Another eBayer to watch out for

[Erin]

Normally don't care to post these kinds of things, but this is the 2nd time I've had issues with this buyer. Both times, they take several days to pay (say they have an eBay gift card to find, first), THEN start asking questions.

Username: generationmac (now changed userid to biditdown)

I recently listed and sold this lamp:

Buyer doesn't make any contact with me until I file a non-paying bidder claim. Then tells me they'll pay for the lamp Wednesday, which is the last day of the case. Says they have to find their eBay gift certificate. 

THEN, they start asking me questions about the lamp (bulb used, flow). Admitted they "wanted a glitter lamp anyway" and that they "didn't read the auction correctly to understand this was the "refilled lava" without glitter". 

I had a problem with this same user when I sold a wave machine.

Anywho, I'll try and keep it somewhat short. 

Seller beware. It just SUCKS that you cannot leave neg feedback for buyers anymore on eBay. I have blocked them from bidding on any future auctions of mine. 

Grrr...

[Erin]

I will answer every one of your questions that warrants a response. 

The lamp I sold is indeed a Gemlite. That's why I listed it that way. It's a refilled Gemlite, but it's a Gemlite nonetheless. I clearly noted the refill. 

This is really the crux of the whole issue here and why I'm beyond pissed:

"Yes it's my fault I didn't have time to ask questions."

You said "COULD SHE HAVE POSTED A CURRENT PICTURE OF ONLY THE ITEM THAT SHE WAS SELLING AND COULD SHE HAVE LISTED IN THE AUCTION TITLE WHAT SHE WAS REALLY SELLING?"

All the pictures I posted were of the ACTUAL ITEM. Only one of the pictures INCLUDED the glitter Gemlite, which I CLEARLY NOTED was not for sale. I did list in the auction title what I was really selling. 

You said: "...LAVA LAMP that used to be a GEMLITE AND MAYBE YOU CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO REFILL IT OR GET A NEW GLOBE. Or FORMER LAVE GEMLITE BASE, CAP AND BOTTLE THAT HAS BEEN MODIFIED AND FILLED WITH LAVA (you get the idea....)"

My auction said (among other things): 

"The glitter lamp on the right is NOT FOR SALE, nor PART OF THIS SALE." and

"Would be a great candidate for a glitter refill."

"The lamp has been refilled with US Lava Lite formula - blue/purple. I did not refill it, it came that way when I bought it"

"Consider this a "parts" lamp."  < ESP THIS.

You admitted you didn't read it carefully. I EVEN PICTURED THE MELTED BASE. Look at photo #3. 

You said "Erin filed the non-paying bidder alert".

Yep, I sure did. I didn't hear ANYTHING FROM YOU until after I filed it even though I'd sent TWO invoices through eBay. Nothing. How long was I supposed to wait? Until you were comfortable?

You said: "COULD SHE HAVE POSTED A CURRENT PICTURE OF ONLY THE ITEM THAT SHE WAS SELLING"

I did. Five times. Nothing is misleading about those pictures. 

You said: "but I did ask her about the photos and the light bulb melting and what happened with a lower watt bulb where she informs me she never tried a lower watt bulb! Hmmmm Her attitude in these emails halfway earned her the negative feedback I posted because she refused answer the questions before telling me she wasn't going to answer any more questions and the rest was earned after the lamp arrived..."

You're mad because of something I said I never did. I never tried a 25W bulb. Again, questions you should have asked BEFORE THE SALE.

You're exactly right. You waste my time, take forever to pay, start asking questions AFTER the auction and get snippy with me. YOU are at fault here. 

You said: "yet Erin listed Priority Mail Expedited shipping. I included the note with payment to make sure she uses Priority Mail as the listing states and to email tracking info. (She never does until I email her of the third day after payment was sent.) Also, even today when I hit the track button on the listing it shows that it is not tracking in the system even though it was delivered yesterday:"

I sent it Priority Mail Expedited, provided tracking even though buyer said "wasn't in the system" which it was. I lost money on the shipping. Item shipped within two business days of payment, which is 100% acceptable. You were in an awful hurry for the tracking # yet take eight days to pay for my item. Interesting, huh? Item arrived Friday. 

You said: "Here's the kicker, I never made the connection, but back in September I had bought a purple wave machine from Erin"

Funny you didn't make the connection as I NOTED IT OUR COMMUNICATION (see above). :facepalm: Sheesh, it's like you don't remember your own words. 

You said: "On that sale, the wave machine was advertised as working perfectly, however, she failed to mention the amount of creaking noise it makes as it rocks back and forth. She also failed to email tracking information even though I repeatedly asked for it and generally had poor communication when it came to customer service after the sale. I didn't post any feedback on that transaction, but I should have because that was a $215 sale. Had I realized who it was and remembered the lack of customer service, I might not have bid."

And I should have blocked you back then. Item did NOT creak when I had it. If you had a complaint, you should have registered it then. You gave me the same song and dance back then, too: had to find a eBay gift card and took a long time to pay. Yes, I forgot tracking on that one and I apologized for it. Lesson learned. 

You said: "Erin EARNED the negative feedback I posted for her today. On a $100 sale, from a customer standpoint, I believe her attitude sucks. Her postings on this website about this auction is only half the story.  Her personal attacks and name calling are immature. 

Again, Erin (Callisto9) had information for only reasons she knows left out of the description, used outdated photos and tells me she's NOT going to answer my questions, doesn't email tracking info and then trashes me on this forum? Having earned negative feedback its the least of this person's "issues."  That's all I'm going to say, unless someone has more specifics on what I can do to repair this lamp. I'm going to take it to a Lucite and Plastic fabrication shop I know to see what can be done. I hope I can do something cool with it to get it working at least with the lava and if anyone knows where I can can get an actual Lava Gemlite with GLITTER in it, I'd sure appreciate it."

Look at your feedback left for others and look at mine. I think we can all see who the problem is here. 

Half the story? LOL The entire story is here for all to see. The least of my issues? Wow. You're really stretching here. 

I think YOUR attitude sucks. Long story short: I listed my item 100% honestly. You didn't pay attention, ADMITTED IT and then get mad when I won't waste my time answering all your questions. I left nothing out of the description. It was a half-busted lamp and you're mad you didn't pay attention. I even gave you an out to not pay and I'd relist and YOU DIDN'T TAKE IT.

I 100% stand by everything I said. You wasted my time and are mad 'cause you bought something that you likely didn't want. I too had 100% feedback until you ruined it. Next time you bid on an auctions ASK YOUR QUESTIONS FIRST, PAY PROMPTLY and don't take a TONE with someone when YOU'RE the one who wasn't paying attention. 

[Erin]

Here's my first negative feedback. 

Much wrong? Hardly. I left nothing out. You're mad you didn't pay attention. 

Thanks for ruining my 100% feedback. I hope it feels good. I have reported you to eBay and hope to get the feedback removed since it's unfair and untrue, but I don't see that happening since eBay protects the buyer far more than the seller. 

[Erin]

In case there's ever any doubt, here's actual auction listing:

[OooLaLava]

Jim, I call it as I see it. I did not have an itchy finger to leave the feedback. I thought about it after the lamp arrived. Probably would have let it slide like I did with the Wave Machine and not post anything until I came to oozing goo to look up glitter refills and lo and behold are Erin's LOVE NOTES about the transaction of course EDITED to make her appear a victim. I had not posted anything. Then I thought about it some more. I mean I'm the one out almost $100. And I'm not the one who conveniently left out a lot of facts and I'm not the one who posted Lava GEMLITE MYSTIQUE GLITTER for the title of a lamp with NOT ONE SPARKLE OF GLITTER IN IT!!! 

It would have been so easy for Erin to be more complete in information she knew (like I really don't know if it will still work as a lava lamp because I didn't try it after it melted) Also, WHY put a picture of the lamp functioning when it won't like that anymore and an actual glitter Gemlite lamp in the listing at all? Because that's the picture that shows up in the search list, a lamp you don't get and a lamp that won't work like it did in the picture!  Regarding this transaction, the seller left A LOT OF INFO SHE KNEW out of the description.  With all that Erin purports to know about these lava lamps, she sure didn't impart a lot of her knowledge to the bidders.  Again, refer to the description:

The metal top and bottom are in good condition. The glass bottle is in good condition. THIS LAMP WILL WORK.

The lamp has been refilled with US Lava Lite formula - blue/purple. I did not refill it, it came that way when I bought it.

Well, an awful a lot was left out like, the metal top where she used JB Weld (not in the description, by the way but its mentioned on her thread on Oozing Goo ) did not hold and the lamp does NOT WORK AS PICTURED. Erin could easily have included current picture, added these tidbits of knowledge to the description, showed the top of the bottle with the masking tape removed and the which is how it arrived) among other things. She chose what to include and and she chose what not to include. I bid. I paid. I did my part.

A seller is not ENTITLED to positive feedback, they EARN it. Erin gets a F on all fronts. 

Jim said:

I am not wading too deeply into this mess, but I do have to point out one observation.

Binsky - why do you have such an itchy trigger finger to leave seller's negative feedback?  I see that you have left feedback on 90 occasions and close to 20% of the time it has been negative.  That percentage is absolutely staggering to me.  At some point you need to take a step back and ask yourself a simply question...

Do you gravitate towards horrid sellers or does the problem reside with you?  I take one look at your feedback record and you know what conclusion I reach?  Pain in the ass, not worth my time and will likely leave me negative feedback. 

[Steven]

I have to agree with Jim here. I know in your post you said that your negatives are not done lightly??? But there are 90 of them. In this case it appears that are one of those customers that is hard to please. Also too I do see a detailed description provided by Erin and when ever a buyer bids on an item then he or she must read before bidding. But also too......I do not think Erin wanted to stiff you with a non-paying bidder strike. That seems to be more of a personal comment than fact.
But 90 fricken negatives?????? Really???

[Erin]

I'll answer your questions again:

You said: "And I'm not the one who conveniently left out a lot of facts" 

I left out no facts. You cannot get mad at me for not posting information that I don't have. Why would I post that it wouldn't work with a 25W bulb WHEN I NEVER TRIED IT? I also never took the lamp on a car ride to California, but I cannot anticipate questions someone's going to ask AFTER the sale. 

You said: "Then I thought about it some more. I mean I'm the one out almost $100."

I offered you an out. You can see it all the messages you posted. You didn't take it. 

You said: "who posted Lava GEMLITE MYSTIQUE GLITTER for the title of a lamp with NOT ONE SPARKLE OF GLITTER IN IT!!!"

A lot of people use keywords in the title to get it to show up in listings. Lava lamps and glitter lamps are closely related. It doesn't take much intelligence to note THE GLITTER LAMP WAS NOT FOR SALE. How many times do I have to point that out? If you can't read, I can't help you. 

I said this was a parts lamp. Again, and I can't emphasize this enough: ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAD SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED BEFORE BIDDING.  That's your A#1 problem here. You screwed up, I give you an out and you're still mad.

You said: "Well, an awful a lot was left out like, the metal top where she used JB Weld (not in the description, by the way but its mentioned on her thread on Oozing Goo ) did not hold and the lamp does NOT WORK AS PICTURED."

The JB weld was intact when I sent it. I had forgotten about it when I listed it. Either way, it has no impact on the lamp functioning. 

The lamp works with a 40W bulb, but it'll melt the base. I said that in the auction. 

You said: "Erin could easily have included current picture"

OMG IT WAS A CURRENT PICTURE. WHAT ABOUT THAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? That is exactly how the lamp looked. I took those pics right before I listed it (except for the one where it's flowing). 

You said: "showed the top of the bottle with the masking tape removed and the which is how it arrived)"

Yes, I removed the masking tape and applied electrical tape to secure it before shipping so it would not leak. That benefits you. I'm sorry, did you want the crappy masking tape on it? Lava lamps are often taped up when shipping to avoid leaking. 

If you needed more pics, you should have asked for them. Again, this was a PARTS LAMP. You were not getting a pristine lamp... I made no representation that it was anything but a half-busted lamp. I'm sure there was some dust on the lamp, too, but I cannot anticipate every question someone MIGHT ASK.

Again, the onus is on the BUYER to ask any and all questions BEFORE BIDDING AND WINNING. You have said you admitted that you didn't... and yet you're mad at me. I don't get it. 

I'm just glad I will never have to deal with you again on eBay. You've been the worst buyer I've ever dealt with and your lack of... READING YOUR OWN COMMENTS and calling me out on things that are not my fault is beyond frustrating. 

[Erin]

To be fair, 90 feedbacks left, 20% of which are negative. 

Steven said:

I have to agree with Jim here. I know in your post you said that your negatives are not done lightly??? But there are 90 of them. In this case it appears that are one of those customers that is hard to please. Also too I do see a detailed description provided by Erin and when ever a buyer bids on an item then he or she must read before bidding. But also too......I do not think Erin wanted to stiff you with a non-paying bidder strike. That seems to be more of a personal comment than fact.
But 90 fricken negatives?????? Really???

[Jim]

I call it how I see it as well.  And what I am seeing is a story full of holes.  This is not an isolated incident with you Binksy, you regularly leave negative feedback.  You state that the "vast majority of your experiences on eBay have been positive", but you have left negative feedback for 20% of them.  How do you explain that? 

Do you regularly toss $100 at an auction you know nothing about?  Seems rather idiotic to me.  Erin provided an accurate description of what she was selling and was fully transparent.  The fact that you chose not to read the details is not her problem, its yours.

What kind of GemLite do you think you can get for $76 Binksy?  Does the $76 price point not seem odd?

The Binsky said:

Jim, I call it as I see it. I did not have an itchy finger to leave the feedback. I thought about it after the lamp arrived. Probably would have let it slide like I did with the Wave Machine and not post anything until I came to oozing goo to look up glitter refills and lo and behold are Erin's LOVE NOTES about the transaction of course EDITED to make her appear a victim. I had not posted anything. Then I thought about it some more. I mean I'm the one out almost $100. And I'm not the one who conveniently left out a lot of facts and I'm not the one who posted Lava GEMLITE MYSTIQUE GLITTER for the title of a lamp with NOT ONE SPARKLE OF GLITTER IN IT!!! 

It would have been so easy for Erin to be more complete in information she knew (like I really don't know if it will still work as a lava lamp because I didn't try it after it melted) Also, WHY put a picture of the lamp functioning when it won't like that anymore and an actual glitter Gemlite lamp in the listing at all? Because that's the picture that shows up in the search list, a lamp you don't get and a lamp that won't work like it did in the picture!  Regarding this transaction, the seller left A LOT OF INFO SHE KNEW out of the description.  With all that Erin purports to know about these lava lamps, she sure didn't impart a lot of her knowledge to the bidders.  Again, refer to the description:

The metal top and bottom are in good condition. The glass bottle is in good condition. THIS LAMP WILL WORK.

The lamp has been refilled with US Lava Lite formula - blue/purple. I did not refill it, it came that way when I bought it.

Well, an awful a lot was left out like, the metal top where she used JB Weld (not in the description, by the way but its mentioned on her thread on Oozing Goo ) did not hold and the lamp does NOT WORK AS PICTURED. Erin could easily have included current picture, added these tidbits of knowledge to the description, showed the top of the bottle with the masking tape removed and the which is how it arrived) among other things. She chose what to include and and she chose what not to include. I bid. I paid. I did my part.

A seller is not ENTITLED to positive feedback, they EARN it. Erin gets a F on all fronts. 

Jim said:

I am not wading too deeply into this mess, but I do have to point out one observation.

Binsky - why do you have such an itchy trigger finger to leave seller's negative feedback?  I see that you have left feedback on 90 occasions and close to 20% of the time it has been negative.  That percentage is absolutely staggering to me.  At some point you need to take a step back and ask yourself a simply question...

Do you gravitate towards horrid sellers or does the problem reside with you?  I take one look at your feedback record and you know what conclusion I reach?  Pain in the ass, not worth my time and will likely leave me negative feedback. 

[Jim]

And BTW, when you win an auction you are essentially making a contractual agreement with the seller of the goods. Your goods for my money.  Make sure you have money readily available and don't waffle about your mysteriously disappearing gift card.

Reply by ransam68 (Mar-09-12 10:39):

Buyer had unpaid item dispute-problematic-Customer service is my #1 Priority.

Reply by baconboy21 (Nov-17-11 18:34):

WOULDN'T PAY FOR ITEM, THEN WANTED TO RETURN IT AFTER THEY LEFT NEG FEEDBACK

Reply by wssu98grad (May-25-09 08:17):

Not fair feedback! I did NOTHING but ask when they w/pay so I can mail? UNTRUE!!

[OooLaLava]

Steven/Erin/Jim: Learn to count. I posted 13 negative feedback ratings over a 4+ YEAR period...that is probably over a thousand transactions I've had since most of the time I don't post any feedback unless a seller posts it for me (there's actually a very good reason for for not posting feedback, but I won't go into that)  So occasionally I'll go and respond to all the feedback posted. So I can see how it might look skewed to you. Still, On this transaction, Erin earned her feedback and I stand by it. It's not what was in her written description that was the problem, it's what she left out and why she included that first picture at all and her title was misleading.

I took responsibility for not reading the description more carefully. Erin should take responsibility for her part.

[Jim]

And that right there makes you a piece of crap buyer Binksy.  I have left feedback for every single transaction I have ever taken part of on eBay.  Its called simple courtesy.  You talk about how the sellers you have tarnished "earned" their negative feedback, yet you don't have the decency to say well done when a seller "earns" praise.

I think that's what it all comes down to... decency.  Or in your case lackthereof. 

I pity the fool who sells you a house if you ever pull the trigger.  The water heater is on the its last legs, the sump pump is going, there are cracks in the foundation, radon is at a dangerous level... I want a $100K refund!!!  See me, like most other normal people, brings in a home inspector before we buy.  You seem to like to leap before you look and then want to blame others for your hasty decisions. 

Best of luck with your future endeavors Binksy. 

The Binsky said:

Steven/Erin/Jim: Learn to count. I posted 13 negative feedback ratings over a 9 YEAR period...that is probably over a thousand transactions. Most of the time I don't post any feedback, so it might look skewed to you now. I

[Erin]

I corrected the comment (NOT MADE BY ME) about 90 negs, so quit calling me out on my counting. You really don't know when to quit, do you? 

And I stand by everything I've said here and I'll repeat it: DO NOT SELL TO THIS PERSON. NOT WORTH THE HASSLE. 

I only wish I could extend negative feedback to you, but having your name out here for all to see and Google I think makes a great case all by itself. :)

The Binsky said:

Steven/Erin/Jim: Learn to count. I posted 13 negative feedback ratings over a 4+ YEAR period...that is probably over a thousand transactions I've had since most of the time I don't post any feedback unless a seller posts it for me (there's actually a very good reason for for not posting feedback, but I won't go into that)  So occasionally I'll go and respond to all the feedback posted. So I can see how it might look skewed to you. Still, On this transaction, Erin earned her feedback and I stand by it. It's not what was in her written description that was the problem, it's what she left out and why she included that first picture at all and her title was misleading.

I took responsibility for not reading the description more carefully. Erin should take responsibility for her part.