eBay promise protection all over thier site and PayPal also offer an added protection as well. However here is a small case that I have experienced over the last few days.
I bought a Manchester United shirt signed by 20 players of the current squad on eBay. Great price and with a C.O.A. I can’t go wrong. Sure the feedback wasn’t 100% with this guy but what the hell it’s pretty much 99%. There had been a few ocassions where the seller had been delayed slightly but overall nothing to suggest what was going to happen. I think the email I sent to eBay after filing a complaint to PayPal pretty much sums up what happened and how I feel…
I purchased the item #8765654643. I have been promised time and
time again that the item would be sent out with special delivery. After
the last time I thought it would be best to start a complaint with
PayPal.Email correspondance has been passed via your messaging system and you
are more than welcome to look through them.Since then I have been forced to buy a likewise item due to the nature
of the present needing to be presented at a special occasion.Naturally I was going to leave poor feedback and informed the seller of
this. This is of course how we as buyers can identify what kind of
service we can expect and what the eBay community rely on.Sadly a strong reply was emailed to me which is more worrying than the
fact I may have lost nearly £100 pounds. The email had the line ‘…- so
go ahead if you wish - but my feedback will not be pretty.’Not only will my 100% feedback be tarnished which is something that I
pride myself upon but the more worrying element of this email was the
fact that he has my home address, which I realise is needed to make any
trasaction a success. However with users such as alex10278 it really
brings to question is eBay safe.What I’m asking for is how will I be safe guarded in this particular
transaction? Will my eBay reputation / feedback be harmed? And where do
sellers like alex10278 fit within the eBay buyer/seller community?For now I will not pass poor feedback to alex10278 simply on the basis
I’m worried what will happen. I hope eBay look at this as an oppotunity
to excel and demonstrate what I feel is an excellent service!Kind regards Addam Hassan
This I think pretty much summed up the whole experience so far. In the defence of eBay they have come back to me straight away with the following…
Hello Addam,
Thank you for writing to eBay with your concerns regarding the
possibility of receiving negative feedback from member “alex10278″,
relating to your purchase of their shirt (item number 8765654643). I can
appreciate your concern in this situation, as you would like to retain
your 100% feedback rating.Feedback is continually a topic of discussion at eBay and probably
always will be. The fear of retaliation is the biggest concern when
feedback is discussed and wanting to maintain a blemish-free feedback
history is an understandable goal.However, please consider the intended purpose of feedback. The Feedback
Forum is a completely open and fully disclosed site for members to leave
comments relating to their experience with other members. In order for
the Feedback Forum to be effective, all eBay members should remember to
check the feedback for every member prior to entering into a transaction
with him or her.As a buyer, checking a seller’s Feedback Profile before you make a bid
is one of the smartest and safest moves you can make. You can use
feedback to access many different qualities - is the seller highly
recommended by other buyers? Do they sell quality merchandise?By leaving feedback you as a buyer or seller will be exercising good
business practices. You are encouraging the eBay community to grow and
also you will earn positive testimonials yourself.In fairness, we cannot prevent a user from leaving a retaliatory
negative comment, whether or not it was deserved. Please remember that
most members will look at your complete history when deciding if they
want to conduct business with you. As a conscientious, helpful and
honest member, you will always have many more positive comments that
will overshadow a few obvious retaliation feedback comments.Unfortunately, if good honest members do not leave negative feedback
when warranted, out of fear of receiving a negative comment in return,
they are essentially letting the bad guys win. Most eBay members
understand that honest members will acquire a few “battle scars” in the
fight to expose the less then honest members of the community.Other members do refer to a member’s full feedback history when
determining whether or not to enter into an eBay transaction with them.It is very important that every member let their voice be heard by
leaving a comment, positive or negative, for members with whom they have
transacted eBay business.Regarding your concern about having sent your payment and not having
received the shirt from this seller, I have also forwarded a copy of
your email to our Fraud department. They will be in touch with you soon,
as they are best qualified to respond regarding this matter.Finally Addam, please also allow me to address your concerns about this
member having access to your home address. I understand your concern in
this situation. Please be assured that when registering, all members
provide their contact information with the understanding that this
information will not be sold or provided to any outside party. The only
way we will make any registered member’s contact information available
to any other registered member is by sending it via email per automated
request through eBay’s site.When a request of this type is made, we send the contact information for
both members to each email address, meaning the requester’s information
is sent to you and your information is sent to them.Please note that we never give out your street address in these
requests. Please also be assured that making a request for contact
information that is used for purposes unrelated to eBay business, or if
the information is published anywhere online or offline, or if the
information has been obtained for the purposes of harassment, is in
violation of eBay’s rules. If this should occur, please immediately
contact us through the webform at:http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/contact_us/_base/index.html
Please remember that, although we are commonly referred to as an online
auction web site, we are not a traditional auction house. Instead, our
site acts as a venue to allow anyone to offer, sell, and buy just about
anything, at anytime, from anywhere, in a variety of formats, including
a fixed price format and an auction-style format commonly referred to as
an “online listing.”eBay is not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and
sellers. As a result, we have no control over the quality, safety or
legality of the items advertised the truth or accuracy of the listings,
the ability of sellers to sell items or the ability of buyers to buy
items. We cannot ensure that a buyer or seller will actually complete a
transaction.Addam, I appreciate the opportunity to have helped you with this
information and trust that it helps to ease your concerns about these
important feedback and safety issues.Regards,
Tanya Smith
SafeHarbour Team
Now what do I do? Do I leave negative feedback and let this guy ruin my feedback rating for no reason but feel satisfied I have (hopefull) helped a fellow ebayer?….
I’m of the mind I will leave feedback….get in touch or leave a comment if you have experienced anything simlair
UPDATE: See what happened next…
