Ethical Or Not?

I don't know about the NOT leaving negative feedback. What if you were the high bidder on a stamp that you've been trying to add to your collection for months or years. You won it, even though very few others bid and you got it for $2 even though all of the other stamps of this type over the months and years have been selling for $50 or more every single time! You paid immediately, waited for shipment, and then a couple of days later got a refund. Then you saw the exact same stamp relisted by the seller and this time it sold for the usual $50+! This is pretty much the same situation (IF the seller is selling on multiple sites, offline, etc.) and in that case, I'd definitely leave a neg for shady business practices.

If the seller admitted that he's dual listing to get the most out of auctions/sales and then giving the highest bidder on multiple sites the item, that's terrible business and at the very least deserves a negative feedback and a report to ebay. Of course never deal with them again...that goes without saying. But that doesn't do anything to protect others who will be subject to these practices in the future.

Just because you got a refund doesn't mean you weren't ripped off. But that's just my opinion of course...

agreed with bw

agree with bw also

I had a similar experience with a auction site / dealer from Argentina.
First time -
I won 2 auctions but the item descriptions were incorrect (apparently someone posted the wrong pics or imputed the wrong info )and they refused to ship the the items described in the auction (I did receive 2 emails, including invoices to Paypal confirming what I had won).
1 week later I give them the benefit of the doubt and bid on 2 more lots that I won..This time they again refund my payment and refused to ship the items, I guess the bidding didn't reach their expectations so they refused to deliver...
Although I didn't lose any money, it was a very disappointing experience.
Complaints to the Auction site went no where.
Paul

thats better than having the buyer win then not pay and beg you to cancel the transaction when you oblige they leave negative feedback. what a sham

I don't know if this seller advertises here, or anywhere else Bob. I just know I was disappointed. I did not leave any feedback on the four items in question but did give him/her very cold positive feedback on the items shipped.

I won't do business there again, that's for sure.

I agree most definitely unethical. When selling at auction you hope two people want your lot and the price goes up. If there is only one bidder the price remains low. That is what a reserve is for! I got caught early on in my ebay experience where I bid and won a stamp that had been copied from a book and put up for auction. I paid my money and got nothing and then he was closed down. Before the days off paypal insurance. One bad deal in over 400 purchases not bad I think.

Once I bid on 'NZ 4 mint" there was no picture so I assumed it to be NZ Scott or SG 4 but it turned out to be 4 mint stamps!

I think that the whole issue related to the feedback is really interesting. We have a case here of behavior that is clealry unethical. And, if this were a physcial public auction, might it not be actually illegal? Yet some on this thread, while conceding that bad behavior, wouldn't leave negative feedback. I am curious as to the reasons why.

For myself, I'd have to plead guilty. There were a number of times that I had dealings with a bad egg on ebay, who misrepresented his product or terms of sale, seriously at times. When it came time to leave the feedback, I punted and simply left none. The reasons? I suppose I didn't want the hassle, I was concerned about a retaliation in the form of the rating on me. I had had a bad experience and just didn't feel I wanted to have a deeper and more unpleasant experience solely because I wanted to "warn" parties unknown to me in the future. I think I might be typical because there really isn't much negative feedback being left at ebay, and I don't think thats because the folks are all angels.

What do you all think about why people don't leave negative feedback.

ldhaber: I have to say that you're probably similar to most in that line of thinking. No one wants to hurt their own feedback score or deal with emails of someone ranting about "WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME A NEGATIVE?!? YOU GOT YOUR STAMPS / REFUND!!" I have 100% positive but only have a little over 150 feedbacks even though I've been on ebay since '98. I'm not some powerseller / powerbuyer. I deal on there when I have something to sell or want to buy something. If there's a problem, I try to wait until the other party has posted my feedback. I also do like the star system because in minor issues, it allows me to give some sort of feedback without a negative.

But I would risk a return negative if something like the above happened to me. What would that knock me down to? 99.5? I'd take a hit like that...it would be worth it to me.

I personally wouldn't leave negative feedback as the issue was made right without any further involvement. Yes, I may have been left out of some great items at a great price due to a bad business practice in dual listing, but at least the seller didn't just take my money and disappear from the Internet. I would have received at least part of the lot and refunded what was owed for the items I didn't end up with; I didn't pay any more than I should have.

I have no hesitation about using a sharp virtual tongue to leave an unholy barrage of negative feedback, but I don't feel it's due in this instance. Yes I would be upset that I was cheated out of some of the lot, but in the end I paid for what I received. I wouldn't want to jeopardize someone's trading future over a potentially one off misjudgment. Perhaps I'm a little too forgiving?

I could care less if a seller leaves me bad feedback on StampWants since I have over 4000 positives, and I don't think they can retaliate on ebay at all now.

I didn't leave negative feedback because the seller did refund the appropriate amount for the stamps plus my full shipping costs. He also cancelled the lots, so technically I didn't have a legitimate complaint anyway.

I think we all agree that it's an unfair business practice and in my world, those kind of people always pay in the end.

ok I am convined we should have a store section here only for members. What do you think my dear mods?