posted on February 26, 2001 04:49:28 AM new
Here's a scenario I haven't seen before.
Mar '00: A bidder wins WidgetX. Four weeks pass and I never hear a peep. I leave negative feedback and file NPB action with eBay.
May '00: Bidder emails me saying he wasn't reading email for all this time because he was working on a big project - can he still have the item. I had sold the last one. I tell him sorry.
Now: Bidder emails me. He has had 3 NPBs filed against him during those "young and inexperienced" times. Someone recently filed another NPB which caused him to go NARU. Apparently this NPB was a mistake (and feedback backs it up) and may have happened more than once.
He's tired of getting NARU'ed because of these long past offenses. He says he offered to make good on our deal but couldn't since I didn't have WidgetX anymore - so would I email eBay support to remove the NPB ding so he will quit getting NARUed.
I respond saying it's not that easy, deadbeat bidders are a PITA, etc., and I'm not inclined to just forget about it. He responds by saying he's cleaned up his act, wants to keep his current userid, and offers to pay me the original amount in question if I will send the email.
Here's the point where I should have come to you all, but it was late. I told him that I couldn't just take his money, would he like to receive WidgetY or WidgetZ instead? And he says he does, and paypals me the $$.
When he first started, he did have 3-4 negatives, but since then he's had 120+ positives and no negatives, so it does seem that he's reformed. And since he did offer to pay, I couldn't really see any good reasons to stick to my guns other than being totally retentive. So I will send him WidgetZ and send the email to eBay.
I guess I still have a lingering feeling that I compromised the basic seller principles. But on the other hand, he did make good on the deal in the end, even if it took nearly a year!
posted on February 26, 2001 07:33:36 AM new
I generally don't mind doing business with someone very late in the game with good reason, but there's no excuse for not checking your email at least once every couple of days and following through.
How long does it take to check your email?
Seller pardons are probably easier to give than presidential ones;but I just don't buy this one.
posted on February 26, 2001 07:46:18 AM new
There's no way to judge how many sellers were stiffed simply by feedback. This person may have mastered the art of feedback extortion and avoided many more negative feedbacks and NPB strikes than his record shows.
This kind of thing is happening more and more often as sellers get on the stick and file for FVF, holding bidders responsible for their bids. If this guy was just recently NARU for another NPB strike, then it means he STILL has a problem with completing his Ebay deals. My bet is that he approached you to get his strike removed, hoping that you'd be more forgiving that the seller he just deadbeated on. My policy is to "Just say NO!"...I don't want to be responsible for allowing these deadbeats back on Ebay, as that makes ME partially responsible the next time they screw a seller over.
I told him that I couldn't just take his money, would he like to receive WidgetY or WidgetZ instead? And he says he does, and paypals me the $$.