Good Bye eBay!

[insights_inc]

After 23+ years I'm cancelling my account. In 2000 they used to be a reasonable and intelligent company and they have devolved into a mindless corporation that can't even fix its own issues. Last straw: they made an error in my listing I had to cancel the order (or lose money) and they still allowed a "buyer" to leave negative feedback. You know what eBay? I had 23+ years of 100% positive feedback never a single negative until you created a problem and refused to accept responsibility for it. So that was my 1st negative and my last sale. Good Bye and I will never look back... 

[pickapaper]

I wonder if maybe something else unsettling is going on in OP's life and this was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.  If he has been on eBay for 23 years, this can't be the first bump he has encountered and it was just easy to take this one and blame eBay and "punish" the buyer by cancelling the order rather than accept a mistake he might have made.

$2.39 is not a good reason to give up a long and presumably profitable relationship.

[stuff4divas]

@insights_inc   Thanks for letting the community know, i guess?  🤔

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

Do you really think it was an eBay error that set the $2.99 for MM shipping ?

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$2.99 for a two pound (dbl LP) Media Mail would be the right price.........IF IT WAS YEAR 2000!

$2.99 + 2.39 = $5.38 The current rate for 2lb Media Mail

At least the OP only tried to extract the exact difference.........

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Maybe the reason for this their personal outrage is because of inflation. 

Good point @slippinjimmy!

[broto_64]

You should apologize profusely to the buyer, send him his item for free, and once he receives it again tell him you were having a bad day and made a terrible mistake by attempting to blame ebay for a shipping cost error and then asking the buyer to pay for it and... Is there any way he could see about maybe revising the feedback, pretty please?

[insights_inc]

Thanks for commenting. Yes eBay mistakenly offered as a default "flat rate" for my choice of media mail. There is no "flat rate" for media mail it is only rated as you mentioned $5.38 now , eBay should remove the flat rate option since it does not exist. This was not how it was the last time I shipped media mail 5+ years ago no "flat rate" option so I was taken unawares. eBay said it was my error. No sorry it's yours and they could not fix it so the buyer paid the correct amount. So yes it was ebay error. 

[youn2240]

no it was your fault for demanding the customer send you more money. really? really really? come on now. 

[kensgiftshop]

So, you selected an option Ebay gave you, flat rate, and it's all Ebays fault you selected it.

Some sellers figure the shipping in their price and charge a flat rate.

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@insights_inc wrote:

Thanks for commenting. Yes eBay mistakenly offered as a default "flat rate" for my choice of media mail. There is no "flat rate" for media mail it is only rated as you mentioned $5.38 now , eBay should remove the flat rate option since it does not exist. This was not how it was the last time I shipped media mail 5+ years ago no "flat rate" option so I was taken unawares. eBay said it was my error. No sorry it's yours and they could not fix it so the buyer paid the correct amount. So yes it was ebay error. 

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@insights_inc That is NOT an 'accident' and 'Flat Rate' absolutely should be there for Media Mail. 

'Flat Rate' means a price that YOU choose to charge for shipping (vs Calculated) (do not confuse 'Flat Rate' with available Flat Rate Packaging/Prices that are available with USPS).

I can ship a 3lb item Media Mail and I can also ship a 26lb item Media Mail and it would be different pricing, but I can still decide if I WANT to decide a 'Flat Price' for a particular item vs. using ebays 'Calculated'. 

'Flat Rate' may be prechosen when doing a listing, but you need to look at all parts of a listing before submitting. 

[bonanza125]

You could have just built the shipping cost into the price and stated "Free Shipping" with Advantage Ground or charged Advantage Ground shipping all together. It's more of a lesson learned on your part. If you want to leave Ebay that's on you but you should have known there are other shipping options.

[slati_2013]

The first negative always hurts. It really does. Been there. After that, any negative or neutral does not sting anymore. Before you cancel you account, take a deep breath and sleep on it. We have all been there with the first negative and anger. It passes. I currently have what I would call a positive neutral; buyer claimed I was not responsive to his offers but was very pleased with the products I sent when he bought it, and highly recommended me.  I did not even bother to try to get it removed or revised.  Unless egregious, I no longer worry about feedback. 

Let is go. You may change you mind later and  try to come back only to find that eBay has all kinds of requirements that you will probably never be able to meet. Just leave the account dormant. Don't cancel it. 

[janet9988]

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@insights_inc wrote:

Thanks for commenting. Yes eBay mistakenly offered as a default "flat rate" for my choice of media mail. There is no "flat rate" for media mail it is only rated as you mentioned $5.38 now , eBay should remove the flat rate option since it does not exist. This was not how it was the last time I shipped media mail 5+ years ago no "flat rate" option so I was taken unawares. eBay said it was my error. No sorry it's yours and they could not fix it so the buyer paid the correct amount. So yes it was ebay error. 

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It was your choice. Not Ebays error.

I just replaced your flat rate words with free shipping to make you see that it was you choice as USPS does not offer free shipping.............

Thanks for commenting. Yes eBay mistakenly offered as a default "free shipping" for my choice of media mail. There is no "free shipping" for media mail it is only rated as you mentioned $5.38 now , eBay should remove the Free shipping option since it does not exist. This was not how it was the last time I shipped media mail 5+ years ago no "free shipping" option so I was taken unawares. eBay said it was my error. No sorry it's yours and they could not fix it so the buyer paid the correct amount. So yes it was ebay error. 

[luckythewinner]

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@insights_inc wrote:

Yes eBay mistakenly offered as a default "flat rate" for my choice of media mail. There is no "flat rate" for media mail it is only rated as you mentioned $5.38 now , eBay should remove the flat rate option since it does not exist. 

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eBay absolutely did not make a mistake, your logic is flawed.  

It is perfectly valid for eBay to allow a seller to use a flat rate and charge a rate other than the USPS label cost. And eBay SHOULD allow that. 

On one of my selling accounts I charge $3.95 for media mail shipping, to give the illusion that my rates are cheaper than others. On another one I charge more than the going rate because I pass the packaging material costs on to the buyer. 

The only error was that you chose to ignore the Calculate Rate option, and chose to use flat rate (and typed an amount) without knowing what the actual rate was. 

But if potential competitors on eBay leave because they blame eBay for their own mistakes, all the better for me. 

[fern*wood]

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@insights_inc wrote:

Thanks for commenting. Yes eBay mistakenly offered as a default "flat rate" for my choice of media mail. There is no "flat rate" for media mail it is only rated as you mentioned $5.38 now , eBay should remove the flat rate option since it does not exist. This was not how it was the last time I shipped media mail 5+ years ago no "flat rate" option so I was taken unawares. eBay said it was my error. No sorry it's yours and they could not fix it so the buyer paid the correct amount. So yes it was ebay error. 

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Thanks for elaborating on what happened.   Trust me, shipping is easy to mess up on--I know.  There are many choices to fill out when listing, and some carry over from listing to listing, so they have to be checked religiously.  The shipping section allows us to pick between flat rate (we can enter whatever amount we want) or calculated shipping and go from there.  I've eaten my fair share of errors, but I've gotten better over time, although I can still easily get distracted. 

Leaving is up to you, but don't sweat the small stuff is good to keep in mind when selling here.  I usually say a bad word to myself when I mess up and move on.  Over time I do fine and learn from small mistakes.

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@insights_inc wrote:

Thanks for commenting. Yes eBay mistakenly offered as a default "flat rate" for my choice of media mail. There is no "flat rate" for media mail it is only rated as you mentioned $5.38 now , eBay should remove the flat rate option since it does not exist. This was not how it was the last time I shipped media mail 5+ years ago no "flat rate" option so I was taken unawares. eBay said it was my error. No sorry it's yours and they could not fix it so the buyer paid the correct amount. So yes it was ebay error. 

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Thanks for elaborating on what happened.   Trust me, shipping is easy to mess up on--I know.  There are many choices to fill out when listing, and some carry over from listing to listing, so they have to be checked religiously.  The shipping section allows us to pick between flat rate (we can enter whatever amount we want) or calculated shipping and go from there.  I've eaten my fair share of errors, but I've gotten better over time, although I can still easily get distracted. 

Leaving is up to you, but don't sweat the small stuff is good to keep in mind when selling here.  I usually say a bad word to myself when I mess up and move on.  Over time I do fine and learn from small mistakes.

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@insights_inc 

Great advice above and how to move forward. ☝️

Don't stress the small stuff.

[insights_inc]

Thanks very reasonable advice!