eBay Seller Doubled Price of Item after I Asked a Question

[Deactivated] on 21/10/2022 - 23:38

We're planning to travel interstate soon after 5 billion years of lockdown so I was looking for a new make-up case and found one last night that I liked the look of on eBay. Description details were scant so I reached out to the seller & asked for the dimensions to ensure it would easily fit in my carry-on luggage. The seller replied earlier and the size was good however I just noticed that they have increased the price 100% - WT? What a way not to do business, the fool.

Anyone else like to share their whacky eBay seller stories.

General Discussion

Comments

  • AustriaBargain on 21/10/2022 - 23:44
    +19

    Like 20 years ago I would pick up armfuls of children's books from thrift stores for like 10 cents each, list them on eBay but in the description I would talk about them as if they were something really valuable. Like I'd make a big deal about it being the 14th edition of that book or whatever was different about it. And people would pay like $40 each for them and leave me glowing reviews. The early days of eBay were crazy.

    • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2022 - 23:56
      +6

      At least you made an effort to write SOMETHING in the description - some of the listings have barely any details & sometimes, nothing at all.

      • plmko on 22/10/2022 - 00:32
        +4

        You can tell who uses the mobile app: buyers who completely ignore the descriptions and subsequently ask for refunds and also sellers with next to no description or just outright wrong info.

        Not always a bad thing, information asymmetry can net you real bargains. I bought a used camera worth about $3k for $1k because the seller couldn't be stuffed identifying it. Did the same with rare speakers, cost me $300 but could easily sell for $1k+ on certain forums.

        • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:47

          Ahhh …. so that's why there are so many half-assed listings on there. Honestly, don't know why they bother as it would put so many buyers off an order.

          Nice bargain finds with the camera & speakers.

        • Chazzozz on 07/11/2022 - 11:26

          Even when I use the mobile app I try to put as full a description as possible. Only once has a buyer tried to question it but I politely showed them what the description said. Thankfully, they weren’t a scammer and didn’t force a refund.

    • morse on 22/10/2022 - 03:48

      People are still doing similar on marketplace and I believe making money out of it. Not necessarily kids books, but definitely jewellery and ‘antiques’. I also see people making up ‘party packs’, boys/girls gifts etc which are just a bunch of stuff from Kmart that they are selling as a pack for double the price. They even identify it’s from Kmart. I imagine if it doesn’t sell they just return it.

  • ProlapsedHeinous on 21/10/2022 - 23:46
    +2

    I daresay they haven't reviewed their listing prices for a while and your message prompted them to up the price….. Or they saw you were interested and thought they'd be able to take you to the cleaners. I have purchased things before but usually after they figure out the real postage they jack up the price.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:01
      +1

      It was a new-ish listing so I think it was the latter. My husband thinks it's funny and is now repeating grabs from the 'spite' episode of Seinfeld.

    • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2022 - 23:58
      +3

      Forgot your reading glasses and cannot read the OP?

      • jv on 21/10/2022 - 23:58
        -3

        I read the title.

        • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:02
          +2

          That only gets you not very far

          • jv on 22/10/2022 - 00:06
            +3

            @[Deactivated]: It's more efficient though.

            • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:06
              +2

              @jv: It's all in the details

            • FireRunner on 22/10/2022 - 13:16
              +2

              @jv: But at lot less effective

  • easylife on 21/10/2022 - 23:58

    Some eBay sellers are idiots and don't care. I bought a product off someone and now i can't buy off them again due to being black listed by them but they persistently say you can buy off our website and be in complete denial about their intentions of why i'm blacklisted. Clearly they don't want to pay eBay seller fee's. Mind you i sell on eBay also with over 200 sales and 100% positive reviews.

    I refuse to submit to their terms lol they just lost a customer.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:04

      Very silly to risk a sale by upping the price 100% after an enquiry

      • jv on 22/10/2022 - 00:06
        +3

        Unless the previous price would have been below cost…

        • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:28

          I don't think so as it wasn't a cheap buy

        • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:54

          Unlikely. Most of those sort of items are generic chinese stuff resold from aliexpress. They're not selling at a lost.

          • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:58

            @[Deactivated]: The case was definitely not an aliexpress item. The annoying thing is that I cannot get it anywhere else which makes the stupid markup even more infuriating.

            • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 01:00
              +6

              @[Deactivated]: Just send a message to the seller that you're willing to buy it at the old price but not new, and your offer expires in e.g. 24 hours . They can send a custom offer through the ebay message center

              • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 01:01
                +2

                @[Deactivated]: The spite is quite strong with this one

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 07:05
      +1

      report them to ebay, ebay doesn't like it when their sellers try to steer you to their own website (and away from ebays fees), i think it's actually against ebays ToS but i could be wrong.

      • Ocker on 22/10/2022 - 07:34
        +1

        If eBay do catch you in any way directing sales away from them then after one warning they will close your account

      • Sleeqb7 on 22/10/2022 - 10:43
        +1

        Accurate. I've worked in places that also sell on eBay and we're explicitly not allowed to mention the other sales channels when communicating on eBay.

    • DoctorCalculon on 22/10/2022 - 22:58

      now i can't buy off them again due to being black listed by them

      Simple solution. Just create a new account.

  • Quantumcat on 22/10/2022 - 00:07
    +4

    When I was new to ebay I bought a bronze letter opener from a flea market and described it like it could possibly be a super antique from an Egyptian tomb (I was like 16 years old or something). I think I got like $50 for it after spending $2.

    Around the same time I also sold my copies of Zelda Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons and Link's Awakening and my purple Gameboy Color which I regret heavily to this day 😢

      • cookie2 on 22/10/2022 - 00:47
        -1

        I would neg you for your lack of personal taste but alas, I'm all out .

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 00:35

      Who hasn't embellished their wares in some way to make a sale - ScoMo would have been proud ;)

      Did you at least get good prices for the games?

      • Quantumcat on 22/10/2022 - 08:07

        Sadly not, I think like $100 for the lot

        • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 11:51

          Dare I ask, what would they be worth now?

          • Quantumcat on 22/10/2022 - 20:52

            @[Deactivated]: Not sure, probably at least $100 each. The gameboy was second hand so was a little beat up but I kept the boxes and manuals of my games 😢 The regret is more for the sentimental value of them than anything. I had a really good time playing them, and I saved up for them with weekend jobs etc.

  • payless69 on 22/10/2022 - 08:31
    +1

    Just use Paypal and your holiday will have another 2.5k loading!

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 11:52
      +1

      It is becoming just like that!

  • Mugsy on 22/10/2022 - 09:12
    +3

    OP, ask them another question and see if it doubles again!

    If yes, do it 3 more times and then tell them you're not interested.

    EDIT: As for myself, no, never had this experience. Quite the opposite. Bought a second hand camera. Noticed the guy lived in my suburb so when I reached out to him, he said he'd happily meet up with me and even sold it for a bit less as he saved on postage and handling. Camera works great too after all these years.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 11:57

      Yes! My husband reckons the price jump was for the seller's time & effort to measure the case & reply to my query. They also updated the description with the details, so that admin cost must also have been factored in.

      I've always had good experiences with eBay prior to this ninny ;(

    • hazzad on 22/10/2022 - 12:14

      Great if you can do it but both you and seller risk getting banned for conducting business outside of eBay. Something to be aware of.

  • Heaps for Cheaps on 22/10/2022 - 12:22
    -2

    You snooze, you lose.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 12:25

      I just checked & it's still available plus I don't think they'll get any takers at the inflated price

      • eccaz on 23/10/2022 - 00:23
        -2

        Sellers can set whatever price they want. No point whinging.

    • outlander on 22/10/2022 - 14:49

      You snooze you lose. You don't do your research, you lose. Almost seems like there's no guaranteed way to avoid losing?

  • USER DC on 22/10/2022 - 14:18
    +2

    Yes quite common on eBay with private and chinese sellers.

    Its sometimes better to not say anything and report the item as not matching description.
    Otherwise seller fixes it and give you no discount for helping him fix his mistake, instead he jacks up the price

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 15:17

      Its sometimes better to not say anything and report the item as not matching description.

      The description was just a rehash of the title - make-up case and the colours which wasn't even required considering it was self-evident from the listing photo.

  • Some Human on 22/10/2022 - 14:53
    +2

    One time someone made me a $10 offer on something I was charging $15 for. I mistakenly thought I had added $9 for postage, but I hadn't. So when I saw their offer for $10 + free postage, I ended the listing straight away and added the shipping into the price before relisting. I would have lost money if I didn't do this.
    I will note that had they purchased it at $15, I would have honoured the sale.

    I suspect the same thing has happened with your seller. Your querie might have prompted them to have another look at their listing and made them realize they made a mistake.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 15:22

      The case was actually a GWP so the seller is selling a 'freebie' for profit. I don't begrudge them that & was willing to pay the original price as I thought it fair however unimpressed with the overnight inflation rate

  • outlander on 22/10/2022 - 14:54
    +2

    Happened to me before. I was looking at water tanks, specifically multiple smaller tanks that might fit down the side of my house. He had multiple listings for 1x tank, 2x tank etc but I needed more. Sent him a message asking if he could offer a further discount for multiple tanks, and he responded by increasing all the prices of the listings. Something about a special price that expired

    Thankfully he missed the 3x listing, so I ordered that thinking he would most likely cancel it, but he didn't. It worked out in the end, but the entire experience was certainly unexpected.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 15:28

      lol

      +1 for the buyer getting one over a sly but careless seller

  • Cluster on 22/10/2022 - 15:04
    +1

    I'm an ebay seller, and I must say this is a really scummy move. Wait for someone to show interest, and then jack up the price. That's acting like a complete a**hole.

    Your only option is simple: Don't buy it. Don't reward bad behaviour.

    I try to keep all my customers happy and so far I've managed to keep a 100% record. Almost everyone is very reasonable. I refund postage for multiple items where possible, without the customer asking. Sometimes people pay before I can issue a new invoice.

    The only hassle I get is from Australia Post. They've lost 8% of the tracked domestic letters I sent. Insane loss rate.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 15:38

      Your only option is simple: Don't buy it. Don't reward bad behaviour.

      I'm sticking with spite but I really really really want the case & no-one else has it so …… spite is a bitter pill ;(

      wow - 8% is rather high for lost tracked mail. Can you recoup that in any way from Aus Post?

      • Cluster on 22/10/2022 - 17:35
        +1

        The lost mail problem has become so bad that I don't use tracked mail any more. Parcel post only.

        AP does provide insurance but there are quite a few hoops to jump through to get it. And it never recovers the full cost of the sale.

        • Some Human on 22/10/2022 - 17:57

          AP lost one of my tracked letters out of hundreds.
          It was easy to get them to pay me out. A couple of emails easy. They even paid for the envelope. I didn't charge the buyer for the initial envelope, so I made money on the lost item. Ebay fees were refunded too.

          Do you lodge over the counter? I usually lodge them over the counter if it's over $25 value.

          • Cluster on 22/10/2022 - 18:14
            +1

            @Some Human: AP have become really stingy when paying out insurance and the process is a hassle.

            1. Need to wait long enough for AP to declare the item lost, after they 'investigate'
            2. They send an email declaring the item to be lost. Sorry, too bad. AP relies on people not knowing there is up to $100 insurance.
            3. Have to email them and provide evidence of item's value.
            4. AP argue that no, they won't cover the $80 ebay sale, and demand to see how much I paid for the item.
            5. I provide a receipt from auction for the item I purchased and resold. I paid $58.
            6. AP look at the receipt and say 'no no, you paid $50, look at the line item'
            7. I respond that there is a 16.5% auction premium tacked onto that price, and that I paid $58, not $50. Receipt is very clear.
            8. AP isn't having a bar of it. They decide to pay $50, plus cost of the envelope, guaranteeing a loss for me every time AP loses a letter

            Dealing with AP is frustrating.

            • Some Human on 22/10/2022 - 20:33

              @Cluster: Must have changed in the past 1.5 years. I didn't have an issue. They were very easy to deal with. I wonder if it's because my item was only worth $20?
              They didn't ask for any evidence either.

    • ozchappy on 03/11/2022 - 20:36

      My only negative review from eBay was from a buyer who purchased a set of items which were large, heavy and some fragile, so I added a reasonable postage fee to the actual postage cost for the padding I had to purchase to make sure everything arrived safely.

      The buyer purchased it, then left a negative review saying the postage was too high. I even refunded the postage after they whined and they didn't retract their negative words. The postage fee is advertised, not like it's hidden or anything.

      Some buyers are just assholes. I had one purchase a used phone which had detailed, closeup photos of its condition - he actually damaged it himself to get eBay to make me refund him, even though I would have done so if he'd just asked in the first place.

      • harshbdmmaster718 on 05/11/2022 - 20:18

        "Some buyers are just assholes."

        Yeah it seems like it.
        My last private seller purchase on eBay was when I bought a DVD described as "brand new" (movie was hard to find on stream).
        Anyway I paid more than the other options specifically because it was listed as brand new.

        It arrived with the disc all scratched to shit and it was shipped like that because the disc was secure in the case. Did my best to clean it with some solution but the movie kept freezing every 15 mins. Unwatchable. Had enough of private sellers on eBay after that.

        • ozchappy on 05/11/2022 - 23:25

          Mate you gotta look at the photos, and if there aren't any - ask for them. That's the best advice I can give.

          Obviously this person should not have listed it as brand new, eBay would have probably refunded you - but yeah, there's the seller's dilemma. A purchaser can ruin a brand new item and tell eBay that's how it arrived.

          • harshbdmmaster718 on 05/11/2022 - 23:28

            @ozchappy: Yeah I think the photo was just the case which was in good condition and I just trusted they were being honest about the condition.

            Problem was I sat on the DVD for months after it arrived before opening it up to watch it. I don't know it just left me with such a bad taste for eBay sellers. I don't use eBay much in general, I only turned to it back then because I could not find this film. But yeah I did pay by paypal so even months down the line I probably could have made a claim. Just didn't come to mind at the time.

  • Empharand on 22/10/2022 - 17:49

    Yeah it's a dodgy move; however:

    • Is it still the cheapest with the increase?

    • Maybe the listing has garnered a bit of interest due to a low and/or very competitive price and the seller has raised the price to weed out the tyre kickers and take advantage of the interest? I have been tempted to raise the price of an item in the past as it garnered a lot of interest in a short period of time (Watchers & listing views) so I figured either I had listed it for too cheap (Even after researching what they typically go for) or there's a demand for said product that I wasn't aware of. At the end of the day I kept it at the same price.

    • I wouldn't worry about it too much, at the end of the day it's the sellers item at whatever price they want for it, it's your choice whether you accept the revised price or move on.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 18:34

      It's the only one available on eBay or anywhere else for that matter. They got the item for free as it was a GWP so they'll make money on it either way but they're choosing to be a greedy-guts atm.

      It was too coincidental that the price doubled after I queried the size. I'm guessing that the seller just assumed I wouldn't notice or that I wanted it so badly that a 100% price hike wouldn't have made a difference. Little do they know that I'm on here ;)

      Our trip is early Dec so I'll play the waiting game for the seller to realise the folly of their ways and send an offer through for the original price which I may consider, depending on how I feel at the time, spite-wise.

  • harshbdmmaster718 on 22/10/2022 - 17:50

    I think it's just sellers and stores attitude in general.

    I enquired about a product on an official company website and if there was any possible discount they could offer via email. It's been over 2 months and they just don't reply at all.
    I would accept a "no discount possible sorry" but completely no reply gives me the impression they think I am wasting their time.

    In the past I would at least get a reply. But these days they don't want to bother with you unless you are buying.

    I enquired about the too high shipping prices of an item on Aliexpress awhile ago as well. They actually responded saying "we fixed it". But when I checked again they reduced the shipping price but increased the product price to something ridiculous. I think marketplace sellers are doing well with sales during covid so they just increase prices and have no trouble doing so. Have also messages some other sellers on there and just get no response.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/10/2022 - 18:59

      This is a private seller.

      I've had to follow-up a few queries - it all depends on how much I want the item and on a couple of occasions, the sellers were kind enough to send through offers at a reduced price even though I never requested it.

      It very much depends on the seller/product demand & supply. Those selling popular items, esp. with low stocks are in the cushy position of not having to be too bothered with responding to queries when their sales are going gangbusters.

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