Damn, this thread just keeps giving and giving.  I've been reading the guy's feedback left for others just for kicks.  Too damned funny.

Did you guys see the series of feedbacks related to super heroes?  The one about Wonder Woman arriving so fast her wonder tights became a g-string really cracked me up.  Or something along those lines.

great stuff.  Not my preference, but at least it is a lot less dull than the average feedback.  I might start being a bit more creative with mine  

red_bus wrote::lol: great stuff.  Not my preference, but at least it is a lot less dull than the average feedback.  I might start being a bit more creative with mine  

Meee tooo.  People take themselves far too seriously, even on ebay!  

lucyjoyce wrote: I don't really know if this is just a convenient way to cancel a bid - which doesn't really bother me, or if it will reflect negatively on my reputation as a seller.  And am I in for last minute retractions tomorrow?  Thoughts?

Ding Ding - Ebay doesn't want bidders to overuse bid retractions so they only offer like 2 or 3 reasons to choose when retracting a bid.  They also scare bidders into NOT choosing that they entered a wrong bid price by saying that they HAVE to re-enter a different price afterwards though nothing actually makes you do that.  Most likely no one won't even look into the retraction area of that auction and even if they do I don't see it impacting you in any sort of broad sense.

Gd Luck with your auctions!

I recently had a neutral feedback from a fellow that claims the supplement I sold him was not as described.  Upon looking into his prior purchases I found that he has a recent history of dinging other sellers if the book does not fit HIS grading scale.  A neutral is not the end of the world but if you don't want the hassle, you might consider blocking:

awabooks

Sellers beware!

Andy

Xaxaxe wrote:Idiot bidder:

clnilsen

Won a recent auction and decided that he could dictate the terms. Sent a patronizing and insulting email telling me how to be an eBay seller ... despite the fact that I've done it about 50 times as much as he has.

I gotta tell ya, I am at my limit with how idiotic many eBay bidders have become. And that goes double for the ones that think their problems are actually my problems.

I normally detest those eBay listings that are nothing but rules and regulations, but maybe those guys are the smart ones ... because I'm having a hard time believing how insufferable some of my bidders have been in the last month or two.

Anyway, block his ass, or else get 37 different excuses and his life story.

Ooo, can we get some details.  

Xaxaxe wrote:Ack, you've heard it all before, I'm guessing ...

Unfortunately, it seems that you are not the only one who had a run of bad luck yesterday with an idiot bidder.  Check out this auction:

My Auction with the idiot bidder

This individual sir_lance_u_alot_sales emailed me about shipping on a seperate item eariler in the week and like I always do out of curisosity, I peek at the persons feedback to see what I may be dealing with. Well they are currently sitting at 100% feedback(not for long though), however looking at their feedback it seems that they are apparently quite difficult to deal with:

The idiot bidders feedback left for

The email that they sent to me wasn't anything horrible, but was kind of odd which also kind of raised my suspicions. Much to my chagrin at not listening to my initial insticts, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and just let things work out as they may.  Then, first thing this morning, I get this in my email:

sir_lance_u_alot_sales wrote:Hi Mr. Clark. I won 2 copies of this last night, and I was wondering if I could swap this out for Treasure Hunt, another book I've been wanting to add to my collection, which you just listed. I'll even tack on a few extra bucks. Please consider, ok? Let me know regardless, and thanks.

Seems this person also won a copy of WG6 from Lucyjoyce(which is also the individual who cancelled their bid on her auction without cause that she mentioned earlier on in this thread above), after they won mine.  Lucyjoyce's auction is here:

Lucyjoyce's auction with the idiot bidder

Anyway, I returned their email with this:

BC wrote:Hi there. Unfortunately, I would not be able to close down an auction currently running because it really would not be fair to those who have already seen the auction and are maybe planning on bidding. Thanks, Brian.

Well, they weren't happy with my response and sent this:

sir_lance_u_alot_sales wrote:Oh, c'mon Brian. You just listed it, and I'm going to get stuck with an extra copy of Apes, that's not even complete. No one's even bid on Treasure Hunt, either. I'm from Pittsburgh, too; I was born in Oakland. Cut me some slack, ok?

So now I am starting to get pissed.  I don't f**k around with others peoples auctions and I will not tolerate anyone f**king around with mine.  Also, if it wasn't already evident, I do not take well to being bullied or pushed around.  Regardless, I decided to do my best and maintain my composure and I respond again, quite professionally with this:

BC wrote:Ok, but I am not sure what exactly you are looking for. I am not going to close out the N4 auction as it already has several watchers and the fact that I announced its sale on 2 seperate websites. If you do not want the WG6 thats fine, but I am not going to exchange the N4 for it.

So in response to my email, they sent me another message acting weird and saying "Thanks".     So confused by this turn of events, I emailed them back and asked them why they were thanking me since I am not doing what they wanted me to do. This individual then returns my email by acting like I said it was okay to the exchange that I have already now denied twice.  Again despite my current level of irritation, I responed again calmly with this:

BC wrote:Ok, right. However, as I indicated twice before, I am not going to be swapping N4 for WG6. Again if you don't want the WG6 that's fine, I can't make you pay for it, but I will not be swapping it for the N4. The N4 auction is up to stay until its conclusion

To which they respond with this garbage consecutively to me:

sir_lance_u_alot_sales wrote:I really like the fact that a fellow Pittsburgher won't even give me a break, too. Thanks. I would gladly pay the difference between the books, but thanks.

sir_lance_u_alot_sales wrote:I helped raise your greyhawk auctions by $50, too, and U can't do me a little favor. Thanks

sir_lance_u_alot_sales wrote: Thanks. You're a great guy.

So with that I email them that its over, I don't care who they are or where they are from, that I am not selling anything to them now, that I will be filing an NPB strike against them and I have reported them to Ebay for their bullying tactics and attempts to get me violate Ebay's rules.  Needless to say, if you are a seller, RUN, do not walk to block this idiot from your sales, as you can see they are an absolute nightmare.  Also, I wish you the best of luck with your two auctions with this moron LucyJoyce and I hope this doesn't turn out as badly for you as it has for me.  If it does though and you need anything from me that can help, please let me know.  

Xaxaxe wrote:That's just horrific.

Sellers, I think it's clear what the latest eBay trend is: buyers trying to dictate the terms.

*Sigh* Time to go find the old template I used to use ... the one with six paragraphs of do's and dont's.      

Geez, at the rate I'm blocking people, I'm going to have half of ebay on there in a month....

Mike B.

You might add a note to  your listing, at the start of your do's and don'ts listing....

I would like to apologize to all legitimate Ebay buyers for the following list of rules and regulations.  I have been bombarded by idiots lately...the kind of people who think that if simple rules of polite and ethical behavior are not posted everywhere then they are free to violate them.

For you, the majority, who understand good business practices and common courtesy, I apologize for having to post all of this.  If you are a person who understands standard business ethics and civilized behavior, you probably don't need the following information.  For the rest of you, there is this:

Something like that.

Xaxaxe wrote:Ack, quoting myself. What a loser.  

I did want to take a second to emphasize that any serious sellers here should take a fresh look at their templates and make sure they are satisfied with all of their do's and do not's, as far as their eBay auctions go.

I was down to a bare-bones template (which I actually prefer) over the past year or so, having slowly removed a lot of the rules and regulations. This seemed to be working great — and it made for more attractive listings — but I've now gotten burned three times in about a six-week span. And here's the thing: in all three cases, the geniuses that have given me tension headaches have claimed that they "didn't know that" or "you never said that" or "that wasn't listed" or whatever. You get the idea.

So, screw it: my next batch of listings is reverting to four paragraphs of do's and do not's. If people insist on being idiots, then they can wade through all the rules and regulations, too.

Anyway, sellers beware. Update those templates ... and assume that about 10 percent of your bidders are complete tools.

The "four paragraph disclaimer" is a necessary evil.  If written correctly, it can even head off idiots before they reach the spot of pissing you off.  I tried to go with a light style so it didn't come down as "I'm an ass and Im punishing you for reading these rules because I believe you MAY be an ass".  I think it works because I get far fewer idiots than before, although I do get an ocassional question that is answered in my disclaimer ("Ok, now, how much is each extra item????").

Mike B.