I'm bout fed up with ebay buyers!! Update... It just gets better!

[MandyH]

It scares me to death to sell on ebay anymore. I don't want my hard work, time, money, etc thrown out the door because of all the stupid buyers out there. Odds are if I'm selling something I probably need the money, but it unnerves me that someone can file a chargeback, paypal holds YOUR money, etc. It's all a bit too much os you are a small time seller.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

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I just got some eggs from a BYC'r and 9 of the 18 eggs I got from her were like this. UGH!

Laurie

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Quote:
And for every PO that tells you they will be handled differently if "eggs" is written on the package...there are 20 PO's that will tell you it doesn't make a hill of beans difference to them. ALL packages go through the sorting machinery at some point where they are tumbled and thrown around. There is NOTHING anyone can do about this other than pay for Express Mail with special handling.

 

[Chief]

As a person who has purchased fertile eggs, I have always left positive feedback as soon as the eggs arrive. As long as they were shipped in a timely fashion, attempt's were made by the seller to protect them in shipping, and the sellers communication was adequate.
However, it is very frustrating when the eggs come in and are not broken, but scrambled and the air sacks are detached. I understand that the post office is hard on the eggs and so should the seller. Therefore the seller should definitely work to perfect their packaging process.
I have had hatch rates on shipped eggs ranging from 0 to 50%. Not surprising to me, the eggs that were packed with the most care had the highest hatch rate. Eggs that are in cartons with bubble wrap and taped shut, then set in another box with little packing don't fare well in shipping. Its not that the eggs clank against each other. Its more that as the box is tossed around the outer box hits something and the inner box keeps moving then slaps against the outer box and thus the eggs end up scrambled. Eggs that are individually wrapped in layers of newspaper and bubble wrap. Then placed in a box with lots of crumpled paper packing around them, in layers that fill the air space seem to do much better. And one seller went as far as to start by wrapping the eggs in foil then packing them individually. This is very wise since the foil helps to protect the eggs from the temperature changes.
More disappointing yet is when a high percentage of the eggs are porous. I view this as poor nutrition being provided to the parent stock. And porous eggs have a very low hatch rate when taken straight from the nest to the incubator, let alone being abused through shipping. I understand that even a very well cared for hen can occasionally lay a porous egg but I have received batches of eggs that were 100% porous.
Purchasing shipped eggs is definitely a gamble, and the buyer should have realistic expectations. And the sellers should take every step necessary to protect the eggs in shipping, so as to provide the highest value to their product.

 

[pgpoultry]

My current Brahma flock is all from Ebay shipped eggs. The first shipment I gave zero chicks, but I left positive feedback for the seller as the eggs arrived intact and well packaged. I think the postal system was the fault.

Subsequently I bought other batches and had variable hatch rates, but the last batch I had which travelled the furthest 6/6 were fertile and 5/6 hatched which is as good as any hatches I have ever had from my own hens.

I think it is very unreasonable to leave dubious feedback on the strength of the hatch rate if the eggs are properly packaged as the intermediate step (the postal system) is usually the limiting step.

Sandie

 

[chrisarvor]

I have had to import all my eggs form the UK as i live in Bulgaria and i am trying to build up some stock and just have fun
I have been getting very low hatch rates as everybody else says BUT
i now keep a record of the sender and i contact other buyers of his/her eggs to see if there hatch rates were any better
most of the people i have checked up on live in the uK and dont have the problem of the eggs being put on planes
The people i have checked with also had bad results?? which means the eggs were not that good to start with.
This is not a one off i have checked on several of my suppliers and all have had bad results ,so i dont buy from them.
I am now getting a small list of people that send eggs with good results so this i hope will help me reduce some losses in the future
I do understand that some good people do there best to send good quality stock eggs ,but there are some that just cash in .
One thing i have is Californian and Gambels quail have 50% hatch rate .
I have been buying red an golden pheasant,white pheasant etc but bad results
i will be trying some chickens in a couple of weeks to see if they fair any better

I now have some golden for the US that are due in a couple of days so we will see .

Also had some bad work from the Post office in the UK
i have had clearly written parcels go to Bermuda and Canada instead of Bulgaria ,so they were dead after two weeks of flying
I have not heard of the new rules you say about Paypal in the UK ????
Good website this

 

[Jessica Rabbit]

Quote:
And for every PO that tells you they will be handled differently if "eggs" is written on the package...there are 20 PO's that will tell you it doesn't make a hill of beans difference to them. ALL packages go through the sorting machinery at some point where they are tumbled and thrown around. There is NOTHING anyone can do about this other than pay for Express Mail with special handling.

Very true but the 2 shipments I JUST received I told the seller to make sure to put that on it and gues what? It was the BEST shipment of eggs ever! not sure why but It was the only one EVER to have that written on it and it is the only one this year that has made it to me completely intact. Plus I spoke to the Post master and they said that they are trying to find better ways to handle the eggs as they know they have an issue. I was told that if you put "eggs" on it is does NOT go through the sorting machine and is rather sorted manually as all other live shipments are....so just maybe it does make a difference? Or at least is starting to?


another point is that A LOT of EBAY sellers do not offer insurance.....now why is that? I would gladly pay for it to insure a better outcome for both the buyer and myself. Insure the package that way if the PO does mishandle and it is squashed like this by the PO then the PO is liable!!! without insurance there is no recourse!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I don't buy from e-bay anymore. There's a breeder out there for anything you want, you just have to do some homework to find them. My last e-bay purchases were: 6 peacock & 12 Buff Japanese Bantams $106. 1 Buff hatched. 60 Ga. Giant Bob-whites $35. 6 hatched. No more e-bay eggs for me. I don't blame the seller, but I do blame the U.S.P.S.

 

[Debbi]

As a buyer and seller on ebay, I have seen and heard it all. I just bought 10 eggs (lockdown tonight!), and was sent 12. They were impeccably wrapped and padded with bubble and newspaper, and all 12 arrived undamaged. I left the seller positive feedback immediately, as he had done his job well. Still, I understand the risk shipping involves with eggs, and then there is the incubation process. The seller can't do much more than to ship fresh fertile eggs, package well, and ship immediately. The rest is up to the buyer and luck. Seeing as how too many people don't understand this theory, might I suggest something? What if we could use this forum with a direct link to the ins and outs of buying shipped eggs?? In other words, a small lesson to people who never purchased eggs before, and who may not have a clue as to what may cause the failure of a hatch. That way, sellers on Ebay could post a link with their egg auctions, in BIG RED LETTERS, instructing the buyers to read this first before bidding. Just a thought, and it might save someone some negative feedbacks. You could even go so far as to write to ebay, and have them look into the idea of enforcing the "read the info before you buy" link. Then if folks don't read it, or are still complaining, ebay may take the seller's side. Just a thought...

Debbi

 

[Jessica Rabbit]

That would be smart.

And I by no means meant this to be the sellers fault, I was just passing on my own experience... and what I have been told while I attempted to find a better way to ship eggs... kinda sucks that the USPS is the ONLY way to ship since they do mishandle items so much!