Another Childish E-bay Seller and I Part Ways

It seems these days as though this hobby is just chock full of childish people pretending to be adults. I wrote at some length about a fellow a few weeks ago who sold me sub-par material and refused to admit what he had done.

This week, I received a message from a seller telling me that I was blocked from his auctions because I had the audacity to contact him and let him know that I was unhappy with a stamp that he had blatantly misdescribed. It was a mint never hinged 4c admiral. The scan showed a stamp with original olive bistre colour and so I bid eagerly on it. What I received was a stamp that any experienced philatelist would know was faded. This man is a lifetime member of BNAPS - the leading Canadian philatelic society. Again, I have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on his stamps so far this year. I was disappointed. It wasn't a huge amount of money - $26 or something like that, but that wasn't the point.

So I sent him a short note to the effect that the stamp was faded, and didn't match the scan in his listing. I told him that I did not know why that was, but I never accused him of manipulating it. I told him that despite my disappointment, I would leave him positive feedback and proceeded to do so. I thought that was pretty decent of me. Wouldn't you agree? I didn't ask him for a refund. In fact, I made no demands on him at all. I simply told him that I was not happy. OH WHAT A CRIME!!

So he contacts me today, 2 days later and tells me that because I decided to spew negativity and leave him low feedback, I am now blocked from his auctions because as he put it, "he doesn't need this and he doesn't need me."

So here is my message to him and other dealers of his ilk:

 You just don't get it. I understand that you love stamps and like to sell them for fun.  But many customers expect to receive what they paid for. It doesn't matter if you think the price you received for your item was too low. You CHOSE to use auctions rather than fixed price because you don't want to wait for the right buyer. Your customers have a right to let you know they are not happy and it is YOUR JOB as a professional seller to address their concerns. I understand that some customers can be demanding, but if you cannot handle someone letting you know that they are unhappy with one transaction after they have spent thousands of dollars with you, then don't be surprised if your business flounders, of if you can never get top prices for your stamps. The problem is YOU, not your customers.

I just opened a case on E-bay to return the stamp for a full refund. I wasn't going to before, but now I will.