The title says it all. Not that many years ago when I was working in retail I was instructed to get to know the products I am selling, so if a customer asks a question I will be able to provide a response that at least sounds informed.
Recently I asked a question to an ebay seller, "You say your switch is a momentary on/off switch but you show two different switches in the same ad. Do you mean it is a momentary non-latching type of switch or a latching type switch?"
Reply: "I happy to please you. Yes, it momentary on/off."
That did not answer my question, just repeated the same confusion in their listing.
Another seller, another question: "Is your switch reversible?"
Reply: "Yes, 100%, your satisfaction guaranteed or full refund."
I bought the switch and guess what? It was NOT reversible and the postage would have cost more to send it back than it was worth. I think by "reversible" he thought I meant "Could I send it back?"
Another seller had switches advertised that were momentary but of two types: "latching momentary" or "permanently maintained". I could not be bothered asking them the difference because I am sure even they have no idea.
Another question I asked another seller: "Is this a normally open or normally closed switch?"
Reply: "I will contact designer and find out for you. If you not hear back from me in 2-3 days, please remind me? We aim to please you."
Three days went by, so I contacted the seller again to remind him and got this in reply: "I will contact designer and find out for you. If you not hear back from me in 2-3 days, please remind me? We aim to please you."
Just for fun I waited another two days and sent a reminder. You guessed it, I got this in reply: "I will contact designer and find out for you. If you not hear back from me in 2-3 days, please remind me? We aim to please you."
Another seller, another question: "Are the switches on the handlebar mount 12mm, 16mm, or 19mm? I need to know in case I ever have to replace one of the switches."
Reply: "Mount diameter is 22mm handlebar."
That was not even the question I asked!
I ended up buying two different types of switches just so I could find out what they are really like. Both were fairly cheap, but wow, oh so flimsy. The switch and mounting looks solid enough, but the wiring is far too fine and guaranteed to break or short out due to vibration within a few weeks. Also they have plastic parts moving on angles against metal parts, so how long is that going to last?
Finally I got so fed up I contacted an Australian company that I had dealt with before. They were about three times the price, but they had heavy duty switches and they at least knew their products. Don't waste your time on these lazy eBay sellers who care more about their ratings and number of sales than the products they are selling. Most know diddly squat about the products they are selling.
I bought the switch and guess what? It was NOT reversible and the postage would have cost more to send it back than it was worth. I think by "reversible" he thought I meant "Could I send it back?"
eBay has a Money Back Guarantee policy. If the item does not match the seller's description, you are entitled to a full refund. Even if the seller states that the buyer is responsible for return postage, this is incorrect, as eBay requires the seller to pay for return postage when the item received is not as described.
To initiate a return, you simply submit a return request (item doesn't match the description) and wait for the seller to send a "prepaid return label." If the seller does not send this label—usually, they do not—they often just provide a return address and expect you to pay for the postage. In this case, you should contact eBay Customer Support or eBay Help.
Last time, I encountered an AI response, so you may need to request live chat multiple times. Explain your situation and ask them to remove the seller's requirement for waiting on the return of the item, as the seller is incorrectly expecting you to pay return postage. eBay will then change the return status, allowing the seller time to provide a prepaid return label, which they typically fail to do. After a few days, eBay will issue you a full refund, and you can keep the item.
That's worst case scenario as some sellers just give you a refund straight away.
It's not worth the time to go through all this when the item is of low value, but if you understand how the system works, it's worth pursuing a refund on principle. This way, you can hold the seller accountable for selling subpar products. Additionally, you can leave a review on their product explaining the issue, so others are warned not to purchase low-quality items from that seller.
I don't think I will need to buy switches for a while.
It is always a problem, I remember buying a starter motor for a Chev a few years ago from some place in the Northern suburbs. I had to have the ebay number because I wanted to pick the motor up. When I got there it was only a very small place sort of a shed but it was jambed to the roof with boxes of starter motors of all types. Only one bloke sitting in the corner with a computer. I asked him for a Chev starter and he had no idea just kept saying ebay number. Once I gave him the number he went straight and picked it out. He had no idea of the products only that they were starter motors
Hi Max, I should have gone to you for switches by the looks of it!
They are not AI responses unfortunately, they are from real people. Getting a refund is not really my point. It is the ease at which you can get a refund after you buy something due to misinformation in their ads and uncaring ignorance on their part that is the problem. They are real people and often I notice on eBay, every time you contact a seller you will get a reply from a person with a different name. I have tried translating to the foreign language but get the same stupid responses. It is almost as if they are selling so many products that they really don't care if they lose a few customers along the way. You are supposed to just buy the item, not ask questions about it. I do get informed replies from China-based sellers, but from Australian-based sellers of Chinese products I typically get nonsensical or cryptic answers in response to questions. Their answers often seem deliberate. One seller simply repeated my question back to me. Others are overly polite and claim they will do whatever it takes to get you the answer, but they never do and have no intention of ever doing so. The ploy of putting people off seems to be all too common. They say they will get back to you with an answer in two to three days. They never do and there is obviously never any intention on their part to ever try to resolve the customer's question. They just want people to buy. Typically after you ask a question that they cannot answer, they will then send you an offer that is a dollar or two cheaper than what they were asking originally.
What you say is very true Norm. Every product has a number and is packed in a box. None of the sellers ever look inside the box to know anything about what they are selling.Their entire system is designed around selling first. Any problems that might arise after a sale are secondary to their concerns and they will only provide a refund if it is required by law, or if it means their selling rights on an online site might be compromised.
By contrast I contacted a seller in Bulgaria and received only highly informative replies. It was obvious that the seller knew his products very well. It is a pity the Australian-based Asian market is so geared towards selling and so lacking in any knowledge about what they are selling. One thing I have found is that if you find the same product for sale in China, if you ask those sellers they are more likely to give you a satisfactory answer. One Australian-based seller admitted to me that he did not actually have the items that he was selling, so could not tell me anything about them. Apparently, all of his stock was being held by some Third Party in a warehouse somewhere else in Sydney or Melbourne. All he was doing was selling the stuff and he never actually had any of the thousands of products that he was advertising for sale. A large part of eBay appears to operate like one of those bargain catalogues that use to appear in your mailbox in the old days. Mostly selling cheap junk designed to break not long after purchase, but because you got it so cheap you feel like you got a bargain while it lasts.
I guess another thing that annoys me about the rest of the online selling world is that many stores today are operating on a policy of giving a refund only in the case of a "change of mind". I recently bought some battery clamps that were wrongly advertised and because they would not fit I asked to return them. The store asked me to fill out a form claiming that I had changed my mind. I argued quite correctly that they were at fault by providing the wrong information and I wanted to return the items for that reason, not because I had "changed my mind". They refused to provide a refund unless I filled out their form. I still have the part here.
Well I guess the dodgy practices don't end there. I was recently quoted "No more than $125" from a local engineering company for a job. I go to pick up the item a week later and they demanded $230. Apparently the person who had given me the quote had not been authorized to do so, because he only worked there. This is the second time they have done this to me. The first time it was the manager who had quoted me around a hundred dollars less than what he finally charged me. He claimed that his quote was only an estimate and there was more work involved than what he had thought. I think I will be taking my business elsewhere in future. We only have one engineering works in town and the others are around 3/4 hour drive away. They also made a blunder on the last job I got done. They used my measurements but forgot to account for the 2mm thickness of the materials they used. So when I got it home I found everything was out on either side by 2 mm. I had to spend several hours re-engineering their parts to get them to fit. It would be a waste of time complaining about this to the manager. He is likely to just tell me off. Then they wonder why people are not buying locally.
They are not AI responses unfortunately, they are from real people.
. I recently bought some battery clamps that were wrongly advertised and because they would not fit I asked to return them. The store asked me to fill out a form claiming that I had changed my mind. I argued quite correctly that they were at fault by providing the wrong information and I wanted to return the items for that reason, not because I had "changed my mind". They refused to provide a refund unless I filled out their form. I still have the part here.
Well I guess the dodgy practices don't end there. I was recently quoted "No more than $125" from a local engineering company for a job. I go to pick up the item a week later and they demanded $230. Apparently the person who had given me the quote had not been authorized to do so, because he only worked there. .
They also made a blunder on the last job I got done. They used my measurements but forgot to account for the 2mm thickness of the materials they used. So when I got it home I found everything was out on either side by 2 mm. I had to spend several hours re-engineering their parts to get them to fit. It would be a waste of time complaining about this to the manager. He is likely to just tell me off. Then they wonder why people are not buying locally.
Yes, I only received an AI response from eBay Help. When you need to contact eBay to remove the seller waiting for a return, you must do so to get a refund within a specific timeframe. If eBay doesn't remove the seller waiting for the return and the time runs out, you won't receive a refund
I remember the last occasion I returned an incorrect or faulty item to Repco or Super Cheap Auto , they did the same thing said fill out a form ,saying I had changed my mind and I thought at the time this is ridiculous but if you get the refund then so be it ,also the form had why are you returning the item so you can just put they sold you the wrong part. It must be the customer is always wrong these days.
I wouldn't go back to places that give you a quote then want more money when you go to pickup.
People like that you need a written quote if you deal with them.
I've gone to a few engineering shops to get some basic jobs done in the past and they just hand the job to a first year apprentice that doesn't have a clue and you end up with a third rate job but are charged at the full rate.
Most places aren't interested in doing small jobs for the average Joe that walks in the door as they have contracts to fill for big companies so if they do a small job it's just when they get some spare time.
I'm not familiar with people at shops ever helping you much or telling you the correct information about a product, 99 percent of the time I ask at a shop if they have a certain item for sale and they have always said look over there and if you can't find it we don't have it except one time about 25 years ago when I went to Tasmania and asked at a shop for something and the person said I'll just see if I can find that for you and came back with what I wanted, I felt like I must have been in the Twilight zone or gone back in time 30 years.
I even have to tell some shops that they do sell what I want even after they tell me they don't stock it ,then they don't believe me and get of the telephone to the supplier to check it's even made ,then eventually say yes we sell that.
"A successful shopkeeper knows that every customer is just a dollar sign wearing a disguise!"
I got a tube today for the front wheel on my Rover Ranger. I looked at the packet and it looked like it had been sitting on a shelf somewhere for 25 years. I put it on and pumped the tyre up to about 10psi and while I was standing there it went woosh and deflated. Pulled it back off and it had split on the seam half way around the outside. Seller has said they will replace it but I hope it is not with another old one off the shelf
I've noticed with car tubes they only need to be left in sunlight for a few days and they crack and need to be thrown out but I remember having car tubes from the sixties in the eighties and left them outside with air in them for a decade and they didn't crack.
Yeah they can't make rubber anymore these days. The rubber on the old washing trolley would have to be 50 years old and is still looking good with no signs of perishing. It has stood out in the sun and rain for all those days. New rubber today starts to fall apart in no time. I had some spark plug leads and rubber covers put away in a dark cupboard. Got them out recently to find they were all perished and falling apart. I guess that's why they've moved over to silicon mainly these days? The manufacture of quality rubber is a lost art. Rubber soles on shoes are a good case in point. If they don't separate within a year due to poor quality or insufficient glue, they begin to rot and fall apart. This even happens on top of the range shoes.
As for ebay sellers, I should start compiling a list of replies. This one just to hand:
My question: "Do these parts clip on by hand or do you have to have a special tool to clip them on?"
Very true Max, out of school and its off to work you go and the boss is like a god. They do find ways to be happy as people everywhere do, so it is not all drudgery. Factory work is factory work, no matter which country you are in. But as I said before, you are more likely to get an informed response from sellers based in China than from those who sell Chinese goods based in Australia. I guess they know they can afford to slack off if they live here in Australia, but they possibly can't get away with it quite as easily over there. The boss is always watching and listening!
Had another one today. I borrowed a Toledo hydraulic puller kit from a mate and it is huge, I can pick the box it is in but it is very heavy. I saw a similar kit on ebay and I asked them how big the kit is and their reply was we don't understand your question so I still have no idea if it is as massive as the kit I have here
At least the seller was being honest Norm. Many younger Chinese do seem to be taught English in school, but the level of competence varies a lot. Some have little grasp of it, others are fluent. I guess when we ask a question in English, if they don't know what we are talking about they have to go find someone else who can, and that person might not always be available. At least that person was being honest and not just replying with nonsense for the sake of providing a reply.
I remember back in high school being taught the only languages on offer: French or German. Neither have been much use to me, although German has helped on the few occasions when I have purchased Bosch parts from Germany. Nowadays we have the benefit of Google translator which is getting better all the time, so really there should never be any excuse for not understanding. Of course Google is forbidden in China, but you would think the State would provide translators to their immense work force? The trend in Australian schools has shifted towards mainly Asian languages these days, because that is where market forces have taken us, for good and for bad. Many Japanese can speak English today and I expect the trend to learn English in China will mean many Chinese people will be able to speak at least rudimentary English as the years go by.
I often get a laugh out of the way Chinese sellers call us "Friend" in their communications. Messages often begin with "Dear Friend" or "Hello Friend". I have now got into the custom of beginning any question to Chinese sellers with "Dear Friend". I guess it always pays to remain on such friendly terms with our major trading partners?
