DEALING WITH EBAY AND PAYPAL

[dounoharm]

I recently sold out my entire greenhouse contents and equipment on ebay. it was quite the experience. I have sold excess plants on ebay over the years, and didn't have a problem with trying to sell everything there. my plants were well received, got good bids, and good homes I think, I hope. everyone was very happy and left good feedback...until the end....
I had two really nasty people that ruined the entire experience for me.
one ditz of a woman bought a small phrag wallisii from me, bid the crap out of it, and ended up paying 38$ for it...the description of the plant said that it was not a happy plant, had been difficult, and would be difficult to grow...I asked 15 for it which was a quarter of what I gave for the plant...
when she received the plant, she freaked, and said this was not a happy plant from my windowsill....well duh! if she had read the description she would have seen that it was a GREENHOUSE grown plant, and not a happy one at that...I instantly returned her money however, wanting to keep everyone happy...waited, and waited...and the plant never was returned....ok, I emailed her and she demanded that I send her return postage, which is not in ebay terms....but heck, I did it...I sent her another 9 bucks..
so the plant finally arrives...in a beat up old box, not in the original packing, the plant was repotted in GRAVEL, and of course she didn't return the bonus plant I had sent her.....she made money off me, and got a free plant to boot! AND she left malicious feedback! did ebay help me??? heck no, tough luck they say....
case number two: a buyer bid up plants, described accurately, really nice plants too, advertised to be sent 'bare root'...ok....he orders one lot, pays for it, orders two more lots, pay for them...
the first lot goes out and is delivered, and I get a horrible email from him because the plants are sent BARE ROOT! what is he supposed to do with them?
he cancelled his unpaid orders, fine no problem, but meanwhile I had sent him two more boxes of exceptionally nice plants! all the plants he purchased in 4" pots were sent in pot, tho they were advertised as bare root...I only sent him two plants that had been in 6" pots actually bare root....
I called ebay...talked on the phone this time...the man I talked to, john, said just leave them be, let him keep the orders already sent, but cancel his pending orders, and block him from bidding...ok, that sounds reasonable...what kind of fool bids on bare root plants and then complains that they were sent bare root???
well, this guy didn't get anywhere from ebay, so he goes to paypal...they open a claim against me! hold my funds! he told them the plants were bare root and going to die....well heck, if he doesn't pot them they will die eventually, lol...meanwhile he has all the plants in pots that should be fine...a gorgeous paph st swithin that was getting ready to bud! sent in pot of course...

so, after all the money ebay and paypal have made off me this month, ebay charges 10% of sales, AND 10% on SHIPPING TOO! plus the fees for putting on the ads, I owe them near 700$!! and the paypal fees are exorbitant too! do I get any respect or consideration? heck no, the fool of a customer gets the priviledge of tying me in knots!
I am so glad I am finished with my sales now....I will NEVER use ebay or paypal again, and I certainly don't recommend anyone doing so....it is impossible as a seller to get any assistance...they have NO seller protection!
after 6 years of dealing with them and always having positive feedback and happy customers, one idiot can ruin everything.....and ebay and paypal let them...

[nikkik]

I'm sorry you had to deal with all of that! I feel like some people are just unsatisfied no matter what you do.

From a buyers perspective, I have been saved recently by eBay's policies from a dishonest seller. And why I'm grateful to be protected, I don't think that sellers should be taken advantage in the way in which you have described. If sellers continue to be treated poorly by eBay and PayPal there will no longer be quality sellers to buy from on eBay because no one likes to be taken advantage of. Their policies should protect buyers and sellers alike.

[desertanimal]

Google "PayPal dispute violin." While I do use PayPal and like that I know I am protected as a customer, I would never accept payment for anything pricey or irreplaceable via PayPal. I have never sold anything pricey or irreplaceable, anyway, as I don't have such things. But I did, or do in the future, no PayPal .

[Brooke]

Sorry for your problems Dounoharm but this is the reason I decided to never sell anything. I would rather donate anything I don't want to auctions to raise money for a club or an AOS organization.

Brooke

[Kevin_PR]

That's harsh. You gotta make sure you spell everything out on Ebay to protect yourself, state no refunds or exchanges. I buy from ebay all the time and am very understanding when I get a plant that is not what I expected. I usually just cut my losses and avoid the trouble of returns and playing email tag. People in this in hobby should expect losses. I own my own restaurant, I am a chef and sometimes waiter. Being in the service industry for so long it helps me get through the day if I don't fool myself and accept that there are truly horrible people in this world. They are bitter and self-centered, and Karma does not always punish them. If you allow yourself to linger on their negative energy you just hurt yourself.

[Andrew]

Sorry to hear about your situation, Dounoharm. I do a bit of selling on eBay with the sole purpose of trying to break even on the yearly cost of buying plants and potting mix. On the whole, I've had good experiences with buyers and sellers on eBay but I have dealt with a few ratbag buyers who have frustrated the Hell out of me. Fortunately I haven't lost money, other than wasted sales, or had my Paypal account compromised by them. The most irritating thing is that eBay no longer has buyer ratings and the buyer reporting system is a joke so you have no means to filter out the trouble makers. The only time I've had rapid action against a buyer was when a someone cancelled a bid in violation of eBay policy, affecting eBay's cut of my sales.

Accurate descriptions are important but even with accurate descriptions some people either just don't read the listing or get buyer's remorse after getting sucked into a bidding war and won't be satisfied regardless of what the plant looks like. Personally, I wouldn't sell any plant on eBay that I don't think is in excellent condition. I've looked at plants with a few blemishes on the leaves that I know are in better condition than the plants typically offered on eBay but have not listed them on the off chance I get a buyer with unrealistic expectations.

[kelbel2185]

I ran into the same kind of issues....I was selling some plants for a local grower and I got stuck paying the fees even though it wasn't my fault....I use EBay with caution.

[Ray]

Concerning PayPal and seller protection, I never used them to sell as their discount fees were greater than the ones I had from my direct merchant service on credit cards. Last summer, those rates came up and PayPal contacted me with a superior discount offer, so I added that option to my online store, where it is used by 80% of my customers.

Not long ago, someone ordered some supplies and paid through PayPal. In my case, order submission is an "authorization" only, allowing me to add the shipping cost before "capturing" the total, and it is only then that funds get transferred.

Upon the receipt of the goods, the buyer challenged the charge, claiming they did not get what was ordered, so PayPal put a hold on that amount plus a chargeback fee, so I could not deposit it to my bank account.

I submitted a copy of the order, the invoice, and a "reaching out" email I sent the buyer reiterating our order policies (I assumed their issue was not reading our published policies, therefore not knowing that the shipping charges would be added) - policies that all customers must acknowledge as "Read, Understood, and Agreed-to" before an order can be submitted.

The customer then apparently realized that they were stuck with the shipping charges, so changed their ploy and stated the reason for the challenge was a quality issue with the products (suggesting they were trying to scam me out of the stuff).

The case was denied by PayPal and I got my money.

[Leafmite]

I am so sorry to hear of your bad experience! I sometimes see people complaining here about their plants...plants that look great. Too bad a few people ruin things for everyone. Many growers become reluctant to replace plants after they deal with these people as the lose trust and faith.
On the other side, I ordered from a popular orchid vendor last year and recieved cattleyas substantially smaller than expected...roots rotted...fall on the way. I was too sick at heart to complain. The one miltonia already had brown rot and was gone within 24 hours. I did everything to get those cattleyas to survive the winter but they were too small (said to be within a year of blooming...full sized catts but were smaller than Hausermann's four years from blooming seedlings) and only one survived. I will never buy from the company or recommend them.

[dounoharm]

newest note on the situation...I am still waiting to hear from the buyer who complained about the 'bare root' plants that were sent 'bare root'...and I got another winner who ordered all my oncidiums, complained about the plants viciously, but will not send them back...SHE WANTS TO KEEP THEM AND GET A REFUND!! good lord, I cant wait to see how that one turns out, lol....she has been totally insulting and belligerent...I am so very glad I don't have to go thru this anymore...
on a better note, I have buyers that have been buying from me for years that are a shear pleasure to deal with! many more of them than the bad apples, but still, with ebay and paypal practices, it just doesn't pay to deal with them...imo