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Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Denison, Iowa

Long Story Short, A large ebay bits seller has banned me from buying their product because I gave them a valid negative review.


I have purchased dozens of bits orders from this seller over the years. Around Fathers Day ebay had a nice promotional code, combine this with this sellers "buy 10 things, get 10% off" policy and making a very large bits order was very cheap.

Unfortunately, for the first time ever, this seller let me down. After a rather unreasonable delay in shipping some bits were missing. Emails I sent were not returned, so I had to make a paypal claim. Eventually I got a refund, but this was still a negative experience in my book, and marked that one item as a negative on their feedback (with a dozen positives for the correct items). I am now banned from their ebay store.

Has anyone else had this kind of heavy-handed reaction to honest feedback?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/07/07 20:41:22


 
   
Made in au
[MOD]
Making Stuff






Under the couch

After that sort of runaround, I wouldn't be buying from them again anyway, so it doesn't really sound like much of a loss...

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/23 08:08:44


 
   
Made in us
Nihilistic Necron Lord






Who was it? I’ve heard other similar stories of lots of good sales, but one bad review and you get banned.

 
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

There are always two sides to every story; plus don't forget a lot of ebay stores are just people running them out of their garage. So they are not always the most professional of people in knowing how to do customer services right; esp if they are normally pretty reliable and thus don't have many negative experiences - or only have them when a customer is trying to scam them.

A Blog in Miniature

3D Printing, hobbying and model fun! 
   
Made in us
Insect-Infested Nurgle Chaos Lord






On one hand, I can't blame him as eBay gives zero backing to sellers anymore and all the protection with claims etc. is all with the buyers, thus making them more susceptible to scams (I've been hit by one years ago (incidentally with bitz too). Only thing I could do was block them).

OTOH you're well within your rights as a customer to leave neg feedback. That's what it's there for. Many sellers will bend over backwards to avoid that negative hit (which goes back to the above paragraph). Not sure why they didn't try to resolve anything with you.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/23 08:56:53



Games Workshop Delenda Est.

Users on ignore- 53.

If you break apart my or anyone else's posts line by line I will not read them. 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Denison, Iowa

Yeah, it was strange. My total before shipping was almost $90. The bits I was missing were only $1.41. Seriously, do they think I'd try to scam them out of $1.41?
   
Made in gb
Blood Angel Terminator with Lightning Claws





Cloud City, Bespin

I know how you feel, I’m band from an eBay seller too

I had issues buying Volvo parts, so each time I went to buy something after it would give bogus excuses and wouldn’t let me buy said items, my basket would automatically empty


 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
Straight out if the pot, bang it on. What else is there to know?
 DV8 wrote:
Blood Angels Furioso Dreadnought should also be double-fisted.
 
   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver



York, PA USA

In many years of selling and buying on e-bay I only ever blocked one buyer.

This guy won an auction for one of many orc regiments I was selling. They were well painted OOP savage orcs and he paid around $8 a fig if I remember correctly. The photos showed the regiment from multiple angles.

He immediately complained about the price, even though I did not force him to bid. He demanded that they arrive intact or else. So I packaged them well and shipped them.

They got there intact and he was angry because not every model had a shield. Of course not every model had a shield, they are savage orcs. The command was not capable of carrying shields and some had 2 weapons or some other issue. The point is that the vast majority had shields and the pictures clearly showed the models and the fact that some did not have shields.

His e-mail was completely insulting and accused me of fraud and deception and demanded that I refund some of the money. I told him to return the regiment for a full refund, because at this point I was sick of his crap. Also the accusations really were over the top.

He refused to return the items and threatened negative feedback, which is a real killer for sellers. I ended up paying him a refund of about $1.50 per figure to shut him up. He went on the blocked list and all the emails were forwarded to E-bay and he was reported for feedback extortion. I have no idea what ever happened but I will NEVER sell to that person again. He was a terrible customer, completely rude and unreasonable. There was really nothing more I could have done than refund his money and pay for return shipping. To demand to keep the product AND get money back was ludicrous.

Having said that, I have shipped over 12,000 packages now from my small business and the overwhelming number of people are really decent. That one person did not taint my opinion of the rest of the buying and selling community. Most people are great to work with. But a tiny few are not.
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





West Michigan, deep in Whitebread, USA

Its just a thing of ebay, as bad a taste as it leaves. One of my favorite bitz sellers recently added statements all over their site saying if you leave a negative you will be blocked from future purchases.



"By this point I'm convinced 100% that every single race in the 40k universe have somehow tapped into the ork ability to just have their tech work because they think it should."  
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut




there are people "IRL" so to speak who will try it on, there are also companies who are rip off merchants, not sure why eBay would be any different.

Sounds like you've not exactly lost anything here, where as the seller has lost a customer, gained negative feedback when they had the chance to avoid both.

This is partly why I don't sell stuff on eBay, just seems way more trouble than its worth
   
Made in us
Most Glorious Grey Seer





Everett, WA

I suppose the ban could be pre-emptive, to avoid your giving negative feedback on future purchases. I wouldn't put it past a competing seller to pull a stunt like that.


 
   
Made in us
Archmagos Veneratus Extremis






Home Base: Prosper, TX (Dallas)

Well consider that if they don't ban and someone gets pissed. They could tank a bits seller for less than $50 and there are people out there that would do it. Personally the only people I've had issues with on ebay was people I sold bits to son get it.

Best Painted (2015 Adepticon 40k Champs)

They Shall Know Fear - Adepticon 40k TT Champion (2012 & 2013) & 40k TT Best Sport (2014), 40k TT Best Tactician (2015 & 2016) 
   
Made in us
Reeve




It has been a while since I was left negative feedback, but the few times it was left it was totally unwarranted. Given it is my livleyhood I am not gonna risk it. I block them every time. Infact if I get a question or query that seems suspect I too will block the bidder.
   
Made in us
Homicidal Veteran Blood Angel Assault Marine






It's fairly common to be blocked after leaving negative feedback. Just part of the system.

4500
 
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Stonecold Gimster






I'm not sure I really understand why the OP is complaining.
If I had an experience that warranted me leaving negative feedback, I wouldn't be caring if they banned me or not as I wouldn't be using them again anyway.
I just get the feeling the OP is more annoyed with himself for leaving negative feedback over such a minor thing and regrets it as he can't use the store again. Makes me wonder about the title of the thread.

My Painting Blog: http://gimgamgoo.com/
Currently most played: Silent Death, Xenos Rampant, Mars Code Aurora and Battletech.
I tried dabbling with 40k9/10 again and tried AoS3 - disliked both, but I'm enjoying HH2 and trying Battletech Classic and AS out 
   
Made in fi
Locked in the Tower of Amareo





 troa wrote:
It's fairly common to be blocked after leaving negative feedback. Just part of the system.


Then the system is rotten from the core if you can't give valid criticism without getting banned. Smells more like stores wanting to brush away problems they have. "no nothing wrong here"

2024 painted/bought: 109/109 
   
Made in us
Archmagos Veneratus Extremis






Home Base: Prosper, TX (Dallas)

It kinda is. Because negative feedback affects how much ebay charges per sale. Which means people being a-holes can cost full time sellers serious cash. So the idea of keeping people around who have a tendency to negative feedback is a bad idea.

Best Painted (2015 Adepticon 40k Champs)

They Shall Know Fear - Adepticon 40k TT Champion (2012 & 2013) & 40k TT Best Sport (2014), 40k TT Best Tactician (2015 & 2016) 
   
Made in us
Been Around the Block




tneva82 wrote:
 troa wrote:
It's fairly common to be blocked after leaving negative feedback. Just part of the system.


Then the system is rotten from the core if you can't give valid criticism without getting banned. Smells more like stores wanting to brush away problems they have. "no nothing wrong here"


Maybe it is rotten, but why would that seller want you as a customer either? I'd ban problem customers if I could.
   
Made in gb
Stone Bonkers Fabricator General




We'll find out soon enough eh.

The feedback system is supposed to be there to keep sellers honest by allowing people to see not just when they fail to meet someone's expectations but how they failed and what they did to resolve it. If sellers only permit people who leave positive feedback to buy from them, it defeats the whole object.

And appeals to hypothetical worst-case scenarios don't change that.

Maybe if someone is getting a lot of "problem customers", then they should do a bit of honest self-reflection and recognise that the one constant in all those transactions is them.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2018/06/25 17:33:27


I need to acquire plastic Skavenslaves, can you help?
I have a blog now, evidently. Featuring the Alternative Mordheim Model Megalist.

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-----
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Made in us
5th God of Chaos! (Yea'rly!)




The Great State of Texas

 insaniak wrote:
After that sort of runaround, I wouldn't be buying from them again anyway, so it doesn't really sound like much of a loss...


Indeed. Why would you have a negative experience, give them a negative review, and then try to do business again?

-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
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Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

 Frazzled wrote:
 insaniak wrote:
After that sort of runaround, I wouldn't be buying from them again anyway, so it doesn't really sound like much of a loss...


Indeed. Why would you have a negative experience, give them a negative review, and then try to do business again?


Sometimes only one retailer might have what you want; and if their overall rating is very high then sometimes you can chalk it up to just a single isolated incident. And given a few weeks both sides might well have forgotten the incident

In general some things are worth making a big stand over; others are mostly trivial small things that, yes they were wrong, but you'll forgive/forget

A Blog in Miniature

3D Printing, hobbying and model fun! 
   
Made in us
Archmagos Veneratus Extremis






Home Base: Prosper, TX (Dallas)

I mostly hold this to be ok for bitz sellers because as mentioned above if someone gets pissy they can cost the seller and additional 2% in costs for a relatively minor amount. So in my opinion it's in their best interests to essential ban negative review people.

That said I generally don't make a stand about $1.50 or whatever. I've had bitz companies send extra or less than what I ordered on occasion and I'm generally good with it as long as I got what I needed for my conversions. If I didn't and it's expense I might drop them a message and mention how much I purchase but I would probably rarely go to negative feedback. I don't rant about mcdonalds for forgetting my kids ranch for their chicken mcnuggets why would I throw a fit about a low cost item?

Best Painted (2015 Adepticon 40k Champs)

They Shall Know Fear - Adepticon 40k TT Champion (2012 & 2013) & 40k TT Best Sport (2014), 40k TT Best Tactician (2015 & 2016) 
   
Made in us
Insect-Infested Nurgle Chaos Lord






 Yodhrin wrote:
The feedback system is supposed to be there to keep sellers honest by allowing people to see not just when they fail to meet someone's expectations but how they failed and what they did to resolve it. If sellers only permit people who leave positive feedback to buy from them, it defeats the whole object.

And appeals to hypothetical worst-case scenarios don't change that.

Maybe if someone is getting a lot of "problem customers", then they should do a bit of honest self-reflection and recognise that the one constant in all those transactions is them.


Yes, that is true like over a decade ago.

eBay is all about the buyer now. Has been for quite some time. Sellers cannot even leave negative feedback on problem buyers (they used to be able to a long time ago. You can only ever leave positive (maybe neutral too) feedback as a seller.), so banning them is the only option they have after they've been held hostage by a crap system that does absolutely nothing to protect the seller anymore.


Games Workshop Delenda Est.

Users on ignore- 53.

If you break apart my or anyone else's posts line by line I will not read them. 
   
Made in au
Fresh-Faced New User




tneva82 wrote:
 troa wrote:
It's fairly common to be blocked after leaving negative feedback. Just part of the system.


Then the system is rotten from the core if you can't give valid criticism without getting banned. Smells more like stores wanting to brush away problems they have. "no nothing wrong here"


With ebay giving so much power to the buyer and no recourse to the seller, pre-emptively and swiftly banning problem customers is the only thing you can do to stop them from robbing you blind. With margins so slim in such a competitive marketplace it doesn't take many idiots to wipe out your profit.
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Denison, Iowa

I do feel that there should be a way to leave negative feedback for a buyer, but it should be limited. Buyers should only ever have negative feedback for non-payment and harassment.

If they ordered on Friday night, and are hounding you with multiple emails on Sunday about why there is no tracking number, well, yes that deserves negative feedback. On the other hand if they used a buy-it-now function, paid immediately with Paypal, and are asking where their product is 3 weeks later, no, a seller should not be allowed negative feedback.

As a business owner myself I view every comment as useful. If there is a problem somewhere I want to know where and what it is. The first step to fixing a problem is admitting there is one.

   
Made in us
Androgynous Daemon Prince of Slaanesh





Norwalk, Connecticut

Honestly, if I was REALLY unhappy about a place, I wouldn’t want to use them again anyway. If I’m a longtime customer, had one thing go awry and tried to contact the company (then get ignored), I’d likely want to use them again at some point in the future.

I assume this is Horde O Bitz we’re talking about? They have this policy; they’re GREAT until one tiny thing goes wrong, then if you try to inquire they ignore you and block you if you leave any feedback other than a positive.

Reality is a nice place to visit, but I'd hate to live there.

Manchu wrote:I'm a Catholic. We eat our God.


Due to work, I can usually only ship any sales or trades out on Saturday morning. Please trade/purchase with this in mind.  
   
Made in us
Nimble Ellyrian Reaver



York, PA USA

E-bay has gotten a bit interesting lately. Sales have plunged dramatically, to the point that my Amazon listings are outpacing E-bay by around a 30-1 ratio. Or more some days.

I got the below message a few weeks ago and it prompted me to do some research. E-bay uses "rolling blackouts" to help share business among the sellers it seems. Not sure if this is true but it has become much more difficult to count on E-bay.


Hello,
My name is XXXXXX. I'm from upstate NY.

I'm a big fan of your work, and have been buying your 30mm hex bases for a number of years now.

I play a lot of XXXXXXXXX, and resent the fact that the game's makers sell bases for $1 each. Yours are great quality, and a wonderful value.

I've been prowling eBay for a week now, and see that you don't have any on sale.

Can you tell me if you'll be listing any soon? I have a large number of mechs coming from overseas, and I'll need your bases to complete them.

Thanks so much. I hope to hear from you soon.


So not entirely sure what is happening. Online sellers have a lot to deal with currently. The new Supreme Court sales tax ruling could be ruinous, and the USPS providing subsidized shipping to Chinese sellers on E-bay makes it a very hard way to make a buck.

The vast majority of buyers are great to work with and sellers are also doing the best they can for the most part. It has been an overall great tool for me to buy and sell over the years.

   
Made in us
Powerful Phoenix Lord





eBay is definitely 100% about the buyer, and has zero help/interest in the seller. I can easily see many eBay stores/sellers blocking negative feedback buyers.

If the tax ruling goes counter to eBay and online sales in general it'll be a crazy windfall.
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






SoCal, USA!

kenofyork wrote:
In many years of selling and buying on e-bay I only ever blocked one buyer.

This guy won an auction for one of many orc regiments I was selling. They were well painted OOP savage orcs and he paid around $8 a fig if I remember correctly. The photos showed the regiment from multiple angles.

He immediately complained about the price, even though I did not force him to bid. He demanded that they arrive intact or else. So I packaged them well and shipped them.

They got there intact and he was angry because not every model had a shield. Of course not every model had a shield, they are savage orcs. The command was not capable of carrying shields and some had 2 weapons or some other issue. The point is that the vast majority had shields and the pictures clearly showed the models and the fact that some did not have shields.

His e-mail was completely insulting and accused me of fraud and deception and demanded that I refund some of the money. I told him to return the regiment for a full refund, because at this point I was sick of his crap. Also the accusations really were over the top.

He refused to return the items and threatened negative feedback, which is a real killer for sellers. I ended up paying him a refund of about $1.50 per figure


I would have reported him immediately and escalated to eBay, explaining that he received *exactly* what was pictured and described.

His options are to return for refund IN THE CONDITION IT WAS SENT, or to keep the items as-is. You did your part, and I wouldn't accept any BS from him. Buyer pays shipping to return for refund of original amount. Buyer is liable for any and all damages during shipment, which will be deducted from the refund amount. If your Ts & Cs mentioned a restocking fee, you should call that out as well. 100% "just business".

False Negs will be removed, and his account can be suspended for feedback extortion.

If I know I'm right, I won't take any crap from Buyers.

   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut





Denison, Iowa

Right after I bought my home I bought a 1987 Monte Carlo and was going to fix it up. On thing wrong with it was that there was a cracked spoiler.

Quick e-bay auction later and I had an aftermarket one on the way, along with almost all of a new interior, Trans Am mirrors, rims, and some other performance parts (various sellers). Time slipped and about a month later I noticed that I still hadn't gotten my spoiler.

I sent the seller an e-mail, and waited a week. Another email, and a phone call that went to an answering machine (old school, not voice mail). After another week of more unanswered emails and phone messages I made an ebay claim. I got the refund, but two days after that I ALSO got a spoiler in the mail. Checking my email, I had one NASTY message from the seller.

He accused me of being a cheat and demanded either the money or the spoiler back. After inspecting the low-quality item (recasting issues and misaligned mounting bolts) I agreed to send the item back, if he paid shipping. I never heard from the guy again.

6 months later I sold it on ebay for $65 (correctly listed with issues noted).
   
 
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