The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: sokel on June 14, 2013, 08:47:34 pm

Title: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: sokel on June 14, 2013, 08:47:34 pm
Bought 12 silver laced wyandotte bantam eggs off ebay  and they hatched yesterday, only 3 chicks rest infertile  .
its a risk you take getting eggs posted but the chicks are NOT SLW as they have feathered legs
I have contacted the seller and she says my dad must have  got confused between my sliver laced pekin experiments they're not quite full pekins yet and has offered a refund for the eggs but not the postage
what would you do in a sitiation like this.
I now have 3 chicks I dont want and a broody wasted on these eggs
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Mammyshaz on June 14, 2013, 08:54:03 pm
It's a difficult one. Certainly demand full refund including p&p. Dealing with the unwanted chicks is another matter, don't really know other than ask if she can collect them in person.it's not like an item that can be returned in the post  :-\   If she isn't local the only option is to put them up for a new home and cross fingers.

Guess this is the risk with buying eBay eggs  :thinking:
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: doganjo on June 14, 2013, 09:09:33 pm
And if she doesn't refund contact Ebay - they will look into it.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Kitchen Cottage on June 14, 2013, 09:23:12 pm
If you haven't left feedback for her, threaten her with negative feedback if she doesn't give you back your postage.  She breached the contract, she has to put you in the same position as you would have been in if the breach hadn't occurred.

Start an ebay dispute, they can take money straight from her paypal account and refund you. Ebay dispute is the way to go.  Its actually quite biaised in favour of the purchaser.

Good luck xx
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: sokel on June 14, 2013, 09:34:02 pm
Thanks for the replys, she sells lots of breeds of eggs on ebay  and I told her I would be taking it further and also leave a negative feedback so she did an instant total refund  ::)
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: jaykay on June 14, 2013, 10:04:23 pm
I bought 24 Buff Sussex eggs, got only 3 chicks (and I do know what I'm doing incubating) and they are three very different chicks! We'll see. At least two of them are pullets.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: chrismahon on June 15, 2013, 05:07:08 am
I am amazed that people still buy eggs off ebay.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: sokel on June 15, 2013, 06:56:07 am
I am amazed that people still buy eggs off ebay.
To Be fair not all sellers are bad and its no different to buying eggs from anyone else online.
If you live out in the sticks its the only option other than driving over a hundred miles  ::)
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Padge on June 15, 2013, 07:05:45 am
WE sell eggs on ebay chris     and test hatch regularly to ensure fertility  we also pack well to minimise shock in transit and have few if any problems. The trouble is nothing is guaranteed with mother nature and sadly many expect fantastic results with poor equipment/technique/whatever..........we have never tho sent pekin eggs in mistake for sussex  ???  tho have received one or two when hatched funny lookers
As buyers we've had arare mix of both good and bad results and discovered sadly there are some very unscrupulous sellers out there    but as said   not all are rogues and sometimes through the post is the only way to get what you're looking for :sunshine:
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: chrismahon on June 15, 2013, 09:10:17 am
Hi Sokel. When you consider how much time and effort you have put in to hatch the eggs, travelling 100 miles to be more certain of good results seems well worth it to me. Plus you haver the uncertainty of the transportation in the post which can easily result in major hatching failure. You will also be sure of getting them freshest.


I think the only way for good hatching eggs is to buy from someone recommended Padge. It doesn't have to be blindly through ebay.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Bodger on June 15, 2013, 10:43:50 am
I am amazed that people still buy eggs off ebay.

I've never bought eggs from E-bay but then I do have quite a few contacts in the poultry world. If you're not in that position and you want a particular breed then I can fully understand why E-bay might be your only choice. It might be that you live in an isolated area, or your just starting out in poultry.
 
PS. Does anyone have any half decent Mottled Leghorns in large fowl? :wave: 
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: mintytwoshoes on June 15, 2013, 12:18:28 pm
Hi Everyone,
Just to give a positive note on ebay experience - I bought three separate lots of eggs a couple of years
 ago now which were all very good and had an excellent hatch rate 15 out of 18 - I think the people I dealt with were established breeders.  However a subsequent purchase of six eggs failed completely and were not fertile!!
I think there may be people jumping on the band wagon to make a quick buck which is a shame when there are good people selling a legitimate product on ebay.

Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: hughesy on June 15, 2013, 05:19:41 pm
WE sell eggs on ebay chris     and test hatch regularly to ensure fertility  we also pack well to minimise shock in transit and have few if any problems. The trouble is nothing is guaranteed with mother nature and sadly many expect fantastic results with poor equipment/technique/whatever..........we have never tho sent pekin eggs in mistake for sussex  ???  tho have received one or two when hatched funny lookers
As buyers we've had arare mix of both good and bad results and discovered sadly there are some very unscrupulous sellers out there    but as said   not all are rogues and sometimes through the post is the only way to get what you're looking for :sunshine:
We also sell eggs on ebay and I totyally agree. Some buyers these days are just unreasonable, I had one complain that only 8 out of 12 had hatched! Trouble is if someone's incubation is poor they always blame it on the eggs and therefore the seller of the eggs.  I regularly test fertility and have only once had eggs damaged in the post. I also agree that there are some charlatans out there but it ain't fair to diss everyone who sells eggs on ebay.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: graham-j on June 15, 2013, 06:49:35 pm
Hi,I have bought lots of eggs off e bay and have been very please in the main with the results.I generally like to collect the eggs in person and will travel up to 100 miles,me and the wife like to make a day out of it.I have met some exceptionally nice people this way.
I have had a few problems with broken eggs in the post infertile eggs,in every case I have contacted the vendor via email and they have gone out of there way to sort things out.I bought some mixed eggs recently and one type was infertile it was only a couple of eggs I only emailed the guy so to make him aware he had a problem,the guy replied saying he had tested some himself and found the same,but had some chicks from an earlier test that I could have,how nice is that,I was so pleased.

Graham.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: sokel on June 15, 2013, 08:28:17 pm
Hi Sokel. When you consider how much time and effort you have put in to hatch the eggs, travelling 100 miles to be more certain of good results seems well worth it to me. Plus you haver the uncertainty of the transportation in the post which can easily result in major hatching failure. You will also be sure of getting them freshest.


I think the only way for good hatching eggs is to buy from someone recommended Padge. It doesn't have to be blindly through ebay.
I would still buy off ebay apart from the distance and cost ,health and commitment to animals at home would not allow me to travel that sort of distance to collect eggs
I know for certain that there is a lot of poultry show people sell on ebay  and I have had fantastic eggs from some of them in the past but in this case there was not many available of the breed I wanted
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: suziequeue on June 15, 2013, 08:29:48 pm
I wonder if it's worth having some sort of feedback list about eBay egg sellers on here - same as with the abattoirs - where people can post their experiences.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Beewyched on June 15, 2013, 08:43:32 pm
I wonder if it's worth having some sort of feedback list about eBay egg sellers on here - same as with the abattoirs - where people can post their experiences.

Now that could be a good idea  :thumbsup:
 
We've had both good & bad experiences with ebay eggs - we do prefer to collect them where we can & some of the rare breed folks do refuse to post eggs too, so it can be difficult trying to keep gene diversity in some breeds.  When we were up in Scotland, we had someone prepared to travel up from the Isle of White for a particular strain we had, but as we were a bout to move we'd already sold the chicks locally & cheaper than we paid for the eggs  ::) 
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Bodger on June 15, 2013, 10:18:42 pm
You might have situations where good egg sellers from E-bay are slated by folks who haven't got a clue about how to incubate an egg, so probably best not too.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: suziequeue on June 15, 2013, 10:41:23 pm
Oh - yes - I was thinking along the lines of what's been posted on here about eggs being bought is good faith as one type and then not turning out to be the expected breed.


I hadn't thought about hatch rates and stuff. Yeah - that would be a problem. Maybe the list could be about anything other than hatch rates
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: robbiegrant on June 15, 2013, 11:18:16 pm
I wouldn't do it again...
I am amazed that people still buy eggs off ebay.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: jaykay on June 16, 2013, 07:57:40 am
I think that those of us who are used to, and good at, incubating eggs, can tell a reasonable hatch from unreasonable, and know when what we've bought is good quality or not.

I expect about a 50% hatch from eggs that have come through the post. Sometimes it is the only way to get the eggs you're looking for. I've had excellent quality and hatches from eBay eggs.

A 13% hatch is poor, as is three unmatched chicks. The eggs I got this time were also very small, mostly pullets eggs by the look of them, and pullets eggs are for eating not hatching.


Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Padge on June 16, 2013, 08:39:27 am
I'm currently looking for blue millefleur pekin and can't find them even on fleabay....unless a mixed batch...which I don't want......and i'm with you Jaykay  50% through the post i'm not unhappy with   but would hasten to add have had superb results as well.....
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: hughesy on June 16, 2013, 08:58:15 am
You might have situations where good egg sellers from E-bay are slated by folks who haven't got a clue about how to incubate an egg, so probably best not too.
That's the problem. When people screw it up they always blame the eggs or the person who sold them.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: jaykay on June 16, 2013, 09:10:08 am
But sometimes it is the eggs. Some of us know enough not to 'screw it up'.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: hughesy on June 16, 2013, 11:32:13 am
Yes. But I know that the eggs I sell are good and that I pack them well and they are as fresh as possible when I send them out. Sadly I can't select my customers on the basis of their hatching experience or knowledge of incubation. I would if I could.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: harefarm on June 18, 2013, 08:44:40 am
I had some eggs from hughsey and they were excellent. Out of 24 eggs 20 hatched. I have bought eggs via ebay aswell most of them with reasonable hatches but one lot I had was 6 white silkie bantams and none of them even started, which could have been the Silkies not performing properly but more likely the fact they used a courier - posted on the Wednesday and arrived on the Monday, full of bubbles. I know it wasn't the incubator as I had a reasonable fertility from the other eggs at least until a 10 minute power cut 2 days before hatch which caused problems with the incubators. I lost half the chicken chicks and a gosling at that point all due to hatch on the Thursday (power cut was on the Tuesday).

I have just received some more eggs off of ebay - 12 buff sussex of which it looks like 11 are fertile and 6 French Black Marans of which I think they are all fertile. They came through the post. But I also went to collect 18 eggs from someone again via ebay and 16 are fertile - Light Sussex, Jersey Giants and a few Gold Laced Orpington (she didn't have enough Light Sussex so made it up with Orpingtons which I was looking at anyway).
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: HelenVF on June 18, 2013, 09:00:58 am
I have bought eggs on Ebay before and had a decent hatch rate.  I think if a seller has got a positive feedback rating, and the eggs don't hatch, it's just one of those things.  I do think you just have to take the chance.  There are obviously the people who just scam people but I imagine their feedback would be rubbish, or they would have very little feedback.

Helen
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Cluckinggoodpoultry on June 21, 2013, 11:04:07 am
I used to buy loads of eggs from ebay, have been very disappointed with the results the past couple of years, there are a couple of people I have purchased from that I would go back to with good packaging and excellent fertility results. But I purchased some eggs of one seller, great feedback, excellent breed standard birds, nice person. 0% fertility, she sent me more eggs which was fabulous, go out 2 from 6 which I thought hey at least I have two, looked a bit strange when hatched as I have the bantam version of the breed so know what they look like. Have 2 what are supposed to be large fowl partridge wyandottes and they have straight combs one is partridge colour the other is barred, they are also very plump and not very tall  ??? . Think they will be free ranging with all the rescues.


I sell quite a few on ebay as well and have had good feedback and fertility through the post has been really good to including eggs sent to the EU.


There are a quite a few sellers on there using pictures of other people's birds and google images and some that just want to make a fast buck. Suppose it's the same in every area but it's a shame.


 The same can be said of some of the buyers though trying to get freebies, a friend of mine who checks fertility and sells loads on ebay had someone purchase 24 eggs from her, 12 of each breed. They wrote to her 10 days after they had supposed to have hatched and said they were all infertile except 1 what was she going to do about it as her kids were devastated. My friend contacted everyone else she had sent eggs to around the same time period and all had good fertility. Have heard of loads of this happening and it's a shame.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Victorian Farmer on June 21, 2013, 11:26:06 am
well i try and meet folk half way i put 2 cocks in each pen but the last 2 months the fertility is bad so i sell the eggs as eating eggs take you re chance .Some one  wonted a incubate full so i said give me 15 pound and take all the eggs from the pens . The other problem is a drum sorter for the post they can go round and round for hour es .Next day post not worth the bother but yes i still buy eggs very safe from the sales .I do get eggs from e bay only eggs in Scotland and next day .I pay big money for some stock the 3 cocks i bought for £150 are no use .my fault
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: ScribbleUk on June 21, 2013, 01:19:15 pm
We both buy and sell eggs via Ebay.  I studiously keep a record of who we buy from and keep a record of eggs that appear infertile, have developed but don't hatch, and successful hatching's.  A couple of times I have bought different breeds from the same breeder and had either consistently poor results or good results from the same breeder.  Keeping a records means I can get in contact with good ones again if I need eggs in the future, and avoid the bad ones regardless of the breeds, price or claims they make in their listings. 

I think you can get a feel for the 'professionalism' of the seller by their listing.  A good write up - not a cut'n'paste from Wikipedia or the same text for every breed they sell indicates their genuine interest in their flock.  Also particularly cheap eggs or cheap postage indicate they don't value their product - just a quick buck. 

We haven't really had any problems with people we've sold to in general - but we're pretty clear in our listings under what conditions we sell the eggs and the results they can reasonably expect from posted eggs. 

I'm not sure if the feedback system adds much value to eggs sales on ebay.  Leaving a negative feedback for a seller can be easily countered with a claim of poor incubation techniques.  A rogue seller with a lot of negative feedback will simply register a new account to sell under. 

Face to face sales are definitely the best, but ebay is a convenient way of introducing new stock or breeds.  I bet when Tim Berners-Lee invented the web, he never though it would be used to sell eggs on!



Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Bodger on June 21, 2013, 01:56:43 pm
I check out E-bay for eggs occasionally and if there's some that I fancy, I always check out what else the seller has for sale. Quite often, the seller will have dozens of breeds available and thats a right turn off. They are IMO just chicken pedlars.
 
I only keep two breeds of chickens and to keep these takes a lot of time and preparation. In an attempt to breed the best specimens that I can, I have to keep meticulous records of my breeding programmes and keep umpteen pens of the same breeds of birds. Someone whose only playing the numbers game would find it virtually impossible to do the same. I don't want to buy from a jack of all trades master of none.
 
Don't count your chickens before they hatch (http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Animals/animals-46.gif)
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: demonfarmer2630 on June 21, 2013, 07:08:02 pm
I have bought eggs from eBay first only 5 out of 12 hatched the second are in now and all are fertile depends where there from
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: mab on June 21, 2013, 09:12:14 pm
I found my eggs on ebay - I sorted the seller by nearest first and there were several within 20 miles. I asked one if I could collect (he was just down the road and I didn't want to wait for the post), and he was happy with that.


not only did I transport the eggs in person but I got to see the parents, the run they were in, and actually picked my eggs from the nest box myself.


I guess if you're looking for a specific breed you may have to travel quite a bit further, especially if you're looking for a rare breed, but there's a lot to be said for collecting the eggs and being able to see the conditions they're produced under.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: SheepCrazy! on June 21, 2013, 10:26:21 pm


Interesting to here others experience with ebay eggs I recently bought eggs from the website for the first time. 6 white call duck which turned out to have burst air sacks, so either very bad handling or a little shaking, didn't take it further than emailing the seller to say they were all infertile with burst air sacs, as the account said no refunds. As a new ebay user I maybe should have?

The other 6 I bought were bronze turkey eggs which all proved fertile one stopped developing at 2.5 weeks everything was going great until I went to check the incubator and eggs I'd left in good faith with a family member who was hatching  there own call duck eggs only to find two burst rotten call duck eggs in with turkey eggs, Needless to say I was  :rant: More so than with the family member than the dodgy call eggs I bought.

I really could of kicked myself for being so stupid as to lend my incubator and won't do it again.
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: demonfarmer2630 on June 21, 2013, 11:59:40 pm
I also hatch eggs for people so far  a 90% sucksess rate  ducks chicken partridge phesent goose and quail
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: sokel on June 22, 2013, 07:34:59 am
Well I have eggs in the incubator at the moment from a totally different seller and there is 11 out of 12 fertile  :fc:
Title: Re: Ebay Eggs !!!
Post by: Tricia on June 22, 2013, 05:34:52 pm
The not hatching part is probably par for the course, however, the type of hatched bird is another matter.  I would contact the seller first and make a fuss.  There is such a thing as trading standards, even in cyber land shopping.  You can put negative feed back on the seller's site - threaten to do it first.  That is something no seller wants.  Then I would contact Ebay directly.  They will often intervene.