eBay = every Body against you (as in me)

i’m pretty pissed at eBay right now…

…but only ’cause i’m broke.

that being said, i have had to file against over half a dozen bidders in the last four months for non-payment. that’s ridiculous – if you bid on something on eBay, you’re supposed to pay for it, right? did i miss a memo? i’ve never bid on anything and NOT paid for it. just doesn’t happen.

but here i sit – last round of auctions had ten things up and three sold…but only ONE of THREE paid. what the fuck? one emailed and asked if i could wait till friday for payment, and i said sure, but now it’s sunday (as this is being written) and i still haven’t been paid, so i had to file against the bitch. the other guy asked me to let him out of the transaction as he “had lost his job and needed all his money for rent…” but his seller rating has gone up TWICE in the two days since i got that ball rolling, and both talk about he’s “a great customer” and “paid promptly” (british people are so polite).

and yet here i sit, unpaid. and that’s fucked up – had to relist my shit and everything.

a couple rounds ago (right before vacation) i had a bunch of stuff up and five things sold, easily netting me the money to compensate for wages lost NOT being at the shop for my awesome coastal trip with the ufc and her kid – but then two of five couldn’t be bothered to pay me, reducing my net by about $60 and making the week after vacation anything relaxing financially…

…ain’t that a bitch?

what really frustrates me is some changes eBay has made to how you handle this compared to how it used to be. as with most things on the page, i have to assume this was in response to some people abusing the power to be brutally honest about customers – but now you can leave negative feedback about people that SELL you stuff, but you can’t leave negative feedback about customers. so these people that bid on my shit and don’t pay? they don’t really get punished – i’ve been told that “…if we can see they’re making a habit of non-payment we’ll shut down their account” but the problem is because you can’t see if they’ve done it before you, as a seller, are completely unaware if you’ve got a proper customer or a proper deadbeat on your hands…and that sucks. plus, what the fuck is that? “make a habit of it”? how many people selling on eBay are they allowed to burn before they appear habitual? and if they space it out enough, is there no limit? that’s just bullshit!

and i’m getting tired of it.

the problem? there’s really nowhere else to go. i’ve put stuff on craigslist before and it just sits. and eBay is so synonymous with selling your shit online that it’s become a verb:

“if i end up not wanting it i can always eBay it…”

so i guess in the long run i’ll end up sticking with them, but every time this happens i’m gonna call and register a formal complaint – maybe, eventually, they’ll give us (or at least me) the right to put negative feedback for shitty-ass customers that make for a negative SELLING experience. and i gotta see why my fee percentage has gone from below ten to over twelve – seems like they longer i used them the BETTER i should be treated, right?