No, this is not an April Fools blog post, but I wish it was. Yesterday I got a negative feedback from a buyer. I’ve been selling on eBay for over 20 years - this is the first one. And I want to explain my side of the story, as one is only allowed to put 80 characters into a feedback response.
Several weeks ago I had a buyer purchase a stamp item from me for less than four dollars. As usual, I only charged $1.25 shipping. After all, who would be willing to pay me $3.15 shipping on a $4 item? And I certainly would not offer free shipping on something like that, just for the purpose of getting a tracking number. His stamp was mailed out the next morning, as I do with all my purchases.
Well, apparently the good old US Post Office managed to loose the envelope. Ten days go by and I get a really, really rude message from this buyer, laced with profanities and telling me that I had crappy service. Unbelievable. So, I immediately refunded his purchase price and shipping fee. With rude swearing like that, this is the last guy I’d want as a customer, so I blocked him. The next day I get a really long message from him, again with profanities, calling me and some others “half-assed” sellers. And - he made several threats to me. Interestingly, I am not the only seller who has blocked him.
Enough was enough - I reported him to eBay and was told they’d deal with it. Guess what happend next? This rude person leaves me a negative feedback. Again - unbelievable. I contacted eBay and explained the situation to them (again) and asked for the feedback to be removed, as it was clearly in retaliation to my blocking him. Nope, eBay wouldn’t budge - they said they would not remove it. If I was in charge I would not only remove it but have this jerk suspended.
Anyway, I’m pissed. At this jerk, and at eBay. If there was another venue I could sell my stamps at and get the same widespread audience as eBay gets, I’d be outta eBay in a heartbeat. Apparently they don’t give a crap about sellers if they can coddle a jerk like this.
So there you have it - I am the victim of a jerk buyer and am the one who has to suffer.