World's Worst EBay Sellers

This seller (eBay ID "driftwd") shipped this toaster in its original box without using the original packing material so the toaster was free to slide from end to end. It beat itself up in shipment until the handle broke. The sharp edges of the handle poked through both the original box and the outer box because there was only padding on five sides of the six-sided box.

This is an understandable mistake if you've never shipped anything before, but driftwd (Gene Baker) has over 4000 positive feedback points. I offered to return the item for a refund but Gene said "you should've bought insurance." I contacted the Post Office and they said there is no way they would have paid a claim on an item packed this carelessly. Gene couldn't get his head around the concept that insurance isn't a license to pack irresponsibly. He said I was trying to scam him.

Let's think about this scam of mine: I buy toasters and pay to have them shipped to me. Then I bust them up and offer to pay to send them back in return for the seller refunding my purchase price. At $10-$12 shipping in each direction I lose $20-$24 per toaster in this "scam".

This is the kind of inability to think critically that plagues the ranks of bad eBay sellers.

Even though I paid in full for this item and paid within minutes of the end of the auction, Gene gave me negative feedback as revenge for me pointing out his incompetent packing job.

This one was a real shame. This was one of the finest original T-20 toasters I've ever seen on eBay. The shipper ("beachmoney") wrapped the toaster in newspaper. Note she didn't crumple the paper and pack around it, but rather she sat the toaster on a stack of newspaper and pulled the newspaper up tight around the toaster. Even though there was perhaps a quarter-inch of paper between the handles and the box, there was no other padding.

I offered to send this back at my expense and have her refund just the purchase price. She said "There is absolutely no way that toaster could've broken in transit! It was packed GREAT.... Guess you should've insured."

Here's another shipper who thinks buying insurance means you aren't responsible for your own actions. If you shoot someone and they don't have medical insurance, that doesn't mean you won't go to jail. If you pack a toaster with insufficient padding, that doesn't mean the insurance company will pay. You're responsible when you do something dumb.

In this case I was able to get a refund through PayPal for the full amount, including shipping. Had Lorna agreed to deal with me directly she could've avoided reimbursing me for the shipping costs. But again, she's another person who  would rather be bitter and angry than take responsibility and save some money.

SELLER:
EBay ID: Beachmoney
Name: Lorna Jackson
Email: peeps@wcoil.com, sunmoney@wcoil.com, beachmoney@wcoil.com, beachbucks@hotmail.com
Address: 1202 Rice Avenue, Lima, OH 45805