Thread: Sellers can't leave buyers negative feedback, but they can ban

I try to avoid ebay entirely but I confess that I occasionally do succumb. However, I have completely given up on feedback. Too many times I have received retaliatory negative feedback in response to my honest usually neutral feedback.
I have received negative feedback for declaring with neutral feedback that a seller sold me a trumpet mouthpiece that was so crushed as to make it unusable. His defense was that he didn't think it would cost very much to make it round again. I received negative feedback for pointing out with neutral feedback that a wind up clock, that I specifically asked if it worked, did not work at all but according to her it did in fact wind! I received negative feedback for pointing out with negative feedback that what was listed as a straight razor case was in fact a cutlery case that did not remotely match the listed dimensions and did not work for straight razors.
I believe that so many people have been too afraid to give honest feedback in fear of retaliatory feedback that the feedback scores on ebay are meaningless. For that reason, I no longer participate in it.

PS. I have only been banned once. That was for informing a seller, NOT through feedback but instead personal communication, that the black thong she sold my wife lost ALL of its black coloring the first time it was hand washed in cold water with Woolite in the sink. I actually liked it better with its new silver color but I thought the seller should be informed of the color instability of her product. I was not angry. I did not complain or ask for a refund. Her response was to call me a liar and to ban me. It didn't exactly hurt my feelings but it did cause me to leave her neutral feedback. Of course she responded with negative feedback!

Regardless of what is expected, if the seller doesn't explicitly state it, then they're not at fault. Shipping charges are clearly stated for most auctions. If they aren't, you can simply ask the seller before bidding. It's an established fact when buying on eBay, you may be overcharged for shipping. At this point, it really shouldn't be an issue. If for some reason a seller's stated cost and actual cost are wholly different, then you can send in a complaint to eBay. I don't know what they do about it but I've done it many times.

I believe a 5-day wait to be too long. I would've commented on that as well. When sellers create a listing, there's an option that allows them to say within how many days after receiving payment that they'll ship the item. I always say within 2 days. Of course, some sellers never include that information. At that point, you're really just hoping the seller is reasonable.

I saw this thread today after getting reamed(in my opinion) on ebay today. I bought a PDA that was described as used but "Great Condition"

You are bidding on a, "PALM ZIRE 71 PDA - LIKE NEW CONDITION!! ". This item is used but in like new condition. It comes with all of it's original accessories..

PALM ZIRE 71 PDA - GREAT CONDITION!! - eBay (item 330257832745 end time Aug-06-08 20:01:40 PDT)

It indeed looks great, but it won't charge and dies everytime I try and take it off the charger. In fact it resets everytime I try and take it off the charger because the battery is so bad it won't even hold the settings. I have a Zire 71 with a broken screen so I will keep this and use my old battery. The whole thing is very annoying and swapping batteries in a Zire is a real pain.

Well I think the expectations for shipping at cost are a bit unrealistic. Why would a seller do that - their time costs money and they have to pay for the gas if they aren't smart enough to have the carrier pick up for free? As long as the shipping charges are stated ahead of time, that is fine - you should set your max bid by subtracting the stated shipping charges from the max price you are willing to pay.
Now, unreasonable packaging is a whole other issue. It doesn't take much to ship a razor properly protected. I'm often annoyed by getting a big cardbox stuffed with paper and a razor in the middle - forces parcel post which is much slower than 1st class, but it's infinitely better than razors rattling in unpaded envelope.

The fact that we here don't value our time and charge shipping at cost doesn't mean that we should have the same expectation of everybody. It is shipping&handling charge afterall.
5 days to shipment is on the long side, but I personally will live with it, put it in their detailed ratings but not state it explicitly in the feedback. For example when I purchase books from amazon.com or most other places, I have several shipping options and when i choose the free one I often notice significant delay in processing - often up to a week. This is just normal. Many merchants offer expediated processing for additional fee. That's just common business sense - it costs more to do it so the customers who are willing pay for the better service should get just that, and those who prefer the low cost crappier service are also free to have their choice.

Incidentally recently I had a dispute with a seller over shipping. The problem was that the razor was significantly not as described - large chip and serious rust on the edge on the side w/o pictures were ignored and described as excellent condition with light tarnish.
The seller agreed to take it back, but won't refund the shipping costs which included $6 or so in handling fees. I was happy to pay the costs when I bid on the razor, but not when I don't get a razor. My time is worth far more than this, but since it was a matter of principle I filed a chargeback and won it. I was nice and covered the return tracked shipping, as it was partially my fault for bidding w/o seeing the reverse side of the razor.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

The fact is on Eboy many sellers use shipping as an alternative to increase their profit. I would rather they be upfront and say I'm charging 4x the shipping cost to make more money. personally I think if they want to add fees thats fine, they can do it but to charge $10 to ship a razor when it costs $2.00 and they try and justify is is garbage. In the end you just don't bid on those auctions. if enough people do that they will get the message when they realize they are getting fewer bids which will cost more than what they make in shipping fees and then the fees will come down.

I agree totally with this post. I find that some shipping charges are just a joke. I realise that some people use e bay to run a buisiness, personally I use e bay for fun and don't mind paying REASONABLE charges. Recenently I bought an Iwasaki off a guy on SRP (sorry if I beat you guys to it...), paid $12 S&H from the USA to the UK. Actual cost of shipping about $5-$6, it took less than a week to cross the Atlantic. It was very well packaged with plenty of protection - this I class as reasonable...!!, in fact great....

In a nutshell, why not be fair? I have lost out on S&H on some of the items I've sold (my fault, yes), but then if it has made someone's day that's fine by me.

Just my two penneth (2 cents worth..... ).

best wishes,

Mark.....
(Wales, U.K.)

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

He/she remarked that expecting to pay actual shipping charges is unreasonable because gas and time are not free where he/she lives. He/she asked if they were free where I live. I was informed that receiving items within ten days was good, and that I could expect to be leaving a lot of negatives if I expected items faster. The seller said that he/she thought my comments were unwarranted and that he/she would have asked me not to bid on his/her items.

I would suggest using quite a bit of Barbicide and maybe an autoclave if you buy a razor from a he/she. Never know what they might have shaved with that thing.

Originally Posted by kelbro

I would suggest using quite a bit of Barbicide and maybe an autoclave if you buy a razor from a he/she. Never know what they might have shaved with that thing.

I guess I could have written (s)he. I mean, I do know the gender of she seller, but when commenting about others in a negative fashion and in a public forum, I try not to give any information away. That is why I offered to PM the username if anyone wants to know but didn't state it in my posts.

I hear what you guys are saying about how sellers can charge whatever they want to ship. I do agree, that is fine. But I would have preferred if the ad had said "Shipping will cost $5, but I'm going to ship in a padded envelope with a little bubble wrap. I will not ship in a box."

I saw this while looking through feedback today..I must be sick because this sounds so funny to me..

INQUIRED ON SHIPPING,,,SELLER FLIPPED OUT,,,,BAD ATTITUDE,,, F-


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Reply by t********r (Aug-07-08 12:26):
YOU ARE JUST A MORON NO BODY SHOULD SHOULD BUY OR SELL ANYTHING WITH YOU

In defense of the seller, this is his only negative feedback in the last 12 months.

Originally Posted by Traveller

I agree with the seller

As do I.

1) You knew what the charges were.
2) There was no agreement as to when it was to be shipped
3) within 5 buisiness days really isn't all that bad. (bear in mind that most people on e-bay aren't fulltime sellers and have lives to run next to what they doon e-bay)

And yes, she overcharged you, and yes, she shouldn't have whined about your semi-positive feedback.

But on the other hand....I don't see a lot of reason for you to complain either.

I agree with the seller, and with what LX Emergency wrote - it's just common sense.