about this. There is no passion one way or other. Apart from the time wasted writing this. But this response feels more flight than fight. I just want to run away and forget it.

 

We all sometimes need to write a rant in order to vent - I know I have done it.

With respect to eBay, that's just the way it is. They are buyer-oriented and their interest in sellers is to make a commission off of the seller's goods. They are never going to obligate a buyer to pay you, they will only credit you the fees the sale generated them.

If it's any comfort, they will flag the buyer with a point for the unpaid cancellation which will follow them around like a scarlet letter. After 4 of those, eBay will restrict the buyer's account.

Yeah it sucks, but no much else you can do.

 

I had to look it up - and thought I might not be the only one

 

I do not think it is just me. I almost posted in the other thread about selling boxed lots. Ironically this was a boxed lot of incomplete watch part I had listed here on OF my ignorance. I think my own take is I feel embarrased about making common newby selling mistakes.


There must be something in the air. Seems like the top threads today are all gripe threads.

 

It always amazes me how much Yiddish I seem to know. Especially the informal stuff.

 

I'm meh about this Elgin 559 ... I replaced the crystal! A first for me. Cracked the first glass one cuz it was took big and there were none that really seemed to measure up. So I found an acrylic one, closer to home, and was able to file it down and UV Glue it in. Yay! So I'm like hell yeah, I'll clean it and get things going. Seems it been without oil too long or who knows what but the lower center jewel is all pitted to hell. I wasn't going to replace it and was going to move on. so putting it back together, the brittle blue setting spring snapped. MFer! Head to ebay and it's a shit show -- sure there are tons of movements but no parts. One looked like your rust buckets but the spring can't be much better. Though I did find one from a seller I have bought from in the past, and of course I start looking at other things they have to combine shipping. Found 1 other hamilton, then a weird Omega, and then I got "the mehs" and just closed it out.

Thankfully a fancy box from @JwRosenthal showed up and made me a little happier.

I think I just miss @SkunkPrince after going through straps and buckles I got from him ... or bought because of him :'(

 

I found dealing with certain people on that platform damaged my calm.Closed the account and never looked back.

 

Feeling meh about ebay is about as good as it gets.

Selling is a pain. There are some people who enjoy selling, but I suspect there are not many. For the majority of us, ebay is an opportunity to avoid Craigslist or a trip to the dump, which can stir more negative feelings of being wasteful and destroying the planet. What Ebay offers is a fairly simple method to reach a worldwide population. It's powerful enough to overcome inertia and the agony of getting rid of stuff, a ying and yang that yields "meh."

For the masochist, there's Craigslist. It offers cheaper fees, is about as easy to use, but reaches fewer people. Surprisingly, at least to myself, is that I have had mostly pleasant dealings with my neighbors and chance encounters. What makes Craigslist painful is having to answer if it is still available and offers of five dollars on a ten dollar ask. I feel I must be actually taking the milk from some people's babies mouths. I can list any item worth any amount of money for 25 bucks and someone will offer 10. Or list an item for 5 dollars that gets no response, then relist the same item for free and it gets 100 responses in the first minutes.

The nice thing about Craigslist is I don't have to go to the post office or drive to the dump. But then I get the crazies coming to my house. Thankfully, the crazies are a lot like me so it tends to be a pleasant interaction. I've not yet offered anyone a beer or glass of wine, but I have thought about it.

Ebay is a bit more work, requiring packaging and driving. Plus waiting and praying the buyer isn't a tech savy Nigerian Prince. With Craigslist, the worst that can happen is I get stabbed. But with Ebay I can lose money in multiple ways. For some sales I would have been better off giving it away or burning it.

Unfortunately, many of the older generation were taught to waste not, or that saving a penny is worth a stab in the eye with a pencil, which is why Ebay is so successful.

Meh is good. Someday Jeff Bezos will likely buy Ebay and sell copies of our crap for half of what we are asking, effectively forcing us to give it away for free on Craigslist. Until that time, we should enjoy our freedom to live our best capitalistic lives and celebrate that we don't need to share our profits with our neighbors like dirty communists.

 

I loath Craigslist for small items. Last time I posted some brand new LED car headlight bulbs I didn’t like for like $50. Someone asked me if they would fit his car. Blew my mind. Someone actually expected me to look up the fitment/specs for his car for him to see if they would fit. Somebody else from South America or somewhere else far away asked about them too. Can’t imagine it would be worth shipping a headlight bulb that far. Just go to Autozone or something. People never cease to amaze me.

 

I have always been told to stay away from Craigslist. Its shady and filled with crackwhores and drug dealers and mental patients.

The fact is though, I've had 3 experience on craigslist and they all went beautifully. All within last 6 months, and all out of desperation because ebay was just not the place.

1. Sold a recliner at full price to a super nice guy who wanted the chair for his aging father whose chair had broken. What a good son. He even texted me and told me how much his dad loved it.

2. Sold an old dart board setup to a woman who wanted to help her husband set up a man cave in their new house. He loved it.

3. A yard sale advertised with nice furniture. It was in the posh development next to ours. Rich children selling rich moms stuff because she moved into a nursing home. Got a gorgeous $10,000 couch(they showed us the receipt, yikes) for $500. It is the nicest piece of furniture we've ever owned.

Go figure....

 

meh.

The buyer finally paid after a week. Finally glad to get rid of these watches. Now they will be someone elses problem. (Or blessing.)

 

I always contact my seller if this happens, but who knows how some people are wired.

 

They never answered. I wonder if posting their eBay handle here made the difference?

 

I haven't sold anything on Ebay in quite a long time, but recently sold two items w/ a total value about $650; the total fees ended up being about $90 Wow, Ebay sure has changed over the last 20+ years... I consider that excessive and I don't expect to sell on the platform ever again. So yeah, meh.

 

Coming in really late on this MEH conversation... I've used craigslist to both buy and to sell, and should say that I have been able to buy far more on CL than I have been able to sell. I've kind of figured that my descriptions are just too wordy, or something. But I want to identify what something is to at least justify my ask.

Question--would you consider selling any kind of timepieces on CL? Not just parts or lots, but anything from a cool beater watch to a meaningful and desirable vintage piece?

 

I just avoid eBay and sell all my stuff directly to RevZMan123 and he pays me. No selling fees either.

 

I’d be hesitant trying to sell an expensive watch on Craigslist with the type of characters I’ve experienced there. I think Facebook Marketplace is the better platform these days.

 

I'm glad that I've finished my collection and don't have to worry about selling any watches in the future.

 

Yeah, I worry about both sharpies and criminals that might lurk on CL. Husband seems kind of breezy about that feature. I don't want to get pantsed per value on the one hand, and even the strategies about meeting in a public place, a bank, or a police station (a police station next to a bank!) have me a bit leery. Has anyone done the police station/bank route with a direct sale? And what is the deal with Facebook Marketplace?

 

I only have minimal recent experience on FB Marketplace. You can list things for sale for local pickup and specify if you want home or public pickup spot. This obviously greatly reduces your audience. You can also list it as shipping available and will have to setup your bank account with FB. Then anyone can buy it, FB generates a shipping label for you and takes shipping and a small cut, and you just ship it out. Once it is delivered FB puts the money in your account. No contact with the buyer necessary. You can also list it as offers accepted and input the lowest offer you’ll accept. Then you can haggle back and forth through the system. If they accept they just purchase it just like any online store and you’re expected to ship it out. If I was going to do this for a high value watch I’d research how disputes and stuff work. I just sold a $100 watch shipped and it went smoothly and I netted like $94.