Ebay annoyances – feedback system not fair
I’m going to go into rant mode now…
I bought an item on ebay a while ago. It was a model delorean car from BTTF, (from seller retrotoys2004), and was described as being in good condition. I got it for a good price, but i was a bit miffed when it arrived and had a number of problems with it.
It was no longer screwed to the base, a wingmirror was broken off and had clearly tried to be fixed a few times because of glue marks, a windscreen wiper was missing, one of the wheels didnt raise properly with all the others, and a number of the fins on the back were snapped.
So, i e-mailed him to ask for a refund. The seller offered me one, but said i’d have to pay postage. Since the postage was going to cost me almost as much as the item, i decided not to bother.
So i left him Neutral feedback, since the item was not what he described, but he did offer me a refund in line with ebay’s T&C’s.
Then he leaves me a Negative feedback (my first) saying I was bad for eBay.
This really PI***S me off… I paid well, he got exactly what he should have off me, I DID NOTHING WRONG. He on the other hand falsely advertised, and in reality should have got negative feedback. The only reason i didnt was because of fear of getting a negative.
This is not how feedback should work. It SUCKS.
Now, in my opinion, neither buyer or seller should be able to see the feedback left for them until after they have left their feedback, that way the whole system is fair.
Am I wrong in being pi**ed off!? Does anyone else have a problem with the eBay feedback system? The whole system is open to manipulation and vindictiveness.
RANT OVER
June 12th, 2006 at 15:32
Tell me about it – I sold an S-Video lead to a 7 feedback score guy on eBay a few weeks ago. When he got it, he emailed me and said it wasn;t the colour he wanted (!) even though it was green as in the picture, and the exact model number in the listing. So I offered a refund of the item. He emailed back and taught me some new words….he wanted full P&P costs refunded as well! I let him sweat for 24 hours, then offered to meet him halfway with 50% P&P and full item refund. He agreed, and when I got the item back, I carried out the refund. Within minutes, he negative feedback’s me!! So, with a tarnished 99/8% record, I vow if I’m ever in Berkshire I’ll drop in on the guy and show him where he can insert an S-Video lead properly :p
June 12th, 2006 at 17:49
That’s life. You get some idiots, some legends and quite a few people in the middle. Ideally, leaving feedback after other people have left it would be best, but if you have two people who do that, you’re both 1 feedback down that could well be positive. At the end of the day, you can defend yourself by putting a comment in – don’t be rude, but hold your ground. Most people don’t have a problem with anyone with a very high majority of positive feedback and some negative/neutral. This guy was clearly an idiot, but you can’t always tell before the transaction. At least you haven’t lost a lot of money. Just put it down to experience.
June 13th, 2006 at 01:11
Poor Andy. What you need to do now is hire someone to punch him squarely on the nose.
June 13th, 2006 at 07:12
I’d get way more pleasure punching him squarely on the nose myself!!
June 13th, 2006 at 14:51
No Andy no! As your bitch that’s my job. (Rubs hands with glee in anticipation). But I do agree with you. Can you not have the feedback mutually withdrawn?
July 31st, 2006 at 22:26
I tell you what I think. I think we’re all better off with the good ol car boot sale. That way there is no feedback needed at all, no postage rubbish, no fakers, scammers etc. Online bidding is just plain wrong in my book. I have done fine without eBay
mini rant over
December 6th, 2006 at 14:13
Readed…
Don’t curse the darkness, light a candle…