Am I right or am I wrong? You tell me.

[ArmyValker]

Ok, I'm in somewhat of a dispute with a "seller" on Ebay I recently utilized.
This guy is a "plater" and an instrument repairman. He was selling his services (plating and repair) for 400 dollars and purchased them for my Dad's old trumpet he's been attached to for years.

Anyway, I send it off, the guy tells me he received it, and I don't hear anything for like 4 weeks. I start calling and emailing, and he's givin me the runaround told me 3 different times he would "ship it tomorrow."

Finally, 2 months later, after about 50 phone calls/emails with this guy, he gets it in the mail, and when I get it back, the work is pretty amateur quite frankly. However, it looks alright to the untrained eye and I for damn sure ain't shipping it back to this guy.

So, I left him some weak feedback and called it a day.

Anyway, he's totally flipped his lid over my feedback and wants some kind of recourse.
I think he's lost his flippin mind and he's lucky I don't ask for my money back.


Your thoughts?

[Black Pearl's Captain]

If you were impressed with his work you would have raved about it. If it's crappy then feedback should reflect that.

Raymond

[Ratdog]

If my rememberer is working correctly... eBay is pretty hard on vendors who do not receive good feedback... probably a contributing factor to his reaction.  Any chance of negociating a partial refund for an ammended feedback?  Not trying to defend the guy... if he wanted stellar feedback, he should've handled your transaction better.

[eric in md]

to bad for that guy ... do it right and dont put people through 50 email sorry  just be a stand up person   .. you did the right thing if your not happy , because all the run around he gave you ..

[Big Rig]

I think you are right...service is service, if you are not happy with it, let them know...

That is life...if you want good grades, you'll need to work from them...just got done telling my 6yo that about his homework.

[scoot]

Don't back down. Keep in mind alot of other people are looking to see what you experienced with this seller. It wouldn't be fair to them to read how nice a job or how god a guy this is. If he wants good feed back he needs to earn it. Feed back don't mean crap in ebay world anymore. If he wants he can just sign up under another name and take another persons money. Ebay isn't what it started out as. Let the buyer (nad seller for that matter) beware.
 

[JimL]

If I understand your post correctly, it took a total of about 3 months from the time you shipped the instrument for repair until you got it back.  Unless he told you upfront that it would take 3 months, or unless he had some other reasonable explanation; in my opinion that in itself would warrant bad feedback.  The fact that he mislead you 3 times does not help his defense.

As far as the quality of the job, sometimes that is a subjective judgment; Since I don't know what the going rate for this type of service...possibly you got what you paid for.  However, I would expect that if that were the case, that too should have been disclosed by the vendor upfront.

What kind of feedback did this individual have prior to your doing business with him?

[ArmyValker]

If I understand your post correctly, it took a total of about 3 months from the time you shipped the instrument for repair until you got it back.  Unless he told you upfront that it would take 3 months, or unless he had some other reasonable explanation; in my opinion that in itself would warrant bad feedback.  The fact that he mislead you 3 times does not help his defense.

As far as the quality of the job, sometimes that is a subjective judgment; Since I don't know what the going rate for this type of service...possibly you got what you paid for.  However, I would expect that if that were the case, that too should have been disclosed by the vendor upfront.

What kind of feedback did this individual have prior to your doing business with him?

Stellar feedback. I posted this guys name and handle on a trumpet players forum I frequent and got good reviews, but then, after I sent the horn I was contacted by a couple guys who where in legal negotiations with this guy for selling their horns while they were in for service... Then I became aware of several other with similar stories.

It did take 3 months, and his advertisement said "15-18 business days after horn is recieved" for a timeline.

I think the judgement that I "got what I paid for" is probably accurate in retrospect, but the guy promised "flawless" work with "30+ years of experience" so that's what I expected.

[alph]

wow, i think you should be happy you got your horn back!!

i wouldn't worry about giving him a poor review.  what's he going to do, come after you with a shot gun?  if he gave crappy service, he deserves a crappy review, you did good!  maybe some other person won't have to go threw what you did.

i gave a guy a negitive reply just last week, he advertised a 7 day money back return pollicy, didn't reply to my emails for a return address so i used the one on the original package, turns out it was a private postal service called "postnet".  they recieved it and didn't have a clue who the guy was.  i email him and he say's "haven't gotten it yet, it's past 7 days, sorry no refund"  i called ebay, explained what happened, gave them the tracking #, they agreed with me and refunded me my money.  they'll eventuallly take it out of the guys paypal account, but you've got to click on the "leave feedback later" option when you're in the thick of it 'cause after 30 days the item falls off of your "won" page.  by clicking on the option that you'll leave feedback later you can go back into your history and pull up the transaction to leave a negitive feedback.

some people deserve it!  if you're not going to play by the rules, don't expect a positive!!

[ArmyValker]

wow, i think you should be happy you got your horn back!!

i wouldn't worry about giving him a poor review.  what's he going to do, come after you with a shot gun?  if he gave crappy service, he deserves a crappy review, you did good!  maybe some other person won't have to go threw what you did.

i gave a guy a negitive reply just last week, he advertised a 7 day money back return pollicy, didn't reply to my emails for a return address so i used the one on the original package, turns out it was a private postal service called "postnet".  they recieved it and didn't have a clue who the guy was.  i email him and he say's "haven't gotten it yet, it's past 7 days, sorry no refund"  i called ebay, explained what happened, gave them the tracking #, they agreed with me and refunded me my money.  they'll eventuallly take it out of the guys paypal account, but you've got to click on the "leave feedback later" option when you're in the thick of it 'cause after 30 days the item falls off of your "won" page.  by clicking on the option that you'll leave feedback later you can go back into your history and pull up the transaction to leave a negitive feedback.

some people deserve it!  if you're not going to play by the rules, don't expect a positive!!

That's what I thought too.. I was extra nice to the guy while he had my 3,000 dollar vintage horn, but once I got it back, I let him know what I really thought. It just gets me when somebody delivers crappy service and then gets pissed when someone calls them on it.

I feel better now. I sent the guy a long email basically explaining myself and he just sent me an email back that started with "I agree, but.... " followed by a litany of excuses that have been pretty much what he's been saying the whole time he had the horn.

So, If he presses it with Ebay, at least I've got him acknowledging that I'm not lying.

[highcountry]

If I understand your post correctly, it took a total of about 3 months from the time you shipped the instrument for repair until you got it back.  Unless he told you upfront that it would take 3 months, or unless he had some other reasonable explanation; in my opinion that in itself would warrant bad feedback.  The fact that he mislead you 3 times does not help his defense.

As far as the quality of the job, sometimes that is a subjective judgment; Since I don't know what the going rate for this type of service...possibly you got what you paid for.  However, I would expect that if that were the case, that too should have been disclosed by the vendor upfront.

What kind of feedback did this individual have prior to your doing business with him?

Stellar feedback. I posted this guys name and handle on a trumpet players forum I frequent and got good reviews, but then, after I sent the horn I was contacted by a couple guys who where in legal negotiations with this guy for selling their horns while they were in for service... Then I became aware of several other with similar stories.

It did take 3 months, and his advertisement said "15-18 business days after horn is recieved" for a timeline.

I think the judgement that I "got what I paid for" is probably accurate in retrospect, but the guy promised "flawless" work with "30+ years of experience" so that's what I expected.

That guy sounds like a bad apple on several levels and it is ashamed that you didn't get meaningful responses from your inquiries beforehand.  He certainly doesn't deserve a good recommendation or feedback.

[R J]

Also sounds like he might be sending it on, to someone else to fix.

Had that happen once.    Don't see that vendor on the eBay circuit anymore....

Give them the feedback they deserve.   It is not your problem he got kicked in the kahoons.    Ya want good feedback, ya got to earn it, just like you do respect.

[valkmc]

Your $ buys you the right to provide feedback. If it is honest and it is the way you feel about the service than to bad for hin.

[Tx Bohemian]

Dang!!  That is one of my biggest pet-peeves when people won't return a phone call or email.  Especially in these situations.

This happened to me a few months ago with a purchase on ebay and finally the guy answered a couple of weeks later saying his truck was broke so he couldn't ship the items!  I guess his computer was hooked up to his truck, huh?!?!?!?

A simple update like "I'm busy, got trouble, etc... anything to let you know he's not dissing you!

I won a couple of items last night from the same seller and asked if he could combine the shipping ($6 each),  he responded he could and now it's $45 for priority shipping, WHAT?!?!?!?!

Sent him another email at 6 this morning saying I'm not in a hurry that regular shipping is fine, still waiting for a reply, and starting to get a bit irritated.

[JimL]

Dang!!  That is one of my biggest pet-peeves when people won't return a phone call or email.  Especially in these situations.

This happened to me a few months ago with a purchase on ebay and finally the guy answered a couple of weeks later saying his truck was broke so he couldn't ship the items!  I guess his computer was hooked up to his truck, huh?!?!?!?

A simple update like "I'm busy, got trouble, etc... anything to let you know he's not dissing you!

I won a couple of items last night from the same seller and asked if he could combine the shipping ($6 each),  he responded he could and now it's $45 for priority shipping, WHAT?!?!?!?!

Sent him another email at 6 this morning saying I'm not in a hurry that regular shipping is fine, still waiting for a reply, and starting to get a bit irritated.

Who is the seller?

[Jess from VA]

I have a simple solution that works for me.

I  will do no business on Evilbay, and will not sign up for Pay Pal. 

I realize there are bargains to be had, but the headache and hassle outweigh any advantages.. for me. 

[hubcapsc]

I have a simple solution that works for me.

I  will do no business on Evilbay, and will not sign up for Pay Pal. 

I realize there are bargains to be had, but the headache and hassle outweigh any advantages.. for me. 

PayPal's handy, but they're like drug dealers: they get you hooked and then cut you off...

-Mike "google paypal sending limit"

[Bladedog]

By "recourse" do you mean he wants some kind of compensation for getting bad feedback?

I say you don't owe him a thing.  He did not deliver what was stated on his listing, plain and simple.  If someone does business on ebay, the feedback system is part of the deal.  Whether feedback is justified or not, you move on.  If he has stellar feedback, I doubt that one or two negative entries is going to affect his "business."  It's up to the next prospective buyer to figure out what is legitimate or not.  Lord knows I've bought from sellers with some negative stuff in their feedback, but the positives far outweighed the negatives.  He'll either live with it or he can spend some money on therapy.  Either way you've done nothing wrong.   

[ArmyValker]

By "recourse" do you mean he wants some kind of compensation for getting bad feedback?

I say you don't owe him a thing.  He did not deliver what was stated on his listing, plain and simple.  If someone does business on ebay, the feedback system is part of the deal.  Whether feedback is justified or not, you move on.  If he has stellar feedback, I doubt that one or two negative entries is going to affect his "business."  It's up to the next prospective buyer to figure out what is legitimate or not.  Lord knows I've bought from sellers with some negative stuff in their feedback, but the positives far outweighed the negatives.  He'll either live with it or he can spend some money on therapy.  Either way you've done nothing wrong.   

He wants me to write Ebay and say I mistakenly left the wrong feedback or something like that. I ain't doing that.

[Spirited-6]

Several years I bid and bought a Valkyrie on Ebay, 2001 Std., 6,500 miles, like new. I drove to Cinn, Ohio to pick up bike and pay bal. Seller`s Dad was to delliver. Sat in McDonald`s for several hrs. and finaley saw a Valk. coming down the road. WTF, flat tires rolling into service station across the street. Drives up to where I was waiting and I got out to inspect bike... Bike had been down on right side,tires were worn out,front, rust & corr. on non painted parts. I refused to pay balance due. Seller gave the following ; THIS GUY IS PICKEY, DO NOT SELL TO ! Plus this SOB did not want to give my $500. Back to me because I was picky. BTW, he did.    

[Jess from VA]

I rest my case.  In 30 years of wheeling and dealing with motorcycle people with parts and accessories, I have only been gently screwed around twice (no big deal either time).

But I read these stories about ebay all the time.  LiarBay would be a better name.

I know there are reputable sellers, like Big Mike, but when I did business with him it was on the phone, not ebay.

[Popeye]

I would say you are right, he didn't deliver what he promised and your feedback reflected that.

[Tx Bohemian]

Dang!!  That is one of my biggest pet-peeves when people won't return a phone call or email.  Especially in these situations.

This happened to me a few months ago with a purchase on ebay and finally the guy answered a couple of weeks later saying his truck was broke so he couldn't ship the items!  I guess his computer was hooked up to his truck, huh?!?!?!?

A simple update like "I'm busy, got trouble, etc... anything to let you know he's not dissing you!

I won a couple of items last night from the same seller and asked if he could combine the shipping ($6 each),  he responded he could and now it's $45 for priority shipping, WHAT?!?!?!?!

Sent him another email at 6 this morning saying I'm not in a hurry that regular shipping is fine, still waiting for a reply, and starting to get a bit irritated.

Who is the seller?

I rather wouldn't say right now.

Got a response from the seller, he seems like a stand-up guy.  Said he didn't know why eBay charged that much but made a few suggestions and I think we got it taken care of.

I'll see if the parts are as he described.

[Oss]

Armyvalker I think you took the high road here and you are 100% in the clear

There is no substitute for eyeballing the item that you are bidding on but in your case it was your dad's horn being done.  Whatever if a person says 18 business days which is less than a month and it took 3 months and innumerable calls and email he deserves WHATEVER feedback you leave with ebay

You are damn lucky to get the horn back from the seller   Did it look better than before it was sent?

I have had many ebay experiences and all positive Items delivered or available for me to have shipped.

Too bad Paris is no longer active on the board he used to have an ebay store PARIS ISLAND and knew ebay real good

[ArmyValker]

Armyvalker I think you took the high road here and you are 100% in the clear

There is no substitute for eyeballing the item that you are bidding on but in your case it was your dad's horn being done.  Whatever if a person says 18 business days which is less than a month and it took 3 months and innumerable calls and email he deserves WHATEVER feedback you leave with ebay

You are damn lucky to get the horn back from the seller   Did it look better than before it was sent?

I have had many ebay experiences and all positive Items delivered or available for me to have shipped.

Too bad Paris is no longer active on the board he used to have an ebay store PARIS ISLAND and knew ebay real good

Yeah it looked better than before it was sent. He did what I'd call a "half-ass" job. The horn was in such bad shape off the bat that anything he did would make it better, but it wasn't a professional job IMO. I've got almost 100 feedback on ebay as a buyer and about 15 as a seller, most of those being high-dollar items (1000-5000) and this is the first time I've ever had a bad experience.


I appreciate your guys input, one thing I definitely didn't want was to be unfair with this guy, but I feel like you guys all pretty much agree with me, which makes me feel better. I hate dishonest people and I've always been taught that your word is really all you've got. If you can't live up to your word, you're worthless. Has nothing to do with money.

[Mongo]

Thanks for giving him a bad review, that the only way Ebay works. When a buyer post honest reviews it lets the next buyers know who they should deal with

[kiwi#9582]

Right AND wrong?????   Right for not being happy with his service.... MAYBE wrong if you did not check into his experience???  What was his rating and over what period of time?????  Stick to your guns for quality....   

[alph]

Also sounds like he might be sending it on, to someone else to fix.

Had that happen once.    Don't see that vendor on the eBay circuit anymore....

Give them the feedback they deserve.   It is not your problem he got kicked in the kahoons.    Ya want good feedback, ya got to earn it, just like you do respect.

Yeah but still, if he was having it fixed by someone else the least they could do is keep the lines of communication open!