A seed seller had 100% positive feedback but I noticed none of that feedback was left AFTER the buyers tried growing them; the buyers were just leaving feedback after receiving but before planting the seeds. I decided to take a chance on this seller anyway since he had 100% positive feedback.
Planted the first batch of a dozen seeds day after I received them. (These were cape plumbago, which should have a typical germination of 7-10 days and fairly high germination rates for viable seeds.) Nothing germinated. NOTHING. So I planted another batch nearly a month later. Still nothing germinated. I have more than 50 years experience gardening and know how to germinate all sorts of seeds, including difficult ones like white sage and lavender, etc. This was also not my first time with cape plumbago, which I have grown easily in the past. These seeds were just completely nonviable.
Shortly before the 60 day deadline for leaving feedback, I finally left negative feedback including that they had a zero percent germination rate despite two attempts nearly a month apart.
Seller immediately began harassing me with multiple messages, demanding that I remove the negative feedback, trying to argue with me.
I only replied once to the seller's harassing/argumentative messages, stating that I would not remove truthful feedback because the whole point of feedback was to let other buyers know, and that if he wants positive feedback he should just sell viable seeds. He messaged me again repeating some bee ess about how all the funds go to some church or homeless charity and demanded again I remove the feedback, stating, "Please review the feedback back from others. You would not want to endanger our fundraiser" etc. Which of course was calculated to pressure me into removing the feedback for reasons that had nothing to do with this actual transaction and the bad seeds he sold. After his third harassing message I blocked him.
A week or so later I noticed he has had my negative feedback removed and is now back to 100% positive.
I never did receive any kind of refund, by the way.
This has completely soured me on eBay. I quit using the "A" website a year or so ago because of too many bad experiences with fake products. I guess I'll be quitting eBay now too, because we can no longer trust feedback at all. If I had known this seller was selling nonviable seeds, I would never have purchased from him. But now nobody else will know either, and he can continue defrauding buyers.
