eBay the Soap Opera, Reading eBay Feedback

[amy]

Reading eBay feedback gives you an excellent profile of America at the start of the 21st century. Most people are respectful, and the vast majority of transactions occur to mutual satisfaction. But when disagreements arise, they are often wildly overblown, accompanied by sputtering, exclamation-laden, tooth-gnashing tirades. To judge from these reports, no transaction ever falls apart because of a simple misunderstanding between well-intentioned people. When things go sour, it is apparently always because at least one party is a suppurating morsel of human filth. Often, both are.

Here's an actual eBay feedback line from the recent attempted sale of an antique: "DEADBEAT! WACK JOB! FLIM-FLAM ARTIST!"

Here's another, from the sale of a guitar amp: "You sold me trash. I was a fool for buying it but you offload TRASH!"

From the buyer of a lamp: "Item was piece of crap! Wouldn't put in my dog house!"

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...879_2.html

[sneakymagenta]

To judge from these reports, no transaction ever falls apart because of a simple misunderstanding between well-intentioned people. When things go sour, it is apparently always because at least one party is a suppurating morsel of human filth

So true. 

[bargainbloodhound]

eBay feedback comments are mild compared to some of the ones people used to give on Yahoo Auctions during its "unsupervised" period from 2003-mid 2005.