Ebay Etiquette and Pipe Buyers.

[robs]

Being new to ebay as far as Pipes are concerned, I wondered whether any of you more experienced Chaps could give me an idea as to etiquette? I have been a long time ebay user for both the buying and selling of Musical Instruments etc and certainly where they are concerned,it would seem that Musicians are very speedy with communications and payment.
I have had 3 auctions conclude within the last 36 hours and have yet to hear anything from the winning bidders. I wondered whether this was the usual form with the Pipe Fraternity?

I feel that I have made sufficient allowances for variation of Time Zones and to be honest, I am wondering whether I have been had? One Buyer has High Feedback and 100% score, the other is also at 100% but has a much lower score.
I'd be interested in your comments and experiences.
Thank You

Rob.

 

[bubbadreier]

I give them until a weekend has passed before I ask if the item has been sent (so if the auction ended on monday I wait until next monday, but if it ended on friday I wait until monday also). I usually wait this way because I know that during the week I am in work until after the Post Office closes and I am sure they do too. After the time has passed I ask them very nicely if the item has shipped and that does two things, 1 it reminds them if the forgot and 2 it lets them know that you will be keeping up with them so they better send it out!
Most of the time I get a friendly answer, sometimes I get a one word "yes" or "no".... hope this helps in some way!

 

[bubbadreier]

Sorry to double post but I had this to add; most of the time the seller wont start the communication process, it is up to the buyer to ask them questions!

 

[duncan]

As a buyer I try to watch the auction I am bidding on. Once the auction is over I try and pay asap and then message the seller letting them know they are payed and if any problems should arise contact me at their earlist convience. I haven't sold anything as of yet so I am not sure of the way that all works. I take it from the way you posted you were the seller, I would drop them a line and let them know it is ready to ship and you are just waiting on the payment. Also they might be waiting on an invoice so they know exactly what to pay when shipping is factored in.
Wade

 

[bubbadreier]

oops... I guess I didn't read well enough! I thought you were the buyer, sorry for the uneeded advice!

 

[robs]

No probs Chaps. It just seemed odd to me that as a Buyer OR Seller, I always get the whole thing concluded as fast as I know how. Obviously everybody is different and it is entirely possible that one winner in particular has been away because I suspect a Sniper was in use as the winning bids happened within the last 5 seconds of the auction.
Just puzzled by their lack of action. I have now emailed each individually and will wait to see what happens next.
Thank You All.
Rob

 

[kcvet67]

I've made nearly 2000 puchases on ebay (mostly coins back in the days when it was still a good venue for them) and learned to wait for an invoice before paying. Some sellers use Auctiva or something similar to handle their payment and checkout, paying directly through ebay can complicate matters. If you haven't sent an invoice yet, that's probably what's causing the delay.

 

[unclearthur]

If I am able to pay as soon as an auction ends that is my preferred method. At times though due to not being able to get around as well as I used to I am delayed a few days. After PayPal screwed up one bank account i pay strictly by debit card and hold only enough balance to cover what is bought.

 

[spacecowboy57]

I just bought 5 different pipes off ebay. 3 from 1 seller. That seller was extremely dishonest and conveniently forgot to mention many major flaws on two of the pipes. The other two sellers were very honest. Out of the 5 pipes, 3 were in good condition. the third pipe from the dishonest seller was a medico filter pipe, which still had a dirty filter in it. I'm pretty sure they NEVER changed this filter cause it was disgusting. CAVEAT EMPTOR

 

[robs]

Well, I watched each of the 3 auctions close and issued invoices immediately. 2 of the 3 Pipes were won by the same buyer. I finally heard from him via ebay yesterday evening, 9pm UK time and he was apologetic about the delay in making contact and asked me to submit another invoice, which was puzzling as I already had done. None the less, I did as he asked and he assured me that he would pay on receipt of it. So no major surprise to me to be still waiting some 12 hours later.

The other buyer has not responded at all thus far.
As I said in my opening post, I am used to transactions being carried out almost instantly and obviously have to accept that things are done rather differently in the world of buying and selling Pipes LOL.

 

[robs]

Surprise, Surprise. Payment now received for the pair of pipes.

 

[chuckw]

I can't testify for other peoples actions but I pay as soon as I see the auction has ended unless asked to wait for an invoice. I don't bid then wait for payday to roll around.