Well, I finally got one of my sons to complete a study for me (he wanted extra money for EDC;):
I’ve always felt that most people who ask for extra pictures which takes extra time and work:
you never hear from again
And/or
after taking that extra time they ask for discounts,
And/or
they are the ones who want returns
It’s not only the pics but the often time extra back and forths that multiply the time it takes to deal with them.
I had my son check back on a 2 month time period last year and that study which took 3 months lol, showed I was absolutely right. Only 7 people out of the 55 actually bought the item. 4 wanted and got a discount and two returned the item.
I’ve decided those aren’t the type of customers I can afford. I simply don’t have the time to accommodate them especially since it’s a net loss anyway.
So I started two weeks ago telling them the items already packaged but if there was something specific they wanted to know I would go from memory but there are no returns. So far, 5 of the 8 requests for pics have produced buy it now sales. Of course I understand that even with a no return policy the idiots can still find a way to return but I believe with my proper title, pictures, and description I won’t have to fade many returns.
I never ask for pictures but if the items are much worse than described then I simply resell them. Not much hassle
Something else I’ve noticed is I actually do have a little more time to spend on deals, new listings, or family stuff;)
Yep, just what I thought, I often receive messages for extra pictures, details, and even to inspect the card IRL, I know from past experiences that these types of requests usually are a waste of time and don’t result in sales, I personally don’t answer any messages regarding these requests
I had one guy ask for scans of the back after I gave him a picture lol, I obliged and to no surprise no purchase. But the kicker was after a couple of weeks he asked for scans for like 5 different PSA, he was persistent too! Some real bananas out there
I know the feeling. I actually Grade my cards lower than they should be, to avoid these kinds of situations. But of course, I am nice sometimes and provide pictures and as mentioned… throw the bait and absolutely no bite. Not even a thank you for the time involved…
I have found similar and do the same as you do. Some people just can’t be pleased and depending on how exactly they phrase the questions, sometimes I just block them from buying my stuff off the bat. Sometimes you just know someone is trouble by what they ask and how they ask it. I also get notes occasionally on my NM/MINT cards as people check out saying “this better grade a 10 at PSA since you say it is pack fresh”. That leads to an automatic cancel/refund/blocked bidder list.
Lately I have also been getting very strange things on my PSA 9’s and 10’s. “Are there any scratches?” “Why is this a 9?” “Is this a strong 10?” etc. I mean I provide 6+ photos of most cards that are the best I can manage. I scan anything real high dollar along with the photos usually.
I just say that the professionals over at PSA determined this to be an “X”, and that I will make no comment on the grade as I am not a professional.
TO BE FAIR, sometimes the people asking about scratches and why a card received a 9 are just looking for the best versions for their collections. Example being they don’t want scratches, but don’t mind about a few white specs on the back. At least, that is the naive world I want to believe in. I tend not to put words such as “pack fresh” or mint on a listing as well. If someone asks for a ton of pictures and information for a $10-20 raw card, I just stop responding because I know its coming back if sold.
Interesting research! As a science person, I love people who back up their hypothesis with experiments! Good job on this!
You went from observation, to hypothesis, to research and ultimately a theory! Sorry… I am a nerd lol! I also hate when people use the word “theory” without the proper back up of experiments since most of the time they really mean they only have an observation or at most a hypothesis lol. I will stop geeking now lol. Good job buddy!
As long as the seller posts a bunch of good, honest, high-resolution (iphone or better) pictures of the front and back on a flat, black background there shouldn’t be any problems. There are a ton of sellers that attempt to mask flaws on their merchandise by posting blurry pictures taken at weird angles with funky lighting or by posting on white backgrounds to mask edge wear. To some extent the buyer has a right to know, in detail, what they’re paying for.
So I guess I might be in the minority here. I don’t have a problem with potential buyers asking for extra pics or any other particular requests. I figure the 30% or whatever who do end up making the purchase is better than the 0% you end up with if you ignore everyone who asks for more pics. Then again, I don’t sell often, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t really bother me like some of you lol.
Absolutely, if there is enough evidence in the attached photos to show its condition portrayed in the description then i dont pursue bothering the seller, however if im buying a valuable card (ungraded) then i need to see it in its entirety so i dont have to mess around with returns.
Unfortunately cigarette smoke is 1 thing you cant see lol, bought some wotc sets 3 months back, been airing them out since, god the stench when i opened the envelope. Ive never smelt anything worse, so aggravating.
Just to add, if its a trusted seller im buying from then i generally have no doubt in their grading of a card, many go out of their way in auctions to describe any damage in the description. Example below, although i asked for a pic of the back
By the way, why is ebays screenshot system so bad ? 9/10 i have to ask the seller to resend the pics to my email because they are the size of postage stamps when i receive them, no detail can be made. Its just awful or is something amis in my settings, can i change the resolution, size ?
I don’t sell many ungraded cards under my king_pokemon ID. But I’d feel the same if I did.
Again, I simply don’t have the time to deal with special requests because they’re a net loser.
You mentioned anything is better than nothing. Sorry but this just isn’t true for everybody. Those 55 customers caused about 12 hours of work. Those 5 completed sales made me about 100.00. So by dealing with those 55 people I made 9.00 an hour PLUS I missed out on 12 hours of doing something with Eva and Akara or listing more stuff so I could make money.
So brother, in my case it’s not worth it:)
Best way I’ve found is to access the photos using a mobile app. I know on the iphone you can zoom in on the images and they appear to be a normal size. On the desktop, not so much.
Thats even worse bud, when i click on an image sent to my from a seller on my android the ebay app just directs you to chrome ebay messages and the pic is even smaller lol
heres a quick pic of an example of what a screenshot someone sends me looks like on my monitor, the monitor is in the peripheral vision so you can get some perspective of the size of the image
On your PC open the images and right click to view the image in a new tab:
Once in a new tab go to the URL and change the “12” (or whatever is up there) to “10”:
Should read “/$_10.JPG” the rest following shouldn’t matter.
For this example my photo was 1600x1066. There are other sizes on different number keys, I didn’t check them all. But that should be pretty nice compared to the tiny ass photos they usually let you see. Let me know if that works for you.
Oh no for sure, I get where you’re coming from. Like I said, I don’t sell often, (and if I do, it’s only a few cards at a time) so for me it isn’t a huge inconvenience. I definitely see how it becomes a waste of time for sellers like you who have a large amount of stuff to list. Time is money after all.
