Please tell me if this neg is my fault.

[dejapooh]

I sold a gizmo on ebay, the end price was about 20% of the normal going rate for these things. I put this in the description...

" Tune your car's computer to get what you want. Want better gas milage? Want more pick up? What to find out what that Red Light means? Plug this into your car's computer and follow the instructions.

I was told that this was not used. I was TOLD... Now, I know a similar product will only work on one car. It locks itself after you use it, and unlocks when you use it to return the car to factory specs.

NO returns on this. It SHOULD work, if the people I bought it from were right. It may work on Multiple cars. I don't know this item very well.

I am starting this at a small fraction of its value and will let you decide what you want to put up on this."

The guy Negs me because it didn't work. He said that I claimed the thing was new, but the condition said USED.

Is it me, or is this guy holding me accountable because he can't read.

 

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[Rdunzl]

Sadly, eBay has skewed the game in the buyer's favor as far as feedback goes. No amount of honesty or accuracy
in the description seems to be enough. In addition, eBay almost never removes negative feedback. I would put a
response to the negative feedback stating something like " item was accurately described as unknown and cheap. Buyer
took a chance and got mad" blah blah blah or something like that. Most folks will see it for what it is and will care less.
I would contact eBay and ask them to remove it, but don't hold your breath. IMO it was undeserved.

 

[mjlalt]

I sold a gizmo on ebay, the end price was about 20% of the normal going rate for these things. I put this in the description...

" Tune your car's computer to get what you want. Want better gas milage? Want more pick up? What to find out what that Red Light means? Plug this into your car's computer and follow the instructions.

I was told that this was not used. I was TOLD... Now, I know a similar product will only work on one car. It locks itself after you use it, and unlocks when you use it to return the car to factory specs.

NO returns on this. It SHOULD work, if the people I bought it from were right. It may work on Multiple cars. I don't know this item very well.

I am starting this at a small fraction of its value and will let you decide what you want to put up on this."

The guy Negs me because it didn't work. He said that I claimed the thing was new, but the condition said USED.

Is it me, or is this guy holding me accountable because he can't read.

I wouldn't have used the word SHOULD. I would have said UNTESTED or Unknown condition. May or May not work. I never trust what the person who sold me the items says.
Sometimes they lie or sometimes they forget the true history of the item.

 

[mjm579]

First, did the buyer contact you prior to leaving negative feedback? If not, point out to them that the best policy is to ALWAYS contsct the seller prior to negative review. This allows the seller to work out the best solution to the problem. Perhaps, you would still not allow the return....but maybe you would have (or would still) allowed the item to be returned. I had my first neg not too long ago...I have been on ebay buying and selling since 2001. Ebay wouldnt help so I had to work it all out with the buyer directly. I pointed out the importance of feedback. He wasnt even aware. Eventually I refunded the guy his money and the neg feedback was remived. Best of luck...ebay buyers are getting way out of hand lately. I have one lady complaining about $16 vs $13.50 for shipping and handling right now...holy crap, what does this lady expect? She wants it 6 outfits and several glass plates shipped from PA to CA!!! Buyers need to realize that the S&H fee is just that .... & handling. The caluculated rate is $13.06 not to mention the box I need to find or buy to ship her stuff to her, the bubble wrap, tape...oh yea, and what about all of the time I just spent emailing you 5 times trying to get my money and researching the shipping alternatives? Utter BU11SHIT if you ask me.

 

[desertmoons]

I agree with mjalt. In that listing, I believe you let your natural sale skills get a bit out of hand. As a buyer, I first would get excited..wow it will improve my gas mileage and performance! (In reality do you know for a fact it will do that?)

Then..."Now, I know a similar product will only work on one car" Well a similar product is not this product..so I bet it will work! Then you go on to say it should work.

So yes you did mention it was used, but raised my hopes and set my expectations that it will work. It should and may.

I think the trick is when you have an item that you do not know for a fact works or not, is to position the benefits in a factual way, but be very clear that you do not know if it works or not. That it is untested and sold as is.

There is a benefit to talking about the benefits, they help sell things. But one has to be careful to stick to the facts. In this case I gather the item has no value for parts. Why would I want to buy an item that has no value? To belabour the point, would you want to buy an item that has no value just as a gambling risk? In this case it is not like buying a pile of jewelery in hopes there is gold. This buyer clearly is interested in cutting costs , saving money ( better gas mileage) so that fact that it did not work was quite a blow to him or her. He ended up spending more money for nothing, when he wanted to save his perhaps scanty dollars.

By the way..I am not saying you were trying to deceive at all. I'm sure you are ethical..this is just my take on how it came about.

 

[Iron Patch]

I believe it probably didn't work and that is on you, because you didn't know yourself. You totally left yourself wide open for that one.

 

[diggummup]

I believe it probably didn't work and that is on you, because you didn't know yourself. You totally left yourself wide open for that one.

True. I just had a similar experience. I recently sold one of those analog to digital tv converters that I purchased at a sale. It was in the box (open box) and looked like it had never been used. I didn't test it out before I sold it because I assumed it worked since the condition looked basically new. Buyer received it, said it doesn't work, no power at all. My bad for not plugging the stupid thing in first. My fault. I told (volunteered) the guy i'd give him the return shipping also, since it was my fault and I sold it with free shipping. Unless he returns a different box with a different serial number, then I have no problem with it.

 

[dejapooh]

I wouldn't have used the word SHOULD. I would have said UNTESTED or Unknown condition. May or May not work. I never trust what the person who sold me the items says.
Sometimes they lie or sometimes they forget the true history of the item.

Got it. You are right.

 

[scott9050]

From the sound of it you sold a OBD II programmer like Hypertech or Bullydog. Your mistake was this:

" Tune your car's computer to get what you want. Want better gas milage? Want more pick up? What to find out what that Red Light means? Plug this into your car's computer and follow the instructions.

You can not do any of this if the tuner is paired to another vehicle. It sounds like the buyer can read fine (your description means it is not paired) and was not told that was indeed locked and basically a paperweight.

A programmer can be used and then the factory programming can be put back on a vehicle to unpair it.

I would be upset as well and would have filed a Paypal dispute based on inaccurate product description.

 

[dejapooh]

I agree with mjalt. In that listing, I believe you let your natural sale skills get a bit out of hand. As a buyer, I first would get excited..wow it will improve my gas mileage and performance! (In reality do you know for a fact it will do that?)

Then..."Now, I know a similar product will only work on one car" Well a similar product is not this product..so I bet it will work! Then you go on to say it should work.

So yes you did mention it was used, but raised my hopes and set my expectations that it will work. It should and may.

I think the trick is when you have an item that you do not know for a fact works or not, is to position the benefits in a factual way, but be very clear that you do not know if it works or not. That it is untested and sold as is.

There is a benefit to talking about the benefits, they help sell things. But one has to be careful to stick to the facts. In this case I gather the item has no value for parts. Why would I want to buy an item that has no value? To belabour the point, would you want to buy an item that has no value just as a gambling risk? In this case it is not like buying a pile of jewelery in hopes there is gold. This buyer clearly is interested in cutting costs , saving money ( better gas mileage) so that fact that it did not work was quite a blow to him or her. He ended up spending more money for nothing, when he wanted to save his perhaps scanty dollars.

By the way..I am not saying you were trying to deceive at all. I'm sure you are ethical..this is just my take on how it came about.

I understand. I can see your point.

 

[SilverForBrains]

I always worry about that with video games, I sometimes don't have the systems to test them. Obviously the right thing to do is to claim "untested" on the listing, which is what I do now and will be doing in the future. I have sold some in the past and just avoided the subject, simply putting the game up with a quick description of what it is. I always figured it it didn't work I would accept the return and even pay return shipping. I realized though that gray areas work 99% of the time, which in the end gets you 1 neg. feedback for every 100 left. not so good!

 

[dejapooh]

From the sound of it you sold a OBD II programmer like Hypertech or Bullydog. Your mistake was this:

" Tune your car's computer to get what you want. Want better gas milage? Want more pick up? What to find out what that Red Light means? Plug this into your car's computer and follow the instructions.

You can not do any of this if the tuner is paired to another vehicle. It sounds like the buyer can read fine (your description means it is not paired) and was not told that was indeed locked and basically a paperweight.

A programmer can be used and then the factory programming can be put back on a vehicle to unpair it.

I would be upset as well and would have filed a Paypal dispute based on inaccurate product description.

The product name said what car it would work on. so it was not sold on basis as working on ANY make or model.

Thank you for your input.

 

[woodstock]

Bottom line ... you set yourself up for a fall . The ball is in your hands when it comes to your use of words ... if I wasn't sure about it I would have clearly explained that the item is sold "as-is" with no refunds or returns or guarantee implied . Oh well , you've made a mistake many do and it's a good learning expediences . 98% of buyers are honest and 98% of sellers are honest on ebay . I believe your a honest seller that ran into the 2% that whine and buy before asking questions . The 2% that I'm talking about will exchange their broken item for your working one and file a claim against you for selling a non-working item . You loose and they win by getting a working item and not having to pay a cent . Then there are part swappers who will gut your item for the piece they need and replace it with the broken part and return you item for a refund ... and then ones like you ran into who can't ask questions and then decide if you want to take the risk . They'd rather blame you . Take more time and make sure you don't set yourself up next time . IMHO , Woodstock

 

[Iron Patch]

Bottom line ... you set yourself up for a fall . The ball is in your hands when it comes to your use of words ... if I wasn't sure about it I would have clearly explained that the item is sold "as-is" with no refunds or returns or guarantee implied . Oh well , you've made a mistake many do and it's a good learning expediences . 98% of buyers are honest and 98% of sellers are honest on ebay . I believe your a honest seller that ran into the 2% that whine and buy before asking questions . The 2% that I'm talking about will exchange their broken item for your working one and file a claim against you for selling a non-working item . You loose and they win by getting a working item and not having to pay a cent . Then there are part swappers who will gut your item for the piece they need and replace it with the broken part and return you item for a refund ... and then ones like you ran into who can't ask questions and then decide if you want to take the risk . They'd rather blame you . Take more time and make sure you don't set yourself up next time . IMHO , Woodstock

As-is is not good enough. You either state it's working, or is not working, otherwise everyone with broken crap would list that way. It's an auction site, not a casino. And yes you can be sure any problem at all will be blamed on the seller... even the ones they can't control!

 

[scott9050]

I always worry about that with video games, I sometimes don't have the systems to test them. Obviously the right thing to do is to claim "untested" on the listing, which is what I do now and will be doing in the future. I have sold some in the past and just avoided the subject, simply putting the game up with a quick description of what it is. I always figured it it didn't work I would accept the return and even pay return shipping. I realized though that gray areas work 99% of the time, which in the end gets you 1 neg. feedback for every 100 left. not so good!

Again, you sold this as an unlocked unit (based on the description that you gave) even though you left the window open later that it might not be.
I have used all types of programmers over the years, I refuse to buy a programmer from someone I do not know for this very reason.

 

[scott9050]

Bottom line ... you set yourself up for a fall . The ball is in your hands when it comes to your use of words ... if I wasn't sure about it I would have clearly explained that the item is sold "as-is" with no refunds or returns or guarantee implied . Oh well , you've made a mistake many do and it's a good learning expediences . 98% of buyers are honest and 98% of sellers are honest on ebay . I believe your a honest seller that ran into the 2% that whine and buy before asking questions . The 2% that I'm talking about will exchange their broken item for your working one and file a claim against you for selling a non-working item . You loose and they win by getting a working item and not having to pay a cent . Then there are part swappers who will gut your item for the piece they need and replace it with the broken part and return you item for a refund ... and then ones like you ran into who can't ask questions and then decide if you want to take the risk . They'd rather blame you . Take more time and make sure you don't set yourself up next time . IMHO , Woodstock

The rampant fraud from buyers and ridiculous fees now associated are why I only use Ebay to buy. After using it to sell since 1998, the Paypal only payment method (and resulting fraud) was one of the things that drove me over the edge.

 

[dejapooh]

Thank you all. I have a good idea now what I will need to do in the future. I will contact the buyer and try to resolve the NEG.

 

[Rawhide]

Any time you go into business you open yourself up to unhappy customers. Some customers are just angry, some expect what you sell to work as described. Between the uneducated and the Low-ballers I have met while doing transactions, I think Ebay is worse than a yard sale or Second Hand store. The suggested price you can get by googling a item on ebay is ridiculous Most of the stuff is drop shipments from China or stored in a warehouse anyways. No, you are selling and buying junk. Who cares what the description said, you are taking real money for garbage. So Ebay is really a numbers game, you make so many sales, you gonna get burnt. You can give it away to keep the negative feed back off you and consider it a loss and claim it as advertising on your taxes. Or you can flame the buyers who is buying your junk. Both of these options leave a bad taste in my mouth. Lets face it, you are not handling it very much, so $30.00 bucks to send something in a $2.00 dollar shipping and that included padded envelope is just wrong. You dont actually make the product, its something you found in the trash, a yard sale item, or a storage auction. But you want almost retail. Well it was in the trash for a reason in the first place. Even Walmart sells garbage anymore, I cant believe the prices for stuff made from China? I think Ebay is out crooking the crooks.

I am a honest guy who pays fair price for hard to find items. I then resell those items, usually via yard sales and Craigslist. Its a hobby and not a business I am out no money if I would throw my whole inventory in the trash. When I get low balled and insulted enough, I go rent a storage locker, put all $25.00 dollars worth of stuff in it. I then have the locker auctioned off for a few hundred dollars and let some sucker who watches too much tv haul it to the dump for me. I didnt make the guy buying the locker a sucker, he did through his own greed. Now what I consider $25.00 worth of Locker is about a $4000.00 dollar locker according to a popular TV show.

Yes, you own it, you deserve it, and got away with it. Why are you crying on a national site about it?

 

[GibH]

I am a honest guy who pays fair price for hard to find items. I then resell those items, usually via yard sales and Craigslist. Its a hobby and not a business I am out no money if I would throw my whole inventory in the trash. When I get low balled and insulted enough, I go rent a storage locker, put all $25.00 dollars worth of stuff in it. I then have the locker auctioned off for a few hundred dollars and let some sucker who watches too much tv haul it to the dump for me. I didnt make the guy buying the locker a sucker, he did through his own greed. Now what I consider $25.00 worth of Locker is about a $4000.00 dollar locker according to a popular TV show.

Yes, you own it, you deserve it, and got away with it. Why are you crying on a national site about it?

Love this. You say your an honest guy and then admit to fleecing "suckers" at storage auctions.

 

[mjlalt]

Any time you go into business you open yourself up to unhappy customers. Some customers are just angry, some expect what you sell to work as described. Between the uneducated and the Low-ballers I have met while doing transactions, I think Ebay is worse than a yard sale or Second Hand store. The suggested price you can get by googling a item on ebay is ridiculous Most of the stuff is drop shipments from China or stored in a warehouse anyways. No, you are selling and buying junk. Who cares what the description said, you are taking real money for garbage. So Ebay is really a numbers game, you make so many sales, you gonna get burnt. You can give it away to keep the negative feed back off you and consider it a loss and claim it as advertising on your taxes. Or you can flame the buyers who is buying your junk. Both of these options leave a bad taste in my mouth. Lets face it, you are not handling it very much, so $30.00 bucks to send something in a $2.00 dollar shipping and that included padded envelope is just wrong. You dont actually make the product, its something you found in the trash, a yard sale item, or a storage auction. But you want almost retail. Well it was in the trash for a reason in the first place. Even Walmart sells garbage anymore, I cant believe the prices for stuff made from China? I think Ebay is out crooking the crooks.

I am a honest guy who pays fair price for hard to find items. I then resell those items, usually via yard sales and Craigslist. Its a hobby and not a business I am out no money if I would throw my whole inventory in the trash. When I get low balled and insulted enough, I go rent a storage locker, put all $25.00 dollars worth of stuff in it. I then have the locker auctioned off for a few hundred dollars and let some sucker who watches too much tv haul it to the dump for me. I didnt make the guy buying the locker a sucker, he did through his own greed. Now what I consider $25.00 worth of Locker is about a $4000.00 dollar locker according to a popular TV show.

Yes, you own it, you deserve it, and got away with it. Why are you crying on a national site about it?

Ignore this guy Dejapooh. He is obviously off his meds!