Ya'll warned me... I didn't listen... what now?

[dbduck]

don't know how true this is ....but was told by a friend that if you pay for e-bay purchases with a US Postal Service money order & have the buyer ship the item thru the US mail...then it falls under "mail fraud" if not what was promised

[slotracer]

I have only had a few negative experiences on ebay but many many positives. All my negative experiences have been with buyers, not sellers to date, although I had a few "neutral" experiences with sellers. (I left no feedback on them). My neutrals were with people with whom I made email contact and sent payment but they were delayed in teh mail a little, they left non payment actions on me 7 days after end of auction even though I was in contact with them. What impatient dolts ! All those folks ended up reseiving payment in 10-14 days after auction end (Checks dated within days of the end of auction) and sent the items but the manner they dealt with customers did not inspire me to bother with feedback.
I had one *** for brains leave neutral feedback on me 6 years ago when I was selling off my HO trains. I had atherarn blue box assembled cars going in auction lots. This clown wins 3 of the lots, all described as used but in nice shape, minimal work needed to have cars fully operational, minor parts missing on a car or two. He gets the cars, probably 20 or so (3 lots) and witout eamiling me or anything leave neutrals on all 3 auctions. I contact him and he claims the cars were not well represnted, "they needed work".....I asked what work and he says a couple cars had couplers installed upside down, a couple brake wheels missing, wheels out of gauge and a few parts needed to be reglued. I pointed out how my auction was worded and this was all clear, he never responded any longer and never modified the feedback.
Another Dolt won a blueprint of one of the origanl drawings of the central terminal in Buffalo NY, he was fine with the auction until he saw I had more of these original prints of the original drawings up for auction a week or so after he got his print. He claimed misrepresentation and a host of other BS that I ignored as I was on rock solid ground, his beef was more likely that if I had listed all copies of teh drawings at once it would have dilluted teh bidder pool and he would have gotten his items cheaper. He was such a knothead I was not about to reward his noxious behavior, but after several MONTHS of his childish carrying on, I suggested he jsut resell them, he did, he made a profit and amended his negative feedback, but what a jerk.
Recently I had a guy win an auction and I kept reminding him for 6 weeks to send payment, finally I warned him he ahd a week to either communicate of pay or negative feedback was coming, I wait 10 days, leave the negative but within one day he responds to that with his own negative retaliation. What an absolute moron.
Otherwise I have had nothing but good to say about ebay. Some of it's users however need to have a serious****whippin laid on them however.

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jshrade

To answer a couple of your questions Jeff... I asked him to set up a Buy It Now ebay auction in one of my original emails, but he claimed it would save both of us time, if I just sent the payment for the used ones with the new switches I bought from him on Ebay.

I remember the thread and the answers and to be honest, it's just a crap shoot.. Buying used track sight unseen is a risky business. 6 months ago, I sold a lot of used track and switches but I described exactly what the buyer would recieve, including the ones with missing points (If I ever run across them, I'll send them to the buyer). Tell people exactly what they'll get, and in general, I've found anyway, they're happy with the purchase. Just for the record, I do believe you tried to deal in good faith.. I don't need names, your description of his feedback file is good enough for me as I always check before buying.

As to his response on your request for a buy it now and for future reference, NOT True. It takes all of about a minute and one can even pre-name a list or a single approved bidder(s). No one else outside of that list can bid the auction and may not even see it (I don't remember if those types of auctions are excluded from the general listings). What it Saved was money, for him, in the way of listing and comission fees to ebay.. That's the only reason for refusing the request. This is the Main reason ebay frowns on the practice.. Secondary is the risk to the buyer involved.

Show us the layout when you have things in place..

Good luck,
Jeff

[Anonymous]

I have had excellent transactions on Ebay never a problem but I take some pretty extreme measures to ensure my safety and satisfaction. I only deal with folks who have been with ebay for a long time and have good history a few negitives will cause me to email the seller for an explaination and once I emailed the buyer and both replies were very similar so I felt the seller was honest. I will also email the seller about the item for more information if they care enough they reply rather quickly. I also send my payment via the fastest method. I know I am one of those pain in the rear buyers but I want the transaction to be good for me and them. I once bought several items on different auction with the same seller and I sent payment via Next day Priority mail and the seller scolded me for getting him payment too fast he said after the first auction he trusted me but I didnt listen I still did it he rewarded me for my honesty and sent me an addidional item for free. He was a great seller. But I quit collecting 1/43 scale police cars and now I dont buy from him too bad he is not in to trains.One of these days I have to sell that collection to finance more Locomotive stuff.

[ICRR1964]

The old "I was ill game", Ive heard that one many times over the years. Why don't they just tell you, "I'm just lazy, got my money, and you will get your items sooner or later!"
Some sellers get in way over their head and then cannot manage their products, this happens allot with a one man team seller. The invoices roll in, emails, and questions. Then the next thing they know, there forgeting to mail items, sending wrong items, or just sit there in frustration trying to figure out how to get things going. I did this once years ago when I started selling, had 30 auctions all end at the same time, and had to have my wife help me get things done, never again! Now I just do 8 auctions a week, much easier to manage.

The way I see it this guy seems scared of you, and thats why he is getting mad, I would just go along with your plan and leave the good feedback and move on from there.

It was a few years back, but there was a seller who had a huge lot of BB Athearn engines about 30 of them. These were all taken apart and in parts condition in the photo's. He had a buy it now for $40. The auction was about 20 minutes old when I found it, I did the buy it now and paid with paypal. Got the items real fast, and was very happy. I spent the next weekend rebuilding, cleaning and reapiring all the loco's, then took pictures and listed them in single sales, for like $15 each. The auction was about 2 days old when I got an email from the seller where I got all these loco's, telling me he knows what I did and felt he had been ripped off for what I paid him for the loco's. I had already done his feedback but never got one from him, so you can guess what he tried to pull then with leaving me feedback. He started to threaten me with leaving me bad feedback for a deal that went smooth as silk, and wanted a cut on all the sales of all the loco's, or else he would leave bad feedback. I was mad as a hornet, that this guy was going to threaten me over this so ignored his emails all together, thought to myself, you put the auction up, I won, and then you have second thoughts.

Well the auctions came and went made a good little chunk of coin out of it. Then he started sending me emails again wanting 70% of the profit. So I sent him an email stating that I agrred to his terms. Sent him a letter in the mail with $250 enclosed. The letter read as follows?

Dear Blackmailer,

Here is $250 enclosed for your cut on the sales of all the Athearn loco's that I purchased from you, I thank you for letting me share some of the money with you and would never say a word to ebay about what you are trying to do, and feel greatfull helping you out in anyway I can. Sorry if you feel I took advantage of you, that was not my intentions at all, so enjoy the money and hope to do more bussiness with you.

thanks again, Jeff
P.S. Either leave me good feedback or I will turn all your emails over to Ebay, with copy's of the auction I won of yours, and your intent of trying to extort money out of me over feedback. You want to play the game, be prepared to lose this one.

The money I left in the letter to him was Monopoly money guys! My feed back was done in five days, and I turned everything over to Ebay then. He was kicked off soon after because he was trying to do this to other people.

This is a growing problem on Ebay, and is getting worse! Bad sellers and buyers go hand in hand. Allot of people think that feedback for the buyer and seller means nothing, it tells a story of each person and how they are looked at. I always go and look at ones feedback if they are buying or selling to see what kind of person they are. I have had allot of good buys and sales on Ebay, but there is that 2% that leave a bad taste in your mouth that can turn you away from it. You just got to know how to deal with them when they pop up. And everyone will run into one sooner or later, its just a matter of time though.

[Anonymous]

The only reason I haven't posted his name is simply because I don't know what this forum's policy on naming names is, and I wouldn't feel it fair of me to. Plus, since he sells 90% railroad related stuff and model railroading supplies, he may well be a member on this forum, and I don't want to start anything with him here on the forum. If anybody wants me to email them with his name and/or copies of my correspondance with him since day 1 of this ordeal, I'd be more than happy to. My email address is [e-mail], just put in the subject "Ebay Seller's Name?" and I'll give you all the information.

[cass_shay]

I think that you should at least post the E_bay name of this guy. As you say feed back really dosen't work because too many people are affraid of what they get in return. Word of mouth is the best guage of a transaction, be it e-bay or in the real world. If it's against the board policy to post the name e-mail those who would like to know. I don't buy to often on e-bay, but would like to know who to avoid. Thank........

Robert

[Anonymous]

Alexander13,

Snap Switches are generally regarded as a lower grade 'toy train' track switch made by Atlas, in which the diverging route is curved to an 18" radius, and has a slightly curved frog. Atlas "Custom Line" switches are typically regarded as layout quality switches, #4's having a much straighter frog, and a diverging route curved to approximately a 30" radius, which is more suitable to larger locomotives and rolling stock. #6's are much longer and have a much larger radius diverging route. The numbered switches, #4's, #6's and the like, are regarded as much more desireable in layout building than snap switches because they can handle many more types of locomotives and rolling stock than snap switches, and because they are designed much more like the prototype.

The big deal here is, that the seller said he was sending #4's (the ones I needed and wanted for my layout) but instead, sent half the number of #4's he said he would, and replaced the other half with Snap Switches.

[Anonymous]

To answer a couple of your questions Jeff... I did a complete cut/paste of both mine and his emails, no edits except for mine and his real names at the beginning and end of the emails (which I deleted from the cut/paste).

He did in fact have other ebay activity going on at the same time I was waiting on him to send me the switches. He was getting new feedback nearly every day from other buyers, since the day I won the new switches and paid for both the new and used ones. No one as of yet has left Neutral or Negative feedback regarding any slow shipping since Dec 29th. I seem to be the only one complaining, out of the '47 other auctions' he claims to have had to ship out the day he shipped mine.

The original transaction for the used switches (the off-ebay sale) was started, I guess you could say, when I asked if he had any new #4 switches. He replied that he had 19 used #4's in 'excellent condition' and sent two pictures of them basically piled on top of one another, but fanned out like a deck of cards. From the pictures they looked good, and, I've seen both older #4's with the blackened metal frogs and others with the shiny metal frogs, so when I saw both in the pictures, they all appeard to be the same size and shape, and in the 'excellent condition' he described, I agreed to buy them at the price he offered. He specifically told me he had 9 #4 RH, and 10 #4 LH. I asked him to set up a Buy It Now ebay auction in one of my original emails, but he claimed it would save both of us time, if I just sent the payment for the used ones with the new switches I bought from him on Ebay.

I posted a few questions on here, and got about a 50/50 'go for it' and 'don't ever buy used track' from the responses here. Going on a gut feeling, thinking I was getting a great deal, having seen the pictures, and seeing he had a great feedback rating, I thought it would be an okay deal. Little did I know I wouldn't recieve the items I bought for 3 weeks, and then when I get them, they're not what I paid for.

To follow up, I'm not leaving him any feedback at all, on the new or the used switches, because of the way this situation has played out, and because he threatened to leave me negative feedback simply after I emailed him the first time asking why I didn't get what I paid for, even though I paid the same day the sale was made. I've decided never to do business with him again after all this.

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jshrade

Well, I heard back from him today... two emails no less.... he felt that my email (which is reprinted entirely about the 5th post on this thread) was 'attacking' him, and he even threatened to leave ME negative feedback 'before giving him a chance to resolve the matter'. His first email tells me just to ship them back, but almost immediatly afterwards, he sends ANOTHER email completely attacking ME. Just to let ya'll know I'm not just flaming him, here's copies (cut/pasted, no edits except for names) of both of his emails to me. This guy is turning out to be a REAL jerk.


sigh...

Lesson learned.

This guy is a BS artist drama queen. I've dealt with enough of them in the past to recognize the rhetoric. If your C&P is complete, I'm convinced that he knew what he was sending you, set out to unload some junk, and is now turning it around.. I'll bet if you wrote some of the other bidders who complained, similar reasons for the delays were given. DID he have any ebay activity While you were waiting for your purchase?? I don't remember from your original thread, Who started the transaction (over and above the auction) but if it was you, let it be a lesson.. Sadly, if it were me, the layout wouldn't look as sweet with the sour taste of the transaction still hanging around. I'm not an advocate of leaving feedback on outside ebay transactions but do what you feel you have to.

Takes all kinds I guess.. Unfortunately, there are A$$holes in every crowd.

Good luck either way,
Jeff

[Anonymous]

what are snap switches?

[Anonymous]

Well, I heard back from him today... two emails no less.... he felt that my email (which is reprinted entirely about the 5th post on this thread) was 'attacking' him, and he even threatened to leave ME negative feedback 'before giving him a chance to resolve the matter'. His first email tells me just to ship them back, but almost immediatly afterwards, he sends ANOTHER email completely attacking ME. Just to let ya'll know I'm not just flaming him, here's copies (cut/pasted, no edits except for names) of both of his emails to me. This guy is turning out to be a REAL jerk.

FIRST EMAIL FROM HIM

Just return them all and I will refund all your money including two way shipping. The pictures on the listing were very clear and it stated they were used.

I apologize for having a heart attact I should have waited until after I shipped your switches.

SECOND EMAIL FROM HIM (Before I get a chance to respond to the first one)

By the way. I sent those to you on the 18th Priority Mail you should had them at least three days ago. maybe you should go off on the post office too.

As far as feedbacks are concern, I learnt a long time ago if you leave FBs first the buyers never leave it. When I first started waiting until the buyer does it, my FB's doubled. If you really want one now I can leave you a negative

You write and go off on me with out me even giving me a chance to do anything about it. I said they were in good used but, usable condition. I sold them to you for less then I would have listed them for. Maybe you can't use them I could. No problem I will completely refund your money. Send them all back. I was ill before I had the Heart attack when I sold them to you and I mix up a couple of orders. When you wrote wanting to know if they had been shipped I told you I had been ill and I was running behind. Why if you needed so fast didn't you ask for a refund them??? You could have canceled the deal and I wouldn't be stuck with the shipping. On the 18th I shipped 47 packages more then I have ever sent at one time. That is how far behind I was. Out of the 47 I shipped you are the only one who couldn't understand a person can get sick.

Just remember " you reap what you sow".

END OF HIS EMAIL

MY RESPONSE EMAIL

For starters, I don't feel that I in any way 'went off on you'. I read and reread my email to you several times, and I don't see how "I'd just like to know what, 'if anything,' you'd like to do about the situation" can be construed as going off on you. Since you got my payment on time, and I haven't left any feedback as of yet on ebay regarding the new
switches, I don't see how on earth you can possibly leave me negative feedback, when I did everything I was supposed to. When someone misrepresents the product they're shipping, it would annoy anybody. Now, as I said in previous emails, I am sorry you were ill, that was a situation beyond either of our control, and for that, I have no problems with the slow shipping. I received the switches on Friday, Jan 20th, but because I wasn't home and they needed me to sign for it, it was returned to the post office, where I had to pick it up Monday (I worked Saturday).

I have no problems at all with the switches that are in useable conditions, I was just saddened by the fact that you sent 7 Snap Switches, instead of the #4's you said you'd send. Again, I don't feel I went off on you in any way, and I simply wanted to know your side of the story before anything else happened.

I am very sorry if you thought I was attacking you, that was never my intention. Rather than go through the hassle of re-shipping the switches, since I can use at least 10 of the #4's, I'll keep what you sent me. I simply wanted to know if you were willing to
offer a slight refund on the Snap Switches, since I never would've paid $4.99 for used Snap Switches. I might've paid $2.99 for them, but not $4.99.

I'm going to leave you positive feedback on the 6 brand new switches, since they were perfectly okay, and since the other switches weren't an ebay auction, I'll leave them out of my replies. I'm sorry again, if you felt I was attacking you, that was never my intention.

END OF MY EMAIL TO HIM

His last email simple says "Then send back the Snap Switches" At this point, I'm through with the whole mess. I'll continue shopping on ebay, but I won't buy from him again. If I shipped back the Snap Switches, I'd still have to wait for him to refund the money, and 'hope' he refuned the correct ammount, plus shipping, as he claims he would. I'd rather take the loss as a lesson learned and go on with life. I've changed my mind since I emailed him my response, regarding feedback on Ebay. I'm just not going to leave him any feedback at all, and be done with it.

After reading more of his feedback, apparently this same situation has happened before, but he's bullied other's into leaving positive feedback, and they often sneak in "but it took a month to get shipped" or "seller always claims to be 'ill' " somewhere in the positives. He's gotten tons of neutrals in the last few years.

sigh...

Lesson learned.

[Don Gibson]

ALL or nothing!
I wouldn't try to salvage the good part of your order.

Let the seller know you are not happy with his order and want your money back. Your only threat is to post a 'GOODS NOT AS ADVERTISED' as feedback. He know's that..
Forget any other complaint's. See what he'll do.

A 'GOODS NOT AS ADVERTISED' will hurt him more, and counter any adverse feedback laid on you.

He sound's like a 'sharpie', and you're his mark. TRY to negate the whole deal and get your money back. The Negative feedback is your only lever... or your left holding the bag.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you should shy away from eBay completely.

I agree, deals outside of eBay tend to bring more harm than good.

Do not leave feedback until you see if the guy is going to respond to your e-mail or not. If he does, let us see it. [:)]

Matt

[bryanbell]

Looking at just the ebay transaction, the seller fulfilled their obligation. While he did take a lot of time to ship it, he did fulfil the obligation. He did violate ebay policy by offering a off ebay transaction. By accepting it both parties are in violation of ebay policy for fee evation.
Negative feedback shouldn't be left because of an off-ebay transaction.
I also think the practice of "holding feedback hostage" is wrong as well. If this buyer does have a pattern of "flaming" ppl that leave less than positive feedback, I would report them to ebay. It shouldn't be used as a bargining tool to extract favorable feedback for a less than positive transaction.
Like others have said, only complete transaction within ebay to help protect yourself. If you do that, ebay can be a good place to get good deals on hard to find things.

Bryan

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mike Rehling

QUOTE: Originally posted by edkowal
You can't leave negative feedback about a deal which didn't occur using e-bay.

[#ditto]
You have to be sure to only give feedback on the items in the listing.

[#ditto]
It sounds like the actual e-bay part was exactly as advertised and a good transaction, which might merit a "good" feedback.

[SMassey]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ICRR1964

This is something that happens quite a bit on ebay, never make a deal behind Ebay for the simple fact that it can go bad and you not get what you want as stated. The guy pulled you in like a big fish. Don't leave him any feedback at all, thats the one way of getting even with him. I have done this in the past to some sellers who do poor packing and don't give you the insurance and item shows up in mail broken to bits. 9 times out of 10 they know this will happen, but get mad because you won't leave them feedback. I always send them pictures of the damage items, and show them their poor packing in photo's, it gets dropped like a stone then. I end up fixing the item and re selling then stating it had been damaged in shipping from another seller, and get most if not all of my money back.

This is actually a common problem with P2K locos. I have bought 2 brand new ones that were never out of the box and the gears were already broken. LL fixed this problem once they found out abut it and Walthers will send you new wheel sets to fix this. Time, no abuse cause this. One loco I have did not have broken gears when I test ran it but by the time I put my decoder in it and ran it again it was busted. Walthers said it had to do with the plastic used and the oil that caused the cracking and the new gears fixed this issue.

As for the E-bay stuff I have had only one problem and it took that guy 62 days to send me my stuff. I finally got the stuff and I am not the only one that he did this to. When I bid on his auction he had a 100% rating but was fairly new. I didnt think much about him being new we all have to start somewhere. I covered my tracks (pun sry) by sending payment with a return recipt from the post office and also kept every E-mail I sent and every reply I recieved. He eventually lost his E-bay account for doing this to me and about 4 others.
Ebay was built for the honest public consumer, but there is the 5% of them that have know business on ebay at all.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CraigN

QUOTE: Originally posted by kchronister

Many sellers won't accept bids from users with less than a certain feedback rating (including me when i sell).

That's not really a fair practice IMHO. Just think about the newbie on the computer that's just getting started on Ebay.... Now I can understand why you wouldn't buy from someone with a low score. but that 's different.

Craig

My apologies for lack of clarity... we're actually in agreement on this (though I see many auctions that proactively require positive feedback). I do distinguish between negative feedback and zero feedback, and am happy to have 0-feedback bidders. I rarely even invoke the prohibition on too-many-negative-feedbacks bidders, unless they seem to be serial malcontents (i.e. I view someone with 5 negatives over the course of a couple years differently than someone with 5 in the last 2 months, even if their overall percentage is the same)

Having said that, for all the debate here and all the loosey-goosey aspects of the feedback system, I do find it works. The few bad sales I've ever had on E-bay were from people with notable negative feedback (thus the policy), and I've never had a bad sale to someone with a good feedback rating. Conversely, I only buy from people with strong feedback ratings and have never had an issue at all...

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CraigN

QUOTE: Originally posted by kchronister

Many sellers won't accept bids from users with less than a certain feedback rating (including me when i sell).

That's not really a fair practice IMHO. Just think about the newbie on the computer that's just getting started on Ebay. Or the kid that just left home and is starting his own account. If everyone felt this way, these new people to Ebay would never get a chance to up their score. And if this person with the low feedback number is the winning bid, doesn't he have the right to buy it from you first? And then also, you would be getting more money for what you are selling, isn't that what you really want?
Craig

It's completely fair and in some cases, necassary.. Just as there are bad sellers out there, there are bad bidders. Notice I didn't say Buyers. These are the people who register a new user ID for the sole purpose of causing problems. Ebay has a blockout feature that can prevent bidders with scores less than a given number (seller determined) from bidding on those auctions. Most sellers, ask that bidders with 0 or very low, albeit all positive, feedback to contact before bidding. If the bidder is truely interested in having the item, he / she will take the 30 seconds it takes to make contact. That lets the seller know that at least your intentions are good (initially).. This is also the reason many sellers now require immediate payment on buy it now items. Once a bid is placed and the auction ends, the seller is now on the hook to ebay for comission and if necassary, relist fees. The mal-intentioned bidder, never to be heard from, has cost the seller money, and in some cases, a great deal of money. The seller must then wait and jump through hoops to get the comission fees refunded but he is still out the listing fee.

My advice to Anyone buying on ebay, Know What you are buying, know what condition it's in, if a seller says New, find out How new. That is, What does the Seller define as new. Assume NOTHING. Does he Own the item and did he run it (locomotives for instance) or is he selling it from a lot of junk he picked up at an estate sale. The time it takes to ask a few simple questions is Far shorter than the length of time the sour taste of a bad deal will last. Naturally, as in the case of the OP in this thread, that doesn't always work to the best but it will go a long way in avoiding getting burned. If unsatisfied with answers, don't buy, move on to the next one. Oh yes, It's generally a good idea to avoid sellers who start with the statement "I don't know.....". When you look at thier past auctions, usually, you can see what type of stuff they generally deal in, and it's usually full of similar items as the one "I don't Know..... " about.

Jshrade, Atlas snap switches (and others like them) are swtiches with Plastic frogs, that are Way too wide and deep. The turnout is intended to be put in place of an 18" radius curve and that's why they come with that 1/3 18" radius section, to complete a full 18" radius section of track. For those reasons, they are generally not usable (though some people do) in areas like Yard ladders, through crossings, etc. While usable, expect to do some tweeking to keep your trains on the track with them. The Custum line turnouts (#4) on the other hand amount to roughly a 30" radius (give or take) through the frog though they aren't really curves..

Good luck,
Jeff

[Trainnut484]

I'm putting in my vote for the "don't leave Ebay feedback on non-Ebay purchases from seller". I think you should file it under "lesson learned" and move on. It's not worth the risk to your feedback. I do buy and sell model trains on Ebay, and so far I haven't been "skunked", meaning losing out totally on a purchase or sale, and my feedback rating is 100%.

However, I did receive a new locomotive from a seller that was poorly packaged; thus causing a part to break off. I emailed him about the broken part, and pointed out from his auction that the locomotive would be shipped in its original box, which it wasn't and was loose in the box it came in, but he waved it off with unsound excuses and didn't offer any compensation. The locomotive runs great, and the broken part can be easily repaired, but the seller dropped the ball on packaging and not providing great customer service when problems arose, so I left him negative feedback. I didn't have to worry about retaliation since he left me positive feedback after I paid. Before this auction, he had a feedback rating of 99.8%, so I felt confident about bidding on his auction. In the future, I'm not buying from him again.

Take care,

Russell

[ouengr]

In the past when I have had a problem with a seller, I have worked to resolve the matter before I leave negative feedback. One a couple of occasions, I have left negative feedback. Usually if this is neccessary, I wait until the last possible moment on the last possible day. This way the other party is not able to falsely retaliate.

It may be possible to contact e-bay safe harbor and let them know that a seller is attempting to sell items outside of ebay and let them deal with the seller. This is against there rules.

[davekelly]

First off - I don't think that seller is such a great guy. Having said that, the actual ebay transaction was a smooth/goodone. The other transaction wasn't. While not sure, I think the additional transaction is against ebay policy - you may want to check out the rules and then decide before complaining about something that is disallowed (if it is).

Because of the low number of transactions you have, it might be better to just chalk it off to "lesson learned" rather than risk a big ding on your feedback rating.

[CraigN]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kchronister

Many sellers won't accept bids from users with less than a certain feedback rating (including me when i sell).

That's not really a fair practice IMHO. Just think about the newbie on the computer that's just getting started on Ebay. Or the kid that just left home and is starting his own account. If everyone felt this way, these new people to Ebay would never get a chance to up their score. And if this person with the low feedback number is the winning bid, doesn't he have the right to buy it from you first? And then also, you would be getting more money for what you are selling, isn't that what you really want?

Now I can understand why you wouldn't buy from someone with a low score. but that 's different.



Back to the topic: I would leave positive feedback for the Ebay deal, you got exactly what you bid on. I would also mark this as a lesson learned. Don't do backdoor deals unless you know the other person involved.

Craig

[Anonymous]

I'll vote on the "you shouldn't leave E-bay feedback on non-Ebay deals" side of the equation.

I do disagree with those who say feedback doesn't count for a buyer. Many sellers won't accept bids from users with less than a certain feedback rating (including me when i sell).

Personally I buy on Ebay a lot and have never once had a problem. But I'll add that I avoid 'high risk' items; for instance I would never buy used turnouts at all, unless I could physically inspect them first.

[csmith9474]

Just as a side note, feedback amounts to squat for a buyer. Unless you are selling a lot I wouldn't worry about a neg on your feedback. If a buyer doesn't pay, I file a non-pay bidder dispute, place them on my blocked bidder list, hope the punk gets NARUd and move on to the next bidder on the list. Don't let a seller hold your feedback hostage if they have wronged you through an eBay transaction (unlike the one above). Neg 'em, and if they neg you back, place a response under your neg explaining what happened if it bothers you that bad.

And also, if you get another offer like that through a seller, just have them BIN the item or items. Then have them tell you when and where the auction will be listed.

[cwclark]

I never..never..use used turnouts...they are too risky to reuse to say the least...thru personnel experience every turnout i've pulled and tried to reuse elsewhere had flaws..always purchase them brand new ...that's why i never use E-bay...you really don't know what you're getting and i've heard too many horror stories about purchases gone wrong from e-bay...chuck

[jsoderq]

It sounds to me like this guy is selling stuff he buys from train shows. The slow shipping is a result of having to get the stuff from the show. The reason you did not get the ones you thought is he sold them to somebody else before your money got there. Oh and NEVER buy off ebay unless you actually know the guy!

[Anonymous]

Thats exactly why I stopped buying stuff on Ebay. To much stuff is misrepresented and sellers are charging a ridiculas shipping fee. I would give him the worse possible feedback that you can and suggest you dont buy anything from the Ebay sellers. Thats my opinion I know theres alot of Ebay sellers on this forum that will disagree with me and I'm sure there very reputable.

Steve

[ICRR1964]

This is something that happens quite a bit on ebay, never make a deal behind Ebay for the simple fact that it can go bad and you not get what you want as stated. The guy pulled you in like a big fish. Don't leave him any feedback at all, thats the one way of getting even with him. I have done this in the past to some sellers who do poor packing and don't give you the insurance and item shows up in mail broken to bits. 9 times out of 10 they know this will happen, but get mad because you won't leave them feedback. I always send them pictures of the damage items, and show them their poor packing in photo's, it gets dropped like a stone then. I end up fixing the item and re selling then stating it had been damaged in shipping from another seller, and get most if not all of my money back.

Ebay was built for the honest public consumer, but there is the 5% of them that have know business on ebay at all.

The P2K engeines that some sellers are selling: "New in original box,Test run and runs great!" or they say this "Slightly used like new condition!" Almost all of the ones I have bought have came with all 4 gears in the trucks cracked, which is a nothing to fix, but when you point out this to the seller. You always get some poor excuse as to why they did not know this, and never hear from them again.