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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to ask for your epic eBay fails?

25 replies

Ralphstar · 26/08/2018 22:08

I need some cheering up.

When we had DS1, I lusted over a super expensive cot (before we realised how little time he'd spend in there but it was back in the day when I used to care that stuff in my house matched). Anyhow, found a much cheaper one on eBay which we bought. In the meantime, my very generous in-laws bought initial expensive cot for us as a gift for DS1. We decided to keep both cots because, you know, first time child worries that one cot is not enough.

Anyway, it turns out that super expensive cot is in fact useless. It does not have adjustable mattress heights, the bars do not come off to make it a cot bed and it's so heavy, it's impossible to move around.

So by the time, DD comes along, we decide to sell useless expensive cot on eBay. We sell for £21 - slightly jarring knowing how much it cost originally, but totally understandable as it is ultimately just a cot. Anyway, the lovely person purchasing has struck a deal where we drop it off for fuel costs as it's on the way to parents house. We take longer to head down than originally planned, as, well, life, so when we arrive with cot, I say don't worry about fuel costs, because feel bad it's late. All good, until we realise that not all the bolts are with the bed. We're missing four - not any old four but four cam lock bolts (scrawled through hundreds of photos of bolts to discover this). Can't return home to find bolts as several hours drive and we've just arrived. Spent hours finding stockists - new bolts ordered to be delivered to buyer. Phew, all sorted. Except, it's not. When bolts turn up, there's only one in the pack. It costs £4.50 for ONE BOLT plus £2.95 p&p. So we order another three to be sent to buyer (we're still away at this point and trying really hard not to get atrocious feedback on eBay).

Arrive back home two weeks later, to realise we forgot to take the unused mattress with us. Cringingly, text buyer to admit mistake, at which point she says she'll get her own mattress - very sweet of her, but she's clearly had more than enough of us for one lifetime.

So we've now paid for someone to take the bed, royally pissed off a nice person and are still stuck with a mattress.

But at least it's gone to a good home and we're one cot bed less cluttered.

Sort of forgot about the whole incident until today when we decided to put up the cot for our DD who has, up till now, been co-sleeping. Went to put up the cot and realised WE BLOODY WENT AND SOLD THE WRONG COT!!!!!

OP posts:
InspectorIkmen · 26/08/2018 22:14

Hahaha - that's funny! I mean - not for you obviously Grin but pretty funny nonetheless!

I make loads of mistakes on eBay usually related to doing too much at once, not paying attention etc. Recently sold a shirt to some guy, posted him the wrong one and had to send him the right one at my expense. Would have cost too much to pay for the other one to come back. Buyer was happy - got two shirts for £6. Nice shirts. Very nice shirts

Hannahhaddock · 26/08/2018 22:14

Sorry OP, but that is HILARIOUS 😂😂😂

ProudThrilledHappy · 26/08/2018 22:20

Not sure if this is what you are after but I sold my used travel system on ebay as cash on collection, as is always the way only got around £50 quid.

The buyer then contacted me to say they didnt realise it was collection only Hmm and could they send a courier at their cost.

No problem I said

Then they come back and say courier needs it in a box or wont collect, so I spend ages trying to get hold of a box big enough.
Box it up and the courier collects.

Then I get an email from paypal saying that buyer’s account was hacked, dont send the item and that they will take the funds back, apparently police etc were involved in the fraud.

I contacted paypal to say it was already sent etc so why should I lose out, they say well if you provide proof of postage we will give you the money. Obviously I couldnt as it was their courier.

Lesson learned for me, if something is sold collection only then I only accept cash on collection. Everything else is sent recorded delivery.

I know it wasnt a massive amount of money but it really annoys me still that I was out of pocket

UpstartCrow · 26/08/2018 22:20

I needed a tap washer so bid on a packet from China, but accidentally bid £40 instead of 40p. I then had an anxious wait to see what they sold for.
Then some stupid bastard got into a bidding war and the price kept going up. Thankfully they backed out at £1.20 but you can buy them for 99p.

Antigon · 26/08/2018 22:21

No fails as such but I send everything worth over a tenner by recorded delivery now due to people claiming they haven't received stuff through normal post.

leccybill · 26/08/2018 22:27

As an ebay novice, I sold a tunic dress to a woman in Scotland. I wrapped it in brown parcel paper. There were a few sticky out edges which I trimmed with kitchen scissors, ending up cutting into the fabric of the dress.
Buyer let me know and I was mortified and said I'd refund. She said it was fine, she was handy with a sewing machine and had already mended it, and wouldn't hear of a refund. How utterly lovely!

PippaPenny · 26/08/2018 22:29

My OH bought a go-cart - absolute bargain at £1.99....except when it arrived it was a dolls house version!

karyatide · 26/08/2018 22:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RedBlu · 26/08/2018 22:44

I once sold several different items around the same time and got them all packed up ready to go.

One person hasn't paid. I sent a reminder and they said they would pay by the end of the day so I thought fine, I will go and post the others and post theirs the next day.

Accidentally also posted theirs when posting the others. Payment didn't turn up that day or the next, so asked about it again - nothing. Checked the tracking and they had signed for it. So I told them I knew they had it and I had made a mistake sending it before receiving payment, please could they do the honest thing and pay. Of course, they never did. Bastards.

whiteroseredrose · 26/08/2018 22:51

Drunkenly bid on mounted antlers for DH at Christmas and got them for a bargain price. Hadn't noticed the £50 ish delivery charge!

YouCanButImNot · 26/08/2018 22:51

My husband has sold our £1000 sofa on eBay for £12.50. Yes, I wanted it to be sold, but seriously?!

willisurvive3under2 · 26/08/2018 23:14

Drive HOURS to collect a 'cot bed' with screaming baby in the back. Drive back and it's not a cot bed. It's a toddler bed and there are no sides. It's useless to us. How on earth did we not notice there are no sides is not clear (or maybe it is, first baby, massively sleep deprived and unable to cope). Seller says that's what a 'cot bed' is. I say it's not. We start arguing and he tells me there's a language barrier (I'm foreign). eBay won't help. We resell the blooming thing (listed as a toddler bed!) for less than we paid for it. End up having to deliver it for some reason. I dent my car in the process. ConfusedWine

cleaningtwenty · 26/08/2018 23:52

Had a huge clear out and listed half my wardrobe and accessories. Within half an hour of the listings going up my mother rang to say could she have items x, y and z as I was “throwing them out” Hmm and then MIL rang annoyed because I had listed a bag she had given me years before! Confused

Rather put me off eBay altogether.

The odd thing was we hardly ever use it and I hadn’t told anyone I was selling stuff, so I can only assume both my mother and mil checked our ID regularly to see what we had bought and sold!

Stalked on eBay Grin

Mosret · 27/08/2018 00:01

Nothing that epic at all but....
when we were getting married I ordered a little bride and groom cake topper, that was fine. Then thought it would be cute to get a little cat figurine to go with them (as we have a cat and he's like one of the family). But i completely got the sizing wrong and we ended up with a giant cat about 10 times bigger than the bride and groom 😂😂

Blink1982 · 27/08/2018 00:12

I spotted a Philips hair remover thing really cheap so I put in a high bid. I was so excited at the prospect of a hairless chin. Then I noticed it was spare or repair. Ffs. So anxious waiting to see if anyone else bid. Luckily they did... and they won but they kept me worrying until 5 mins to the end!!

Arrivederci · 27/08/2018 00:12

@Mosret that tickled me 😂😂

Seren85 · 27/08/2018 00:14

Oh dear OP! I have two ebay fails although not particularly funny. One was buying a stuffed crocheted Moomin except it was the pattern and the other was selling a spare gig ticket to a sold out farewell tour gig and realising I'd thrown the tickets away by mistake because they were in a ticket line packet and I hadn't gone to a different gig due to a friend cancelling. I apologised so much but since I also didn't get to go I was even more upset.

JustAGirlStandingInFrontOfABoy · 27/08/2018 00:17

Not me but someone I know was selling a handbag on eBay. Someone contacted her and offered more for it if she took the advert down and sold privately.

Stupidly she did, sent them the item and then shockingly never got her payment.

Theredcape678 · 27/08/2018 08:29

I bought a beautiful white cotton Victorian nightie. I hadn’t read the description properly and it turned out it was for a doll, so about 20cm long

Bossyboots88 · 27/08/2018 08:44

I sold a rather expensive skirt on ebay for 99p the buyer left feedback saying I had made the skirt myself and sewn in the labels 😂 😂

DontDribbleOnTheCarpet · 27/08/2018 08:56

I once sold a knitting pattern and accidentally posted my child's birth certificate with it. A month before, I'd set his scan picture with some knitting needles. Both buyers kindly returned the extra items.

Twillow · 27/08/2018 08:58

Just sold a DVD of my mothers, watched once with her, hadn't looked inside and buyer messaged annoyed to say only 1 of the discs was inside! Yes I have looked in the dvd player but it's not there so heaven knows what happened to it.

Hooli · 27/08/2018 10:20

I once got into a bidding war on a dress I really wanted for a wedding but still had a day or so to go. Convinced I was going to be outbid again, I searched for a similar dress but found the exact same one cheaper! Bid on it, won it.

Unfortunately my bidding enemy had given up the fight so I won that dress too Grin

jeezlouise85 · 27/08/2018 10:30

Bought what I thought was a Vivienne Westwood headscarf from eBay, turned out to be a flannel.

DontDribbleOnTheCarpet · 27/08/2018 19:17

I once nearly became the buyer all sellers hate. I didn't read the listing properly and bid on a boat which instead of the 30 feet length I wanted, was actually 30 metres long. Thankfully I was outbid and I found a boat locally, having decided that it was probably just safer that way.

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