I’ve bought and sold on eBay for years (over 600+ transactions) and never had a conflict. I’m one week into Listia.com and I’ve already got an imbecile giving me trouble. Over freaking points. Not money… but points. Fictional. Free. Points.
Let me back up. My first batch of Listia auctions included a A&G mini gold border card of Daniel Hudson. I listed it with a 0 starting price. Meaning, if only one person wanted it and bid 1 point, I would have shipped it to them, free of charge, for one measly point.
There were two bidders for this card, and the winning bid wound up being 204 points. I’m no expert yet, but that seems about right for that card. So I sent the seller a note asking for his address so I could ship his card. His reply was, “refund please.”
I was a little confused by this, so I asked, nicely why he wanted a refund. I explained I was new to Listia (as was he it looks like) and didn’t know where to find his address (the other winners addresses showed up on the item page after the auction was over). The auction had only been over for one day, and it’s not like I’d been sitting on the card for a week or more.
I then get an email from Listia that the auction was in dispute. The reason? I quote again: “I don’t want this anymore. A waste of 204 credits.”
I understand I can be very dense at times but I didn't understand this at all. I had the option to either grant the refund, or dispute his “claim.” Again, these are freaking free points, and it’s not like money I’m giving back, and I could have easily granted the refund just to not have to deal with this idiot. But I had to dispute it on principle. The way auctions work, as I understand them is:
1)
Seller
lists item
2)
Seller
sets opening price (which again was 0 on this and all my auctions)
3)
Buyers
look at the item
4)
Buyer
decides if they want the item
5)
Buyer
places a bid for how much they are willing to spend on the item
6)
The buyer
with the highest bid wins. They don’t
necessarily pay the full amount they bid, just the next amount over the second
highest bidder.
7)
Buyer
pays seller
8)
Seller
ships item to buyer
9)
If the
product is not as advertised, or there is something wrong, buyer requests
refund from seller
10)
Seller
grants refund if the request is valid
11)
Everyone
is happy
Again, I hadn't even shipped the card yet and the doofus was wanting a refund. What am I missing? The dispute is being reviewed by a moderator, and I’m going to need a very good explanation if I have to give a refund.
For you listia sellers out there send me a note and I will give you the buyer name so you can beware. I won’t mention it here….yet.
Truth is, if he had just said something like, “hey I’m sorry I’m new and didn’t know what I was doing” or “I thought this was a different player, sorry,” or something like that I would have gladly given him his pretend money back. But “waste of 204 credits” rubbed me the wrong way. Not only is it a sentence fragment, it was stupid.
On a positive listia note, this weekend I received a couple of more cards I purchased. And paid for.
4 comments:
Like with all things, there are some real doozies on the site. I haven't had too much trouble (knock on wood) but I also found that a higher starting price has helped keep those types away. I have gotten into a habit of starting all my cards at 300 points - even if it's a 1987 Topps card. I like that Listia keeps automatically relisting my stuff, and eventually someone will bite!
He has to be an idiot 3 times before being considered 'serial' according to the CSI type shows I watch.
Seriously, I figure that "I changed my mind" or such is not even a reason for an auction house to honor a complaint.
I'm dealing with one now. Listed a book, bid and won. I hadn't checked my mail in 2 days (24 hour shifts cause these types of problems), and she's all freaked out because I haven't contacted her. Chill, it's a book, it won't spoil before I send it to you.
Agreed on it's only points, but the way I see it, a point is penny, 300 points for 1987 Topps? If you can get people to bid, more power to you.
Stopped Lista...too many morans wanting free stuff and complaining
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