I'm having a fight w/ a fellow eBayer. HELP!

[romantico]

Okay, this has been going on for about a month & a half so I'll give you the short verion.I bought an item on eBay.From the very first email the seller was a jerk.I needed his address, he delayed in getting back to me,etc.Finally, 2 or 3 days later he responded.I sent my money order off certified(I had a bad feeling about this jerk)He sent me an email the day after Thanksgiving telling me he recieved payment & he would sent item out that Saturday.Well, I have been emailing for the past 3 weeks asking if he has sent off item(it was for a Christmas gift).The guy never responded.So, the other day out of the clear blue he left negative feedback for me(something I have never received on eBay)Says I claim I never receieved item.So, I left him negative feedback in return.Was gonna notify eBay but before I could he filed a Squaretrade case against me demanding I remove my feedback I left for him.I sent him an email saying if he responded to my emails this all could have been avoided.I also noticed that within the past week he's had about 6 other people leave him the same feedback I left.

I notified these other 6 people & so far only recieved one response saying the guy is a crook & a liar.My question is this, what can Squaretrade do? I have plenty of evidence showing I paid him & that I have not received my item.Can they remove his feedback & leave mine?Just curious

[CanuckAmok]

1. As far as I know, Ebay won't remove feedback...

but contact them (it's a labrynthian process actually *speaking* with a real person there, but it can be done), and be sure to show the other feedbacks which will certainly prove you're honesty.

[yankeedem]

2. Squaretrade cannot do anything for him

especially if you don't respond. Deal with ebay, report him as a non-performing seller. File fraud charges, and file a complaint with the Internet Fraud center. Also file a report with the postal inspector. They usually don't act on small claims but if others are complaining they might.


Also check out the Trust and Safety message boards on ebay (Community link on top of ebay page). The posters there may have some other advice.

Oh, and it doesn't help you now, but use only Paypal in the future. Although others complain about Paypal, if you used Paypal, you'd have your money back by now. Good luck.

[romantico]

4. All the others who complained

used PAYPAL.I was the only one who sent a money order.Thanks both of you for the advice. It will be very helpful!

[NicoleM]

12. Pay with a credit card.

You'd be able to dispute the charge. The burden is on the seller to prove that you received the item. If he can't prove that, you get your money back.

[MacCovern]

3. what was sellers feedback rating?

What was the sellers feedback rating at the time of your winning bid?
Also, was the item to be sent insured? If so, the seller has some explaining to do.

On the surface he sounds like a crook, and at the least a very impatient, paranoid seller.

I am a long time Ebayer, since 1998, and over 99% of my deals on ebay are positive experiences, but every now and then something like this happens.

[romantico]

5. He was number 56

No complaints. This was back in early November. I jst checked it yesterday to leave my feedback & my jaw dropped. ALl these complaints hit over a period of 3 days.

[POed_Ex_Repub]

6. There's an old scam on EBay

Where you sell a bunch of small ticket items (buttons, pens, under $5 items) to pump up your rating, and then rip off a bunch of people on bigger ticket items. I'm not sure what the exact circumstances of your case are, but it sounds eerily similar.

[Dover]

7. UGH! Only problem with this..(if I remember correctly and their fraud

filing procedures are the same)..is that small claims cost more for eBay to investigate and prosecute than what you will get back. So people who have participated in low dollar auctions are left holding the bag. (Not sure about how PayPal handles this, but this is how ebay handles it). It seems like an invitation for petty thievery on a mass scale. Your situation sounds classic...the seller builds up some positive feedback and then they've got ya. After auction they have various delaying tactics...not answering email, making empty promises, etc. It sounds like this guy did one better by getting his/her complaint filed ahead of yours, to further keep things confused (the best defense is an offense sort of strategy I guess).

What I really resent about this is not only the large amount of time and energy it takes to nail someone (it can be exhausting emotionally too), but the fact that there really are few incentives/payoffs for reporting these low cost item thefts...including financial. That, combined with the negative taste that this betrayal of trust leaves in your mouth (particularly around the holiday) has to make one wonder if online auctions are the best idea.

Now Amazon.com sells things used and seems to have a much better system if you're ripped off. They take care of it right away and become the collection agency on your behalf with no cost to you, and pay you back if their investigation finds you were, in fact, ripped off by one of their sellers. Not sure about their auctions though.

At any rate, my heart goes out to you...sorry you have to go through this. The recommendations given in this thread for getting answers are very good.

[romantico]

8. Thanks

I'm not worried. I feel my feedback speaks volumes. If anyone reads mine than the person who left me the bad feedback, they'll see. I am bummed that i didn't get my item, but I just checked & now they have 8 negatives all in less than a week.Yesterday it was 6. I think eBay terminates your account after so many negatives in such a short period.

[Dover]

10. I don't know the whole story , but I feel pretty sure that the seller

anticipated this negative result and doesn't care...perhaps they'll register under an assumed name after the heat dies down, or they have a group that's working together....or maybe they are satisfied with a one time theft (to pay the rent, buy drugs, or some other immediate need). In fact some lay on the guilt with hard luck stories in order to discourage complaints.
I don't know how it's done exactly. But it sounds like this is a new member which makes me wonder if they are 'hit and run' thieves.

But you are probably best off to let it go, which it sounds like you have. It's not worth it, usually. The cost of doing business, perhaps is one way of looking at it.

[hlthe2b]

9. I have had only one bad experience...

but it does leave a really bad taste in your mouth. I always pay paypal or send money order with delivery confirmation.

Ironically my bad experience started badly, continued badly, and ended badly, although it could have been worse. I sold a five disk DVD changer for essentially a few dollars, even though the same unit used was selling on Amazon auctions for $200. While I should have ended the auction early when there were no bids, knowing that some people swoop in to take it for pennies on the dollar at the end of the auction, I let it go and honored the sale. Shipping was more than what they paid for the unit. I lost money on that as well-- especially given the amount of packing necessary for electronics. The guy got the unit, swore it didn't work, and wanted his shipping fee and purchase price. I agreed to refund the purchase price, even though I had no obligation to do so, if he would ship it back. He, of course, refused, and still threatened to leave me bad feedback. I forwarded that extorting email to ebay and they did contact him. I received NO feedback from him, but still lost all the way around. I'm quite sure that he, in the meantime, got a great deal on a fully functional DVD player.

[MacCovern]

11. feedback will convert to neutral if seller removed!

Sounds like this crooked seller will soon be kicked off ebay permanently, and when that happens the feedback will convert to neutral, since it is feedback from someone who is no longer a registered user.

Sorry about the bad experience, but ebay is great overall.

Wonder if I should sell my Tug McGraw rookie card on there soon.

[yankeedem]

15. Wrong

They haven't done that for years.

[leftyandproud]

13. Ebay

I believe they offer a buyer protection service and offer insurance for items up to $200 You may qualify for this and will at least be able to get your money back, especially considering the obvious fraud this seller has been doing to you and others.

[PartyPooper]

14. Last year I had a bad experience with a seller from Amazon.

It was a nightmare. "I have it in stock...it's going to be shipped in 3 days, etc., etc." "I had to go out of town..."

Finally, I kept calling this seller (and, my credit card company!). And, when (3 months later it was shipped) I refused acceptance.

Geesh!

This was one book. I have bought many others at Amazon...and, no problems at all. But, I will never buy from this "stellar" seller again.

Live and learn.

:dunce:

PartyPooper

P.S. and, my partner and I have a house FULL of stuff we want to sell. So many folks at DU have said Ebay is the only way to go.
I hope so.

:shrug: