Ebay doesn't protect its buyers
I bought some pins on ebay and paid within 10 minutes. So, 2 days later the seller printed a tracking number for shipping the pins to me. I waited 6 days after that and the seller still hadn't shipped them. So, I told her I wanted a refund because I was sick of waiting for her to ship. She responded "I still have the item" (this is important later). I told her I still wanted a refund and she lied and said she had been blocked from her ebay account and couldn't print a label for shipping. She forgot she had already printed one that I could see. I told her I wanted a refund and that was it. I opened a case with ebay.
The next day she sent a refund to me. I decided to leave her negative feedback for lying to me and being argumentative. A couple days later she sent a message saying "I was going to regret leaving her negative feedback". The next day I looked and she left a response to my feedback saying that she had sent the pins to me, but I demanded a refund, which she did, and I kept the pins and the refund. Basically saying that I had stolen them.
The feedback and response (before I found out it was a female):
I wanted a refund because the seller took too long to ship. When I asked for the refund, this is what the seller said in PM's "I wasn’t in my account so i had no access to anything" and "Can’t ship it if i can’t print a label". I guess he forgot that he had already printed the label 6 days earlier. So, basically he lied about not being able to ship it that whole week. He doesn't want to take responsibility for his actions and just not shipping it because he didn't feel like it. Unacceptable.
80 Vintage Pinback Button LOT Superman, Batman, Political, Santa, Baseball, Rare (#356008092057)
Buyer: edtiques (4718)
US $107.50
Verified purchase
Past month
Reply from: landofthelost97. Left within past month.
Not sure what people get out of lying but, i was logged out of my account for 3 days and was able to ship the item after 4 days. (Which i don’t think is that long of a wait time) the buyer asked for a refund after the item was already shipped and i told them the item was on its way, they didn’t care and still demanded a re fund. I sent the refund and the person kept the item. They never returned the item, i lost around $100. Then they left a negative review.
I called ebay and talked until I was blue in the face to get her response taken down because it was an absolute lie. They saw the proof it was a lie and acknowledged it. But, they refused to remove it. This is the response I received:
Thank you for contacting back eBay Customer Service about the reply of the seller in your feedback to her. I understand that you want this to be removed because it is slanderous and illegal. My name is Ruby from eBay Customer Service, I'm here to assist you.
Ed, I appreciate your time and effort reaching us. I commend you for taking time out of your busy day to share your experience regarding this transaction. Since request for removal of negative feedback should be initiated by the seller, we’re unable to remove this since we’re unable to open her account for security purposes. Please note that removing the reply of the seller, will remove your feedback to her as well.
Ed, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing me to assist you. You are a valued member, and we only want nothing but the best for you. We want all of our members to enjoy the best possible experience on eBay. Thank you for being a part of our eBay community, we appreciate your business.
Thank you for contacting eBay Customer Service. Have a great day!
I have all the evidence showing she never sent the pins, including where she sold them on ebay a couple of weeks after that. I have all the documentation showing our messages back and forth, her response and ebay's response.
The response is still up in a forum available to be seen by the public.
I'm at a standstill with ebay. They won't allow me to message any higher ups. No accountability or transparency. I spent well over 16 hours on the phone with them.
I also allowed it to affect my health. I had been obsessing about it and a couple of weeks after I found out about it, I had a doctors appointment. My blood pressure was 200 over 102 which made my doctor concerned especially since I have a pacemaker. She put me on high blood pressure meds because of it.
I went a few weeks and my BP was 127 over 72 which is much, much better. I learned to let it go somewhat. I am very well aware of it, but not obsessing about it anymore.
I've been on ebay for 18 years and have done 1,000's of transactions. I've never gotten a negative or even a neutral feedback response. I try to do business the right way. When she slanders me on a site I do business on, I think it affects it. She's calling my character into question and it's in public view.
I think there's a law that protects social media sites from being sued. I believe if they don't know it has been posted, that would be the case. But, an intentional disregard of removing a slanderous statement should be cause for them to be responsible. Especially when they acknowledge it. At least I would think so.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoAs someone that has had obsessed over things in the past that now seem trivial to me maybe do what I did. I think of it as a look into the future. In 6 months will you still even care about this? Probably not. I used to have roadrage issues (Not to the point of altercations but it was headed that way) then found out I had high blood pressure and heart issues. Other peoples stupidity isn't worth strressing yourself over and hurting your health. You aren't even out any money on this.
You have made this even more public by posting this. Maybe rant to a close friend or relative instead of a public forum and try to let it go. Not trying to be critical but to share some helpful advice I got from someone I respect a great deal. In 6 months it won't/shouldn't matter anymore.
edtiques
OP1 year agoThank you for your response and advice, I'm not obsessing or stressing over it now. I want as many people as possible to see how ebay is being run. I'm posting this on all the related sites I belong to so they can see it too. I've been on ebay as both a buyer and a seller (up until they changed the rules about selling) for 18 years. It's gone steadily downhill since then. I've been hung up on, promised call backs that never came and rude disrespectful behavior. I'm doing more and more buying from Facebook sites and Esty and slowly trying to move away from ebay totally. It's unfortunate it's become as bad as it has.
chevymontecarlo88
·1 year agoLet it go Ed.
The seller has horrible feedback and is on the verge of cancelling themselves. Anyone that takes the time to research what feedback you left for them will understand/view the other feedback left for the seller already. Most buyers don't even read feedback left for the seller and usually do not take the time to read what feedback you left for them. Even if they did, its buried in the feedback and like i said, the other negative feedback he received will prove that they are not telling the truth.
If the feedback was left on your account, you would have a case for it to be removed. (at least an argument to have it removed) It is on their feedback page, not yours, so requesting a feedback revision on their account is not going to happen. Let it go Ed.
No one would have even known about this interaction/feedback until you have made it public. You are setting yourself up for more frustration. IMHO
edtiques
OP1 year agoIt's not just about me at this point. I want people to see how ebay is covering up sellers bad behaviors. When they allow another poster to threaten and slander another member publicly, it's a real problem. This seller should have been banned from ebay, but they just let it slide.
This isn't the only thing ebay has refused to act on. I have my settings to "US only" when I search to buy something. I ended up buying some blacklights from a seller who was listed as living in Michigan. After I bought them, in the item details it had his address as Israel. He manipulated the search results so he would be included in the US search. That's a violation of ebay's policy. I reported him for doing that and the ebay rep just blew it off saying he really didn't do anything wrong and they weren't going to make him change to his real address.
Ebay is protecting it's sellers because they make ebay money, buyers don't. They don't care what's right or what's wrong as long as the money keeps flowing in.