One place where you should not even think of going is into the eBay forums! There are many what some might call "lurking trolls" that go into those forums and will rip you into pieces! Many are smart mouthed kids who have been hired by eBay. These kids create new eBay user ID's in order to hide behind. They then go into the forums, act like they know it all, and then Google search you. They will place personal information about you on these forums, so that the entire world can view. eBay will not remove these forums until you obtain a court order.
Most recently, I made the mistake of entering the forum and they ripped me apart along with the classes that I teach. This went on for 52 pages and this forum remains on eBay to this very day.
I am now a victim of online defamation from an eBay Forum. Members who have disguised themselves by going under new user ID's have revealed important information about me on the forum, have attacked my character, and are now planning to gather together and cause trouble for me at my places of employement and eBay is allowing all of this to happen and even contributed to the defamation of my character through one of their employees and all of this is posted on the forum!
I have been an independent eBay instructor for 4 years and teach a variety of subjects at 11 different schools and colleges. I refuse to become a Certified eBay Instructor, because I refuse to teach the courses that eBay demands their instructors to teach. I have a different curriculum, I sell my own books, I have created my own website for my students and I have been extremely successful in this business. The average eBay instructor teaches at 1 to 2 schools, but I teach at 11. I bring more money into eBay and Paypal through the hundreds of students I teach yearly then the majority of eBay's instructors.
On November 7, 2007 I asked an innocent question on one of eBay's forums regarding the many problems I've had recently encountered with eBay and my belief that these problems were caused by an eBay employee and hoped that possibly the forums would be monitored and eBay just might contact me since they had ignored my previous emails regarding these problems. As each day continued, more problems seemed to develop which now makes me believe this is not a coincidence. Some of the answers were helpful, but some of the answers were downright malicious, attacking my character and my teaching ability,
researching me on the web and posting outside information about me in these public forums that were now accessible worldwide on search engines and making me a victim of online defamation. In addition, these members had gathered an attack method in which they planned on meeting me by attending my classes solely for the purpose of causing trouble. Through the misuse of eBay's recommended tools (Me page, My World Page, feedback, listings, etc) these members researched me and posted derogatory remarks insulting my character and my intelligence. When I became upset and responded in a harsh manner, I was reported and then disciplined through the moderator who told me that I was not allowed on the forums for 7 days. I was also not allowed to view the forums in spite of these derogatory remarks that were being made about me by other members (I had to sit back and watch, because they would not remove many remarks).
This is not only harassment, but is damaging to my character, my ability to teach, and my future positions with my employment. I have requested that this forum be removed, but eBay refuses to do anything about it. Since I am blocked, I am unable to view it, but if I Google my user ID the forum pops up through search engines. It is now available for all to read worldwide.
My original question begins:
Many times we hear of hackers and spoof mail with unscrupulous people that break into others accounts and cause major chaos, but, I am having a huge problem with an employee from eBay who has gone into my account, removed messages I sent to the Safety and Trust Department, removed all of my Watched Items, Screwed my entire Selling format up, deleted messages that I had been saving, etc etc. I am unable to contact eBay and am extremely upset that this is being allowed to happen. On October 31st I contacted eBay's Live Help in hopes to solve some problems I've been having with my listings being automatically renewed without my authorization. It all started there. I was transferred 4 times while being asked the same things over and over for over 40 minutes and I finally became so frustrated, that I refused to go through the whole story again. When it came time to filling out the survey, I left all negative remarks which were definitely deserving. The next day, while working at a school teaching eBay, I realized I was unable to log into my account. I had to create a new password. When I was finally able to log in, I realized that someone had gotten into my account in My eBay and deleted, rearranged and screwed my entire My eBay up for me. I know it is an inside job, because I wrote a very long letter on October 31 to the Safety and Trust Department, but when I was on live chat, the rep told me that the last letter eBay received from me was on something like Oct 24th. I told them that was incorrect and someone was deleting my letters. I have tried numerous times to contact Live Help, but they deny that any employee would do that. I still have unresolved problems that I deserve credit for and have no way to get these resolved. Has anyone else had any problems like this? Any suggestions from anyone? How do I contact eBay if someone has singled out my account and deletes my mail? Hopefully eBay will read this and contact me with a direct email. Thank you
My question produced a ton of responses, some were helpful, but many were downright sarcastic and had nothing to do with the topic, but they were allowed to continue with their remarks.
Some of the comments that were made on this forum were:
*fired-up* (245 )
Inflating shipping costs to recoup ebay and paypal fees isn't good advice. Most people know how much it costs to ship things, and are very resentful at having to pay more than that amount. It's better to build those costs into your starting bid. High shipping costs will only ding your stars. I can only imagine what other bad advice she gives.
(Yikes--now you can pay eBay listing fees on top of the eBay fees that you have already paid! Hmm does this sound like advice coming from eBay? )
ruthl416 I checked out "me" page for OP. She is giving classes at the local career center, which is a vocational school for juniors and seniors, some learn a [sic] occupation, some go one [sic] to college.
This center also has adult and continuing education classes for various positions:
Basic Police Academy HVAC Technology Business Office Specialist Licensed Practical Nurse Cosmetology Medical Assistant Dental Assistant Medical Insurance, Billing, Coding Home Building Technology Medical Transcription
They also have evening hours for various "How to" programs. Back in the 70's, girlfriends and I took decopage' [sic] and toil painting classes. Afterwards we went for dinner and drinks - I was the designated driver, of course,lol.
The school is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in Ohio.
*maybe i should call my GF's, see if they want to take a class* ( This member has used my me page for the purpose of hunting me down and wanting to gather her friends to come and cause trouble in a class of mine. Is this what the purpose of the me page is all about? eBay rules: While using the Sites, you will not harvest or otherwise collect information about users, including email addresses, without their consent. )
icarryacolt45
Ebay's policies are no guns, yet this user ID is screaming violence with their name and icon.
This user ID states: Many, many people who come here for help acting as victims are in actuality scammers or at least not telling the whole story.It isn't unreasonable for us to look at FB, listing violations, websites, etc.
karma_baby_karma ( private ) Private feedback with a user logo of "To Alcohol." She also has a motto that says Nursing is a scream...
OP's class: Wanna learn about ebay? I know lots. Here's the course fee, here's the class fee, spout ebay rhetoric/propaganda, here's my website, pass out copies of announcements and thanks for attending. See you next time.
*above snarky example applies to OP only. I do know there is the rare instructor who actually knows ebay and provides valuable info. Unfortunately it's the exception, not the rule.
icarryacolt45 If your "business" has an attorney on retainer to assist you with slander - couldn't he take care of the EBay employees who are tampering with your business? (member still insists upon being nasty and does not take me seriously)
fenton.smith I'd get Bill to take care of this or perhaps Hillary. (My Caregiving Class is dedicated to former Pres. Bill Clinton. As you can see, he came to my website lurking like a troll. This member decided to bring Pres and Hillary in this as well-- eBay sits backs and watches and approves )
danse Her teaching ability etc. has nothing to do with her questions and asking for assistance. It's not relevant to take content from her website to demean her questions on this board.
I'm not sure why anyone would do this at all on the TS board.
Joyceb/danse (This is the wisest comment that anyone has made, but why is eBay allowing many of these posts to continue?)
profdata: I wonder when the airwaves have to go digital in a couple of years, if that is going to cut down on the tin foil hats (another words I'm a dunce, but eBay approves of that comment as well, Gee, I wonder why I got kicked off when I called some members "Jerks in hiding?")
karma_baby_karma (Private )
or some congressman/woman. Didn't OP state she was appointed or accredited or something by the Supreme Court? I'll have to google that one. Do you think OP knows these boards & posts are Google cached? Silly me, of course she does, she knows all about ebay. Funny though; OP's picture doesn't match on google with what's on her website. Maybe THAT guy's the one that is messing with her. Anyone want to google her ID and look about pg 3 and see what they think? It might be the info she needs to prosecute the ID theft person (still searching for me, but this time on the web) While using the Sites, you will not:post false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, or libelous content (including personal information);
stupidium (0 ) New class suggestion:
DEALING WITH EBAY HASSLES
How to use eBay Live Help. What to do if you have to repeat yourself. Using eBay surveys. What to do if eBay denys[sic] your accusations. Using the Trust & Safety Discussion Board. How to sue Trust & Safety Board posters.
(Another smart mouthed kid who isn't able to spell)
n.s.sherlock (10 )That Google search result is a MAN, 52 from Canton. Couldn't be the same. (Amazing how this is allowed to go on. I had to change my AOL profile to make me look like a man, but don't worry, it's still me)
karma_baby_karma (Private )serious Q here: I'm not familiar with this clicking & credit thing. Can someone explain it to me? I couldn't find any info other than the posts on this thread.
(this member searched my other question that I placed in another forum about not receiving any lead credits for the many students I referred to eBay from Commission Junction--I lost about $600.00, because CJ passed the buck to eBay and eBay passed the buck to CJ and neither will give me credit. Hmm karma baby karma doesn't even know about the Affiliate's Program, but she had the nerve to knock my knowledge and my ability to teach)
karma_baby_karma (Private )it's the same as the classes I sign my kids up for. Pay the course fee, pay the class fees and away they go.
karma baby karma's previous comment about me: OP's class: Wanna learn about ebay? I know lots. Here's the course fee, here's the class fee, spout ebay rhetoric/propaganda, here's my website, pass out copies of announcements and thanks for attending. See you next time.
*above snarky example applies to OP only. I do know there is the rare instructor who actually knows ebay and provides valuable info. Unfortunately it's the exception, not the rule.
carlyrockstar (56 ) Slandering a moniker doesn't count.
*grandmalaska* (16 ) OP has an associates degree. Her ebay knowledge comes from 6 years buying/selling on ebay. Google is your friend. (these members have taken a great deal of time searching me in order to place all types of personal information about me on the forum. Funny though, I thought this was against eBay rules, so why is eBay allowing this?
danse (360 ) A lot of people have had problems with CJ and it takes some sorting to figure it out.
We have (in the past) had problems with CJ and the ES program in signing up new eBay sellers.
Don't you think dragging all this information in here simply because you disagree with someone's responses is a bit much?
Joyceb/danse (the same person notices this is wrong, but eBay still allows it to continue)
danse (360 ) Commission Junction is the affiliate program that eBay uses. By signing up and putting links on your web pages or Me page you can earn money when people click through.
It is also a legitimate way to use the eBay Logo on your Website as they provide the URL.
I was talking about the boardies..the original poster was a bit heavy on the drama side. However googling her name, dragging in information about her teaching ability and bringing it all into question is not too cool.
This is the Trust and Safety board...most people who come in here are a bit dramatic in their questions.
Joyceb/danse
karma_baby_karma (Private ) consider Google as a character reference. Google cache is my friend. (Notice that this member has a private feedback and she had opened an account in which to hide behind as well, so no one can Google her, but she feels she has authority to Google everyone else and display it publicly.)
icarryacolt45 (21 ) Danse, it may look like we are picking on the OP, but really we aren't. She came with a question/situation that doesn't ring true but yet we still offered sound advice. I don't think the snarky comments and googling started until she refused our sound advice and was a bit rude. (I was rude?) Many, many people who come here for help acting as victims are in actuality scammers or at least not telling the whole story. It isn't unreasonable for us to look at FB, listing violations, websites, etc. (This one tries to justify their actions--it's okay for them to research me and place all kind of public info about me in the forum. Is she accusing me of being a scammer? Who was honest in coming into the forum with their original user ID, who had an honest me page along with their picture? I would think that the eBay user who has to hide behind a fictitious user ID would be the scammer)
carlyrockstar (56 ) Not only that, she gives PLENTY of personal info on her 'me' page.
eBay rules: While using the Sites, you will not harvest or otherwise collect information about users, including email addresses, without their consent.
kidlet_loves_oldies (1 )Being an instructor at 9 different schools and colleges simply means that you aren't educated enough or competent enough for one school to be willing to offer a contract. It's like being a substitute teacher in the grades; some part of your resume is wanting but they'll take you in an emergency. The old Any Port In A Storm syndrome.
This person, who teaches eBay courses, apparently didn't know that the message boards are member-to-member and stated a hope that eBay would read her message here and respond with a direct contact. No one with any real knowledge of eBay would have made that mistake.
Dierdre (Deirdre IS an eBay employee in the Community Development workshop. Her email address is daphne@ebay.com yet they will insist that eBay employees have nothing to do with any of our problems)
Ebay tells you...Create an About Me page at eBay to tell the world about yourself and your interests. What you can use it for :
REMOVE YOUR ME PAGE FROM EBAY AS WELL AS ANY INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF IN YOUR MY WORLD PAGE. BE VERY VAGUE.
Let the eBay community know who you are.
Show off your fabulous finds.
Display your items up for bid.
Describe your favorite hobby.
It wasn't enough that the members were defaming me publicly, but now they were going into my auctions and listings and reporting them for no reason. Ebay Rules: Misusing the violation reporting function to maliciously or frivolously report content as not in compliance with eBay policy is prohibited.
Rules Using eBay (according to eBay)
While using the Sites, you will not: post false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, or libelous content (including personal information);
On November 10, 2007 I realized that my listings were being removed.Someone was now maliciously reporting my listings that were never in violation, but for some reason eBay decided to end them. I had no choice, but to close my store.
Ebay sent me the below email:
You recently listed the following listing:
300140940906 - Country Western Reba Bronze Jeans 6 Stretch $118 NWT
300140940896 - Country Western Reba Bronze Jeans 6 Stretch $118 NWT
The listing was removed because it violated the eBay Paypal Payments policy. The violation occurred when you included the following information in your listing:
In Description: I do not accept credit cards at this time
All fees related to this listing have been credited to your account. We also notified members who placed bids on the item that the listing has been canceled.
An eBay employee ended listings without reading the complete auction and sentence. I wrote an email to eBay regarding my ended listings:
My response to eBay :
This really doesn't surprise me now that eBay will start removing my listings for no reason at all. The above auction should have NEVER been removed!
"You recently listed the following eBay Stores listing:300092065616 - Barbie Kelly Sized Pink Bedroom Furniture Set New LotThe listing was removed because it violated the eBay Paypal Payments policy. The violation occurred when you included the following information in your listing: I do not accept credit cards at this time" Why was not the entire sentence read? It read...I do not accept credit cards at this time EXCEPT THROUGH ONLINE SERVICES. I expected trouble, because I've been on the forum and a few people were determined to cause me trouble, because they can hide under another eBay name. I have had many problems concerning eBay and I have had no choice but to file a complaint with the Attorney General since I am receiving no replies to the many problems I have had. I would like an answer as to why this listing was removed when it had no violation in it.
On November 10, 2007 I received this email:
eBay Notice - Listing Reinstatement
Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your cancelled [sic] auctions.
We understand the frustration you felt when you were notified that we had removed your listings. Please accept our most sincere apologies regarding this issue.
After reviewing your account and the listings in question, it was found that the auctions were indeed listed correctly. I have amended your account to reflect the removal of the violation. This violation will not be held against your records. We truly appreciate your understanding in this matter and ask that you can excuse us this error in judgement.
The fees associated with these listings have been refunded to your account. Additionally, I have gone ahead and reinstated your listings to your Unsold folder in My eBay. Please feel free to relist your auctions at your own convenience.
Again, we apologize for any inconvenience that his may have caused and we look forward to your future listings with eBay.
If you need further assistance, please don't hesitate to reply to this email and let us know.
Sincerely,
Felipe eBay Customer Support
Ebay rules: Misusing the violation reporting function to maliciously or frivolously report content as not in compliance with eBay policy is prohibited. Yet, these people were still allowed to make comments on the forum.
Accessing, Reviewing and Changing Your Personal Information
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/privacy-policy.html#Activity Once you make a public posting, you may not be able to change or remove it. Upon your request, we will close your account and remove your personal information from view as soon as reasonably possible, based on your account activity and in accordance with applicable law. (Does this mean that I have to close my account in order to get protection?)
Using Information from eBay
We encourage you to disclose your privacy practices and respect the privacy of other users.
The following are examples of content or actions not permitted in the Community content areas (Reviews, Guides, Blog Entries, Wiki Articles, and Member-Created Product Descriptions):
Using another eBay member's pictures or textwithout the other member's express permission.
Publishing content that promotes or glorifies hatred, violence, racial, or religious intolerance, or content that promotes organizations with such views. For more information see our site policy on Offensive Material.
Using profanity or patently vulgar language in a public area of the site. Please see Additional Information below for exceptions with Blogs.
Publishing personal contact information of any person in any public area of eBay, including emails, phone numbers, name, street address, etc.
Misusing the violation reporting function to maliciously or frivolously report content as not in compliance with eBay policy.
Abusing eBay Without limiting other remedies, we may limit, suspend, or terminate our service and user accounts, prohibit access to our website, delay or remove hosted content, and take technical and legal steps to keep users off the Sites if we think that they are creating problems, possible legal liabilities, or acting inconsistently with the letter or spirit of our policies. Fees and Services (So why haven't they done this to these members who have violated their rules? Could it be because they are eBay employees?)
What is happening to my Paypal Account now?
I receive many eBay Gift certificates. For some strange reason, my Paypal account showed me having a gift certificate that was pending. I had tried calling Paypal numerous times. No one was able to figure out what was wrong. I received a survey asking me how my last transaction with Paypal went and clearly stated on the survey that no one helped me, with my problem. I had asked who the certificate was from, because when I clicked on the Details it showed nothing. Before I hung up with the Paypal rep, she asked me 3 times who the Gift Certificate was from. I kept telling her I didn't know and asked her who it was from--no answer. She told me that they were going to return it to the sender. I said how? You don't even know who it is from--besides, why would you do that? She then said that Paypal would just remove it. I told her that was theft. We hung up with no solution. To this day, my Gift Balance still shows the balance, but it is still showing pending and I'm unable to use it. I emailed Paypal again to remind them not only of the gift certificate, but of the couple of refunds for shipping labels I had not been given credit for months ago when my printer would not work. I was demonstrating how to make a shipping label at a school and realized that the printer was broken and I was unable to print. I had no ink my home printer either. This time, I received a reply:
Thank you for contacting PayPal. We apologize for the delay in responding to your service request.
I have reviewed your account and what happened is the system generated two numbers for the gift certificate sent on 6-18-07 which has a zero balance. At this time I do not have a way of removing this from your account and our engineers are reviewing this.
Regarding the shipping labels I have requested a credit to your account for label XXXXXXXX in the amount of $12.20 please allow 5 days for this credit to appear in your account.
For label XXXXXXX this credit should appear in your account 15 days from the time the label was created. If this does not appear on or about 11.22.07 please let us know and we will be happy to review.
The status of your USPS shipping label transaction will be one of the following:
· Completed - The transaction for your label is completed
· Refund Pending - The refund for your voided label is pending
· Held - Your label has been voided and the funds are held until the U.S. Postal Service has completed your refund
· Reversed - You have received a credit for your voided label
· Removed - The temporary hold has been removed from your label charge
· Refunded - Your USPS label fee has been refunded.
Wow--what a hassle. I forgot to mention above that I also lost $69.99 when eBay shut an auction down saying it was again in violation when it was not. eBay does not reimburse for their errors. To this day, I have never received listing fees/selling fees for the numerous auctions that were sold and relisted automatically by eBay. I did receive a Neutral in my feedback for an auction that was sold long ago and was somehow miraculously relisted.
This chaos all started by me going into a forum thinking I was going to get help, when in reality I jumped into a den of lions.
) 
( private ) Private feedback with a user logo of "To Alcohol." She also has a motto that says Nursing is a scream... 
OP's class: Wanna learn about ebay? I know lots. Here's the course fee, here's the class fee, spout ebay rhetoric/propaganda, here's my website, pass out copies of announcements and thanks for attending. See you next time.
)That Google search result is a MAN, 52 from Canton. Couldn't be the same. (Amazing how this is allowed to go on. I had to change my AOL profile to make me look like a man, but don't worry, it's still me)
