# Feedback Extortion?



## FrugalRefiner (Dec 22, 2012)

Thought I'd share this recent experience. I bought a lot of scrap jewelry on eBay, in large part because the photos showed several chains stamped 14K. When they arrived I found they were plated. The seller's add was worded very cleverly. He said they were "stamped 14K" but he hadn't tested anything and couldn't guarantee gold.

eBay wants buyers to contact sellers with problems. I did. Twice. In the second message I mentioned that most sellers want buyers to contact them before leaving negative feedback, and that was what I was trying to do. I received no response. So I left negative feedback.

I received a message from eBay today that my account had been involved in feedback extortion because I had suggested the seller provide a refund to avoid negative feedback. Not only have I been accused of feedback extortion, but eBay deleted my feedback!! I now have no way to warn other buyers about this seller.

So I guess the moral of the story is if you're going to request a refund on a lot that is not as described, never mention feedback in your message. Just one more issue to be aware of when dealing with FeePayPal.

Dave


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## ericrm (Dec 22, 2012)

call ebay in person and try to do something ,usualy the buyer loose money but have the last laft... next time, do not leave feedback before the end of the story...
you should have contact seller ,tell him that item is not as describe, put a resolve a probleme thing, and ask for a refund as item is not as describe...

sorry this as happen to you , ebay is a very crappy system for honest poeple


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## bigjohn (Dec 22, 2012)

Dave, if I were you I would file a complaint with PayPal. Just tell them the item was not as advertised and they will put a hold on his PayPal account. I have had to do this in the past and every time the seller made good on the deal. When PayPal is reported a problem they freeze the entire account even if the item was only $2. Most sellers will make you happy to gain acces to their money. Its really a messed up system.


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## Pantherlikher (Dec 22, 2012)

Gotta love the system...
You make a negative feedback and all you have to do is file a complaint against the feedback and it's wiped from the system.
Being an honest seller, I had a buyer tell me the beer sign I sold him was a reproduction. I Emailed him right away amd said it does not make sense for someone to make 1 in the first place and I have not found anything on it. But, to contact me with what he/she would like me to do to make it right...ie. refund.....To which no replies at all and only a negative feedback stating...
"I feel this is a reproduction"... Case opened and feedback removed ....

Now that was fleabay.... Paypal....is a different story....file a case complaint and they put a hold on that account untill it's resolved to your satisfaction....as they say.... yeh right... but at least you can force the seller to do something...
Good luck...

BS.

The world is full of honest people clouded with greed....


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## joem (Dec 22, 2012)

Most of us who bought gold on ebay fell victom to the stamped jewellry curse. I myself bought a useless stamped watch, returned it and never received my refund. We live and learn when it comes to ebay gold.


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## macfixer01 (Dec 22, 2012)

joem said:


> Most of us who bought gold on ebay fell victom to the stamped jewellry curse. I myself bought a useless stamped watch, returned it and never received my refund. We live and learn when it comes to ebay gold.




Yes a stamp by itself means very little. The seller could have even marked it himself. Maybe it's just me but similarly I avoid anything marked "Made In Italy".


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## bigjohn (Dec 22, 2012)

This is why I would rather sell my PM's here than list them on ebay. A couple years ago I sold a 14k ring on ebay with pictures of the ring on the scale. When the lady received it she didn't even contact me with her so called problem, instead she reported me to paypal and said the ring was two grams short of the advertised weight. Paypal froze my account until I gave her a refund.


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## FrugalRefiner (Dec 22, 2012)

Thanks joem. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who believed the stamp. I spent many years in the jewelry business. When you're in a legitimate business, you rely on the validity of hallmarks. Obviously, eBay is a different paradigm.

I've always been successful in getting refunds in the past, either through working with the seller, or when necessary through an eBay case. This time it was my fault. The seller was *very* clever in creating his description. Once I saw the merchandise I checked it again. He never stated any of it was gold or silver. He just stated that it was "metal jewelry" and that some of it was stamped 925 or 14K. He also covered his butt by saying he didn't know if any of that was correct because he couldn't test anything.

I didn't pay that much for the lot, and I considered it my own fault for not catching the clever wordsmithing. I sent 2 messages to the seller letting them know I knew it was junk, and that I would be willing to return it to him, at my expense, and asked only for a refund of the purchase price, not his shipping. I figured he might prefer to have his junk back to resell rather than end up with negative feedback. I guess he understands the system better than I did.

So in the end, I figured my only recourse was to leave negative, but honest feedback about the items. I did that. Nothing defamatory about the seller or anything like that. Just that the buyer should beware of the wording and that 14K stamped was not necessarily 14K. I figured he would leave a response that I was an idiot and hadn't read the ad or whatever, but at least my feedback would be there for others to see. That's what hacked me off. EBay actually deleted the feedback, and having posted feedback once, I can't do it again.

Eating the cost of the lot doesn't bother me. Lesson learned. But not being able to warn others just frosts my cookies. :evil: 

Dave


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## Pantherlikher (Dec 22, 2012)

That's the main Fleabay Flaw now.... You can't leave bad feedback......period..

Back in the day if bad feedback was left, you replied to it and it showed in the same window... And it worked... I had 1 neg. back then and was not warrented so I replied why...and never had a problem.


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## resabed01 (Dec 22, 2012)

Ebay and Paypal have a quite strict and defined dispute process. You are expected to know and follow the process even though it can be quite a chore to learn what it is and info about it is hidden on their joke of a website. If you step outside of the dispute process because for example there is a part you don't understand or didn't know, you're automatically seen as delinquent and they will side with the seller. Most big sellers know the rules and stick to them which keeps them pretty safe by this alone. 
Ebay won't do much in a dispute, they act more like a record keeper between the buyer and seller. The ball goes back and forth between the two and ebay keeps watch as it's expected the two parties sort it out. If one side or the other doesn't follow the process it's game over and the dispute is settled in favor for the other.
Paypal isn't much better. They have the same sort of nonsense. The timelines they impose are unrealistic especially when dealing with overseas parties.

I had a seller knowingly sell me counterfeit SD memory cards which were smaller in capacity then were advertised. I followed all the steps and presented proof to Paypal the seller misrepresented and was out to scam buyers (I wasn't the only one).
In the end they still sided with the seller, I can't imagine why but I think it was because he was a volume seller.
Furious, I had to take it up a notch and filed a chargeback with Mastercard which helped me get my money back. Paying with my CC was the only thing that saved me that time because Ebay and Paypal failed miserably.

My advice, buyer beware and always use your CC for payments.


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