Pierre- this one's for you- a recent STAMP purchase related experience.

[lina-mallows]

I recently purchased TWO identical STAMP items in a MULTIPLE item auction, from another stamp dealer.
(SEVEN day auction- TWO stamp PAIRS offered)

I immediately pay for BOTH ITEMS, including shipping to Canada- and receive the following message:
"Thank you for bidding in our auction. You won the XXXXX @ $xx.xx plus $x.xx shipping for a total of $xx.xx.The invoice billed you twice because we listed it as 2 items - when we should have stated one (pair). I can not fix it at this end if you are paying by payPal - if you wish us to send you a refund check for the difference along with the item we will. If you do not have payPal then there is no problem. Then you may send the payment above to XXXXXX.

THEN- The seller has the audacity to list another IDENTICAL STAMP PAIR!!!

I wrote back, in part:
".....I appreciate that eBay, and PaypPal do not often act as predicted. HOWEVER- as you have just relisted ANOTHER identical item- would it not make simply sense to ship me the one you had- rather than relist it. As this auction was VISIBLE for THREE days prior to the first bid, there was plenty of time to make the correction. So, I am at a loss to understand what your concern is in selling me TWO PAIR for this item? Had you only had ONE PAIR- I can understand the issue. As you most obviously have another- I hope you can see my position.
I bid, I won, and I paid. As a buyer that is what I am supposed to do.
Now, as a seller, it is up to you to deliver the items I have purchased.
If you are absolutely telling me I WILL NOT receive what I have bid, won, and paid for, then I will act accordingly."

Pierre- is this a case of a non-selling seller?
A totally unprofessional stamp dealer?
A 75+ STAR seller of stamps who just doesn't understand how eBay works?

I paid MORE because of the structure of the auction, bidding on TWO items, then having bid on only ONE.
I wanted TWO PAIR- not one pair.

Am I making too much of this?
Do I simply BID on this seller's NEXT/pending auction- hoping to win it?
Do I push the issue to the nth degree?

The stamp pair is modern though rarely seen- and to anyone's best knowledge there are no first day covers- and these stamps WERE NOT included in Canada Post's Quarterly- or Yearly packs, making them difficult to find. (I think you can figure out my purchase)

[dipmicro]

.... then I will act accordingly.

I am allergic to above expression. It smells like extortion and it probably is extortion by some definitions (to obtain property or money by the use of threats or intimidation).

Regardless of the situation, would it kill you to request respectfully at least in the first response?

[lina-mallows]

dipmicro - ".... then I will act accordingly." IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEANT- nothing more, and nothing less.
It is not extortion, and is not in any way a threat.
How can asking a seller to deliver what has been won, and paid for any form of extortion? Isn't that how eBay is supposed to work?
Virtually ALL of eBay rules/policies regarding sellers are geared toward getting them to deliver what they sell.
Asking for exactly that cannot be extorting anything. I am asking for absolutely nothing beyond what was offered, purchased, and paid for.

As for being respectful- NO WAY!
I stopped being polite to sellers years ago.
If you place a MULTI-ITEM auction for TWO ITEMS- and them tell me you made an error and the auction was for ONE item (at half the cost)- AND then proceed to immediately relist that SECOND item- I SMELL A SCAM! I have no reason to be polite. You think I am an idiot- and I'll buy into your excuses- not at all likely.
To be fair, mistakes happen. After purchasing thousands of items- a SELLER trying to SCAM a customer stands out. And this is one of those situations. If eBay thinks my letter is "extortion"- then let's see the seller defend their shenanigans!!!!! (With less than ten auction posted- and THREE days to the first bid- and the seller claims they never noticed their error? Not likely. The seller simply thought they could get more money- so GREED, nothing more, nothing less, on the seller's part.)

I am absolutely fed up with sellers who think that they make the rules- as so many who post here believe that they are above any such eBay non-sense as 'rules', and policies!

And now some people are suggesting lying about their item's location to get better exposure. eBay has clear rules about this- as if these sellers suggesting it here could care.........So again, respectful? Respect is earned, and I have very little respect for the nonsense I see offered here, and am finding so much more often from sellers outside of this forum.

P.S. I even stopped being respectful to some of our customers. I will not stand for what is clearly extortion on their part. They can go elsewhere! And, our AUCTION'S DESCRIPTIONS make that abundantly clear. With some irony our sales have risen. (sellerdome has no clue what they are doing- when they say we did something like $82 in business for the month ending July 7th- we wouldn't be here! ONE THOUGHT- they don't count PRIVATE AUCTIONS!!!) Maybe insulting your customers works! Think of Don Rickles- he can still fill those seats! And we're still Power Sellers!

[lina-mallows]

dipmicro- this statement was added to ALL our auctions:

"Our goal has always been SAFE delivery of your items, and not speed.
We appreciate the feedback from the thousands of our happy customers.
There are many fine sellers on eBay who offer similar products.
HOWEVER, IF TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE- AND YOU EXPECT NEAR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY-
PLEASE SHOP ELSEWHERE!
We do not just drop your items in an envelope, and mail them!"

You can also note in our follow-up feedback reply that we practically thanked a FORMER customer for their NEGATIVE feedback!
"Oh- HAPPY! HAPPY! Joy !Joy! NEG FB is a small price for being rid of this buyer!"

Even Saints have their limits- and I am certainly no Saint- so don't expect being respectful anytime soon when dealing with such nonsense.

[pierrelebel]

Pierre- is this a case of a non-selling seller? At first sight, based on the limited information available, I would say yes


A totally unprofessional stamp dealer? It appears so - possibly not a dealer - or could simply be a mistake

A 75+ STAR seller of stamps... A very low number for a dealer. With the limited information available, I suspect this seller is not a dealer.

It would be easier is you give the listing number (it is allowed since you are the buyer).

"I think you can figure out my purchase" - Sorry, I do not deal in new issues and cannot guess what the item is. .

[momoftwingles2]

lina,

You must have purchased these items more than 30 days ago OR used a different buying ID to do so. It's impossible to look at the listing to see what is going on using your lina-mallows ID.

Susan
momoftwingles2

[lina-mallows]

Different ID.
Today being our EIGHTH Anniversary of being on eBay much has changed.
The days of a Seller using another ID for buying are waning, but certainly not over.
NO NEGS from SELLERS means not harming your business by using your SELLER ID. However, I always am curious how many sellers want to draw a path to where they make their purchases. Especially, when buying distinct items for resale.

On the GENERAL DISCUSSION BOARD- few sellers would ever think of using their selling ID for posting!
Here on the POWER SELLER board- it is virtually the exact opposite situation.

Anyway- I thank Pierre- and have privately communicated the auction's info for further review.

[dipmicro]

As for being respectful- NO WAY!
I stopped being polite to sellers years ago.


I am wondering no more.

[pierrelebel]

"few sellers would ever think of using their selling ID for posting!"

I do. I am fearless. ;-) .

[lina-mallows]

pierrelebel- you are not only fearless- but a fine gentleman.

We have only recently started to use our selling ID for purchasing.
Lo, and behold, a purchase using our seller's ID arrives today, by Expedited Parcel- squished!
The vintage BIRKS box was flattened. The box, part of the auction's title, was as important as the contents (eBay Item number: 250275727205). Amazingly this box survived for 50+ years- only to be destroyed by Canada Post. And that is why an intact box was so important. Two e-mails- and the PayPal payment indicated how important SAFE delivery of the box was- and if there was concern to notify us. It was further noted that the box was as important as the clip, if not more so. So the seller was certainly aware of my concerns. No further communication from the seller arrived, and the package arrives squished.
I have filed a PayPal complaint. I await the seller's reply.

[lina-mallows]

Just for the record- Pierre, you have 57 feedback from sellers.
We have received 848 feedback from sellers with this eBay user ID as a buyer.
Having started out buying- this was one of just a few ID we used- and opted to make it our primary selling ID.
Pierre- You are still fearless, we are are merely reluctant, mostly opting for other options.

[pierrelebel]

"Pierre, you have 57 feedback from sellers"

Does not seem like much does it?

I must admit I do some buying (mostly for large lots) using my wife's account so customers and competitors have no idea where I get the stuff nor how much I pay for it. ;-) .

[pierrelebel]

By the way, most large dealers in Canada (I deal with most of them) use the same purchasing method. .

[lina-mallows]

dipmicro- We are pleased you understand!

Having purchased thousands of items on eBay- including the 848+ just mentioned (with this user ID)- my absolute worst experiences have been with POWER SELLERS. Nothing has changed. And it has likely gotten worse since eBay invoked their newest policies.
With the most recent purchasing disaster- I sent a detailed letter, and SIX photos of the damage.
I have not received a reply. This is a POWER SELLER. I will wait till Monday. And then maybe a few days beyond that for a reply.
I am not happy- and I will NEG accordingly.
I have filed the PayPal complaint- as yet unanswered.
Sloppy packaging, resulting in a damaged item- especially when the time was taken to explain the value of the BOX, is not acceptable.
POWER SELLER or not, I did not package the item in such a sloppy manner. And, I should not have to entertain any financial loss resolving this matter.
eBay expects sellers to be profession. When they aren't, that's what NEGATIVE FEEDBACK is for, not polite exchanges of endless chatty e-mails.

Maybe the old adage about Doctors making the worst patients can be extended to POWER SELLERS making the worst buyers. And I only speak for myself here. I am certain many POWER SELLERS here are stellar buyers. Or simply have the luck of choosing other fine sellers to deal with. My experience has not been as lucky!

[lina-mallows]

Pierre- I am totally with you on using another ID. I do not want to draw a roadmap for my customers who take the time to look.
Being a buyer, and selling those same, or similar items, using the same ID, can lead to interesting situations.
Just look at some POWER SELLERS here complaining of other POWER SELLERS they deal with attempting to sabotage their business.

We will be openly competing with one another POWER SELLER (who posts here regularly) shortly, as we expand our product offerings. As they pretty much dominate the Canadian market- our sales will most likely impact their sales- and not result of an expansion of the market. That's business!
Hopefully they see that competition is a good thing. And we believe that we can provide a greater breadth, and depth of product than they do now, as well as local pick-up in the GTA, and Hamilton area. Being somewhat heavy items (several kilos)- this savings on shipping could be a major consideration for eBay buyers in our area.