After reading about all the good deals to be found on eBay, I decided to start buying on there in November. I have bought maybe 5 to 8 things on eBay, and LOTS of items on the internet.  I recently learned of eBay’s Best Offer service.  I made offers on 2 different items, and I received some rude answers back from the sellers.

 

My first item was a Christopher Radko Santa pin.  The seller wanted 24.99 with free shipping.  I offered $10.00.  The seller countered with $12.00.  I countered back with $8.00, and sent a note to let them know that the same pin another seller was selling for $8.99.  The seller declined my offer, and told me to buy it from the other seller!  I can’t believe they would be so rude!

 

My second item I made a best offer on was a pair of Nike Shox running shoes.  The seller had $70.00 or Best Offer with free shipping.  I offered $35.00.  The seller countered with $59.00, I countered back with $29.00.  They didn’t counter back, but just declined my offer and told me they were blocking me as a buyer! 

What is going on with sellers these days?  Don’t they want to sell their items?

 

DHK; Paola

 

 

I always like to hear that new people are buying on eBay.  I hope you will continue to bid and make purchases there.  eBay needs people like you bidding and buying. Best Offer is a great tool for buyers and sellers. Sellers like it because it sparks an interest from buyers and buyers like it because they can bargain with the seller.  

 

I believe the problem with the sellers you mentioned, might be in the way you are using Best Offer.  Many sellers would take your offers as a slight. You made offers to a seller that are half of the asking price, and when they countered with a different figure; you went lower than your first offer.  This might seem like an insult to most sellers. I completely understand that you want a good deal, (we all do), but many sellers make a living by selling their items this way.  I hope you won’t be discouraged by these two sellers reactions.  

 

 

I just received two neutral feedbacks from a buyer that I filed a NON-payment against. She did not pay for either item for 18 days.  She eventually paid for it, and I sent it the same day she paid.  I never received an email from her, but in the feedback she left, she claims the first item, a set of Depression glass sherbets arrived broken.  The second item was a box of old children’s books.  She remarked in feedback how I used an old box to ship in (she liked the books, but hated the box).

 

When I emailed her about the neutrals, she told me I was lucky she didn’t leave a negative.  She wasn't happy from the beginning because I wouldn't combine shipping.   I explained to her that I could not send both items media mail, and I thought she understood I was actually saving her money by sending them separately.

 

What should I do? I can’t believe I get to look at these two neutrals for a year.  SANTA, if you're out there, please put all the difficult buyers in my Blocked Buyers list.

 

Teresa; Wellsville, KS

 

 

I am really sorry about the neutrals.  I think the best thing you can do is respond to the neutrals, and contact eBay to let them know what happened. You will want to explain your case, and let them know how you were upfront with your buyer before she paid.  eBay will know, but explain to them how you can not send books and glassware media mail together. You will want to include all of the communication between you and the buyer. 

 

 Most people, even frequent buyers and sellers don’t understand all the shipping rules and regulations of the post office.  Here’s to 2010 being neutral and negative free.

 

 

 

 

I’m mainly a buyer on eBay. However, I have sold a few items here and there. I’ve run into a couple of sellers that are really angering me. My partner and I are debating what I should do in these situations. We were trying to find the answer on the internet when we found you. We are wondering how you would handle this.

 

I was notified yesterday that a juicer I bought from a seller in Atlanta, Georgia, was damaged in a flood in the woman’s basement. After the seller notified me, she refunded my money. I’m not happy about this. So her basement flooded! Can’t she send me another one? Go to the store and get one? I don’t understand why her problem is becoming mine. I want my item! I really feel like I should leave negative feedback, because I didn’t get it.

 

 

1.     Two weeks ago I received a box that had been “opened during mailing”. I contacted my post office, and the seller. The post office told me that some how the package was opened during its trek between Oregon and Massachusetts. Insurance was not purchased on the package, and the post office will not refund my money even though one of their machines opened my package. The seller told me they were sorry, and refunded my money but not the shipping. They asked me to cancel the transaction through eBay. 

 

Why would I cancel the transaction? How is this my fault? It seems to me this is a postal and seller issue. To me, this is one example of where I might as well leave negative feedback, regardless of the underlying reason for failure to complete the transaction.  

 

Is negative feedback appropriate in these situations? What do you think?

 

Simon & David

 

 

 

I understand your frustration. I would say that both of these sellers have done exactly what they are supposed to do. They gave you a refund immediately when they realized they could not provide the product, or it did not arrive.

 

In these types of situations I try to remember the Golden Rule Do unto others as you would want them to do to you. To help understand how the seller is feeling, try to put yourself in the sellers’ position. Would your eBay sales be the first thing on your mind if your basement was flooded and you lost your inventory? How would you feel if on top of all that you’ve lost (inventory, personal effects, etc); your buyer gave you a negative? This same thinking should apply to the second question also. It’s not the seller’s fault that a post office machine opened the packaging and your item was lost.

 

I believe negative feedback should only be used when a seller’s actions are out of line. In both of these cases, the seller did the right thing and tried to make a bad situation right again. If these were my transactions, I would leave glowing positive feedback for both sellers because they did their best to take a bad situation, and make it right again.

 

 

I have a problem, and I am not sure what to do. I’ve looked in eBay Help but couldn’t find the answer to this. I have several college textbooks as a fixed price listing. One of them sold last night. Normally with these types of sales I received payment instantly because the buyer needed it yesterday. I didn’t receive payment and two days later I receive an email from buyer saying his instructor had changed the book, and he doesn’t want to purchase it. How do I (or buyer) cancel this transaction? The best I could figure is to just ignore this, and relist the book. Thanks for your help.

 

Steven J.

 

In order to cancel the transaction, you’ll need to file a non-paying bidder. Go to: http://resolutioncenter.ebay.com/ . Choose “I want to cancel a transaction.” Follow the instructions eBay has for you. eBay will send the buyer an email to see if they want to cancel. Once the buyer cancels the transaction, your final value fees will be refunded.  You will not receive a refund for the listing fees. For more information on how to cancelation process works go here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/cancel-transaction-process.html