You have a lot of requirements for refunds.

( Regarding my conditions for refund ).

Not really ! I only ask you to return the item in the same condition as when I sent it to you. To that end, I require three things of a buyer, which I think are more than reasonable:

• No abuse ! Treat the item - whatever it is - with the same care it received before you got it. *
• If you decide you don't want it or like it, pack it as carefully as I did to protect it on its return back to me.
• Insure it fully with the carrier for the full value as I did when I sent it to you, just in case something happens. This is for our mutual protection.

* My apologies to all reasonable and honorable Ebay buyers for even having to mention this, which seems so obvious: if you buy something, don't beat the hell out of it ! But friends of mine who are also Ebay sellers have unfortunately encountered folks that don't know how to treat their possessions with care, trashing everything they touch. Worse, they then attempted to send the damaged items back, claiming they'd already been harmed. I've also heard of instances where buyers win a working item and then send back a substitute which was already broken.

For obvious reasons, I don't want to deal with such unscrupulous people. To that end, a refund is only issued after item is checked for abuse / tampering, damage, serial number verification & testing of controls / functions.

For the record: in hundreds of transactions, I've never yet had a single claim of shipping damage. I want my buyers to enjoy their items, so I do the utmost to ensure that purchased items get to their destination fully intact and in perfect operating condition. I only expect the same from anyone wanting to return an item to me.

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Do you really offer a seven-day trial period with refund ?

( Subtitle for item description ): Try it out for 7 days !

Yes, on many of the items I sell - especially higher-cost items and electronics - I offer a seven-day trial period with the option of returning it for a full refund.

I just have several requirements for the refund, which I think you'll agree are reasonable:

• The item must obviously be in the exact same condition as when I sent it to you.
• The item should be packed in the same shipping container, and packed as carefully as on its initial trip to you. Whether the item was damaged by the buyer or the shipper is a moot point - damage is still damage.
• The item should be fully insured on its return trip, just as I insured it when sending it out.
• Buyer pays return shipping.
• When item has been returned, item inspection includes:
  • Visual check for abuse / tampering & damage,
  • Serial number verification,
  • Active testing of all controls / functions and performance quality assessment

How many Ebay sellers are willing to offer a 7-day trial / return period ? Answer = very few. Most of the time as you check out Ebay auctions, you'll find terms such as "all sales final", "no returns", or even "no returns for any reason" - hardly a phrase that inspires confidence in the item or the seller.

I saw an item for sale on Ebay recently with a stipulation that just blew my mind: "...condition is subjective, and not a condition for a dispute." In other words - this particular seller has a piece of junk that he/she describes as a jewel, but you don't have the right to call them on it since it's all just "opinion". And judging from the tone of this "condition", the only opinion that counts, is the seller's.

What a crock of dung ! You won't find any such double-talk here - check my 100% feedback and bid confidently, knowing you have a full seven days from receipt of the item to give it a thorough workout. If anything is not to your satisfaction, send it back for a full refund. I've been burned before by unscrupulous sellers and also by sellers that packed frabile items inadequately or incompetently. Rest assured, I am NOT that kind of seller. I want folks buying my items to be confident that their purchase is to their satisfaction.

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Why don't you include the Ebay shipping calculator for your auctions ?

( Most of my auctions' shipping prices use a flat-rate fee ).

Because as a seller, I've been burned by it. I've used it on two separate occasions instead of relying on the more accurate USPS calculator, and both times ended up paying more for shipping than the cost projected by Ebay's app. In one instance, it was close to ten dollars wrong ! Since such funds must then come out of my own pocket ( I'm not going to irritate the buyer by telling him they now need to pay more for shipping ), I will continue to provide my best "guesstimate" for flat-rate shipping rather than rely on Ebay's flawed tool. Ebay's inaccurate calculator has been wrong before, so I'm not eager to repeat the same mistake again.

Regarding my estimates - I'm usually very close to the USPS' calculator's result. If my estimate is too high, then I will promptly refund the extra shipping cost to the buyer via PayPal. If they don't do PayPal, I will send the difference along with the item. If my estimate is too low, then I will absorb the difference myself.

BTW, the USPS shipping calculator is here.

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I checked shipping from my zipcode to yours with UPS / FedEx, and it's cheaper than your stated shipping cost. Why don't you use them ?

Item will be sent via USPS Priority Mail, fully insured.

Yes, it's true that using UPS or FedEx - esp. if it's Ground shipping - is cheaper than USPS Priority Mail. However: UPS smashed a perfectly good guitar into oblivion for me. FedEx did the same for me with a computer. UPS has also damaged other items as well. Apparently they have perfected the art of destroying packages. On the other hand, I've sold hundreds of items on Ebay and shipped them exclusively via USPS, and not a single buyer has ever contacted me about shipping damage. That may also have something to do with my careful packing, but USPS deserves credit for safe delivery as well.

Another benefit of shipping insured via USPS: if your item does arrive in a damaged state and it was insured, USPS offers a nice option for the buyer that neither UPS or FedEx do not. You can get a repair estimate for your item from a repair shop / specialist and bring it in to the local Post Office along with your item and its shipping container. USPS will then reimburse you for the repair. If an insured item is damaged by UPS, the only option you have is to surrender the item to UPS and hope that they pay you an amount corresponding to the item's true value, or to the amount that you actually paid for it.

I'm not a millionaire that can afford to beat the hell out of my possessions & constantly replace them. So I take very good care of the things that I buy and use. I want anyone that buys my items to enjoy these items in their well-maintained state, just as I did. Therefore, it makes no sense to me to pay for a cheaper yet vastly inferior, disaster-prone delivery service, that may well damage the items that I send. Would you rather pay a few more dollars to ensure - as much as it's possible to do so - to receive the item intact, or save a few bucks to have the item you paid for, then be smashed into uselessness ? For rate calculation, see USPS online. Be sure to figure in the cost of insurance ( and signature confirmation, if item is valued over $ 100 ).

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Hey, you said that you offer free shipping with BIN, but Ebay will not let me remove the shipping cost !

If you use Buy It Now, shipping will be free.

There is a fluke with the Ebay checkout system. Read about details here, as well as a work-around.

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Buyers must contact me within 3 days of auction end; otherwise item will be offered to second-highest bidder, or item will be relisted.

I haven't had very many deadbeat bidders in my time on Ebay, but I've had enough of them to know that I don't want any more. I need to know whether the person who bought the item is serious about following through with their commitment to actually pay for the item. I want to know as soon as possible, whether the winning bidder has good intentions or is a deadbeat; this is not at all a demand to actually be paid within three days - just to notify me that payment will indeed be forthcoming. Although, many of my buyers do pay within a couple of days anyway using PayPal.

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What do you mean, that you only ship to a "confirmed" address ?

If you pay with PayPal, I ship to CONFIRMED addresses only.

If your Paypal account is legitimate and if it is funded by your bank account or credit card account, then your address should be what is considered "confirmed" - validated by PayPal as corresponding to the billing address verified by your credit card company or bank - the address they send your bills to. This is an important step in combatting Ebay fraud. I want to ensure that the item actually gets into the hands of the person that paid for it, and sending the item to the confirmed address is an important part of that process.

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Why should I contact you before I bid ?

Any zero-feedback bidders, bidders with excessive negative feedback ( 98% or less ), or bidders using "private" feedback ( hiding anything ? ), must e-mail me prior to bidding ( to confirm their intentions to follow through with payment should they win ), or I will cancel their bid.

See also the answer to the next question, about the cancelled bid. If I see negative feedback ( -1, -2, etc ), or feedback with a positive rating of less than 98%, or really bad negative comments left about a buyer from previous sellers, I recall some of my previous bad experiences with such bidders. Often, I will take the initiative and contact them first ("hey, I noticed you bid on my item and did not contact me first. do you intend to follow through and pay, if you win the item ?" ). If they reply in the affirmative, I allow them to proceed. If I receive no reply, the bid is cancelled.

This may seem very unfair, but if you're not a seller on Ebay yourself, you don't know the amount of time it takes to write detailed descriptions, take good photos, and post them to Ebay. Remember also that Ebay charges you for posting items to sell. Then, when a deadbeat fails to pay, the seller loses time and money and has to start the process all over again. I simply want to ensure that my bidders are serious about purchasing my items.

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Hey, my bid was just cancelled ! WTF ?!!

Any zero-feedback bidders, bidders with excessive negative feedback ( 98% or less ), or bidders using "private" feedback ( hiding anything ? ), must e-mail me prior to bidding ( to confirm their intentions to follow through with payment should they win ), or I will cancel their bid.

You may be a zero-feedback bidder, or one with a 98% or lower feedback rating, or one with a completely negative rating ( for example, rating of -1 or worse ). I've had problems with such bidders - usually in the form of non-payment.

I now generally cancel bids from zero-feedback bidders or those bidders with ratings below 98 % - they have a considerable percentage of negative feedbacks for a reason. I also do this because I want to avoid crazies, having recently encountered a particularly unpleasant and persistent one.

If you are a legitimate bidder and feel that your bid was wrongly cancelled, contact me to verify your intention, and you'll be allowed to proceed again.

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Why am I having trouble paying you through PayPal ?

( Buyer informs me they receive error messages when attempting payment via PayPal )

The possible reasons why you are having trouble while attempting to pay me with PayPal, are blocks in my personal preferences. These are:

1. PayPal will block a payment if the buyer attempts to have the item shipped to an address that is not confirmed. ***Usually, this will be the default address that PayPal displays when you're in the checkout process. If you don't change that address while making a payment, the process should continue uninterrupted.
   
   
2. Payments with PayPal's "e-checks" are blocked. An e-check is drawn by Paypal from your bank account and takes 4 business days to complete. *  If you want to pay with PayPal, try using your PayPal account directly or your credit card, rather than paying with an e-check.
3. Payments are blocked if they are in a currency other than US dollars.
   
   
4. Payments are blocked from sellers residing outside the US - I do not conduct international transactions

***  Confirmed Address: A confirmed address is usually the one verified by, and tied to, your bank account and/or credit card account that is associated with your PayPal account. In other words, this is the address to which your bank and credit card company send bills and statements.

This is a security feature instituted by PayPal that protects both parties: buyers and sellers are protected because they know the item is actually going to the address of the person that actually purchased the item, and not to a scam artist.

Like most seasoned Ebay sellers, I will NOT ship to a non-confirmed address for the reasons stated above.

*  E-checks: I don't like e-checks because of the time involved ( you might as well send a USPS money order if it's going to take four days ), and also because it can be confusing dealing with regular, instantaneous PayPal payments and delayed e-check payments when I've just sold a large number of items. ( Who has paid and who hasn't ? )

There are other possible reasons why your attempt to pay may not be working. Check the PayPal page.

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Hello, I'm from Buenos Aires / Singapore / Helsinki / Toronto / Venice / Tokyo / Istanbul / ...( wherever ). How much to ship your item to my home ?

( Term ): This auction is valid for continental US only. I no longer conduct international auctions, no exceptions.

No exceptions means no exceptions. It's not that I'm xenophobic; I have family and friends that live in Europe and Canada. It's simply that I have had tremendous hassles with EVERY SINGLE ONE of my trans-national auctions. Read here for more info on my travails with international transactions.

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