Seller blocked me for asking for cheaper shipping by USPS Parcel Select Ground shipping

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@randall.nova wrote:

No one can stop me from speaking my mind or call me on my free speech and opinion.  That includes a private individual or a private corporation and the US Constitution gives me that right.  They can only disagree with me on my opinion.  Smoke that one in your pipe.

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I get so tired of people throwing around the First Amendment without knowing what it is.

https://www.carnegielibrary.org/the-first-amendment-and-censorship/

The First Amendment only protects your speech from government censorship. It applies to federal, state, and local government actors. This is a broad category that includes not only lawmakers and elected officials, but also public schools and universities, courts, and police officers.  It does not include private citizens, businesses, and organizations. This means that: 

• A private school can suspend students for criticizing a school policy;
• A private business can fire an employee for expressing political views on the job; and
• A private media company can refuse to publish or broadcast opinions it disagrees with. 

[nocoolnamejane]

Individuals and corporations definitely can stop you from speaking.

ebay could swoop in and delete this whole thread and NONE of your constitutional rights would be violated.

[randall.nova]

Suspending or firing or refusing to publish will not stop someone from speaking out.

[randall.nova]

Suspending or firing cannot stop someone from speaking out.  Do you live in Russia or China?

[nocoolnamejane]

North Korea actually.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@randall.nova wrote:

Suspending or firing or refusing to publish will not stop someone from speaking out.

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No, it will not.

But unlike with the government (where you can diss them all you want and men in dark suits won't come carry you away in the middle of the night) there are consequences when some things are said.

You can certainly say it, but be prepared to pay the consequences.

For example - I can go into a restaurant or store and call the owner/cashier/sales staff a blazing idiot.  Nobody can stop me from saying that, but I could be banned from that store.   That would be the consequences of acting a fool.

[randall.nova]

The negative feedback I left for that seller had nothing to do with the US Postal Service Parcel Select shipping which, by the way, the seller was offering on most of his items but not mine.  The negative feedback was left because the seller cancelled my sale after I had paid in full by lying to ebay to avoid a seller defect and saying that I cancelled the sale, which I did not cancel.   The seller then relisted the same exact item he cancelled my sale on at a higher price to make more money.  Ebay found out about the seller's actions and punished him.  

[randall.nova]

You will not get my business, either.

[randall.nova]

Selling online or in brick and mortar stores always has the risk of returns for broken or defective items.  A seller who does not have the patience to answer buyer questions should not be in the business of selling.  Ebay actually requires sellers to answer buyer questions.  Asking legitimate questions is not being fussy.

[randall.nova]

Brown boxes are free and always available at the local grocery store or box stores like Walmart or the various dollar store chains.  I have even received my purchases through the US Postal Service in clean pizza boxes of all things, which I had no problem with as a shipping box.  I don't get angry if the seller cannot ship a certain way.  I just want to be able to ask shipping questions without getting cancelled which ebay tells me in their rules that I can and should ask prior to making a purchase.  Thank you for your comment, though.  

[randall.nova]

I agree with you 100%.  Sellers should not be able to cancel buyers for politely asking questions which the ebay rules advise buyers to do prior to making a purchase.  Thank you for your comment.  

[randall.nova]

There are civil rights violations for banning someone from a restaurant or store which is open for business with the general public which can be reported to state and federal agencies for investigation with serious financial and legal consequences.

[randall.nova]

In Canada , where you actually live, you do not have the same Constitutional Rights as I have in the United States as a United States Citizen.

[kathiec]

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@randall.nova wrote:

There are civil rights violations for banning someone from a restaurant or store which is open for business with the general public which can be reported to state and federal agencies for investigation with serious financial and legal consequences.

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You might want to bone up on your law. Civil rights violations only occur if the action, in this case banning, occurs because the person banned is a member of a legally protected class, such as a person of color, a woman, etc. Since there is no way to tell in an eBay transaction if the person is a member of a protected class, there is no way to prove they were banned because of it. And it certainly has no bearing in your case. So your premise of "serious legal and financial consequences" is pure hogwash.

[downunder-61]

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@randall.nova wrote:

Selling online or in brick and mortar stores always has the risk of returns for broken or defective items.  A seller who does not have the patience to answer buyer questions should not be in the business of selling.  Ebay actually requires sellers to answer buyer questions.  Asking legitimate questions is not being fussy.

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No, they don't