posted on September 27, 2001 06:51:11 AM new
How about a "Seller Beware" category? I have been doing eBay for about 5 years and have been very fortunate to work with some great buyers but, recently have had a major problem with a very antagonistic, angry person(?) and all for $2.25! I do not usually sell something so low end, and probably will never do so again, as I have really run into a "looney tune". The auction is only 5 days gone and this person is ranting and raving about I "stole" their money thru Paypal...I am not "registered" with Paypal...they are going to a lawyer and report me to eBay....and on, and on, and on. I have told them to forget about the transaction and they threatened me...can you believe? At any rate, what does an honest, law-abiding eBayer do about something like this? It might help to know that this person has only been eBaying since August and has 5 feedbacks with one of them negative. I have contacted the person who gave them negative feedback for information and she had the same problem with them. She is also interested in trying to limit the business they do on eBay as they are definitely just looking for trouble! Help! Is there someplace to warn sellers of potential troublemakers? From the content of the emails, I have even considered that this is a young person, maybe a child, but can't be sure. Thanks for your input!
[ edited by flsunshine on Oct 2, 2001 06:45 AM ]
[ edited by flsunshine on Oct 2, 2001 07:25 AM ]
posted on September 27, 2001 07:58:56 AM new
this is usually an adult.
often there is personal problem on homefront,either family problem or job /business related problems.
brick and mortar retailers face looney all the time,we have to do the same.
dont let him/her intimidate you-report him to ebay,or just ignore him,if you dont respond,he will seek mischief elsewhere.
posted on October 2, 2001 06:44:54 AM new
Got news for you! This person is just looking for trouble. She didn't just "go away"...but was just waiting for the opportunity to pounce. I have reported her but, to no avail, as eBay doesn't seem to have anything in place to protect sellers from this kind of harassment. I have "blocked" her from having anything to do with me. I am just so very frustrated as I got undeserved negative feedback and eBay seems to just shrug it away.
posted on October 2, 2001 07:20:15 AM new
it is hard to believe a veteran seller like you get upset over this??
if you want to stay in this business and prosper,you better get used to it-CUSTOMER ABUSE.
it does not matter how small or big the transaction is,but i do notice the lesser transaction creates more problems for the seller,i think it is the kind of buyers they attract.
posted on October 2, 2001 07:31:45 AM new
I do appreciate your input. Yes, it is hard to believe that a "veteran seller" like myself has let this upset me so. I guess she just caught me at a bad time. At any rate, you are right...the lower end items do attract a different breed of buyer. Incidentally, I went back this morning and checked my original post and thought that I had written the amount of 2.25 as incorrect, changed it to 3.25 and then discovered that it was 2.25 after all. A very mundane thing, I suppose, but I am trying to portray this fairly and honestly so that the absurdity of it will be seen. Guess it is time for me to develop a "thick skin". Thanks again for your feedback.
posted on October 2, 2001 09:27:24 AM new
Hey, chin up, the same thing has just happened to me. Except my nut emailed my bidders to stay away from me. I reported them to Ebay, but of course they just shrug. It's infuriating. Should we be reporting their Ebay names so everyone can think twice about accepting their bids?
posted on October 2, 2001 02:16:48 PM new
I am afraid that my buyers will receive warnings like that too. Did your buyers notify you that they were being warned against you? I thought that there was a "rule" at SafeHarbor protecting us against that very thing. Your suggestion is very good...but, what can we do other than have a "posting board" to list buyers to avoid. The only problem with that would be the sellers who would abuse that very medium that could help us. Believe it or not, not all sellers are as wonderful as we are Maybe one of the auction sites will come up with a method for handling these deadbeats.
posted on October 6, 2001 07:23:01 AM new
My buyer emailed me that he had warned off bidders. I forwarded this email to SafeHarbor. They said they couldn't do anything about it, unless I could receive emails from the bidders who were warned showing the path. No warnings to the offending party, I've got negative feedback, and to have the emails removed will cost me $15. If you have any illusions that Ebay cares one bit about sellers, think again. They don't care at all. Sort of like another company I can think of.
posted on October 13, 2001 10:21:15 AM new
Re: "At any rate, you are right...the lower end items do attract a different breed of buyer."
I don't sell on Ebay but where I do sell (mostly low-cost items - below $10), I have never had any complaints (feedback 50+ on Yahoo, 60+ on Epier). So, I doubt your problem is related to the value of the auctions. I haven't found my low-cost auctions attract "a different breed of buyer," as suggested above. Perhaps it's the type of item rather than it's value?
posted on October 13, 2001 02:37:30 PM new
ebay always suggested it is the overrall rating which counts,it is not possible to please every one.
why do some buyers more difficult than others-it could be the item itself,it could be certain category which attracts certain type of buyers.
every one loves the nostalgia of estate jewelry-art deco art nouveau with some patina ,wow when you read patina you know it is old,but when you see it in person,patina is not exactly glamourous,so you want to return it and the seller said no because she stated there is patina,there you go,seller gets neg'ed for selling lousy crumpy old and ugly jewelry with patina.
some buyers young or old,male of female have less disposable income and every dollar counts and the more they can save ,the more they can buy so if they feel you overcharge ins hipping and handling,then they get upset.
sometimes they go by what they do,and expect everyone to do the same,selling old books which they pick up for very little and shipping them by bookrate versus other sellers who sell non books and ship non book rate.
some are willing to donate time standing in line at post office,looking for throw away supplies,gasoline and car driving while others recognise all these expenses and accounted for them in their ledger,each seller is different,you cannot expect others to be like you.
as doing business on the web is getting costly,the one with sound business principles will survive and prosper.
buyer who whine and whine can always go to department stores and pay full price.
posted on October 13, 2001 05:40:11 PM new
Well said! There seem to be more and more deadbeat buyers out there and very little chance of weeding them out. I guess we sellers have to be more aware of who is bidding on our items and "block" the buyer who has a unusually high count of negative feedback.
posted on October 20, 2001 07:35:23 AM new
I am happy to report today that 2 of my "deadbeats" have finally been placed in "non registered" status. Seems that they were repeat offenders and it finally caught up with them....in addition to the fact that eBay is finally doing something about it. EBay has restored my faith in the system. Thank you, thank you, eBay! Guess it pays to take the time to report them.
Maybe one of the auction sites will come up with a method for handling these deadbeats.