Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To leave negative feedback for this ebayer?

30 replies

wintersnow · 23/11/2010 11:39

The seller had a gorgeous Karen Millen coat for sale, I asked her if she could give me a buy it now price, she said no, she wanted to get as much for it as possible - fair enough. Anyway I bid on it at the last minute and got it for £80 (she'd put it on for £70). I then get an email saying she couldn't find the coat and that she thinks her DH had given it to charity by accident Hmm Hmm I don't like leaving people neg f/b but am really pissed off as think she's lying!

OP posts:
madonnawhore · 23/11/2010 11:42

YANBU, you are perfectly within your rights to leave her negative feedback. Strictly speaking she's in breach of contract.

Go nuts.

minibmw2010 · 23/11/2010 11:44

Hmm, she's definitely lying I would think ... I'd never put anything on ebay without having it to hand and checking it was saleable first.

LittleMissHissyFit · 23/11/2010 11:47

Resolution Centre.

Original poster
wintersnow · 23/11/2010 11:55

She might be lying but I am 99% sure she is, have also checked to see if she's relisted it!

OP posts:
WowOoo · 23/11/2010 12:00

Sounds like she's changed her mind about selling.

Not the done thing on ebay. I'd complain for sure.

NestaFiesta · 23/11/2010 13:07

Well, she sounds a bit dodgy, but I have in fact lost an item I was selling. I was mortified and told the buyer straight away and gave him a refund. I also told him that if it did turn up I would send it to him for free.

Accidnets can happen but its all about how you handle it. I have never lost an item again (In fact it was my DH who hid it in a pile of his paperwork! Grr!). My buyer was very nice and graciously left positive feedback saying I was an honest ebayer. I have since found the book and will be sending it to him free in the next few days.

In your case though, OP, she sounds a bit greedy and you may be right. Hope your refund is immediate.

gregtheguineapig · 23/11/2010 13:29

She is soooooo lying!!!

taintedpaint · 23/11/2010 13:30

Mistakes can happen. I would probably take her at her word, but leave it a week or so before leaving feedback in case she does relist it.

TheNextMrsDepp · 23/11/2010 13:31

Leave a gentle negative and move on - at least you aren't out of pocket. Plenty more fish (coats) in the sea.

zingzillachinchilla · 23/11/2010 13:34

Relatively simple way to check - was the picture of the coat taken by her, or was it from Karen Millen web? If she obviously took it herself then how could she have lost it...?

Definitely leave -ve feedback!

TattyDevine · 23/11/2010 13:34

She may or may not be lying, it really is hard to say, but she is actually allowed to end the transaction and cancel the sale at any point including after the auction has ended as part of eBays rules for sellers.

It doesn't make her a good eBayer and for that reason you could leave her a negative but to be honest, a lot of people wouldn't consider the reason for the negative to be a reason not to bid on an item of hers.

Its dissapointing but to be honest I'd just move on unless you are certain she is lying.

If you see her relist then I'd be far more inclined to leave her a negative - I think its better to give someone the benefit of the doubt and you haven't actually lost money on the transaction.

But I'm nice like that Grin

WeeScotsLass · 23/11/2010 16:21

What was her Feedback History like? Other 'negatives'? A newcomer to e-bay? If new to ebay, then OK you could be forgiving - but if an experienced ebayer then negative feedback would be appropriate.

I've only once given negative feedback. Was for an item of clothing that did not match the description; was vastly inferior to the asdvertised product, being a fake rather than a genuine branded product as advertised. Gave vendor opportunity to remedy two weeks), but failed to respond. After posting negative feeback, he got in touch, apologised profusely (some limp excuse), and came up with the correct item. We agreed that negative feedback could be removed. Negative feedback can work.

Original poster
wintersnow · 23/11/2010 18:32

She's sold 27 items. She didn't seem too sorry in her message to me, first she said don't pay yet I can't find it in my wardrobe, I said no worries. I then get a mail from her (presumabley after she's had time to think) saying actually I think DH gave it to charity by accident Hmm . Had she not said in the beginning how she wanted as much a possible for it before agreeing to sell I wouldn't be so suspicious, also pissed off I missed out on a similar coat as thought I'd won that one

OP posts:
Original poster
wintersnow · 23/11/2010 18:34

Sorry just checked and she's actually only sold 1 item before... seems to have left plenty of people bad f/b herself though!

OP posts:
TattyDevine · 23/11/2010 18:53

"Had she not said in the beginning how she wanted as much a possible for it before agreeing to sell I wouldn't be so suspicious"

To be fair, this is not a reason to be suspicious at all. Every time I list something vaguely popular or desirable I will get a couple of people mailing me asking me to end the auction early. There have been a couple of times where I've been willing to put a Buy it Now up there and let them take it or leave it, but other times, like when I sold my Bugaboo, I really just wanted to see what I would get. I knew it would sell and I knew it would sell well, and it did. I got more than I would have thought to ask for a buy it now.

A Karen Millen coat at this time of year is always going to get a lot of interest, even if it didn't fetch what she was hoping for, so she wasn't wrong to put you off and it doesn't necessarily mean her reason for no longer wanting to sell was to do with price.

She sounds a little suspicious, but not specifically because of that. If people dont put a buy it now at listing, they probably just want to see what they can get. Only a few can be convinced otherwise.

NellieForbush · 23/11/2010 19:03

Leave negative feedback and maybe next time she sells she'll remember to check she still has the item Hmm before she advertises it for sale.

Don't blame her for wanting to get the highest price for her coat though, that's the whole point.

NetworkGuy · 23/11/2010 19:12

Was there a photo ? (I guess so, in which case all the more reason for considering negative feedback.)

Original poster
wintersnow · 23/11/2010 19:39

Yes, there was a photo, taken by her.

OP posts:
TattyDevine · 23/11/2010 20:00

A photo taken by her makes it marginally more suss, because it means she had the coat in the past 7 to 10 days. However, in itself it doesn't mean that much, because she might have had a big sort out, had a pile of eBay, a pile of charity shop, a pile for mending, a pile for giving to her sister, etc. She might have asked her husband to pop the eBay pile back in her wardrobe having taken photos of them and charity shop the charity shop pile, etc, and he got it wrong. She went to the wardrobe and it was gone.

Its really hard to know. It could happen. If it never ever gets relisted, she's either lying and kept it (you'd wonder why her mimimum bid wasn't an amount she'd be willing to part with it for, though) or her husband is a useless dozy knob.

A negative would certainly teach her to be more organised or not to trust her husband with this kind of thing but to be honest I doubt she'd lose sleep over one. It'll be gone in 6 months anyway and if she doesn't sell that regularly she's not going to be that bothered either way...

CrazyPlateLady · 23/11/2010 21:08

I don't think you should. You can't be certain she is lying. She was honest and told you not to pay yet. What more could she do?

People leave -ve feedback for the stupist things I have found. If you had paid first then there was some dispute then fair enough but that didn't happen.

Its her item and up to her what she wants to do with it. You can't get pissy because you have missed out on something that you really wanted.

NetworkGuy · 23/11/2010 21:35

Well, it wasn't just that the one which had been "won" is no longer coming despite being won fair and square, it also means not bidding on an alternative, doesn't it, CrazyPlateLady

"(you'd wonder why her mimimum bid wasn't an amount she'd be willing to part with it for, though)"

I don't think there's any set rule when it comes to how people set a starting figure, especially if an item is listed for at least 3 days. Some people list things as low as a penny, knowing it is popular and should go for over a hundred, at least on things I have seen.

Porcelain · 23/11/2010 22:42

Leave negative feedback, that is what the system is for. It doesn't matter what she was like for other sales, this is not a satisfactory transaction, she shouldn't be listing an item she doesn't intend to sell, or she should have put a higher reserve on it. If she is genuine, well she still screwed up the sale so you can't lie on feedback and say it was satisfactory.

lisad123isgoingcrazy · 23/11/2010 22:54

link it on here and i will email her and ask if there was any chance the buyer didnt pay as I wanted it but forgot to bid Wink

NetworkGuy · 24/11/2010 04:30

Porcelain - but can put a Neutral rather than negative or positive

I think it worth delay for at least 3 weeks before making any feedback - after all feedback can be left anytime within 3 months.

If she is desperate to sell at a higher price (say to spend money on Christmas) then 3 weeks is about as long as she has got to sell item, get the money, and spend the money.

Sure, doesn't help in getting the item for the OP, but the satisfaction of leaving feedback that can point to the new listing item number and say "I won this, she said it was lost, but relisted it" and people can compare listings and see she lied...

Also, a formal complaint to Ebay might be in order if it is listed again. Even if a seller is allowed to withdraw a listing it would surely be looked down on (and they may be able to pressure seller to part with it to OP at original winning bid price).

TattyDevine · 24/11/2010 08:52

That's all good advice from Network Guy. The only thing I would say is its not my experience that eBay will get involved in what is morally right. If she's allowed to withdraw the sale and relist under their rules, they will not get involved regardless of her reasons.

Bear in mind she is paying fees to them, not the OP. She is their client. That's all they care about really. If you adhere to the rules and pay your fees.