1. Al (aka "coolstuff159") sold me a $400 poster which he described in "Fine" condition, no defects of note disclosed. It was water damaged (rippling), with a large brownish water stain and obvious felt pen mark bleed-thru in the art. These were not new stains and the package was never wet. Delivery problems aside, this is and always will be the basis of my complaint with Al Shevy. Go here to see the Ebay auction page: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=60332&item=7525124231
And go here to see the actual photos I took upon receiving this poster that Al still maintains was in "Fine" condition:
http://homepage.mac.com/dkuspa/PhotoAlbum11.html
2. I returned the poster to Al, and he told me the package arrived empty and that the contents might have "slipped out". I asked him to take the empty package to his post office to file an insurance claim. Over the next month, I kept trying unsuccessfully to enlist his help in getting a Damage Report from his post office.
3. My PayPal 30-day limit to file a claim had already expired (even before I received the poster, despite paying Al via PayPal on the day the auction ended). By now, my 90-day Ebay feedback window was about to expire, so I go to leave him negative feedback and see that 4 others had left recent negs and that he had made his feedback private. Alarm bells rang and I alerted the MOPO list.
Several MOPO'ers have contacted me privately to offer words of support and to relate their own bad experiences with Al. And a few members had the guts to challenge Al publicly on the list, not just over facts that I've presented but on some of his own statements. But when most members remain silent while Al continues to mischaracterize my motives in post after post, I wonder if they by now they think I'm the bad guy. Al wants you to believe that I'm harassing him and gloating over his many problems with other buyers and being suspended from eBay. Recently, I posted the news that Al's negative feedbacks had doubled and that he was no longer a registered member to add further evidence that backs up my original warning about this seller. If additional information turns up about the stolen contents from Al's empty packages, you can bet I will post that info here as well.
I finally got his post office to return the empty package to me so I could file the insurance claim on my end. It was slit open with a razor knife, but the internal cardboard sandwich was still inside (its tape sliced too), so it's impossible for the poster alone to have slipped out. I personally don't see how the mail carrier could not have noticed that the end was open (and neither could the postal clerk in Florida as she described it to me over the phone), but this is only my opinion. Coincidentally, another buyer of a $2,400 book claims that Al sent him an empty box. The delivery problems are suspicious, but I can't say anything more than there may be a pattern to them. Al wants to focus on delivery problems since he has plenty of excuses for those.
Let me re-state clearly that the crux of my complaint with Al Shevy is his misleading auction photo, description and grading (several other buyers made condition complaints in his negative feedbacks). Go look at the evidence and you can judge for yourself whether my conclusion is reasonable. If Al had described the poster accurately and disclosed its significant defects, I never would have bid on it in the first place and we wouldn't be here. I also have a problem with his business practices and behavior. All you have to do is read Al's posts to make up your own mind on these issues. I'm not afraid of feedback retaliation and will issue negative feedback to sellers who grossly misrepresent their items. I've only had to do this 4 times out of 150 sellers over the past 6 years of buying on Ebay, and each time I've been given a retaliatory negative in return. But it's worth it to warn others about bad experiences with sellers.
Finally, this message to Al: when people repeatedly get upset with you, instead of making counter-accusations, excuses and a lot of noise, do yourself a favor and learn to recognize the dysfunctional pattern. We cannot control how others will respond to us, only how we choose to respond to them. Admitting your faults is disingenuous and just another excuse if the same antagonistic pattern continues to define your relationships with others.
__David
on 10/22/05 9:55 PM, Al Shevy at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Susan As in Daves case that is WHAT was done. And it turned into this.And before I say anything else I want to say that I APOLOGIZE for the name calling.I will no longer be responding to Dave or about this anymore but I do want to respond to Susan because she asked in a KIND way .
Dave returned the poster to me INSURED. When it was delivered it was left at my neighbors house. When I was given the package it was empty. It looked like the poster had come out through the taped area on the package. Like it was thrown or something.I don't know but it was open and there was no poster. I told Dave this and he was upset. I don't blame him. I told him that we had to file a claim. I filed the claim and then NOTHING HAPPENED. I received a letter that asked me to take the empty package to MY post office and I did that.I copied the paper work THAT I HAD and dropped everything off. Then Dave started sending me emails that they had nothing. Where is the DAMAGE CLAIM??? I told him what I had done and that I could do nothing else and we had to wait . That I had no damage claim just the letter they sent and I had it DATE stamped to prove I had dropped it off. So he keeps sending me emails asking me to fax a DAMAGE CLAIM and I keep telling him THEY NEVER GAVE ME ONE.He gets mad.He tells me to call a woman at the post office to give her the info I had.I call the number he gave me and they SAY THEY NEVER HEARD OF HER. Anyways I ask them about the item and they look it up and tell me that DAVE had not shown them the INS RECEIPT and that was the hold up. So I tell him this and he says that no that's not true.That he did show them the receipt.I BELIEVE HIM. He then comes back again about I need to fax a DAMAGE REPORT to the fax number. I tell him yet AGAIN THAT I NEVER RECEIVED ONE.Then he goes can I go to where I dropped it off and get them to do it. I tell him I will the next time I go there. He sends me a SNOTTY email about how I ripped him off and I OWE HIM. I tell him I am trying to help him and to BACKOFF or I will stop helping because I am getting tired of this also. He then sends me another snotty email and I get mad and start cussing.In the meantime I go to my post office and they cant find anything. lucky for me I saved the paper work I had and show it to them and they remember that I did do it and they promise me they will look into it. I wait a week.I get 3 more emails from Dave.I tell him there is nothing more I can do and I am mad so I am cussing up a storm. So I call claims office and I spend 4HOURS on the phone getting it looked into .They give me good news that they found it and that they are looking into it.I was HAPPY as can be. So I get Daves number from EBAy and try to call him. I call for 2 days. No response. Next thing I know he has left me NEG FEEDBACK and started this nonsense on HERE. He emails me that he will not speak to me because he does not want to hear my abusive language(yea right) and that he is going to SMEAR*(my term not his) my name and do what he is doing.The rest you all know. I don't know if they ever paid him or not and by the way this has all turned out I no longer care but I did what I could and this is what I got.
In the mean time I sale a SPIDER MAN 1 and the buyer says that I ripped him off and that he received a empty package. He leaves me NEG feedback and files a PAYPAL claim the day he receives the package. No email no call just all these actions without giving me a chance to do anything.Paypal takes 2400.00 out of my account. I insured the book and sent it REGISTERED SIGNED RECEIPT in 6 days. PAYPAL tells me that I don't fall under SELLER Protection because the PAYPLE claim is filed under ITEM NOT RECEIVED and that it is not covered under SELLER PROTECTION. I tell them that the item WAS RECEIVED that the buyer said the PACKAGE was empty. They said they told him to FILE it that way. SO I could do nothing about it. So now I am waiting on the INS claim from the POST office and have YET to hear any POSITIVE news on that. So Dave sees this and makes a big deal of it.
Then I have a guy send me back 2 books that he paid 300.00 for.He says that they were not in the cond that I sold them as.I tell him to send them back and I will look at them. I get them and they are NOT THE BOOKS I sent him.They are BEAT UP much worse books that he has obviously replaced with the ones I sent him. I tell him I am returning them. THey were sent INSURED. They were signed for. He files a claim with his CREDIT CARD company.PAYPAL pulls the money from my account.They will not cover me as it is a ITEM NOT AS DESCRIBED. I cant file a INS claim because they are not MY BOOKS. So the guy gets my books. He gets the Money. I get his books that are falling apart. I loose the money and I cant do a thing about it. I send Paypal the proof that they are not my BOOKS. I have photos. I have the delivery confirm.They say they can do nothing that it is a CIVIL case and I'm suppose to open a case for 2 books that are worth 300.00. Yea right. So much for seller protection and INS.
Heres the best one and a WARNING TO ALL. If you send ANYONE a item paid for through PAYPAL and it is not a confirmed address they will not PAY THE CLAIM.And most FOREIGN paypal accounts are UNCONFIRMED. I've had 5 FOREIGN sales claim they did not receive the item I sent. I sent them registered mail and they showed proof of delivery.PAYPAL said since it was a unconfirmed address I could not file the claim.
As to why it takes me the time it does to send items does not really matter but I will tell you why since you ask. I want to point out that I do tell people I am slow and it takes me up to 30 days to ship items.I am late on THAT quite often. I publish a magazine. I also do html and other web work and also work with a friends SPORTS merchandise company I have known for years. I work many hours . The items I sale are my personal items I have collected over the years and I have 1000s of items. I have been selling them. It is NOT MY BUSINESS. It is something I do on the side and I pack when I can and it is slow and I admit I HATE doing it. I am the first to admit that I am not a PROFESSIONAL store or any kind of business in this while many say because of the AMOUNT of items I sale I am. I have no customer service. I do this by myself and I do sale a lot of items so it does take me a lot a time and I am slow and late all the time. But I do send the items and I do create a lot of the problems myself because of this. I admit it. But I am not a thief and I fully admit I suck at mailing on any time sced.I don't hide this. But when I am accused of being a thief that's where it stops.
Sorry this is so long winded and I know many of you are sick of me.I will try and not comment on this anymore.
Al
