posted on October 27, 2004 06:55:28 PM
I came across this on eBay's Seller Central board while looking for something else...all I can say is YIKES! This is a buyer's TOS which she proudly has on her "About Me" page...
"Bridge Canyon Volunteer Fire Department
About Bridge Canyon Vol. Fire Dept.
We are a not-for-profit(meaning we DO NOT make money off of this) ALL volunteer Fire/Rescue Service in the State of Arizona.We are a PRIVATELY RUN COMMUNITY OWNED AND OPERATED ORGANIZATION. Our Services are strictly on a "no-charge" basis and we solely rely on Community Donations for Budgeting and Support.Due to the very low volume of Community Population,we do not have much of a Budget to speak of,thus we must resort to Ebay for 99% of our equipment needs.At times Sellers may notice us dealing with items that have no link in the Firefighting/Rescue/Medical Communities,the sole reason for this is becuase we use some "offbeat" items for fundraising purposes. We may also want to make clear that ANY items we may bid on or deal on and win,MUST at all times,first go through our funding board becuase they are the ones that makes all payments "going out" and records all items "coming into" our Department.Due to the very low budget we survive on,sometimes it may take some time to get the money up to make the payments to our Sellers so we do ask to please remain patient with us through this process becuase we would not bid or deal,if we feel we could not pay for the item or want the item. Each Auction we bid on is very carefully planned prior to bidding and must first be "approved" before we bid,by our Funding Department. Furthermore,we do NOT forward any payment information prior to an Auctions end to our board due to the fact that we are not sure if we will win the Auction we are bidding on,and we cannot be certain until AFTER the Auction closes of what ending bid price we are to pay. After the Auction ends,the payment is then forwarded to our funding board for them to process and make the payments. Our payment plan is USUALLY "net 30-45 days and our board makes the payments twice per month,on the 5th and the 20th as it is these 2 dates funding is released to us.
Bridge Canyon Vol. Fire Dept. Buying and Bidding Policies:
Due to some recent events that have taken place by various Sellers on Ebay,Our Funding Board has now proposed and approved a new "buying/bidding" plan for us to go into effect immediately. The reasons for this are as follows:
1. We have found many Sellers in the past that have raised Shipping Rates to unbelievable proportions just to make that "extra buck".Due to our very low budget,we simply cannot afford all of these "extras" so we feel if you want to raise the Shipping Rates,please do so to those that can afford it.Even ALOT of Sellers have mentioned about other Sellers INFLATING Shipping Rates,as well as many other BUYERS complaining about it.Below are terms listed by our Funding Board on ANY and ALL purchases over Ebay.
New Agenda Proposed and Approved by our Funding Board: "ALL Shipping Rates shall be checked and rechecked,by us,prior to sending any type of payments.Shipping Rates shall be quoted to us by our local Post Office as to what the Shipping SHOULD be." We do this by obtaining the package weight and comparing the Sellers shipping with the CORRECT Shipping.
2. Sellers either have taken thier time sending out our winning bid items and some Items have never arrived after payment was sent.We have,many times contacted the Sellers in question of where our winning bid items went to and thier reply was "I never recieved payment",when we know for a FACT,payments was sent and recorded via reciept OR they stated they have recieved payment but will be sending our item when they wish.
New Agenda Proposed and Approved by our Funding Board: "ALL payments made to Sellers shall include a "Certificate of Mailing" and shall be recorded into our Department records."
Certificate of Mailing.
When you need to verify that you’ve sent a letter or package - purchase a Certificate of Mailing. A Certificate of Mailing is a receipt that provides evidence of the date that your mail was presented to the Postal Service™ for mailing. It can only be purchased at the time of mailing. This can be found at: http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/certificateofmailingservice.htm
New Agenda Proposed and Approved by our Funding Board (continued): "ALL payments are to be made by US.Postal Service Money Orders ONLY,in SOME cases but not all,Certified Mail may be sent to the Seller and the Seller must sign to have thier payments delivered.
(2a)ALL payments sent to Sellers will have a "Return Reciept" attached,meaning as soon as the Money Order is recieved,our Department will be notified as to whom and at what location the Money Order was delivered,as well as "Delivery Confirmation" for proof of delivery and all of these will be logged and recorded into our records for any future descrepancies and used for the sole purpose of retrieval of our winning bid items or payments we have made for the item,should suspicious activity take place."
Return Reciepts.
Choose Return Receipt when you want proof of delivery (to whom the mail was delivered and date of delivery) along with information about the recipient’s actual delivery address. A return receipt may be requested before or after mailing. A mailer purchasing return receipt service at the time of mailing may choose to receive the return receipt by mail or electronically. The electronic option is not available for items mailed to APO or FPO addresses or U.S. territories, possessions, and freely associated states, with the exception of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A mailer purchasing return receipt service after mailing may choose to receive the proof of delivery record by fax, mail, or electronically. Electronic return receipts requested at the time of mailing also are available in bulk to mailers using privately-printed certified mail, registered mail, numbered insured mail, or COD labels. Bulk delivery information can be obtained in CD-ROM or signature extract file formats. For additional information, see Publication 80, Bulk Proof of Delivery Program. Return Receipt is commonly combined with Certified Mail™ to get both proof of mailing and proof of delivery. Return Receipt can also be purchased for Registered Mail™, mail insured for more than $50, mail sent COD and Express Mail®. This can be found at: http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/returnreceiptservice.htm
Delivery Confirmation.Get all the benefits of Delivery Confirmation™ and more. Signature Confirmation™ gives you an added level of security by requiring a signature from the person who accepts your package. If you’re sending something important, you may want to be sure that it reaches not just the right address, but the right hands as well. With Signature Confirmation, you can get confirmation of delivery - including date, time and location - and you can request to have a letter faxed or mailed to you with a copy of the recipient’s signature. This can be found at: http://www.usps.com/send/waystosendmail/extraservices/signatureconfirmationservice.htm
Thier are some foreign countries we do not buy from simply becuase they do not accept USPS Money Orders and alot of Sellers have a hard time cashing them. We have had alot of problems from Sellers giving us a hard time becuase thier country did not accept Money Orders.This is not our fault.We do not send cash becuase we have no record of the Seller even recieving it,thus a bad transaction can occur.Please state in your Auctions that your country does not accept U.S. Money Orders so other buyers will know this.
We are sorry that these changes have to go into effect but it is for our own safety,as well as for the benefits of our very low Budget.Each and every dollar we get must be recorded and logged and we must answer to the folks that made the Donations,and we cannot give answers if we have no means of logging of where the funds went and have no proof for it.
PLEASE NOTE:FOR ANY ITEMS THAT WE DO NOT RECIEVE AFTER PAYING FOR THE ITEM,WE WILL HOLD THE SELLER FULLY RESPONSIBLE.WE WILL CONTACT THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES(IFCC,Internet Fraud Commission,local or state law enforcenent authorities either in our area..or yours,etc) AND APPROPRIATE FILINGS WILL BE FILED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THAT THE LAW ALLOWS,IN ORDER TO RETRIEVE EITHER THE ITEM,AND/OR A REFUND FOR THE ITEM!
We are tired of deadbeat Sellers and Ebay doing nothing about it! Weve been screwed way too many times and have lost ALOT of money due to various "rip-off artists" that come and go on Ebay.
3. We have noticed that with all of the buying we have done on Ebay,even though leaving feedback is encouraged by Ebay but NOT mandatory,only a HANDFUL of our Sellers have left feedback for us and we leave feedback for ALL of our Sellers.
Now to go into effect,WE WILL NO LONGER LEAVE FEEDBACK UNLESS THE SELLER HAS LEFT FEEDBACK FOR US....SO IF YOU LEAVE US FEEDBACK THEN WE WILL HAPPILY RETURN THE FAVOR!
4. We DO NOTaccept Parcel Post or Media Mail for shipping whether or not it states it in the Sellers Auction.If the Auction states the shipping is either Parcel Post or Media Mail,please email us to advise us of another method of shipping as well as a new shipping quote.Since WE are indeed the BUYER,we DO retain the right to pay for whatever Shipping Method we prefer. We have had countless Sellers tell us the item was sent via USPS Priority Mail,etc and when the item arrived,it was by Parcel Post,so that the Seller could "pocket" the extra money sent for proper shipping methods.This,we simply WILL NOT tolerate since we usually send a little more to cover the Shipping!
PLEASE NOTE: Any Seller that sends our items via USPS Parcel Post or Media Mail WILL recieve NEGATIVE feedback regardless of how successful the transaction was and regardless of if these shipping methods was stated in the Auction.NO EXCEPTIONS!
We try to make all transactions as smooth as we can and to the very best of our abilities but sometimes things happen(when our funding is low and we must wait until funds are replinished) and transactions dont go as smooth as planned.
Remember that it is NOT Ebay that keeps you Selling but it is,in fact,the BUYERS money that keeps you selling. Any Sellers that do not agree with our terms and policies regarding our bidding/buying policy,then please block us or cancel our bid but please DO NOT harrass us on this! Any questions then please feel free to contact us through Ebay's emailing system.
If ANY Ebay Member continues emailing and harrassing us over our About Me page,we WILL report them to Ebay for harrassment!We simply WILL NOT tolerate harrassment over over buying/bidding policies!If you treat US with some sort of respect and decency then we will treat YOU with respect and decency! Lastly,once we send payment,we DO expect our items..and promptly.
Due to recent events taken place by certain Ebay Members,we have removed any and all links,personal information and any other information regarding us and our Department,including our feedback profile,for security purposes. Our Information is PRIVATE,and against ALL Ebay policies for Ebay Members to try using our own information against us.We have been advised to do this until the problems that are occuring are rectified on our behalf and to our satisfaction.Also please be advised that ANY Ebay Member that searches our private and personal information and posts this on ANY Website without our written consent CAN and WILL be dealt with accordingly and within the fullest extent of the law! Ebay DOES have Member Privacy Policies!"
The entire thread is interesting reading, and the buyer actually makes a few appearances defending her "terms". And come to find out, there is no such thing as the "Bridge Canyon Volunteer Fire Dept" LOL
posted on October 27, 2004 07:14:18 PM
Wow! Some nerve.
I think they need to be blocked from bidding if they're going to tell the sellers what to do and not to do.
If my description says how I will ship and be paid, than that's how I will ship and be paid. If they don't like it than they shouldn't bid. No one is going to tell me how to run my business.
posted on October 27, 2004 07:37:11 PM
If I read this correctly, they want to take up to 45 days to pay, but they won't accept parcel post or media mail because it's too slow?
Maybe if they lived in a county that properly provided and funded fire protection, they wouldn't be pleading poverty in every other sentence.
Unbelievable.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on October 27, 2004 08:37:45 PM
I sure don't want them bidding on any of my auctions...I repeat...MY auctions, MY rules, not their rules. This buyer is now on my blocked bidder list. Thanks for the heads up on this one.
"The right to be heard does not include the right to be taken seriously." ~ Hubert Humphrey
posted on October 27, 2004 08:40:37 PM
Pleeeeeeeeeeez,,,,,,,,give us the info WE need to BLOCK this lunatic. I sometimes sell Municipal and Government surplus equipment. firefighting stuff etc. I DON'T want to wake up to this idiot on one of MY auctions........Thank yooooooooooooou. Now THAT, would REALLY be doing the e bay COMMUNITY a REAL Favor. Pleeeeeeeeeeez.Did they not BUY something that is worthy of OTHERS seeing? Bizzare,,,,insane? incredible?
posted on October 27, 2004 08:53:06 PM
WONDERFUL,,,,,I just went to my BLOCKED bidder list and low and behold of the more than 200 I HAD,,,,,,,,0........thank you e bay.....
posted on October 28, 2004 04:36:03 AM
The so-called fire chief is actually a woman
One of the many running jokes at SC is that the "FD" bought the Godfather DVD - I am guessing this is why she made her feedback private (she changed it after some of the people on the board starting dissing her about the movie LOL)
Some of the "board detectives" did some digging, and come to find out she isn't really a fire chief and the FD doesn't really exist. She's just someone who's obsessed with fire fighting. One of the town officials interviewed said she used to walk around with a FD uniform on all the time, and she would show up out of the blue at fires in the area. Scary, isn't it?
Sorry I didn't add to this last night - I was trying to get my little boy to bed; and well, actually fell asleep with him (long, long day)
__________________________________
"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." - Richard Bach
posted on October 28, 2004 04:52:43 AM
She has a website for the VFD; and has removed a lot of information originally there to replace it with information about eBay sellers LOL. I especially like the part where she talks to the President of eBay and refers to Meg as a "he" LOL...
Be sure to click on the link she has included on that site - it's a page where the "board detectives" posted all their findings about her credibility, quoting actual town officials they spoke with (can't believe she was stupid enough to add it to her page)...
__________________________________
"The more I want to get something done, the less I call it work." - Richard Bach
I couldn't believe that thread is 36 pages long! That was over on page 35 and no...I didn't read all those pages, just skipped to 36 and backed up to 35 when I was trying to reference something someone said.
Although they have lots of good .gifs on those pages and...
too bad smileycentral.com wants to install spyware on your computer. READ the Privacy policy on the first page before you go to the second page!! It installs the MYWAY software...and no, you don't want it.
poop....
too bad it's spyware, they are great .gifs!
SAVE them to your OWN hard drive and don't link to MINE!!!
posted on October 28, 2004 08:51:55 PM
Did anyone happen to see her NAME? Marie? Oh God Noooooooooooo,,,,,,Marie drove an X fire truck Dodge van, red.......took the landlord 6 months to get her out of here and he got squat, in the meantime, Marie KNOWS how to write,,,,,,,,and is a writing fool,BUT City Official Sat UP,,,,,She wears one pink nylon left leg and blue one right leg,fuzzy night shoes and a bluish night gown,IN the DAY! on the STREETS! Teeth are suceptable to fall out upon over heated conversations......when she's REALLY Steamed and YELLING!!!!!!!!!!! must be near now 70,,,,,,She always left at 5,,,,,,,,,,I found out why,,,,,,,,,the feeds, FREE food........she would knock others out of the way to get her fill......gabbed all kinds of out the dor goodies,,how do I know,,,,I once hired a Homeless guy to work ,HE recognized her!!!!!!!!! and told me.......i placed an ad in the recycler 10 years ago,,,rent out PART of my warehouse,,,,,,She relied,,,,,,,i took one look and said, Sorry, vacancy filled.......2 days later her ass was hanging out of our dumpster,,,,,and a week later she had RENTED a warehouse in THIS complex............MY Landlord USE to be a FIRE Chief in a MAJOR City here......NOW he is the City Manager BUT,,,,he is sooooooooooooo Sorry HE EVER rented that to her.......hahahahaha.....This HAS to be MARIE..........NO doubt in MY mind. Same MO............Same Lunacy...Small world, DO NOT,,,,,,,,,,,EVEN!!!!!!!!!!!! mention ,,,,,,,,MY Name.......pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze............theAngel from HELL,,,,,,,,,,,,,hahahaha
Hey, i just thought, I'dda been better off nottin'..........But I did. so there!
The GOOD,the BAD and the UGLY. The so so and the Oh well,,,,,,,
posted on October 29, 2004 06:24:25 AMShe wears one pink nylon left leg and blue one right leg,fuzzy night shoes and a bluish night gown,IN the DAY! on the STREETS! Teeth are suceptable to fall out upon over heated conversations......when she's REALLY Steamed and YELLING!!!!!!!!!!!
