Auction Feedback Questions

[TurtleFeathers]

Can anyone tell me when its appropriate to leave NEGATIVE feedback as opposed to NEUTRAL feedback?

And when someone bids on and WINS an auction, is it considered a commitment to pay that amount to the seller, along with their requested shipping fees? If they don't pay, does that warrant negative feedback? Or neutral?

I realize that BYC cannot be held responsible when an auction doesn't work out - and I realize that feedback should NOT include damage from shipping, or unsuccessful hatches. I'm just asking the members their opinions on what to do when auctions don't go as they should or as they were planned.

Thanks so much!

 

[WVchick71]

I dont know the answer but I am curious about the same thing. I have had it happen twice, where they bid, win and then do not respond to messages ect... afterwards.

 

[ruthless]

I would say it depends on why they did not pay. Did they contact you and say, sorry, have major surgery or car repair unexpected and can't do this right now? Or did they just not want the item or did they not even answer or contact you?

I think depends on how they handled things with you.
Ruth

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

I think honesty is the best policy but try to leave out any personal attacks, etc.

For example:

GOOD / Helpful Feedback:
Won Auction, did not pay and did not respond to attempts to contact - NEGATIVE
Won Auction, did not pay, indicated failure was due to family crisis - NEUTRAL
Won Auction, did not pay, decided they did not want product - NEGATIVE

BAD / No place for this on BYC:
The jerk did not pay - NEGATIVE
Could not pay with stupid excuse - NEGATIVE

 

[acid_chipmunk]

Quote:
X's 2!

And yes, when you bid on an auction you had better be prepared to win and pay for it. If you have no intentions of doing so, DON'T bid! If they win an auction for say, $15 and shipping is $15, then they owe you $30. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. They bid on it, it is their responsibility to pay.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Thanks y'all - this has happened to me twice as well.

The first time I simply never heard from the winning bidder at all after the auction ended. No "I'm sorry, but..." messages - just nothing. I blew it off because I didn't want to start a war or have hard feelings with anyone on a public forum. And I don't think that person ever posted again under ANY of our forums - at least, not under that member ID.

This time, contact WAS made after the auction ended, but it was like 24 hours later, stating that they could pay that evening, which would have been ok, except that these eggs would be traveling clear across the country, and at that point, they might not have been received by Saturday and may have gotten stuck sitting in the post office over Sunday when they were closed - which I stated clearly in the auction that that was what I was trying to avoid. I reiterated what was stated in the auction about this, and offered to ship the following Monday (which was also stated in the auction), as long as payment was received by Sunday night. Then nothing. No PM's and no payment by Sunday night. I PM'd something on the order of "Are you no longer interested?" on Monday morning, and got nothing - however, I DID see where this person said that the eggs they were expecting "fell thru" on another forum. Nice of them to let ME know this!!!

So, all that was lost was a dozen eggs, but its the principle. I was under the impression that when you bid on an auction, you were committing to PAYING for it if you won. I know that sellers on other auction sites won't stand for this, but I wasn't sure how it was viewed here, as I rarely see negative feedback indicating that this happens. But I don't know if its because it hardly ever happens, or if it happens a lot and sellers usually just blow it off like I did the first time?

 

[ruthless]

I don't remember if you stated in your auction or not but state clearly that Payment must be received within a certain period of time. Like payment must be received with 24 hours after end of auction to insure timely shipment and receiving of eggs.

also if they made no contact, period or no excuses. I would say negative feedback and state that they made no contact or whatever. Just the facts,a quick statement.

Or if you feel better leave it under neutral but state no contact received. I always read neutral and negative to see what is going on.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Quote:
Here is what I stated:

"I will ship these eggs on Wednesday, January 5th via priority mail to the lower 48 states only, providing that payment is received by 9AM that morning - otherwise, shipment will have to wait until the following Monday (in which case, older eggs will be replaced with fresh ones)."

Of course, I put in my payment information, but perhaps I should have written this blurb about shipping in bold letters or in red or something. I don't know how much clearer I could have been?

I really hate to do the negative feed back, because its so, well.... NEGATIVE. <sigh> I don't like negativity. But I guess maybe its warranted.

Thanks so much - y'all have been a big help.

 

[DuckLady]

I get PMs like this all the time.

My advice is to
*send an email or PM,
*wait 24 to 72 hours for a response (depending on holidays, weekends, etc).
*Do everything YOU can to resolve it via PM or email
*You don't have to leave feedback immediately. I would wait a week or more to leave the actual feedback.

*Please do NOT post a rant about the buyer/seller on open forum. It will be removed. Just leave your feedback inthe manner suggested above by ThreeBoysChicks . If it happened that the other party was in a car wreck or their child died or something, you will be the one looking like a fool.

*If you feel after doing all above, that the other party is not honest or is trying to scam you, send a PM to a Staff member with details and reasons how you came to this conclusion. Back it up with facts and links to auctions. We will look into the other party's history and keep notes.

Don't send me a PM saying

"I got scammed in a auction. I can't believe you allow this. What are you going to do about it?"

This type of PM will be ignored. We don't have time to track down you, your auction, the seller and try to figure out which auction you are talking about.


*Above all, it is buyer and seller beware. Do your research before hitting the bid button.

 

[TurtleFeathers]

Quote:
Thanks Terrie - I haven't done anything yet, for the reasons stated above - and I will wait for those same reasons. Bad feedback follows a person for a long time, and I'd hate to jump to conclusions and affect someone like that if its uncalled for.

I didn't think that we could/should get admins involved in our individual buying and selling at all, figuring it was up to us, as bidders and sellers, to privately resolve any issues that might arise. I mean, I didn't think this was a scam situation or anything underhanded (in which case, I wouldn't hesitate to alert admins) - I think this was more of a case of failure to follow through on a transaction. And since I'm a "bad feedback virgin", I thought I'd ask for some advise from my peers - it didn't even cross my mind to bother an admin with it. Y'all have enough on your plate as it is.

I just think its important for bidders to know that when they bid on an auction, they are making the PROMISE to follow thru on their bid by sending payment - just as when a seller lists an auction, they are promising that they will follow thru on the sale. But by the same token, I think if some people don't take their buying and selling commitments seriously, I think its fair for those of us that do to have the option of letting other buyers and sellers know about it thru the feedback system. Its just a shame that we have to resort to that sometimes is all.