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Being a power seller on eBay, I have had my fair share of frustrating buyers. Since most buyers are anxious to get their merchandise, they pay immediately and leave feedback the moment the package arrives and is ripped open. Then there are the other 1%. Let's look at them a little more closely.

Some people click on "Buy It Now" and think that they are done. After you have filed an unpaid item dispute, they respond with "I bought that a week ago and I never received it." As a seller you have to be patient and remind them that they did not pay for the item. I have dubbed these the "BIN-nuts".

Other people win an auction, bidding feverishly until the last 10 seconds, and wait until next Thursday to email you and ask where to send a money order. I have been known to place the words "For the 9th time" in the subject line of the winning buyer notification that I send them with my name and address. I just call these the "wieners" (scrunch your face up and whine "winners").

I think my favorites are the ones that assume that shipping costs of $1.32 entitles them to priority shipping. Two days after I notify them that I have shipped their items, they have filed an "Item Not Received" dispute. Never mind that I shipped on a Saturday, Monday was a national holiday and their package is not due to them until Friday. I can picture them standing with an umbrella by the mail box. These are the "patience is not my virtue" bunch.

How about the "mangled in the mail" buyers? Although insurance is always a choice, they have never once purchased it. Statistically, this increases the probability that their package will be delivered by the Samsonite gorilla by 100 fold. They are certain that before I mailed their package I let our dogs "play" with it. Call them the "couldn't happen to me" crowd.

Then you have the "feedback blackmailers". These are the buyers who have never read about feedback. Buyers assume that when they pay, sellers should race to the computer and leave glowing feedback for them (even if it took them 12 days to pay). Sellers know that you have to be certain that the buyer actually received the merchandise they bought from you and correct any mistakes before you leave feedback. When you remind them to leave feedback, they want to know what you are waiting for in not leaving them feedback.

Last, but certainly not less frustrating, are the "I never got it" buyers. They will never cease to amaze me. These rip off artists even have the audacity to sell the second product you send them on eBay! I have come to know the value of sixty cents-the current cost for delivery confirmation.

Fortunately, you forget these nasty buyers when you have 100 good ones who are amazed that their package was actually shipped the same day and arrived packed firmly in "ghost poop". When you look back, all you can do is shake your head and laugh!

Learn more about this author, Ann Marie Dwyer.
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