Hello! I have won a bid on eBay for a heavy, bulky item and in the listing the seller stated: "· Please only bid if you have a big van to transport · Have at least 2 really strong people to carry, preferred 3 strong people. As it is extremely heavy. o IF this two points are not met, I will not give access to the property, as I don’t want anyone dragging the bed out of it by damaging my floor boards. I won the bid, paid instantly by Paypal, as stated in the listing and THEN the seller said they didn't accept PayPal but would only accept cash on collection. It's a 2.5 hour drive away and based on the seller's threat to refuse entry I wanted to hire a professional and insured firm to collect, the seller suggested I bank transfer payment and refunded my PayPal payment. I hired a firm, having spent a good deal of time getting the ones with the best customer feedback who could meet the sellers requirements of "after 6.30pm during the week or weekend collection" and the movers stated they are insured but did not state for what exactly. I paid by bank transfer just now and the seller has contacted me saying "Please them know. if they do scratch my wallpaper, they have to pay or get this sorted" Grrrr - if this item wasn't quite rare and such a bargain, I'd tell the seller to shove it and buy elsewhere but to save things from becoming a massive pain in the rear for me - what can I do to ensure that if the couriers do cause damage I don't have to deal with this seller to get it sorted? Who is liable if they cause any damage? I have sent the courier the eBay listing AND contacted the manufacturer of the item to find out the weights of each of the elements of this big and bulky item if it does, who would the seller have to sue, me or the courier? Thanks in advance for your help JunieJ

Old Tawnyowl here with entrepreneurial adventure number 966. For various reasons,a small heart attack a while ago and i suppose slowly aging i had to change my life around. Could not do what i used to do.It hurts a little but just the way,i miss my life in the construction industry and the people and customers i met.To myself it was fun and looked forward to going to work each day for many hours. I find now after a few hours i have a little pain,probably due to the medication.Hospital and doctors says i am ok. At the time i did not go on the sick but struggled on after coming out of hospital,not one of my better ideas. Developed another small ailment that trapped nerves in my back and shoulder and had no choice but to go on the sick. Ended up at the medical centre for a assessment as many do.Being chirpy despite a little pain i received 0 point,fit to work. I wanted to work,many of us have that drive,it feels good to have a little money for lifes essentials. Such as food,warmth,heating,and perhaps if lucky a outing or two. My small business at the time was one of the top reviewed in the country,and no trickery could take place,things were checked carefully. Anyway after ending up at the job centre the week universal credit arrived in town i was accepted. Just did not seem to fit in,tried telling them about my ailments,not to avoid work but to find something that fitted to my new life.Say maybe 4 or five hours a day.I feel in all honesty i would be tricking employers applying for many jobs as i would be found out. Do you want to be a Kitchen Porter,a Taxi Driver,a Tram driver,Conductor. Nothing wrong with those jobs but knew i would not cope and maybe the medical for some would find me out. And my mind is funny ,i worry about what ifs.The idea of a weakened heart and moving the public about things like that. Hundreds were applying anyway,younger,fitter and correct for the jobs. I got along with the staff,not all of them but most.But just did not fit in it felt that way anyway. Nobody seemed to listen. Finally the greatest idea came,would you like to be a security guard perhaps,go on a course get a card. You felt obliged to apply for any job which is the way i suppose.If you do not all hell could descend on you. There is no doubt i felt intimidated and just walked out feeling absolutely useless.After enrolling. Excuse me sir would you not mind grappling with me i have a heart condition and please do not hit me with that bottle you have just nicked,my blood is a little thin,never mind chasing anyone thoughts were going round my head. I saw some sad things that people this day and age should not be going through. Phoned them up before the course and said i am off to take a chance. You cannot do that you need to see a adviser specially trained for self employment,a business plan and god knows what else.Fair enough for younger ones who have no experience and young but i am approaching 61 and have a little experience gained over 40 years. Which before i go on any longer i will have to mention my thoughts of a Basic Income for all. Many things will have to be ironed out but seems a idea fit for today,never mind the future. A idea whose time has come. A thread discussing this idea for those that like a good read perhaps with a few laughs.Not all is serious. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?461005-Basic-Income-Guarantee-Do-You-Like-The-Idea-Any-Views-Have-Your-Say. Now where was i up to i have lost track. It was now a few years since the old heart decided to give me a shock and slowly had started propagating and collecting things over these years with a rough plan. To set up a online business and the odd car boot and sell a few things. Registered with the tax man and away i went.It had to work or else. Maybe a year now. I know perhaps this seems a little funny but here are my adventures in car booting for those that have not read it. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?464368-Car-Boots-Dealers-Stories-People-i-meet-and-more-you-can-join-in.Your-story. Now this is what i am doing.You have to be pretty tough in business,so many ups and downs. My idea online is to probe away,looking for weaknesses in things i know about,like certain plants.And other things.Online and who is selling them and then try to get a market share.As big as possible with stock you have.And at a fair price with reasonable postage costs. It is funny if that is the word watching them watching me trying to outmaneuver me,Cockneys,and people from around the country wanting their share which is right.I know i am having a little effect. One line has now reached a,do not laugh,perhaps up to around 20 pound a week with much more potential next year. So obviously i am now probing elsewhere.trying things,trying to beat my competitors,checking things out,looking for weaknesses in my competitors as in my plant business. But with larger potential. Get perhaps 15 lines selling reasonable and you can see ,well in my lifestyle i will be like a contented cat. So this is where your expertise comes in for those selling online wherever. I know we do not like giving away places where things are selling well. But have you noticed some online sites weakening and people moving to other places. Things change so fast nowadays. Any tips for businesses who are just getting going,perhaps setting up your own website to cut costs a little. Where are the up and coming areas to try.The places to open a website and how.Not everyone knows and could save days making mistakes when time is so important. I have written so much now i do not know where i started from. Hope it makes a little sense. Bye for now. Tawnyowl.

This doesn't apply to all sellers, but be careful on what you buy from who. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272064192743 I bought some Xmas lights which were advertised as "new". Unfortunately this seller has sold almost all of them, so the people that bought them are at risk from fire or injury if they use them. The last picture is when I opened the box. No screws holding it together, it too easily just fell apart. You can see the wires from the 240v supply are almost touching. http://imglnk.uk/img?i=VvcBvb http://imglnk.uk/img?i=QyxTFy http://imglnk.uk/img?i=uxBMeL http://imglnk.uk/img?i=jZSgIw http://imglnk.uk/img?i=CIBPAO http://imglnk.uk/img?i=WpEyvI http://imglnk.uk/img?i=gjefYV http://imglnk.uk/img?i=gdWFBg The control box has been used before, it is damaged and scratched all over. It doesn't conform to IP44 since water can get in though the button hole at the top.As well as objects and tools 1mm could get into an unprotected wire hole. The control box even has the logo for double insulated electronics, however, there is only 1 protective cover that falls off between peoples hands and the 240v power supply. Someone has wired in a 10A fused plug which is completely wrong. 10Amp isn t going to do anything when used with this product and is unsafe. The 240V cable that has been wired to it has the outer protective cover cut too far back. The soldering to the control board is terrible, there is no strain relief on the power cord what so ever. One of the LED light cables hasn't been put in place properly and is caught on the edge of this box. This is highly dangerous and actually illegal to sell in the UK due to how unsafe it is.

I have been an ebay customer and seller for 13 years . my feedback is 100% positive and my rating is "above average " . I generally auction training shoes purchased locally then auctioned on. I have been doing this for many years . Without warning Ebay have removed my listings and stated that I have violated Ebay Policy . they have refused to tell me what Policy I have violated . I have read through every policy and provided clear evidence in my defence for each area . Their response was that there is no appeal, they would not clarify what area I have breached and that my seller account was suspended. I suspect that I have been subject to a malicious complaint but cannot defend myself in any way shape or form. Has anyone else experienced this ? The treatment I have had from Ebay has been nothing short of disgraceful

Seven companies have agreed to clearly display delivery and booking fees following a Which? campaign Seven online ticket companies have pledged to display all compulsory charges like delivery and booking fees at the start of the booking process following a Which? campaign. BH Live Tickets, See Tickets, ATG Tickets, Ticketmaster, Stargreen, Ticket Soup and Ticket Web have agreed to display their costs upfront, making it easier for customers to compare prices between different companies. One of the biggest, See Tickets, has put the changes into practice and Ticket Soup said it will update its website this week. Another of the bigger companies, ATG, has promised to do so by March. As part of Which?’s Play Fair on Ticket Fees campaign, it is now calling on the ticket companies to justify their fees and set them at a fair level. It said some companies charge more than a third of the ticket's face value in compulsory fees. Others charge customers up to £2.50 to print tickets out at home or £3 to pick them up from the box office. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/10602518/Online-ticket-sellers-to-display-fees-upfront.html

Unsure if this is in the right place so apologies if that's the case. Periodically I get guys at the door from the probation service selling dusters etc, despite my note on door saying no buying/selling etc the ring the bell anyway. I am always polite but never buy. Yesterday a guy rang the bell, he had a similar large bag with him, which didn't look like it had much in it. My dog is a home guarder and was still barking when I opened the door. The guy was quick to say he wasn't a thug, he tried to look through to see the dog, he said don't set him on me. He said he was ex forces, ex military, not selling dusters but selling military items, he thrust a card with writing on it but unfortunately without my reading glasses I couldn't read it anyway. It didn't look very formal and he had no photo ID visible or offered. I was polite and said I don't buy at the door, and sadly have no money anyway. He said he would be in the area every 3 months and would call again, I remained polite and nodded and shut the door. If this is genuine then all well and good but I have never heard of the military doing this? first time ever I have had this at my door. What do they sell?

Does anyone here agree? I wanted to make sure it wasn't just me they are being biased torwards so I put a facebook status asking people and I had quite a few responses agreeing. Please i'm not the only one who thinks it. From my experience (i'm not an ebay store or anything. I've just been selling some old clothes that don't fit me anymore having gone up a few dress sizes and no money after finishing university (even though it's been a year since) and i've noticed that literally EVERY TIME a buyer opens a case against me 100% of the time they win! Ebay.co.uk close it in their favour and it's like ebay haven't even read my original listing nor the conversation! and they have created a 'negative balance' on my Paypal before even making the "final decision" so it's like they they already pre-decided. They have only done this twice to me. Still 100% of the time the buyer wins anyway! To add to this..you know when you list an item we can click the 'drop down' in regards to whether we accept returns or not? what's the point if they are going to demand a return anyway when a case is opened? then threten us to reimburse ebay for the refund they give the buyer - AGAINST OUR WILL because if we say no and that our listing was accurate (and if ebay had actually read our listing!) isn't that theft from ebay's part? They are literally making my blood boil and not many people can do that to me because i'm normally very happy and bubbily but ebay.co.uk have really done it and I won't just let them get away with it without a "fight" If anyone here agrees with me that ebay are disgusting and biased please sign my petition against them! - I can't promise it'll help but hopefully it'll put our point across. I am aiming at 1000 signatures then I will post it to my local financial ombudsman along with my take on the matter and will shove it in ebay’s face too. Probably the press somehow too...Ebay shouldn’t get away with this anymore!! Thank you to those who actually read this post.