Part three: Trouble with eBay, and stuff.

[valis2]

So I returned on Tuesday evening, ready to catch up with the flist and my eBay stuff, and then I read this message from one of the people who have bidded on eBay items that I have:

It is very obvious you as a seller drove up the price of the coins. There are ways of seeing this that you obviously don't know about. Since i live in [my hometown] Michigan your Neighbor i will be want to pick these coins up in person. By the way i am 6.2 255pds and i don't like getting ripped off! We will be talking soon.

At first I laughed and laughed because I thought it was a joke. Then I realized that he was serious. I sent him a note saying that I have never done things like that, and that when the odd bidding occurred on the items, I was actually driving through MI because I wasn't even home for the last week, and had scheduled the auctions to begin.

I called the police, and sent a report to eBay. Of course, just after I did this, he sent a grudging email back saying that he was talking to the people who had done the bid inflation trick, and could I please reduce the cost on shipping because we were so close.

Argh!

It really made me angry, and freaked me out, and made me not want to ship anything out or even look at eBay. Of course, that was a stupid reaction, and I'm about to go put together a bunch of things that need to be shipped. But still.

I'm still fuming.

Comments

[julian-black.livejournal.com]

My god, what an ass. I had a similar eBay incident years ago, only the guy lived about 30 miles south of me. He wanted me to drive down and deliver the book he'd bought the day after the auction closed. He'd already been a pain to deal with, and I refused--I wouldn't hand-deliver it for less than $20 to cover my time and gas. When I suggested he drive up to meet me, he responded huffily that he was "a very busy person," and couldn't. Much flameage ensued before I declared the sale void and blocked him from ever bidding on another one of my auctions. We then we duked it out in feedback.

I'd tell him that I had absolutely no desire to see him in person after 1) being called dishonest It is very obvious you as a seller drove up the price of the coins); 2) being called ignorant (There are ways of seeing this that you obviously don't know about; and 3) being threatened (because if By the way i am 6.2 255pds and i don't like getting ripped off! isn't an implied threat, I don't know what is).

At best, I'd arrange to meet him in a public place, and take someone else along. A donut shop where lots of cops hang out would be good. And I'd still charge him full shipping, for your time and aggravation. But then again, I'm a bitch, so YMMV...

[valis2.livejournal.com]

I wrote very clearly in the reply that I would be happy to send it to him, Priority Mail, as described in the auction.

There is no way on Earth that I would voluntarily meet him face to face.

He still hasn't even paid for it after all that grief!

I've been holding my breath, waiting for the moment when I would have to deal with a jackass on eBay. All of my other transactions have been delightful. Ugh.

The police said it wasn't really a threat, btw. So I was doubly embarrassed. :(