Now, I know it’s been a good while since I’ve written on tumblr, but I’m just pissed off enough to do so. A few days ago, you may have seen my facebook status about how I hate bad eBay sellers. Here’s the entire story, and then some, about that status.

On Feb 8th, I won an auction for a studio flash to continue expanding my experience in photography. I paid for the flash right after the auction ended and the payment cleared the same day. The seller wrote on the listing:

I will ship just as quick as payment is received! Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you may have Thanks and Good luck!

I hadn’t heard from the seller yet, and it had already been two days, so I messaged the seller.

Dear Vickie,

Hi there. Thanks for listing this flash unit! It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for, down to the color. Just wondering when it is going to ship and when I should be expecting it? Thanks much!

-Alex

I waited for a reply. I was getting a little anxious, and found on eBay that given the seller’s handling and shipping method it should arrive on Feb 11th or 12th. So on Feb 12th, after the mail came and went without the flash, I messaged the seller back.

Vickie,

I know I have messaged you once before but I have not received a response. eBay has indicated you received my payment of $264.95 on Feb 8th, and that the estimated delivery date with USPS First Class Mail® expedited shipping should have been Feb 11th or 12th. However, the information on the “My eBay” page indicates you have not yet shipped the item. Between that and the lack of communication, I’m beginning to get a little worried. With your 100% positive feedback I had confidence in you, and with over 550 eBay transactions, you should know how important good communication is with buyers/sellers. Please contact me as soon as possible to put my worries to rest. Thank you.

-Alex

I finally heard back from the ebay seller with some dumb excuse on why she couldn’t send me an email, and also that the unit had shipped. She wrote:

The studio strobe was shipped Saturday with USPS priority mail. I had plans to ship it Friday but my computer went down and I was unable to get it back up until Sat. morning. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you….
 Vickie

Now, here is what the seller posted about the flash in the listing, copied and pasted exactly:

I am an artist and purchased The Alien Bee B800 along with other studio equipment thinking that I would take photography classes and use it to photograph subjects for portraits but sadly it is still sitting in my small unused studio and I have yet to take any classes. I only used it a few times so it’s in perfect condition (The reflector ring does have a few cosmetic blemishes). I fired it before listing it and it worked great. Make sure to check my perfect feedback rating and bid confidently.

I received the flash today Feb. 14th. I noticed the shipping on the package was ten dollars over what I paid for it. She obviously overnighted the package because I got on her ass about it.

 Anyhow, I took it out of the flash out of the box… AND WOW! Needless to say, I was less than thrilled, which prompted another message.

Vickie,

I received the flash unit today and just took it out of the box. The reflector arrived as described with a few cosmetic blemishes, which was fine. The flash unit is not in the “perfect condition” as described in the auction listing. The sync port is loose and pulls completely out of the unit when the sync cord is plugged in. It also does not fire with the camera shutter at all while using sync cord. The flash tube has black inside it on the right side, first few test fires at full power let out some smoke. Also, both sides of the back of the unit have deep scratches which leads me to believe the unit fell or was dropped. I do not intend on keeping this unit, and would like to have my payment refunded. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you, thank you for your time.

-Alex

Sad part is, I’m not exaggerating. I’m so pissed! Luckily for me, there is a return policy. Refund is only given if the item is not as described in listing. The cosmetic damage to the unit alone is enough. Honestly, why would you take the time to point out the small scratches on the reflector while describing the flash as being perfect? On top of that, the unit has a defective sync port. I think it’s safe to say that I am well within the boundaries to get a refund. But once again, I have to wait forever for her to message me back…

Thanks for listening to me vent. I’ll keep you posted.