Ebay Time Wasters
Discussion
I've limited experience selling cars on ebay so I'm unsure if this is normal. I posted a car on ebay and was pleased as within the first few hours I'd received a few offers, messages and texts. However in the night (around 1 am) someone pressed the buy it now button, they never messaged or contacted me in any way. I realise I sound a bit impatient but if I wanted to buy a car I would atleast send the seller a message following committing to buy it to arrange collection/payment.
I'm just a bit gutted as the car has now been taken down on the day where it would probably receive the most traffic. Is committing to buying a car and then not contacting the seller normal on ebay for anyone other than a time waster?
I'm just a bit gutted as the car has now been taken down on the day where it would probably receive the most traffic. Is committing to buying a car and then not contacting the seller normal on ebay for anyone other than a time waster?
Have a read of this - https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Archive-Business-S...
Or is that not possible with car sales?
Or is that not possible with car sales?
CoolHands said:
You sell cars with classified not buy it now.
This every time.I agreed to sell a motorbike to a guy for a reduced price on the understanding he collected it that week.
He then said he'd pick it up in 2 weeks, and it was just tough - so I sold it to someone else who collected the day after.
He went bananas, threatening me with all sorts, but because I'd used the classifieds I wasn't committed to anything whereas with a normal eBay sale I would have been
Thesprucegoose said:
there is a function that buy it now requires payment straight away by paypal.
Not a wise move collection items such as cars or iPhones/Laptops/Anything of value. Maybe to take a £100 deposit within 24 hours to prove you are serious.You list an item, I click BIN and pay by PayPal. (Except I've used a stolen/cloned debit/credit card to finance the payment),
I turn up, check the car out, do the paperwork (V5) and drive off into the sunset.
PayPal reverse the payment as the card is fraudulent. You now have £x debt with PayPal and no car.
You challenge this with PayPal, thinking they should see sense. They ask for proof of postage/sig/delivery. But it was collection you protest. Common sense in the real world does not apply to these 2 companies. PayPal and eBay give no f
ks about you. As a last resort you call the mobile number that I communicated with you on. Switched off. It was a disposable PAYG SIM I bought in Poundland./Corner shop.
I've dismantled perfectly good cars because of this very reason. There's a lot of people in general that have nothing better to do than try to buy things that they can't afford to own. The idiots cross the line when they start to kick tires and waste other peoples time.
There's a guy I knew a few years back that was on disability (no idea why because he was always working on his cars) and would routinely call people and arrange test drives. He had nothing better to do and assumed that they didn't either. For him, it's one car, for someone like me who's selling. I have to deal with maybe 50 idiots like him before I get my car sold.
There's a guy I knew a few years back that was on disability (no idea why because he was always working on his cars) and would routinely call people and arrange test drives. He had nothing better to do and assumed that they didn't either. For him, it's one car, for someone like me who's selling. I have to deal with maybe 50 idiots like him before I get my car sold.
The problem with eBay is that the “buyer”, even if they are a time wasting bellend, is always right. There are no consequences for wasting people’s time or even behaving fraudulently. The protection and enforcement is so heavily skewed in favour of buyers, and so blatantly one-sided it beggars belief.
Limpet said:
The problem with eBay is that the “buyer”, even if they are a time wasting bellend, is always right. There are no consequences for wasting people’s time or even behaving fraudulently. The protection and enforcement is so heavily skewed in favour of buyers, and so blatantly one-sided it beggars belief.
I wouldn’t have believed this if I hadn’t had that exact experience a few weeks ago after many years of happy eBaying and hundreds of happy sales.I had a slight disagreement with someone who had collected and inspected a part in person but despite this later wanted to reject it. It took ebay all of a few seconds to make a judgement in the buyers favour seemingly not reading let alone addressing any of my points. And to top it off it was at my expense to have the item returned to me (which was not economical due to its size and weight hence the collection).
Suffice to say, I’m selling a lot less on eBay since then and use Facebook and gumtree more now.
Bought and sold a few cars on eBay and in the early days it was great but nowadays ebay is full of ##ats!
Last 2 cars I sold were a nightmare, listed a lovely old Mercedes C class lots of bids, winning bidder popped up at the last minute but then nothing turned out 'buyer' was in Jersey which set the alarm bells ringing long way to come for a 2k car, turned out only joined that day never heard a peep from them logged a case with ebay who did the square root of sod all!
Didn't learn sold a nice Lexus about 12 months later and although the buyer turned up and paid kept messaging me for the next couple of weeks with every little thing he found wrong with a 13 year old car!
Learnt my lesson now can't be doing dealing with idiots will just part ex or wbac when I change my current car
Last 2 cars I sold were a nightmare, listed a lovely old Mercedes C class lots of bids, winning bidder popped up at the last minute but then nothing turned out 'buyer' was in Jersey which set the alarm bells ringing long way to come for a 2k car, turned out only joined that day never heard a peep from them logged a case with ebay who did the square root of sod all!
Didn't learn sold a nice Lexus about 12 months later and although the buyer turned up and paid kept messaging me for the next couple of weeks with every little thing he found wrong with a 13 year old car!
Learnt my lesson now can't be doing dealing with idiots will just part ex or wbac when I change my current car
As has been said, a classified advert is the only way and you only take it down when you have the money in your hand and the car is driving away. Auction and buy it now are essentially letting a buyer reserve the car whilst stopping you from selling it to anyone else. It is also a way for sad timewasters to get a 30 second buzz and then decide they don't want the car anyway once this has worn off. There is no commitment from their side, so when they inevitably make no contact or pull out at the last minute due to "unforeseen circumstances" you are the one that has to pay the listing fee and go through it all again.
I have sold lots of cars on eBay in the past and have never really had any problems, even with an auction they were all keen to collect the car and I never heard from them again once they drove away. Now you get 50 timewasters for every serious buyer and people expect you to give the car away, refund their money if they change their mind and pay for any repairs to the car for the rest of time.
You also have to deal with the timewasting messages which tend to be
1)"best price" or "£400 today". These are easy, just ignore them and they never message again.
2)The sob story the "I only have £500 and I desperately need a car to take my children to school/visit my dying mother" or "I live 400 miles away, would you let the car go for £500".
3)The near offer, the "would you take £800, I can collect the car today". When you reply telling them you would, you never hear from them again.
4)The page of questions. They have a list of pointless questions such as "what is the dot code on the tyres", "what brand of oil was used on the last service", "when was the aircon last recharged", "why are the service stamps in Kent when you live in Surrey". Once you answer all of their questions you will either never hear from them again or they will say it is not for them as the service in 2008 was two weeks late. Oh, and they always seem to have "others to look at"
5)The "when was the clutch last changed" people. When you reply that it is on the original clutch but it doesn't slip and the bite point is fine will reply "Ah, so it might need one in future then".
My experience of selling a 14 year old shed is that people expect to get a brand new car for £750. They all seem to think they know their rights, so if three months down the line the aircon stops working or it needs a set of brake pads they will email you saying the car has a problem and they nearly died and they expect compensation.
Honestly, I would rather just scrap it these days. You can see why WBAC is so popular.
I have sold lots of cars on eBay in the past and have never really had any problems, even with an auction they were all keen to collect the car and I never heard from them again once they drove away. Now you get 50 timewasters for every serious buyer and people expect you to give the car away, refund their money if they change their mind and pay for any repairs to the car for the rest of time.
You also have to deal with the timewasting messages which tend to be
1)"best price" or "£400 today". These are easy, just ignore them and they never message again.
2)The sob story the "I only have £500 and I desperately need a car to take my children to school/visit my dying mother" or "I live 400 miles away, would you let the car go for £500".
3)The near offer, the "would you take £800, I can collect the car today". When you reply telling them you would, you never hear from them again.
4)The page of questions. They have a list of pointless questions such as "what is the dot code on the tyres", "what brand of oil was used on the last service", "when was the aircon last recharged", "why are the service stamps in Kent when you live in Surrey". Once you answer all of their questions you will either never hear from them again or they will say it is not for them as the service in 2008 was two weeks late. Oh, and they always seem to have "others to look at"
5)The "when was the clutch last changed" people. When you reply that it is on the original clutch but it doesn't slip and the bite point is fine will reply "Ah, so it might need one in future then".
My experience of selling a 14 year old shed is that people expect to get a brand new car for £750. They all seem to think they know their rights, so if three months down the line the aircon stops working or it needs a set of brake pads they will email you saying the car has a problem and they nearly died and they expect compensation.
Honestly, I would rather just scrap it these days. You can see why WBAC is so popular.
Selling my 130i was fun through ebay. The usual few people trying it on, then one seemingly genuine buyer that caused me huge stress:
He asked lots and lots of questions. Wanted me to list any faults - there weren't any. Then kept pestering me about faults and wanted me to "swear" that the car wouldn't go wrong. Obv i couldn't say that, so just said it had been fine during my ownership.
He said he wanted to buy it. Then the sob stories started about not having enough money, needing cash for a house deposit, etc.
On several occasions i said i needed a deposit to take it off sale. Even going as far as saying that if on collection he wasn't happy then i'd refund him. Nope. He said i could run off with it
Finally he made it over to look at it. He was at my house for hours. He test drove it and was really, really trying to identify any possible little niggling fault - there weren't any. Then after all that time poking around he said he needed to go and think about it.
I was fuming. I told him to shove it
He then said he wanted to buy it again. Pestering me to "let him buy it" and that he was "kicking himself". Fine. I said i want a deposit NOW and i'll get a fresh MOT on it ready for collection. He once again refused. I gave him another break and got it MOT'd anyway ready for collection on the Friday. I took the day off to get it all ready expecting him to turn up at lunch time. He said he'd arranged a lift over to fetch it and would take the day off.
Friday came. Nothing. I contacted him in the afternoon. Finally he got back "i'm at work. i'll see about getting over later".
I'm fuming again.
Then later in the day he gets back to me again. "Sorry it's my sister's birthday party this evening. Can't make it".
That was it. Blocked number. Utter, utter timewaster. Shame because he was a nice guy, but just couldn't commit.
In the end it sold to a decent chap who arrived on time. Looked the car over. Test drove it (sensibly). Then transferred the money over. Job done.
If the WBAC offers were within a grand i'd seriously consider that next time, esp if there's anything needing spending on the car ready for sale (paint correction, wheel refurb, tyre or two). But with the 130i it needed the "RIGHT" buyer to want the car, and the trade offers were 30% of the private sale price i achieved.
Edit to add: he still pestered me through ebay for months after. The car was showing as SORN for a while after i sold it, so he was sending me messages like "i'm kicking myself. i think you might have kept the car and put it in storage. PLEASE sell it to me". What a mentalist...
He asked lots and lots of questions. Wanted me to list any faults - there weren't any. Then kept pestering me about faults and wanted me to "swear" that the car wouldn't go wrong. Obv i couldn't say that, so just said it had been fine during my ownership.
He said he wanted to buy it. Then the sob stories started about not having enough money, needing cash for a house deposit, etc.
On several occasions i said i needed a deposit to take it off sale. Even going as far as saying that if on collection he wasn't happy then i'd refund him. Nope. He said i could run off with it
Finally he made it over to look at it. He was at my house for hours. He test drove it and was really, really trying to identify any possible little niggling fault - there weren't any. Then after all that time poking around he said he needed to go and think about it.
I was fuming. I told him to shove it
He then said he wanted to buy it again. Pestering me to "let him buy it" and that he was "kicking himself". Fine. I said i want a deposit NOW and i'll get a fresh MOT on it ready for collection. He once again refused. I gave him another break and got it MOT'd anyway ready for collection on the Friday. I took the day off to get it all ready expecting him to turn up at lunch time. He said he'd arranged a lift over to fetch it and would take the day off.
Friday came. Nothing. I contacted him in the afternoon. Finally he got back "i'm at work. i'll see about getting over later".
I'm fuming again.
Then later in the day he gets back to me again. "Sorry it's my sister's birthday party this evening. Can't make it".
That was it. Blocked number. Utter, utter timewaster. Shame because he was a nice guy, but just couldn't commit.
In the end it sold to a decent chap who arrived on time. Looked the car over. Test drove it (sensibly). Then transferred the money over. Job done.
If the WBAC offers were within a grand i'd seriously consider that next time, esp if there's anything needing spending on the car ready for sale (paint correction, wheel refurb, tyre or two). But with the 130i it needed the "RIGHT" buyer to want the car, and the trade offers were 30% of the private sale price i achieved.
Edit to add: he still pestered me through ebay for months after. The car was showing as SORN for a while after i sold it, so he was sending me messages like "i'm kicking myself. i think you might have kept the car and put it in storage. PLEASE sell it to me". What a mentalist...
Edited by PTF on Monday 2nd March 09:18
CoolHands said:
You sell cars with classified not buy it now.
Lesson learnt - that's what I've done now.ChocolateFrog said:
You'd have to be mental to take payment for something like car through PayPal.
Any sort of fault and they complain you'd be stuffed.
Another lesson learnt! Won't be taking paypal payments any time soon.Any sort of fault and they complain you'd be stuffed.
Joey Deacon said:
You also have to deal with the timewasting messages which tend to be
1)"best price" or "£400 today". These are easy, just ignore them and they never message again.
2)The sob story the "I only have £500 and I desperately need a car to take my children to school/visit my dying mother" or "I live 400 miles away, would you let the car go for £500".
3)The near offer, the "would you take £800, I can collect the car today". When you reply telling them you would, you never hear from them again.
4)The page of questions. They have a list of pointless questions such as "what is the dot code on the tyres", "what brand of oil was used on the last service", "when was the aircon last recharged", "why are the service stamps in Kent when you live in Surrey". Once you answer all of their questions you will either never hear from them again or they will say it is not for them as the service in 2008 was two weeks late. Oh, and they always seem to have "others to look at"
5)The "when was the clutch last changed" people. When you reply that it is on the original clutch but it doesn't slip and the bite point is fine will reply "Ah, so it might need one in future then".
After living in a busy city and owning and selling a lot of cars (mostly through gumtree and AT) I've seen/heard it all. It's a shame people like this are ruining the second hand car market.1)"best price" or "£400 today". These are easy, just ignore them and they never message again.
2)The sob story the "I only have £500 and I desperately need a car to take my children to school/visit my dying mother" or "I live 400 miles away, would you let the car go for £500".
3)The near offer, the "would you take £800, I can collect the car today". When you reply telling them you would, you never hear from them again.
4)The page of questions. They have a list of pointless questions such as "what is the dot code on the tyres", "what brand of oil was used on the last service", "when was the aircon last recharged", "why are the service stamps in Kent when you live in Surrey". Once you answer all of their questions you will either never hear from them again or they will say it is not for them as the service in 2008 was two weeks late. Oh, and they always seem to have "others to look at"
5)The "when was the clutch last changed" people. When you reply that it is on the original clutch but it doesn't slip and the bite point is fine will reply "Ah, so it might need one in future then".
PTF said:
Edit to add: he still pestered me through ebay for months after. The car was showing as SORN for a while after i sold it, so he was sending me messages like "i'm kicking myself. i think you might have kept the car and put it in storage. PLEASE sell it to me". What a mentalist...
Alarm bells ringing. After 3 hours in your house I think I would have asked for him to leave and cut all contact.Edited by PTF on Monday 2nd March 09:18
Cheers for the help. I've relisted it now and ebay have agreed to give my my money back for the ad as after the second time contacting the buyer all I got back was F
K OFF. I'm not sure if some people know how much inconvenience they cause and then probably take it as a personal slight towards them if you so much as ask them multiple times for some sort of payment as ebay would advise.Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff