Some people on ebay, like myself and many many others, make their living off ebay. Most ebayers are honest and trustworthy folk, presumably like yourself. We may make mistakes, but, given the opportunity, would do everything we could to correct them as best we could.

As you browse ebay, and see the feedback ratings of the sellers from whom you are considering buying, take note of a couple things:

- If that particular seller has a feedback score of 99.0% or higher, chances are you've found a reputable seller. This seller cares about his feedback rating, as well as his overall standing within the ebay community. This seller is likely going to carry high quality items, with very well-written, highly-detailed descriptions. This seller will likely also have a sound guarantee and/ or return policy. This seller will likely also strive to ensure that the things you order are shipped in a timely manner, generally within 48 hours (some make every effort to ship your item the same day!)

- As you see feedback scores drop below 96 or 97, be somewhat cautious. At 95 or below, you should start seeing red flags.

- Note what that sellers' other trading partners have said about that seller. A reputable seller is not going to want to have negative or mediocre remarks left in this feedback area. A reputable seller is going to do everything to ensure that you, the buyer, is satisfied with your purchase.

That said, if you DO happen to encounter a problem AFTER you have received anything off of ebay, the absolute WORST thing you can do is leave the seller negative feedback WITHOUT first trying to contact the seller first.

If you think you've found a reputable seller, chances are good that he/ she may not responsible for whatever it is causing your disappointment. Could the post office have delayed your delivery for some unknown reason? Could the UPS man have broken the item in transit? Could the seller have simply made an HONEST mistake and sent you a flaming red see-through neglige when you ordered a Black & Decker power drill?

ALWAYS give the seller the benefit of the doubt. There should be no exceptions to this rule! Contact the seller, via email at first, then try calling if email doesn't work. Is it possible the seller had an immediate family emergency and cannot answer emails ASAP? Is it possible the sellers' computer crashed or caught a virus, thus preventing the seller from responding immediately? Of course it is! Be reasonable when trying to contact a trading partner.

Many ebay sellers also have a FT job to pay the bills. Keep this in mind as well. Maybe your seller works 10am - 6pm and can not answer your emails immediately. That's just life.

So what... you ordered a drill and received a red neglige. While you are waiting for a reply from your seller, try it on and see if it fits! You might like it. Barring any emergency or other uncontrollable circumstances, any reputable seller will reply to your email ASAP (typically within 24 hours; usually much sooner). In your intitial email, explain what happened to your seller. Be specific. Mention your ebay user name, the ebay item #, how you paid, when you paid, how much you paid, and include your phone number, too.

In your email, please think twice about what you intend to write. Do NOT be abusive. Do not make threats. Do not get into petty name calling. Don't say you are going to leave the seller a negative if he doesn't refund your money by 3pm. You are not dealing with Wal-Mart or some huge online retailer. You're dealing with another human being, just like yourself. You will get far more accomplished by simply being civil.

Give that buyer the benefit of the doubt. Give him a reasonable amount of time to reply to an email. I would think three days is more than adequate. Then use ebay's contact information to get the sellers phone number. Try calling, and, if you get a recording, leave a message.

If a week has gone by, and no reply, something is obviously wrong, but don't give a negative just yet. If the buyer has 100% positive thus far, does it make sense that NOW he is going to simply ignore YOU??? Of course not. At this point, if a week's gone by, I would assume there's been a death in the family, or that he's won the Powerball, and now, couldn't care less that you have a red neglige instead of your power drill.

After a week, I'd say it's time to get ebay involved. Ebay Live Chat can help walk you through the steps at that point.

Bottom line:

- Give the seller the benefit of the doubt if something is wrong with your received item,

- Remain civil and don't make threats or otherwise act stupid,

- Give the seller every opportunity to correct the problem, and
- Use negative feedback ONLY AS A LAST RESORT!

You and the buyer might just decide to let you keep the red neglige in lieu of the power drill because you liked how it looked on you!

(Also worth mentioning... the absolute first thing I would do after receiving a disappointing item is to first get on ebay and re-read the item listing. Maybe the problem was with ME!!! Maybe I misread or misunderstood the listing when I read it the first time. Ordinary single-item listings CANNOT be altered after a sale, so if you re-read the listing of the item you bought and see that, clearly, you misread or misunderstood the listing, then clearly the seller is not at fault!)

Dennis / CincinnatiGifts