Me, eBay, and Inevitablity
Friday. Was there ever a word with such a mellow, soothing sound? Say it slowly, drawing out that first syllable. Friiiiiii – day. Was there ever a day so concerned with your well-being? Friday. I day. My day. This is not a Monday moan-day, or a Tuesday used-day. Yeah, Sunday may be fun-day, and Saturday may be sat-around-and-loafed-day. But it’s Friday that’s all about an end to the struggle, no matter how temporary the respite may be. Friday is the day that the world calls a cease-fire and lets you drop the cares and worries and obligations to others in favor of your personal life and your own needs. Right now I’m in favor of anything that’s all about me.
Remember that e-Bay purchase that I made mention of on the fifteenth? The one I was afraid had gone sour, because the item was to have been shipped within ten days of the purchase and I still hadn’t gotten it yet? Well, boys and girls, the item arrived belatedly yesterday. Now I’m left with a quandary. What kind of feedback do I leave this guy?
To those of you unfamiliar with eBay, after a transaction is completed both the seller and buyer have the option of leaving positive, neutral or negative feedback in each other’s profiles. This feedback gives you your eBay rating, and is especially important to sellers because potential purchasers will look at that rating to determine if it is safe to buy from that source.
The purchase arrived much later than promised (shipment was promised by January second, but the item wasn’t actually shipped until January 18th). The seller was borderline rude when I inquired as to the status of my shipment sometime around January 10th.
I have never left negative feedback on eBay for any of the over seventy purchases I’ve made there. I’ve never needed to. Items were always as described, delivery was always prompt, and my purchases were always carefully packed.
I’ve noticed that this seller has over forty negative feedback entries in the last month or so. This jerk has always turned around and left negative feedback in retaliation, though it becomes more and more apparent that the problem is on his end. I feel obligated to leave negative feedback on this guy, to try and warn anyone who is tempted to buy from him in the future, but I hate to see my own perfect feedback record ruined when he decides to make a retaliatory strike against me because of it.
Decisions, decisions.
I just got word that today will be an early day. This is a bit of a relief. There’s a serious illness in The Socialist’s family, and there’s a good chance he’ll be flying out to California on a moment’s notice. I’ve tried to set things up here at work so I can duck out for at least a couple of days, but I’ll wait until I know my presence is needed. My calendar is relatively clear except for the bloodwork I need to have taken on February 3rd, but that’s too far in the future to worry about at present.
I feel badly for The Socialist. This is hitting him hard. This is not unexpected, and is even a blessing in some ways, but that doesn’t make things hurt less.