Mechanical Music Digest  Archives
You Are Not Logged In Login/Get New Account
Please Log In. Accounts are free!
Logged In users are granted additional features including a more current version of the Archives and a simplified process for submitting articles.
Home Archives Calendar Gallery Store Links Info
MMD > Archives > November 2002 > 2002.11.01 > 05Prev  Next


eBay Transactions
By Don Winter

I have sold literally thousands of items on eBay.  I long ago figured
out that the law of averages meant there would be premeditated crooks,
irresponsible buyers and mistakes made by me personally.  So I decided
to simply save stress and I do not fool with the feedback feature and
if a complaint arises or a package is lost I refund the money without
anguish on the assumption 99% of the other transactions will be fine.

I only insure items over $300.  I don't hold checks or do any
bookkeeping.  Once the stuff is shipped I have no control over the
events to follow so proving what happened or did not happen is moot
when someone on the other end is upset. It becomes my word against
theirs and I have no choice but to assume they are correct.  Out of
$60K worth of stuff, as I divested myself of things, maybe I have
shelled out $400 in lost or damaged items and I could have weaseled
out of most of that had I wished.  But for my $400 I saved endless
paperwork, stress anxiety and so forth.

The radio guy was a crook.  You 'neg' him to protect others and move.
Or you do what I will explain in a few sentences.  That's how I got
the four negs as retaliation for the crooks that I felt needed to be
flagged.

But eBay will not consider _any_ case and a crook will not respond
unless you use the Don-Winter-Handy-Dandy-Collection-System that
I personally developed and works _every time!_  I have even used it
with large government agencies.

And it is easy.  You go through all your drawers around the house and
get a stack of postcards, around 50, all styles, etc.  Or just buy
a bunch, around 50.  Then you compose a simple non-liable statement,
such as "I want my money," and hand-write it on the post cards with
your contact information.  Then every day you mail around three of
them, forever.

Pretty soon the recipient will tired of reading them, as well as his
employees seeing them, and he will ask you to stop.  But you do not
stop until you receive your money.  You do not negotiate and talk about
it via phone.  You just keep sending in the postcards until he sends
the money, do not stop on a promise of sending the money.

I use this only in two cases: (1) where the principle is important,
or (2) the money involved is large.

For example, when I retired from the Orange County School Board, my
retirement check would get started even after many trips to the home
office downtown, registered letters, jumping through all kinds of
bureaucratic hoops over a period of months, phone calls, etc.

Three weeks of the postcards and they called ME!  And I explained the
post cards would keep coming, that I was not longer willing to send
them any more filled out forms.  <Lots of luck!>  About a week later
I had a small stack of retroactive retirement checks.

Don Winter


(Message sent Sat 2 Nov 2002, 00:53:45 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  eBay, Transactions

Home    Archives    Calendar    Gallery    Store    Links    Info   


Enter text below to search the MMD Website with Google



CONTACT FORM: Click HERE to write to the editor, or to post a message about Mechanical Musical Instruments to the MMD

Unless otherwise noted, all opinions are those of the individual authors and may not represent those of the editors. Compilation copyright 1995-2024 by Jody Kravitz.

Please read our Republication Policy before copying information from or creating links to this web site.

Click HERE to contact the webmaster regarding problems with the website.

Please support publication of the MMD by donating online

Please Support Publication of the MMD with your Generous Donation

Pay via PayPal

No PayPal account required

                                     
Translate This Page