Oh, Lydia, how wildly frustrating! I didn't realize that we can't leave negative feedback for buyers. What's the justification for that stupid rule?

I'm wondering why this woman hasn't been thrown off eBay.

Not sure what I'd do in your circumstances. Is eBay likely to object to a positive with negative comments?

Yes, I think that is what you should do. I don't see the point of feedback at all any more if we can't leave a negative for someone who deserves it. Somebody at eBay had a very bad idea about this whole thing.

I think I will and if eBay objects I guess they can take it away.

I checked over at toolhaus.org and you can read false positive feedbacks if you check the box for them. The link below says the seller should put NEGATIVE in the feedback so it'll show up in the toolhaus search.

Link for Toolhaus

Here is a link that might be useful: Toolhaus and False Positives

Write to Ebay and explain what happened... they may just void your neg. And tell them that it is not fair that the buyer can jack you around with no recourse for the seller, but it's okay for the buyer to do harm for NO REASON.

If enough people complain and show eBay what they are doing is totally unfair and unbalanced, they might just change the policy back to what it was before.

And also,,, if she has not paid within the terms of the auction, you can file for a Non paying bidder.

PVP

Nope, eBay won't take a negative away for any reason anymore ...even if it is a mistake by the giver.

She plans on sending payment (which I will just send back) within ebay time limits (so many days after the dispute is filed), although just responding to the dispute which she has done keeps her from getting a strike. A buyer (using this term loosely) can even say "I changed my mind" or whatever they want in the dispute and it doesn't matter. They responded and that's all eBay cares about. If they don't respond then they will get a strike (they need 3 to get NARUed I think).

That is just so aggravating, Lydia. Sounds like you've done your homework though and have found a way to get your point across in spite of the stupid new rules.

Ebay should watch out, they'll lose a lot of sellers if this happens enough times.

I'm sorry you got burned. And good for you for refusing to sell it to her regardless. I like it when people stand by their principles. I'd burn it before I let her have it. How DARE she even think you'd send it to her now? She has no more recourse where you are concerned. She gave you her negative WAY too soon, the fool.

I have a lot of friends that sell. There should be a place that sellers should be able to go and list names from buyers like her so other sellers can block them from bidding on their items also. Does ebay still continue to allow blocked bidders?

Mingo said And good for you for refusing to sell it to her regardless. I like it when people stand by their principles. I'd burn it before I let her have it. How DARE she even think you'd send it to her now? Oh, how I wish it was the kidney she needed! (just joking, kind of! lol)

I'm pretty sure we can still block bidders. While I was doing all those google searches though I found an ebayer who got someone NARUed by giving them their 3rd strike ...then the NARUed bidder just opened a new account with a new user ID, bought an item from the original seller and then left the retaliatory feedback.

This has always been one of my biggest fears selling on ebay, so far I have been lucky. And Luck it is! You never know who you are dealing with, and there are some real weirdos out there.
Yours takes the cake, and to think she thinks she can buy the item....I would tell her I would throw it away before I let her have her paws on it.
What a creep.
And yes, I would leave her whatever you can to get your point across.
Start it with a huge **WARNING**
I hope you cross paths with many wonderful buyers. Sorry this happened.

Trin

Lydia you have until May 19th before Sellers can't leave a neutral or negative feedback for buyers.
It is still up in the air if transactions conducted before May 19th can or cannot give a negative after that date.

Ebay hasn't really addressed this issue.
Susan

Thanks Susan, I hope you are right! I couldn't find anything that gave the exact date, just May 2008. If I can't leave the negative, I'll leave a false positive.

Just one of many reasons some people aren't selling on ebay anymore. Between the ridiculous feedback changes and the fee changes it has become such a different arena that many seller's are opting out.
Ebay is trying to get more of the pie, so they have upped the fees to the point that you need to sell on a large scale in order to make a profit in the end.
In Australia, Ebay is forcing buyers to use Paypal only - as a test that they may or may not implement in other countries. Why? Because then they get a percentage of every money transaction on the site.
Ebay has gotten very greedy over the past few years. Etsy has taken some of the business away. Craigslist, some. Only a matter of time before another site pops up that isn't so money hungry.
As I have said previously, I made a lot of money on ebay over the first few years. If the tax department ever looks at my ebay transactions for the first 3 years I was on there I am probably gonna get a bill. But it's a whole different ballgame these days, and often too time intensive for the rewards. I still buy things occasionally, but my selling days are over on ebay.
Can't say that I miss the daily trek to the post office.
Suzan J

Good update!! I tried leaving the winning bidder a negative and it went through. Then I reread the dispute info and was able to close the dispute since she did respond, get my FVF refunded and she has a strike against her!! Woohoo! Hopefully mine is her third and we can get her off eBay! I'll check later to see if my negative goes away - it will if she gets NARUed.

I'm not sure how much all this will change once the new rules go into effect in a couple days.

Here is what it said when I ended the dispute:
Dispute status: Closed: FVF Granted
This dispute has been closed because you ended communication with the buyer. You'll get a Final Value Fee credit and the buyer will get an Unpaid Item strike.

Now I'm scared to sell anything, although I've blocked her from bidding. I'll wait a month or so to list anything just to be on the safe side. She seems very vindictive. If I end up at the bottom of the lake you'll know who did it.

Lydia, my idiot buyer that left me a retaliatory negative got NARU'd and that negative never went away. And he's probably back under another new name, he was making money selling copies of movies that he recorded on his VCR, complete with commercials, he got some of his own negs for that.

I had to LOL at your kidney comment. People like her drive you to drink, I know. Good luck!

I'd advise against leaving what's known as a "False positive" or in other words a positive feedback with a negative comment.

According to an eBay presentation available at
http://www.scribd.com/word/full/2896362?access_key=key-2hpldecd5m7fj2m59bmy
on slide 15 it describes the practise as considered feedback abuse.

That would open any seller leaving false positives open to sanctions by eBay.

I know that's not what most of you guys wanted to hear :-(

Here is a link that might be useful: TameBay

Flamingo, I found this at a eBay answer board:
All feedbacks, positive , neutral, and negative , left by
members suspended indefinitely within 90 days of
regsitering are removed.

Starting May, if a user is indefinitely suspended after
the 90 days, only the negatives and neutrals left for others will be removed. That's from the January 29, 2008
announcement. My old negative is from a NARUed eBayer too, so hopefully you and I will lose those negatives soon!

Chris, thanks for the info. I think there's going to be a lot of false positives given out though and I doubt eBay will be able to keep up with it all. I think eBay is going to regret their new feedback rules.