Some people !

N

noelf2

New member
I recently sold a set of rifle sights on Gunbroker. The high bidder and I emailed each other right after the auction and he said he'd have a postal money order in the mail the next day. The day after he sent the mo, he asked me if the sights were in the mail yet. I told him it might take a couple days for the check to get to me. Sure enough, within 3 days I got the money order, less shipping fees. The auction clearly said buyer pays fixed shipping charge of $5.95. I figured I'd just send the sights anyway and ask him to send me the shipping charges, but then noticed he had some negative feedback, one of which said "Never Paid !!!". I immediately let him know of his mistake, and said I would accept a personal check for the shipping, and would ship the sights as soon as I got the check for shipping charges. I also told him I wouldn't cash the postal mo until the shipping arrived. Boy did he get irate. The rest of his emails were in all caps. He said "WHY CANT YOU JUST SEND IT!!! I HAVE A CHECK IN THE MAIL FOR YOU. I'M NOT TRYING TO SCREW YOU". I got the check in a couple days, and immediately put the sights in the mail. The only delay was the few days it took him to get the shipping costs to me. He gave me neutral feedback on GB, said he wouldn't buy from me again, and said I was totally unreasonable. If I had made an error like that, I would blame myself, not the seller. So I'm asking, what would you do?

BTW - Gunbroker wouldn't remove the feedback, so now I lose my A+ rating (for now). I hope the explanation about him not including the shipping costs per auction instructions will suit future sellers and buyers to know I'm still a stand up guy.
 
I actually read the feedback of Gunbroker Sellers before bidding. One negative comment would not stop me from buying from a Seller, especially if it is apparent that the Buyer got what he paid for.

I look to see how the Seller responds and whether the Seller appears reasonable and cool-headed. In fact a piece of negative feedback where the only problem was shipping and it is clear that the Seller did everything possible to facilitate the transaction tells me a lot more than positive feedback. It tells me that this is a real seller who doesn't rip people off and tries to make sure he is doing his part.
 
Tough break Noelf2,

I usually read feedback on sellers before I bid, and always before bidding on any gun.

Many of the negatives come from newer buyers and/or buyers with other negative feedback as well.
I discount those, same for negative feedback from early on in one's GB career - learning curve.

Main concern? Same as Skans.
When a seller gives ranting negative feedback in return rather than just a calm explanation as to what transpired.
A civil reply usually lets one know what happened without even asking and tells me the seller is not a hothead when the deal hits a bump.

I have asked sellers about a particular negative feedback twice.
Both times, they explained in a positive tone that left me comfortable bidding.
If they had not answered, I would not have bid.

JT
 
Those are the people who get feedback, in all capital letters

"CANNOT FOLLOW CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS. RUDE AND COMBATIVE WHEN THIS IS POINTED OUT. NOT A GOOD BUYER. SELLERS BEWARE."
 
Mike, as a buyer who likes to read feedback, a seller's response in all caps to negative feedback is not what I'd be looking for. All caps means you are shouting at a Buyer, albeit maybe a stupid buyer. Still, just the facts in a cool neutral statement would be a lot more persuasive to me, anyway.
 
"a seller's response in all caps to negative feedback is not what I'd be looking for"

Well bully for you, then.

When I go looking at either sellers or buyers, I look for feedback that stands out visually, often because it's all caps.

The majority of the time that has signfied a problem between the seller and the buyer.

I like being able to find it quickly; it cuts down on the amount of time I have to waste trying to figure out if the individual might be unreliable.

And the last thing that I would perceive all caps to be would be the buyer shouting at the seller, or vice versa.

It's an announcement for the benefit of everyone else.
 
Buyer, on my GB feedback page:
I finnally got it after a bit of a fiasco.Would not buy from seller again.Totally unreasonable I thought.
Click to expand...

Me in response:
He didn't include the shipping cost in his money order, so I waited for him to get the shipping costs to me before cashing the money order and shipping the parts.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty much in the same camp as Skans on this I guess. I left the response above before posting about this experience here. What really gets me is that a seller can give anyone neutral feedback and complain even when the issues were a product of their own carelessness or stupidity. An ignorant purchaser on GB could feel that he should be trusted enough that you should send the product before payment is received, and GB will back them up if they leave negative feedback. Your only recourse is to calmly state the facts in a feedback rebuttal. I see how an attack or even a stern warning could backfire since it could be seen as opinionated or biased.
 
When I go looking at either sellers or buyers, I look for feedback that stands out visually
Click to expand...

Mike, I look at the first column. The one that shows A though F, and I read further into anything other than an A.
 
Ok, not all sites use the same kind of transaction grading, although it looks as if Auction Arms has made a positive change to theirs recently to make it easier to figure out which reviews are positive.

Still like all caps, though.
 
I read the reviews and feedback on anything I buy online if it's available but it's like any other source of info you have to absorb all you can collectively and then somewhere between the lines you get to taste a bit of the truth. The guy could not give you a bad rating so he gave you a neutral one. Seldom have I seen a 100% on anything and its real obvious when it's due to someone impossible to please.
 
"Forgetting" to pay for shipping or a second item is a common trick to avoid the expense and still get the item. Totals with shipping should come up on your cart invoice. He knew it and didn't send it.
 
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