eBay

mondocanuck · ‎04-12-2007

Just wondering if someone...anyone.. can help us. To make a long story short, I was contacted last fall when a customer of mine purchased a Hello Kitty item. I was contacted after the auction ended from a US buyer who warned me of this persons dishonesty. Seems she has made a habit of purchasing items from sellers then says the item never arrived or arrived broken. She then starts a chargeback with Paypal or demands refunds. She has done this dozens of time over the past 2 years. My US counterpart has been keeping track of her, when she gets suspended from Ebay, she goes right back in and openes a new Ebay account under a different name. As fast as we report her, she's at it again. I have accumilated 45 user names since last September, my US friend has a list of 100+ past user names over and above my list that she has collected. What I need is this, I need to email the higher powers at be at Ebay and try to get this person permanently booted off. I have tried emailing staff at the previously suspended buyers link and have received no results. I have tried finding an email address for a contact person but have been unsuccessful. Does anyone out there in Ebay Canadaland have a suggestion for us? Ebay does not care about this issue but I'd like to remedy that...or am I just kidding myself?? By the way, if you are selling a Hello Kitty item and the buyer is from New Jersey with less than 10 feedbacks...watch out!! Thanks! Mondocanuck

katiusciav · ‎04-12-2007

...and here is where the debate over the availability of ebay id's start. both buyers and sellers should be able to have multiple id's for business or personal reasons. i dont' disagree with that. however, when it comes to the registration process of obtaining an id-sorry, but ebay sucks in my opinion. as stated above, anyone can keep opening new id's and scamming the system over and over again. and ebay can't do anything-why? they don't have the system in place to 'verify' these id's. why? they want to make it as easy as possible for buyers to register on ebay to make more money. and at who's expense? us-the sellers. i find it hard to believe that ebay isn't aware of these scammers, and have chosen up to now to not do anything about it, at least not that i've heard. i think they turn a blind eye to this in the name of the almighty dollar, while sacrificing us sellers.
to address your concern, i've never had to contact the higher powers of ebay as yet, so i really don't have any info there, but i sure am glad SOMEONE out there is making an effort to stop these people...even if its sellers, and not ebay themselves. good luck...i'm sure someone on this board will have an answer for you...i hope you nab this nasty person..

Kat

tea_past_times · ‎04-12-2007

In most cases, when I see a buyer bidding who:

A) Just registered.
B) Has less than 5 positive feedbacks.
C) Home address does not show up with an online 411 reverse phone number check.

Any or all of the above. I immediately add them to my blocked bidders list and then zap their bid from my listings. My blocked bidders list is thousands of ID's long and counting.

mondocanuck · ‎04-12-2007

Many thanks for the info. I do watch who bids on my auctions and what type of feedbacks they have. If I see anything suspicious, I cancel and block any future bids. I've had some customers insulted by this, one lady was furious that I had cancelled her bid...tough!! One question, how do I access the reverse online 411 directory in Canada? Sounds interesting, another tool I could employ against the Ebay crooks! Still need help with my original question but appreciate the above advice. Mondo 🙂

katiusciav · ‎04-12-2007

mondo-go to 411.ca and click on reverse listing and type in your phone number there...
i'm a little confused-are we or are we not allowed to block bidders AFTER they've bid? in other words, is it completely our decision whether or not to cancel a bid? i thought we weren't allowed, or needed real good reason??

Kat

mondocanuck · ‎04-12-2007

Kat, You can cancel any bid as long as you feel you have a valid reason for doing so. But watch out, I once removed a buyers bid and did not check to see if she was bidding on another of my auctions. She won the second auction and immediately left me a neg feedback in retaliation for cancelling her bid on the first auction. She knew I would care more about the neg than her and I was never able to get the neg cancelled. You can also block anyone from bidding regardless of whether or not they had a bid on your item. I would use caution and not cancel anyone's bid without a valid reason. Mondo 🙂

katiusciav · ‎04-12-2007

That's actually good to know-i'd read things here and there, but was never really clear on that.

Kat

zarzuella · ‎04-12-2007

As far as getting eBay to really investigate a repeat NARU'd buyer, you seem to need a pink on side. Try emailing the details directly to lilybean or one of the other pinks who occasionally drop in to this board.

Ann

tea_past_times · ‎04-12-2007

how do I access the reverse online 411 directory in Canada.....

First you go to the Ebay page where you search Buyer's Contact information. Enter the item number and the buyer's user ID. The system very quickly emails you the bidder's address and phone number. Go to 411.ca and enter the bidders phone number into the reverse phone number search(bottom of page usually) This will show you if the phone number they register with goes with the address you are seeing at 411.ca. If the information from 411.ca does not match their Ebay registration information, it's usually a scammer. I have helped many people become NOT A REGISTERED USER this way.:-)

tea_past_times · ‎04-12-2007

And also if you do cancel a bidder's bid, you can type in a reason on the same form at the same time. I usually just type ADMINISTRATIVE CANCELLATION. That way people get ticked at Ebay(thinking they did it) for the cancelled bid, not me!!

katiusciav · ‎04-12-2007

tea-you're such a devil, honest to god..!!:^O

Kat

tea_past_times · ‎04-12-2007

Whether it's sex or Ebay, the best idea is to make sure you are protected, cause you don't know what the stranger you are dealing with might subject you to. But I've been married for 13 years now, so what do I know about sex??:_|