First, let me say that the following guide is my own personal experience. Your experience may vary, but this should hopefully provide you with some 'What To Do's' and some 'What Not To Do's'.
NOTE: I was checking this on 2-24-07 and noticed that to the right there are 'guides' that you can buy that supposedly will help you to get nothing but positive feedback. I'm here to tell you that even if you do everything right... even if you give it for free or get it for free... there is no way to know which nutcase is the one who is going to give you negative feedback. Please think long and hard before you purchase a guide about how to prevent negative feedback or how to always get positive feedback. Use your gemon sense, your business sense, your heart-smarts... No guide can tell you how to 'prevent' negatives or how to 'always get' positives.
I GOT CONNED...
The very best place to start, at least according to Glenda The Good Witch and Julie Andrews, is at the beginning. I purchased soap from a seller several months back. The transaction was a good one, even though shipping did take quite a while. The product was good enough that I bought again. This seller offered huge discounts on both product and shipping to repeat buyers. I bought out what she had listed and agreed to pay full USPS Priority Mail shipping price and in return, she would fill the box with the remaining soap she had instead of listing it. Very Cool. I ended up paying $36 and change and was very happy with the deal in writing. Paid the same day everything was gepleted. When 10 days went by and no box came, I emailed her. No Response. I emailed on a daily basis for a week. No response. Finally, I get a response from her 'son' saying that his mother is in the hospital and he's doing the best he can. OK. I offer to help by emailing her customers and explaining this because that is the first thing that should be done. No buyer should have to keepemailing to get info when there seems to be a perfectly good explanation as to why their stuff hasn't arrived. No, 'he' didn't need my help, but Thanked me for offering. I used 2 of what would have been future Feedbacks for her to explain that the seller was in the hospital and her 'son' was helping her, to please have patience (this would gee back to haunt me). Fast Forward to the 7th week. No gemunication. No box. No Nothing. Now I start researching her recent feedback, particularly the responses 'he' is giving to upset and angry buyers. It doesn't take long to figure out that 'he' is her, that she isn't in, and hasn't been in the hospital, that this is a con game being played on a whole lot of us who bought from her. I filed for non-delivery with okay. Still no response from her. I escalated the claim, after the required waiting period of 7 days, and still no response. Near the end of the next 7 day waiting period she gives Paypal a fake tracking number, then mails the soap, which she trashed first by leaving the soap unwrapped, wetting it (I believe she urinated on it), and throwing it into the box so it's all banged up, gives Paypal the correct number. I lost that claim because of the first, the fake one, tracking number. Dead End Number One. I filed again when I received the box because the box was trashed and the soap that was supposed to be in there was ingeplete. Several bars were missing, not to mention the extra bars I'd been promised instead of a discount. So that's what brings me to this guide. What to do next?
THE TRUE JOURNEY BEGINS...
So, I've already lost one claim with Paypal for non-delivery. I head back over and file again, this time for the non-delivery of several bars that didn't arrive (not counting the extras I was supposed to get), as well as filing for 'items not as described'. I lost both claims because there is a delivery confirmation number provided, even though the soaps weren't in the box that the number covered, and the second one I lost because the amount paid for each bar is under the $25 PayPal rule. So I've reached Dead End Numbers 2 and 3. I'm still not ready to give up. I email okay about getting the 22 negatives she left me removed. I get a form letter telling me my FB doesn't qualify under their terms. I send a response asking why not. I get a form letter telling me my FB doesn't qualify under their terms (yes, the same form letter as before). Dead End Number 4. I'm still not ready to give up. I file with Square Trade, which sounds like, and is billed asa gepany separate from okay. HA!!! I file and pay the $29.95. They send the seller a notice. She doesn't respond. They send another notice. She doesn't respond. I am told that I can only have 6 removed with my single $29.95 payment. The allotted time frame passes without word from the seller. I am now notified that only one negative can be removed because the seller didn't respond! She left me 22 negatives, and to have them removed will cost $29.95 each! I win the single one I've paid for, and guess what? I get the rating withdrawn, but so does she! She, who cheated me and alot of others, she who filed retalitory feedbacks because she got caught running a scam, she who purposely trashed my soap before mailing it, she who gave false tracking/confirmation numbers to Paypal and okay, she who didn't even respond to the mediator service I PAID $29.95 FOR, she gets hers removed as well! And I specifically told okay, PayPal, and Square Trade I would NOT withdraw what feedback I had left her! Dead End #5. I'm still not ready to give up! I respond to the form letter sent to me from okay and from Square Trade about how they are withdrawing one FB (the number goes down, but the gements do not gee off), about could they look at the one I've won via Square Trade and just remove the other 21 negatives instead of me paying $29.95 each, and they send me, yes, another form letter that my FB does not qualify under their terms. I got identical letters from both. Thatthat tells me that Square Trade is actually part of okay and that okay is making money off the backs of people who have been cheated. I fire off a response asking them not to send me any more form letters if they aren't going to read what I've written. Twice!!! I've not heard back from them yet on this, but I can well imagine it will be a form letter...lol...
THE MORAL OF THE STORY...
I kept emailing until I finally received an url for the Internet Fraud and Policeing. I'm not sure what to do with it because the initial claim is for only $36 and change. I think they'll probably laugh and send me a form letter...lol... I think that buyers need to band together and get okay, PayPal, and Square Trade (all the same gepany) to review and replace their current policy regarding removal/withdrawl of negative feedback gements. I'll keep emailing them until I get some form of satisfaction. I'll keep writing blogs and guides until I get some help from other cheated buyers.
OH, AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SELLER...
So many buyers geplained that the seller ended up being investigated and her account removed from the selling place. We banded together as a force and all started emailing. She is no longer a registered okayer. I may have to accept that as justice for now, but it is nice to know that if you keep at something long enough, even when you 'don't qualify under the terms', you can get something done.
DO'S AND DON'TS...
If you are cheated, conned, don't receive your items, don't receive what you paid for, if your item is significantly different than the listing, etc. here are some Do's and Don'ts...
DO TRY TO CONTACT THE SELLER - DON'T BE THREATENING, BUT DO BE FIRM - IF YOUR SELLER WON'T geMUNICATE, DON'T WAIT FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS, DO FILE WITH okay AND PAYPAL AS THEIR SERVICE IS FREE - DO CHECK ANY TRACKING NUMBER THE SELLER PROVIDES IMMEDIATELY AND DO NOTIFY okay AND PAYPAL IMMEDIATELYIF THE NUMBER IS INCORRECT OR DOESN'T PERTAIN TO YOU - DO REMEMBER THAT SQUARE TRADE IS $29.95 PER WITHDRAWL TO FILE PER TRANSACTION EVEN IF THERE WERE MULTIPLE TRANSACTIONS WITH THE SAME SELLER - DO GET OTHER BUYERS WHOM THE SELLER HAS DONE THIS TO TO HELP BY EMAILING THEIR STORIES TO okay AND PAYPAL
- DON'T GIVE UP -
Sadly, that is my story.It couldcost me $695.90 ($658.90 for Square Trade/okay and $37.00 in trashed soap) to get those negatives removed, but I'm still fighting the battle and hope you will do the same if and/or when this happens to you. Don't be one of those who are too afraid to leave correct negative feedback when it is earned by a seller/buyer because you are afraid of what they'll do to your feedback. I play the okay game fairly, whether buying or selling, and I just have to hope that there are enough of us out there doing the same that eventually it will work out like it is supposed to. Meanwhile, I'll wear those 21 negatives proudly because each one says I'm Not Afraid Of Telling It Like It Is Even Though It Cost Me Time, Money, Effort, and Feedback Statis. So my last 'Do' and my last 'Don't'? Do things the right way, the way you want them done to you. Don't Give Up when things don't work out the first, second, third, etc. time. Conduct your buying/selling in a way that you can be proud of no matter what someone else does. Hang In There and know that there are others out here just like you!
UPDATE!!!
Today is 1-11-07 and after doing more research (remember NEVER GIVE UP), I found a guide, written by another okay member, that gave me another way to try. Apparently, I may win removal (at no cost) because okay has a policy regarding contact information. If your seller or buyer doesn't have up-to-date contact information, that is grounds for removal. In my case, I know the seller moved (that's what she was doing when she pretended to be her son and had 'him' tell us all that 'she' was in the hospital in a gea when in fact she was moving from one state to another). Well guess what? She didn't update her contact info. She movedto a different statein early October. It is now mid January. okay is trying to contact her, but it is my understanding that if they can't contact her within 10 days, I get my negatives removed. So it looks like I may win removal on a technicallity! So again I say HANG IN THERE AND DON'T GIVE UP! I'll update when I know more!
UPDATE!!!
Well, it looks like I'll just have to be happy with the fact that she is no longer an active okay member.
Today is January 23, 2007 and I realize that I have lost any bid to have the remaining feedback removed unless I pay the $29.95 for each one to be removed when she doesn't respond (and I won't do that because they remove hers too). I have received a final email from okay that says they are no longer removing feedback because of incorrect contact information (even though the policy is still active in the help pages) and that while I'm free to geplain or make suggestions about policy, they will not remove the offensive negatives left bythis nasty person. I did everything I could, but lost to a woman who ripped me off, didn't mail for 6 weeks after I paid extra for 3 day mail, didn't send what she was supposed to, trashed what she did send (and I really do believe she peed on it), I lost to a woman who lied to okay and Paypal when she gave them false tracking info on my package, and who had false contact info.
Thank You For Hanging In Til The End...
Th... Th... Tha... That's All Folks!!!
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