posted on June 11, 2001 04:02:49 PM
Well, I just lost my feedback "virginity". I have 1166 postivies and one negative. I knew it was bound to happen, but just as I expected it was NOT my fault.
This kid in Canada (she even said in an e-mail she was looking forward to being old enough to leave home) bid on a CD. Then after several weeks after telling her I could accept International money order, U.S. dollars, or Billpoint. She said she didn't have a credit card, U.S. dollars were hard to get, so she was going to just send me Canadian dollars. I told her I had no way to exchange them. She said she was going to send me a personal check in Canadian dollars, and I said my bank charges a US$20 fee to accept Canadian checks, so she didnt' want to do that. I even told her I would pick up part of the shipping cost so if she could send me four one dollar bills it would be cheaper for her to mail them
She e-mailed me last night saying it was "unconvenient" for her to buy an international money order an no longer wanted the CD. (Which with shipping closed at a whopping US$4.)
So since she SAID she didn't want the CD, I started NPB proceedings and left a negative.
Then today she leaves me a negative and sends me this e-mail.
yo guy, you are not nice! i offered to pay you in numbers of ways, and you didnt want to except any of it. what am i supposed to do? you should have made it clear on your payment info that you ONLY wanted INTERNATIONAL MONEY ORDERS, and NO PERSONAL CHECKS! i never said that i didnt want to pay because it was in US funds, damn liar! i said that it aint worth it if i gotta pay for an international money order because they cost alot more, and not just that, it is totally unconvient for me to get to a bank during bank hours. give me a negative feedback? well you are getting one in return! you horrible Horrible HORRIBLE person!
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I stated on the auction "NO checks from outside the USA".
The feedback stated<, "WAY TO PICKY WITH PAYMENT! take it or leave it, dont say it my fault!"
I don't think offering to accept money orders, U.S. dollars (even knocking some off of the shipping charge) and Billpoint is too picky.
I knew this was bound to happen, but it just doesn't seem right that an underage bidder (who's gotten other negative feedback for not paying because she didn't want to buy a money order in U.S. funds) should be loose on ebay.
Unfortunately, I have deleted the e-mail where she states she is still living at home. Is there any way ebay can check up on her age as I know she is not of legal age?
I've done ebay when I could barely walk because I couldn't get any help from the government to pay bills. Her calling me a "horrible, horrible HORRIBLE person!" in her e-mail is really maddening to me. (To read my story of everything, read my post in "Should I be a friend or fink?"
Anyway, I'm wanting to post a bunch of REALLY high priced stuff this week. Do you all think this will affect my auctions any?
How should I respond to the feedback?
She responded to my feedback of:"Buyer said paying in U.S. dollars was 'unconvenient', so decided not to pay"
with:
"this girl is all askin for only this, only that! way too picky about payment"
I'm going to respond with: Not sure what this means, but I accept Money orders, US dollars and Billpoint from Canada (or something to that affect)
I mean, I have stated on my auction page what I accept, so contrary to what she says, it came as no surprize.
posted on June 11, 2001 04:07:54 PM
jenn,
Wow-- I am sorry that happened. You didn't deserve it.
Don't worry about it affecting your sales though-- buyers will see right through her.
Just try and remain professional in your follow up. Hopefully someone will have a good idea on that. My wiggly daughter is making it impossible to type!
Take care!
posted on June 11, 2001 04:09:13 PM
1 negatave out of that many positives? It would not stop me from bidding on your auctions. Make sure you post a response to her feedback that tries to explain it - just for those who would care.
posted on June 11, 2001 04:12:41 PM
Will Ebay remove negative feedback if it is left by an underage bidder? I certainly think you should check it out and see. Maybe you can get this very rude chick NARUed in the process! Don't you just hate bidders like that? They just can't read auction terms and follow them. How do they expect to find a job when they can't even read and follow instructions?
posted on June 11, 2001 04:16:42 PM
Circumstances Where eBay Will Consider Removing Feedback
Feedback left by a user who provided eBay with false contact information during the registration process, and cannot be contacted. eBay will also remove feedback where eBay is provided with evidence showing that it was left by a minor.
So the answer is......possibly (if you can prove it)
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liquid8ter on eBay
[ edited by revvassago on Jun 11, 2001 04:18 PM ]
posted on June 11, 2001 04:21:30 PM
Hi Jen, sorry this happened to you. I do not think you need her email (although it would have been helpful) to send to Safe Harbor, Ebay rules are you must be 18 or older and she claims to be younger. Wouldn't this make the sale null and void, therefore voiding your negative. Just a thought. Especially since you mentioned there were other negs given to her by other sellers, I think you have the right to refuse selling to someone that does not abide by ebays terms and conditions for buying. she entered into this and the other sales in a fraudulent mis- represented manner.
Reenie
posted on June 11, 2001 04:23:35 PM
I deleted the e-mail saying she was not old enough to leave home. Would ebay do a little investigating on their own?
Possibly, but doubtful. Getting eBay to do much of anything is difficult, but I would contact SafeHarbor anyway. It can't hurt to try.
------------------------------------------
liquid8ter on eBay
[ edited by revvassago on Jun 11, 2001 04:26 PM ]
posted on June 11, 2001 04:35:40 PM
Maybe you could respond to her "horrible Horrible HORRIBLE person!" (oh, the drama!) email with a question or statement which seems inocuous but which would get her to respond and reveal her age again.
posted on June 11, 2001 04:41:52 PM"Bidder did not want to follow terms of auction - US FUNDS ONLY"
I like this response to her negative feedback about you. Short, to the point, lets most other bidders that live in the USA know that this would not be something they need to be concerned about, but most of all it sounds professional which is the best way to ease a leery bidder's mind.
Usually when I see a negative in a seller's feedback I click on the feedback of the bidder that left the negative. Most of the time by comparing the two feedbacks you can tell who the one to be leery of is. And in this case you do not have anything to worry about.
I know it bothers you a lot now, mine did too, but in a few days it will not be as big as it seems now.
posted on June 11, 2001 05:04:15 PM
If you can forward that email to Safeharbor with full headers, the feedback WILL be removed as long as the bidder is under 18.
If you can't retrieve the email, try to coax another out of her. Use your imagination. If you can send SafeHarbor an email with her stating her age, they WILL remove the neg.
I had a 15 year old neg me because I didn't receive his PayPal payment (the address had a typo in it). I sent him an email to try to straighten the mess out. In his reply email he stated that $35 is a lot of money, especially with him being only 15 and working 2 hours a day after school. I just expanded the headers and forwarded the email to SafeHarbor and the neg was gone in less than 2 days (and the kid was NARU'd).
posted on June 11, 2001 05:09:55 PM
Jen, have you tried pulling her contact info. If you do and it is bogus, those are other grounds, to take issue with ebays Safe Harbor.
Reenie
posted on June 11, 2001 05:11:50 PM
She never out and out stated her age, just said she was looking forward to being old enough to leave home. (And my guess is she is jr. high because of the type of spelling and grammar mistakes she makes -- stuff that hasn't been taught thourougly until about 9th or 10th grade.)
I don't have that e-mail. And I figure she wouldn't respond to any e-mail I sent further.
posted on June 11, 2001 05:25:38 PM
Hi Jen, sorry I never thought about the harassment part. I just thought if you pulled the info, made the call and if it turns out to be a non-working #, or wrong # you would find out what you need to know. however, going along with other suggestions, that may be good because we really do not know how old this person really is. Could be an adult or could really be a kid, and this would be the perfect time to ask either the parent or the kid to send an email stating that the person is under age and could not be responsible for the bid. That is the least they can do, so you can apply for your fee credit. It may just work.
Reenie
posted on June 11, 2001 05:46:12 PM
Do you think if I contacted the web based e-mail provider and said she wanted to buy something from me, and wanted to verify she was over 18 if they would tell me what she said when she signed up?
posted on June 11, 2001 05:46:43 PMAny suggestions in case I try?
A risky and somewhat combative approach might be:
How old are you, 12?!?!?!?
Or you could try being way nicer than she'd ever expect:
I'm sorry, I know you're a nice person and I didn't mean for things to get off track. Is the problem with getting to a bank during bank hours because you're in school? I'm just curious because you seem mature for your age, what grade are you in?
Or you could just not worry about it and figure she'll be NARU soon enough if she keeps doing this to sellers.
posted on June 11, 2001 05:51:49 PM
Remember though, feedback no longer becomes neutral when a person goes NARU. I'd still have that neg on my record even if she is narued quickly. Not that I'd mind if it was something other than this, but in addition to not being fair to me, its also not fair to other sellers to have a bidder out there who is underage
posted on June 11, 2001 06:20:07 PM
I just checked out www.home.com and it doesn't appear to be a free one after all. I wonder if I would get any cooperation about her age if I was to e-mail them. Anyone ever inquired about something like this before?
posted on June 11, 2001 07:21:36 PM
If you have a PC perhaps the deleted email is in your recycle bin if you haven't emptied that. If so you can retrieve it.
posted on June 11, 2001 07:26:45 PM
The @home system is the biggest cable based ISP. It is possible for her to be underage because the parents could have the cable TV and modem account and she could have her own unique email address. I think they allow 4 email accounts for no fee and more if you want to pay.
posted on June 12, 2001 05:49:28 AMThe energy spent on a futile attempt to get eBay to remove the negative could be FAR better spent trying to make some money.
If you have proof that the bidder is underage your attempt will not be futile. ebaY WILL remove the neg, 100%, every time.
Respond truthfully to the neg, stop taking it personally, and move on.
Responding to a neg is useless. Most bidders won't take the time to read the comments OR your responses. They'll just see a big honking red negative and move on.
IMO getting a neg removed is very much worth the time spent on it IF you have reason to believe you will ultimately be successful. And trust me on this, if you can get proof that the bidder is underage, the neg WILL be removed.
[ edited by MrBusinessMan on Jun 12, 2001 05:50 AM ]
