I paid $30 to have my negative feedback removed!

[ianoid]

I had a guy buy an as-is camera from me that was described to be missing parts. When he got it and told me that it didn't work I offered him a refund. He was pretty weird and unreponsive with email. He left me negative feedback. I did the same and then requested a mutual feedback withdrawl.

After he didn't respond, I contacted Square Trade, which is clearly a robo-mediator for eBay. It said 'free remediation or $29.95 for possible feedback removal.' Seeing how I have 1600 positive and no negs (well, I've had one mutual withdrawl and one neutral for a cart that wasn't 'clean enough'), I said why not. Of course the guy didn't respond to anything and voila, no negative feedback.

And who said money can't buy you positive feedback? Or something like that.

[TEXASGAMEPLAYER]

I'm inpressed!! I didn't know this was an option! Thanks for the info!!!

[halbert]

What a scam! x_x

[imanerd0011]

Honestly, I think that was kind of a stupid idea. You have 1600 freaking positive feedback, I could care less if you have a few negatives. I figure if the person has 99% (or higher) they are an amazing seller! You are bound to run into some assholes if you sell all the time on Ebay.

[Roi]

Dude, $30 :')

[Griking]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?

[jajaja]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?

My thought exactly. Ebay have some really strange feedback rules. Once I left negative feedback and some days later I see it had been removed. I asked Ebay why and they said it was because I had an invalid phonenumber (which i did). But I have over 500 positive feedbacks. So just because I had a wrong phonenumber ebay removed it. Its just stupid if you ask me.. The trade didnt go any better or worse just because I had a bad phonenumber.

[NESaholic]

I think $30 is alot for 1 feedback removal but i can understand the situation,you feel screwed over by an asshat of a buyer and don't agree with his actions,i would be pissed too.
You clearly mentioned it in your auction,that's all you could do and you have 1597 good ones so screw this buyer.

[ianoid]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?

I like the variety of responses to this story.

Actually, the guy could have replied and refused to reneg and been a complete jerk, but fortunately he just ducked out and disappeared.

The problem for me- I don't have any negs. So I want to keep it that way. It's worth $30 for me in future bids. And it's a point of pride. Yes it is a stupid notion to be a slave to, and at some point, I'll get a neg I can't beat.

And the camera sold for $35. I'd have rather just refunded the money and let him keep the camera. So it was a break even proposition.

The other neg I got (removed) was a guy having email problem/communication problems as well. If I can't contact you, how I can help the situation?

People don't read auctions. After all these years, I find myself doing same- I see something I like, bid, and then read the description. Silly!

[slapdash]

The problem for me- I don't have any negs. So I want to keep it that way.

I used to be that way, but just got my first negative. :-( It was retaliation for criticizing crappy packaging that led to a smashed game box, though I at least left a neutral, not a negative. Their comment? "BUYER COMPLAINS TO MUCH" (yes, all-caps and "to" instead of "too"). Grr! I don't know, when I pay $5 for shipping I expect more than $2.07 postage on a paper envelope with no padding whatsoever.

[NESaholic]

People don't read auctions. After all these years, I find myself doing same- I see something I like, bid, and then read the description. Silly!

Indeed,sometimes i catch myself doing it too.
But don't waste your energy on these people it won't prevent them from doing it again to someone else,better to spend money on games and get positive energy out of it.

[peeingas]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?
Square trade has existed for a long time. The price actually used to be $20, but they raised their prices because no one was using them since they can just have feedback withdrawn for free.

[jajaja]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?

I like the variety of responses to this story.

Actually, the guy could have replied and refused to reneg and been a complete jerk, but fortunately he just ducked out and disappeared.

The problem for me- I don't have any negs. So I want to keep it that way. It's worth $30 for me in future bids. And it's a point of pride. Yes it is a stupid notion to be a slave to, and at some point, I'll get a neg I can't beat.

And the camera sold for $35. I'd have rather just refunded the money and let him keep the camera. So it was a break even proposition.

The other neg I got (removed) was a guy having email problem/communication problems as well. If I can't contact you, how I can help the situation?

People don't read auctions. After all these years, I find myself doing same- I see something I like, bid, and then read the description. Silly!

Sure, I do understand the frustration. So that you can remove a negative by paying is both good and bad. Can you remove any negative? In that case, its bad. What if some buyer/seller really deserves a negative and he can just buy it off :(

[Gemini-Phoenix]

Really? You paid to get a negative removed? Did you ask eBay to do it first before contacting SquareTrade?

I had a problem with one seller. BAsically I had won a game, but then he demanded I pay him excessive amounts of P&P to make up the cash he had lost on the auction (The game finished quite low, and he obviously made quite a loss on it! Lol!)

Anyway, he left me a negative and an NPB alert - I felt that this was unjust, and contacted eBay and appealed my NPB alert. They cancelled the negative, and also wiped the NPB alert from my record too!



At the end of teh day though, it's only a feedback. I can't understand people who think it's a life or death thing - If they deserve a negative, they get a negative. Simple as.

[Buyatari]

Having one or two negs is good. It says, as an auction seller I won't be blackmailed into bending over backwards when I'm not the one at fault. You can't scare me with your pathetic email threats and I'll stand up for myself. Some auction sellers are so afraid of having a neg they will do anything even when they did nothing wrong. Then the bidder (not buyer- its an auction not a sale) expectes the same from the next auction seller. When did eBay go from an auction house where items are sold as is unless noted to JC Penny where the customer is always right no matter what?

[rpepper9]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?

My thought exactly. Ebay have some really strange feedback rules. Once I left negative feedback and some days later I see it had been removed. I asked Ebay why and they said it was because I had an invalid phonenumber (which i did). But I have over 500 positive feedbacks. So just because I had a wrong phonenumber ebay removed it. Its just stupid if you ask me.. The trade didnt go any better or worse just because I had a bad phonenumber.

Ebay's policy on having a wrong phone number basiclly means that the conflict could not be resolved by phone. So that puts the seller or bidder who has the wrong phone number instantly in the wrong. I say feedback is over-rated, and that it is redonkulous to pay 29.99 to have it removed. Especialy if you have 1600 possitive, but to each his/her own!

[nermal]

It is just one asshole, let it go and move on

[Flack]

Having one or two negs is good. It says, as an auction seller I won't be blackmailed into bending over backwards when I'm not the one at fault. You can't scare me with your pathetic email threats and I'll stand up for myself. Some auction sellers are so afraid of having a neg they will do anything even when they did nothing wrong. Then the bidder (not buyer- its an auction not a sale) expectes the same from the next auction seller. When did eBay go from an auction house where items are sold as is unless noted to JC Penny where the customer is always right no matter what?

It also says, "I don't have $30." :D

[wizkid]

Its called square trade and its a money grab by ebay. Really gay shit

[rpepper9]

Its called square trade and its a money grab by ebay. Really gay shit

Why do we have to bring Homosexual Feces into this topic? LOL

[sirhansirhan]

I just got my first negative feedback on eBay today, after 118 straight positives and no neutrals. After several months of haggling with a seller (who advertised selling all four Dragon Warriors complete with manuals and maps, but sent only copies of the manuals and maps and no games), I filed a claim against eBay, which took another month or so. After investigation, they found it in my favor, and refunded my money (less shipping and $25 in new fees). Since it was all over, I left the seller, keomat11, negative feedback, and he promptly shot back negative feedback saying I was a fraud and a danger to eBay. Seems odd that eBay would allow this kind of blatantly retaliatory crap after they specifically investigated the auction and found me as being correct. They sure do have some strange policies.

Despite my hatred of anything remotely resembling a monopoly, I do think that as far as online auction sites go, it is best to have just one that everyone buys and sells on; it's better for everyone involved. But as of late, eBay has really been going crazy finding new ways to extort money from already pissed-off people (such as my problem and the main discussion topic on this thread). Sigh...

[Leroy]

Honestly, I think that was kind of a stupid idea. You have 1600 freaking positive feedback, I could care less if you have a few negatives. I figure if the person has 99% (or higher) they are an amazing seller! You are bound to run into some assholes if you sell all the time on Ebay.
Truth.

[peeingas]

I just got my first negative feedback on eBay today, after 118 straight positives and no neutrals. After several months of haggling with a seller (who advertised selling all four Dragon Warriors complete with manuals and maps, but sent only copies of the manuals and maps and no games), I filed a claim against eBay, which took another month or so. After investigation, they found it in my favor, and refunded my money (less shipping and $25 in new fees). Since it was all over, I left the seller, keomat11, negative feedback, and he promptly shot back negative feedback saying I was a fraud and a danger to eBay. Seems odd that eBay would allow this kind of blatantly retaliatory crap after they specifically investigated the auction and found me as being correct. They sure do have some strange policies.

I am not sure why you would even bid on that auction, it looked very poorly described. It doesn't even really tell you what you are getting. Also if you leave a neg, you should expect to get one back, perhaps not fair, but that's the way it works on ebay.

[yuppicide]

I've used SquareTrade once. It wasn't my fault so I told the other person if he wants to get his negative removed he will have to agree to remove the negative he gave me and HE would have to pay the mediator fee.

[ianoid]

OK, to clarify the Square Trade service as I understand it:

Mediation is free, but they claim that if the mediation isn't successful, you can't ask for a withdrawl.

They claim that $29.95 will allow a possible withdrawl. If I could have had a possible withdrawl without paying, I would have.

I don't think that this will work for everyone, but it may work for most, because most often negative feedback is a trail of poor packaging, bad communication, and most of all, misunderstandings. Only occasionally is it malicious. It worked for me because I knew the buyer was awful with communcation- that's why I got negged in the first place- they didn't get any of my emails through eBay. They never responded as having heard from me. This has happened before.

And Buyatari, you are right. I should just eat a few negs for that reason. BUT, I feel like I get a few more bids for bending over backwards occasionally. Video games are one of the hardest things, because they have both aesthetic and gameplay elements that have to fit for the buyer. If I was just a video game vendor, I would probably eat 'em and smile. Since I sell a bunch of other crap with varying levels of risk, with some amount of competition, I am trying to engage folks who might hesitate to buy from me. Soon enough, I will not be so lucky, and I'll be stuck with some negs. Now I truly have good justification for eating them and smiling.

As it turns out, I think the safest thing to do is to use a second userid for risky transactions or purchases. I'm sure there are many users here that do that to protect feedback on one end or the other.

The feedback system is seriously flawed. Invariably, if you neg someone, they will neg you back. That's why, to this day, I never leave feedback first on sales. Someone always comes out of the woodwork to neg you just for fun or spite. If I could use another auction site reliably, I would. Someday I might go online store (been meaning to for years), so that I can circumvent eBay for video game sales.

[The Kron]

So basically you can pay a fee to resolve a problem that ebay should be soving for nothing and the fee takes priority of the situation in hand.

Nice to know they have their prioritys right and favour money over function :roll:

Ebay really is a total joke.

[Nesmaster]

I just got my first negative feedback on eBay today, after 118 straight positives and no neutrals. After several months of haggling with a seller (who advertised selling all four Dragon Warriors complete with manuals and maps, but sent only copies of the manuals and maps and no games), I filed a claim against eBay, which took another month or so. After investigation, they found it in my favor, and refunded my money (less shipping and $25 in new fees). Since it was all over, I left the seller, keomat11, negative feedback, and he promptly shot back negative feedback saying I was a fraud and a danger to eBay. Seems odd that eBay would allow this kind of blatantly retaliatory crap after they specifically investigated the auction and found me as being correct. They sure do have some strange policies.

Despite my hatred of anything remotely resembling a monopoly, I do think that as far as online auction sites go, it is best to have just one that everyone buys and sells on; it's better for everyone involved. But as of late, eBay has really been going crazy finding new ways to extort money from already pissed-off people (such as my problem and the main discussion topic on this thread). Sigh...

I remember that auction. I laughed forever because it clearly states you are buying copies of the books and maps only. I remember saying specifically "stupid buyer paid $70 for copied paper, ahahaha". not to be mean but it IS true :P

[sirhansirhan]

Urgh... I've tried to respond in this thread twice in the past 24 hours, writing lengthy dissertations on why I bid on the Dragon Warrior auction in the first place (I had a good reason, I swear), but my computer keeps locking up, or Digital Press won't allow my post, or something. All I know is that neither time, after nearly a half hour of writing per, has resulted in a post.

The gist is that the posting of the item in the first place was vague enough that it could be taken either as games and manuals or just manuals (here's the link; see for yourself: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8185543950), and I figured if it was the latter eBay would have my back (which they sort of did). Also, I found out after I had all the trouble I had with mine that the seller had listed the same item previously (mine was a relist), and the buyer paid $172.50, received Xerox copies of manuals and maps, and gave the seller positive feedback. And finally, now the seller is claiming via response to my feedback that I am lying and lost the claim, where I really did win it, so now I have to take that with up eBay. It never stops.

[ron_burgundy]

as far as I know you have it almost perfict

[Buyatari]

i have all 4 instruction manuals. dragon warrior I , II , III , IV and Explorer's handbook all the maps and everything... all are in perfect condition .this is a certified copy thank you for looking. it is 1.6 lbs of books maps ... I WILL BE SHIPPING YOUR PACKAGE OUT AS SOON AS THE MONEY ORDER CLEARS. I MAIL PACKAGES OUT DAILY. AGAIN THANKS FOR LOOKING !!!! THIS IS FOR 1 DAY ONLY SO BID TO WIN !!!! Check out my other items!

Thats the auction text. I don't see how this auction could have been for anything but the instructions and maps. No pictures showing carts in fact no pictures period. Never says "games" or "carts" or "boxes". I'd side with the seller on this one.

[Cauterize]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?

Money!

As simple as that! people value their feedback highly, such as ianoid, will find that eBay have taken advantage of this by offering $30 for removal...

Money corrupts the weak minded!

[jajaja]

Imagine if it was like this with criminal record too. That you could just pay off the crimes you have on you and they would remove it from the records. Of course 1 negative isnt that bad, but still.. I think its stupid, but like I said earlier, it might be good if you recive a revenge negative. But then it should be enough just to contact ebay, not pay $30.

[sirhansirhan]

i have all 4 instruction manuals. dragon warrior I , II , III , IV and Explorer's handbook all the maps and everything... all are in perfect condition .this is a certified copy thank you for looking. it is 1.6 lbs of books maps ... I WILL BE SHIPPING YOUR PACKAGE OUT AS SOON AS THE MONEY ORDER CLEARS. I MAIL PACKAGES OUT DAILY. AGAIN THANKS FOR LOOKING !!!! THIS IS FOR 1 DAY ONLY SO BID TO WIN !!!! Check out my other items!

Thats the auction text. I don't see how this auction could have been for anything but the instructions and maps. No pictures showing carts in fact no pictures period. Never says "games" or "carts" or "boxes". I'd side with the seller on this one.

Hey, good job on the cut-and-paste there, but those versed in the English language would recognize that A) The seller put in the UPC from Dragon Warrior IV so that its stock information came up (Does that not mean that Dragon Warrior IV is included? And if not, the seller had better make damn clear that there is no carts in the auction, just Xerox copies of instruction manuals), and B) eBay takes down auctions that are titled "Dragon Warrior I not II III IV" because they feel that title is misleading and buyers might potentially think that they are getting all four games, so wouldn't they at least back me up (which they sort of did) on an auction titled "Dragon Warrior I II III IV (Nintendo) NES Books+" that doesn't include the games? It is the seller's responsibility to make clear that there were no carts included, and simply not mentioning whether carts are included one way or the other doesn't count. Now, I realize now and I realized then that there was a distinct possibility that the auction could have either been for games and manuals or just manuals, so I'm not saying that I'm not seeing what you're seeing. Fact is, the douche bag sent me Xerox copies of manuals, refused to refund my money, and eBay took my side in the claim.

[Griking]

I just read the auction listing as well and have to side with everyone else who says that the description was pretty clear in the fact that you were only getting copied manuals and not games.

Truthfully, did you really read the description before you bid?

[peeingas]

And finally, now the seller is claiming via response to my feedback that I am lying and lost the claim, where I really did win it, so now I have to take that with up eBay. It never stops.
There is nothing to take up with ebay, and they won't do anything even if you do contact them. Lying IS allowed in feedback

[peeingas]

So what's the point of feedback now that you can just buy off any negative that you received?

Money!

As simple as that! people value their feedback highly, such as ianoid, will find that eBay have taken advantage of this by offering $30 for removal...

Money corrupts the weak minded!
Square trade isn't run by ebay, it is its own private company and ebay doesn't get any money from them. But anyone who pays $30 to get a feedback withdrawn is kinda dumb anyway, since you can get it withdrawn for free.

[sirhansirhan]

I just read the auction listing as well and have to side with everyone else who says that the description was pretty clear in the fact that you were only getting copied manuals and not games.

Truthfully, did you really read the description before you bid?

Yeah, see, that was all explained in the long post I tried to put up but that kept locking up my computer and never actually got posted. Honestly, I read the description before bidding, and I realized I was getting in with a shady seller and that it might result in a fight. If you're wondering why I would do this, it was because I had done the same thing in the past, to great success (items go much cheaper when the seller appears to be retarded). Did I deserve the trouble I went through for being willing to bid in the first place? Maybe.

Regardless, this thread has kind of gotten out of hand (and I'm not implying that it has gotten out of hand on account of all of the people who disagree with me; it has gotten out of hand because all of this discussion of my dumbass problems isn't exactly relevant to the thread's original topic). The reason why I brought it up in the first place was to mention that, even if you file a claim with eBay and win, and eBay's employees determine that the seller was promoting a fraudulent auction in the first place, the seller still has the right to mess up your feedback rating, which seems very odd to me.

[video_game_addict]

Ian, I'm watching your Flight Sim game now, I want $30 paypal or my buying account is gonna win this pc game & immediately post negative comments... :devilish:

[ianoid]

Ian, I'm watching your Flight Sim game now, I want $30 paypal or my buying account is gonna win this pc game & immediately post negative comments... :devilish:

Done! Check your paypal account.

Actually, I was only able to get the withdrawl because the buyer was negligent in communication. I got two emails from him, but I replied 5 times, and he never addressed my replies. I wrote him both in eBay and outside of eBay. He has issues or email problems.

You can't just have any feedback removed, I would anticipate.