posted on August 11, 2000 10:10:24 AM new
Imagine this senario... You sell an item (in my case it was a video tape, Played one time and then sold) You receive a threatening e-mail from your buyer stating that they "deserve feedback", so you complain to sentinel - who does nothing, then they leave bad feedback, which you can do nothing about, so you "respond" to it at which point the bidder posts again! So you complain again. Again, amazon does nothing. So the bidder starts contacting other buyers, so you contact amazon again. Again, nothing. Then the buyer demands a refund becasue the item was not as described. (!!!!) Refused to get an RMA and insisted on a refund. Refused to refund as "all sales are final & the item was as described", bidder leaves more feedback, in an obvious attempt to destroy my sales, amazon does... Nothing.months later, after dealing with this guy on and off for 3 months postin on my feedback I get a warning from sentinel for refusing a refund for bad feedback. (???)
then I get told by the supervisor at sentiel that I am not to contact them again, and that If I do it will result in the termination of my account. (???) Is amazon now allowing buyers to use their Sentinel Dept. to harrass sellers? Is this what we have to put up with to sell on this site? I am quickly getting to the point where the fees on e-bay do not look so bad. Any ideas on whom I can complain to about sentinel?
posted on August 11, 2000 02:23:52 PM new
So how much of your time have you spent on this transaction - 30 hours? 40 hours?
How much profit did you make on this transaction? $5.00? $20.00?
How much profit could you have made if you had spent that time instead on listing other items?
Auctions and zShops to me are a business where I would like to maximize my profit. If I had received the e-mail you did, demanding feedback, I would have done one of two things:
(1) If deserved, I would have left positive feedback (1 minute of my time) and MOVED ON.
(2) If not deserved, I would have filed away the e-mail unanswered (10 seconds of my time), accepted the negative and MOVED ON. The negative would have gotten buried in a stream of positives from my other customers.
posted on August 11, 2000 06:06:52 PM new
Don't forget about the power of writing a real snail-mail letter to someone who is inclined to listen. Don't contact Sentinel again; go over their heads. Your allies are executives higher in the management food chain who can rain hell on the peons from above, and the media who can indirectly rain hell down on the execs. Complain. Complain early, complain often. Be respectful but make your feelings known!
