MORE Suspicious ebay activity

[Mirage]

Late to the party, but I'm glad you did what you did. It's all this nonsense and tons of other nonsense that drove me away from ebay quite some time ago. The bad apples on either side of this horsepuckey deserve at minimum the negative feedback. I wish I had a 600XL to send you for .99p, but I don't.

[oldgames]

The refund arrived this morning, with a note saying "Sincere apologies again". Bad feedback time: just want to craft the wording perfectly.

 

How about "Withdrew item without explanation after I won it at low price. Avoid."

 

Even though you were refunded, you can still file a 'non performing seller' complaint if you think the seller backed out due to the ending price.

 

Just as buyers are bound by their bid, sellers are bound by their listings. Search eBay help for 'non performing seller' or post on the eBay forums (probably the Bidding or Buyer Central boards) for instructions on how to file this complaint. It is about the same as a non-payment strike for bidders.

[oky2000]

I'm not defending the seller, but also remember that

reserve price cost = identical to final value fee charged @ reserve price you set.

 

Absolutely untrue.

 

For items under $200, the reserve price fee is $2, $200 and up is 1% of the reserve price.

 

What a beautiful world it would be if that was also the final value fee structure

 

Maybe it is different in some retro categories or changed in the last 12 months but before (and for laptops mainly) putting a reserve price == cost of final value fee @ reserve price you set

[oky2000]

I'm pretty sure you have to agree to the auction cancellation after the refund, so the feedback will be removed anyway.

 

There are two separate cases for this.

 

One is if the buyer doesn't pay up and the auction is cancelled due to an unpaid item report (in which case their feedback can be removed if you are lucky) OR if simply the seller/buyer agree to a refund. In the latter case the auction is still valid AND as a buyer you can refuse the refund request from the seller anyway.

 

So it all depends really.

[+poobah]

I'm not defending the seller, but also remember that

reserve price cost = identical to final value fee charged @ reserve price you set.

 

Absolutely untrue.

 

For items under $200, the reserve price fee is $2, $200 and up is 1% of the reserve price.

 

What a beautiful world it would be if that was also the final value fee structure

 

Maybe it is different in some retro categories or changed in the last 12 months but before (and for laptops mainly) putting a reserve price == cost of final value fee @ reserve price you set

 

Straight from the proverbial horse's mouth... Reserve price fees

[flashjazzcat]

I don't get the 'or full refund' part. Isn't that what they want vs what you want (to give you back your low winning bid and call it a day)?

I could have left the refund part out, but remember at this point no refund had been offered: I'd just declined cancellation of the transaction. It was obvious I wasn't going to receive the item, and I was simply trying to engineer things so that I could leave negative feedback after getting my money back. Worked perfectly and she got exactly what she deserved.

[sl0re]

I don't get the 'or full refund' part. Isn't that what they want vs what you want (to give you back your low winning bid and call it a day)?

I could have left the refund part out, but remember at this point no refund had been offered: I'd just declined cancellation of the transaction. It was obvious I wasn't going to receive the item, and I was simply trying to engineer things so that I could leave negative feedback after getting my money back. Worked perfectly and she got exactly what she deserved.

 

Yep it did. I did a search for user in question and found your neg feedback.

[flashjazzcat]

Just received this from the seller:

 

Dear flashjazzcat,

 

Hello

 

I am just responding to your negative feedback that you have left for me for the unsold atari console.

I would just like to make it clear that it was not taken off sale because of the apparent 'low price'. We have quite bad condensation in our loft and this is where the consoles were being stored. They were in black bags but the condensation is that bad that we currently have pools of water on the majority of items stored up there.

 

The consoles themselves seemed damp at the time and I was not sure whether water had got to them or because they were just in a cold loft. Either way I have no way of testing them so I do not want to risk selling potential damaged items.

I was in a bit of a rush when I contacted people about this problem which is why I didn't go into details.

If your feedback could be removed I would appreciate it.

 

Many thanks

 

Suzanne

 

farthingwood74

 

Opinions?

[Goochman]

Just received this from the seller:

 

Dear flashjazzcat,

 

Hello

 

I am just responding to your negative feedback that you have left for me for the unsold atari console.

I would just like to make it clear that it was not taken off sale because of the apparent 'low price'. We have quite bad condensation in our loft and this is where the consoles were being stored. They were in black bags but the condensation is that bad that we currently have pools of water on the majority of items stored up there.

 

The consoles themselves seemed damp at the time and I was not sure whether water had got to them or because they were just in a cold loft. Either way I have no way of testing them so I do not want to risk selling potential damaged items.

I was in a bit of a rush when I contacted people about this problem which is why I didn't go into details.

If your feedback could be removed I would appreciate it.

 

Many thanks

 

Suzanne

 

farthingwood74

 

Opinions?

 

Ask her to test it now and if it works sell it to you are the agreed price - otherwise ignore

[flashjazzcat]

Ask her to test it now and if it works sell it to you are the agreed price - otherwise ignore.

Excellent idea.

[spookt]

Interesting that she says she had no way of testing them but the original text in the auction description says:

 

The item has been tested and is in working order

 

Sounds like a load of bull to me. TBH I'd have paid the 99p for a broken 600XL and taken the chance I could repair it. I still think it comes down to the low final price.

Edited January 6, 2010 by spookt

[flashjazzcat]

Reply sent. Thanks Spookt for that quote from the original ad. I've basically suggested she re-tests and I'll consider accepting the item at the price I won it for. I also mentioned the sale of the 800XL - presumably from the same damp loft - evidently went without a hitch (the buyer found it "excellent", having paid all of six pounds).

 

Actually, I wish I could establish whether these are the same:

 

Farthingwood's:

 

 

Mark Lumley's (faulty):

 

 

Faulty 600XL

Edited January 6, 2010 by flashjazzcat

[flashjazzcat]

Got this back:

 

Hi Jon

 

thanks for getting back to me. The items were tested and in full working order prior to being placed in the loft.

The 800xl sale did not go through. It was handled in exactly the same way as yours.

 

The buyer of the 800xl had been very prompt in payment so I refunded them later that evening. I can not comment on the feedback left by this individual, I can only assume that they were happy with the prompt way in which I contacted them and refunded their money.

I no longer have the means to test these items. If I did I could have told people about the problem with the sale and asked if they could wait until I had re-tested and seen if they were happy with this.

 

Being a responsible ebay seller I would never post anything without knowing it was 100% fine, and as this is not the case I will not be selling the item in question.

 

Many thanks

 

Suzanne

[Almost Rice]

I would let the neg stand even if her story is true. You check the items before you list not after the sale ends at your starting price.

[spookt]

Yep let the neg stand. She stated the item was tested so that should have been it's condition at the time of sale. What has she got to loose by offering it to you now even if you know it may not work? Still sounds a little fishy.

[AtariLeaf]

I don't understand not being able to test them now. They were tested before but they "no longer have the means" to test them? What, did they sell their TV? Throw away the power supplies or switchboxes? What changed from the beginning to the end of the auction that prevents retesting?

[flashjazzcat]

Hi Suzanne

 

From personal experience, I know that part of being a "responsible" eBay seller not only means not posting things that aren't 100% fine, but not listing them either. Taking care of the goods while the auction is in progress is another responsibility of the seller. You can hardly expect to earn good feedback in this way, particularly as an apparently experienced and reputable seller. And if the item has been in storage during the auction, not having the means to ensure it's still working before it's posted constitutes further negligence. If someone won an item of mine with no reserve – especially if won at a low price – I would be bending over backwards to give the most detailed explanation possible to the winning bidder if something happened which meant I had to withdraw the item just after they'd paid for it. If I didn't, I would expect bad feedback.

 

Moreover, your inability then and unwillingness now to enter into profitable negotiations with the buyer, who might think £10.99 including postage is a very fair price for a 600XL even with potential faults does nothing to reinforce the veracity of your story. You'd prefer to withhold the potentially useless item rather than sell it to the person who won it, and for whom the task of repairing it (assuming it is faulted) would probably be extremely easy. And even if it can't be fixed, I now know it's untested so I can't really complain.

 

However, since you're disinclined to indulge such an amicable solution, since your communication was so poor and vague at the time the item was withdrawn, since it took you so long to come up with a description of the circumstances surrounding said withdrawal, since you apparently have no RF lead or television set in your house with which to test the items - this buyer, while delighted that the non-recipient of the 800XL found his experience so "excellent", remains completely dissatisfied with the entire transaction.

 

You have provided absolutely no persuasive reason why my negative feedback is not an accurate summary of the transaction. Since you are so determined to hold on to an item you were apparently just about to pull down from the loft and sell for 99p, it may be time write this one off and move on. Precisely as I have done.

 

Regards

 

Jon

Edited January 8, 2010 by flashjazzcat

[Almost Rice]

I like that response.

[flashjazzcat]

And another delightful surprise: I was leaving some bulk feedback for recent purchases and was prompted to leave feedback for gingreen1, the seller who dropped the 65XE out of the loft hatch, smashed it to pieces, then relisted it in perfect condition a week later. Didn't expect to get the chance to leave feedback, because I cancelled the transaction. Ah, what glee!

[_The Doctor__]

And another delightful surprise: I was leaving some bulk feedback for recent purchases and was prompted to leave feedback for gingreen1, the seller who dropped the 65XE out of the loft hatch, smashed it to pieces, then relisted it in perfect condition a week later. Didn't expect to get the chance to leave feedback, because I cancelled the transaction. Ah, what glee!

 

 

this is what ebay has been like for about 2 years...

 

I have just returned from the dismal task of shutting down facilities within our region and found the archiving company took items for shipment and stored them instead! At just over a year and some months.

 

And Yes that means a lot of jobs just got flushed this year! I mean a good number of people are now doing whatever they can to make a buck, that being said, the few I have spoke to sold stuff on ebay and were grateful for anything they sold at any price and honored their transactions.

 

If people in dire straights can be honorable, someone just clearing out their loft has no excuse.... period.

Suzanne is detestable. BTW she has the same name and style of a suzanne that screwed me for the lantronix adaptors I needed for putting BBS back online to internet. ebay has gone to the stray rabid dogs

Edited January 8, 2010 by _The Doctor__

[CGQuarterly]

First of all, AWESOME response to the 600XL chick. You sir are an artist with words. Second, reading a couple of other feedback entries for that GinGreen individual makes it pretty obvious that their items suddenly break after the auction ends but before the item is shipped, presumably when an acceptable final bid is not placed.

 

This is why I am done with fleabay.

 

Chris

[flashjazzcat]

First of all, AWESOME response to the 600XL chick. You sir are an artist with words. Second, reading a couple of other feedback entries for that GinGreen individual makes it pretty obvious that their items suddenly break after the auction ends but before the item is shipped, presumably when an acceptable final bid is not placed.

 

This is why I am done with fleabay.

First of all - thank you! All those years studying Eng Lit weren't wasted, then!

 

eBay is still good for what I use it for 95% of the time: buying electronic components. They usually arrive in a couple of days, but even then I just stumbled on a component company online which ships for free anyway. They sent me two HC175 chips for 35p each in a plastic case, free postage, delivered in a UPS van at four in the afternoon two days after I placed the order. So that just leaves bargain hunting: the thing that was always exciting about eBay, and the thing it just seems impossible to do now. If I win something now for a ridiculously low price, I'll be inclined to assume it's going to do a death-leap from a loft hatch or accidentally find its way into an acid-bath shortly after I hit "pay now".

[pepax]

First of all - thank you! All those years studying Eng Lit weren't wasted, then!

Next time you can write feedback in Old English.