That's really sad because it is a form of blackmail. If I were the seller, maybe I would publicize the message of the buyer so the bad reviews wouldn't have an effect on my business albeit it would be a propaganda. As an advice to those ebay sellers, when you encounter a blackmailer, do not be afraid if your business is on the level. Just go with your process and be ready with a press release to rebut the claim of the blackmailer. Bad reviews? They come along all the time and the question is do they have readers?
There is a saying that states that it takes people of goodwill and conviction to do nothing for evil to prevail. Its true there it no shortage of buyers whose sole aim is to blackmail sellers. But in any eventuality, it pays to be principled and stand your ground because a good buyer deserves a good seller and therefore contribute in your own small way to the sanity of online transactions. I suppose best practice is an inalienable factor when it comes to online transactions.
I've had some issues recently both with buying and selling on eBay. I buy small things on there several times a week usually, as well as occasionally purchasing larger, more expensive items, usually without issues, but I've just had a bad run on there lately. To top it off, I've have a few issues with selling on there, as well. Prior to my most recent issues, I had felt that eBay was very responsive both to buyers and sellers, when issues arose, but I didn't enjoy my recent interactions with them, and am re-thinking selling on there, as well as buying there as frequently as I have in the past. I saw an article last night about how eBay is updating the way it does things, to better anticipate how and what people will do searches, I guess so it can offer them items they haven't searched for, but would be interested in. Personally, I'd rather they keep it the way it is, and focus on improving their customer service and customer experiences.
This is one of the reasons why I alternate between both Ebay and Amazon. I have only ever had positive experiences with Ebay, thankfully. But I suspect that if it was my number one place to buy things online, I would have more chance of running into issues, just because I'm frequenting it more.
I think the internet is becoming a spammier and scammier place. The novelty has been gone for a while, and even many of those who were at first leery of spending money and conducting financial transactions online. Because of that, I think the undesirables are increasing, and people know on eBay they can simply abandon an account and start another, if their feedback gets too bad. I think many of the sellers in Asia do that. It seems they have multiple accounts going at once. I shop there a lot, and see the exact same thing, worded in the same manner, and the people seem very similar. I wish eBay would keep a closer eye on it, and beef up their procedures so that sellers didn't have to deal with so many non-paying bidder/buyers. I've had more negative selling experiences than buying experiences, but with the recent escalation of negative transactions, I am hoping it's not the new normal over there.
I recently read a story where a buyer claimed the good never arrived and wanted a refund. However, the parcel had been signed for and they then said the item was faulty and returned a fake item instead. Ebay were slow to react and help the seller who turned to an advice column in a national newspaper, and because the seller opened the parcel in front of the postman they could verify the buyer had been trying to pull a fast one. It makes me less inclined to want to sell and deal with these kinds of scammers. The buyer was banned from ebay and I think charges of fraud were brought against them too, but it's a lot of hassle.
I've heard of both buyers and sellers ripping people off. A seller ripped me off. They took my money and never delivered my order. The weird thing is they had excellent reviews and EBay did nothing even after I got no answer from the seller and decided to talk to the site. On the other hand, a friend of mine sold expensive handmade clothing on Etsy and used EBay as a backup and lost $100 due to someone threatening her for a big discount. She reported them but they vanished right after she complained and there wasn't anything they could do. It's stealing and it's dirty business.
I have bought through Ebay like 16 times, and Currently I have successfully received them without any problems, I'm currently waiting for like 11 Articles to arrive, I've found that many of the Chinese sellers have good reputation so I have bought without even looking at their negative comments, I trust that If something gets wrong I can open a dispute with both Ebay, and PayPal, that's what I like about PayPal and it's buyer protection, about buyers ripping off sellers I don't see it as higher chance possibility as happens when Sellers rip off buyers, but of course all is possible to happen in this world.
I would never, I never hear of someone threatening a bad review for a discount. That's why I really don't look at reviews anymore, especially after finding out that they can buy reviews. I watched this youtube unboxing of a guy who bought the iphone 5 when it came out on ebay. As he unboxed it, there was no phone inside, and he was as shocked as the viewers were. HE got it from ebay, and there was no phone. He lost $500 dollars just like that. It was a real case, even with the papers that come in the box, but no phone. That kept me away from shopping on ebay ever since. Plus I don't like the ebay to Amazon drop shipping anyway. Post Amazon products, on ebay...I don't like that.
