A negative ebay experience...

[John Sabato]

<soap box mode on>

I just experienced a poor attitude on the part of an ebay seller... He is one of the big guys too... but customer service is obviously not one of their strong points.

I won an auction for an M1A combination tool on August 24th. I sent the payment via paypal on August 25. The auction stated that "all items paid for by paypal and money order ship immediately"

The total of the order was only $7.50 including the $3.00 shipping fee and the insurance...

I simply forgot about the issue expecting to see the item in about a week...

While reviewing my "My Ebay" page, I realized on Monday of this week that the item had not arrived... I sent an email to the seller asking about how and when the item had been shipped. Yesterday, I received the item in the mail with a postmark of MONDAY of this week. 16 days after I had paid for the item.

Here is what this wonderful ebay professional replied to my short email requesting to know why, and a refund of my insurance money since there was no insurance sticker on the envelope... only a stamp that said "insured."

======================

-----Original Message-----
From: dlsawyer@rochester.rr.com [mailto:dlsawyer@rochester.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 7:15 PM
To: John Sabato
Subject: Re: Message from eBay Member Regarding Item #7177028132

Mr. Sabato,

When we state "all items paid for by paypal and money order ship immediately" that is a general statement about our business policies.
99% of orders are shipped the same day or next day. We do not express or imply, warranty or guarantee that your individual order will be shipped within forty eight hours. Clearly there is no way that all orders can be shipped immediately all the time.

For the record, we reserve the right to withhold shipment on any ebay auction for up to thirty days for any reason. This is our right under the auction terms of sale and ebay terms of use. We are sorry you seem to be unhappy with that, but might I remind you that this is mail order
and delays for other reasons do occur. usually, but not always delays
are outside our control, most usually delays result due to the postal service being slow. If you feel that in the future you may not wish to wait for products to be delivered in the mail we suggest you shop elsewhere than eBay or other mail order venues.

The item was sent well within ebay's terms of use which specify article is to be sent within thirty days of payment. Shipment in 18 days is well within auction terms of sale and ebay terms of use.

We strive to have all items in stock at all times. This is not always
possible. The item was temporarily out of stock. Thus the delay.

Parcel was sent with usps insurance. ( That is why "INSURED" is stamped on the envelope). Also- attached is a copy of the USPS insurance receipt.

I hope we have cleared up these issues for you.

Please let me know is you have any further questions.

DL Sawyer
optica-electronics
===========================

Well ...what they have cleared up for me is that I need not buy from this vendor again...

here is my final reply:
===========================
I have had only a single bad experience purchasing on ebay. A guy sold me a Luger pistol magazine that was obviously and blatantly defective, but was misrepresented in the auction listing.

I got what I ordered from you, but the conditions of the sale have not been very pleasant. You act like you did me a favor by selling me something at an agreed upon price. This item may not be a major sale to you, but it was something I needed, and didn't expect to have to wait almost 3 weeks to receive since you claimed in your auction that "all items paid for by paypal and money order ship immediately"

I do not agree with your assessment that your statement "all items paid for by paypal and money order ship immediately" is a general statement about your business practices, but a specific statement by you, and not by implication, that if a buyer pays you via paypal, that the item is shipped "IMMEDIATELY". Not that 99% ship immediately. That is a deceptive advertising practice, not to mention that you place items for auction that you don't or may not have in stock... No mention of that in your auctions either.

I am a very reasonable person. I understand that the term immediately likely means as soon as the order is processed. It didn't take you 16 days to process my order. It didn't take you 16 days to determine that the item wasn't even on hand when you listed it. It would only have been common courtesy to notify me when you accepted my payment that you didn't have the item in stock... But obviously, once you had been paid, my satisfaction with my order was no longer of any concern to you.

I allowed 16 days to go by to allow plenty of time for mail delivery. The actual delivery took only TWO days so don't try to blame the delay on the mail service. Your envelope postmark was dated MONDAY of this week. Funny how the shipment date coincides with my one and only email request to know when and how you had shipped the item.

If you had accepted responsibility for your actions, you might still have a new customer in me that would recommend you as a source for parts.

Integrity is what you do when no one is looking. I have always operated by the Christian principle that you should treat someone the way you would like to be treated.

I will indeed shop elsewhere than your establishment... And will recommend that my fellow gun enthusiasts do the same. I don't have a problem with Ebay at all. You will note that inspite of my dissatisfaction with your service that I left you positive feedback... Only because I got what I ordered. The Narrative of the feedback tells the true story for anyone who takes the time to read it.

-John Sabato
====================
Sorry I bored you guys, but I thought you all should know the name of this vendor... caveat emptor

thanks guys for letting me blow off some steam...

<soap box mode off>