posted on January 22, 2010 05:48:24 PM new
I order bulbs for a particular kind of flashlight I use on FleaBay.These are used on a nightly basis and I cannot be without replacement bulbs. An absolute necessity. When resupplying recently, I ordered a switch kit and what I thought were the right bulbs from a PS I haven't ordered from in the past...couldn't find the guy I usually buy from....as it turned out, when the items came, I had ordered the wrong bulbs. Seller had a 30 day return policy. After looking at the auction page again it was obvious that I had ordered the wrong bulbs. I immediately left him positive FB and 5 star ratings, THEN sent him an email explaining the situation, including the fact that it was entirely my fault, and asking if I could return the bulbs for exchange for the correct ones. It turned out the correct bulbs were actually cheaper and I offered to take care of all shipping costs. It's been two weeks and after three emails I haven't heard word one from this shining example of an Ebay seller.
Just another example of the kind of impersonal treatment I nearly always receive from power sellers.
Flame Suit On, fire away. My experience with power sellers may not be typical. YMMV
posted on January 22, 2010 06:52:38 PM new
I believe this is a prime reason that ebay has gone from supporting power sellers to top rated sellers.
[ edited by ebabestreasures on Jan 23, 2010 05:25 PM ]
posted on January 23, 2010 03:30:27 AM new
Come on the only thing that seperates a PowerSeller from a TRS is 1 con artist buyer. I just had one of those con artists try to get part of his money back on a perfect item. He left me all 1 star ratings and knocked me out of TRS status.
So I guess now I am just lumped in with the bad PowerSellers. I am glad the world is not that way because a 6'tall 200 pound white male killed a woman in Florida this year and I live in Florida and and match that description so I GUESS I AM GUILTY.
Does that make any sense??? About as much as a few bad PowerSellers make us all bad.
posted on January 23, 2010 05:46:39 AM new
We worry about our DSR, our FB and our Top Rated Seller Rating but in all truth, it's Ebay who has made it this way because of there new Search standards.
This to me is not fair since all sellers pay the same to list and to rule out who Ebay thinks should get top billing is not the American Way of Life.
If they just would have left the search engine the way it always was that would give every seller a chance to have there listings seen and the old saying is..."Buyer be ware" Let the buyer rule out who they feel they can and can not trust to buy from.
When a buyer can just ding your DSR's weather you deserve it or not this shouldn't make such a big impact on weather your items get into the top search or not, (but it does) It is just a rating that should be shown to buyers when they choose which Seller they want to buy from.....
We all pay Ebay for this privilege of Listing items so what happened to "everyone is equal" or This is the American Way,
Ebay claims to be just a Venue for Sellers/buyers to make transactions....This is NOT True, Ebay has too much Control over Sellers. In Ebay there is Too much dictator ship. All this has done was to make Ebay what it is today...... It is not the Ebay that I know anymore or the Ebay that was fair to everyone.
If Ebay didn't get saturated with all this new stuff, and was left the original way it was meant to be Ebay would be tops in the market from every angle. But as we all can see Ebay knows BEST, that's why it lost so many good sellers.
posted on January 23, 2010 06:00:30 AM new
I believe the is a prime reason that ebay has gone from supporting power sellers to top rated sellers.
You can't be serious! I was a TRS when the program launched in October. I lost it December because I had too many 1-2 ratings in shipping time (6/1000 transactions). I am the same seller now that I was then - I have no idea who gave me the low ratings and why - were they 5 ratings from the same buyer? Was it my fault or USPS's fault? No one communicated to me that they were not satisfied with my service. How can I improve my service if I don't know why I received low ratings? TRS is a joke.
Prof - sounds to me like you are "Seller profiling" - deciding that a whole group is bad based on a few experiences. There are bad powersellers and there are good powersellers. Labels mean diddly squat.
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posted on January 23, 2010 06:57:04 AM new
Most sellers on Ebay are individuals working from home,some are small businesses with a small staff,power sellers sound good but it could just mean that individual work 12 hours a day listing and shipping orders.
He is the buyer as well as the photographer ,he runs the customer service,shipping and receiving,accounting and treasury depts.
Your emails could be lost,ignored or he just does not have the right bulb in stock,so he goes into hiding until ??
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 23, 2010 09:41:48 AM new
I would force his hand on it. Just b/c you left him feedback doesn't mean he isn't obligated to follow his TOS.
I would call him. If that doesn't work, then file a claim through ebay. Even though it may be a pain to do so, you should do it anyways. This keeps him honest, and makes him think twice about not responding to other bidders in the future.
Keep all of your communication through ebay's system too. That way they can review it and see that you have communicated with him, but he hasn't done the same. I had a bidder who made a claim about damaged goods, but never responded to me when I sent him messages through ebay's system. In the end, eBay ruled in my favor b/c I stayed in communication and he didn't.
If I sell something that I feel comfortable putting a return policy on, I will always back it up... provided the bidder follows the terms and communicates with me. If I made a mistake or sent the wrong item, which has happened on a few occasions I will pay for the shipping... if it is the bidders error, they pay to return it and also pay to have a replacement shipped. Sounds like you are being reasonable on this one.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Jan 23, 2010 09:44 AM ]
posted on January 23, 2010 10:15:51 AM new
HD and Lowe sometimes offer free shipping.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 23, 2010 10:21:34 AM new
Prof: Your experience is unfortunate, but should not qualify as an indictment against all PS. Any seller on Ebay could handle your requests poorly, no just PS.
posted on January 23, 2010 01:22:22 PM new
Power Seller matters not. I had some great experiences buying from ebay mega sellers over the holidays and some fairly horrid ones buying from ebay's "small" sellers.
My latest rant is with buying hand-crafted jewelry. The last few orders I have received have stunk of cheap knock-off perfumes. I LOATHE receiving orders that smell like something from a whore house.
posted on January 24, 2010 05:50:30 AM new
neglus - I didn't say it was right but it seems to be the way ebay is looking at it now.
I believe that a buyer should have to give a detail explanation if they leave a one or two rating. This should be seen by the seller (but maybe not revealing who gave it to them). That way the seller could learn from it, if there is anything to learn or ebay could see how ridiculous some of the buyers reasons really are. Not that ebay will really care!
posted on January 24, 2010 06:44:00 AM new
I realize there must be good PS's and TRS's on Ebay. Wish I could find one! I used to sell years ago. Mostly western ranch, Indian War,cowboy and native american collectibles but have only been a buyer the last 2 or 3 years. It's getting harder and harder, and isn't fun. The savings on an item have to be huge before I'll bite anymore.
posted on January 24, 2010 07:19:20 AM new
If the savings is huge,then the item could be remainder or liquidation special and sloppy packaging,you will end up being disappointed.
I need a Easyjack for my TV so I bought one on Ebay from a seller who knows nothing about Easyjack.
It does not work and she has no clue why,so she has to keep asking if I am telling her the truth before she will ship me a replacement.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on January 25, 2010 08:26:19 AM new
otter- i know the seller didn't make the mistake, however the seller isn't following his terms of sale when he refuses to acknowledge the buyer that is attempting to return an item.
if the seller doesn't stipulate the terms of return/exchange, then the seller should honor the return and exchange it for the buyer... at the buyers cost since it was the buyers error.
posted on January 25, 2010 09:16:07 AM new
Profe, at this point I would try to reach seller both through ebay and at whichever email address the paypal payment went to. eBay's mail system has been messed up for months and you never know if a spam filter is blocking your direct emails.
If you do not hear from him within 3 days, file a paypal claim - not as described.
I know it is a stretch and almost abuse of the charge back system but the seller did claim he accepted returns. His refusual to respond to emails constitues a breach of his return policy. An email from PayPal may get his attention.
Once communication is established you can explain to him why you took such drastic measures to get his attention.
posted on January 25, 2010 10:42:43 AM new
LtRay, not a bad idea, thanks! The seller finally responded. Said I was over my 30 days!! Wish I'd waited on the feedback and stars, but the order was half correct and came very fast. Live and learn. It's only a 15 dollar transaction and I've obtained the bulbs elsewhere. I'll get rid of the wrong bulbs somewhere. Lots of us around here use these flashlights.
