Are sellers just getting worse?
Hi, first post here. I've had nothing but issues lately buying off of eBay. I'd like to think I'm a pretty solid buyer, I buy car parts, tools, old video games, just a lot of stuff in general. This past year I have had the worst luck with one specific category... older video games.
I don't know, it just feels like sellers will list a game as "like new" and describe how flawless it is in the description and then a scuffed game shows up with water damage on the paper components. I mean seriously, it's nearly 50/50 now. I can message a seller, ask a handful of questions, touch every point, request pictures, receive what appears to be exactly what the listing described, and then what shows up is just mind boggling. Scratches, scuffs, tears in the manual and insert, moisture staining and residual mold spots. What IS the standard anymore?
The majority of the time I request a return through eBay. Most of the time I message the seller first to try and discuss the concerns. If I contact the seller before going that route to politely discuss the issue more often than not I'm met with rude remarks and someone who adamantly states how it didn't look like that when they sent it. Like, what? I'm looking at it now and this is what I got... What is even going on anymore? I try to buy from sellers with 100% and good feedback. I don't see how these are the same sellers. Stellar ratings somehow and I get a game that looks like it was stored by a shower with a disc I have to scrub clean because it looks like someone exclusively handled it after fisting a bag of chips for an hour.
Genuinely, I am starting to wonder if I'm the issue here? I bought an item off of eBay from a 100% rated seller. Why does this seller have such a rating when the game I receive listed as "like new" with great photos shows up looking like it was used as a frisbee until I bought it. If I buy a game in "good" condition or "fair" condition more often than not I'm happy with what I receive. Does the condition of an item listed mean absolutely nothing?
Fun bonus situation. I'm currently having to go through a case after sending the game back because apparently the seller has some issue or another they're trying to get eBay to back them up on. I just got the notification it's now "under review", no refund has been issued now and I have to wait for whatever is going to happen. I literally don't know if I can even do anything and what the outcome could even be. I don't have the game, I literally opened it, saw it, put it back in the case and contacted them. They were rude and adamant that it was definitely flawless when they sent it out so I requested a return through eBay. The only time I had the game back out was for a few pictures of the scratches for the return request before I put it back and packed it up to ship back out in the packaging they sent it in. I genuinely think I'm done with this garbage platform. It's honestly more trouble than it's worth.