ebay deadbeats

[brianu]

I recently listed a few things on ebay and ran into an issue that's probably typical of the site, although I hadn't encountered it personally before... it was just particularly aggravating as it seemed as much due to ebay as to the deadbeat bidder who caused the problem.

Does anyone know a guy named Daniel Waxmonsky from northern NJ? If not, avoid him. A few weeks ago, under the name "waxmonster" he placed a bid on a phonograph I was selling, he did so toward the start of the auction and ended up winning it. I tried multiple times to contact him, but he never replied, so I cancelled the sale and left the same sort of feedback a few other people had left him... positive (because sellers apparently can't leave negative feedback) combined with some negative commentary, as the others had done (remarking on how the guy doesn't follow through, doesn't pay, doesn't reply to messages, etc.). I then relisted the machine, and it didn't receive any bids until the last couple hours or so... when this same guy bid again, this time under the name "waxmo-waxmo"... I checked his feedback and it was basically the same situation, about four or five positives with comments that were all very very negative. As soon as I saw this, I cancelled his bid and then blocked those two names from bidding on my auctions. The machine ended up selling anyway to another bidder who bid in the last minute (but if I hadn't caught this and cancelled the bad bid, depending on how high it was, it could have screwed up the good one).

It was just pretty frustrating to see this occur, as I'd always assumed that ebay had some mechanism in place to freeze the accounts of bidders who repeatedly bid but don't follow through... most frustrating though was how ebay now apparently prevents sellers from leaving negative feedback, which is truly ridiculous.

I know a lot of people tend to either avoid ebay at all cost, or just grudgingly use it out of necessity while acknowledging its atrocious business practices (ok, it's not as bad as walmart)... I mean, I can't recall the last time I heard anyone extoll its virtues or whatever. But has anyone experienced something like this specifically?

[TinfoilPhono]

I've had a couple of deadbeats over the years but thankfully very few.

This guy is a real piece of work. Check out the feedback for waxmo-waxmo. He posted responses to each comment about his non-payment:

"SELLER COCK & BULL"
"SELLER SELLS GUITAR WITH BUSTED NECK"
"SELLER SELLS JUCK"

It is pathetic that eBay doesn't do anything about this sort of thing.

[Raphael]

I sympathize and agree with you on the deadbeats and eBay's lack of corrective actions, but keep in mind that every business has it's fair share of such disreputable characters. But you can block any known deadbeat from bidding on future items, just go to eBay's site map and look under Selling Tools. My list has about 100 user names on it. Some are deadbeats, others are just annoying types who have nothing better to do than endlessly ask all sorts of stupid questions, with no intention of buying, or the type who put in a $50 offer on a $10,000 item.

My approach is to use eBay as a cheap advertising medium. For less than a dollar you can get to a world-wide market. Then, try to steer potential customers into a direct sale. I actually consider it a failure when something of mine sells on eBay; between theirs and PayPal's commissions a bite of up to 15% comes right off the top.

Raphael

[Andersun]

It looks like he has a Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/dan9788wax

[marcapra]

Brian, you may not be able to give negative feedback, but you can give him a non-paying bidder strike. And you can block bidders who have two non-paying bidder strikes within a month on all of your ebay ads. You mark that box in buyer requirements when you create your ad.

[Marco Gilardetti]

Since when sellers can't leave negative feedbacks?

Last time I've checked they couldn't leave negs ONLY IF the buyer had already paid in full. But if the buyer didn't paid at all, they COULD leave negatives (of course not immediately, but after having allowed for the standard payment days to pass, formal complaint etc.).

Has this been changed?

[Odeon]

Yes, this had changed. Sellers can't leave negative feedbacks anymore. If they give a "positive" feedback with negative words, ebay will delete this feedback.

[MicaMonster]

I've learned that there is mental illness out there in the eBay universe. Yes...people who do nothing more than bid on high dollar items to do nothing more than inflate their egos. But when it's time to pay up....they disappear.

Here's one for you...this time a seller. I bought a new iPhone off a fellow in SC. Weeks passed. I sent multiple emails. One day it was marked SENT......and USPS.COM said it was DELIVERED! I received NOTHING! I filed a complaint with eBay......and within 30 minutes the seller provided the tracking number. And 5 minutes later eBay closed the case in the seller's favor!!! I lost $400 and got bupkis!

Here's how I got back at the seller. He sent the package from a post office, NOT through the eBay system. This is a loophole. Therefore he could still provide a tracking number, even though the package didnt' go to my address! All eBay acknowledges is 1. That there is a tracking number, and that 2. USPS.COM says it has been Delivered in the TOWN I reside in! Thus, it could be ANY address! I discussed this with my postmaster and we did an internal search in the USPS master computer. Each Priority Mail package, when delivered, is scanned and given an approximate GPS position, and the delivery address is ALSO in the system. Not many people know this because it is all internal info for USPS only.

I was able to obtain the address IN MY SAME TOWN that the package was sent to. The postmaster went to the address to retrieve it.

Inside the envelope: two paper napkins and a copper penny! And the return address was from that of a registered sex offender in SC, but the package was mailed from GA! I sent the evidence to eBay and they reversed the decision on my appeal to MY favor, refunding my money! And eBay threatened me with the whole, "it's just for this ONE TIME....." What a bunch of baloney. I was the victim of fraud, for goodness sakes! In any case, this spawned an investigation with the US Postal Service investigative arm. Hopefully they file charges against this dirtbag. You can also file a case with the FBI, but their internet investigation unit is more of a place for people to complain.....not a place where justice is served...just a firing wall. But I have faith in USPS in getting the job done.

Many hours of talking to eBay........all they have to do is allow sellers to use their online shipping tool, to ship to a verified buyer address.....this whole thing would have been avoided.

And THIS is why I prefer to sell on the Talking Machine Forum!

[Marco Gilardetti]

Yes, this had changed. Sellers can't leave negative feedbacks anymore. If they give a "positive" feedback with negative words, ebay will delete this feedback.

Mmmmh, I see. I missed that change. Perhaps it hasn't been implemented on ebay.it yet (there is always some delay with new policies).

Just for the sake of curiosity, did they motivate this change somehow? The fact that a seller who's been paied in full can't leave negatives was reasonable; but the fact that sellers shouldn't be allowed to leave negatives in any case is beyond my comprehension.

[FloridaClay]

eBay is good news and bad news. The good news is that items you have for sale get exposed to a huge number of potential buyers. The bad news is that some percentage of a very large group of people is always going to be mentally ill or just jerks. My own experience is that the number of honest people on eBay have far outweighed the jerks. When you do encounter one, though, it can be very irritating.

Clay