Ebay: What Are the Buyer's Chances?

[mso489]

What are the chances of having a satisfactory ebay experience as a purchaser? A disclaimer: I don't use ebay to sell or buy pipes, tobacco, or accessories. My life has its built-in quotient of frustration, so I spend a little more and go with retailers who have more skin in the game, so to speak. But I'm interested in sales, marketing, and retail in general (maybe I ran a trading post in a previous life?). So for those who use ebay somewhat regularly, please give a ballpark estimate on your percentage of satisfactory experiences defined roughly as follows. In what percent of ebay trades have you gotten the item you expected in the condition it was described, promptly delivered, for the price agreed, without hassle or incident? Half the time would be 50%; 80% would be four times out of five, and so on. This is percent of reasonable satisfaction. If you've had wonderful or terrible experiences, note those, but also calculate those into your total percent. I think this would be helpful for people to evaluate their own experiences and put them in perspective, and to guide those who are considering using ebay. Purchases only here please.

 

[pruss]

An interesting poll... it will be fun to see how this turns out.
I am not a heavy eBay user. I've purchased items 55 times on eBay.
Of those 55 purchases, only 1 purchase arrived not as described; the pipe arrived with a horrendously cracked bowl. Without a lengthy story, I ended up with a full refund, and the vendor is no longer active on eBay (at least under their old pseudonym).
From a numbers perspective... I am happy/satisfied with 98% of my purchase experiences on eBay.
-- Pat

 

[captainprophesy]

Ive been using Ebay for over 10 years now, although I haven't gone crazy with it I do have about 150 transactions... with that said I can say that I've never had any issues, especially like some of the horror stories Ive read.
I think you just have to use common sense and really read peoples reviews of said seller... also as a rule of thumb for me, I do not buy electronics... so the vast majority of items Ive bought are pipes, records, books, etc. AND I don't usually spend more than like $25-$50, with $50 being at the top of my range... I figure if something happens and I lose out I can kind of deal with that lose. Also its important to use PayPal as most things I believe you can get refunded if the item is not as described or you don't receive the item... again, Ive never had any issues so Ive never had to use that option.
Happy Bidding ::

 

[dustmite]

I haven't used ebay for anything pipe related, but out of over 100 purchases, I have a 100% satisfaction rating. However, I research heavily before bidding, won't bid on a no return item or purchase from a seller with bad or no feedback. Like everything else, you get out what you put in.

 

[iamn8]

I've been an active eBay user for a year. I've sold, but more buying than selling. I've had a total of 135 transactions. Out of those 135 they've all been satisfactory and better. I've not had one bad transaction. I've received only five star ratings and given only five star ratings. Without eBay I'd probably never have gotten into this. It was simply the door by which I entered. What I guess I'm saying is eBay has cost me a tremendous amount of money and my advice to others would be to leave that door closed lest you become poor.

 

[xrundog]

I've bought hundreds of pipes on eBay. My satisfaction rate is probably around 98%. But most of those have been uncleaned estates coming from sellers who know little about pipes. I keep my expectations low. Most of my disappointment has come from sellers touting their pipe skills. They are not always as good as they are presented. Even then I am usually able to fix the pipe up enough to make the purchase worthwhile. I've only had a couple transactions where I felt I got totally burned. In the beginning I would sometimes get angry over what I felt was product misrepresentation. Now I accept it as part of the experience. Most sellers of pipes on eBay aren't expert retailers. One shouldn't expect them to be. The people who sell a lot of pipes are almost always fair and accommodating. I like eBay and have bought many really great pipes at good prices. I consider myself way ahead overall.

 

[sablebrush52]

I think that the 98% satisfaction rate is a good average. I've only had a few unhappy eBay experiences. Do your homework, check out reviews, contact the seller to ask questions, and don't put any faith into a 100% approval rating. They're completely meaningless.

 

[rblood]

Also a regular Ebay user for years - for mostly classic car parts and more recently pipes. If care,thought and research are put into an auciton before bidding, it it is generally a good experiance - Near 100% of the time for me. I will generally only deal with sellers that have a proven track record, so I suppose that helps the odds.
I would say that I have really only been suprised by a transaction two times - both were pipes that were way over-buffed or were not as they appeared in photos.
Completly agree with Sable - rating does not tell the story. Both of these pipes came from the same seller who had 100% feedback and thousands of sales. I will not mention the seller, nor will I do business with them ever again regardless of what they put up for auction.

 

[Sjmiller CPG]

Been a Ebay user for over ten years, several hundred purchases, books, dvds, pieces for my magic collection, and of course pipe related items. Overall, my satisfaction rating would be in the area of 97 or 98%. It should be noted that some of if not most of my dissatisfaction had to do with differing opinions on condition but I have had a bad experience or two. Bought a pipe once that was described as chip and crack free. When I received it I immediately spotted to cracks in the bowl. The seller had a no refund policy but the Ebay guarantee covered it and I had my money, including shipping, back in a few days.

 

[seacaptain]

It depends a lot on the category of merchandise. Try buying DVD's, books, games, etc. and you'll be lucky to get 50% decent transactions.
Other categories, like hobby related things, might be close to 100%.
I've done a lot of buying and selling on ebay over the years but next to nothing with pipes. However, I'd guess the pipe market should be in the 90%+ satisfactory range because what I've found on ebay is that the less generic the merchandise is, i.e. DVD's, books, etc, and the more specific/collectible the merchandise is, i.e hobbies etc., the better the odds of having a successful transaction.

 

[sablebrush52]

Completly agree with Sable - rating does not tell the story. Both of these pipes came from the same seller who had 100% feedback and thousands of sales. I will not mention the seller, nor will I do business with them ever again regardless of what they put up for auction.

Heh, I think that we know who the seller is. She's made quite an impression in the pipe collecting community.

 

[davet]

Over 500 transactions and only four or five didn't go smoothly, only one left me pissed but not out any money.

 

[peteguy]

I had a few issues early on always due to poor photos. I stopped bidding on pipes that don't have clear photos and I haven't had a problem since. If I do bid on one with bad photos I know I am taking a chance and bid accordingly.
One of the early issues was a Meer that the photos were really white, like from a flash. I thought, wow this pipe is clean. When I got it there were actual stains, not darkening, but like from dirty hands or spilled drinks. It went back as "not as described".

 

[agnosticpipe]

I've done about 900 transactions in the last 15 years, with about 2/3s of those being purchases. I would rate my satisfaction at about 98%. I'm pretty careful and do a lot of research on any item I'm interested in. My wife and I have bought all sorts of things, but most of what I've bought had to with film photography, and now it's mostly pipes. The main driving force with my ebay buying is the fact that we live so far from any stores or businesses where we can shop for things we need, or just want. There's been a couple of stinkers with my buying, one of which was just a few weeks ago involving a Brigham pipe. But I find these to be really rare if you're willing to keep the lines of communication open.

 

[gloucesterman]

I've made over 250 purchases on Ebay over ten years. I've only had a few that didn't measure up. Overall you need to know what you are looking at and make an informed decision. Expensive, high end pipes should only be purchased if you know a lot about the maker or the brand (if not seek out someone that does). For low and mid range pipes there are some good buys to be had and Ebay certainly puts you in touch with a lot of sellers you might otherwise never come in contact with. Ebay has its issues but overall I've had a pretty good experience buying there. I'd say a 99% satisfaction rate. There's conventional B&M retailers that don't score that high. The few Ebay sellers we shouldn't do business with show up on these pages pretty quickly and that turns out to be a lot more reliable than posted feedback numbers. If several members have had issues with a seller I usually avoid bidding on their items. Forum members tend to be pretty candid about their experiences both positive and negative. If there is a down side to Ebay, it's that my next PAD attack is only a few key strokes away!

 

[andrew]

I've been very happy with my first purchase, I'm waiting to get my second purchase, it's for straight razors and not pipes though

 

[mso489]

A standing ovation for ebay so far ... anyone else out there? All mostly good experiences? This is a little surprising since we hear quite a bit about disappointments, but maybe that's because those are described more completely, whereas the good experiences are mentioned in passing while describing the "successful" pipes, tobaccos, and accessories. So far, this is quite a vote of confidence. Ebay ought to reprint this! (I think Kevin would need a consideration.)
Not an end to this discussion ... who else on their ebay experiences?

 

[northernneil]

I have only made a couple of purchases on ebay, and never sold anything. I have always been totally satisfied with my purchases (books and art, no pipes), and have heard of only great responses from eBay when a sale goes poorly.
As far as I am concerned, if you do your homework before bidding, set a limit when bidding, and follow ebay's rules, the risk is very low for both buyer and seller.

 

[layinpipe]

I have only been using ebay for a couple years and except for a steal of a deal kershaw speed assist EDC blade, all my purchases (36) have been pipes. They have been a mixture of Brand new, unsmoked estates and smoked estates in good to great condition. I have yet to be disappointed in any of the transactions and have always received what was promised. Looking back on it, i really have scored some amazing deals on ebay with pipes, just from researching what i am bidding on and making sure i know when enough is enough when bidding on an item. I have had a few "hiccups" with shipping and other minor issues with a couple pipes that the seller missed, but the seller ALWAYS rectified the situation. Either they had a good explanation (example, a death in the family) or we came to an agreement that left both parties satisfied.
Ebay has allowed me to buy mid range and high end pipes for a fraction of their worth/MSRP. In turn, it has allowed me to experience a lot of different brands and/or artisans of pipes of all different shapes and sizes. This has allowed me to really narrow my preferences in the pipes i buy in the future, as well as discovering some of the things i don't like in a pipe (dimensions, stem material and stem craftsmanship, engineering of the pipe, etc)to avoid in the future. It has made me a better informed and better educated pipe smoker and i feel that it has made the hobby more enjoyable overall.
My piece of advice for anyone looking to use ebay:
*1. DO YOUR RESEARCH AND KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BIDDING ON.
*2. KNOW YOUR LIMITS AND STICK TO YOUR GUNS.
*3. MAINTAIN A GOOD LINE OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE SELLER DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT THE SELLER IF THERE IS AN ISSUE.
*4. IF THE SELLER IS AN ASS AND DOESN'T LIVE UP TO THEIR END OF THE DEAL, REPORT THEM TO EBAY AND GIVE THEM A NEGATIVE REVIEW ON EBAY.
*5. AFTER COMPLETING NUMBER 4, CREATE A POST ON HERE AND LET THE REST OF US KNOW SO WE ARE AWARE AND WILL NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE. OR, AS HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST, THE SELLER COMES ON THE FORUMS AND MAKES AMMENDS OR MAKES THEMSELVES LOOK WORSE. EITHER WAY, WE ALL BENEFIT.

 

[Chasing Embers]

No bad ones here. Over 250 purchases, all pipe and razor related, and no complaints. 100% satisfied.