OT... Ebay Feedback...

tz666

So I have been on Ebay since 1999 and have a little over 300 transactions. I HAD 100% good feedback rating and then this jacka$$ gives me negative feedback and I dont know why it pisses me off so much but it does. I sold a used SCUBA BCD that was old but worked fine for $25. I said in the description "used but in good condition" and "great starter cheap". I took pictures of it front, back, and of the tag. So this jacka$$ said it was not as described and was in poor condition. How can something be not as described if there are pictures from all sides and as far as condition hell you bought a $25 BCD and you got a $25 BCD. I politely contacted him and told him that I dont see how it could be worthy of negative feedback when I took pictures of the item and the item you received is the one in the pictures. He said when selling a "LIFE SAVING" device I should have been more descriptive. How much more descriptive can you be than pictures? I started an inquiry with ebay to get the feedback removed and responded to the buyer that next time he is buying "LIFE SAVING" equipment maybe he shouldnt buy the cheapest one on Ebay. He then responded by turning me in on Ebay for harassment, inquiry pending.
$hit Show

johnnyp

The internet has trolls.  Luckily with 300 transactions, you wont be impacted greatly.  Chin up. 

YukonRon

Yeah, I get it. Some folks are idiots. If concerned so much about life saving, why go cheap? You get what you pay for, and on EBAY, with pictures, the guy was an azz hole. They are out there.

Proser

Were you offering a return policy? My company sells products on Amazon and some buyers know that if they want to return a product without paying for the shipping they will mark the return as Not As Described even with photos and descriptions.
There are some real jerks in the world and not much you can do about it.

tz666

he gave me negative feedback without even contacting me first, so hell no he aint getting $hit back

Rte1985

Two years ago I sold a pair of Jordan basketball shoes.  I wore them once for a charity basketball game I played in for about 30 minutes.  Indoor court.  These shoes were flawless and I listed them for half the price I paid which was a steal for Jordan's.  I posted the condition and stated I did wear them but they were "used. But like new condition" guy bought them then threw a huge fit saying he didn't want them due to me wearing them.  Had to jack with all the return crap and refund.  He didn't even leave a review which is better than a negative.  But what a waste of time and money.  Total pain in the a$$.  I haven't tried selling anything since for that reason.  

fishlessman

i might buy a used bcd from a certified dive shop, but not online. as far as safety, i knew how to get out of mine fast

JethroVA

My wife sells about 100 items a month on eBay.  We've learned that eBay's business model is to side with the buyer 99.99% of the time.  Only in extreme situations does it side with the seller.  So, my wife has to just grin and bear it, offering full or partial refunds several times per week on items that she very accurately photographed and described.  I think some people get buyer's remorse and lash out at the seller. 

tz666

I feel like the guy didnt pay much attention to description and pictures, he was too busy thinking he had found the greatest deal on the internet. You get what you pay for, maybe thats why in seven days he was the only on that bid on it. Everyone else must have looked at the photos and passed. 

WeberWho

I totally get it. My wife and I drove to Chicago (from MN) to purchase a SUV for her. We had multiple email exchanges and talks with the previous owner about the SUV. We even had everything situated with how he wanted the cash. The next day we drive to Chicago to only have the owner not pick up his phone or answer any emails. I can almost guarantee that the owner ended up with a better offer as I watched the car for a few days on Craigslist and called the second he dropped the price an additional 2k. 

The second time we found my wife an SUV it was at a Hyundai dealership in Chicago. I was still a little bitter from trying to buy the private party SUV from a few weeks earlier. This time it was going to be from a dealer. We called to make sure that they were going to hold it for us since it was going to be a 7 hour drive. They made sure they were going to hold it. Two plus hours into the trip I called the dealership to double check that everything was still good and the SUV was being held. Their response, "I'm sorry sir, it looks like our sister dealership came over and took the car off our lot and sold it." I was pissed. Yes I get that someone bought the car. Don't give me that b.s that your sister dealership came over loaded it up and sold it without you knowing. I guarantee that someone walked straight in and bought it. Give me the courtesy of a phone call saying it sold and not some fake crap.

The third time it was a dealership here in the Twin Cities. I talked with a salesmen on the phone and he went over everything with me on the phone. I triple checked with the salesman that it was a manual transmission. His response, "I just drove the car. It's a manual transmission. I set it off to the side of the building to hold it for you guys". So my wife and I jump in my truck and head to the dealership. On the way to the dealership I call with another question as it's a good 40 minutes away. This time I get a different salesman. I explain the SUV that we are looking at and the question I have on it. The new salesman goes, "I'm sorry sir, we sold that SUV 3 weeks ago". What? I just talked to your other salesman and said he drove it this morning." You could tell that this salesman was not happy with this other salesman. He goes, "I'm going to go talk with my manager about this. I'm so sorry!" The manager calls me back and sincerely apologizes. He told me that he was going to go have a long hard talk with his salesman. He said that he was new to the team. Another trip wasted.

I finally told my wife that we aren't going to be buying that type of SUV and that I'm done chasing that model. We switched to new brand and model. We found a different SUV and can't be happier. The dealership we bought it from in Chicago was top notch. No fake crap. Just average Joes selling cars. We got a personal text from them on their cell phones wishing us a Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas last year. Just good people.

Yes people suck at times. It's all for a reason. A test of some sort. You can't let that one or two people effect everything else you do. If they want to live that crappy pissy lifestyle let them. You're better off without them. Keep on keeping on my friend. 

tz666

WeberWho said:

Keep on keeping on my friend. 

Amen

Florida Grillin Girl

One of my customers sells alot of stuff on ebay, almost 5,000 feedbacks so far. Some of the things he sells is just $4-$10 stuff, pieces and parts kind of stuff. He said he gets more negative feedback on the smaller less expensive items, than he does on the $1,000 - $5,000 items. With 99.5% positive feedback, he decided not to let the small stuff drag down his feedback, so he started a 2nd account under a different name to sell the low$$$ items, as he didn't care what his feedback was on all the small items. He did say the small pieces and parts caused more problems and returns than the more high$$$ stuff, too. Go figure.

NPHuskerFL

Because I know when I'm diving I want to gamble on a $25 BCD...dude's a tool. But, agree the negative should be removed on the grounds of you gave the buyer beware "this is USED" and sounds like plenty of pics. Can't fix stupid. And as far as harassment.... it's not like you told him to use it and see how long he can hold his breath with his head up his a$s. I on the other hand probably would have done this and then banned for good.

tz666

NPHuskerFL said:

Because I know when I'm diving I want to gamble on a $25 BCD...dude's a tool. But, agree the negative should be removed on the grounds of you gave the buyer beware "this is USED" and sounds like plenty of pics. Can't fix stupid. And as far as harassment.... it's not like you told him to use it and see how long he can hold his breath with his head up his a$s. I on the other hand probably would have done this and then banned for good.

It was my wifes BCD and she had been using it for years. His main complaint was the weight pouches connect to the back with a plastic clip, like on a fanny pack. Well the female parts of the clamp were missing when I bought the BCD used. So I rigged it and used heavy duty zipties to hold the female part of the clamp to the bcd. She dove like this for 2 years before we got he a new BCD. Equipping the whole family with scuba gear was expensive. the picture clearly showed the zipties. I even left the weight pockets out of the pouch so it made it more obvious. He said he could see them in the picture but I should have described it better. I sold about 20 items that were all pieces and parts I had leftover from 25 years of diving and that one was the only issue. I can become a pack rat keeping spare parts for stuff and I just said screw it Im getting rid of it all.

GrateEggspectations

Sucks. I do a lot of second-hand buying (especially of relatively high-end musical instruments). To be safe, I generally describe any and all flaws in detail (and also include detailed photos) when selling anything. Even if an item is in great condition, I describe minute signs of wear. I also ask the seller to do the same when I'm considering any purchase (e.g., "please describe any and all signs of wear, including any dents, scratches, chips, rust, etc. and please provide detailed pictures showing these"). I even ask this when purchasing items that are billed as "new". I've had too many experiences in which items being sold as "good condition" or even "mint condition" wind up being far from the stated condition. "Good" and "mint" are subjective to some; I want to form my own opinion based on signs of wear. 

Not fool proof, but I think it helps set expectations and also ensures that those who provide a description absent of details don't get anything by me. Also helps me establish how much I am willing to pay for an item ahead of an in-person meeting (which ultimately dictates whether or not a meeting is even desirable). Additionally, it gives me an out in that I feel no obligation to proceed with purchase if upon meeting, an item is not as it has been described in response to my questions. 

I recently sold a rare vintage amplifier to a well-known musician. I described the item as well as I could, as the amp pre-dated me and I had no awareness of its full history. I documented the parts that I knew were non-original, highlighted those that may not be original, but that I was unable to confirm with certainty, and informed them that, to the best of my knowledge, everything was fully functional. The buyer paid full price and shipping in advance of receipt of the item. Once the shipped amplifier was received, the technician confirmed that the item was as described and identified that all was functional but that a single tube was blown (fairly standard and not a major issue). Out of fairness, I offered to reimburse the value of the tube (approx. $50) and they declined. Was a great transaction and I think my fulsome description contributed to this success. 

tz666

I have had people in the past ask me questions before they bid and I provided more detail or whatever I could. I have also had people contact me after the transaction about some thing they were not happy with but no one ever just go right to the negative feedback without contacting me. Im almost tempted to buy something from this dude and give him negative feedback....lol

Hub

Keep a watch on his account.  Sooner or later he will put something up for sale.  Make a small purchase and then respond in like kind.  Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Spaightlabs

Hub said:

Keep a watch on his account.  Sooner or later he will put something up for sale.  Make a small purchase and then respond in like kind.  Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Totally worth the investment in time...

@tz666 - rest assured, when you get to the pearly gates they won't kick you out for having one negative out of 300 feedback scores on eBay...

Go pet your dog, hug your kids, kiss your wife and call your parents.  Too much important stuff in life to worry another second about stupid shiznit like this.

minniemoh

@tz666 - sometimes deals like yours inspire me to throw things in the trash. So frustrating...

A few years ago, I sold a bike frame on Minneapolis craigslist to a guy in Denver. I was leery of shipping it but agreed to do so anyway. He called, we spoke about shipping, he paid me and I sent a literally "like new" used bike frame to him without a scratch on it. A few days later, he said he had changed his mind and wanted to return it. He sent it back to me with a sizable dent in the top tube of the frame and said that's how it was when he got it. The dent was clearly from his attempt at bicycle assembly as I have seen it happen many times. Sometimes even when you think people are honest, you misjudge.

milesvdustin

The cheap items on ebay vs higher end items and associated level if BS reminded of my daily struggls at work. 

I have noticed in my job (hvac sales) that the customers who buy the high end expensive stuff never complain or have any issues. They pick their new system, sign papers, we install, everyones happy. Usually about 2 hours max. 

The clients who want the dirt cheap system and scoff when it isnt free give me a world of grief. I never make money because I have to visit their house like 15 times and then deal with all their family members wanting something free, or wasting my time listening to how they can do it cheaper because their friend knows heating and air. Well why didnt you call them instead???? I average about 8-10 hours on each low end sale, and when my commission is eaten away by all that time, not worth it. 

Fred19Flintstone

I used to have an unpopular job which tended to generate complaints.  My boss would meet with me and asked me what happened.  The story was pretty much the same.  I was polite and respectful.   Folks just didn't like my duties and complained.  I would tell my boss, "We're not in the happiness  business."

I know in a real sense you are in the happiness business if your business is sales.  My point is you can do everything right and still get ragged on.  Chalk it up to not being able to please 100% of the people 100% of the time.  Resolve the inquiry with eBay & move on.

odie91

With the new PayPal policy the buyer can pretty much return anything and not have to pay for return shipping.  Just leave the fool alone, otherwise he'll return your item and you'll be out whatever it had cost you to ship it to him.   I really wish there was another legitimate action site besides eBay....