A lot of you guys probably know that I buy a lot of stuff on eBay. I mean, a lot. In all the times I've bought things on eBay over the last 10 or 12 years, there's only been two times that I wanted to leave feedback that wasn't positive. One was negative and was a while ago, and the latest one was just recently and I posted a neutral feedback on a seller. I didn't like the way he treated me, his communication really sucked, he held my package for an additional 5 days for no reason, and then he charged me an extra $20 for a homemade cardboard box, which was really just two smaller boxes cut open and taped together to make one bigger box. I posted neutral feedback and gave him low marks for shipping cost, the time it took to ship, and seller communication. That was about two weeks ago. Today I checked his page, and that feedback is gone. No doubt in my mind that he called eBay and whined and they took it down for him. The first time I posted something other than positive feedback was when I was extremely mad about the way they packed my item and I left negative feedback. That was a few years ago, but that feedback disappeared within a week.

The point is, a lot of people rely on the feedback ratings for different sellers to see if they are trustworthy. What good does that do us if the seller can simply have negative feedback removed? If you go to the same eBay seller that I posted neutral feedback on right now, his page says 100% positive feedback, as though he's never had a problem with anyone. There's no doubt in my mind that this is not the first time he has had negative or neutral feedback removed.

So I'm mainly posting this so guys won't look at a seller's feedback and see 100% positive and think that means he's a good seller. It might just mean that he's had all the bad stuff taken down.

I have not had any problems with ebay but other sites like on facebook I now watch out for plus the occasional package from Amazon with a third party shipping in a box that has damage and parts are missing refund works .
Thanks
jimmy

Ebay looks out for the seller, not the buyer because they pay the fees. The ones who get my goat are the ones who don't leave feedback after you've paid. As far as I am concerned, after I pay, I have completed my part of the contract and I expect to get positive feedback left for me and the item I've purchased.

The eBay feedback system is bad. It used to be pretty fair, now it seems to benefit whomever whines the most. For the most part sellers I've encountered on eBay are pretty good. It's the buyers for me that have always been a PITA. There are just some real a--holes out there. I measure good customer service as how a person handles problems, but there are sooo many scammers out in the world today it's hard to believe people anymore. That's part of the reason why I record all serial numbers of items I sell and require the person to return it to me to get their refund. Ebay has screwed me on a couple of occasions, but I've been a member for 22 years and completed over 600 transactions. Three bad transactions in 22 years isn't bad.

I didnt think you could get rid of feedback? But I suppose if there's a will there's a way.

I do see that ebay is adding wierd things to my sales - like adding handling fees - when I don't have that box selected to charge the person. I also see they added sales tax on one transaction. This is on an item I bought and paid the tax on locally. So why is the person being charged sales tax again on a personal sale. hmm. I also have made a cardboard protective box on occassion - because I didn't have a standard box to fit it in. This was to hopefully protect the item. I'm shipping it through Universal Package Smashers (UPS) - so hopefully it doesn't get destroyed. But I would not charge extra for the box I made. My point is I wouldn't assume mal intent on behalf of the sellar. There is a lot going on behind the scenes from ebay. Love em or hate em it is a good way to sell hobby stuff fast and conveniently.

I think the more you do something, the more opportunity to have a bad experience. If you buy a lot of stuff on ebay, and I have on occasion as well - we should be prepared for the occasional disappointment. It comes with the territory. I try to buy only from high positive feedback sellers, or folks who are makers (such as yourself) - so I know who and what I'm getting.

No particular rant - just my random thoughts.

I never look at the feedback. As you pointed bad feedback is deleted and most good feedback is fake.

Everything I review on my hobby website are 100% honest reviews, but a friend gave me some Telegram groups where you can have TONS of free stuff in Amazon giving good reviews in exchange. Watches, GPS, gadgets... Literally thousands of free new items every day.
So beware, loads of the amazon reviews, specially those with 5 stars and pictures, are fake/dishonest. Personaly I only got 4 items doing that, and because were items I really needed and 3 of them were good and the 4th a POS. But if you want your money back you have to write a good review, but I know people getting decenes of orders like that every week.

So yeah, Id not bother with reviews. If you don't get your item fill a claim in the platform and done.

I'll continue to use ebay, I just wanted our members to hear this experience so they would know that feedback ratings can be deceptive, and from your replies it sounds like there's lots I'm missing, like the amazon reviews. I didn't know until now that some of those five star reviews might be coerced by free stuff. I guess my main point is, Be careful out there, Guys, and don't believe everything you read. I'll also continue to use paypal when I buy on ebay, since they offer six months of protection versus the 30 days offered by ebay.

Thanks Gary good post

Lol, yes, the Amazon free stuff works like this:
There are telegram groups where free stuff is uploaded daily, about 200 different items every day on each group.
Then you click in what you want to order. Wait a bit and order it.
You receive it, and write a 5 star review, wait until published, and you give the link to the guy in telegram and you in 4-5 days you get the money back in your paypal.

The groups I know (at least 5) are for people living in Spain only, but I have seen there are groups like that at least in Germany and in the UK, so I am sure there are loads in the US.

Is a pity things are like this, but...

I buy from E-Bay I have never sold on that medium,
I always give feedback and to date it has been both honest and positive I think that is because before I buy from a particular dealer I check them out so I already know that I am dealing with a straight shooter before money and goods are exchanged,
It makes being truthful a whole lot easier,
I recommend it.

That's the whole point, Shaun, when most people "check them out" the first place they go is feedback. 100% positive feedback looks great, but how much negative feedback has been removed (if any)? Perhaps you have another method of determining if a seller is a straight shooter?

That is my point.
How much bad feedback has been removed?
How much good feedback is honest?

So that is why I just ignore it. If the parcel arrives, fine. If not, well, let paypal solve it.

I have a question. I'm currently trying to get my money back on a Ripsaw tank. On plugging the battery in, the circuit board started to burn up within a minute of just holding it in the air and running the tracks, and the steering didn't work. The seller is sticking to not refunding me more thasn 30%, saying that according to eBay and his rules, the tank has to be return for a full refund, and returning it would not be cost effective due to the low price of the thing anyway. Previously, he had offered me a partial refund to allow me to get ti fixed at a "local shop". Of course there are no fix it shops in USA that I know of.

I also believe that eBay probably doesn't have any rules on full refunds only with return of the physical product. Is that so?

What are my options at this point? Do I go through eBay... or do I go thru PayPal to try and force a full refund of approx $60? My other thought was to post the sellers name on RC Universe and RC Groups forum. What sub forum would be best to post on, Tank forums or a general forum on these two major groups?

Go through Ebay first. They will open a case with the seller and can force a refund. Ebay has a product representation clause that basically say if the product does not meet what the seller said it was, you have the right to return and get a full refund. So if it's used/working and it arrives used/non-working, you get a refund. If it's new/working as stated and arrives new/non-working then the Ebay guarantee can kick in.

I just went through this with a hand held radio that looks like an army prc-152. I bought one specifically from Los Angeles incase I had to return it. I ve already had one with a mic problem and a friends was wacky. But they are fun not so cheap radio toys that acutally use the real accessories from miltiary stuff.
Any way, radio put out 1 watt on low power and supposed to do 5 on high but barely made 2. I have plenty of RF test equipment and seller wouldnt believe me. Demaded a video. I gave him a good description. He said he needed pictures so I got it all out again and did it and took good pics. I sent him a step by step with picutes and just wanted an exchange. He stone walled me with my picture of the low power test back with the screen circled in red and said your problem is radio is set to low power and its my fault.
I went ballastic. So I went and left him negative feedback and then opened a claim. Ebay took my side right away and made him pay me 77 bucks to ship the radio back to him in china. Its on the way there now. AS soon as it hits the customs I am elligable for a refund. The guy fought me real hard because he didnt want to pay for it to come to china. I told him he was better off having me hit it with a hammer and take pictures and just refund me or send a new one. What a PIA. Well, waiting for my 300 bucks back now.

You need to go back in a few weeks and check to see if the negative feedback is still there. And please keep us posted, Rich.

An unrelated question to my post above: There's an item that Torro.de carries. Apparently, a US company called Zandatoys works with them, buying things for resale. They were even mentioned by Torro.de as a possible place to buy from when I asked them for possible alternatives. I am in USA.
Zandatoys has a website, but also sells on eBay. So you can buy through either way. It's a little more expensive on Zandatoys-eBay than Torro.de. The Zandatoys website hides its prices until you sign up with them. Zandatoys is a top rated seller 99%+, but closely examining the feedback, the negatives and neutrals all seem to be high ticket item tanks, and the positive feedback mainly accessories/ spare parts. At least my interpretation.

So question: Should I buy from Torro.de?
If so, should I go DHL or more $ FedEx? 50 vs 75 Euros.
Would there be any customs issues? I bought a Schwimmwagon from Torro.de and it came to doorstep, no prob, was FedEx I think since it had a battery in it..
Would it be safer to go with Zandatoys, or Zandatoys--> eBay, seeing as how it ships from a California location, and can be returned if it gets damaged, assuming seller is willing...or eBay is willing?

One thread on this forum over a year ago is about Zandatoys not having good customer service about a Torro tank not binding, but that is the sole instance I can find. The buyer couldn't return it anyway, because he had started painting it.

Imex and other USA sources are out of stock or never will restock status.

Exactly which Torro tank are you trying to Buy?

And as long as we're on the subject of unreliable information on the internet, a lot of people don't know that USPS tracking can't always be trusted. A while back I bought an item on eBay, the item was located in Arizona. They provided me a tracking number and I watched tracking as the item moved from Arizona to Utah to Indiana to Ohio to Michigan, and that's where it stopped and sat for several days. I finally called the post office to find out what was going on and it turned out that the item itself was actually still in Arizona. The woman told me that what I saw on the tracking site were "system-generated updates". In other words, that's where the computer thinks the items should be at that time. Ever since then I've always looked at Post Office tracking with a grain of salt. Especially during the pandemic, I don't think I've had one single item arrive on time since last March. Everything I've gotten that was delivered by USPS was at least one to two days late, compared to the expected delivery date they first posted at their tracking site. In fact, I currently have two packages delivered by the post office that said on the tracking site they would be delivered by January 5th. I got one on the 7th and I'm still waiting for the other one.

It all comes down to what I said above, just be careful out there, guys, and don't believe everything you read.

Actually a 1/24 FOV Panzer IV, sold by Torro, but I believe same as Wathersons.

So is it better to buy from torro.de FedEx or DHL, or this more $ reseller with stock in the States, an eBay store with excellent feedback for 1/16 parts, accessories, non tank stuff...BUT with the three or four negative or neutral feedback all from mainly RTR Torro tanks or high ticket rc cars?

The other sub-topic I posted about above, is about an eBay seller who won't give me a refund on a SG 1203 about $57 Ripsaw tank that burned up it's circuit board within a minute of plugging in. Thanks for the advice on that, after stalling and the runaround for a week from seller, I've asked for a refund thru eBay. I now have to wait four days for a response.

I usually don't even bother with ebay, I go straight to paypal. I first go online for a one-time passcode and I usually get things resolved with just one call. You just have to be nice to the people at paypal, and they'll usually be nice to you.

I really don't know anything about 1/24 tanks or the vendors that sell them so instead of maybe giving you bad advice I think I'll just keep quiet.

The USPS is a GIANT joke. At least once a week I get a phone call from a guy who lives six miles away who keeps getting my mail. We have different street names but our address numbers are the same. I've called the PO on numerous occasions and have been told that the router, a human being, is the one making the mistake. Well teach him/her to read.

Zanda is a dropshipper for Torro.

Yesterday I had another little episode with the post office, I was waiting for a package and tracking said that it arrived in my city at 6:32 in the morning and then went out for delivery at 6:43. When I called the post office the lady said that that was not them, that was a system generated update and the package would be delivered the next day. That night tracking changed to ready for pickup, even though it was never scheduled for pickup and the carrier brought it to my house the next day. So the tracking entries that said it was out for delivery and then ready for pickup we're both system-generated updates and were not the truth. Once again, you can't believe everything you read.