my food site is weber_cam

May 24, 2009

Another sign I'm getting wretchedly old

Last night I finally ended a week long battle over payment on an Ebay item. Ebay is an odd place. Sellers guard their feedback score with their lives. The item I sold was 99¢. The buyer was confused about the terms clearly described in the ad. The interesting thing about Ebay, that I actually like, is people execute transactions - no matter the cost - as if they were dealing with an organ to transplant.

I asked for information needed to complete the sale, the buyer didn't want to give it up, I asked again, they resisted, I paused for several days, I asked again, they resisted, I tried the highest court in this arena, Ebay Dispute and Resolution Center, they resisted the terms of the negotiation. I fumed. Late last night they gave in, transferred the information and the deal was done. Feedback to me: "Great transaction, Great Communication, A++++ Ebayer!"

My response? In my earlier days, I'd have hunted this person down. Now ... "Lightning fast payment, thanks!" Painful, but I closed the deal. After commissions, probably walking with 67¢.

4 comments:

Not Important said...

We need a Throw Momma from the Train kind of web site. People could list a "problem", then the site would match it with someone who can provide a "solution." Then the person whose problem was solved would be on the hook to solve someone else's problem within, say, six months.

Wow. After writing that, I can see all kinds of issues with it.

Dave said...

One site like that is hunch.com

You give it a question and it asks you a series of 10 (should be 12 steps) questions to give you an answer. The solutions are horrible.

Miss Lexiloo said...

Hmm. I wouldn't be able to handle that. Their feedback would probably be along the lines of "PAIN IN THE ASS BUYER. PARANOID ASSHOLE. AVOID AT ALL COSTS."

But that's just me.

Dave said...

Hey Lexi,
Ebay is merciless. They boot people after a small fraction of bad feedback, but I had my phrases ready just in case they gave me bad feedback.