Hi Everyone,
My name is Matt, I run the Single Speed Components shop on Ebay under the username mattempleton, the subject of some discussion by Clockwise and a few others above.
I have not contributed to LFGSS over the past few years because of the potential conflict between my commercial activities and the community basis of the forum.
I hope you will do me the courtesy of reading my messages in the above quoted exchanges and my contribution below before you draw any conclusion on this.
I wish absolutely no bad blood to anyone at all here least of all Chris/Clockwise, and I know that distance selling can cause frustrations for the buyer, but I would like to have my position made clear.
- Some Facts
My Ebay and Paypal Records do point to this item having been purchased on 2 July. Please see two screen grabs:
Paypal's Payment Email to me, time and date top right: http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/paypaltimelfgss-02_zps4c98864d.jpg
Ebay Record in my Account, buyer ID top, product middle, checkout and payment date at bottom - (Please click to enlarge this to view dates) http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/lfgss-01_zps753957c2.jpg
I have cut out a lot of data because I do not want to compromise the privacy of the buyer, I have left his Christian name which he has already revealed in our correspondence.
I hope this shows me not to have been dishonest about this date. The only explanation I can think of is that the purchase process started before midnight and Ebay is inconsistent in its recording of purchase time.
- More Facts
Chris claims two further things in his posts:
A. That the status of this item was changed to posted/despatched on 7th of July;
B. That the Ebay sentence on his screen grab which says 'Estimated delivery Wednesday, 9th July - Thursday, 10 July' was triggered by me changing the status to despatched on 7th of July.
He says, "That date is based on the date he marked it as dispatched/posted, had he done that on the 1st or 2nd it would say 3rd or 4th but it was posted on the 7th and so says 9th."
First of all Chris did not feed this perspective back to me in our conversation yesterday, this would have been useful for me understanding his perspective.
But secondly, having looked into this these seem both to be incorrect:
A. Please again refer to the original Ebay screen grab (here again, http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/lfgss-01_zps753957c2.jpg ). Near the bottom of the page it gives 2nd July for Checkout and Payment as we just saw.
However look to the right of those two, and it also gives 4th July for Postage date. This corresponds to when I marked it as sent on the Ebay system. One can not set this retrospectively as far as I know, let alone amend it. So I am sure that I made this status change on 4th July, which is why it reflects that date.
And now, again on the same Ebay screen grab look to just below where it says 'Checkout: 02-Jul-14'. It also says 'Last email sent: 04-Jul-14 (2)'. When I expand that it opens a new window - a 'log of emails' - which you can see grabbed here, http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/3lfgss-03_zpsda554ded.jpg.
There are only two entries in this: an order confirmation which is about 40 seconds after the Paypal email so makes total sense. And an ‘order update’ on 4 July 5.57pm. This second is almost certainly the postage confirmation email which will have been sent when I clicked to make the status change.
B. This is also incorrect.
Ebay customer services are not open for me to get them to verify this but I am very confident that the estimated delivery time is generated at the time of purchase based on the service paid for and expected despatch time. So, a purchase on 2 July is projected to be sent three working days later on Monday 7th July; it's a 2nd class service so they estimate 2-3 days postage, taking us to 9-10 July.
But anyway I have shown above that the status was changed not on the 7th but on the 4th so this explanation no longer functions and nor does the argument it was trying to support.
- My Original Message
I'm sorry that Chris thought I was being underhand or hounding in my first email but the reality is that I have to try to resolve this kind of issue as part of running my business. And to reiterate Ebay requests that sellers try to resolve these things by contacting the buyer before initiating any other feedback altering process.
I sought clarification from him of some facts in my original message because I do make mistakes, and if for example it seemed from a post mark that I'd actually sent this say a week late then rather than seek to get the feedback changed I would actually have offered a big apology for failing to deliver what I should have, I'd have probably told him he could have a couple of tubes with his next order if he was willing to stay on as a customer. I make mistakes as I think most people do, I want to rectify them when I do as best as I can.
I have several times in the past opened up discussions like this with buyers - sometimes they agree they've made a mistake, sometimes I realise I've made a mistake and we sort it out. I don't think this is inappropriate, I think it's good customer service and good communication. I may have been a bit direct because I'm used to having these conversations but I think it was a fair message and that being direct is usually useful anyway.
- Ebay Feedback
Notwithstanding the above my business is profoundly impacted on by the feedback and detailed seller ratings I get. I and Ebay think that it is wrong for a purchaser to give poor ratings inappropriately and to give inappropriate stated reasons for such ratings - http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/buying-practices.html#behaviors. See sections, making unreasonable demands and leaving inappropriate feedback. I surely have the right to seek redress when I think this may be happening, as a matter of basic fairness.
- Dicta Allegation
Finally, I take extremely seriously the publication here online of the allegation that I passed off a non-Dicta product as a Dicta one – “Sprocket also isn't dicta he has just taken some random sprocket and shoved it into a dicta freewheel box.”
I'm always very happy to respond to questions over the provenance or any other detail of my products or the way I pack things but to put it mildly I don’t think it is acceptable to accuse me in a public arena of what I think would be fraud, and without even informing me of it.
To be clear, this is absolutely untrue. I have worked hard and put up a considerable amount of money to purchase and import a range of products from Lida Machinery Co. (whose brand Dicta is) and other suppliers across the world in the bulk required, and then to get them out to consumers to build this business.
To repeat my emailed explanation: "Regarding the sprockets, I purchase these directly from Dicta, who do not offer a packaged version (though they do for their freewheels) and they don't put branding on them. I pack them in freewheel boxes at the moment to save packaging as I am concerned about the climate and keeping costs (and in turn prices) low."
And to respond to this extra bit from the thread: “I did think to myself how would he package/post a freewheel that has been removed from it's packaging.”
Good question.
And here is your answer: The freewheel from that packaging – like hundreds like it - was fitted to one of the hundreds of wheelsets I and my colleagues have dispatched in the past four years with fitted cogs.
I am happy to respond to any further question/suggestions on this matter.
Keep cycling,
Matt Templeton
Hi Everyone,
My name is Matt, I run the Single Speed Components shop on Ebay under the username mattempleton, the subject of some discussion by Clockwise and a few others above.
I have not contributed to LFGSS over the past few years because of the potential conflict between my commercial activities and the community basis of the forum.
I hope you will do me the courtesy of reading my messages in the above quoted exchanges and my contribution below before you draw any conclusion on this.
I wish absolutely no bad blood to anyone at all here least of all Chris/Clockwise, and I know that distance selling can cause frustrations for the buyer, but I would like to have my position made clear.
My Ebay and Paypal Records do point to this item having been purchased on 2 July. Please see two screen grabs:
Paypal's Payment Email to me, time and date top right: http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/paypaltimelfgss-02_zps4c98864d.jpg
Ebay Record in my Account, buyer ID top, product middle, checkout and payment date at bottom - (Please click to enlarge this to view dates) http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/lfgss-01_zps753957c2.jpg
I have cut out a lot of data because I do not want to compromise the privacy of the buyer, I have left his Christian name which he has already revealed in our correspondence.
I hope this shows me not to have been dishonest about this date. The only explanation I can think of is that the purchase process started before midnight and Ebay is inconsistent in its recording of purchase time.
Chris claims two further things in his posts:
A. That the status of this item was changed to posted/despatched on 7th of July;
B. That the Ebay sentence on his screen grab which says 'Estimated delivery Wednesday, 9th July - Thursday, 10 July' was triggered by me changing the status to despatched on 7th of July.
He says, "That date is based on the date he marked it as dispatched/posted, had he done that on the 1st or 2nd it would say 3rd or 4th but it was posted on the 7th and so says 9th."
First of all Chris did not feed this perspective back to me in our conversation yesterday, this would have been useful for me understanding his perspective.
But secondly, having looked into this these seem both to be incorrect:
A. Please again refer to the original Ebay screen grab (here again, http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/lfgss-01_zps753957c2.jpg ). Near the bottom of the page it gives 2nd July for Checkout and Payment as we just saw.
However look to the right of those two, and it also gives 4th July for Postage date. This corresponds to when I marked it as sent on the Ebay system. One can not set this retrospectively as far as I know, let alone amend it. So I am sure that I made this status change on 4th July, which is why it reflects that date.
And now, again on the same Ebay screen grab look to just below where it says 'Checkout: 02-Jul-14'. It also says 'Last email sent: 04-Jul-14 (2)'. When I expand that it opens a new window - a 'log of emails' - which you can see grabbed here, http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff520/singlespeedcomponents/LFGSS/3lfgss-03_zpsda554ded.jpg.
There are only two entries in this: an order confirmation which is about 40 seconds after the Paypal email so makes total sense. And an ‘order update’ on 4 July 5.57pm. This second is almost certainly the postage confirmation email which will have been sent when I clicked to make the status change.
B. This is also incorrect.
Ebay customer services are not open for me to get them to verify this but I am very confident that the estimated delivery time is generated at the time of purchase based on the service paid for and expected despatch time. So, a purchase on 2 July is projected to be sent three working days later on Monday 7th July; it's a 2nd class service so they estimate 2-3 days postage, taking us to 9-10 July.
But anyway I have shown above that the status was changed not on the 7th but on the 4th so this explanation no longer functions and nor does the argument it was trying to support.
I'm sorry that Chris thought I was being underhand or hounding in my first email but the reality is that I have to try to resolve this kind of issue as part of running my business. And to reiterate Ebay requests that sellers try to resolve these things by contacting the buyer before initiating any other feedback altering process.
I sought clarification from him of some facts in my original message because I do make mistakes, and if for example it seemed from a post mark that I'd actually sent this say a week late then rather than seek to get the feedback changed I would actually have offered a big apology for failing to deliver what I should have, I'd have probably told him he could have a couple of tubes with his next order if he was willing to stay on as a customer. I make mistakes as I think most people do, I want to rectify them when I do as best as I can.
I have several times in the past opened up discussions like this with buyers - sometimes they agree they've made a mistake, sometimes I realise I've made a mistake and we sort it out. I don't think this is inappropriate, I think it's good customer service and good communication. I may have been a bit direct because I'm used to having these conversations but I think it was a fair message and that being direct is usually useful anyway.
Notwithstanding the above my business is profoundly impacted on by the feedback and detailed seller ratings I get. I and Ebay think that it is wrong for a purchaser to give poor ratings inappropriately and to give inappropriate stated reasons for such ratings - http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/buying-practices.html#behaviors. See sections, making unreasonable demands and leaving inappropriate feedback. I surely have the right to seek redress when I think this may be happening, as a matter of basic fairness.
Finally, I take extremely seriously the publication here online of the allegation that I passed off a non-Dicta product as a Dicta one – “Sprocket also isn't dicta he has just taken some random sprocket and shoved it into a dicta freewheel box.”
I'm always very happy to respond to questions over the provenance or any other detail of my products or the way I pack things but to put it mildly I don’t think it is acceptable to accuse me in a public arena of what I think would be fraud, and without even informing me of it.
To be clear, this is absolutely untrue. I have worked hard and put up a considerable amount of money to purchase and import a range of products from Lida Machinery Co. (whose brand Dicta is) and other suppliers across the world in the bulk required, and then to get them out to consumers to build this business.
To repeat my emailed explanation: "Regarding the sprockets, I purchase these directly from Dicta, who do not offer a packaged version (though they do for their freewheels) and they don't put branding on them. I pack them in freewheel boxes at the moment to save packaging as I am concerned about the climate and keeping costs (and in turn prices) low."
And to respond to this extra bit from the thread: “I did think to myself how would he package/post a freewheel that has been removed from it's packaging.”
Good question.
And here is your answer: The freewheel from that packaging – like hundreds like it - was fitted to one of the hundreds of wheelsets I and my colleagues have dispatched in the past four years with fitted cogs.
I am happy to respond to any further question/suggestions on this matter.
Keep cycling,
Matt Templeton