posted on May 6, 2003 03:42:14 PM new
I'm in Ohio. A lawyer in Florida who bid the
$3.00 Buy It Now price on one of my items in
December, 2002, is trying to extort $500.00 from
be by threatening to sue for $100,000.00 in
Florida unless I pay him the $500.00. He violated
my listed TOS several times, and then threatened
me, so when he sent a PayPal I refunded it right
away and we exchanged Negative feedback. Mine was
"he violated my TOS" type comments, and his was
"this guy is whacko" and he also implied that I
kept his money (a flat out LIE).
He claims I damaged his on-line reputation. His
overall rating is up 97 since, with no Negs. Mine
is up 103, with 10 Negs (I leave feedback for all
high bidders, especially deadbeat bidders). He
also has 5 bid retractions in the last 6 months.
If his rep is damaged, maybe he should consider
honoring his bids...
Of course, I am not paying him a penny. My
attorney is working on the matter right now.
If he follows through, I will sue him here.
I am also considering ethics and criminal
charges against him. This could (could, I'm
not a lawyer) become a federal matter, as he
used the USPS to deliver his extortion threat
(ala The Firm).
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 6, 2003 04:04:17 PM new
WHAT?????? Someone help me, I'm soooo confused.
I am not sure what you are saying....he paid...he violated TOS...left neg...got neg...WHAT????
Wow, you have 10% neg feedback? I also leave feedback for all high bidders, including negs for all deadbeats... I have 759 feedback with only 2 negs... something doesn't add up with your feedback.
posted on May 6, 2003 04:12:42 PM new
The page does not permit internal linking but go to The Florida Bar, click on "consumer services" on the left-hand menu, then choose "consumer pamphlets." On the right-hand side of the page click on "Complaint against a Florida lawyer" then open the PDF. I believe the bar takes on-line complaints.
Any legal correspondance is supposed to include his Florida Bar number. But if he didn't, include that as part of the complaint. You can get his bar number, along with his office address and phone number, through the "find a lawyer" feature on the Florida Bar's website.
posted on May 6, 2003 04:54:31 PM new
If you have a 10% negative feedback, you either are not doing something right, or you have some really bad customers. That seems way too high to me, if I ran into your auction, I would back away. You may want to figure out what is going wrong, fix it, and start over with a new selling ID
posted on May 6, 2003 05:31:09 PM new
I just keep wondering how anyone can have this many problems with threats? Is this normal? What do you sell that you encounter so many people like this?
posted on May 6, 2003 06:07:20 PM new
Whenever I get threats, I just turn it over to Ralph "The Enforcer" and his stockpile of DF-WMD -- after his "air-burst" attack, the enemy flees screaming all the way to paradise!
Eat yer heart out, Dr. Germ!
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" http://tinyurl.com/5duz
posted on May 6, 2003 07:11:49 PM new
what auction is this referring to? a $3.00 auction is just about as hysterical as the attorney threatening to sue you. i would also say a 10% neg rating is horrid and you need some serious help. i'm surprised anyone even bothers to bid on your items with that kind of rating. I've been selling for almost 4 years, and have 2582 pos, and 15 negs (99.4% positive). of those, perhaps 2-3 were errors on my part. my point is that if you are getting 10 negs out of every 100 or so, you are seriously doing something wrong and need to stop selling. ask a ton of questions, get input, learn the ins/outs of ebay, and then go back to selling. I am guessing you jump the gun way too soon and are getting retaliatory feedbacks because of your impatience.
anyhow, i would say ignore the letter. i used to work for an attorney. he would have to pursue you in federal court or in your state. i am guessing he is pulling your chain and has nothing else better to do. perhaps he is just practicing writing evil attorney letters in his free time. if you get any further letters directly from him or his office, i wouldn't open them, and simply write "return to sender". it will piss him off at first, but he'll give up.
posted on May 7, 2003 04:21:52 AM newI leave feedback for all high bidders, especially deadbeat bidders.
To which the response was:
This probably explains the high ratio of negs.
that explains nothing.
Retaliation is not as rampant as you think ~
I Neg any and all deadbeats, as I have for 3 years.
* * It is My Choice to be responsible for the part of eBay that effects me * *
(IOW, don't bother trying to change my mind today)
The Feedback ratings under my selling ID's are:
99.5% (over 2600fb), posted over 300 negs
99.1% (over 400fb) , posted about 25 negs
100% (over 300fb) , posted about 10 negs
posted on May 7, 2003 06:22:27 AM newRetaliation is not as rampant as you think ~
Yes, it is. I see good sellers with retaliation feedback all the time. I am not the only one that has noticed it. It is probably much more prevalent than even I think.
I see posts about it here on the boards all the time. If it wasn't that rampant, there wouldn't be so many threads that bring it up. It varies from category to category, but it is a problem.
Edited to add:
Zathras11, what do you sell? Are most of your negs, retalitation?
posted on May 7, 2003 01:04:11 PM newRetaliation is not as rampant as you think Yes, it is. I see good sellers with retaliation feedback all the time. I am not the only one that has noticed it. It is probably much more prevalent than even I think.
Well, I guess it depends on how you define "rampant". I've left a couple hundred negs for deadbeats and have received just a few retaliations. I'd hardly call that "rampant". Of course, if you mean by "rampant" that if you neg a hundred deadbeats that you'll get at least one retaliation then I'd agree.
The chances of being retaliated against also depend on what you say and when you say it. If you call the person a "deadbeat" or other names you're more likely to be retaliated against than if you leave a factual, unemotional neg. I stick to the truth that I know. I don't say that the person didn't pay, I say that I didn't receive payment. For all I know, the person actually did drop their payment in the mail and it got lost.
Also, some sellers are very rigid in the amount of time they wait for payment. If a seller says that payment is due in 7 days and leaves a neg on day 8, he's much more likely to get a retalitory neg than the seller that sends a reminder on day 8.
I see posts about it here on the boards all the time. If it wasn't that rampant, there wouldn't be so many threads that bring it up. It varies from category to category, but it is a problem.
You can't judge how rampant anything is by the number of posts on the board. After all, people post when they've been retaliated against not when they haven't. If a person left negs to 100 deadbeats and got one retaliation, what do you think is more likely?
1)He posts 99 times about not being retaliated against and complains about the one time that he was retaliated against.
2)He posts once about the one time he was retaliated against.
I think scenario #2 is much more likely. People expect things to go right and say nothing when they do. They usually only speak up when things go wrong.
posted on May 7, 2003 06:32:42 PM new
what is rampant are the chickensh*t sellers here who won't leave neg feedback when it is deserved but immediately leaves a neg if they recieve one....ahhhh that must be the retaliation you are talking about, ones given by the sellers not the buyers.
posted on May 7, 2003 08:35:08 PM new
For what possible reason would I leave a NEG for one of my bidders??
eBay selling is BUSINESS! Leaving NEGS for DEADBEATS is NOT a SOUND business decision!
It is personal JOLLIES only! The concept of providing feedback for the greater good of the feeBay community is silliness.
As long as the feedback system remains totally flawed & weighted AGAINST sellers with no recourse against deadbeat bidders, I say: "Viva la chicken-poop!"
Ralphie loves Mr Blonde:
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna bite?"
http://tinyurl.com/5duz
posted on May 7, 2003 08:49:43 PM new
I am with you, until ebay starts a policy of removing or blocking negative feedback FROM deadbeats I will not be leaving them negative feedback. There is no benefit to me, and quite frankly, I am on ebay for my benefit, nobody else's...
posted on May 11, 2003 01:22:46 AM new
No, I have about 5% overall negatives (out
of 450 deals). I've had a run of deadbeats
the last few months, who when I left them
the feedback they deserved, left me a little
parting gift (on top of wasting my time and
costing me fees, since if they hadn't bid
and backed out someone else might have
actually paid). I'm sorry that some of you
chose to focus on only that part of the post.
How nice for you that your deadbeats don't
leave unfair negatives! You must be blessed!
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 11, 2003 01:27:16 AM new
msincognito: Thank you! I found that web
site myself, but did not know about the Bar
number. That took less than a minute after
reading your post to go back and find. I
will be filing a complaint this week.
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 11, 2003 01:39:43 AM new
shop4shoes: Exactly! I know some sellers are
scared little babies when it comes to leaving
deserved negatives because they might get one
back. I used to worry about that too, but I
now realize that its better to take a hit
every once and awhile so that other sellers
can see what SOME bidders are really about.
My current feedback (404 rating, 94.5%):
505 positives. 429 are from unique users.
2 neutrals.
36 negatives. 25 are from unique users.
About 6 percent of my high bidders back out.
Coincidence? No! Those who follow through
don't seem to have a problem with me, just
those who don't. I wish it was better, but
some people just don't play nice.
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 11, 2003 01:42:37 AM new
zoomin: Just because you've been lucky and
not had retaliation negatives does not mean
that EVERYONE else has been so lucky!
Getting deadbeat bidders is part of running
auctions. Getting deadbeats bidders who
leave unfair negatives is just bad luck.
It does NOT mean I am not as honest as you
or as good a seller as you. It just means
you are luckier. Congrats! Enjoy it. It
may not last forever...
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 11, 2003 01:50:13 AM new
shop4shoes: I sell mostly video games and
video game hardware, but also other items
(DVDs, comic books, sports cards, craft
type items purchased wholesale). Basically,
whatever I can make an honest profit on. :^)
The item in question was a video game strategy
guide, that I listed at $1.99 with a Buy It
Now of $3.00. He bid the BIN.
And for the record, HE HAD NEGATIVES ALREADY
TOO! (to those who have harped on mine)
The thing about buyers (especially BIN
buyers) is that you can't see their feedback
before they bid! I told eBay that when they
added the seller rating inside the auction
description awhile back. I think that
fair-minded people will read ALL of my
feedback and see what I am really about,
but every few months I get an e-mail saying
someone won't buy my items because of my
negatives. I wouldn't want to deal with
people who focus only on the negative anyway.
We ALL started at ZERO, and what we have now
is a result of our actions, but also has a
lot to do with what kind of people we've
run into along the way! Most are fair and
honest, but a small percentage are not. I
know I'm not the only one who has received
unfair negatives.
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 11, 2003 01:59:47 AM new
tomwiii said "Leaving NEGS for DEADBEATS is
NOT a SOUND business decision! It is personal
JOLLIES only! The concept of providing
feedback for the greater good of the feeBay
community is silliness."
I get no delight, sir, in leaving deserved
negatives. It sickens me. It means that
I was unlucky enough to run into someone
dishonest who placed no value on my time and
effort. It means that I have to wait 17
days to relist my item, provided I want to
get my FVF back. It means I won't get
paid! It means I can't wrap something up
and get it out of my home! It means I have
to remember to file NPB and FVF! It is,
however, how the system is. I have little
choice if I want to sell on eBay.
"As long as the feedback system remains
totally flawed & weighted AGAINST sellers
with no recourse against deadbeat bidders, I
say: "Viva la chicken-poop!""
Agreed, it is totally flawed.
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 11, 2003 02:07:21 AM new
Interesting that nobody mentioned HIS five (5)
bid retractions in 6 months...
And for the record, MOST of my negatives are
from people with horrible feedback themselves,
from people no longer registered, or both.
Anyway, thanks to those who saw my post for
what it REALLY was about. I'll refrain from
posting any future problems here. I will
just lurk from now on (like on Usenet, boy
what a h***hole that place has become).
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
[ edited by zathras11 on May 11, 2003 02:20 AM ]
