Weirdest eBay Transactions (Not a Rant, Believe it or Not)

I've been a buyer and seller for over two decades. I know this will spawn a lot of negative opinions about eBay, to that I say "go for it." :-D I've only been ripped a couple times in thousands of transactions, and generally speaking I usually find what I'm looking for and manage to trim at least a few bucks off.

Today's transaction was by far the strangest. Can openers suck these days, bought an edge-peel-up can opener for $22, lists on the manufacturer site for $29.99. Seller had a 99%. Scheduled for delivery Friday, didn't show up . . . went to contact seller and they were no longer active on eBay. Reported, eBay refunded, thought I was done.

Friday I see a message that a tracking number is assigned, it was delivered Saturday (today.) Being Dudley Doright (aka dumbshit LOL) I had to do the right thing, tried to report it. After paging through tons of circular help articles, managed to get ahold of a chat agent, now it's on them. I still get a free stupid can opener LOL

I'd never buy a high dollar item on eBay, but for the most part, it works out pretty well. Just do your research, read the fine print, check out the seller's rep.

Small ebay tip: if you find a condition like this that isn't resolved by their articles, links or AI chat, find a chat window and type "speak to an agent." Takes about a minute for them to arrive, an actual person LOL

 

eBay has gone downhill for the past 15-20 years. No more negative feedback, their managed pay, and complete lack of customer support makes it a last resort for me.

And I had to close my account with >1000 feedback when they implemented the required SS# for selling because I refused to provide it.

It’s a site of last resort now.

 

I've bought thousands of dollars worth of stuff on the bay over the years. Only times I had a problem, it was resolved to my satisfaction within a day or two.

The required SS number is for the feds, who want to make sure they're getting their cut. Not eBay's fault.

 

In college I bid and won an Evinrude outboard motor for $55 including shipping. Seller was cool about it and said that he tuned it up himself. Being a crazy ass college student, I mounted that thing to my canoe.

That motor went on three trips. The first time, the prop shear pin broke on the far side of the lake and I had to paddle back. The second time, the prop spun completely off. The third time, the impeller failed which then cooked the motor. At that point the local dealer said "it's done, kid. I'll give you $150 trade credit towards a new 3.5 so that you can stop bringing that thing in here."

... The month of 50 cent ramen eating was worth it for that new motor.


At another bid I won a set of solid gold Trivial Pursuit collectors game pieces for a penny. I really miss the old, wild days of fleabay.

 

Say what? That's still there, I rarely have to drop a neg but see it every time I buy.

Yeah I haven't bothered selling because this part is messed up. When PayPal added their policy that they will just reach out and take $2000 if they deem you are "spreading misinformation" I killed that account of almost 2 decades. CC purchases only now.

Yeah used stuff is a gamble . . . for $55 I'd think I got my money's worth out of it at 3 runs. :-D

Agreed, people go to eBay to find a deal. Those are few and far between now. I almost never buy anything used outside of discontinued stuff.