[meteorite-list] Another eBay JERK - Block him!

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2017 16:59:43 -0500
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW_PLGbtO6k9KuoewAdxGKiuMvum47TsiOdnaHWqaP+D1Q_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Doug,

You raise some very good points. eBay is not a total loss yet. There
is hope. There are many good reputable dealers on eBay and I am sure
some of them are doing pretty well. It takes a lot of hard work and
great customer service to stand apart from the growing clutter of
fakes and misrepresentations that are spreading on eBay.

eBay is at fault for the current atmosphere in their marketplace. Two
things are clearly wrong and need to be corrected :

1) Sellers should be allowed to leave negative or neutral feedbacks
for buyers. When eBay took away a seller's ability to leave anything
but positive feedbacks, it sent a clear signal to bad buyers. And that
signal is a green light to ramp up their frauds. In the past, a buyer
could get hit with a negative feedback and other sellers could see the
red flags and proceed with caution. Now sellers have little way to
determine if a particular buyer is risky or not. Thankfully, people
like Ruben, John, and others help spread the word outside of eBay, so
other sellers can block these criminal buyers.

2) eBay needs to do a much better job of listening to fraud reports.
The meteorite community has always been very good at self-policing.
There is the IMCA which is a first line of defense, and then there are
venues like this Met-List and Facebook where bad buyers and fraudulent
listings can be announced before the public. I cannot count the number
of times that Mendy or myself have reported fake meteorite listings to
eBay and we have been ignored. I know of a few cases where certain
fraudulent sellers were reported multiple times by multiple members
and yet eBay did absolutely nothing.

I suspect that #2 is a product of ignorance on eBay's part and a lack
of willingness to spend money to hire "experts" to police their
listings or weigh the validity of fraud reports. I guess it would be
easy for a vindictive seller to report the competition as being a
scammer in an effort to eliminate honest competition. I would like to
think that none of us would do that, but apparently that kind of thing
does happen. eBay has no way of determining what a legit meteorite is,
so they err on the side of profit by ignoring the vast majority of
reported frauds. For every auction that take down, they lose possible
final value fees on a sale.

I can say that David Butland is an honorable guy and his auction site
Howardites.com is legit. It is a shame that very few sellers have
tried it out because it's good software, easy to use, and it's FREE.
David has offered a free service to the meteorite community and the
majority of the meteorite community has ignored it in favor of a
soulless corporate giant that abuses it's sellers and engages in
criminal activity by aiding and abetting fraud - and charges you fees
for the privilege of getting ripped off. To each their own I guess.

I miss the good old days on eBay and would love to see them return. I
am rooting for eBay to get it's act together. But I won't hold my
breath waiting for it to happen.

Best regards,

MikeG

-- 
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-------------------------------------------
On 1/10/17, MexicoDoug via Meteorite-list
<meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com> wrote:
> Keep the faith Ruben.  If you can compete and do well on eBay over the long
> term, it is likely that you have a good product at a good price that appeals
> to a large segment.  In this you do a service to the other dealers by
> getting new collector recruits all the time ... kudos to all you meteorite
> eBayers for that!  I sincerely hope you and everyone burned by this Hong
> Kong Post scam artist get compensated.  EBay sounds weak in fraud protection
> but it is hard to ignore the Chinese market for a seller.
>
> Perhaps the best bet is to set a feedback requirement.  It looks like the
> scam artist in question has a feedback of only (5).  Let us know if eBay
> catches on to them and eventually makes amends after recognizing the scammer
> for what they are.  I get the feeling the case is not yet resolved and to be
> fair to eBay if they do something positive that should be posted for readers
> to understand whether it was only aggravation or also the lo$$ stuck.
>
> The alternative is to block any bidder located where tracking is
> interrupted/or seller protection does not apply.  Sometime I think we are an
> overly optimistic bunch and so enthusiastic we take risks, banking on every
> Internet contact being a good, honest person.
>
> Another auction website, like the one that was posted a year ago for free
> use to the list, got the cold shoulder here from what I saw, only because
> everyone was honest that used eBay and considered the glass at eBay half
> full when the question was posed as going to a new auction site. (and
> perhaps wanting to avoid yet another brokering site).
>
> EBay may have its issues, but  not been a year I've been in Tucson, have I
> not heard grumbling somewhere that bad apples, thieves, or scammers  don't
> appear there, too.  On eBay, it is a double whammy, lost of common sense
> control, and usually razor thin margins plus paying commission like having
> the door hit you on the butt on the way out of a loss.   That's the faith or
> give up part!
>
> I haven't been on eBay in so many years I need to try it out again, I
> actually started missing it reading this!  I know plenty of other reputable
> dealers that do well but no one bats 1000 ... though it can be years till
> they get that bad apple, it is one person and the exception is not a reason
> to forsake a big convenient marketing platform.
>
> Unfortunately the occasional collector  isn't about to make an entire
> website to sell a few collection pieces probably to turn around and get new
> ones anyways with the sales...  So while eBay is not always good for
> specialty meteorites niches perhaps sophisticated collection pieces, where
> the risks are magnified and you need a learned audience of more than one
> interested.  There is something to be said about sellers having reputable
> buyers too and people that certainly !  Just random thoughts and
> commiserations
>
> Cheers
> Doug
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ruben Garcia via Meteorite-list <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> To: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
> Cc: Meteorite-list <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>; ruben garcia
> <rubenjgarciajr at gmail.com>
> Sent: Mon, Jan 9, 2017 6:53 pm
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Another eBay JERK - Block him!
>
> Hi,
>
> I know that some smart people (you, Mike Farmer, Anne Black) do well
> without eBay.
>
> For me it works fine most of the time.  However, days like today make
> me wonder how long I will continue to sell on ebay....
>
> On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 4:49 PM, Galactic Stone & Ironworks
> <meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Ruben Sr., and Ruben Jr,
>>
>> Well, just when I think I know everybody in the meteorite community, I
>> learn something new. I had no idea there were two Rubens that are
>> father and son.  :)
>>
>> I am sorry you have to put up with this nonsense, but eBay does not
>> care at all. Over the years, eBay has made it abundantly clear that
>> their only concern is profits. They do not care about the integrity of
>> their marketplace, their reputation, or their members.
>>
>> It is a shame to see how far eBay has fallen from it's peak. When I
>> first joined back in 1999, it was a great community. Now eBay has done
>> everything in it's power to strip the community feeling from it's
>> members - even going so far as to severely limit the ability of
>> members to communicate with each other. (Again, out of fear of losing
>> a dollar because members might arrange a sale outside of eBay).
>>
>> Until eBay starts doing something about the rampant fraud in it's
>> marketplace, I will steer clear as a seller. I still buy things on
>> eBay, but I would rather set an item on fire than sell it there.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> MikeG
>> --
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Galactic Stone & Ironworks : www.galactic-stone.com
>> Facebook : www.facebook.com/galacticstones
>> Instagram : www.instagram.com/galacticstone
>> LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/galacticstone
>> Pinterest : www.pinterest.com/galacticstone
>> Twitter : www.twitter.com/galacticstone
>> Ello : www.ello.com/galacticstone
>> -------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 1/9/17, Ruben Garcia <rubengarcia85382 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Mike G and all,
>>>
>>> FYI, there are two Ruben Garcia's
>>>
>>>
>>> My son Ruben Garcia Jr also sells meteorites and the guy just gave him
>>> bad feedback also.
>>>
>>> The scammer lives in Hong-Kong... He orders a meteorite files a claim
>>> within days gets refunded and then keeps the meteorite and gives
>>> negative feedback. A scam that works perfectly since ebay does not
>>> seem to care
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 4:24 PM, ruben garcia <rubenjgarciajr at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>> Happened to me as well. Call eBay and they will reverse the feedback!
>>>> Report
>>>> and block!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Jan 9, 2017 4:18 PM, "Galactic Stone & Ironworks via Meteorite-list"
>>>> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Ruben and List,
>>>>>
>>>>> This a$$hat sounds like somebody who has a vendetta against the
>>>>> meteorite community. There is no way this is just some random fool who
>>>>> thinks every one of his sellers gave him a bad deal.
>>>>>
>>>>> Are there any clues in the buyer's location, email address, or phone
>>>>> number that might identify who this person actually is? I'd be willing
>>>>> to bet that the person is not using their real name on the account.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is this person filing PayPal cases or eBay disputes, or are they
>>>>> leaving negative feedback while keeping the item?
>>>>>
>>>>> I have had nothing but top-notch service from you, Bob, John, and
>>>>> Mike, so this person is obviously a raving nut or somebody with a
>>>>> vendetta.
>>>>>
>>>>> Best regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> MikeG
>>>>>
>>>>> PS - bull$hit like this is one of the reasons I stopped selling on
>>>>> eBay years ago.
>>>>> --
>>>>>
>>>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> Galactic Stone & Ironworks : www.galactic-stone.com
>>>>> Facebook : www.facebook.com/galacticstones
>>>>> Instagram : www.instagram.com/galacticstone
>>>>> LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/galacticstone
>>>>> Pinterest : www.pinterest.com/galacticstone
>>>>> Twitter : www.twitter.com/galacticstone
>>>>> Ello : www.ello.com/galacticstone
>>>>> -------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 1/9/17, Ruben Garcia via Meteorite-list
>>>>> <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com> wrote:
>>>>> > Bob Cucchiara just told me this guy gave him 5 negative feedback
>>>>> > comments!
>>>>> >
>>>>> > On Mon, Jan 9, 2017 at 2:32 PM, Ruben Garcia
>>>>> > <rubengarcia85382 at gmail.com>
>>>>> > wrote:
>>>>> >> Attention all ebayers.
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> Block ebay user "sfcbertoli"
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> Johnny Humphries just contacted me about eBay user "sfcbertoli"
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> It seems as though he's left negative feedback recently for Mike
>>>>> >> Miller, Johnny Humphries and others for no apparent reason.
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> According to Johnny he had the negative feedback removed through
>>>>> >> ebay
>>>>> >> since this guy only leaves negative feedback.
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> I say block him now and save yourself the trouble.
>>>>> >> --
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> Rock On!
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> Ruben Garcia
>>>>> >>
>>>>> >> www.RubenMrMeteoriteGarcia.com
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > --
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Rock On!
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Ruben Garcia
>>>>> >
>>>>> > www.RubenMrMeteoriteGarcia.com
>>>>> > ______________________________________________
>>>>> >
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>>>>> > and
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>>>>> >
>>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Rock On!
>>>
>>> Ruben Garcia
>>>
>>> www.RubenMrMeteoriteGarcia.com
>>>
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> Rock On!
>
> Ruben Garcia
>
> www.RubenMrMeteoriteGarcia.com
> ______________________________________________
>
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Received on Tue 10 Jan 2017 04:59:43 PM PST


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