The real heads up for buyers...
Sellers are not the enemy. It's sad when so many threads and posts keep cropping up that instigate and propogate this mentality. It's also sad when people suggest a seller's opinion about a buyer's problem should be dismissed, ignored, or just plain mocked, because they're a seller and the buyer doesn't like what they hear.
Most of the feedback on this ID is from buying. I, like many other sellers, have very real first hand experience of the kinds of problems that occur on eBay for buyers, and we are not dismissive or complacent about them because we're sellers, or they didn't happen to us, we respond and provide an opinion most of the time because we can see both sides.
I have had a seller try to keep the money I paid them even though they admitted they weren't going to send the items I purchased - that seller was a jerk, but I certainly didn't suddenly think all sellers are jerks, and that if other people (especially sellers) disagree with me or take issue with my actions or opinions, they must be bigger jerks - that kind of response would have been extremely narrow-minded on my behalf.
There is a lot of information that is important for buyers to know and understand for safe and successful trading - things that help protect them in general, things that help make good purchase decisions, things like protection policies, what they cover, what they don't, how to proceed with a claim if you need to, what the seller will have responsibility for, what the buyer will have responsibility for. It's disappointing to see that all these posts ragging on sellers and/or eBay in general has not provided one useful thing for buyers to learn. Nothing practical, nothing tangible, just a general "sellers suck" attitude, and then wonder and even offence taken when other members point out actual facts or provide a differing opinion.
False information about any of the above gives people unrealistic expectations and ideas, and that's where many problems stem from, so it would be nice if some people gave consideration to the fact that leading people to believe something like a seller has to be responsible for everything, when they certainly do not, has the potential to create problems for other buyers - the people that are supposed to be getting help here.
If people don't want to help, then don't help, but don't try to act like you are helping just to try and insult people or foster animosity between buyers/sellers/eBay members in general.
