Frustrations with selling...

[Betty Wont]

There's too many potential scams and scammers around that play the system for free stuff. I quit  paypal after I sold a guy a pedal on the forum, he waited until almost the end of the grace period and then reported it as "not as described". He refused to send it back and made a claim. Paypal told him to send it back for a refund. He sent an empty box with a tracking number and paypal refunded him (took the money from my balance) AND he got to keep the pedal. As soon as he got the "refund" he put the pedal back up for sale on the forum, and for MORE than I charged in the first place. Obviousy a scam from the start. I'm out the time and money building the pedal AND the cost of shipping AND the full value of the refund. No more paypal for me.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

There's too many potential scams and scammers around that play the system for free stuff. I quit  paypal after I sold a guy a pedal on the forum, he waited until almost the end of the grace period and then reported it as "not as described". He refused to send it back and made a claim. Paypal told him to send it back for a refund. He sent an empty box with a tracking number and paypal refunded him (took the money from my balance) AND he got to keep the pedal. As soon as he got the "refund" he put the pedal back up for sale on the forum, and for MORE than I charged in the first place. Obviousy a scam from the start. I'm out the time and money building the pedal AND the cost of shipping AND the full value of the refund. No more paypal for me.

You have a LOT more restraint than I do my friend! 

I hope that this person is not still here...

[Luke51411]

Wow... the lengths people will go... I could never do something like that because, Karma. (And also the fact that I am a generally decent human being)

[midwayfair]

There's too many potential scams and scammers around that play the system for free stuff. I quit  paypal after I sold a guy a pedal on the forum, he waited until almost the end of the grace period and then reported it as "not as described". He refused to send it back and made a claim. Paypal told him to send it back for a refund. He sent an empty box with a tracking number and paypal refunded him (took the money from my balance) AND he got to keep the pedal. As soon as he got the "refund" he put the pedal back up for sale on the forum, and for MORE than I charged in the first place. Obviousy a scam from the start. I'm out the time and money building the pedal AND the cost of shipping AND the full value of the refund. No more paypal for me.

Wait. You had proof that he posted the pedal he claimed to send back for a refund and you didn't reopen the claim? It's clear fraud. Did you take screenshots of his forum post and send them to PayPal? I need to hear more about this one, because it's much more egregious than the usual buyer's remorse stories.

[jball85]

I use Ebay as a last resort, and mainly sell the few pedals I make (that I don't keep) on Reverb. I find it hard to do anything, but break even or lose money on Ebay given their outrageous fees. Then if you have a problem you definitely end up paying out more than you take in.  As mentioned earlier always include a link to a youtube video so there is no question of how the product sounds. Last but not least, use Reverb.com There isn't as much traffic as Ebay, but they don't rob you either. I've had some crap experiences on Ebay, as I'm sure everyone has.

[mremic01]

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...

In a situation like this, I would just show him the schematic used for the build and say 'this is what it is'. What the pedal sounds like is entirely subjective, and partially defendant on his other gear. The circuit can be objectively shown to be what you say it is.

[juansolo]

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 

<rant mode>

Yup, it's loaded against the seller like you wouldn't believe now. It's bitten them in the arse in the UK, there's so few listings that even if you say UK only, it still brings up international stuff so it doesn't look like there's nothing up there. Free listings haven't fixed it either.

Them taking bites out of shipping, that really pisses me off. Shipping is f**king shipping. It's what it costs. Some people took the piss and their solution was to take a percentage from the shipping as well as the auction fees and the paypal fees.

I really, really f**king hate ebay.

What I hate most about it is that it's the only way to sell stuff to people who aren't almighty pikeys. I have to put a 20% markup on things I sell on ebay to come close to covering the costs. Yet they'll sell there and not on the music forums. Some weird fruits out there.

</rant mode>

[Luke51411]

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 

<rant mode>

Yup, it's loaded against the seller like you wouldn't believe now. It's bitten them in the arse in the UK, there's so few listings that even if you say UK only, it still brings up international stuff so it doesn't look like there's nothing up there. Free listings haven't fixed it either.

Them taking bites out of shipping, that really pisses me off. Shipping is f**king shipping. It's what it costs. Some people took the piss and their solution was to take a percentage from the shipping as well as the auction fees and the paypal fees.

I really, really f**king hate ebay.

What I hate most about it is that it's the only way to sell stuff to people who aren't almighty pikeys. I have to put a 20% markup on things I sell on ebay to come close to covering the costs. Yet they'll sell there and not on the music forums. Some weird fruits out there.

</rant mode>

Yeah the shipping thing... that really pissed me off when I discovered it after several years of not selling... Not to mention taking 10% and then paypal taking their share when they are the same damn business...

[juansolo]

There's too many potential scams and scammers around that play the system for free stuff. I quit  paypal after I sold a guy a pedal on the forum, he waited until almost the end of the grace period and then reported it as "not as described". He refused to send it back and made a claim. Paypal told him to send it back for a refund. He sent an empty box with a tracking number and paypal refunded him (took the money from my balance) AND he got to keep the pedal. As soon as he got the "refund" he put the pedal back up for sale on the forum, and for MORE than I charged in the first place. Obviousy a scam from the start. I'm out the time and money building the pedal AND the cost of shipping AND the full value of the refund. No more paypal for me.

Which forum and which user? Hate these wankers.

[GermanCdn]

Unfortunately, they're still a necessary evil, cause selling things on Reverb doesn't get the exposure it needs, selling things on TGP exposes you to the same risks with PP (the 6 month thing is a PP thing, not strictly an ebay thing), selling things locally limits your market severely, unless you live in a major center.

I really want to unload some stuff before I move, cause I simply don't need it (and the CDN$ has gone to crap, so I can sell stuff in US$ as usual and make more money), but I'm waiting until the 6 month thing with PP has had some time to breath, cause it has to change in some fashion.  Item Not Received is easy enough to work around with Signature Confirmation (cheap, it's like $1.50, build it into the shipping price), but that whole six month Not As Described it stupid.  If I buy six pairs of socks new today on ebay, six months from now they will not be as described.  Can I get my money back, please, they have holes in the toes.

The whole shipping charge thing was caused by sellers, unfortunately, who decided to underprice their goods and jack up the selling costs, making a net zero change to the buyer but letting the seller keep more money.  All that being said, it's still a PITA, because every second email I get is on shipping items, with the good old "USPS.com tells me it's $72 to ship, why are you charging $90".  Because I need to buy a Uline box, get it insured, pay ebay and PP 13%, etc, etc.  I'm losing money on the deal everytime.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

The whole 10% from shipping was actually kind of stupid. All it did was cause the same problem they were trying to prevent. Sellers jacking up the prices to ensure they get more money.

Vicious circle.

Ebay Sale profit = 10-13% depending on item classification
Ebay shipping profit = 10% of shipping price
Paypal transfer fee = ~6%

That's all a pretty hefty profit and a pain in the rear when you are selling a pedal for $80+ shipping and only making like $60 

[juansolo]

Yup, I stick a 20% mark up on everything and still usually come out less well off than when I sell stuff privately.

[lars]

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.

You should tell the guy, "if you know so much more than me about fuzz pedals, why didn't YOU build one yourself?"

[blearyeyes]

Lars, you should send your Chimpanzee to get his money back for him!

[mremic01]

Unfortunately, they're still a necessary evil, cause selling things on Reverb doesn't get the exposure it needs

Really? I've had a lot of luck with Reverb so far. No problems, and stuff usually sells very quickly. The cut they take is pretty negligible, and I've been able to work out deals outside of Reverb through their messaging system since they don't stop you from exchanging email addresses with people like eBay does.

A few months ago, one of their featured listings was an OCD clone that I'd sold on the Duncan forums a few years ago. The thing sold fast and for much more than I had originally sold it for.