posted on March 9, 2001 07:43:05 PM
As if my week couldn't have gotten worse! Today I was hit with the, forgive me, but the WACKIEST person I've seen on ebay yet.
I woke up late this morning. Ohhhh, how I wish I didn't!!
In my inbox is this email:
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I am bidding on severak of your items.You need to answer my questions on the nave suit about there being a missin button if I have to pay my seamstree to fix ixxxxx=tt it could possibl cccost more then the dress.If I try myself to find s button ,It is an hr either way to town.So thats alot for me to ddo.I want the pant suit but you should be reasonable enough to say hey it is flawed.I will give her some off the price and I need to know so I can retract bid .There are only 4 hrs. left.Also on the red suit #xxxxxxxxxx.I like the suit.I do not ever wear red.I will be willing to pay 10.00 fot it.I have small wrist and will need the sleeves took in som.I am 116 pds 5'2 and ear a natural size D.IIIIIII am being frugal because I am a single mommy 8 and 3 my youngest isa little boy and we have been told he is mentally retarded,But hes gorgous blonde hair and brown eyes. But he has staarted a special school and after his surgery ,I want to go bk.to work.I have been homee 1! 116 cray mos.And need some professonal clothes to wear bk and I love you taste.xxxxxxxxx Please resond,
*********************************************
I immediately emailed her back, thanked her for her inquiry, and explained that I was very sorry, but I could not at this time take less than my starting bids. The navy suit with the "missing button" was already priced accordingly. I started that suit at $8 less than I normally list my pant suits for because of the missing button.
After emailing her, I noticed that 2 of the auctions she had bid on of mine (out of about 5 total) had ended. She did bid on the navy suit, and a dress. She did not bid on the red suit.
I then decided to check out her feedback, out of curiosity. NOT a pleasant surprise.
The lady has less than 65 feedbacks, 6 NEGS, and 1 NEUTRAL.
Here's what 3 of her negs say about her:
Complaint: Won bid, sent $ & almost 1 mth later returns it. Said too small/size was noted
Complaint: This "lady" is an ABSOLUTE LUNATIC. Please refer to all of our other feedback.
The rest were for never receiving payments, and never receiving their items.
Definitely NOT someone I would have accepted bids from, had I not over slept. I would have cancelled every single one of her bids. But now, here she is, she won 2 of my items, and has bids on a few more.
I did not hear back from her all day.... until a little while ago.
I received this email from her, this time, she used a COMPLETELY different email address.
*******************************************
I emailed you many times on that suit so I could retract my bid if I chose to.First off i asked you about the wem on the pants.Theylooked slantedand not straight across.Then I learned of the missing button and you said the buttons were velvety.My seamstress will have a hard time matching that button and charge me quite a bit for doing so.It would be different if I could go to Wal-mart and buy it.I told you I would bid on the dress until I heard from you/My ISP server went down so I was unable to retract and I was going ttto since you returned none off my emails.I will buy your suit fffor 10.00 if that does not suit you .I am ssorry but it will cost atleasr thaat to get a button for it.If you would have answered my emails we could have come to an agreement.And I wwwill only pay for regular delivery not priority.Mzybe this timee you will elect to answer me.xxxxxxxx
*****************************************
So now, she's telling me she emailed me SEVERAL times? I only recieved the one this morning.
She won and bid on my auction and is now telling me she will only pay me $10 for the one suit?? Her bid was more than twice that!
My auctions state exactly how much I charge for shipping on every item - and that I only ship by PRIORITY MAIL - now she decides that she will NOT pay for Priority Mail????
The button that needs replacing is just a regular button on the pants above the zipper - it is not a velvet button that is needed. It would cost less than $1 to replace it and would just take a few stitches.. so her $10 theory is way out there.
I feel a migraine coming on with this one!!!!!!!!!!
I emailed her right back - AGAIN - and told her that I did email her this morning - to the email address she had emailed me to begin with, and that when she bid on the auction, she agreed to pay the bid price that SHE BID, and on my shipping that I stated in the auction of PRIORITY SHIPPING!
I am now debating on what to do - to cancel the rest of her bids? Or just let them go? If I cancel her bids it may tick her off even more... but, if I cancel her bids I can only get 2 negs from her (the 2 that she just won). If I let the other auctions go with her as the high bidder, she's able to leave me negs on every item.
posted on March 9, 2001 07:47:14 PM
You need to start selling something else. I swear to god you have all the nutso's. You post a story and I think "okay can't get one worse than that"...and you do.
I would DEFINITELY cancel the rest of her bids. The 2 she won sound like they will cause enough trouble and you don't need to ask for more.
And maybe she needs a spell checker? That was awful to try and read.
***Not Kukula ANYWHERE but AuctionWatch***
posted on March 9, 2001 07:54:29 PM
You sure do get the wacky bidders. Is it the clothes category? I only sell collectibles myself, but have yet to get a fruitcake.
If I were you, I would extricate myself from this woman carefully but post haste. Write her back on the two items she DID win and tell her that in re-examining the articles you found some OTHER flaws...I dunno, some cigarette burns, bleach stains, something her "seamstress" won't be able to fix, and let her know that in all fairness you couldn't possibly sell these damaged items to her, but thank her nicely for her bid. Then RETRACT all of her other bids on your items right away. She can't leave negative feedback on those if you retract the bids. Good luck and you will need it!
posted on March 9, 2001 07:59:41 PM
This is what I think.
Don't argue with her. I get the impression that no matter what you say, she will not be convinced that SHE is in the wrong here... so don't EVEN try. *sigh*
AGREE with her. YES!! Agree with her that you are ALSO willing to just call this whole thing off. Kindly tell her that it would be perfectly alright with you if she were to go in an cancel her bids. (Don't do it for her, because you will want the record of her bid retractions to appear on HER feedback profile page) *wink*
ALSO explain to her that in order for you to obtain credit for the Final Value Fees associated with the two auctions that ended showing her as the high bidder... you will need to file for a CREDIT with eBay. She will get the initial "ALERT" that eBay AUTOMATICALLY sends out when a Final Value Fee request is initiated, but that you will be letting eBay know that you both have MUTUALY AGREED to VOID these trades.... so she will NOT be getting any "official warnings" from eBay regarding this incident.
Don't leave any feedback just yet (unless you want to risk a RETALIATORY comment being left in your file by her)...
If after a few weeks you still feel the need to warn other traders within the eBay community by way of the feedback forum, you'll still have time to go in and leave a Brief, Factual and Sincere comment in her feedback profile.
posted on March 9, 2001 08:01:37 PM
KD gave you good advice. Cancel whatever bids you can, tell her you found "much more" damage and then ask her to never bid on your items and then do the safeharbor thing to make it official and start praying the mothership comes soon to take her back.
posted on March 9, 2001 08:03:33 PM
Play by the rules. Give her one week to pay, and don't refund for any reason. In other words, just walk away, but do it according to eBay rules.
You think you've got problems? I had someone attempt to interfere with a recent auction for $1,000. I took a look at the emails involved and at some old emails I received, and have been able to determine the person (in addition to interfering with my auctions) is shilling on his own items. I'm working with eBay on this and providing the necessary info.
There are more nuts on eBay than in a Christmas fruitcake.
posted on March 9, 2001 08:15:41 PM
OMG!!!
And I thought I was having the week from hell with my first nutso giving me my first neg, 3 non paying bidders from January, one complaining because I filed a non paying bidders alert and half of my bidders overdue on payment by at least 10 days!
After reading those two emails, I'm almost thankful for my ebay woes!
Good luck and I would cancel cancel cancel anything from this person.
posted on March 9, 2001 08:18:56 PM
Thanks for the advice everyone!
I just went to my auctions and noticed she just retracted her bids on the rest of my items!
Here's what her explanations were:
did not mean to bid that high,it was not worth it
(Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...................)
Her feedback profile also now shows 5 retractions in the last week ....
I have also just emailed her and told her that I have no problem if she wants to cancel the 2 bids on the auctions she already won from me today. I also explained to her about the FVF's and that I would enter them as "mutual agreements to call off the transactions"....
Thank you all SO MUCH for the advice! I really hope this is the end of this.. I asked her to email me back so I know if she wants to cancel these 2 transactions and so I could also relist them.....
posted on March 9, 2001 08:20:25 PM
WOW....What a Looney Tune she is....She obviously is trying to control "your" auction in a very passive agressive manner....I was thinking....maybe you could give her a call on the phone....that might present a personal touch and explain to her how she could go in and cancel her bids....Let her know that your intention and goal is to make sure your customers are pleased and happy with their item('s)....tell her that you don't feel that you could please her and that to make things "right " for both of you it would be better to cancel the transactions....Let her know that sometimes situations "happen" that make it important to cancel bids...and that you feel this is one of those type of situations....Convencing her that you will "not" let any auction of yours turn into hardship for others.... would take back some of the control on your side of the street...Yes good luck and let us know what happens....
posted on March 9, 2001 08:21:01 PM
Hi Executive girl!
If it were me, I would bow out of all sales as gently as possible. First I would politely tell her that you did answer the only email from her that you recieved, that your terribly sorry to hear her situation is so delicate at the moment and wish her well, and thank her for the compliment on your taste. Then calmly explain that you couldn't possibly take any less for the one item and that you only ship priority and that shipping is not negotiable. let her know you humbly understand her concerns and requests given her current circumstances and that you would be more than happy to let her off the hook for these items. Inform her that you understand that she will naturally wish to cancel her other bids and that as show of goodwill you have already taken care of that for her by cancelling them. Lastly, let her know thatagain you understand her position and in order to avoid any further confusion and and given your inability to satisfy her requests that she please not bid on your auctions in the future.
Make it as short and to the point as possible but be polite, maybe even patronizing, and try not to use too many big words.
Then change your email address, user ID, and move to Portland.
You might also want to reccomend her to one of your competitors who bends over backwards to please their customers!
Like they used to say at the pool hall, "Don't go away mad, just go away"
posted on March 9, 2001 08:29:28 PMExecutiveGirl :
Have you had VeryModern analyze why it is that you seem to draw all of the nutjobs?
I hope that she does go ahead & agree to void the rest of the transactions. Wouldn't that make life so much easier?
[ edited by debbielennon on Mar 9, 2001 08:30 PM ]
posted on March 9, 2001 08:29:35 PM
You also may want to email safeharbor and have them note her "bid retraction" problem and they will issue her a warning. Perhaps then she will be more careful on what she bids and not do this to someone else?
***Not Kukula ANYWHERE but AuctionWatch***
posted on March 9, 2001 08:35:56 PMThen change your email address, user ID, and move to Portland.
LOL! Actually, I don't think changing my whole identity would help me. These "kinds" seem to follow me wherever I go!
Have you had VeryModern analyze why it is that you seem to draw all of the nutjobs?
No, I actually don't believe in that kind of stuff...
You also may want to email safeharbor and have them note her "bid retraction" problem
I've written to safe harbor about bidders who have retracted as many as 21 auctions in one week and they responded to me saying the bidder has done nothing wrong. I have a feeling for 5 retractions they will just ignore my email.
posted on March 9, 2001 08:55:53 PM
THANK YOU, EG!
I was becoming concerned because today's posts seemed a trifle boring (no offense intended to all the posters). I even wondered what was going on with you today, EG. Praise Heaven you decided to post what I think is your wackiest story yet! Absolutely the funniest thing I've read in a long time.
Now, I know it isn't funny to live through it......but you've been given good advice, so you should be able to get out of this one okay.
As for being a nut magnet.....maybe having a priest drop by and sprinkle a little holy water around the place might not be such a bad idea. (Substitute the clergy of your choice...don't want to get into religion issues.)
Personally, I think you should keep a journal of all these cases and write a humorous book about your Ebay experiences. I know I'd buy a copy.
posted on March 9, 2001 09:16:19 PM
ExecutiveGirl:
You should write a book: "A day in the life of an ebaY seller". Give copies (free of charge) to all of your competitors. When they all quit ebaY after reading it you can really clean up.
Or better yet, just sell the book. What category would it go under anyway, horror or suspense?
posted on March 10, 2001 12:19:31 AM
EG. You've been around long enough to spot trouble. Why don't you just tell these people you seem to constantly have trouble with and just tell them not to bid.
I hate to be rude to people but it seems like the people you bend over for the most are the ones that come back to bite your a$$.
Blow them off. Tell them don't bid. You don't need them. There are bushles of bidders out there that are just fine.
Unless of course you just enjoy comming over here and being stroked.You are a VERY prolific poster. If that's the case, by all means, carry on.
WWWWWAAaaaaaaaaaaaaa
[ edited by peachypie on Mar 10, 2001 12:21 AM ]
I think that you are making this up. Didn't I see something similar to this on a scene from Saturday Night Live?
Maybe you are being to hard on this poor woman. Judging by her writing abilities, I would think she's a person who works in the professional feild. NOT!
I think she first needs to learn how to spell, punctuate properly, and brush up on her grammar. After she learns how to sew. What a nightmare!
posted on March 10, 2001 01:32:22 AM
EG, I know yeager was joking when he said that this bidder was from the professional field. She's quite obviously a fellow eBay seller--she has fewer misspellings and grammatical errors that MANY auctions I've seen!!!
posted on March 10, 2001 04:35:38 AM
ExecutiveGirl -
Why you? Because you are just LUCKY! And you need to wear the aluminuim foil shiny side out to bounce their locator beams at you.
Email her, tell her that the clothing was DESCRIBED ACCURATELY, you listed the flaws already, and that you do not haggle over prices and shipping after the bidding stops.
If she doesn't pay, go the NPB and FVF route. If more sellers would do this, these bidders would be less frequent.
Email her, with a CC to safeharbor, telling her to never buid on your stuff again.
posted on March 10, 2001 05:45:54 AM
Maybe you should put a codicil in your TOS that bidders with neg feedback and/or bid retractions must contact you by email before bidding for permission to bid or you will not honor their bid. Hopefully, these bidders will move on without contacting you.
posted on March 10, 2001 07:11:38 AM
In all seriousness (is this a word?)here. I am not meaning this in an ugly way at all, so please, nobody take it that way....
Have you ever considered the fact that it is not the "little boy" who is retarded here??
I mean, really, it sounds like maybe it may be her who has this problem, in which she can't help. I wish that no person had to be born that way, but some are.
I know that this does not help your auction situation, but it may be what is going on with this bidder.
I really have no suggestions for you on what to do. Just thought I would mention this.
posted on March 10, 2001 07:13:19 AM
I knew there was a reason I was holding off on listing a bunch of womens clothes we aquired. Ok..you convinced me:
LARGE LOT DESIGNER PETITE CASUALS NR
Opening Bid: .01
FREE SHIPPING, TAKE THEM ALL AND RUN!
ALL SALES FINAL.
posted on March 10, 2001 08:37:43 AM
"I have a small wrist and will need the sleeves took in som.I am 116 pds 5'2 and ear a natural size D." Too funny!
[ edited by BoxGirl on Mar 10, 2001 08:39 AM ]
posted on March 10, 2001 09:02:46 AM
LOL! I just woke up and read all your posts. ROFL.. you guys are hilarious!
Well, last night I had emailed her to let me know if she wanted out of the transactions. As of this morning, I have received no answer from her.
Perhaps I should email her again and say "Mzybe this timee you will elect to answer me" (using her misspellings and all!) Just kidding though - I would never actually do that. I figure with someone like this - NO NEWS is GOOD NEWS!
Have you ever considered the fact that it is not the "little boy" who is retarded here??
My thoughts EXACTLY!
I don't believe she has a seamstress
LOL - me either!
Personally, I think you should keep a journal of all these cases and write a humorous book about your Ebay experiences. I know I'd buy a copy.
LOL LOL ..... would you believe I have a folder in my Outlook Express that is titled "Ebay Morons"????? I swear, it's true! All these morons' emails go directly to my moron file. Currently there are 292 messages in there!
Yes, I should write that book! To all my "fans" here on the boards I'd give you a free copy!
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Mar 10, 2001 09:11 AM ]
posted on March 10, 2001 09:15:37 AMI am 116 pds 5'2 and ear a natural size D
This poor women deserves your pity! Why, her ears are huge! Can you imagine carrying around an ear that is a natural D? Her neck must ache all the time!
Those small wrists must cause her no end of trouble as well. I know, because my wrists measures about 5 3/4 inches around. It is one of my struggles in life, trying to use hands that are so precariously attached to my body. I am in constant fear that my hands will snap right off of my arms if I try to pick up something that weighs too much!
I don't share this for you to pity me, just so you can try and understand my plight. Until you have walked in my shoes (or dealt with small wrists on your own), you just cannot possibly understand! Imagine trying to sit in an airplane seat with wrists that just won't stay on the arm rests! I think small wrists should qualify us for a total disability!
Shopping for clothes in a nightmare! Why oh why don't they keep us "wrist challanged" folks in mind when they design clothes?
posted on March 10, 2001 09:38:56 AM
Executive Girl: Please autograph my copy, I don't know why but I have a feeling its going to be worth keeping.
Latte
