eBay Buyer Issue- What do you think?
 

A Prospective buyer (with great feedback) wants a scan of an interior photo from a Bowl Football Program. I check their recent bid history and they haven't bid on or bought any magazines, just cards of Elway.

Would you have done anything different?

Prospective Buyer- Could you please send me a scan of the Elway pic? Thanks!

My Response- Sorry, I do not send scans on $12.95 football programs. If you would like a further description of the photo, I would be happy to provide that. Thank you.

Prospective Buyer- sorry to bother you, but with 4000+ positives, I dont deal with false advertising 'sellers' either

My Response- I should probably just have been rude and not even bothered answering your question. If the offer of a description of the photo wasn't enough, I now know that you aren't a real "buyer" anyway and am glad that I didn't waste my time.

Prospective Buyer- Love the rudeness....look at my feedback, look at my name....who do you think I collect exclusively? One pic and I could have done business with you..I'll find this somewhere.
DONT BOTHER RESPONDING...PUT ME ON YOUR LIST NEVER TO SELL TO, THANKS FOR NOTHING

Do I even take the time to respond to explain to this moron the time that it takes to get the program out of inventory, take the picture, upload to the computer, e-mail etc? Should I explain that they were on my blocked bidder list the second time that responded? Should I also explain how many times since 1997 I have sent scans of photos under the guise that a buyer is interested and all they wanted was the scan and never make the purchase?

OR would you just let it go and not respond?

Scan
 

I would have provided the scan.

Rick

NM

Should have sent the scan. I have had the same situation and if I can scan the item I do. All the bad email info was after you decided not to send the scan. Just my opinion.

Joe

I, too, would have provided the scan.

Buyer politely asked and it was Jeff's reply that left him cold, and it would have me too!

I would have sent the scan, but clearly this buyer has a screw loose.

I agree, I would have sent the scan. Saying "Sorry, I do not send scans on $12.95 football programs" would have turned me VERY off if I really wanted the item.

I would have sent the scan. You never know who might become an excellent buyer if you do them a favor. If the 5 minutes of your time isn't worth the asking price, then don't worry about it.

Ditto on sending the scan. If the problem lies in locating it from your inventory, etc. then why not tell him that.

Hey- it's packed up and ready to be shipped out, sorry I can't provide a scan. Here is a description.

As stated above, you never know he may have turned into a good customer. On the flip, he may have just wanted the scan. Either way, your initial response showed nothing but poor customer service.

Scan
 

I deal with that as well but would of provided the scan anyway.

Ebay Issue
 

Seems to me to be a reasonable request from a pretty big fan. In the time it took to write the multiple responses and post on here, you could have already closed the deal 10x over. I would have provided the scan.

It's $12 for gosh sake, not worth the time for anyone, if he wants a picture of Elway simply pay the $12. I probably wouldn't have told him no scan though, probably wouldn't have responded but you are not under any obligation in my opinion if you feel its not worth your time.

I understand the money on the program
 

But, I know from my Beckett days -- many times when I was chasing items from my Columbia Collection -- I would just call people as a new customer -- and wanted to see how they would service me as a customer without my ID"ing myself. With one or two exceptions, the service I got was excellent, and then I could ID myself later.

Why not do a big Elway fan the scan and then by doing that, you might very well be able to sell them a big ticket item later.

I'd have reacted the exact same way the prospective purchaser did after your initial response

Regards
Rich

Absolutely NO scan
 

You did the right thing by not providing a scan. It sounds like he only wanted a scan of the Elway pic for his personal Elway collection and had no intentions of purchasing the magazine. Otherwise, if he were considering actually purchasing the magazine but were concerned about the condition of the Elway pic, why not just ask, "Does the Elway pic have any rips, tears, folds, creases, etc.?" Had he been honest with you and told you that he collects Elway items and politely asked for a scan at your convenience that would be different. Instead he tries to come across as a buyer. You even refer to the individual as a "prospective buyer." He is not a buyer, but instead a complete waste of time.

To those that say they would have provided a scan, I have a little challenge for you. Call your local Chevrolet dealership tomorrow and ask for the new car sales department. When a salesman answers the phone, tell them you are a big fan of the Camaro and ask them to snap a few pics (no stock photos) of the new Camaro and email them to you. The first thing out of their mouth will be a qualifying question to see if you are a buyer or a waste of their time. Tell them you have no intentions of buying and that you only want the pics for personal use and see if they are willing to oblige.

Just my opinion, but I would agree with sending the scan. I would look at it as having the potential for a future customer, even though all he seemed interested in was a $12.95 item.

And if he was only hunting for a scan, oh well- what's the loss- 10-15 minutes of time. If he didn't buy this item after the scan was sent, and later requested a scan of another item, I may feel different about doing it- but with as much feedback as this buyer had (4,000+?), I would look at it as a way to gain a future customer. Just my opinion...

Send the scan! It takes only a few minutes and it is silly to assume the guy had no intention to buy the item. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Once the scan was taken I'd spend an extra 2 seconds and add the image to the listing and it will have a better chance selling in the future even if the guy disappears.

Although as a seller on ebay I get asked questions about pricing, scans, etc. all the time by people and once answered I never hear back from them...so that is also annoying. Just last week someone asked if I could do $75 on an item I had listed for like $80-90, I emailed them back and said yes...never heard back from them.

If the point of making a listing on ebay is to sell something and move it along with some money in return, I would have provided the scan of the page if it was going to help me accomplish the goal of making money off of it.

Should I have been the potential buyer, I certainly would have not purchased the item after the response from the seller. I've been on the border a few times about purchasing an item and it all hinged on the seller sending me a message answering my email. Things along the lines of "Is that a piece of paper loss or just a fuzz on the scanner?" and I don't get a response back. As a result, some listings like that one are still sitting there three months later waiting for someone to buy.

I can't imagine it would have taken more than 10 minutes to provide a scan for the guy and if the $12 or whatever sale is not worth the 10 minutes, then it's probably not worth being on ebay anyway.

I think his "false advertising sellers" comment was out of line.

Prior to that my suggestion would have to been provide him with a scan but use a picture editing program to watermark your eBay name prominently on it.

Send the scan. Should be a no brainer if you are trying to gain business, not lose it.

I wouldn't have cared for your response. With the attitude it conveyed, it makes me wonder why you would bother with selling $12.95 items in the first place.

I can see both sides of the discussion but ultimately whether a "buyer or seller", you treat others how you want to be treated.Old cliches are old cliches for a reason,because they are true.

i just took a pic of my dog with my android 2.2 froyo phone 5mp camera...sent it via bluetooth to my pc, then had it uploaded automatically to my photobucket account...took 47 seconds (and i'm on a slow dsl).

it would've been faster and less of a hassle to send him the pic...then making this thread and waiting for opinions (or the time it took to go back and forth with the buyer)

I'd have sent the scan (seems like a reasonable request to me... every email after that seemed pretty out of line, from both parties). If the concern is that he just wants the photo for his collection, open it up in Photoshop and stick "ibuysportsephemera" in big letters across it.

Seller is wrong
 

If a buyer is interested in a $12.95 item, or a $1000 item, I think he deserves a scan if he requests one. If you don't agree, you shouldn't sell $12.95 items. The seller is wrong in this one, in my opinion.

Thanks
 

Thanks to all for the responses...it seems that I am outnumbered by a lot on the way I handled it. Something to think about for the future.

Typically I would have sent the scan (as evidenced by my 3,075 perfect feedback score with 5 stars in each category), but I am just so tired of prospective buyers who think nothing of wasting a sellers time.

On the flip side, I really do believe that the buyer was just trying to get the scan for his collection and really wasn't interested in the program.

Happy Easter.

Jeff

Well, you probably won't have as many requests for scans now that you have made your business practices clear to the several hundred active collectors that will see this thread. They are not a forgetful group and most have now written you off as a seller to do business with.

You kind of shot yourself in the foot on this one. Sending the scan would have been much easier. I seriously doubt that he only wanted a scan. I can't think of many OR any serious collectors of "scans". They much prefer the real deal.

Scott

To Scott
 

Scott, I seriously doubt that I have shot my self in the foot. My feedback is perfect and I acknowledge in my follow up post that I might have made a mistake. I started the thread because my impression is that there are more buyers than sellers on NET54 and I trust the members opinions. I thought that perhaps I didn't handle the situation correctly and it seems that I probably didn't. I knew going in that I was opening myself up to possible criticism and accepted it. If you or someone else wants to hold that against me, nothing I can do about it now.

Jeff

Jeff,
This and you prior post has changed my mind as a "prospective buyer" of yours. I thought it was a strange thread in the first place for the very reason you could be alienating yourself. Maybe this was just a good outlet for you to vent a bit (based on what sounds like some prior experiences). I appreciate you being open to some criticism and not responding in a defensive manner, which is how I assumed your follow posts would read.

Nice to see this may actually be of some benefit rather than a back and forth argument.

I can say as a buyer that hasn't amassed one tenth the knowledge of many on this board, I request back scans, etc. pretty regularly. If the scan is to my liking I place a bid, if not I don't. If the seller fails to respond or says he does not provide them then I move along. I have 74 saved sellers on Ebay and always check their listings first.

Have a great night and good luck going forward.

+1

At Justin
 

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Jeff

Jeff, as a lawyer with his own practice, I absolutely understand where you were coming from. I run across the equivalent when a prospective client calls, but either has no case or is not prepared to pay a reasonable fee for the legal service he is requesting. Often, these people just want to vent. But sometimes, if you take the time to listen to them, and treat them as you know they want to be treated, they'll come back with significant business in the future. And I know that sometimes it's tough to do that--we all have time pressures and the stress and strain of everyday life. Sometimes we're just not in the best of moods.

I don't think that you have permanently shot yourself in the foot with this post. What I'm primarily concerned with when an e-bay seller has something I need is his positive feedback. You have that, and it will continue to be a very valuable asset. After that, if I have a question with regard to the condition of an item that perhaps might not be accurately reflected in the scan, I do want to do business with a seller that is responsive to my questions, rather than evasive (although believe me, I can understand the time and trouble that can take with lower priced items). What it boils down to is a personal decision on your part, but future business may to some extent be dependent on that decision.

Best wishes for your business,

Larry

I would have provided a scan with a large watermark of either my name or auction number over the front.

While I agree that it is a pain in the but to pull the mag out and scan the pic. It is something you have to do to make the sale. You say it is not worth your time and I agree but you have probable spent more time on this thread that it would have taken you to load the pic for him.

That being said I have turned down more reasonable request becuase I did not feel it was worth my time or effort or I just did not care.

I'm guessing that the seller, somewhere in his listing, touts his great service, and that is what the potential buyer was whining about.

I'd have just sent him a scan.

On an ornery day I might have laid a clear ruler across it, so he could get an idea of the photo's dimensions, and so he'd have a slightly obscured scan if he was only after a free scan. That would have protected you...

I can see a big Elway fan wanting a Bowl Program with Elways picture in it, to add to his collection. A scan of the photo, as a collectable? Not so much.

Asking for a scan to determine the size and type of photo, before placing a bid on a $12.00 item, doesn't seem unreasonable to me. As a serious buyer, with a 100% positive feedback, I would avoid a seller that makes a distiction with customer service based on the value of the item being sold.

If he's patient, that Bowl Program will pop up again for an asking price of less than $12.00.

As as seller I would have sent scan. As a buyer if I got no response or refused to send scan , I simply would not bid.

Non paying bidder ?
 

Since the headline of this column is ebay "buyer issue". Id like to ask you guys opinion. I sold a 10.00 item a week ago today on the Bay, and have not been paid. Now. my listing does NOT specify when I need to be paid by, but I have contacted the seller THREE times, twice via ebay and once via his email and have not received ANY reply at all, regarding payment.

Yes, its not a lot of money, but I don't want to get stuck paying a fee I shouldn't have to, if the bidder is a reneger. There was no underbidder either. Plus, I have a friend I can give the item too and he could sell it for me at some point too in his side business.

How difficult is it to open a Non paying bidder dispute and get FVF's refunded? Thanks in advance for the helop

Scott, it really isn't hard at all, just site search "non-Paying Bidder" and start the process. I Think it is 7 days if you haven't heard anything, but they will refund FVF.