I've had it with Ebay!

[FitBoop]

Kimberly, everything you said is so true. I completely agree with you. I said everything you mentioned to the bidder, and then after telling her all that, I still went along with her and matched the price :rolleyes: . I am mad at myself for being an enabler, more than I am mad at her for asking me to match the price. It's going to be a miracle if I ever see payment from her.

Lissa, that is going to be the next thing I add to my auctions (anyone with any negative feedback must e-mail me before bidding).

[SharonH]

I'm so very sorry that Half.com is closing down, because I love it. Since a person has to register and pay by credit card, there are no foul-ups regarding payment. Also, they can't back out of a sale, because once they buy the item, it's theirs. I've started selling on Amazon, but because I've built up no seller feedback, I've only been able to sell four items, and if someone complains unjustifiably about an item, I would feel compelled to give them their money back, because if my only feedback is a negative one, that would be the end of my selling on that site.

[Elisa B.]

Originally posted by Kimberly33
This is SO important. Don't live in fear of undeserved negative feedback, and don't require 100% positive feedback. I readily buy from people with 95% and above positive--the more sales they have, the higher I require it to be. And I read the negative feedback, AND I read the feedback of the people LEAVING the negative feedback.

Kimberly is so right -- it is so important to actually read what people write in feedback -- don't just look at the percentage of positive and negative. Of course I learned this the hard way -- my one negative feedback comes from buying something from a horrible seller -- little vintage purse that I bought on impulse and when it arrived it was badly damaged -- contrary to the item decription that said it was in "great condition." Well, I tried so hard to work with this seller, but he really screwed around with me -- took weeks to answer emails, agreed to a return but wouldn't provide his address, agreed to mediation and then backed out, and so on. Basically, he let the time run till it was too late for me to file a fraud claim with ebay.

Finally I left negative feedback. Within 24 hours, he left me negative feedback calling me "A NUT" (all caps) and claiming that I had damaged the purse and then demanded a refund. Of course, if I had looked at his feedback before bidding, I would have found the twenty or so other people with similar complaints to mine (misrepresented merchandise) (a lot, but a low percentage because he's a high-volume seller), and if I had really done my homework, I would have known that he left all those people retaliatory feedback calling them "A NUT." And I would also have noticed that a lot of people had left "positive" feedback but then written a negative comment -- apparently people had caught on that he would retaliate for negatives but didn't read what people wrote in commentary to positive feedback.

Anyway, that was a situation I could have avoided if I had taken the time to study his feedback. But -- it irritates me that I should have to work so hard. I think ebay should be a lot more aggressive about getting rid of some of the bad apples.

Elisa

[Freda]

I've only bought a few items, never sold, on ebay. My last experience on ebay I won an auction for a DVD set and paid by check, since the seller didn't accept credit cards. Well, it turned out to be a scam. He kept my money, never responded to e-mails and his account with ebay has disappeared. I contacted ebay and filed a fraud report, but haven't had any satisfaction.

I take full responsibility for not checking this guy's feedback, but I also believe that ebay has not done a thing to help in this situation. That was my last ebay purchase. Fortunately the amount was under $100, but the experience left me feeling awful. I know that many, many ebay purchases and sales are completely satisfactory, but I'm not willing to try it anymore.

[Lissa]

Abbe, sorry about your experience. Sometimes it is frustrating when you are "too nice". People can and try to take advantage of it.

I've had a couple of bad experiences with Ebay, but in all fairness, I've had many wonderful experiences. The good outweighs the bad.

I got my first negative feedback last year. I actually cried. I had worked so hard to be honest and fair in all my transactions. I had a pristine feedback record with over 400 transactions. I was completely devasted to have one person ruin it, unfairly I might add. I had this person win a video that I had listed. I had sent her several emails letting her know all the necessary information to complete the transaction. She kept responding with these confusing emails, asking me her password. I had my dh read them to try to understand what she was saying. We figured out the she thought I worked for Ebay. I told her that I had no way of knowing her password and I told her that if she forgot how she could go about getting it. After trying to help her several times, she left me negative feedback saying she didn't know when I was going to send her video. I was so mad. I sent her an email telling how horrible what she did to me. I tried to report her to Ebay for non-payment, then she stated sending me threatening emails. I decided to let it go. I did leave her negative feedback first though. I did check her feedback and she had no negatives before me. All her transactions were done through Half.com. I think that is why she must have been confused, but I don't know. After that, I haven't been as motivated to buy or sell on Ebay.

My other bad experience was with someone telling me that they had mailed a payment and it never showing up. Later on they were suspended. I think they had done it to multiple people.

I really must say that I have over 400 positive feedback and only one negative. I really think your perception of the person should be based on the whole. I've always honored my bids and paid fast, as well as making sure to mail all packages as quickly as possible, sometimes even the same day.

Hopfully Lissa never has an auction that I would like to win since I couldn't bid on it.

Just my thoughts...
Lissa

[Loretta S.]

Originally posted by Lissa
I got my first negative feedback last year. I actually cried. I had worked so hard to be honest and fair in all my transactions. I had a pristine feedback record with over 400 transactions. I was completely devasted to have one person ruin it, unfairly I might add.

I felt the same way. I work hard to be honest and fair and understanding and ship and pay quickly, then one bad person can come along and besmirch my record because they are dishonest. It soured me on the whole thing and I haven't listed anything for sale, except on half.com, since that incident.

[FitBoop]

Lissa, that is so sad. I am sure it won't affect your sales since you have so many positive feedback, but I can sympathize with how upsetting that must have been.

I have such mixed feelings about Ebay because when it works out, it can be really great; you get to sell your stuff to someone who wants it and appreciates it, and will pay you for it. On the other hand, you are vulnerable to the bad apples out there who are either deliberately malicious, pathetically ignorant or completely apathetic. Those are the ones that make us want to give up on Ebay, and right now, that's where I am at. It is so much easier to donate things and take the tax write-off.

[NoraKate]

I've been buying and selling on ebay for a few years now. I've got some great obscure workout videos. No real problems. Until today..... This...person...bought a costume jewelry ring, decided she didn't like it, accused me of false advertising and is now threatening me with negative feedback if I don't give her a full refund. My auctions say "no returns". Sigh. I'm wavering between slamming her with bad feedback and just dealing with her retaliation. I cried. All of this over a $15 ring. Dnt' let a couple of awful buyers (or sellers) get you down. Lot's of honest folks are on there as well.

OH! if you say something like "PayPal only" in the text of your auction. Then that's the contract.

[ARTYGIRL]

For what it's worth, most of the honest people who buy on eBay and check seller feedback (like me) can easily tell the difference between a bad seller and a good seller who is on the receiving end of the ire of a crackpot. Crackpot negative feedback usually sounds like it was written by a crackpot. Everybody gets negative feedback at some point. I don't think it should be something to be so hugely afraid of. It seems like people take it really personally, and that shouldn't be the case! It doesn't mean you're bad, it just means the other person is an idiot!

Marie

[PamelaP]

Originally posted by twosweetpeas
Something my husband does on Ebay is that he doesnt allow people to bid on his or my auctions that have even one negative feedback.

Speaking as someone with 1000+ positives and a couple of negatives, I personally think this is short-sighted and unfair. As others have mentioned, not everyone who has a negative deserved to receive it. It's one thing when the person only has 10 feedbacks and half of them are negative, or has a lot of no-pay feedback...then I can understand not wanting them to bid.

In my case, my negatives came from a person who blamed me for a postal service problem, no matter how hard I tried to convince her it wasn't my fault (and she did eventually receive the tape), and from a guy who ordered a CD on Half.com then said he had chosen the wrong band and wanted his money back. If someone decides I shouldn't bid on their auctions because of THAT......so be it.