I'm watching a lot of vintage ponies right now on ebay. It has a grail pony of mine and the price is very low at the moment. However, I just noticed from my ebay that the seller's feedback is -3!!! All 4 feedbacks from two years ago from disgruntled sellers complaining that this buyer does not pay. Since they haven't had any activity in the past 2 years or ever sold an item, how likely do you think if their item sells that they will fail to follow through with shipping?

I don't think I want to risk with a seller who has been shady in the past but I'd be over the moon getting that pony for such a low price. I'm torn. What would you do?

I'd say give it a try. They are selling one of your grails for a great price. Not many people will bid because of the negative feedback. That is a great chance for you! I think they want the money so they are probably a better seller than buyer. And if nothing happens and they don't ship your pony out you can still tell them to ebay and PayPal

That's true. And if I get scammed at least it won't be for very much and I can file with paypal. Thanks for the advice!

Good luck, I hope everything will work out great and you will get a real bargain

I know what auction you're talking about Good luck on it, I read the seller's feedback and couldn't help but wonder if they were reliable too But now every item I believe is covered by ebay, so if things go wrong you'll at least still have your money.

I saw that too. The whole thing seems a bit fishy to me. Since people can have more than one ebay ID why would they not open a new account?? Especially considering the negs are so old. But a scammer would not want to take over a crappy account like that. I think it is weird.

I wouldn't even consider bidding on something from someone with -3 feedback like that. I was scammed just a couple months ago by a seller who had 100% positive feedback when I won the auction, but then after a couple weeks went by and I didn't receive the item yet, I went back to Ebay to see if they had sent me any messages or anything about delayed shipping. I noticed their feedback had gone from 30+, 100% positive, to -2!! At least 30 other people had been scammed by them just in the two weeks since I had won my auction! I got my money back through PayPal though, but it was still a very annoying process since it had been a x-mas gift I was trying to get for my sis.

ANYWAY, with the buyer protection through PayPal these days, I guess it couldn't hurt to give it a go and see if you actually get the ponies. Good luck whatever you decide!

That's the problem with ebay. You never know the people and their lives on the other end. Since there are people with 100% positive feedback who suddenly scam like 30 people there can also be people changing in the other direction. But in the end only you can decide if you wanna give him a chance or not, SDA

I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole A track history like that doesn't bode well. The new Ebay guarantee is still very, very new, so I'd be hesitant to play pony roullette just in case something goes wrong and you can't get your money back.

Remember that your grail will always come around again

I avoid ebay at all costs...

I use mlparena for all my pony purchase. The prices are fair, I feel connected to the buyers and sellers here. It's like going to your local small town pharmacy to shop...you know what I mean??

I would attempt the purchase if you can afford a hold on your funds if the sale goes poorly. She may have had some life issues that she/he couldn't control.

I saw that too and wondered why the ebayer wouldn't just make a fresh account with having only bad feedback. I am guessing that they are probably not a scammer. They could have just had an emergency or something the first time they tried to use eBay and not gotten back to it to pay for their auctions (I'm being generous here!).

I would recommend contacting the seller with a question (just anything you think of) and see how they respond. If the auction doesn't go high you might just take the chance since, as others have said, you can always file a dispute if the sale goes bad.

Well, I couldn't resist and did bid on the auction but my maximum was really low. I just found out I won. So we shall see I suppose if I actually get the ponies. Like emery said, they could've had some emergencies and not been able to fulfill their obligations in paying and even if the transaction goes awry I can still get my money back.

Teddy - that is AWFUL!!!! 30 wrong transactions in such a short amount of time? What the heck?!! Now that is nuts.

I'm hoping that if I do get the ponies they will clean up nicely.
And LOL @ Arena peeps. Since most knew which listing I was referring to without mentioning specifics I suppose there isn't much that passes by the attention of the avid and wary collector.

I did ask the seller about the feedback. I meant to post this before the auction ended but was busy with real life.
I asked this...
"Hi, Can you tell me which of these ponies is the one missing her tail?? Also, I don't want to sound mean, and I would like to bid, but can you tell me what happened with the feedback?? Thanks so much :)"

And here is her response. She got back to me right away.
"Hi, the blue one with the moons and stars is missing her tail, i am going to put in an extra pony with the lot of them, it shouldn't be too difficult to replace! If you mean the negative, it isn't as a seller, it is as a buyer, because my young daughter got a hold of my old password and bid on items i was unaware of, back in 2008. I am trying to get that out of here, but it takes time as a seller to build up a rep, i am a fairly new seller. Thank you for your interest, have a nice day!"

She seems nice and was quick with the answer so I think it should all go okay Maybe she didn't realize at the time that if her daughter bid with her account that she was still responsible to pay for the items :o

Let us know how it turns out. And what the "extra pony" turns out to be.

I thuroughly inspect just about every single lot that shows up on ebay hidden gems are everywhere.

I hope you get your ponies though, you got a great deal on them!

Regardless of her ignorance of Ebay, or lack of said ignorance, what really matters is if YOUR transaction goes well. Keep us updated!

Her reasons for the feedback could be seen as excuses, but great customer service is always appreciated. Whatever she told you about Ebay or her situation is irrelevant as long as she is prepared to do a proper job as a seller. I hope your ponies arrive soon!