Some Thoughts About Ebay

You know it, you love it - the original worldwide online buy/sell venue. A genius idea, if you ask me, IF you're willing to trust the integrity of....well, normal, everyday people who you don't know, never met, never spoke to and can't see. Somehow, it all works - most of the time. I'm sure Ebay has seen it's share of crooks over the years, and I'm sure many people have lost some money. But that's not what this is about.
I've had an Ebay account for several years, and in those several years have conducted almost 100 or so transactions, some buying, but mostly selling. It's sporadic for me, I'll list half a dozen items - stuff I had laying around the house or saw cheap at a yard sale - sell it all, then wait a few months, do it all again. For me, it's mostly "clean out the clutter, make a few extra bucks on the side". No big deal. So about 6 months ago, I listed an item, got bids, got more bids, auction ended, buyer paid through paypal at around 6am the following morning, according to the time stamp on the transaction. I packed up the item, and trundled myself and my boys off to the post office at around 2pm that same afternoon. Here's where things get tricky. I offer all my buyers a choice of shipping - most of them choose priority mail, which is really fast. But others, who aren't perhaps interested in getting their items lightning fast, can choose a slower shipping. Which is what this guy did. Now whether he KNEW he was choosing the slower shipping (which, in all fairness, CAN BE a lot cheaper) I don't know. But at any rate, he had to have made the choice, it's a drop+pick box on the payment transaction page. So off it went to Texas, from Maryland, using Parcel Post - which the post office guarantees like 3-10 day delivery. Fine.
About a week later, I get a snarky email from him. He hasn't received his item yet. Where is it? I email back, avoiding a snarky reply, because I've learned that to not take the defensive is sometimes the best approach. Told him I mailed it the same day he paid, told him it's on the way, told him Parcel Post takes longer. Told him to email me if it didn't show up soon. Two days later, he emails again. Now he's mad. Where's the item? Accuses me of not mailing it promptly. Threatens to report me to Ebay. Calls me all kinds of names. I kindly (and I do mean kindly) email him back again, explaining that I mailed his item on the day he paid, and when he gets it, he can check the postmark if he has any doubt. At this point, I'm mad too, but at who, I'm not even sure. All I know is that I did what I was supposed to do! So from then on, it's a daily barrage of crap in my inbox. Totally abusive guy - just wouldn't let up. You would think he was waiting for a kidney.
So FINALLY, after about 13 days he gets his item. Doesn't email me this time. Just leaves me feedback on the Ebay feedback forum telling the world that I am a lousy shipper. Oh, and by the way, this is AFTER I had already left him glowing feedback about how quickly he paid.
So this time, I emailed him. And I was STILL nice. Told him I was really appalled at how he could tell everyone on Ebay that I was a lousy, slow shipper, when he knew the truth - since by now, he had the package, he had to have looked at the postmark. I told him it was really crappy of him to do something like that - it was just low.
And what do I get back? Another abusive email, telling me how delusional I am, and it's not his fault it took 13 days to get his package, etc.... So this time, I let him have it, both barrels. I won't say what I wrote, but let's just say I got my pound of flesh. Including telling him that he would INDEED get reported to Ebay (and he did) because I happened to have a little receipt from the post office laying around, with a DATE on it. Then I blocked him from my inbox, blocked him from ever buying anything from me on Ebay again, and blocked him from my life - at least the physical part of it. Emotionally, this creep still makes my skin crawl.
So Ebay, sorry to say, there are freaks in the world. They're arrogant, self-centered, abusive and nasty. They can't admit they're wrong. I still wheel and deal on Ebay. I'm not going to let one jerk ruin it for everyone. I honestly believe that people can conduct business, sight unseen. But every once in awhile, you run up against someone who really makes you question the goodness in people's hearts....I mean, what is WITH some people?

Oh, and that item I sold him? Lest you think it was something important, something very expensive, or something with any kind of sentiment or emotion, or perhaps even something that he needed for a gift.....no. The item, or in this case items, that I sold him, was an assortment of....golf balls. Way to go, Freak. Get yourself all worked up, get me upset, lie, misconstrue, LIBEL, and be an overall jerk, all for something you could've gone and bought yourself in 5 minutes at Walmart.

Anybody who sells on Ebay and wants to block this guy from buying from them, just let me know, I'll be happy to supply you with his Ebay identity.