I need to vent. Perhaps I'm lucky to have gone this long without having a real problem with evilbay. Until recently.
The reason I want to post my story here is: a) I really need to vent, b) the items sold by this vendor are guitar accessories, so quite likely there are members here that may wish to purchase from him.
Here goes.
I found a vendor recently who was selling a few items I was interested in. The items were:
- a pack of 20 JS
signature guitar picks
- a JS signature strap ("Up In Flames" is the one I was specifically after)
- a digital metronome (that makes a "tock" sound instead of an electronic beep)
The prices seemed very good, but shipping was a little on the pricey side and the shipping method and combined shipping were a bit unclear.
So I sent my first message to the vendor on
Oct 7th asking for more specifics on shipping to Canada, what methods he offered and what the total combined shipping would be. (the reason I asked is often times vendors will refine the shipping amount with an "actual" once they know your specific location and exact items you're buying). This message was ignored.
I sent a second message on
Oct. 10th. That one was ignored as well. That evening I decided to go on blind faith and
purchased the items (they were "buy it now" listings). I hoped that now that I purchased from the guy, that I'd get his attention now and get some questions cleared up.
I get the some auto-generated emails from **** now. I get some "please pay..." emails for each item that said "don't forget to take advantage of combined shipping.". And three "invoice" emails from ****, and when you clicked the "pay now" link for each item it said "combined shipping not available for this item". So now what??
It was also unclear exactly how much to deduct. It just said "save up to $1.00 on shipping when you buy additional items". So do I save $1 on each of the three items, $1 on just one item, or on the two additional items. (and btw, it struck me from the very beginning that this was pretty much a joke of a combined shipping "deal"... $1??)
So I sent another message on
Oct 12th, asking how the combined shipping worked and if I could please get a combined invoice. Ignored. And again on
Oct 14th. Ignored.
I messaged again on
Oct. 15th and also clicked the "request total" link for each of the items. Finally that night I get a message simply stating "here is a new invoice".
So... the amount invoiced for shipping was
$16.85 US. Ouch. I should've expected as much based on the seller's vague policy. But I also didn't know how large or bulky the packaging was for those items. I KNEW that was expensive, but at this point its too late. I committed to buying the items. So that night I paypalled the total amount.
On
Oct. 18th I get an auto-email stating my items will ship out the next day.
On
Nov. 1st the items arrive. The picks, the strap and the metronome are all in a single bubble-envelope with a printed shipping label (USPS) stating
$3.76 US total paid.
I open the envelope and inspect the items. The metronome is fine (put batteries in and tried it), the strap is fine. The pack of JS picks, 2 packs actually (1 pack of 10 black, 1 pack of 10 white) are all medium gauge! Ack! My stupidity again I guess. I mistakenly thought the packs were a mix of gauges. I really wanted heavy gauge. I went back and looked at the ad and the pick thickness/gauge was not specified anywhere. Damn. Well, I guess I can take some blame for not asking the question ahead of time... (but would that message attempt have been ignored as well? Hmm.).
Ok, feedback time. Understandably I was furious about the discrepancy between the shipping charged to me and the actual the guy paid. But I was also annoyed with the pick issue. Anyway, I didn't have the heart to give this guy "negative" feedback, so I settled on
NEUTRAL feedback. I gave him neutral on the three items stating the "items were ok, but communication very poor and combined shipping was a rip off".
Well the next morning (Nov 2nd) I log on and find a very nasty email from the seller basically saying "Don't ever buy from us again" and "go shop in your own country!". Wow... Then I check the feedback, and to my shock the b@stard gave me a
NEGATIVE rating on the items! His only stated complaint was that I "complain too much.". WTH??
A negative feedback in return for a neutral, and his only beef is that I complained?? How dare I have any complaints?
I sent the auction site an email requesting a look at the feedbacks to see if there was anything under the "abuse of feedback" policy, but unfortunately there is nothing they can do.
I am just steamed now. I have the first negative feedback blemish on my record and I don't think I deserve it. What do you guys think of my story? Do I have reason to be pissed?
And, just to complete the story. The power seller in question is "
powerhousemusical", based in Iowa.
Based on my experience I most certainly won't ever attempt to buy from this person/business again. And I could not recommend them to others.
