I hate ebay

[HotHolly]

Im just saying. Hate them. Got screwed by them again. Doesnt seem to matter if Im the buyer or the seller - I always end up with the short end of the stick. Add to that their recent feedback policy change and POOF! holy blackmail, batman! And the only way a buyer gets in trouble is if they actually use the word BLACKMAIL, b/c eBay seems too stupid to understand the subtleties of extortion. If anyone is thinking about a life of crime, I hear there are several opportunities on ebay. Shikesta Alley may be a better name. OK, Im done. Just saying.

[a2rob]

Sorry to hear of our troubles.
I try to stick with this forum first, before posting to eBay.
I know your feeling, I was "jacked" out of 100.00 several years ago from a buyer...

[canoflan]

If you feel there is a legal issue involved, then perhaps an appeal to the proper authorities may be warranted. Not sure you will get must restitution here.

Just sayin'

Oh, BTW, I tried eBay once and thought that it was a bit too removed and anonymous for my taste and the amount of personal info I was putting up for use with them was more than suited me. I have been asked on other forums I have sold on to post on eBay and have received some pretty strong responses when I tell others I don't deal on it. Not sure the big deal with it frankly for camera equipment when there are so many niche forums with real pros and amateurs who love the hobby/occupation and simply want to trade here and there.

[johnastovall]

What did they do?

[David_3]

I can't think of anything I want, or want to sell, so badly, that I would resort to using ebay. I'm sure others have had good experiences there, but it just doesn't appeal to me.

[Thorpeland]

Sorry to hear about your bad ebay experience. These days i trust CL more than eScam.

[HotHolly]

It turned out OK, as in I won the charge back, but the buyer friggin tried to extort me. When I refused to pay her, she trashed my feedback and filed a charge back on a pricey transaction. I left her a neg right before they changed their feedback policy. It was there for about 60 days and now its gone. I couldnt get them to remove her neg, despite the emails threatening me, but some how she got hers stricken...which is next to impossible to do.

Im dumping some discontinued designer wedding gowns on there, so its not like its a peanut size transaction, but holy cow! Since eBay ditched the neg feedback option for sellers, Ive had a slew of people demanding crap that the auction did NOT include. Report it to eBay and they are useless. It get the feeling all the customer service has been outsourced to places that dont understand English so they scan for words like I AM BLACKMAILING YOU FOR $XYZ. SEND IT NOW.

They are so stupid. Sorry for the rant. I'll go eat a cup cake and get happy now.

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by Thorpeland

Sorry to hear about your bad ebay experience. These days i trust CL more than eScam.

Whats CL?

Hook me up with other sites to sell stuff.

[JenJohnson79]

CL is craigslist

[Thorpeland]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

Whats CL?

Hook me up with other sites to sell stuff.

Sorry, yes Craigslist. I can talk to the person, meet them at a location, look at the item in person, test it... then make the transaction... cash only. It also really cuts down on my transactions with the Nigerians. lol

[SCone]

I use eBay all the time, just like any business, you must learn the ropes. Sorry to hear that you experience didn't go well. Can you explain what transpired? Maybe we can help you not get scammed again?

[picman]

There have been some third party attempts to block bad bidders.
www.repxchange.com
www.bidderblacklist.com

[HotHolly]

Thanks for the help, but I've used ebay for years. I had an ebay business years ago, and knew the ropes really well. The girl that caused all this has steller feedback. No indications she was gonna be such a jerk. The changes eBay has made favor the buyers so well,that they screw the sellers. I understand their prudence about false sellers, but at the same time, it shouldnt make it possible for someone to steal as a buyer with no repercussions or trace of what they did. I was lucky I didnt loose the charge back. I woulda gotten the neg and lost a $1400 gown and the money.

I have to find other places to sell the gowns that dont move here. I made an oops on how conservative the brides are here and have some couture wedding gowns that the locals think look like nightgowns, b/c they are silk. The silk seems to be lost on some of these girls. These gowns sell better in metro areas. Anyway, I was gonna list them on eBay, but now Im afraid they get stolen. Ebay was 100% useless with that bad theivin' buyer.

I havent tried CL. We are in the middle of no where, so it doesnt work too well. Maybe I should list under Dallas/ Ft. Worth? Thanks for the tips.

[SCone]

But what actually happened? I realize that you believe you were scammed, but how? Tell us what transpired so we can all learn.

[HotHolly]

I sold a wedding gown to a girl in England. The gown arrived and she got miffed she had to pay customs taxes. She told me that I needed to refund her for the gown b/c of the taxes. I told her no - I didnt charge her tax and had nothing to do with that. She said that unless I gave her money back, that she would leave me a negative. I still said no. I didnt have the gown, she did, and she'd already worn it to her wedding. I had the signature receipt from the PO stating she picked it up. When I didnt give her the gown for free, she trashed my feedback and filed a charge back. I won the charge back b/c I had tracking info and she signed for the gown, which means she had the gown according to the powers that be at the CC company.

I sent all the emails she sent me (there were multiple) to ebay and filed a feedback blackmail complaint and a fraud complaint. She failed to use the word blackmail and didnt flat out say I am extorting you so I can have a free wedding gown. So ebay did nothing. I left her a neg stating what she did. Some how she had ebay strike it over 90 days after it was left, while her neg on my feedback remains thought I provided them with full details, emails, email headers, and what ever they asked for.

I had some nut do something like this a few years ago when selling a high ticket item. Something came up that delayed shipping, and I got a bad feeling about it and canceled the transaction - something seemed off. Turns out, my stall was a good thing. I almost lost the item I was selling - the buyers account was hacked and so was the guys PayPal account. If I had shipped the item, I would have ended up outa luck. Ebay seems to have serious fraud issues on high dollar items...meaning anything over $100.

I dont think this girl is a hijacking the account. I think she figured why not try for a free gown? The customs taxes were far less than the cost of the gown. She just started making demands and expected me to comply. I got hate emails after that b/c she lost the charge back. It seemed like she had done this before. I covered my butt with the shipping, otherwise, it woulda been free. That signature line screwed her. She signed it and the PO keeps a scanned copy of it online.

She wanted the gown so quickly, I seriously doubt she was a bride. That was my only red flag. She chose the cheapest shipping method possible, so it would arrive the day before her wedding. I told her there wasnt enough time, what if it gets stuck in customs, etc? She said the price on the gown plus the exchange rate was totally worth it. The gown was a major designer and brand new who sold for 2x as much over there. If it didnt arrive, she would move onto plan B and resell the gown (and make a profit).

Ive had buyers in other countries, but none of them tried anything like this. I found that her feedback was stricken today, which kinda made me mad. Im still taking a hit on my auctions b/c of the new feedback rating system. I have over 1600 feedback and 1 neg, so I have a nice 93% rating instead of my 99.8% or whatever it woulda been.

I think the moral of the story is ebay is a crappy place to buy or sell anything you wouldnt mind loosing without payment. Onward and upward. Apparently Craig's List is upward.