mrpotatoheadd
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:38:59 AM
mballai-
My role as buyer is to respond and pay promptly and leave feedback on the transaction as to how I thought the deal was.
eBay says:
Q. What type of feedback should I leave—positive or negative?
A. If you were treated well by a buyer or seller, reward him or her with a positive comment. If you were treated poorly, try to resolve the problem first by contacting the other person. Most problems can be corrected by improving communication between buyer and seller. If things are still not resolved, you may leave a negative comment.
Leaving feedback is certainly a proper way to comment on a deal, but (at least, according to eBay's stated policy) it appears you left out the step where you contact the seller and try to resolve the problem before leaving a negative comment.
|
sulyn1950
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:39:29 AM
"It is for the eBay community that I leave feedback. It's long overdue that people separate feedback from personal attack. Nor should I be attacked for stating the truth"
I personally think that buyers/sellers who do take the time to help out a fairly new seller/buyer are helping the eBay community.
However, you do have the right to record your transactional experience anyway you want.
[ edited by sulyn1950 on Feb 21, 2001 09:40 AM ]
|
nanastuff
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:42:16 AM
TY...EG
|
canvid13
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:43:26 AM
I suffer over half my Negative fb's from nitwits who can't be bothered to email about their complaints. I live in Canada and ship time is longer than from within the US.
I get NF's all the time and this is after I send out that it takes longer in my EOA email.
People don't read.
Manner's cost nothing. When there's a problem the least likely thing is that someone is trying to fraud another.
Just look at the USPS auctions on Ebay!
Shame on you for not knowing enough with the feedback you have to email this seller before FB bombing.
You are the person in the wrong here, 100%%!!
|
nanastuff
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:43:59 AM
OK...taz8057...good for you!
|
ExecutiveGirl
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:46:36 AM
mballai
The response from that transaction has no meaning here.
The point is, when you were a seller, someone left you a negative feedback. Your response was:
Response: Customer never told me about problem -- unwarranted negative feedback!!!
Regardless of how that transaction ended - the fact remains, that you received a NEGATIVE feedback and you were very upset that the buyer did not contact you prior to leaving feedback.
Which, just happens to be the exact same thing you just did to this seller and you somehow feel you were justified in doing so?
Please explain how you can justify how it is OK for you to do that to another seller but it's NOT OK for someone to do that to you!
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Feb 21, 2001 09:47 AM ]
|
nanastuff
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:51:15 AM
EG....you go girl....LOL
|
ExecutiveGirl
|
posted on February 21, 2001 09:57:30 AM
nanastuff: Thanks!
But on a serious note, I take this matter to heart. I, too, have had my share of negs from people like this. It's just so unfair. I believe if you have a problem with someone, tell them, let them know the problem, and give them a CHANCE to make things right. If they decide not to from there, that's a different story. But everyone deserves that chance. A negative feedback can literally ruin my day. I've had a few days ruined because of an unfair buyer like this. Like someone else said earlier in this thread, we can't fix a problem if we don't know it exists.
|
reddeer
|
posted on February 21, 2001 10:01:16 AM
IMHO negative feedback was not warrented in this case.
Had I been that newbie seller, I would have gladly refunded any amount of $ you would have felt was fair.
I've left negative feedback for sellers & buyers several times, but in ALL those cases it was left as a last resort.
From a sellers perspective, this seems about as justified as leaving a neg because the high bidder sent you a check, instead of an MO as was stated in the TOS in your auction.
Everyone should be allowed to make good on a mistake.
|
RB
|
posted on February 21, 2001 10:03:33 AM
taz ... "My package could be droped off a building and not be damaged."
I hope not!! When you're selling "Baby Maybes", any little bit of damage could cause major problems for the buyer
|
pattaylor
|
posted on February 21, 2001 10:11:22 AM
Everyone,
I'm sorry, I just recently became aware that there is enough information in this thread to identify the seller.
The seller has been invited, but I will have to lock this thread for the standard 24 hour period, or until the seller indicates that he/she wishes to participate, whichever comes first.
Pat
|
LindaAW
|
posted on February 22, 2001 10:52:18 AM
This thread has been re-opened for further discussion.
Thank you for following the CGs.
Linda
Moderator
|
avmom
|
posted on February 22, 2001 10:56:10 AM
taz ... "My package could be droped off a building and not be damaged."
I can't help myself, but if taz's package were to be thrown off a building, it would bounce! (Do you sell anything asides to condoms?)
avmom
(not avmom on eBay)
|
ExecutiveGirl
|
posted on February 22, 2001 11:03:55 AM
Thanks Linda
Well, it looks like the seller did not want to join this discussion. Too bad... would have loved to hear their side of this..
|
cassiescloset
|
posted on February 22, 2001 11:11:29 AM
I would leave a negative for being charged for premium shipping and only receiving media rate. I would leave a negative just for the very slow shipping.
Email the seller about the condition of the book.
|
ExecutiveGirl
|
posted on February 22, 2001 11:14:33 AM
The auction did not state how the item was to be shipped. It only said "$4.00 shipping" and rule of thumb is don't assume ANYTHING. I can see if the auction stated $4.00 for Priority Shipping" and you received it 1st class. But that was not the case here. If you're not sure about something, ASK before you bid. Don't bid and then complain afterwards.
|
ahwahneeliz
|
posted on February 22, 2001 11:20:36 AM
I recently had a guy buy a book from me and he sent along a few extra bucks with a note requesting good packaging. I tried not to be offended, since of course he doesn't know how I pack books. I wrap them in either tissue (the gifty kind, not nose kind HA!), wrap in plastic, protect with cardboard with a seperate mailing label, then either place in a larger box or envelope. If an envelope, I tape most of the outside, so if the PO decides to play frisbee it has some chance at keeping the outer cover.
I wish the guy had just upped his shipping preference to priority, rather than media mail. I used bubble wrap on his stupid book and boxed it... and I have been fretting ever since I sent it. I'll be really POd if I get negged.
mballai - Perhaps in the future, an email asking how a seller packages items would work better, save a few bucks, and go over better with the seller than the obnoxious assumption that the seller will screw up.
`·. >(((º>`·.¸.¸>
ahwahneeliz
>(((º>¸¸.·.>((º>··.¸><((((ºcJ
|
eauctionmgnt
|
posted on February 22, 2001 11:25:07 AM
mballai,
What I would like to know now... is just what kind of packaging did you expect to receive from this seller? After all.... you only paid an additional $0.05 for s/h above actual postage. (a flat-rate priority mail envelope costs $3.95... you paid $4.00). It is my experience that a nickel doesn't buy you much in the way of packaging materials. What is it that you feel you paid for that you didn't receive? If you had paid an additional $1.00 for a padded envelope, or an extra $5.00 to put it in a box surrounded with foam bricks (extreme OVER protection).... and it was shipped in just a priority envelope.... you'd have something to complain about. As it is... you got exactly what you paid for!
In the future you should try to follow these simple steps to avoid placing yourself in a similiar situation:
1) Contact the seller BEFORE you bid to learn how the item will be shipped and any other questions you may have about the items description
2) Rather than attack an inexperienced eBayer, use your years of experience to help them improve their auction skills (remember the whole eBay community thing...)
3) If a problem does arise at any time during the auction transaction, ALWAYS contact the seller to allow him a chance to make things right.
4) As feedback is important to help other ebay bidders/sellers by all means, leave a negative feedback comment IF the seller refuses to work with you after you have identified a legitimate problem (item not arriving, not in the described condition, etc...)
If you follow these steps... you'll find that you will build a much better relationship with the people you do business with. After all... the person you buy an item from today, may be the person who wants to buy YOUR high-ticket item tomorrow.
|
kyna
|
posted on February 22, 2001 11:25:42 AM
I am one of those sellers that always leaves feedback when I receive payment and nothing has ever made me rethink that policy...until reading this thread.
|
birdwatcher-07
|
posted on February 22, 2001 11:35:35 AM
Another example of why you should NOT use your eBay ID as your AW ID or email address. 
|
mballai
|
posted on February 22, 2001 12:26:57 PM
birdwatcher
Thank You!!!! Apparently some people think it is appropriate to make a whole lot of ad hominem attacks and assumptions about a situation they know very little about.
As it turns out I got an email from the seller after an irate rebuttal to my feedback and my response. He became rather apologetic. Three highlights from the email were:
1. No one complained about his shipping before.
2. The item had cost him nothing.
3. This was a hobby for him.
For those who are still not clear on the concept:
A. If someone does a lousy job of shipping something, that's pretty much it. I wasn't about to return the item and have him reship it to me. Most of the remedial efforts one thinks of as applying to pre-neg feedback DO NOT apply here for that reason alone.
B. Packaging is as close to making a real impression on someone as you would if you were a brick and mortar store. It pays to do it right.
C. Good packaging is cheap insurance.
|
MrJim
|
posted on February 22, 2001 12:44:46 PM
COMPLAINT: Received item in perfect condition. Item Exactly as described. Shipping rate within 5 cents of actual postage.
What a hoot.
1) It is unbelievable that someone would leave a negative for an item received in perfect condition.
2) It is even more unbelievable that they would come here afterwards and tell other people.
3) It is beyond comprehension that they would be surprised by the response of other sellers. (which perhaps explains why the feedback was left in the first place)
|
eauctionmgnt
|
posted on February 22, 2001 12:51:58 PM
Well-said Mr. Jim! Obviously some people are so convinced that they are right that they are not open to the helpful suggestions of others.
It is a humble person who posts to the board for advice.
It is an egocentric person who posts to proclaim their own righteousness.
|
mballai
|
posted on February 22, 2001 12:58:45 PM
MrJim
Please read the statements:
Packaging WAS awful and that's why the negative was given
I suppose you would give a positive for lousy service?
I am not at all surprised that one's feedback is considered sacred here and no one should ever dare say that someone did something wrong in public. Apparently what plays in Washington is now becoming the new world religion. No ethics, no customer service and most of all no liability whatsoever.
eauctionmgnt
Thank you for pontificating. Apparently you don't even know what the postage for a pound priority envelope is but you can tell me what I can and can not say in public.
[ edited by mballai on Feb 22, 2001 01:01 PM ]
[ edited by mballai on Feb 22, 2001 01:10 PM ]
|
eauctionmgnt
|
posted on February 22, 2001 01:08:49 PM
mballi,
I think the major issue here is not that you DID leave negative feedback for the seller.... it is how you conducted YOUR end of the transaction. You do have every right to leave a feedback in accordance to how you feel the transaction took place. However, you also hold a responsibility to make sure that you did everything in YOUR power to make the transaction successful BEFORE you leave a negative. (this is right in eBays feedback guidelines!) It just doesn't even seem like you put any effort into resolving this transaction nicely. Please don't look at these comments in this thread as people trying to eliminate the practice of leaving negative feedbacks. Look at the comments more as friendly advice on how to leave feedback more responsibly.
|
amy
|
posted on February 22, 2001 01:15:05 PM
Mballai..add me to the list of those who feel you over reacted to this new seller's packaging.
Your seller is a pretty new seller. Of his total of 29 feedback, 15 were for buying. He is still wet behind the ears when it comes to selling and packaging. It would have been much nicer to have contacted him after you recieved the package and explained to him WHY you felt his packaging was inadequate. As he told you, no one had ever complained before.
Contacting him would have served the bay community much better than your method of "slash and burn the seller"
I never will understand the posts I see here at AW that say "well, I do it THIS way and therefore that is the CORRECT way to do it".
You did it when you said you ship the next business day...your position is that since you do it that way, then all who do not are doing business in a sub-standard way (ie...they are BAD sellers).
Admit it, you over reacted. You vented your spleen on this poor seller...you beat up on someone instead of showing compassion. You didn't do the charitable thing and try to help a new seller. Instead you took your aggressions out on him for a very tiny mistake.
Shame on you!
|
MrJim
|
posted on February 22, 2001 01:49:33 PM
mballi,
I read your comments about the packaging. Infact, here they are again:
"the product arrived undamaged"
If the packaging was insufficient, the book would have sustained damage. The fact that it arrived undamaged supports the fact that the packaging was adequate. Period. If people started negging' other people for what "might have happened" the entire feedback system will become useless.
Examples:
Address written sloppy, could have been sent to wrong address.
Insufficient tape used, package could have come open.
Package not waterproof, could have gotten wet.
Or in your own words: "the paper label was taped on in such a way that it could have easily been torn off"
"paid a small surcharge on the shipping"
FIVE CENTS
|
ExecutiveGirl
|
posted on February 22, 2001 02:16:45 PM
mballai
I am posting this again in case you missed it up above:
The response from that transaction has no meaning here.
The point is, when you were a seller, someone left you a negative feedback. Your response was:
Response: Customer never told me about problem -- unwarranted negative feedback!!!
Regardless of how that transaction ended - the fact remains, that you received a NEGATIVE feedback and you were very upset that the buyer did not contact you prior to leaving feedback.
Which, just happens to be the exact same thing you just did to this seller and you somehow feel you were justified in doing so?
Please explain how you can justify how it is OK for you to do that to another seller but it's NOT OK for someone to do that to you!
|
Bassicbrian
|
posted on February 22, 2001 02:18:10 PM
If someone does a lousy job of shipping something, that's pretty much it. I wasn't about to return the item and have him reship it to me. Most of the remedial efforts one thinks of as applying to pre-neg feedback DO NOT apply here for that reason alone.
But the fact remains, you got the item, in good shape. If there were no remedial efforts applicable, perhaps then no remedial efforts were necessary??
Edited to add:
So perhaps then, no negative feeback was necessary?
[ edited by Bassicbrian on Feb 22, 2001 02:19 PM ]
|
powderblue
|
posted on February 22, 2001 02:35:10 PM
Take this person's complaints with a grain of salt.
I've read many posts written by him (both before and after I signed on at AW) and knew long ago that he is a bit of a crank. Hard to please. This should put all else in context.
And I just have to say, burning someone with a negative without even giving them a chance to make it up---especially when there is no clear history of complaints---is dirty pool.
ALSO...
"I wasn't about to return the item and have him reship it to me."
No, but how about giving the seller a chance to refund a bit of your money for the imaginary loss you suffered?
And get a load of this...
"As it turns out I got an email from the seller after an irate rebuttal to my feedback and my response. He became rather apologetic. Three highlights from the email were:"
1. No one complained about his shipping before.
So what? Are you trying to tell us that you have performed a good service by negging him unjustly--without any attempt at compromise?
2. The item had cost him nothing.
So what? Since when is this the issue?
3. This was a hobby for him.
So what? Like I said, SO WHAT?
[ edited by powderblue on Feb 22, 2001 02:38 PM ]
|
