Buyers, please do not do this!

Why yes, thank you. I believe I will reply.

Here, though. Not on eBay. Because what I did on eBay was block you for having the audacity to tell me this. Because let me get this straight; you wanted this item enough to contact me when it's been off sale for a week or so. You're one of the watchers on it (this item is one of my most watched on the site). And if so, you probably have seen where I had it for $35 and free ship before.

Yep, I was that much of an ass. :3 I raised the cost when no one bought it but everyone wanted it.

And now, for the facts - if you do think it's worth $35, then screw you. IT'S ON FREE SHIPPING. That means I have to pay $8-10 to ship out of the price listed and pay eBay and Paypal fees to boot. So I will probably not get $35 when I charge $45!

I like how they ask if it sold, though - then tell me it's too high a price. IF IT SOLD, IT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T.

Also wik, price is variable for items, especially ones that are vintage and hard to find. Just go find another if you think mine is too expensive - oh wait, IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME to find another, and even then it will likely be the same cost or more.

Also also wik, according to the "variable" idea, there will be someone that pays the price I have listed. It may not be right away, but someone will. It always happens. I just bought a vintage soap for $20. People were watching it, obviously thinking it was "too expensive", but it's one I loved from my childhood and I'll always snag it if I see it. So I jumped in and used BIN where they wouldn't. The same thing will happen to my dragon.

Oh, and... the best part? I don't want to sell him. Not really. I just need extra money and less collectibles. But if all I get are idiots who want expensive things for free, at some point I take the items back.

*edit: holy shit, LOL. I went and checked again - MINE IS THE CHEAPEST ONE ON THE SITE. It's in good condition - there's only one better with the card still attached -- and it's the cheapest. They're all like $50 plus shipping, I'm dying laughing right now at this sad sack of bullshit that thought they could lie to me and I wouldn't know what I was selling. I should raise my price again.

:3

D56 Pencils and Topper Lots for Sale!

Myep

Garage sales again, since we REALLY need to pay the bills, so I'm losing money but that's your gain. I just need these things out and some cash to pay stuff with!

There's an old lot of vintage (old = vintage, of course, where's my brain at lately) toppers, including a Lisa Frank easter egg and more, here: {{CLICK FOR PENCIL TOPPERS LOT}}

Aaaannnnnd...

A D56 lot of pencils with toppers, all awesome and vintage, unsharpened - Pound Puppies, DISNEY'S Gargoyles, Applause, Russ and more, here - {{CLICK HERE FOR D56 PENCIL LOT}}

What NOT to do as an eBay Buyer (1)

Lesson #1: if a seller does not have the "make an offer" button on their listing, DO NOT MESSAGE THEM TO MAKE AN OFFER.


I'm selling Japan/DokiDoki Crate mix boxes right now on eBay, with some extra items thrown in from Asia/the 80's. They're mix boxes, lots, meaning you do not get to pick what you receive. You can tell me if you like or dislike certain things in general, and I'll try to accommodate, but it's not a "pick what you get" listing.

I even have this detailed in my listings (in bright red to make sure folks see it) as such:
I do not barter or split auctions!

This means what it means: I don't accept offers if the listing doesn't have that button, nor do I sell "part of" one auction for "less". Okay. Now that's out of the way, on to one of the many messages I received about this popular listing.

Message #1: Hi, buy any chance can you do $25.00 for the listing? I will buy right away! Thanks🙂

I ignored this and did not reply, as I'm losing money on these anyway to sell this low and paying the shipping completely out of pocket. It's an actual bargain at the cost. (I updated my listing eventually to add info about this and ask that people kindly do not ask for lower prices as I'm damn near being harassed by a lot of kids). The next PM came as follows:

Message #2: Hi, if I buy this could I have all this stuff, Pokémon Purple plush, hello kitty stamp, loom the loop, some sort of candy, both hoppe charms, somiko garshi stickers, sushi sticky notes, washi tape, breadu squishy, rillakumma squishy and the slipper squishy. Thanks! Let me know if you don't I have the stuff I want in the box. Thanks

I blocked the buyer from bidding on my auctions. Many buyers are shocked this happens to them. I will try to explain why this happened from my (the seller's) point of view.

This buyer:

1 - ignored my very bold, red-colored statement of "I do not barter", which tells me they cannot read or pay attention to details

2 - ignored the general idea about the auction "a lot" of "mystery" things, some of which are depicted in the photos but I clearly explained that the photos were NOT the only things available

3 - asked me to cheapen a deal that is already listed at too cheap for me to make my money back on a lot of these things

4 - misspelled a ton of things, appearing illiterate, in their haste to demand what they wanted

5 - demanded I do what they want, when I have what they want

6 - asked for all the most expensive things they saw in the photos (again, I have lots more that's not pictured)

These warning flags tell me that they most likely will not understand the nature of the listing, and it may lead to them screaming they want their "money back", to screw me out of everything. It has the feeling of a too-young teenager that is demanding while thinking that adding a "thank you" makes it okay to insult me. I need money to pay bills. I will not make money off of these; I need to clear space in my home, and I thought it would be fun and make others happy.

When you sell for a long enough amount of years, you get a cold feeling about the buyers that will cause trouble the moment they contact you. This one had "I'm going to screw you over" written all over them - even if I had caved in and given them even more money's worth of items in their box.

eBay seller issue

seller: dsager455

Just remember, eBay sellers, stuff goes both ways! Take this scenario, for example...

I bought a rare squishable from someone on eBay. I paid immediately, and yet a week later, when the item was supposed to actually be there, it still hadn't shipped yet. I PM'd the seller.

The seller told me they had to have "impromptu back surgery" and they'd ship it out immediately. Okay, I was super polite... stuff happens. So I wait. The tracking number is added, and then the next day, it says the item was delivered to an address in the seller's home state.

SIGH

So I PM again. The seller says 'whoops, wrong number, I'll just fix that'.

I THEN WAIT AN ENTIRE DAY

No number.

This sounds fishy as hell, right? So I report them.

Sweet bleeding Jesus, they give the wrong tracking number AGAIN. The one that proves it shipped to the different address. So I comment on that. Then they add the right number - get this, a day later -- WHEN THE PACKAGE IS DUE TO ARRIVE HERE. Ughhh. So, it arrives, and I give positive feedback. Positive! Since it's a weekend, I don't go on eBay, I take those days off. And usually when you give positive feedback everything is okay, ebay cancels the alert thing 'cause it's been delivered.

Also, I didn't go online on my computer (where I'd hafta close the case), I went on my phone for feedback.

Nope. I waited until Sunday and the seller is freaking out, acting like they're gonna be screwed that I'm trying to "fool" them.

*hisses*

It's perfectly okay for him to make ME wait more than a week, to give me all the proper info and crap, but he's flipping shit because it was a weekend and I didn't cancel the case in a couple days? After I gave the bastard positive feedback?!! 

I'm supposed to wait for them, but they can't for me? 

@##$%, way to rep my home state, asshole. I know why they make fun of it all the time in EVERY single other state - you're jerks! UGHHH.

NEW eBay SCAM ALERT

All right, we'll cut to the chase here on this one. I ordered 5 things from a seller in China. They sent me a very tiny, very small package with tracking, that included a spring "hair band" inside (not what I ordered of course, it was just to make it look like something was inside).

Seller profile
The feedback says they do this a lot. Send empty packages or "hairbands" when folks order things worth way more than that.

Twitter link to me calling eBay out (with image)

Item numbers I purchased: 391503042737, 351733894035, 351778965725, 391503042035, 391503042737

This is what they told me when I called them out on it, demanding a refund. Classic, right? Like anyone is going to believe it's a "test" package. I've done business for 20+ years and have never heard of that excuse. The worst problem is, I can't figure out how to report them! eBay doesn't want them gone, obviously, because they make them money. And there is no way to report without going out of my way and calling the company. Which, I know because I've done it before, does nothing to the seller. Augh.

*edit: I followed through on EVERY ONE of the auctions, and eventually they caved & mailed the items to me.

*edit 8/23: AUUUGHHH it happened again! Different seller this time, sent me 2 "party favor" stick-on mustache sets. I ordered 2 "squishies", not that cheap dimestore crap! I'll be reporting and giving bad feedback, of course. Bleah.

You know, China, if these sellers keep doing this, no one is going to buy from anyone from your country. Ever. I mean, sheez, it's already all knock off stuff, and not worth a lot, not made well, etc. Now you're not even going to send the crap, because it's "too expensive"? You're going to send something that's a quarter of a pennies' worth?! Argh.

Zoro Dakimakura

Let me rephrase that title - it's new Zoro dakimakura (or, as some call them, "hugging pillows").

I got three *wiggles* but only two were decent, the ones I got from "Yes! Anime" on eBay. The other seller shipped me a graphic mess, a sloppily enlarged image that was fuzzy as heck and terrible. The seller was shit about it as well. Anyway!

This is my favorite. Although, it does bother me that no one ever has drawn the scars on his ankles. I mean, it disturbs my OCD fangirl-ness. Also, green eyes? Nice touch, though.

Husband-Zoro was a bit grumpy about sleeping with this one, though. One night he commented, 'I'm off to sleep with sexy Zoro', so I giggled. The response back was a flat 'It's not funny.'

LOL.

'Course it is.

Especially as RL-Zoro makes my bed half-smell like character-Zoro would: beer and manly soap. No steel, otherwise it'd be 100%.

*snort*

Oh yeah, here's the other one (not as good, and Law looks creepy as shit (click for larger image)!

Sucky eBayer List

Myep. For those that piss me off: here's a warning to all of you if you come across them.

Seller: lightbearerjoe 
Item: Nendoroid Tsubasa Figure
Reason: ended auction early because "item no longer available"
Update 5/30: The bastard re-listed it almost immediately!
*he also has 1 negative for doing the same to a buyer that won an auction
*update (me): I bought something else by sniping so he couldn't end it early... gave him a neutral

He now has "100% positive" - but he really doesn't, because as you can see I recorded he had at least 1 negative and my neutral. Yet eBay takes these off after so many months of "good" behavior.

eBay Buyers Can't Read

I just feel like ranting about a stupid thing. Ha!

So, today I logged into eBay and I get a nasty, sarcastic PM from a buyer who purchased a vintage My Little Pony Carousel game from me back in July. She's telling me that when her daughter opened it, OH MY GOSH half was missing!

First off, thank goodness she's that stupid, otherwise I'd have gotten another undeserved negative feedback. Always open everything and check when you get a package, even if it's a present for later on. I buy all my gifts on eBay and I always check. I've been done with Christmas for like, 3 months now.

Second, it wasn't "missing half" the contents. It was missing exactly what the description stated in bold, colored letters (so that idiots didn't miss it, unfortunately, she missed it I guess) - there were no stampers included. I also sent her a link to a collector's site which shows what was in the original unopened game so she can maybe wrap her brain around that.

THIRD, anyone with brains can just take any stamper to play the game. Of course, if purchased for sentimental value, that sucks, but I was very, very, very-very-very clear in the auction that it was NOT "complete", because I took the stampers for my collection. I don't know how I could have made it clearer... flashing text? Because honestly, I remember coloring and making it bold, so no one would miss the fact they were gone. Also, it was quite cheap - maybe we should watch what we buy instead of greedily snatch things up, huh? If it's super cheap, there's usually a reason why. That makes red flags rise in my head when I see stuff on eBay.

It's not my fault you can't read, woman. Ughh. I'm sorry the other girl - the daughter -- didn't get the full gift she wanted, but it's not my fault. It's not always the seller's fault, you know, just because you wanna blame someone. You can blame yourself - and should, when it IS YOUR FAULT.

Thanks, asshole eBay buyer

So, thanks to an asshole eBay buyer, my feedback went from 100% positive to 99.6 again. Why?

Because I didn't respond in one single day to her complaint.

I should have checked her feedback - the "left for others" one -- she's given tons of crap feedback, seemingly snippy and even when people refunded her before she even got the items, yet she says the items are bad. How would she know?!

That's right - I wasn't online yesterday due to my being sick. One day. I logged in today and sent a nice email to her, asking how can we rectify this situation, and of course then I notice she's left me lying, crappy negative feedback.

Items damaged due to poor packaging, no response from seller

"Poor" packaging, in this case, meant OH MY GAWD I DIDN'T USE BUBBLE WRAP! It must be "poor" packaging, even though I padded it well enough with bags, wrapped and sealed each individual cart with sandwich bags, gave her a free item, and shipped in a box. There's no way they "moved around" and got more damaged. She was just an idiot and didn't see the real wear of the pics in her haste to win a rare item, more than likely.

Piss off, you idiot. I shipped double-bagged, in a box for something flat enough others would have shipped in a flat package for less, and I paid your shipping with insurance. You wanted some kickback, is what you did. You paid $88 for two games, and you wanted some little money back. I bet the boxes were fine, because she didn't send a report or tell eBay she wanted her money back - why not if they were damaged? Because they were fine, that's why! And also, because of this one idiot, I now have a less than positive feedback score. That means a lot on eBay - but buyers can't get a less than positive score, because I can't rate her as being the bad buyer she is. eBay won't let me.

I did rate her on the internet Bad Buyer List, but eh. I wish eBay would let us rate these morons. Seriously - she waited one day. ONE. Day. I was ready to be nice too the imbecile, who, by the way, starts off by saying, "I don't want to be one of those people", for the reason that she knows she IS one of "those" people!

People take days off. I am so angry about this that I'm about to spit.

She has items for sale, I wonder how she'd like it if someone did it to her?

eBay Sales & Profits

Ever since the hacking awhile back, eBay sales in general have dropped astronomically. eBay wants us sellers to sell things for 99 cents (with free shipping!) and the problem is, that's what they sell for. My husband just sold 88 Lemony Snicket books, mint condition, for just that. Of course, eBay only lets him charge $8.00 shipping (they won't let him charge more, although it costs more for him) so we're basically paying someone to take the stuff.

Disgusting! We need money! That's not fair!

For all of the whiny buyers out there, let me explain something.

We buy the items we put up for sale in the first place.

In order to get buyers, we often have to drop prices, charging far less than what we originally paid.

eBay charges us.

Paypal charges us.

We have to buy boxes, tape, and whatnot for packing (even if we try to recycle a lot).

We are using our time to code listings and box them for you. Most of us don't work eBay exclusively.

eBay will charge us again if we dare to charge you shipping (and they limit how much we can charge, usually not letting us charge enough for actual cost)!

If we offer free shipping (and thus be freed of one of eBay's extra charges), we must include shipping in the price of the item in order to make some profit.

We cannot offer to sell you one item in a lot of 20, because you will then demand to buy it separately at .99 cents or some ridiculous price, and that will not make us a profit.

We cannot "make our prices better" when they're already the best they can be.

Quick rundown / TL;DR

Seller buys medium-sized, lightweight item for $50

Decides to sell item at discount for $20 because it won't sell for $50

eBay, Paypal charges us fees when item is sold

 Free shipping added means we lose more (plus costs such as boxes/tape)

- $30 return loss on item
- $3 for eBay & Paypal
- $5.00 at least for ship
- $2.00 for box/packaging/tape

This equals a grand total of $40.00 we lose on the item.

So, with fees, if we sell for $20 it does not mean we make $20. Add to that these infuriating facts:

- buyers don't generally give feedback unless it's negative
- buyers constantly PM us to ask if we'll "sell for less"
- the item(s) are rare or vintage/hard to find in the first place

... it's no wonder eBay is becoming a joke. Hardly anyone uses it anymore except the large businesses that can afford to have losses now & then, or idiots that sell for .99 cents with free ship (no offense, Zoro), because it's what eBay suggests to them on the selling page.

eBay Buyers - please read!

I'm a weary hobby seller on eBay.

I started on a different account back when eBay started (which I gave to an ex when we split up). This usually has its ups and downs like any life experience. But eBay has turned into a nightmare for sellers lately. There are many reasons why it's tough for us now, but this essay will focus on one area: shipping and handling.

Buyer problem: Buyers want to pay exactly what the shipping cost is and nothing more. Seller problem: Sellers need to make money on eBay to continue selling on eBay. Not charging for all the extra costs we incur means we lose money. I mean to show buyers what happens when you sell on eBay. Quick and to the point, here is an item I recently sold where I received neutral feedback because, as the buyer put it, "Shipping too high priced and slow." I will prove here that it was not too high priced, and it was shipped within my limits shown on the eBay page - faster than the highest time estimated, in fact!

SHIPPING & HANDLING

As a buyer, you need to be aware of all the information readily available to you on the auction page itself. Look at the details, because both eBay and I are telling you what you will pay:






#1:  the item will be shipped to you for $9.00 standard shipping, which means first class.

#2: the item has a 5 day handling time, which means it does not ship out immediately. The date shown is when it should arrive at your home. The buyer who left me neutral complained that a single week - 7 days -- was "too slow". In fact, I could have shipped in 10 days and been on course with what the auction very clearly states is normal.

Moving right along, if you somehow missed the bright orange letters eBay has used to show you the handling time I have on my auctions and how long it may take to get to you, there is yet another section within the auction itself.





#1: Click this, and it takes you to the next image, shown below.

#2: click this clearly marked, colorful section, and it takes you to a page where I explain all my seller practices, such as shipping and handling!

*NOTE: as of now, eBay has dismantled the "me" page system, because it gave sellers and buyers too much room to explain themselves and ridicule eBay itself for its bad practices. Thus, this is no longer valid.




After clicking the "Shipping and payments" section, this is what you find.

#1: this is the shipping and handling price I have listed for the item.

#2: I ship within 5 days after cleared payment, which means if your payment did not clear (meaning, I didn't get any money yet), I don't ship. Sometimes credit card payments do not go through right away, and if you pay by the dreaded e-check, it can take up to a week before the payment clears. You can't walk out of a store with an item without paying - it's the same with my items. I wait until the money is in my account.

#3: "estimated 6-10 business days" means Monday through Friday, not the weekend or on any holidays! I've had buyers complain when I didn't ship on Sunday or a Holiday - and no, they weren't International buyers. They knew it was a Holiday in the USA. They just didn't think because they were too focused on themselves. As you can see, eBay even lets me have Saturday off. And c'mon, now, you get days off from work. I know you do. So why can't I? Erase weekends and holidays, then, from the timeline for shipping. It's perfectly legal and says so right there. #4: certain times are slow for the USPS. I can ship fast as I can, but during the Winter holidays, for instance, the items are not going to ship as quick as they usually do. This isn't my fault. I do not control the shipping of your item in the USPS' system, I do not work for them, and I do not personally deliver it to your door. If it says on eBay that I sent the package within the time that I should have, then I have done my part and should not be penalized for something I can not control. #5 once again, the handling time is shown, in case you missed it the bunch of other times it was shoved in your face. It even tells you that "the seller has specified an extended handling period for this item." This means it will take longer for me to ship it to you. I've now shown that I sent the item within the time estimated on the auction page, which says I did my part of the bargain well - better, in fact, than the 10-day estimate. In my book, 7 is a smaller number, right? Always, always, count the days and make sure what the auction tells you. I get a lot of complaints about "slow" shipping when I ship within my allotted times. To a buyer, "yesterday" is too slow. I say that if you get an item that is rare for less, one you couldn't find anywhere else, and it's in good condition - who the hell cares if it isn't there the second you paid for it? Patience is a virtue, and a week is not "too long" to wait!

SHIPPING COSTS

Let's address the "shipping too high priced" part now. You will almost always pay more than the exact cost for shipping on eBay or any online store. Inexperienced folks may not charge a fee or not care, but someone selling for profit needs to do this, and I will show you why now. I charged $9.00 shipping (and handling). Standard shipping (first class) was $4.30 for the item. The buyer knew this (perhaps the price was stamped on the outside of the box), and quoted it, saying the extra was "unnecessary" or something like that. $9.00 minus $4.30 = $4.70. They thought that the extra $4.70 was "too much" and they should be refunded the amount. Let's show the world what I paid to earn that $4.70, shall we?




As you can see, I paid $1.50 for eBay's "final value fee" and then, $.90 cents for daring to charge shipping. (This equals $2.40 cents so far).




Paypal time! Paypal then charges me $1.00 for using their services. (Now this makes what I have paid $3.40 cents). After this, I need to pay for tape and boxes that I pay for. Yes, I use as much recycled items as I can, but I do pay for items myself. This means I must charge for them in every auction to make that money back, otherwise I'm just bleeding costs and I will not make any money.


Here's what I usually buy - small boxes. As you can see, on sale they cost $22.94.

But as #1 shows, I normally buy them for $25.43. And yes, the screenshot is taken from the shop where I normally buy them! 25 boxes, 25 dollars. This means 25 buyers will pay $1.00 extra for their new, sturdy box. (Now this makes what I have paid $4.40 cents). Add in packing tape (not including the time I put in doing all of this!), and it goes over $4.70 in fees I have paid to make this item available to you. I have clearly not overcharged. I need to recoup that money, or I'm paying out of pocket for it! eBay is about me getting money back for the items I am selling. I need the money to keep listing. If I don't make money, I can't make the items available to you to buy. In most cases, I'm selling the items for less than what I paid and less than what everyone else is selling them for as well. So I'm losing money anyway, and then I need to lose more because you want to pay even less for something you paid less for anyway? And sometimes, for a rare thing you can't find anywhere?! You should be happy you found it! Please think. The next time you go to give a seller neutral or negative feedback over shipping times and costs, give it a second thought. Think about it. Think, look, read. If it wasn't the seller's fault, don't just blame them. 

My eBay Sales Pages

Thanks for taking the time to look at my auction!

DESCRIPTION:

[description here]

Stop by my other listings! Thanks and happy bidding!

About me as a Seller

Please read the following carefully, as they detail my selling policies. Also please be kind and think of the person who is the seller. I'm not a big store. I'm just trying to make some desperately needed cash to pay bills and be able to eat this month.

Item Condition

All items come from a smoke free home with non-allergenic pets (we own 2 toy poodles - poodles do not shed, the items are kept stored away from them, and they're trained not to touch what is not theirs). Items are described very well with many photos.

PLEASE LOOK AT ALL PHOTOS AND READ THE DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY. I sell collectibles that I know a lot about, but I can make mistakes, so please double check. Please note that if you are a buyer that wants a perfectly 100% mint packaged item, I respectfully request you look elsewhere. I can not guarantee that items are 100% free of any damage at all. There may be tiny things about the item(s) I don't notice because they're small. Most folks won't, either, but there are those that collect certain toys that have ridiculous standards (many times because they are greedy resellers!)

Payment

I do not do "holds", and I must have payment within the standard time eBay gives buyers. I accept PayPal only. If payment is not received, I will re-list the item.

Shipping

Orders are shipped out ASAP - which may take up to 3-4 days depending on availability of our single car, bad weather, holidays, etc. PLEASE BE PATIENT. All of the folks that have left less than excellent feedback about me complain about shipping time when, if you look carefully, their item arrived well within the eBay time estimated (or sooner).

All orders are shipped via the USPS within the United States only. I do not ship internationally. Tracking information will be emailed to you once it is generated. Tracking numbers sometimes take a very long time to register. Please contact me if anything seems amiss and I'll look into the matter at once!

IF YOU ARE NERVOUS ABOUT YOUR ITEM(S) ARRIVING SAFELY, please request insurance. I can tack on an insurance fee depending on what the USPS charges for value of the item(s). I use newspaper, magazines, recycled wrap, mailers and boxes to pack. You may not receive a brand-new box or mailer, but it will be mailed as safely as possible.

Returns

No returns are accepted. I give each item a very thorough description, providing details on any flaws or imperfections, as well as take multiple pictures of each item. I pack my items very carefully as well, sometimes going as far to double-box or wrap every single one individually in a lot. If you don't request insurance (see above) and it arrives in any condition other than what the listing stated, it's because of the Post Office, not me. Although quite rare, it does happen, I understand, and it's terrible when it does.

Take pictures of any damaged mailer(s) or box(es) BEFORE OPENING THEM to show me if this has occurred. If you do contest a refund with eBay, I will need the item(s) mailed back at your cost for a refund of the item(s) original price only. You will not be able to keep the item and receive any refund at all. It must be mailed back and I must receive it before the refund in condition in which you have shown it was sent to you.

Feedback

Feedback is very important to the eBay community. I appreciate very much the positive feedback I receive from my customers. Please remember to leave feedback after you have received your item(s) and are happy. I will do the same for you!

New Underhanded eBay Trick - negative feedback?

eBay buyers, beware - there is an underhanded tactic being used by equally dastardly sellers to get around the system if you leave them negative feedback.

See, they're not allowed to leave you negative anymore. This is supposed to have us comfortable to give honest feedback - the threat of "retaliation" feedback is supposedly a thing of the past. Untrue, because a recent transaction left me irritated and once again shaking my head at eBay Customer Service - such as it is.

I purchased something. It arrived not as I expected it, and the seller wouldn't answer my messaging via the site. I was thus forced to go to Paypal's transaction center and submit a report. I made a partial mistake about the item description; it's true, so they filed against me. However, the lack of the "new" condition of the item in hand that I received and the seller's lack of communication forced me to leave a negative feedback. They seemed not to care that they did not hold up 100% of their bargain, so I stated such in my feedback.

The seller saw this feedback.

No matter that I have the item - it was shipped to me! -- they sent me an "unpaid buyer alert", claiming that I did not pay. I declared that I did and this was very "petty" of the seller, and said they were trying to "get back at" me for leaving them negative in this fashion. Very bad form, in other words.

Apparently this pissed them off further, for they declared I hadn't paid and we couldn't reach an amicable solution. This means eBay sent me an "unpaid item strike". Unlike negative feedback for sellers, I am unsure if the strikes go away - I don't think they do. Negative feedback, however, does after a certain amount of time. So I sent a copy of the Paypal email with headers and the strike was immediately removed, although the mail sent by the staff had a grave "warning" if it ever happened again.

Thanks for contacting us about the unpaid item strike you received.

Our records show this is the first time you've appealed an unpaid item
strike. Based on this and the information you gave us, we've removed the
strike from your account. Any future strikes could affect your account
status though, so take a few minutes to learn more about our unpaid item
policy. . .

[insert many URL's leading to things I already know here].

In short, be aware that this happens now and know how to appeal these disputes if this happens to you.

1.) Keep all Paypal receipts! I know it's just an email and if you purchase a lot they clog up your inbox, but keep them for a decent interval so you have it if this happens to you.

2.) Contact eBay again after the appeal. Keep at them. We want sellers to stop doing this and for the staff to be aware it is happening. They will put you off many times but they'll soon take notice if it happens to many people.

3.) Keep on leaving deserving feedback. Don't let the underhanded tactics of bad sellers cow you into abstaining or even leaving bland positive comments. Give them what they deserve. They have your money, they don't care what happens now except to make sure no one does it to them again so they can keep gulling more buyers.