Fraud - Obtain Benefit By Deception

[diverdan05]

Fraud offences do vary from State to State, however all revolve around a deception.
I recently purchased an item off a seller after asking specific questions not listed in their description. When it arrived I found the seller had lied about the quality of the item.  I had taken photos of the item and sent these to the seller, who offered a partial refund. When I declined this the seller stated I would have to pay for postage. I outlined what had taken place to the seller and they agreed to send me a postage label. Once the seller received the returned item they refunded my payment. A few days later I noticed the seller had relisted the item, changed the quality but listed that the item has been tested and works perfectly. I then sent further photos to the seller that proved the item is defective. The seller stated they tested this and all similar items they are selling and it worked fine. I then asked the seller what feedback I should leave and was advised that based on everything they had done for me, it should be positive. I left negative feedback also outlining the condition of this item. Within 24 hours this feedback was removed. I then reported this seller to eBay, who advised they would take action. That was a week ago and the item is still being listed. You have to wonder why no action has been taken.

[davewil1964]

So what is YOUR solution to the OP's issue?

You say nasty, most objective observers would say factual.

[springyzone]

Diverdan05, I don't believe that you were trying to intimidate the seller or threaten him at all with your question. In fact I would say the opposite, that you were hesitant about giving the seller a negative, despite some bad vibes about the whole sale.

The trouble here is that a lot of ebay transactions & disputes seem to be handled automatically by computers, not by humans. And when humans are contacted, in the person of ebay reps, they tend to go with simplistic yes/no judgements.

One of the rules about feedback is that a buyer must not be seen to be holding feedback over a seller's head. Now I know you didn't mean that at all, but in effect, I think what it sometimes amounts to in ebay land is that if a buyer even mentions the word feedback in their messages, just the word alone can be enough for an ebay rep to let a seller win a claim of feedback extortion.

The best thing to do in any cases like this is never mention it, ever.

Make your own decision after weighing up all the factors.

[ratman0100]

There is a way to say things and being a smart aleck or plain nasty is not one of them. Or do some feel like they can say anything they want because they are behind a keyboard?

[davewil1964]

Some certainly do

[diverdan05]

Thanks for your reply and you are correct. My post was never about feedback, negative or otherwise.

There are a large number of sellers committing fraud on this 'Venue' and eBay does nothing about it when notified. From selling clearly fake items to dishonest listings about the items they are selling.

eBay has a number of policies in  place for sellers to abide by and claim they have nothing to do with the actual sale of the goods, yet they dictate how these sellers behave by not removing them off their venue when notified. Including images that prove items are defective or fake. In this case, when I asked if the items had any scratches the seller replied, "no they don't, they are in good condition". I took images of the footage of one of the movies when it continually froze and sent these in my case return to eBay and to the seller. To date the seller is still being allowed to list this item as "Acceptable condition - used so some slight marks but tested and plays perfectly.  The seller's comments are dishonest and a clear deception.

There are also a number of ways that shonky sellers can get away with what they are doing including negative/neutral feedback that drops off the system and private listings that aid in this.

My post was/is about this  'Venue' aiding sellers.

Nasty people can reply however their comments will be treated as, water off a duck's back.

[diverdan05]

You completely missed the point of my link.

If this is going on at the top of their organisation, what ethical/legal/policy accountability is being complied with in the lower ranks of this organisation.

And if you are going to throw stones, be prepared for a return volley. 

This is not about feedback in any shape or form!

[diverdan05]

The point of my post is not about feedback. However, in saying this I don't believe a seller's negative feedback should drop off the system after twelve months.

In our adversarial system the judge/magistrate does not get to see the charged person's criminal history until sentencing. I was recently advised by eBay that they can see all communication between buyers and sellers, including the negative ones that drop off the system. Is eBay therefore putting itself up as judge and jury?  

[sandypebbles]

The neg does not drop off the system

The red dot and the words remain, the red dot no longer counts towards the seller's % after one year

Big difference 

However a buyer can only be given positive feedback, even if they are the biggest scammer who has opened more fake claims or used an item and then claimed it was used when they got it. so even the biggest scammer buyer will always have 100%. Positive  Always

Is that ok?

[diverdan05]

Thanks for your reply,

The point of my post is not about feedback, however in this situation it is gone completely.

Over the years I have also encountered buys who attempt to commit fraud, which is part of the reason I no longer sell on eBay.

The three strikes rule should apply to all shonky buyers and sellers. However in saying this, eBay will lose what they are in business for.

[papermoon.lady]

You can find past feedback if (on the fb page) you go to "received as seller", then scroll down (it will help to change to 200 items per page).

As Sandy said, negative fb does not count towards the overall score any more after a year, but it is still there to see.