posted on April 8, 2003 12:43:56 PM new
WOW is right!
"Be kind. Remember everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Harry Thompson
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
posted on April 8, 2003 01:37:48 PM new
I personally loved it. She said all the things I want to. I would buy from her in a heart beat. She has good feedback and seems to me, she is just at her wits end with the 1% idiot buyers...aren't we all.
posted on April 8, 2003 01:58:49 PM new
I'd have no problem dealing with her. Everything is upfront. The traffic sign symbols are rather annoying.
I think she spends too much time arguing with the occasional bad customer. Although, I'll admit that sometimes I let myself get sucked into those arguments. It might be kind of fun to bid in one of her auctions and screw something up just to get into one of her rambling debates.
posted on April 8, 2003 02:19:59 PM new
She seems intelligent ... and vindictive. I was OK until I clicked on her "Hall of Fame" link, but that convinced me I don't want to ever do business with her. I'm judging her here the only way I can, by her own accounts.
She appears to have forgotten a main rule of customer service, which is that customers will always identify first with other customers, even if those other customers are demonstrably stupid. The maxim "Alienate one customer, lose 100" might be even more true on eBay, where we can't talk to sellers face-to-face. Putting up a page like this is comparable to Blockbuster running a continuous loop of employees berating people who return tapes late. It might make for interesting viewing, but it doesn't encourage people to patronize the business. I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not about to be pilloried by a seller who clearly has more bile than business sense.
Take, for example, her hall-of-famer No. 1. First off, she doesn't say whether the address (written legibly) was actually written separately on a piece of paper inside the payment envelope. I know my handwriting is horrible, so when I pay by mail I always include a computer-printed sheet with the MO with my name, the auction number and the mailing address in a large font that can actually be cut out and used for a mailing label. But I am prone to scrawl the return address on the envelope hastily if I don't have any labels handy, knowing that all the info the seller needs is inside the envelope!
Did this buyer include the necessary info inside the envelope, as instructed? If she didn't, why didn't the seller - who belittled and mocked her for every tiny grammatical error, including a few that didn't seem like errors to me - point that out? It makes you wonder exactly what that "useless blather" was that she snipped!
As for the last "hall of famer", she's simply a bidder who didn't get her merchandise. If the buyer is 100 percent responsible to get the payment to the seller, then the seller is 100 percent responsible to get the merchandise to the bidder.
[ edited by msincognito on Apr 8, 2003 02:53 PM ]
posted on April 8, 2003 03:31:43 PM new
I liked it; I would buy from her, no problem.
Her problem with the sloppy buyer handwriting could have been avoided with Address Standardization, which she can get with any number of tools. It certainly has helped me cut down on the address typos.
I too find that 99 out of 100 buyers are just fine, but the 100th is sometimes so nutty, malicious or just plain dense that you wonder how they've managed to keep breathing this long.
Just sent her email to alert her to this thread. That used to be a common courtesy extended to outsiders around these parts.
--
"I'm thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said `I drank WHAT?'"
posted on April 8, 2003 03:45:11 PM new
When I first glanced over everything, my first thought was....So that's where Fluffys been! . I did like the fact that she was so candid about her terms, such as "I leave feedback only AFTER you've received your merchandise and have left
feedback. There's no need to ask for feedback, I respond to all new feedback". I think I am going to steal that line for my own terms page!
But after reading ALL of her terms, she makes it very clear that she does'nt want to be bothered with communicating with her buyers. I thought, Ok.... maybe she is just very busy and does'nt want or need that constant deluge of email, I can relate to that, even if it is a little anti-social of her. BUT I then realized that she has made the time to write that spiteful "hall of fame" page.
Yikes! What a *itch..I would definately avoid.
posted on April 8, 2003 03:47:39 PM new
I would bid on her auctions.
On the bidder with the bad handwriting: It looked like a 3 to me. I looked at the other "5" she had written on the envelope and immediately came to the conclusion that I was right about it being a 3.
posted on April 8, 2003 04:14:47 PM newinot I followed the same mental pathway you did. ... from "hey, not so bad" to "Danger, Will Robinson!"
fluffy, We all enjoy your tart tongue, but you combine it with a generous heaping of business sense and I seem to recall you occasionally admitting a mistake. Plus, you're too brutally honest to allow yourself the leaps in logic that this dame takes.
One funny example: She berates the second hall-of-famer for always wanting "the last word" .... twice! Yet she's the one who feels she has to respond to one negative comment on Yahoo! three or four times. Projection, indeed.
The sad thing is the woman can write. I hate to see her powers used for evil!
[ edited by msincognito on Apr 8, 2003 04:15 PM ]
posted on April 8, 2003 04:30:45 PM new
Read her Hall of Fame and while I can relate to some of it, it doesn't say much about her customer service skills. How hard it is to return a money order? I once got packages mixed up and sent them to the wrong bidders. The bidders were then kind enough to mail them to each other. It's funny now, but then it wasn't. I, too, received a money order once that was intended for someone else. I mailed it to the right person for my bidder and in turn, the other seller mailed me mine. Simple. Cost? .37.
Bidders and sellers alike make mistakes. Sending a negative email only gets you a negative email in return. And the wheels on the bus go round and round. . . .
Don't think I'd buy from her. I'd be too afraid to make a mistake.
posted on April 8, 2003 04:34:37 PM new
I love her terms, I see no problems at all. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If I am buying, I would bid.
She just tells what we all want to hide behind our heads..as most buyers do.and some sellers. which is READING the listing ad, and taking responsiblity for ones own actions...
You screw up, you did it, then YOU fix it. and it is not the sellers problem.and same with the seller making a mistake.
posted on April 8, 2003 04:51:59 PM new
Infexible, too many rules to read. Challenges the customer to purchase from her.
People come in all sizes, shapes and abilities and a good business person needs to deal with all types of customers. Those sellers that are fed up with the people they call "idiots" need to find another way to make a buck and stop calling the people that pay their rent unkind names.
posted on April 8, 2003 05:00:30 PM new
I was willing to overlook the annoying street signs and found her TOS and About Me page somewhat reasonable, but overstated. But the "Hall of Fame" is enough to turn off even savvy buyers.
I don't believe in holding every stupid or ignorant buyer's hand, but I do believe in common courtesy. It does not diminish one to be at least civil to an idiot. That is, unless the idiot goes on the extreme attack/threat.
I might have even considered bidding, and watched my p's and q's carefully until I got to the "Hall of Fame".
Yes, she is very intelligent. Yes, she spends time slinging insults that are what we all have wanted to say at some point. I am concerned that if I bid, she may develop some imagined dispute with me even if did everything right.
Fluffy, I see she handles her customers similarly to the way you do. Not saying you are wrong, just enjoying the fact that you have possibly found a kindred spirit!
Patty
[ edited by meadowlark on Apr 8, 2003 06:27 PM ]
posted on April 8, 2003 05:17:04 PM new
I would not bid on her auctions. She isn't selling anything I want.
I looked at her 30-day selling history. At a glance, without number crunching, it looks like her sell-rate is less than 50% and her average sale is under $10.00. I don't know why the seller even bothers listing on eBay. She isn't selling enough to pay for her time to list all of those auctions.
posted on April 8, 2003 06:25:19 PM new
WOW! what a cranky old broad. Looks like one of those "fair weather" sellers to me...as long as things go the way she wants she's Miss Congenality, but, mon 'o man, don't mess with her system. She even blasts folks who can't understand PayPal and get registered! Bad customer service all the way! 8 negs in one month and none are her fault--come on!!
If only we could all be so perfect! Just all those red "warning symbols" on her listing marks her as a difficult seller in my book. I would never bid on an auction listing that looks like hers--there are too many good sellers out there that understand "the customer is always right"---even if he isn't --it isn't worth all the bad feelings and "feedback wars"
She needs to come back to reality. He "Hall of Shame" only shames her.
posted on April 8, 2003 06:29:40 PM new
You can't have terms and conditions on you "about me" page or other link... they must be in the auction for the bidder to read...
I wouldn't bid on their auctions... way too negative.
posted on April 8, 2003 09:00:57 PM new
I would not bid on any of her auctions. To much gobble-de-gook to go through to find out that she doesn't seem to be responsible for anything. Hall of Fame-I only looked at the address on the envelope and I knew that it was a 3. Show me on that so called 5 was the tail off the top. Was she every a "newbie"? By the sound of it she never was. If they can't send an email after the end of auctions then I don't need to buy from her. It seems like she relies on the buyer to jump through all her hoops and she just sits back and collects the money. I also hate the response she made to that negative from the "newbie". In her book the buyer is never right...
posted on April 8, 2003 10:21:03 PM new
I loved it. I read every word. Funny, funny stuff. Definitely a "Metal Energy" person, if you're into Feng Shui. Just like me, only with more clarity of thought and sharper claws. Wonder if she would agree to edit some of my writing? Hmmm. I'm going to email her.
posted on April 9, 2003 09:03:52 AM newOne funny example: She berates the second hall-of-famer for always wanting "the last word" .... twice! Yet she's the one who feels she has to respond to one negative comment on Yahoo! three or four times. Projection, indeed.
I've cut her some slack on that. As many of us know, this can be a lonely and difficult undertaking. Other family members often don't understand the stresses if they're not directly involved in the business. I had to put a stop to my Hateful Bidder du Jour stories; I was driving my loved ones nuts.
Who hasn't been tempted to put up a Wall of Shame of their own, complete with names, addresses, scans of bounced checks and so on?
I'm not perfect. I'm still working on my coping mechanisms. I try not to read email when I'm already in a bad mood. I fortify myself with as much sleep as I can get, large cups of piping-hot chai, and chunks of that wonderful sunflower seed bread ("Judy's Lovesticks" for those who've never tried it) I get at Trader Joe's. That keeps me rested, caffeinated and regular, thus better equipped to handle most difficult people.
And some days it is so hard. I'm a devotee of the English language; to see it abused day-in and day-out by people using messaging lingo ("cd u snd total pls" ) or picket-fence punctuation ("where is my item!!!!!!!!!!!" ) is rough. And I don't blame the seller in question for not wanting to receive unnecessary emails. I get over 1,000 per day currently as it is.
But for those people who are offended by her way of doing business, look: Market forces take care of such things. There was an antique store not far from here, run by an old man who didn't even want to talk to his customers. Nothing (and I mean NOTHING) was priced. Merchandise was piled up all over the place and had not been dusted in many a long year. Attempts to negotiate a price were met with stony silence. How can anyone do business that way, you wonder. Well, he couldn't. The store is gone now. Problem solved.
--
"I'm thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said `I drank WHAT?'"
[ edited by fluffythewondercat on Apr 9, 2003 09:05 AM ]
posted on April 9, 2003 09:40:58 AM new
It appears to me that this seller loves to have an email fight. There is no way that I would waste my time writing all of things that she does. She must stay up nights for this. As a seller, I don't have any problem with her TOS, except it is too long & hard to figure it all out. Too many distractions along the way.
posted on April 9, 2003 09:58:54 AM new
twelvepole, the relevant terms still have to be on the auction page, same as ever. But you can have terms on your Me page as well.
From ebay's policy rules:
Remember that you must include the relevant portions of the terms and conditions on the listing page as well as on the separate Terms and Conditions page. This relevant information includes:
Shipping information (you may also link to a shipping calculator)
Forms of payment accepted
Terms of payment—when payment is expected
Handling charges
Any taxes that may apply
posted on April 9, 2003 11:25:18 AM new
I very seldom comment on this board, but I love reading it. When I read this woman's words, it reminded me of a 60 year old female cousin who, like this woman, wrote long, angry diatribes. She has been institutionalized for the past 6 years where she is still writing. I think this seller is mad..or well on her way..in the true sense of the word. I could never buy from a person like that...she's ready to blow....
posted on April 9, 2003 12:04:20 PM new
Well, I received email back from the seller, who pointed out that this is not the first, second or even fifth time she's been publicly flogged on AW.
So whose agenda is being furthered here, I wonder?
--
"I'm thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said `I drank WHAT?'"
posted on April 9, 2003 12:16:38 PM new
Her auction page was a bit drawn out, but I guess she wanted to get her point across so there is no mistake on her terms and that is her right to do so, If you do not want to buy from her because of her attitude then don't bid, she still gets bids without you.
As for her Hall of Shame I laughed and understood why she put it up again, to each their own.
Thank God I have not had to deal with some of the twits she has had :::knock on wood:::
As for Janey614 calling her a Cranky Old Broad how do we know she is old maybe this lady is tired of the Morons the populate the earth I found no age mentioned in any of her pages.
If you are implying I am trying to make her look bad for some hidden reason, no. I was using Ebay's search, looking for yet another electric Fur Real toy cat. I just bought one at WalMart this weekend for $28.00 and change. She had one for sale but I was put off by the extreme road signs, Hall of Shame, etc.
I think most people here would have brought her pages to the attention of the rest of us if they had run across it. She's seller with an extreme TOS of note. No conspiracies required.
I'm not surprised that other posters here earlier may have run across some of her offerings previously. I have not seen those threads.
- Harry Thompson
. I did like the fact that she was so candid about her terms, such as "I leave feedback only AFTER you've received your merchandise and have left
Cheryl
