posted on November 20, 2000 12:03:30 PM
Ok, here is the situation, and please keep the meaness to a minimum. I won an auction on the 11th of November. I left that evening to go out of state so I could be at the hospital the next morning when my Grandmother had surgery. She had a stroke after surgery so I stayed on a few extra days. Got home Saturday night and had an email from the seller. He was very irate that I had not answered his email right away. Emailed him and told him that I had been out of state, but would put a check in the mail on Monday. His orginial eoa said only that payment needed to be made within 10 days, his auction description said the same thing. I emailed today and told him that payment had been made. He replied and said "too bad for you, if payment is not here by tommorow, it will be returned to you, sold to the second bidder and an npd filed." Today is 9 days since the auction ended, making a an auction payment was not my highest priority last week, but I did pay and now I am going to get an npd? How can a seller refuse a payment that will arrive no later than 11 days from the close of an auction? Can I appeal this to ebay, and will they remove a warning? Am I wrong in thinking this is not a nice way to conduct business? I am different, I don't hassle people about payment, and 99% of the time get paid. Heather
posted on November 20, 2000 12:11:49 PM
I wouldn't worry even a little bit about one little old NPB alert. The seller's authoritarian business manner can be reflected in the feedback you leave for him.
"How can a seller refuse a payment that will arrive no later than 11 days from the close of an auction?"
posted on November 20, 2000 12:15:19 PM
But, there was no mention of this policy in his auction, how can he say this is the way it is, like it or not? I think it is unfair, and I don't deserve a negative or an npd out of this. Heather
posted on November 20, 2000 12:19:21 PM
heather-you won an auction on saturday and did not communicate with the seller until 8 days later. most sellers(i am a buyer and don't usually defend sellers)would probably have done the same thing just as i would. saying that payment must be in within 10 days assumes that there has been some prior contact. the circumstances are unfortunate but you will probably not be successful changing any reported info.
posted on November 20, 2000 12:50:47 PM
Did you tell the seller that you had a medical emergency and that is why you hadn't answered the e-mail? If you did, and this seller still took that attitude, I'd be kind of miffed too.
Maybe the seller has had a ton of, "The check is in the mail... I was out of town..." type things that never panned out and lost it when you didn't reply. Nevertheless, your feedback should speak to your reputation and to say "too bad for you" was awful.
I'm not sure about this but there sounds like there's something wrong with seling the item to the second bidder and doing NPB and FVF. I guess that's technically allowed but I'd mention it to safeharbor especially if the 10 days wasn't in the auction's TOS. It sounds like fee avoidance but I don't know if it is or not.
posted on November 20, 2000 01:08:28 PM
Just a few things that have happened to me.
A man emailed that his wife dies and could not pay. She bid on another one of my auctions 5 months later.
One lady has been out of town for a two week vacation, though did not email me about it before she bid, aI always ask the seller if its alright to bid, though I will not be avaiable for a few days after their auction ends.
One person has told me that they are disabled and in a wheel chair, have no credit cards, can't get a m.o., and can only send a personal check, but they bought a stair stepper and a set of golf clubs from someone with-in the next week (this was in the month of June.
OMHO
posted on November 20, 2000 01:12:41 PM
Buyer and seller are obligated to contact each other within three business days. That means you should have contacted him by the 15th or 16th at the latest. Granted, he sounds very rude, but unless you made contact within that time, he is under no obligation to sell to you. You didn't specify if this surgery was scheduled or emergency, but if you knew you were going out of town, he probably would have been a lot more understanding if you had dropped him a note before you left explaining the situation.
posted on November 20, 2000 01:13:54 PM
Why didn't you email the seller as soon as the auction ended and tell him you were going out of town in a few hours and would be without access to a computer but you would be sending payment as soon as you returned?
posted on November 20, 2000 01:18:01 PM
Hcross: Try looking at it this way - you know that you had your priorities right. As a buyer you may have sucked on this transaction from that particular seller's point of view, but as a grandchild, you shone.
You may end up with a negative feedback but the seller ends up losing a potential repeat customer. Just move on - one negative will not affect your ability to conduct business on eBay if the rest of your feedback is good. (However, be sure to mention in your response to the feedback that payment delayed "due to family illness".)
Irene
[ edited by stockticker on Nov 20, 2000 01:18 PM ]
posted on November 20, 2000 01:23:24 PM
Soldbyj
I am laughing so hard I am crying!!!!
Those are great!!!!
Did you email the wife and ask how the funeral went?
LOL!!!
edited to add...sorry was laughing to hard...
I email the seller the moment the auction is over - okay - so I am a sniper - and it usually beats all email from seller or ebay. I will often email prior to auction ending if I bid early.
Even a 5 am email as you zip out to catch a cab for the plane helps.
edited for spelling (plane not plain, unless that plane is bound for the plain)
[ edited by capriole on Nov 20, 2000 01:41 PM ]
posted on November 20, 2000 01:29:35 PM
capriole,
No I was steamed at the time, but it would have been a good question. Some people are unbelieveable, and also have very bad memories.
But, as a seller and a buyer on eBay, I very seldom have run into a bad seller, but god save us from the buyers!!!
posted on November 20, 2000 01:35:34 PMhcross: While it is unfortunate for you that the seller is taking a hardnosed stance on this, he/she is within their rights as they clearly stated their terms. Terms you tacitly agreed to when you placed your bid. The seller probably would have been more understanding if you had contacted him/her sooner.
Clearly what you should have done was email the seller to let them know what was going on. Your grandmother's surgery wasn't until the next day. If you had to leave before the auction was over, you could have sent an email saying you had to be away for a day or two but that if you were the winner your address was XXX & payment would be sent ASAP when you got home. If the auction ended before you left, again you should have contacted the seller, given your address, and sent your payment if you knew the postage amount or, failing that, told them you would send payment ASAP.
Communication, communication, communication. Sellers aren't mind readers...
posted on November 20, 2000 02:23:03 PM
Yep, should have mailed the seller & told him up front you would be out of town due to a family circumstance. He might have responded back quick enough so you could have had his payment information BEFORE you left town.
The seller is not what I would like to win an auction from. This is the type of lack of customer service & business skills that makes people not want to buy on ebay.
posted on November 20, 2000 03:39:15 PM
eventer, I don't think this is a bad seller at all. The poster doesn't say how many emails she received before the nasty one. Any seller would be upset at hearing nothing after 8 days. There are new threads everyday about the feeble excuses buyers give. It would have only taken a moment to let the seller know what was going on before leaving town. IMHO the seller has every right to default on this sale and tell her plainly why.
posted on November 20, 2000 03:58:10 PM
Soldbyj,How much stuff do you Buy on eBay??? I constantly run into BAD sellers. Don't know what you buy, but glad to hear you have had so much luck with your sellers. Have had my problems with buyers tooo, But would say the sellers are just as guilty as the Buyers.
posted on November 20, 2000 04:12:32 PM
I totally agree with bunnicula. Ebay's terms are buyer/seller must contact each other by 3 business days. The seller tried to contact you without a response. Therefore, had you known there was a possibility you were going to win an auction, a quick email would have cleared things up.
Also, because there was no confirmation to complete the sale, his terms to have payment fulfilled by 10 days are void. They have every right to file a NPB and sell to the next bidder. NPB are warnings, nothing serious.
Communication is a great thing. Hope your Grandma is doing okay. Peace.
posted on November 20, 2000 06:56:36 PM
hcross, that seller sounds pretty immature (the 'too bad for you' thing) and uptight. He had reason to be concerned, but he didn't have a right to be rude to you. Too bad he said it like that.
I've had bidders go out of town before the auction ends, and they've emailed me to let me know ahead of time and give me an idea of when they'll be back to complete the sale. They always apologize profusely.
Maybe you weren't thinking about eBay when you had to rush to your Grandma's side, but next time you'll know what to do. Just take this as a learning experience. It's not like you are making up excuses like so many deadbeats do, right? Pretty soon you'll forget all about this rude seller.
I hope you get your item from this guy anyway, and hope your grandma is doing well.
posted on November 20, 2000 07:08:47 PM
I think the seller is being a little hardnosed, however, ebay does not say seller and bidder must contact each other in three days - this is only their
suggestion . If you were to write to support and ask them about this they would tell you to wait a little longer.
I recently bid on a dutch item, knew I was leaving town before the auction ended and wrote to the seller explaining the situation, telling the seller when I would be back. I had an email waiting for me upon my return stating the amount due. I wrote an email that I had returned and when the payment would be made (this was a Saturday night). I sent the check as promised, received positive feedback and have made no enemy of this seller.
Due to the fact that you knew you won the auction before you left, it would have been a nice gesture to write your note then.
IMHO the seller has every right to default on this sale and tell her plainly why.
You are correct, the seller had every right to default on this sale & tell her plainly why. But using phrases like "too bad for you" is plain all right, plain RUDE.
So often here we advise people to hold to the facts & keep emotion out of it...why is that? Because it's just plain unnecessary & any GOOD business person would tell you that.
The seller could have just as easily responded that "due to the contact being beyond the 3 day contact period, he had chosen to pursue another avenue w/this sale".
What this seller did was a terrible business practice & I suspect they have absolutely NO background in dealing w/a buying public.
The seller has every right to sell to the second highest bidder. You however have every right to explain what happened in the feedback. You also have the right to not let this transaction bother you in the least. The seller is right on a technical level but that is irrelevent in light of the circumstances. Just leave feedback as you feel is appropriate and fair and move on. Let the seller be the one to puff up and raise his blood pressure. Being "right" isn't always the most important thing depending on the circumstances at hand.
posted on November 20, 2000 07:57:27 PM
This thread reminds me of a Fiesta auction I had. The buyer strung me along with excuses, and NEVER paid. I even saw the buyer on an eBay chat board once, and again, she promised to pay. I filed a NPB and moved on. Guess I should have left a negative as well.
Hcross, what would you have done in that case???
It's really hard to be a POLITE seller when you can't tell if the buyer is really be honest. I tried not to be rude but it was really my bidder that was rude for not paying and stringing me along.
Guess we have to have our TOS and stick to it, don't you think HCROSS??
posted on November 20, 2000 08:10:19 PM
To me the seller sounds like a world class idiot. He's going to send back the perfectly good payment you're sending him & then go to all the trouble of trying to track down his runner-up bidder and then wait for another payment (assuming the bidder still wants to buy the item- and that's a leap of faith- my runner up bidders NEVER seem to want the item afterwards when I get put in that position.) Yes, he may technically be able to do that, but why would he? Flexibility is a good quality in an Ebay seller.
BUT the others do have a point- why DIDN'T you email ahead? I have had buyers in your shoes who placed bids a few days before the end of the auction saying "I have to go out of town but just in case I win I wanted you to have my contact info, I will be back on such & such date" etc. At the time I thought it was amusing, but I truly appreciate a customer who takes the time to communicate. Good communication from a buyer always gets an extra note in pos FB from me.
posted on November 21, 2000 03:13:35 AM
Will try and answer all the questions. That evening as I was leaving and saw that the auction was ending I emailed him my address and phone number. I was supposed to be gone for one day, but as any intelligent person knows, a stroke during surgery is hardly scheduled. I can get my email while I am gone, 2 days later I replied to both emails I had waiting telling him I was out of state and when I got back I would mail payment. Got the nasty email on Saturday saying payment was due within 10 days of close of auction, emailed him when I got back Saturday that I was mailing in Monday. Emailed him Monday and said payment had been mailed, that is when I received the email that payment would be returned.
I hardly think that after 3 years and over 500 feedback on this account that I would turn into a deadbeat now. And as for, "I should have done this" from some of you. You know what? I care more about my Grandmother than I do about an auction, I contacted the seller as I should have. Receieved another email from the seller, payment is due within 10 days, no matter what, no excuses accepted and it will be returned to you if not made in that timeframe. Some of you are truly very sad. Heather
posted on November 21, 2000 03:44:12 AM
Forgot to add, did not get the total due until Saturday, he said he never received an email with my address so he could figure shipping. My name, address, and telephone number are on the bottom of all emails that I send because I have a website. He has negatives for doing the same thing to others, those that left negatives are saying that he did not feel he made enough from his auction and that was his excuse to relist. In this case, I believe it, I buy for resell and his auction should have gone for much higher than it did. I think this is his way of getting out of selling this to me and reselling it at a later date. There is also several comments in his file accusing him of shilling his own auctions, I have no idea if that is true or not. Heather
posted on November 21, 2000 04:53:23 AM
I am a seller on ebay (and I also buy occasionally). I allow 14 days for payment as you never know with the mail system or a holiday or any other matter that can hold up payment. I also state in my auction I will be happy to extend payment period if I am notified. Granted, it would have been proper to notify the seller in this case but emergencies can and do happen and I don't understand the rudeness and inflexibilty. Many sellers are telling me that their bids and final selling prices are at an all time low. I even hear some talking of the slow death of ebay. Well, folks, until sellers learn the fine art of customer satisfaction and catering to their customers, then they can expect bids to get even lower. It is a well known fact what makes a successful business and it is not inflexible rules written in stone and an attitude to go along with it. It is kindness, consideration, going the extra mile and being flexible, fair and friendly. I am very happy with my ebay sales and they are just as good today as they were over 2 years ago - some even better! I will do anything necessary NOT to alienate my customers because I like and appreciate them. They afford me the opportunity to make good money from my home which is very important to my life's circumstances.
I would love to see bidder confidence return to ebay instead of the situations I see today.
I know this is not a popular viewpoint, as a seller, but it is my own viewpoint and it is honest and I do not expect anyone to agree with me, just respect my right to have it.
Happy, satisfied bidders = $$$ and success, bidder confidence and more sales.
Unhappy, disatisfied bidders = less $$, less success, less bidder confidence and less sales.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone (posters, moderstors and lurkers) a vert Happy Thanksgiving holiday!
affirmation comes from within ...
not at the expense of another.
From your updated information, you did all you could w/this seller. He's apparently more interested in the $$$ than in customer service. That's his right & yours to avoid his auctions like the plague in the future.
In fact, w/an attitude this like, I hope a LOT of people will ignore his auctions in the future.
I hardly think that after 3 years and over 500 feedback on this account that I would turn into a deadbeat now
I just had someone w/over 500 feedback default on an item. Not a negative in their entire feedback. I even gave them an additional 2 weeks because of their feedback history..but it does happen.
As to the people here being sad, please go back & reread the thread. You never mentioned your efforts to reach this seller in advance until just now. Had you included this information upfront, I'm sure many of the postings (mine included) would have been different. Without ALL the details, we can only respond based on what we see.
IMHO, you tried hard to work w/this seller & he chose to invoke his TOS rights & in the long run, it will be his loss.
posted on November 21, 2000 06:52:34 AM
What nobs said!!!!
Bravo, you GO GIRL!
I don't care if I don't receive an email confirming the transaction (although I would prefer to receive one), just as long as I'm paid. 11 days is certainly very timely & acceptable, as is 14 days.... C'mon, folks, be REAL!
Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.
posted on November 21, 2000 07:30:30 AM
heather-one of your original questions was whether or not you were wrong to think the seller was not nice! another was regarding how you should deal with the sellers feedback, NPB etc. there were obviously extenuating circumstances. just as obviously the seller had a right to do what he did. of course you care more for your grandmother than any auction. when you post a question on a public(passworded) board you should be prepared for a variety of responses some of which will support your position and others which may not. just like in the election where some demand "letter of the law" enforcement, there are those(particularly sellers) who will take a hardline position and will be less than sensitive to your grandmother's condition. perhaps if they had the same problem, they would relate better. but it is naive and perhaps childish to react the way you did to the replies. lighten up!!
posted on November 21, 2000 09:02:27 AM
eventer: I have full respect for any sellers TOS. My problem with it is he never stated anywhere, in any of the payment emails or in his auction, that if payment was not received within 10 days then it would be returned. I know the other bidder in the auction, we are competitors when it comes to buying things for resale. I certainly intend to ask her if he offers it to her, and to check and see if he relists. I did not post all of the information on this because it would have been to long and proably confusing with all of the "I got this email, he receveied this one back". I did not get the chance to review the negatives he has received and left until this morning. I think he knows the auction did not go for even half of what it should and this is his way of backing out. One of his emails said he leaves feedback the day payment is recieved, I saw many, many positives for payment made 2 or 3 weeks later.
stusi: I have been on ebay 3 years, I highly doubt that I am naive about anything that goes on there, I have heard every story in the book and run across some of the very strangest bidders out there. Thank you for your opinion, when I am over my "childish" fit I will be very sure to take your thoughts into consideration.
