eBay is a Dangerous Place for Sellers
Customer Service, Misc September 3rd, 2010
Bias warning: I am the “suffering party” in this story, so am obviously biased. But I let the facts speak for themselves, and you draw your own conclusions…
The day the new Kindle was announced I sold my trusted old Sony e-Reader on eBay. To my surprise it got bought within an hour of listing it, with the Buy Now option. I figured this was urgent for the buyer, so I did what good sellers do: rushed to ship it the same day. What a mistake… I should have lazily sit on it…![]()
Apparently it wasn’t that urgent for the buyer. After repeated delivery attempts by UPS, he asked them to hold for pickup, then for a later delivery date. 11 days later, as shown by UPS tracking they shipped it back to me. Buyer emailed me, asking to ship it back to him. I did better: attempted to intercept the shipment, turn it back to him while it was still in NJ, close to him. I also asked buyer to pay for the extra UPS charge, which he refused. He holds UPS responsible, claiming them negligent. ( An interesting term to use, if I may add… doesn’t negligence start by not asking the seller to delay shipment when you just bought a $159 item and don’t plan to be at home for weeks?). Then buyer did not respond for 3 days, by which time it was too late to turn the shipment around, it was well on its way back to California. I called UPS, of course they claimed to have played by the book, and any additional shipment would have to be paid for again.
The package back here felt like a hot potato: it was no longer mine, I wanted to send it back to the buyer, but at his cost, which was the original term of the sale. I’ve never been in a situation like this, me wanting to close the loop, the buyer apparently not caring too much – he would take days to respond to my emails. We reached a stalemate:
- He maintained it was all UPS’s fault and would not pay any more for shipping
- I maintained I had not been part of communication between UPS and him, if he thinks UPS was wrong, he should not try to hold me accountable
In hindsight, it was a stupid situation, I should have paid, not because he was right, but just to get him out of my life – this hassle was already costing me more than $20. (Those who read Bob Sutton’s No Asshole Rule know what I mean.)
I wanted to break out of the loop of redundant emails. I wanted to bring the case to eBay’s Resolution Center – but was surprised to find that it was only available to Buyers, not Sellers. Then I sought contact to eBay – no way, Jose! It’s close to impossible to find either a phone number or chat link to eBay support. eBay Twitter team got back to me though, and in the meantime I found an outside link, which I share now, since it can come handy to anyone. eBay Customer Support reaffirmed that I was right:
me: do you have access to UPS tracking info or should i paste here?
eBay: You can paste it here. Has he file any case yet?
me: no, he has not filed. frankly, i am sick of being threatened and i wanted to open a case but discovered sellers can not.
eBay: That is correct in this case seller’s cannot file a case but in this situation you as a seller already did your part we just need the tracking.
me: so should i just wait till ha pays the new shipment? i mean it is his item now but sits here in a box
eBay: Yes…Ok I have noted the tracking number & if he files a case just respond with the tracking number so our Resolutions team can see it. Like I said you did your part as a seller.
(Obviously this is a shortened version of the full transcript which I have on file)
Finally the buyer opened a Resolution Center case. What followed was a repeat of the previous week’s email exchange: we said all the relevant facts in the first email exchange, but he kept on topping it with new emails, repeating the same few (irrelevant lines). Buyer actually had one final proposal: I should ship by US Mail, instead of UPS and he would pay on receipt. But given all that happened and how he misrepresented the case, the last thing I wanted to do was set myself up for another loss, by picking a less trackable carrier and opening up the chance for another “not received” claim, so I refused. After several more email rounds reality hit me: his strategy was to bury the facts in all the rubbish email so deep that the eBay reviewer won’t dig down multiple layers. So I sopped responding, finally asking him to stop the email-bombs and just escalate to eBay finally. It was obvious that we were not adding any value, and any further rounds would only further cloud the facts. Finally I found an obscure link that allowed me, the seller to escalate the case, and that’s what I did. End the email flood, let eBay decide.
The result shocked me. eBay fully refunded the buyer, closed the case, without any explanation whatsoever. Now, of course I am shocked, since I am involved… but as a reminder, eBay has previously acknowledged that:
- – I did everything I was supposed to, as Seller
- - Buyer did not, and had no case
Talk about case, the very title of the case is fraudulant: “Item not received” – or I guess technically it is correct, since it does not say “not sent” .. just “not received”, whether it was in buyer’s intention or not![]()
I am deeply disappointed. Perhaps naively, but I expected a reasonably unbiased review of the case. eBay is a market, and as such it needs both buyers and sellers. But now I am led to believe their Resolution Center process is nothing more than a rubberstamp for buyers.
Now I am at a financial loss in a number of ways:
- lost the original purchase price
- market conditions changed (new readers appeared on the market, mine is less sellable
- I had to pay for the original and return shipment
To top it all, buyer is now out defaming me with a bogus eBay feedback:
tried to cheat me out of my money ebay stoppeTo d him the worst seller. bad ebayer
Ouch.
Conclusions:
- Buyers: A deal is not a deal. If you have buyers’ remorse, just don’t accept delivery, then file an “Item not received” claim, eBay will side with you
- Sellers: You’re at risk. Check out Craigslist.
- Myself: Wise up. Read Bob Sutton’s book again.
Tags: asshole, bob sutton, buyer protection, e-book, e-reader, eBay, fraud, kindle, no asshole rule, seller protection
There’s PR. And there’s Dumb PR. And there’s Even Dumber PR. And No CRM System Can Save Them.
Marketing / PR August 4th, 2010
The best CRM system can’t help you if your sales / marketing team is clueless. Here’s a ridiculous email I’ve just received. Name removed to protect the (not-so) innocent![]()
X. Y. kindly requests a meeting
Hi Zoli,
In celebrating our 40th anniversary, I’ve been given the privilege to manage the relationship between your organization and Communispond. When you have a moment, please take a look at the information below. Kindly let me know if it’s out of date, and the best way to reach you. I wish to be respectful of your time and patience.
Is your organization prepared with the communication tools and behaviors (presenting, selling, coaching, persuading, etc) to achieve greater success in 2010? I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas on any communication challenges you anticipate, and see if we can help. Please let me know if you’d be willing to meet with me – either conference call or face to face. l greatly appreciate your consideration.
Warm Regards,
X. Y.
What’s wrong with this email campaign? A few things… where should I even start?
Obsolete data: we all know this is a disease that plagues many (CRM) systems, but this one is extreme. The data shown on this business card never existed in such combination, but bits and pieces did. Yes, I participated in SAP’s International Consultant Training – 20 years ago, in Vienna, Austria (that’s in Europe, just in case…), so they must have picked it up from a very-very ancient resume. (It also means I understand Charlie’s joke…). Yes, I did work at SAP America, when they were a tiny outfit with 70+ employees, and the Newton Square HQ listed above was not even a dream.
Data errors do happen – but how on Earth could they dump 20-year old, pre-CRM, pre-ERP, pre-everything data into a CRM system?
Now let’s focus on content. The title, specifically. That’s the marketer’s opportunity to grab attention – or lose it. Time is money, and most of us don’t have a lot to waste – why on Earth would I want to meet a stranger without any previous contact or knowing the intent?
You just don’t send out an initial contact request asking for a purpose-less meeting.
Anyway – this email is in its well-deserved place in my Spam folder and Communispond is flagged as mindless marketers. But hey, it was good for a rant. In return, free advice to them: you don’t need Salesforce.com. It won’t help you.
Update: This post originally appeared almost a year ago . The reason I am republishing it is that so did they. They just resent the same dumb junk mail, verbatim, without the slightest change, despite my previous post and response to them. How dumb is that? Oh one more thing: through how many years can they be celebrating their 40th anniversary? (hint: it was indeed last year).
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: communispond, crm, email campaign, rant, salesforce.com, sap, spam
Microsoft Word is Desktop Software. Supposedly. Then Why Does it Fail to Load Offline?
Personal Productivity August 4th, 2010
Dave Michels’ recent post, I thought I Was So Cloud resonated well with me, since I’m experiencing the same pain regularly, even without the dramatic experience of a cashed harddisk. I’m now using 4 computers, not counting the iPad, and like Dave, "I am so Cloud", so moving between them should be seamless. It almost is. My data is always there and always up-to-date. But if I turn on a laptop I have not touched for a while, there is a painful process of Windows updates, Firefox updates, FFox plugin updates, Adobe or Java updates – just to name a few. Sometimes the popup windows from these suckers interfere with each other, the crazier ones want to reboot while others still install … yes, we still have too much stuff on the local computers.
Little did I know my saga would continue this afternoon. Since I planned to spend some time in a medical office, with no wi-fi (Why is it that the smallest little dirthole garage, tire shop you-name-it services privide free wi-fi, but medical offices where you likely spend 10x as much don’t? Oh, well…) I synced up a few Word documents to my thin little Vostro 13, and was ready to stay productive offline.
If only the Gods in Redmond had agreed… Booting up in the waiting room. Installing 4xxx 5xxx finally 6237 of 6237 updates. WTF? Even I’m not dumb enough to believe it actually installed 6k updates, but that’s what the display said. Oh, well, finally Windows boots… then spends a few minutes configuring updates. Done. So now we can work. Click the file, see Word load, then wait. Wait. Wait.
Something’s not right. I have the free Office 2010 beta version which downloads components on initial load, but this is taking forever. Oh, no:
Abort. Internet connection lost, Word cannot be opened. Oops. No, the connection has never been lost, there’s none at this place, which is why I keep Office and local documents on this laptop in the first place. I understand it wants to update, but it should be able to start without anyway. MS Office is a desktop, “offline” package, after all.
If I can’t use it without being online, I just lost the very reason to use it at all.
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: bugs, microsoft, ms office, ms word, Office 2010, offline, offline apps, online, web apps, Word 2010
This morning I’ve been testing TweetDeck’s new super-fast version, based on the new Twitter User Streams API. TweetDeck provides fair warning:
This is a VERY experimental version of TweetDeck
I saw a few small glitches, but nothing major. Yet I am in trouble, and it’s not because of the product. It’s me. My brain…
The new TweetDeck (and I suspect soon all clients adapting the User Streams API) is fast. Bloody fast. As close to real-time as it gets. Here’s a quick comparison of Seesmic Desktop 2 and the new TweetDeck:
Seesmic in the left, white column, TweetDeck in the right, black one. Tweetdeck wins the race hands-down (note: this is not a comparison of the applications, but the API-s they use). It gets everything first. And therein lies the rub. I’m not sure real-time is always what we need. This is like drinking from a huge firehose, without taking a break. It can be suffocating – unless monitoring Twitter is what you do full time. Here’s my computer screen, while I am typing this very post:
I have a single column for Twitter on the right edge, but my eyes are not glued to it. I can focus on work, but notice the periodic screen updates in my peripheral vision, can quickly glance over to see if there’s anything noteworthy, and continue working. That’s how far my continuously divided attention can spread. The new TweetDeck does not give me that 30-second to a minute break to focus on work. It’s in constant motion, updates come in tweet by tweet, not in batches, and I find my eyes glued to it. It’s a productivity killer.
If I am live-tweeting during a conference, the firehose is what I want: set up TweetDeck with multiple columns, allow it to occupy the entire screen – in that environment I want absolute real-time. But for most of my productive life, I need those split minutes undisturbed. I turned off the firehose.
Update: The video does not fully support my point. As luck would have it I recorded a slower minute or so. But it can become dizzying under heavy Twitter traffic:-)
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: api, attention stream, CloudAve, firehose, information overload, productivity, real-time, river, seesmic, split attention, stream, tweedeck, Twitter, user stream api
A Whiter Shade of Pale by Apple (Leaky iPhone and More)
Misc July 28th, 2010
This is the Week of Leaks: first and foremost Wikileaks, and now the iPhone Leak. No, I’m not talking about the disappearing signal (aren’t we bored of the iPhone antenna stories yet?), this is leaking white light as reported by TheStreet.com:
Apparently, the back light from the iPhone display screen is leaking out around the edges of the glass and seeping through the back of the white phone, according to a person familiar with the manufacturing process.
So it appears Apple can’t make a white iPhone – for now. I actually think the black one is more elegant, but of course it’s a matter of choice. HTC can claim to be first, since their white
EVO is now available – but is it really white?
Not really…this is a black phone with a white back – a rather tasteless combination, if you ask me. If you want white, go for the true white, which is what the iPhone design is – if they can ever manufacture it.
All this white-mania makes my head spin, to the point I can’t pick to most fitting tune. Is it:
Both recorded before many of our readers were born. Enjoy ![]()
Related (?) post:
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: Apple, CloudAve, htc evo, iPhone, leaks, music, nights in white satin, oldies, white phone, whiter shade of pale, wikileaks
Unhyping Gartner’s Hype Cycle, Part 2.
Humor July 22nd, 2010
Here’s Part 1. The reason I’m doing it again is that Michael Krigsman just published the Wailgum Hype Cycle:
Not bad. Still a bit complex. Me thinks the simplified, geekified, scobleized, oprahized, too-oh-ized version of the Gartner Hype Cycle still works:
And if it doesn’t – well, it’s almost Friday. In fact for some of our readers it already is
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: CloudAve, Gratner, Humor, hype cycle
SAP Business ByDesign Video – Plain and Simple, Making Fun of …Wow, ERP!
Enterprise Software, SaaS July 18th, 2010
We’re just having an intense internal debate in the Enterprise Irregulars group whether SAP’s Business ByDesign (ByD) is late to the market and what it all means, when hot off the press here’s a promotional video, that’s not so much ByD advertising but a SMB / SME SaaS 101, and a very good one at that (now, that was a mouthful of acronyms
).
Ironically, the video makes fun of the Big Ugly Beast, ERP – which happens to be SAP’s bread and butter. (Hey, I’ve long been saying SAP should have copied a chapter from Larry Ellison’s book, invest in a SMB Startup and let it grow independently…)
Hat tip for the video: Timo Elliot.
See our (more serious) Business ByDesign coverage here.
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: business bydesign, byd, CloudAve, Enterprise Software, erp, Humor, marketing, SaaS, sap, smb, sme, video
Skype Blocks Fring – Or Not? Fingerpointing… But Where is Skype for Android?
Technology July 12th, 2010
Just two days ago I reported how mobile video call app Fring enabled making video calls on 3G, even to other platforms, say Skype. That was a huge improvement for iPhone users, since their native Facetime only allows iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 calls, and only over wi-fi. But the new option proved to be too popular, overwhelming Fring’s servers, so hours after the announcement they had to suspend support for Skype.
Today the story changes again, now it’s no longer up to Fring. Skype decided to block Fring calls. Forget openness.. competition is tough, I guess Skype wants to fully “own” video callers. Except they can’t. Get access to Skype, that is.
Like I said in the earlier post, the real losers are in the Android camp, where Skype made an exclusive deal with Verizon to be the only carrier who can offer the Skype app. Yes, that’s correct: Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile..etc are all coming out with high-end Android superphones, but their owners won’t find Skype on the Android App Marketplace. For them, Fring has been the obvious solution – until now.
Update: TechCrunch reports that “Skype also claims the decision to no longer offer Skype
interconnectivity was entirely made by Fring and that they had nothing
to do with it.”
Update: Skype responds on their blog:
there is no truth to Fring’s claims that Skype has blocked it. Fring made the decision to remove Skype functionality on its own.
Update: Now I really want Fring, if it hooks me up with Samantha
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: android, CloudAve, fring, iPhone, skype, verizon, video calling, video phone
IPhone’s Cryptic Bars vs. Real Signal on Android
Technology July 11th, 2010
At one point in the iPhone antenna blunder Apple tried to hide behind smoke-screen, claiming they discovered an error in how they calculated signal strength to be translated to those ever-important bars the iPhone (and all phones) uses. They would issue a software update, that would fix the problem – or not, as we now know, the culprit being the antenna design, not just the graphical representation.
Now there’s an entire article @ the Wall Street Journal lamenting just how meaningless these bars are, since all handset manufacturers have their own arbitrary interpretation of what is 1 bar or two .. three .. four. In fact signal indicators vary between different models of the same manufacturer.
But why are we kept in the dark? Why can’t we get real, standardized, comparable numbers? Turns out we can. Just not on the iPhone. When I recently compared two Android phones the HTC Incredible and EVO, and two carriers, Verizon and Sprint, I did not have to resort to subjective bar settings. That would have been comparing apples (not Apple!) and oranges.
All I had to do was download the free Real Signal app from the Android Apps Market. This app displays the real signal in dBM, and also provides two independent bar displays – similar to the “stock” bars on your phone, except this one can be calibrated. For example given the poor reception in my area by any carrier, I only ever see 1-2 bars on the stock display – might as well re-calibrate the display to between –85dBM to –110dBM, which is all I can get. This way I get to compare any phones and all carriers – no more BS, no more dumb bars.
Related posts:
(Cross-posted @ CloudAve)
Tags: android, android apps, antenna, Apple, cellular reception, CloudAve, Google, iPhone, iphone 4, iphone antenna, realsignal, signal strength, smoke screen




Zoli Erdos