bad day

soolin

I've come home from a very long day at work and I have nothing but problems- feel like closing down ebay and Amazon and just hoping it all goes away.

I've got a lost book on Amazon- after 5 months, a buyer angry as he managed to buy some ebay items but then he got blocked by my limits - and says if he can't have the lot he was bidding on he won't buy any of them. I've got someone moaning in a rather unpleasant manner that I am not alowing them to bid and being really rather unpleasant about it. I've then got someone who was outbid on an item and insists that I sort it out as ebay did not register his final bid and he disputes the fact he lost the auction (?)

i'm sure it will all look better in the morning.

Crowqueen

(((Soo))) I'm sure it will - you have the resources to deal with this. Luckily the latter person will have no recourse to FB.

The only two bids I've had on my latest items have both been blocked by my filters too.

I've had a request from a bidder from Russia, though; even though I blocked overseas buyers on these items because they would cost an unbelievably ridiculous amount to send tracked overseas; they are a scam-magnet item and I rarely send stuff tracked as you know but I'm afraid forum paranoia has got to me on this one because of the rates of fraudulent INR claims on wargaming materials. I've put him on my exemption lists, because he's the only one of my watchers to have come out of the woodwork and express an interest.

Fingers crossed he even bids...I'm happy to send there, I'm not one to miss an opportunity to sell, it's just I hope he actually does go through with it as it's some much-needed pocket money for the uni bar...!!

soolin

Oh yes I knew there was something else- I have a mobile listed and have put in a comment (borrowed from someone elses auction) about being aware of the 419 scam- and I got an email via ebay calling me a b'''y stupid paranoid b'''h. Buyer is in Russia and therefore on my mobile phone auctions he is blocked- and he has the iffiest lot of feedback I've seen in a long while.

I know I am always the first to tell people that this is only ebay so it is not important, but I feel completely hammered by the tone of some of the emails I've had this week. Yes they are still only a small percentage of the items I am selling and I've gone months and months without any issues, but I actually feel just like telling them all to go away.

Obviously_the_best

Get used to it, that's a day in the life of moi, but the dispute over who won the auction, what do they expect you to do, tell'em to sod off and complain to eBay instead (with exact words!!!)

Crowqueen

soolin wrote: »

Oh yes I knew there was something else- I have a mobile listed and have put in a comment (borrowed from someone elses auction) about being aware of the 419 scam- and I got an email via ebay calling me a b'''y stupid paranoid b'''h. Buyer is in Russia and therefore on my mobile phone auctions he is blocked- and he has the iffiest lot of feedback I've seen in a long while.

I know I am always the first to tell people that this is only ebay so it is not important, but I feel completely hammered by the tone of some of the emails I've had this week. Yes they are still only a small percentage of the items I am selling and I've gone months and months without any issues, but I actually feel just like telling them all to go away.

Ah, but did you ever have any 419ers bid on your items? I made sure my blocks were set properly, I never had any trouble when I sold my phone, but then I'd been reading about the scam for about four years before that on the forums so forewarned is always forearmed. British buyer, bought out the £60 price within a day of having it listed, I was off to Folkestone to spend it on ice-cream within a few days of feedback being left.

Tell yourself it's only what another shop-keeper would have in a different form and make sure you have your chocolate by your side.

When I worked at the local newsagent the kids would drive me nuts. They drank far too many of those energy drinks than was good for them and they rode their bikes on the pavement and the littl'uns had their hands in the sweeties...but at the end of the day it was my job to take their money and smile sweetly. I lasted six months (for other reasons, mainly health) but it was always one of the more "tiresome" aspects of the job. The boss though knew the value of the money they spent with us so he was encouraging them to come in and out all the time, and I remember myself at that age always popping in to our local shop, probably high on sugar most of the time so...

It takes all sorts. Good luck.

amcluesent

i'm sure it will all look better in the morning.

Nice day with me

JPS29

Watered down version, what's the 419 scam please?

soolin

JPS29 wrote: »

Watered down version, what's the 419 scam please?

If you do a google search for either the 419 scam or the Nigerian scam it explains it quite well.

Basically though it works in different ways, not just on ebay and actually quite common on Gumtree. Buyers buys something and pays extra to ship it to their brother/mother/aunt who is preaching in Nigeria/West Africa etc. Seller gets an email from the people who they want to be paid via, so either from paypal, or Western Union or even the bank saying funds of XX have been received and are being held on escrow but once seller supplies the tracking number the funds will be released.

There is usually a sense of urgency as wel- item must go today as brother is moving shortly.

Email from compnay holding funds is fake, and once trackign number is added buyer knows goods are on their way and can disappear.

Lots of variations on this of course and whilst very few people would fall for this the scammers still try it and it just wastes the time of a seller having to keep relisting etc. When I sell phones I prefer to sell them, ship them and forget about them- I don't want to have to keep relisting and wasting time and effort.

I sell quite a few phones and have never ever yet even had a single dodgy email. However I get lots on Gumtree when I put up things for sale there.

hermum

Soolin at least today can't be worse, fingers crossed.

macfly

Why would you mention a scam in your listing though? I've seen a few put "I won't be sending to your brother/uncle etc. in Nigeria" and wondered why they bother.
Blocked is blocked. I think you're winding them up deliberately.

soolin

macfly wrote: »

Why would you mention a scam in your listing though? I've seen a few put "I won't be sending to your brother/uncle etc. in Nigeria" and wondered why they bother.
Blocked is blocked. I think you're winding them up deliberately.

It stopped all the questions about why I won't ship phones abroad that I used to get- and a simple statement saving me from having to read endless emails is well worth it for me. Looking at other threads on here phones seem to be a real problem for some people, whereas I list, I sell and i ship.

The really odd thing though about the buyer that sent the email is that his feedback is really iffy. He only buys phones and there are several removed comments from ebay (both left and received)- several mentions of partial refunds for which he thanks sellers and a mention of a lost item that seller took a while to resolve.So he would definitely have worried me if he had bid.