Ebay rant.

Topic: Ebay rant. (Read 2105 times) previous topic - next topic

Ebay rant.

April 25, 2006, 05:38:30 PM

I just bought some parts from a vender on ebay, not going to mention what untill its either sorted out, or is not getting sorted out (plus, i like the "check that shiznit out" effect when i finish what im doing). The parts not working properly already pissed me off, and if any of you know me, when im pissed, everything is flawed and i hate it all.

But what came to piss me off is first, the feedback system. Its total . Ebay sellers have us buyers by the balls. Ive read many times "When you recieve our product, leave positive feedback, and we will do the same for you"...WAIT A F*CKING MINUTE! Im a buyer, i gave you cash, my deed is done. When i buy ebay items, its usually a buy it now, and my payment is done on the spot, my information is sent, and im very polite and great to work with. Once my payment is sent, my task is over, and thats what the feedback is based on. Not this stupid bullshiznit with sellers trying to garentee themselves positive feedback. If i get a terrible product, or terrible service, when i was on top of everything as i was supposed to be, and get negative feedback based on THEIR performance and not mine, thats totally messed up.

What else me off is the "contact a seller" format. What happened to a email address? Rather than an email address, where you can type in a proper format, starting with "Hello, _________, i am writing in regards of", you have to start with a blunt question because youll run out of space. What if you have a VERY in depth question? Ive been there and ran out of space quickly. What really set me off is when i got the messege "Message may not contain HTML, asterisks, or quotes." I asked a question about a 1" adapter, and had to proof-read it because of that stupid shiznit.

I feel a little bit better now.

Ebay rant.

Reply #1 – April 25, 2006, 05:46:42 PM

Yeah, good ebayers are few and far between. Other than my parents, I have only come across one other guy who has given a very high level of service. He sent me a set of 3.27 gears, and along the way, they fell out of the box so they delivered me an empty box. Even though he was on vacation, he responded to us, and right when he got back, he took another set out of another rear end and sent them to me.

Most people don't give much info. When my parents send something, they immediately inform the buyer and give them the tracking number. On the other hand, we just bought about 6-7 things over the weekend and haven't gotten a single message from any of the sellers.

Ebay rant.

Reply #2 – April 25, 2006, 06:15:40 PM

Those jack-asses with the robot feeback systems that will give you positive feedback after you give them positive feedback have got to be terminated from EBay. What kind of a ****ing scam is that?

Check out this email I got from one jackass vendor on EBay after winning an auction:

"READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY - YOU ARE HEREBY BEING NOTIFIED -

Please do NOT email us for a tracking number. FedEx will
email you the tracking number directly to your registered
Ebay email (watch your spam mail as well) when you item is
on the truck.

YOUR item is scheduled to ship - 4/04/2006

PLEASE ALLOW NORMAL SHIP TIME FROM " US TO YOU "
DONT FREAK OUT AND ASK WHERE YOUR STUFF IS ...

USA BUYERS PLEASE ALLOW 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS FOR DELIVERY

International Buyers - please allow a Minimum of
10-14 " BUSINESS DAYS " to receive your order - since
customs likes to hold and ponder what is in the boxes.

FEEDBACK / E-Mail Issues:
We use an Automated Return Robot for Feedback - since we have over 500 auctions
listed each day, the use of a robot is necessary for feedback, and e-mail
notification to keep costs low and to pass on savings to you.
The Robot works after you - the buyer leaves positive feedback - then it
immediately leaves positive feedback for you."

I can see using a robot, but this seller has the most negative feedback I've ever seen - lol.

Ebay rant.

Reply #3 – April 25, 2006, 06:42:14 PM

Quote

We left negative feedback prematurely as you have. Please email first before leaving negative feedback, or others, such as us, will return you the inconsiderate favor. If you would like us to remove your negative feedback, please email us as to why it should be removed. ALL phones are listed 100% accurate at time of auction and work as stated, no more, no less. And, there are online updates that always ADD features, but of course the added features were not stated to work in the first place so they are a bonus when added. Just how it is, auction states specifically what works, and what doesn't.

This is what I got when I purchased a Usb cable and software for my phone. I sent the guy numerous messages about the software not working and never got anything back untill I gave him negative feedback.

Then in the negative feed back he says the software for the phone I bought it for was stated correctly in the auction. Now If you read the message they sent me he knew what phone I had becasue I told him and then states the auction was correct. Which it was not and he told me to find software myself to make it work.

Ebay rant.

Reply #4 – April 25, 2006, 07:20:43 PM

lmao... i can only laugh because i just went through that. bought two "buy it now" items from two seperate ebay stores and both ebayers are waiting for me to leave them feedbacks first. =/ wtf?? honestly i think the seller should be "forced" to leave a feedback prior to yours.

and robots defeat the purpose... if you have that many transactions going on then hire someone to handle your feedback.

Ebay rant.

Reply #5 – April 25, 2006, 07:51:05 PM

I've been buying and selling on eBay for 6 years and I've had probably a dozen bed experiences, one of which as a seller. I sold a new in the sealed package slot car (1 of 500) amd the dude opened it and it didn't work. I gave him all the info to file a warranty claim with the manufacturer in a nice e-mail and even gave him my personal phone # if they wouldn't honor the warranty. You know what the jerk does? He leaves a negative and reports me to eBay for fraud! Some people are just ignorant little pen 15s that like screwing people. Out of all my other bad dealings with seller's, I've only ever been able not resolve 1. (Lady just never shipped a DVD set I bought, did it to like 30 people in 1 week, had no neg's up to the point) I don't leave feedback as a buyer until I get a positive, and I will email seller's asking WTF is up. As a seller, I post posi's the day I recieve payment and just hope they like the item, like I said, only 1 jerk in 6 years.

Ebay rant.

Reply #6 – April 25, 2006, 08:36:31 PM

Quote from: Aerobird Motorsports

I've been buying and selling on eBay for 6 years and I've had probably a dozen bed experiences.

They are selling cooch on ebay now???? Since when??? They take Pay Pal???

I've bought over a 100 things on ebay and have had a problem twice and that was the wrong iten shipped. First time the guy was all apologetic and sent the correct item and paid me to ship the wrong item back... Second one just skipped and was eventually banned by ebay...Was only $15 so it didn't qualify for compensation, at least the manual i got was somewhat usefull....

Ebay rant.

Reply #7 – April 25, 2006, 08:42:23 PM

Ok, Shawn, you had your little "Buyer's rant", now you'll have to read my "Seller's rant".

You see, I, as a seller for nearly ten years, scarcely leave feedback before the buyer leaves it first. There are several reasons:

First, when I used to automatically leave feedback, I rarely got it in return (my "Feedback left" to "feedback received" ratio was about 10:1), so I figured "why bother? They don't care, so I won't"

Second, because about 95% of my sales are international (Canada to USA) the shipping can take awhile, especially post 9/11. Trying to make Americans understand that their own customs department is responsible for the delay is nearly impossible, and I regularly get "Where is my item" emails just a few days after the purchase, even though I state quite clearly in my auctions how long shipping takes between two countries and why. I also explain that with the cheapest method of shipping no tracking number is included - this is Canada Post's policy, not mine - yet I receive multitudes of emails asking for one. Knowing that they haven't gotten feedback yet makes many people think twice about leaving a neg two days after the auction ends because they didn't get the item quick enough. In fact I've had many, many, people threaten negative feedback and have had their tone change very quickly when I inform them that I can still do the same to them.

Having sold for so long I can assure you that one gets very weary of the same old shiznit from buyers, and as for myself, I find myself getting increasingly cranky with them. If one writes me in all caps and exclamation marks I write back in all caps and exclamation marks. If somebody is rude, I'm twice as rude back. I've long passed the point that I don't give a rat's ass about feedback, but knowing that you do have a bit of protection against idiots that don't read the auction before bidding or those who leave feedback first, then ask questions later, is a very relaxing thought.

Then there are the ones that install my product wrong, then automatically blame the product (I get a LOT of this with Mustang owners). They write all bitchy (meaning you know if I had already left them feedback I'd have already been neg'd), I explain the problem (with Mustangs, it's invariably the person modified their rear sockets incorrectly), they fix the problem, and then they're happy as a pig in shiznit that I helped them get it working, and I get a postive. Had I left them a positive first, they'd have negged me, then got the product working, been happy, and I'd have had a black mark for absolutely nothing.

Third, and the biggest: The eBay feedback system is an absolute joke. Because people can leave "retaliatory" feedback, sellers are afraid to leave negatives for people that deserve them (non paying bidders, for example) in fear of retribution. It's not fair that I should fear having my record tarnished because I told the world about a deadbeat, but that's the case, so in most cases I will not leave negative feedback unless they piss me off enough. I get at least five non paying bidders a month, and if I left them all negatives I'm certain that I'd have a bunch of undeserved negs in my own record. Picture it: You buy, you don't pay, I leave you a neg saying "Non paying bidder", and you get mad and leave one back saying "Seller didn't ship item, complaint filed with eBay". It's completely false, but my potential buyers don't know that. They should make it so that once a seller gets his fees back for a non paying bidder, that bidder can not leave feedback of any sort for the seller.

Shawn, do you really think eBay is geared for sellers? Try selling for awhile, putting up with a thousand questions for every one item actually sold, having over-demanding customers holding your feedback record hostage, having crooks do (or attempt) fraudulent credit card chargebacks through PayPal (Ive had several attempt this, but I cover my ass with delivery confirmation), putting up with ignorant (and in many cases, illiterate) morons that expect the world and blame you when you don't get it (I've had people threaten negs because my sequencer kits didn't include tail light housings, even though the auction clearly states they don't - like I'm gonna include two tail light housings and a sequencer kit for $75), and putting up with eBay's and PayPal's ever increasing fees, ever worsening customer service, and ever stricter rules. Geared to sellers? HA!!! Good one!

BTW, it is eBay's official policy that not only is feedback optional for both policies, but that the transaction is not considered complete until both parties are satisfied. This means that just because you paid right away, you're not finished yet. What if you paid, I left feedback, then you wrote threatening/rude emails, or used a stolen credit card to pay, attempted a fraudulent chargeback or started harassing me? Shouldn't I still have the option of telling the world about you? You could pay today, I could leave feedback and ship the item tomorrow, and then the next day you could do an illegal chargeback. I'd be out the money. I'd be out the item. And to add insult to injury, I'd have told the rest of the world that you're a good guy.

No, sir, I do not leave feedback right away, and i have several compelling reasons not to.

Ebay rant.

Reply #8 – April 25, 2006, 08:58:39 PM

And ranting aside, as much as I hate eBay's new "contact the seller" method, I do know why they did it. Their reasons are threefold:

1) TO cut down on "out of ebay" purchases. If they could email you directly, they could make arrangements to buy your items outside of eBay. eBay is strictly against this practice - they claim it's because it's unsafe and all that, but it's 100% because they don't get any of their fees on something that is sold outside of eBay. Yes, you can still use eBay's system to ask a seller "Can I buy this outside of eBay", but the fact that the message is being sent through eBay's system discourages a lot of people from doing it.

2) To eliminate "I never got your email" problems. Many people who have registered with eBay have long since changed their email address, and did not notify eBay. They then either buy my item or ask a question. I would reply, and shortly after I'd get a "Returned mail" message. The "My messages" eliminates this - if you can log into eBay, you can read your messages, regardless of your email address.

3) To cut down on spam. Spam has become a major problem for eBay sellers, and posting your email address in an auction (or eBay giving people the means of getting it) is just asking for spam. How bad is the problem? I use several email addresses - one for eBay, one for PayPal, one for tech support, one for sales inquiries from my own website (so I can tell those questions from eBay questions) and one for general emailing (the one I have registered with this forum). I also have one for the forum itself (an administrator email that I get mail at when one of you has a board related problem). Between all of these emails I receive roughly 400 spam messages daily. Oh hell, 400 easily - quite possibly as high as 800 on a bad day. Mozilla Thunderbird takes care of the lion's share, but 50 or so still make it through a day, and even though Thunderbird filters the others, it still downloads 'em. Downloading 400-800 spams a day on high speed internet is bad enough. Doing it on dialup is absolutely painful (I use webmail on dialup so I can see topics and delete spam before without them).

Ebay rant.

Reply #9 – April 25, 2006, 09:37:09 PM

have a problem with that just dont leave the feedback till you get the product thats what i do all the time.

Only have had one problem and one real bitch. I payed for a $220 psp i waited a bit because this person said that his "drop shipper ran out. I was like ok how long till you get more he tells me that mine should ship the next monday. I wait till the friday after that monday to email him back asking for a tracking number nothing.I wait till thursday of the next week, then said f*** this and got in contact with paypal. I then proceeded to file a claim against this buttfunnel, if you file the seller has 10 days to respond to pay pals message of have the funds directly withdrawn. well i got my 220 back.

The bitch is why the hell do they get 10 days to respond, i see it as they should get around 5 and if they arent intrested in responding well screw them.

Ebay rant.

Reply #10 – April 25, 2006, 09:38:09 PM

Right on with the selling gripes, but I have the same issues on the buying side of things. My only negative feedback is from a seller who claimed to ship out the day after I paid him. He didn't ship for another three weeks. Fine, ship it late, but don't lie about it. I left him a negative for unethical business practice. Oh, and the parts didn't work. I got a negative feedback in retaliation even though I paid him literally minutes after the end and waited for nearly a month to get my parts.

The system isn't perfect, but ebay should have a better system. If feedback is left in retaliation, both negatives should be revoked and the seller should have a "retracted feedback" count listed on his account. It's not a negative, but it lets you know that something is up with the seller. Much like the retracted bid counter.

Ebay rant.

Reply #11 – April 25, 2006, 10:42:21 PM

Quote from: amooset

If feedback is left in retaliation, both negatives should be revoked and the seller should have a "retracted feedback" count listed on his account. It's not a negative, but it lets you know that something is up with the seller. Much like the retracted bid counter.

Two problems with that:

1) If both feedbacks are automatically removed because of a retaliatory feedback, EVERYBODY would leave retaliatory feedbacks so their own negative would go away. It would undermine the whole point of feedback. If you bought my item and didn't pay, I'd leave you a negative. You'd leave one right back, knowing both feedbacks would be removed, essentially overriding my right to tell others you're a deadbeat. There was actually a system like that in place once, until people started abusing it. It worked like this: If you left a profanity in a feedback, both feedbacks would be removed. People soon figured out that if someone left you a neg you simply had to swear at them to have your neg removed. eBay caught on, though, and changed it so that only the feedback with the profanity would be removed.

2) eBay currently has a policy that if both parties agree, they'll retract the feddback from both parties, and a "this fedback was removed by mutual agreement" message is left in your profile in place of the original feedback. Problem is, people that actually care about feedback enough to check before buying automatically assume there is a problem when they see retracted feedbacks. The same thing with neutral feedback: If it ain't positive, it's negative, so most people (myself included) consider a neutral to be a negative.

eBay does have an appeal system that will review and remove feedback, but it cost $20 for EACH feedback removed, and there's no guarantee that your feedback will be removed. What eBay needs to straighten out the feedback mess is to have an impartial "ombudsman" department that takes complaints, looks at the facts, and makes a decision. That way if I left a neg for a non paying buyer, and the buyer retaliated, I could launch a complaint, the ombudsman would investigate (as simple as requesting proof of payment from the buyer), and would remove the retaliatory feedback as necessary. Conversely, if a buyer paid and the seller left good feedback right away, then the buyer filed a fraudulent chargeback, the seller could show the ombudsman the proof that the item was delivered and that the buyer "stole" their money back, and the ombudman could let the seller change their feedback left. And it should be a FREE service.

If eBay would do that, many more sellers would be willing to leave feedback right away (or they'd be more willing to "neg" those that deserve it) because they know they'd be protected from malicious negs.

Ebay rant.

Reply #12 – April 25, 2006, 10:49:06 PM

When I am considering buying something, I always look at the seller's feedback. If there is a neg or neutral in there, I see who it is from, then go look at their feedback history. For the most part, only one of the parties has a bad pattern. If it's the seller, I don't buy. If it was one of the seller's buyers, I keep considering. The types of problems described in someone's feedback profile are also often similar reinforcing or almost validating that there is an increased risk with this person. So I either see that in the seller's feedback or the buyer's feedback who left that particular seller a neg.

I left a neg once and of course, she retaliated but anyone looking at mine who then clicked over to hers, would see the pattern over there under her profile, not in mine.

I am also very unlikely to buy from new ebayers.

Ebay rant.

Reply #13 – April 26, 2006, 04:11:33 AM

I dunno, the system will never be perfect, but I've only had that one problem with it in 7 years of buying and selling. It's nice that ebay added the ability to respond and follow up on feedback.

In the long run, ebay has saved me probably thousands and made me just as much. I think it's worth a couple of minor annoyances to have such a vast marketplace at my fingertips.

Ebay rant.

Reply #14 – April 26, 2006, 08:45:53 AM

Oh, don't get me wrong - I love eBay for both buying and selling. It has its flaws, but the benefits far outweigh them.

BTW, http://www.toolhaus.org has some neat ebay tools, including "Ebay neg", a right click contextual menu thing that allows you to look at nothing but the negatives and neutrals in any seller's feedback instead of going through it page by page. YOu can also get it as an extension to Firefox