Frustrations with selling...

[Luke51411]

I like to sell a few pedals from time to time not making much money but a little extra for the next parts purchase. I don't really have any local connections so I've mostly sold via ebay... first mistake right? haha. well I sold a germanium fuzz face which I built a while back, I breadboarded it and swapped out trannies until it sounded good (i'm using MP20A russians). The guy I sold it to gets it and is disappointed with it, he says "I purchased a fuzz face, this is not a fuzz face this sounds more like an overdrive." I'm not the biggest fuzz afficionado so ok maybe it's not quite right... I don't really take issue with that. The guy has just been a smug asshole which is just infuriating. To quote him "I'm 55 years old, I've played more fuzzes than the hairs on your head and this is not a fuzzface" Now he is demanding I refund him and pay return shipping because the product was not as advertised... ugh...

[Matt]

I only sell locally for this reason. I offer to allow the buyer play before buying so they know what they are getting.

I guess an alternative might be to make a demo that they can listen to.

[GermanCdn]

Only advice I can give is you change the wording on your listings, don't call it a "Fuzz Face", call it a "Germanium Fuzz with onboard voltage conversion" and then in the description explain that you've taken the inspiration from the FF and put a modern spin on it to create a pedal which captures the essence of the old with the convenience of the new, or something along those lines.

The problem with selling clones as clones is sometimes all people are looking to buy are......clones.  They may just want a TS808 (as an example), not a TS808 with Keeley mods, not a Green Bean, not a YATS convertible, just a plain old TS808.  And if that's what you're listing it as, that's what it probably should be (I know, it's counterintuitive to most DIY build thinking, when we're constantly trying to put more features in less space, but it happens).

Truthfully, with the new PP rules, I'm surprised ebay even allows the sale of clones, as it seems like a slam dunk for the "Item not as described" category.

[juansolo]

Touch wood I've not really been bitten on ebay selling pedals yet. I suspect it's only a matter of time though. The new paypal rules have you so by the balls as a seller in that if he decides to be an arse about it, he can wait 6 months before fucking you over and just saying he never received it (it'll have vanished from ebay by then). Then you'll be down the costs and the pedal... I'm really dreading that happening with something.

[Luke51411]

Yeah I've had pretty good luck so far, and that is good advice with the wording on the listing. I will definitely learn from this experience. I'm not even really upset about him asking to return it. It's just frustrating when people have that "I know so much better than you" attitude. It feels like an insult to my work. I know I can't take it personally, just take my lumps and move on but sometimes its hard to do that.

[flanagan0718]

I've only sold a couple of pedals on Ebay, but they were modded boss pedals. one was a flanger and one was a ds-1. The ds-1 came back and I ended up refunding the guy. After I refunded him I opened the pedal only to find out he was inside it and replace a couple of the components I had swapped. Thus ending my EBay-ing of pedals. I only sell locally and by word of mouth. I sell to fund, that is all.

[Luke51411]

I need to get into the local market... I live in a small town and don't really have any connections with musicians. The local music store is not great and they were kind of rude to me when I merely asked if they would consign some of my builds... So I'm stuck with ebay.. I've had limited success with craigslist... Maybe I just need to find other ways to fund my hobby.

[flanagan0718]

Nah you can do it. Where do you live? I'm sure there is some sort of music community. Check out a neighboring town. Or even the dreaded facebook. Start a blog and make a facebook page. it might help

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Now he is demanding I refund him and pay return shipping because the product was not as advertised... ugh...

Ummm...

Last I remember, the BUYER is on the hook for return shipping costs. Think about it... you didn't exactly "make" any money on shipping. Whatever the buyer paid in shipping costs was used to ship the product. Might want to look into that. 

Also, the guy's argument is strawman anyways. There is NO definitive sound to a Germanium Fuzz Face! The simple fact that germaniums change characteristics with temperature virtually ensure that each will vary unit to unit.

Why do you think Jimi Hendrix auditioned dozens of Fuzz Faces before picking HIS?

BTW... about the "I've played more Fuzzes than hairs on your head" comment. TELL HIM YOU ARE BALD! This totally wreaks like buyers remorse. Sorry bro 

[Cortexturizer]

I have always been wary of people wanting me to build em a dirt pedal. Overdrives are mostly okay, but to build a fuzz for somebody - especially a vintage circuit with germanium transistors, that can be hard on ya - as you've seen.

Most of you remember my Miles Ahead build (if not do a search on the forum) which is a fuzz face platform with perfect parts and also contains a voltmeter that displays the voltage on Q2's colector in real time. I've sold it to a buddy and he used it for a year and now he is obsessing over toan all of a sudden, and has bought like 7-8 dirt pedals/fuzzes in the last couple of months and the cannot find "that" toan that he likes, all of a sudden my Miles Ahead fuzz is not right for him and all, so I am gonna build him a Wolfshirt in exchange for it. Can't really see it go on classifieds for like 50 EUR (which is what he wanted to do), no sir. So it's getting back to me. Um...yay? I guess. But still.

It's so hard with selling and making fuzzes for other people. I mean, I've had nothing but good experiences, all in all I've sold something like 10 pedals on commission but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It's so much easier building a delay or a chorus for another human being. Dirt pedals seem to be hard in this regard. I dunno.

[GermanCdn]

Now he is demanding I refund him and pay return shipping because the product was not as advertised... ugh...

Ummm...

Last I remember, the BUYER is on the hook for return shipping costs. Think about it... you didn't exactly "make" any money on shipping. Whatever the buyer paid in shipping costs was used to ship the product. Might want to look into that. 

Nope.  With ebay's money back guarantee and the 6 month "Significantly not as described" policy, seller is on the hook for return shipping.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Nope.  With ebay's money back guarantee and the 6 month "Significantly not as described" policy, seller is on the hook for return shipping.

WOW!!! They are just trying their best to push every non-big business seller out the door huh?

I personally dread selling on eBay. I have had 95% good deals and I carry 100% feedback but.... that feedback has come at some costs 

[lars]

This guy probably ran his fuzz face after an unbuffered wah pedal. Yeah, no fuzz face in the world is going to sound right in that setup.

[Luke51411]

I don't know how much this would help in the future with this particular issue in the future but I have had people ask me for sound samples. Is there a way to embed a sample in an ebay listing?

[flanagan0718]

I'm not sure of embedding a sound sample but you could do a quick demo video of the pedal they are bidding on and put the link in the post.