Bill Geiger

Well, my first one was this 4th of July. Person purchased a DVD from me on the 28th of June. I sent maybe 4 emails (not including invoices) to the buyer. Not one response. I go to ebay to check on some things and there it is, a negative. My 1st one in 105 feedbacks given (all positive). They claimed I "filled their email inbox (an excite.com email no less) with rude emails. They can be viewed right here:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/billandstina/ebay.html

I filed a report with ebay about having it removed (negative feedback) and also let them know I have all of the emails that I sent.

The person claimed to be "out of town". Funny, they weren't out of town when they bought it. And even if they were...it is easy to pay.

The chances I have in getting the negative removed? Probably slim and none..but I gave it a shot.

Anyone have stories like this?

Maryang Palad

It will be removed by ebay if the person who placed it is willing to undo it and willing to pay $25 to ebay via squaretrade otherwise its there forever.

GreenMonkey

I thought I was going to end up with one a few days ago (no response, 3 emails, 6 days). She was a newbie ( 0 rating, new icon)...she finally emailed me saying that there was some paypal confusion, and made the payment. I was worried (my rating just hit 80, 100%).

I had one customer that was kind of pissed at me, I sold a complete SNES game, but the manual and game had some peeling from the removed rental labels (they had been in a box for years). I had meant to mention it in the auction listing, but forgot to do so (I was in a hurry). Since it was my fault, and he only paid like $3 and shipping, I emailed him and told him he could keep the game for free. It wasn't worth his or my hassle to have him mail it back. I refunded his money. I got a good feedback out of that, and averted getting a bad one.

RonG617

I've gotten the out of town story and the sick story a couple of times. I wouldn't mind someone emailing me and telling me it will take a while to pay, or even that they changed their mind. I hate the ones who will not respond in any way.

MasterCXtreme

I tried purchasing the Half Life: Platinum Collection off of someone around January. I sent in my money order and everything, but it got lost in the mail. Obviously, that sounds like a pretty bogus story to him, so I guess he didn't believe me. He ended up reporting me as a Non Paying Bidder(NPB), I sent him many emails after that but he never responded and left negative feedback.

namlook

I have like 180 positive feedbacks and no negative. I got a negative when I guy won my auction then backed out. I left him negative feedback and he left me negative. But when I checked his registration info it was all bogus. I reported it and Ebay removed the negative feedback and banned him. So I'm happy.

Jason

Since he's already given you negative feedback, file a non-paying bidder report with ebay. It's obvious he's not interested in doing business with you.

Bill Geiger

Jason...already did that..just waiting the "10 days" to get the credit back.

neiname

Bill,

Your rate of emails does seem pretty excessive. People do travel around this time of year and it is generally accepted that a payment can take up to 10 days. I would have been pissed too if a seller was sending me email after email and have not afforded me courtesy time to pay. I would suggest an email 1 or 2 days after close (some buyers still wait for an email to pay) with a followup 9 or 10 days out. If you still do not have word after 12 days I would start aggressively collection procedures.

As for my lone negative I received a week ago (130+). Some guy buys a $4.00 vhs through half.com and I send it out media mail. Doesn't get to him for 20 days (don't ask me why?) and without emailing me he leaves a feedback that the tape was late and cracked. A negative for a damn $4.00 VHS tape, and the guy has an astounding 3 feedbacks for the past year and a half.

Groucho

I once won an auction for an item and never received it, so I left scathing negative feedback. About a week later I realized it was from when I was shill bidding on one of my own items.

Darren Garrison

I was stalked by someone I gave negative feedback to once. When I'm on Ebay, I'm there to buy an item. If I pay for the item, and the item is sent, then I feel the transaction is complete. I don't ask for feedback and don't give feedback unless it is an unusually good transaction. So I buy a All-for-One remote control from a guy on Ebay (because it could be programmed to send signals to my DVD player to make it region-free). I pay, he sends, I concider transaction over. But then, he sends me three e-mails in only a couple of days telling me to give him feedback because he gave feedback for me, quickly followed by a fourth e-mail telling me that, because I didn't give him the feedback, I was to never bid on one of his auctions again. So I gave him feedback. Negative. Telling how he sent harassing e-mails, and to avoid him. He then started opening shill accounts and making bids on auctions that I had bid on, and signing me up for various mailing lists, and sending obscene e-mails from throw-away e-mail addresses. Eventually, I used his mailing address he had sent for the payment, looked a bit on the internet, and told him his home phone number, described the layout and names of streets around his house, and suggested that he never screw with me again. He didn't.

Bill Geiger

Well, I am of the belief that you should always leave feedback. It is a kind jesture. I have sent emails to those that haven't, (at most 2) but usually they do it on the first one. I had someone ask me why she should, and explained. She was more than happy. The thing is that you should understand, people who do a lot of selling need that feedback. If he sweared or something, then I understand...but a neutral would have been better than a negative. But that is your call. Not here to debate that.

Personally, he has a right to ask why you didn't leave feedback. He provided a service to you... but whatever. What you do is your business.

Revoltor

I had a seller who refused to leave feedback first becuase he thought I'd blackmail him or something. Really stupid stuff if you ask me.

I've also only had one instance where I left a Neutral feedback because I got a used DVD when advertised as new and factory sealed. I still got a pretty good deal on it though (12.99 Roger rabbit vista)

Darren Garrison

When I go to the grocery store and buy a gallon of milk, I feel no obligation to write a nice letter about how NICE it was to buy that gallon of milk, and place it on the store's bulleten board every single visit. No. I hand clerk money. Clerk hand me milk. Transaction OVER. Ebay is in NO WAY different to me. I provide them money (that they want) for an item (that I want). If I get the item and they get the money, that is the END of the transaction for me, and I do and will continue to concider any type of e-mails from the seller demanding something more to be harassment and unsolicited e-mail.

Revoltor

Christ I hope never to come across a buyer like you.

Bill Geiger

Darren,

Okay, so is your feedback at zero? I ask this because a lot of times, when someone is going to bid on an item, and they see their feedback is low or zero, the person hosting the auction might decide to throw them from it given their lack of feedback. The same thing goes with a buyer..looking at a sellers feedback/ratings. I have seen zero bids because someone had zero rating..and I am sure the item was legit and just fine. But because of not having feedback, it hurt them in the end.

And as far as a grocery store...I had a feeling you would bring that up. However, never did I say it was required. I stated it was and is a nice jesture. Ebay even asks you to leave feedback in a certain section after the auction ends. To each their own.

But...at a grocery store..or any store for that matter..don't they sometimes ask if you found everything okay? When you answer...isn't that giving feedback?

matome

So how do you get feedback to let others know that you are an honest buyer/seller then?

Bill Geiger

Totally missed this so I am sorry. I have to say, the guy bids on the item (Buy It Now). It was in the afternoon. I guess he didn't have time to pay..then 7 days later.. he says he was out of town. Somehow returning on the 4th of July. Was I out of line in sending 4 emails? Maybe to some. But when it comes to your attention that not one email is returned...and the last bid this person had was back in Jan...you start wondering. And according to ebay, payment reminders can be sent 3 days after the auction. Plus, it clearly states that I wish for payment to be received within 3 days. It is a Buy It Now auction, not buy it now and pay later.

And if you looked..my first email to him was 2 days after the auction had ended. The end date was the 28th of June. The next was 2 days later...and then 3 after that.

I currently have someone who has yet to pay for an item. The only thing so far that was sent to them was an invoice. Another Buy It Now. I am not sending one email. The only thing I can think of is this person "might" be trying to get some cash into their paypal account to pay. That is why I am not emailing anything. We'll see.

Darren Garrison

WHY? Is getting paid for the item not enough for you? Do you also need to be patted on the back and told what a GREAT guy you are for selling to me?



And to answer someone else's question about my feedback rating, it is in the 200s right now, and represents probably about 20% of the number of transactions I've made.

Bill Geiger

Has nothing to do with getting a pat on the back... it is just (for me anyway) to show other potential buyers that I am reliable and easy to deal with.

ianholm

So by your logic the 200 people who left you an endorsement as an honest Ebayer are idiots? You reap the rewards of their feedback without returning the favor. Tell me, would you be able to make more or less transactions if those people didn't leave you feedback and your rating was zero? How many auctions do you bid on from people with zero feedback?

cdollaz

Ditto. I guess the whole 5 seconds it takes to leave feedback is too much of a chore.

Groucho

Great post! A+++ HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!

uteotw

The foundation of ebay is the feedback system, since it's basically the only way to know whether a person is reliable or not. While the grocery store can get a good or bad reputation by word of mouth, feedback IS the "word of mouth" that lets a buyer or seller know if the other party is trustworthy.

I personally love the ebay folks who say they will ONLY give feedback once I have. If everyone worked like that on ebay, there would be no feedback. I have 139 positives and no negatives in nearly 5 years on ebay, though I have left probably 3-4 WELL-deserved negatives. I know it can't last forever, because there are plenty of freaks out there.

Most recent example: Listed an item that was "bought" in less than 2 hours w/BIN. However, my emails to the buyer bounced back ("invalid email address"). I got his user info and called him, but only got voicemail. Still no call back. I don't get that...

Darren Garrison

Oh, puleeeeezzzeeeeeeeee! Most feedbacks are rather generic hyperactive endorsements, cut and pasted over and over and over for every transaction from that person. People tend not to give negative feedback because they fear revenge negatives. The feedback system is SILLY. If they wanted something more realistic, simply list the number of transactions a person has had, broken down by wherther a buyer and seller. I go on Ebay to purchase things I want, not to make idiotic useless feedbacks like the one Groucho posted (not to pick on him-- that meaningless sillyness is what the majority of Ebay feedbacks are like). I don't give a rat's ass about even ONE of my feedback points.