the price of leaving a negative feedback on ebay

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Posted By: David Vargha

Well Rob, you've shown your true character. Sorry you can't take a harsh reply, but seriously, how on earth were you able to manage eleven whole days before dropping a negative on this guy? I mean really, why are you as a seller even e-mailing the guy once in that time frame, much less four times? When I sell things, the first e-mail for no response, no PayPal and no payment in the mail goes out at the two week mark.

How's this for a scenario? Jack (the bidder) is on the road. He has a laptop with him and actively bids on cards from his hotel room. The auction ended on Monday. He is back in town Friday night and being extremely diligent, he takes care of his bills on Saturday rather than spending time with his family. The check he is sending doesn't go out Saturday, because when he goes to put it in his mailbox, he sees that the USPS has already delivered. Knowing how valuable your precious check is, he brings the letter back inside so the neighborhood boys don't blow it up with the firecrackers they like to stick in the neighborhood mailboxes.

He heads out of town again Sunday night, but rather than telling his lovely (and neglected) wife, Trisha how much he loves her, he instead tells her that no matter what happens, she is to make sure that your check goes out on Monday in the mail. He knows you are a very impatient man because you have already e-mailed him about the payment. He hasn't responded because firstly he feels that his excellent feedback (which is not much lower in its total number than yours) speaks for itself. Secondly, he hates writing notes and letters, even if it is to tell you that you will be paid just like he did with the other fifty lots he has won and paid for.

Trisha mails the letter on Monday and it makes it way to you. It is set to be delivered three days later, on Thursday but is accidentally stuck in with the wrong postal carrier's mail. He diligently makes sure that at the end of his shift that he brings it back to the postal center because he "just has a feeling" that it's an extremely important piece of mail. Because your mail carrier is so darned efficient, he has already grabbed his letters and parcels before the misplaced envelope containing your check can be put in with his deliveries for the day. But not to worry, on Saturday morning (twelve days after the auction closed) your postal carrier brings your precious check to you. However, you already left negative feedback the day before.

Now you can call me a loser all you want. But when it comes to eBay, "loser" seems to fit more both with buyers who get upset at the five day mark after an auction has closed and they paid by PayPal 1.3 minutes later so they e-mail wanting to know why their card hasn't arrived yet as well as with sellers who give negative feedback after not receiving payment at the eleven day mark. Rob, sometimes people who buy and sell baseball cards on eBay aren't spending every waking hour focusing on baseball cards. Sometimes these ordinary people have lives, vacations (and yes, people bid on cards while on vacation), family emergencies, more pressing matters, etc. So maybe you just need to grow up a little and be more patient with others. Possibly, there are a few honest individuals left who aren't as quick to pay as you are, don't ship cards as quickly as you do or don't communicate as eloquently or as quickly as you do. So lighten up. They're just pieces of cardboard, pal.

DavidVargha@hotmail.com