e-Bay sale: Wow what a problem customer

On Sat, 06 May 2006 14:08:41 GMT, "Harv" wrote:

If he won with a snipe in the last few seconds, there's nothing you could
do. But if he had bid on one of my auctions for a multi hundred dollar item
with that kind of feedback, I would have cancelled his bid and blocked him
in a NY minute. I use this in every one of my auction's "Fine Print" terms
and conditions section.

"Payment should reach me in a max of one week after close. I consider this
reasonable, and if the winning bidder fails to pay in that time frame, I
reserve the right to cancel the sale and post negative feedback, report
non-paying bidders to eBay, add non-paying winners to my blocked bidder
list, and re-list the item and/or offer it to the second highest bidder.
Please understand what you are bidding on, and Please don't bid if you don't
intend to buy it! Bidders with excessive negative feedback or zero feedback
are blocked from bidding. I reserve the right to cancel any bid at any time
for any reason. If you have any questions click the [ask seller a question]
link above and ask."

I don't disagree with what you say, but I'll offer an unsolicited
critique:

I tend to avoid bidding on items where the seller has *any* fine print
or terms and conditions in the ad. It's an indication to me that the
seller is likely to be difficult to deal with. Sellers can be just as
much a problem as the buyer in this thread.

There is nothing in your terms that isn't allowable in an eBay
transaction without you stating it. You have all those rights without
stating them. There is nothing in your terms that would change the
way a bidder would proceed if you didn't state it. There is no
statement in your terms that allows you to do something that I can't
do as a seller even though I don't state it in my ad.

There's no bidder who will decide not to bid because he doesn't have
full intent to take shipment and pay just because you have written
"Please don't bid if you don't intend to buy it!". The bidders who do
this will do it anyway.

At best, you have declared what is unnecessary to declare. At worst,
you have diverted attention from your photo and description of the
item and created a feeling of hostility.

Except for information about the item being offered, it's my opinion
that the only copy in an ad should be about some special situation
(ie: "I ship only on Friday" or "I do not accept bids from, or ship
orders to, buyers not in the United States")








--


Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

In , on 05/06/2006
at 02:31 PM, "PC" said:

There you go. If you're going to state "immediately", gosh-golly, I would
expect things pretty darn quickly.


But I explained to him the situation and he gave no protest. I fully
informed him of the situation. He has ample time to back out and protest.
He did not.

From what I remember, you wrote to him saying you couldn't ship until 5/1.
Did you state in the email to "write back quickly if you have a problem with
this"???

Perhaps the buyer paid and went out of town for a few days. Expecting,
when he returned, that he'd have the package. You're not the only one who
can go out of town, are you? And, once he's paid, he's under no obligation
to wait around to see if there is any problem with the stated terms.

I understand your case. Honest. I just think he has one, too. And he has
nothing to lose for trying to make his case.

Nick

In , on 05/06/2006
at 02:37 PM, Tony Cooper said:

I tend to avoid bidding on items where the seller has *any* fine print or
terms and conditions in the ad. It's an indication to me that the seller
is likely to be difficult to deal with. Sellers can be just as much a
problem as the buyer in this thread.

I agree with this completely. Those caught up in long term-babble get
skipped more often than those who give "just the facts". Sometimes, all you
get are terms, and the item's title. Am I buying some item of value to me,
or the rights to read a bunch of text.

Now, there are some folks here who worship text like that. As you state
elsewhere, most of it is understood and/or common sense.

Nick

"Nick Knight" wrote in message
...
In , on 05/06/2006
at 02:31 PM, "PC" said:

There you go. If you're going to state "immediately", gosh-golly, I
would
expect things pretty darn quickly.


But I explained to him the situation and he gave no protest. I fully
informed him of the situation. He has ample time to back out and protest.
He did not.

From what I remember, you wrote to him saying you couldn't ship until 5/1.
Did you state in the email to "write back quickly if you have a problem
with
this"???


No, I did not. In legal terms however no response indicates an agreement.
Not that it helps me at all in this case.

"Nick Knight" wrote in message
...

Now, there are some folks here who worship text like that. As you state
elsewhere, most of it is understood and/or common sense.

Nick


As the bad guy in "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" said, "Assumption is the
mother of all f*ckups." In other words, unless you're dealing with a repeat
buyer who was happy with your service in the past, you don't know who you're
dealing with, how smart or stupid they are, how reasonable or demanding
they'll be, or how they'll react to anything you say or do. You can't assume
they're operating under common sense. You can't assume anything.

You do it your way, I'll do it mine. My "fine print" is a drop in the word
count bucket compared to many sellers' screed that goes on forever. Endless
boxed paragraphs in tables in tiny type one can barely read. Disclaimers and
terms 12 ways to Sunday. All I know is that getting in a ****ing match with
a buyer, AFTER they've bought, whether their demands an expectations are
reasonable or nonsense, isn't going to lead to anything but a trail of
tears.

Harv

On Sat, 06 May 2006 09:30:28 GMT, PC wrote:
Folks I am in a tough bind here. As often is the case both sides have some
foothold in this claim but I feel that this guy is being very unreasonable.

(snip situation)

Sounds like he bought expecting the terms of the sale to be as you
stated, promised the coins to a customer, and you're screwing up his
relationship with his customer. You changed the terms of sale (in this
case, shipping schedule) from what he and you agreed on when he bought
your items. If I was him, I'd be ****ed too.

On Sat, 06 May 2006 15:26:11 GMT, "Harv" wrote:


"Nick Knight" wrote in message
.. .

Now, there are some folks here who worship text like that. As you state
elsewhere, most of it is understood and/or common sense.

Nick


As the bad guy in "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" said, "Assumption is the
mother of all f*ckups." In other words, unless you're dealing with a repeat
buyer who was happy with your service in the past, you don't know who you're
dealing with, how smart or stupid they are, how reasonable or demanding
they'll be, or how they'll react to anything you say or do. You can't assume
they're operating under common sense. You can't assume anything.

I hope you don't feel you are under attack. Alternatives have been
offered to what you think is right to do, but nothing is being said
that attacks you for doing what you're doing.

My alternatives are based on exactly what you just said: "...you
don't know who you're dealing with, how smart or stupid they are..."
If they're smart, they already know what the buyer is and isn't
allowed to do. If they're dumb, they won't read and understand your
"fine print". Either way, it's unnecessary for you to state what you
state.

The only thing necessary about your terms is that stating them may be
necessary for your own peace of mind. However, this may cost you a
bid from a buyer who is put off by your apparent rigidity.

You do it your way, I'll do it mine.

Sure. Others reading this, though, may gain something from the
discussion. That's one of the reasons for a newsgroup.

My "fine print" is a drop in the word
count bucket compared to many sellers' screed that goes on forever. Endless
boxed paragraphs in tables in tiny type one can barely read. Disclaimers and
terms 12 ways to Sunday. All I know is that getting in a ****ing match with
a buyer, AFTER they've bought, whether their demands an expectations are
reasonable or nonsense, isn't going to lead to anything but a trail of
tears.

As my mother used to say...."If one of your friends jumped off a
roof...."



--


Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

Hi Nick:

That's funny, really - how can you tell which posters are dealers?!

I, for one, am not. I do have some experience buying and selling on
eBay,
though.

I think the vast majority of postings in this thread are quite
balanced,
BTW. There is also a lot of good advice contained in them...

Kind Regards,
John

My blog:
http://egorus.blogspot.com/


Nick Knight wrote:
In , on 05/06/2006
at 12:19 PM, "PC" said:

That is what I am hoping for. I have lived up to the terms of the
agreement despite his attempts to nitpick my auction text.

I'm sorry, am I interrupting a party only for dealers? I've got another 15
posts in this thread to read yet, but so far all I see is a big dealer pitty
part.

You can't possibly think that you lived up to the terms of your own policy,
can you? Really? Well, let's hope we find some more balanced opinions in
the articles to follow.

Nick

In .com, on 05/06/2006
at 09:55 AM, said:

That's funny, really - how can you tell which posters are dealers?!

It isn't really too tough, now is it? I need it "for a customer"? The more
subtle thing to watch for is the claim that they need to cover their
"overhead".

I, for one, am not. I do have some experience buying and selling on eBay,
though.

Who doesn't?

I think the vast majority of postings in this thread are quite balanced,
BTW. There is also a lot of good advice contained in them...

Some of them are. However, the thread started out as a dealers' pitty
party. I suppose that is pretty "funny" when you think about it.

Nick

PC wrote:
Folks I am in a tough bind here. As often is the case both sides
have some foothold in this claim but I feel that this guy is being
very unreasonable. I have maintained professionalism thus far but now
this guy is threatening my PayPal account.

As others have pointed out, sometimes professionalism is not enough to
fend off the loonies out there.

You didn't say which auction was the culprit, but based on the clues you
did include, I'm guessing it's the Nevada Quarter Rolls. If so, that
auction ended on April 22nd.

Sorry to be blunt, but I'd be ****ed if a seller ended an auction over a
WEEK before he was to get back from a trip. Why on earth would you
schedule an auction at such a time? Or was the trip that unexpected?

--
Jim Seymour