Sucky Ebayers!
 

I posted this in MC, but I am so freaking mad that I wanted to share with the GC masses - you know misery loving its company :D

In 6 years on ebay, I have bought maybe 15 items. Only had one problem thus far - a seller who sold me half of what was listed for sale. Sent numerous emails, never returned any -- so I left NEUTRAL feedback - not even negative (he came back & left me negative because he is spiteful - but I don't care, sellers usually don't care who's buying their stuff as long as they pay!)... so... I find this cast iron lyre magazine holder on there. I decide to get it for the chapter room - they have one already, but this would be a good addition for the tables in there, so I bid & won. I sent my check the very next day (used the chapter account so I didn't have to be repaid by using paypal) and it arrived on Nov 22nd. I open the box immediately & find that the upper curves of one side are completely broken off (CAST IRON PEOPLE!) but there is no damage to the box. It is only "wrapped" in newspaper ads - just a few crumpled up in there.

So I immediately email the guy & say "what do I do" because he had required I pay the $1.35 for insurance (I've never had to deal with insurance before) - he says "Just take it & the original box to the PO" -- so I go to mine & they can't do it b/c the manager is out of town for a death. So I get the paperwork & fill it out - take it to another PO - they say "we need the green insurance receipt" -- come home, email him & he sends it to me. Great - finally, on Saturday, I take it to the MAIN PO and the guy there tells me that even though I paid $26.80 total, he only insured it for $15 (the cost of the item versus the total paid) and that they can only give me $15 back for it. He then tells me to call consumer affairs because he believes it was either broken before it was shipped, or broken in shipment due to poor packaging. I email the guy & tell him all this & he basically says "tough luck" and then he turns into (I swear I can send you all emails) the Tom Earp of Ebay. He is writing stuff that I can't even follow half of because he has such poor writing & grammer skills.

So... I spend an hour on the phone yesterday with the consumer affairs manager. She says that I need to ask the guy for a refund given that he has seen the pictures and that the PO cannot be responsible for poor packaging. I send the guy a really nice email stating that I don't want this to become an issue so I am trying to resolve it between us and would he please consider (exact words) refunding my money.

I get an email today where he says that I am using feedback extortion & he isn't going to give me anything :eek: :eek: :eek: So what - I am now the big freaking Soprano of Ebay??!! I have bought 15 items in SIX FREAKING YEARS -- but yet I am capable of feedback extortion. WTH?! I am so FREAKING pissed off right now. If he wanted to write back & say "sorry - no" that would be one thing, but to go off the damn deep end with this crap - I am LIVID!

So that is my rant - I am pissed off completely - here is a picture & if you want some fun reading, I can PM you with the emails :)

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...o/100_3327.jpg

How crappy. Definitely leave negative feedback. I usually read the comments by other ebayers before I purchase any items and i certainly would want to know what an ass this guy is. Too bad you can't post pictures in the comments section. Do you know if he sells alot of lyre items? If so I definitely will stay away from him.

You should try to alert ebay about it and ente a dispute with him.

That would have been a GORGEOUS addition to your the chapter room, though, had it not been broken.

I can't give any advice because I don't do eBay :( Sorry!

I agree. He told you "tough luck" and refuses to refund your money. Then let him deal with the consequences of being a dishonest ebayer. Give him the negative rating. It can always be changed if he decides to do the right thing and give your money back.

Yes, you can file a complaint with eBay, which would be what I'd do. I hope you get this resolved satisfactorily, but if not, at least you'll be alerting others to think twice before purchasing from this guy. And leave him negative feedback, too.

I am not familiar with all this stuff - I did email them at customer support under the "I have a dispute with another ebayer" section. I told them that above all, I was more than anything mad about the fact he said I was trying to use "feedback extortion" - wth?! I had written in my last email to him (before that response) that I had declined filing a complaint with the USPS and would prefer NOT to leave negative feedback for him since I have never done that - even when the other seller sent only half of what was listed. If he construed that to be me twisting his arm, then that's screwed up - since when did we go from someone trying to work out things between two people, to accusing one of any kind of extortion!

So I don't know what will happen next. Honeychile sent me to a forum for being ripped off that I will definitely check out. I would say that if you are looking on ebay for some *cool finds for you* that you NOT bother - save yourself the trouble :mad:

I was recently ripped off by "APO Wholesale" on ebay. Long story short, I filed a claim through paypal and got my refund.

I usually do, but I was reminded again of how important it is to read feedback thoroughly.

Oh yeah, that's another thing. Paypal will pretty much always act in favour of the buyer if you dispute something like this. Get your money back.

The only problem is, ebay doesn't really want to try to settle a dispute.

A couple years ago, I won some ribbon on ebay from

StephanieMNelson aka
StephanieNelson
bamfranger66

She insisted on a money order, no Paypal, no check. Stupidly, I went along with it - even though the cost of the shipping/handling was four times as much as the ribbon. I never received it.

We emailed back and forth (she didn't send it yet, she did send it, she sent it a month ago...) until the 60 grace period was over. On the 61st day, she cussed me out and told me to never buy anything from her again. Ha! Like I'd trust her! We both left each other negative feedback. Hers was the only negative feedback that I have ever received; I was in contact with at least four other people who were ripped off by her. Even better, she "buys" her own stuff, and leaves glowing feedback! :rolleyes:


I sent the entire barrage to ebay throughout the entire dispute, and kept getting a computer-generated response which was ZERO help at all.

I do use ebay regularly, but I will never buy without checking someone's reputation, OR without Paypal. At least Paypal tries to keep people honest!

I don't have any advice since I haven't been in this situation. I offer my sympathies.

In the future, pay using a credit card via paypal. Paypal will usually try to work with you to resolve the problem. If not, your credit card company certainly will.

Yeah, well stupid me - I used a chapter check so I didn't have to wait for reimbursement or anything. Shoulda, woulda, coulda :mad:

AXOAlum, I am truely sorry to hear this as you were trying to do a good thing.:(

E-bay is e-bay and they do not really seem to care enough to keep their customers happy. Since they also own PayPal, well what more can I say!:mad:

It would have been a beautiful addition to the Chapter House.

While I know you feel bad, I sold a Pin on ebay which was in great shape. The buyer got it and the clasp was bent! Thank You Post Office!

I was more than happy to send the M O back period. She did get it at a heck of price and could have had it fixed as I did.

Buyer Beware, unfortunely!

I was recently the victim of a bait-and-switch situation. I don't buy much on ebay either but what I do purchase, I only get in the US. Apparently, this bad guy hacked into a few ebayers accounts and put up items for sale with fake (stolen) photos saying the items were located in Mass. I did a "buy it now" and paid through Paypal. The item arrived the Monday after thanksgiving and it was from China :eek: and a big fat FAKE. :mad: :mad: :mad: It was NOTHING like the one in the ad. Pissed is a nice term for what I was feeling. I sent a email to PayPal and Ebay and the listed seller (the person whose account was stolen). The seller email me back and said she didnt sell that item and that her account had been hacked and she had just cleared it up with ebay. (Oh Sh**!:eek: So I CALLED Paypal and was on it right away. They got in touch with the real owner (some dude from Shanghai) and he offered a refund which I'm still waiting on. I checked the sellers info and did all I could do prior to making the purchase. There wasn't anything I could have done to prevent this. I will say Paypal jumped on this with a quickness though. All I can say is know what you're buying and if you have a problem, dispute it or contact Ebay or Paypal right away.

Yeah - if it was something like that, I would have dealt with it. But for cast iron to break like that? It was only set in a box with some crumpled ads (as the picture shows) - he could have at least thrown some bubble wrap in or something. All I wanted was a reasonable response from him - even if he said he'd go halves on it, I would have accepted that - but for him to accuse me of freaking "extortion" for feedback - that is just lame.

I still have not heard back from Ebay on this issue (surprise surprise :rolleyes: ) - I am trying to think how best to word the negative feedback (since I am limited in typing space). I can't wait to see what he comes up with for me - maybe I could sue him on The People's Court :D

I have that same magazine holder :) I don't see how it could possibly break, though. Mine is super sturdy. I think filing complaints with eBay is the thing to do. If you had used Paypal, they'd be getting you your $ back soon. Let us know what his seller name is so we can all avoid him!

I ALWAYS pay through paypal with a credit card. I don't trust sellers who don't use paypal. While I realize paypal takes a chuck of your profits, it really offers a level of protection to both parties.

When you pay through paypal, you have a level of protection through paypal, then if paypal does not cooperate, you can disbute it through your credit card.

AXOAlum, I have the feeling that you're going to end up screwed. You may want to go on one of the ebay message boards and ask for advice from people there.

Ditto!!

Which is why I (and the PO) believes it to have been broken when it was sold thus the requirement for insurance :rolleyes: cool finds for you is the name of the business.

Ebay has yet to contact me - I'm going to try it again!

I'd love to see someone who was ripped off by an ebay seller on one of those Judge Shows - if for nothing else, to see how it's settled.

It would have to be Judge Judy -- she can't stand people who try to rip off others. Judge Joe only wants you if it involves a baby daddy or a family dispute usually involving mass quantities of alcohol and or drugs, and Judge Milian (People's Court) won't add anything on, even if she does find that you are entitled to more than you sued for. (yeah, I DVR The People's Court) :o

God, I am sure you are still pissed off and rightly so.

Cast Iron just doesn't break.:mad: There is no damn way you can have it fixed either!:(

There was a dispute and it took a month for ebay to get back with me today and that was an amiable problem solved between me and seller. He just wanted his posting fees back.

For those that do not know, PayPal is owned by ebay.

I do not use paypal on anything I buy or sell even though I have an account. I never give a credit card # to anyone I do not deal with at the shop I own.

It is like going shopping anywhere and not having the receipt to take back, you get screwed.

I would write this for feedback:
arrived broken; seller won't reimburse

That's really crappy what that person did. I'm sorry to hear that, hopefully it can get resolved somehow.

I have always looked into ebay, both buying and selling stuff, but always worried about the reliability of others on something like that.

One of my friends sells stuff all the time on there and has good feedback, but you never know who is going to buy from you.

The friend sold something on there just recently for my boyfriend (big item, never used) and once bidding was done, the guy emailed him and said he couldn't pay.

I question what the heck are you doing bidding on something that you can't pay for? There should be someway where you can't bid if you do not have thhe money. So then he had to relist it again.

Hi AXOAlum,

This sucks, but frankly I think your best bet is to just drop it and leave negative feedback at the 90 day mark.

I started using eBay 8 years ago and have done about 1,200 transactions (buying and selling), and I was active on the SafeHarbor board a couple of years- and your story happens a lot.

Back when eBay was smaller, you could get a lot more personal attention when things went wrong. Once- back in 2000- an eBay staffer saw my item photos had uploaded with really dark exposure, and she adjusted them and emailed me to let me know. Back then, you could actually call eBay and speak to a live person in California at their offices.

But now, forget it. The automated complaint system seems to be constantly overloaded with complaints.

As for Paypal claims- the buyer is going to be given the benefit of the doubt in all cases if the seller cannot prove the item was shipped.

By "prove the item was shipped", I mean if the seller can show proof that he delivered a package of some kind to you- then you are not going to get an automatic solution.

For USPS shipping, that means insurance. So since this guy insured the package, he can show proof he mailed you something and that means you are in for a long Paypal dispute with several email exchanges.

The real consumer power is to pay via Paypal with a credit card and then do a chargeback through your credit card company. This forces Paypal to handle it themselves with the seller and then you have nothing more to worry about. But most credit card companies require you initiate a chargeback within 30 days- so acting fast is important.

I am not sure about now, but before the merger Paypal was NOT regulated as a banking institution. So they had- and I think still have- a great deal of power to handle a dispute in their own way. So unlike your bank or credit card company, they are not compelled by law or competition for customers to offer you as a buyer that same level of protection.

All that said, in eBay's defense they must get a flood of complaints and in order to remain a neutral venue there are certain things they cannot do. If you go to the mall, buy a T-shirt at the Gap and get home and find it was torn, take it back and get refused a refund at the Gap- you cannot go to the mall management company and expect them to force the Gap to give you a refund for obvious reasons. Same logic applies to eBay.

Generally speaking, I think eBay has depressed prices for a great many products- especially collectibles and used items- to the benefit of consumers but as it has evolved and grown it has become subject to the same kinds of risks you would face in any other major retail venue, except that you never meet your seller or see the item before you receive it.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but there it is.

As for feedback- you have up to 90 days, so I always advise people to leave their negatives on the 90th day. That said, the 90 days does not always seem to be a hard and fast rule, so your seller may still have a couple of days to neg you back.

I have a couple of negatives on my record- inevitable when you have a lot of transactions- but I have probably saved myself 5 or 6 negatives by just forgetting about it when getting screwed over on a small item.

It is just a reality that you are going to get somewhat hosed either way, and so you have to decide whether to take the financial loss or spend time trying to get a refund and get a negative on your record.

Anyway- hope this helps.

This may be bad of me but your story makes me so angry that I went and found his store and asked him the following question:
Just curious. When I buy this, will you ship it to me broken wrapped in newspaper and magazine pages and then refuse to refund my money and threaten feedback extortion?

See, that's why I love GreekChat. This didn't even affect me directly and it made me feel good. *muah*

Oh, Centaur http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m...lezoo/kiss.gif that is freaking awesome! I love my TEH Cult members - we definitely look out for each other :D


EE-BO - thank you so much for the clarification on that stuff - being that in 6 years, I have only bought 15 things, I would never have known about the 90 day rule & such. I will put a date on my calendar!

I was going to write (using abbreviations & cutting out as much as possible) - "PO Consumer Affairs said inadequate packaging & will not honor insurance; email me for photos & rude emails from seller"

I know that won't all fit, but I can get creative with abbreviations!

Thanks GC for all your posts on this - I would have been happy to let it go if he had been nice, but the way he has acted is beyond reasonable.

Everyone seems to be offering advice on getting your money back but from the picture you posted it looks like it could be fixed relatively easy. Do you know a handy guy who could reattach it for you? With a new paint job you wouldn’t even be able to tell.

My husband is pretty handy - and he works at a factory with every imaginable tool - none of them knew how to fix cast iron. He took it & made clean cuts so the lyre is now just U shaped and stops at the top without the curly )( things on top. When he brings it back, I'll repaint the tops. Better than nothing I suppose - I'm still :mad: about it though. I didn't pay $27 for something that was broken.

*From PayPal*
Dear Ninjapoodle,

We have concluded our investigation into your case and have decided in your favor.

We were able to recover $156.00 USD and this amount has been credited to
you. Please allow five business days for this adjustment to be posted.

If you are due any additional funds, we will make our best effort to
recover the balance from the seller.


If the seller's account has insufficient funds to complete the refund owed
to you, please be assured that we will take appropriate action against the
seller's account, which may include limitation of the seller's account
privileges.


-----------------------------------
Transaction Details
-----------------------------------

Transaction Date: Nov 22, 2006
Transaction Amount: -$156.00 USD
Your Transaction ID: xxxxxxxxxxx
Seller's Transaction ID: xxxxxxxxxxx
Case Number: xx-111-111-111
Seller's Name: Ass Wipe :mad:
Seller's Email: I should post it but...


-----------------------------------
What to Do Next
-----------------------------------

No further action is required by you at this time.


-----------------------------------
Other Details
-----------------------------------

To make sure future transactions proceed smoothly, we suggest you visit the
PayPal site and click the Security Center link located at the bottom of any
page. There you will find tips on how to avoid fraudulent sellers in the
"Fraud Prevention Tips for Buyers" section.

To learn more about PayPal's Buyer Protection Program, go to the PayPal
website and click the Security Center link located at the bottom of any
page.

Sincerely,
PayPal Protection Services Department

********
Yeah, I get my $$ back:cool: I kept on them though & my persistance paid off.

Well, yesterday I received my THIRD email from the THIRD different Ebay customer "support" person telling me for the THIRD time the same thing the other two already told me including steps to take in discussing the problem with the seller. I finally wrote back & told them to kiss off - they apparently have gotten too big to care about buyers. I am going to do the 90 day feedback thing. At this point, I just hope the word is out on COOLFINDSFORYOU :rolleyes:

Are you sure it's 90 days now? When I had my problems, it was 60 days. Good luck!!

No - I was just going off of what someone here said. I will check into it. I still need to go to that forum you told me about - just need to get through all this Christmas stuff to get there!!

:( I'm sorry it didnt work out. The community board is the best place for getting the word out on a**holes like this. I looked at his profile and read his negative and neutral comments. This guy really sounds like a prick. regardless of this I hope you have a wonderful holiday.

Thanks darlin' - you too :D Glad that you got yours resolved - next time I will definitely use PayPal & just go through the reimbursement process!