u/LanceFaywood

I need someone to explain this to me because I feel like I’m being gaslit by the entire Seattle metro area.

Some of the wealthiest, smartest, most technologically advanced zip codes on Earth. We can build cloud infrastructure that powers half the internet. We can engineer airplanes. We can put AI into everything.

But somehow: Bacon + Egg + Cheese + Bagel has defeated us as a civilization.

I’ve tried the big hitters. Toasted. Backyard Bagels. Grateful Bread. Eltana. Rachel’s and a lot of others.
I walk in with one simple dream: “Can I get a bacon, egg and cheese on a toasted bagel?” And suddenly I’m negotiating the Treaty of Versailles.
“We have lox?” Great. Not what I asked. “Cream cheese?” Incredible. Do you also sell water?

“Would you like the bagel toasted?” YES And some places DON’T EVEN TOAST IT.

Meanwhile, somewhere in NYC, a bodega with flickering fluorescent lights, a $4.99 ATM fee, and a cat named Tony sleeping on a case of Poland Spring will make you a BEC in 47 seconds that could bring a grown man to tears.

No artisanal aioli. No seasonal schmear. No 25-minute wait.

Just: Bagel. Toasted. Bacon. Egg. Cheese. Salt. Pepper. (Ketchup if you want it). Foil. Done.

And before anyone says, “Seattle isn’t New York…”
I KNOW
I’m not asking for the subway system.
I’m asking you to put an egg on a bagel.

At this point I’m convinced a legitimate NYC style BEC shop in Seattle would cause an economic event. Microsoft employees would abandon Redmond. Amazon would acquire the shop within six months. Bellevue would establish a Bacon Egg & Cheese drone delivery service.

And please don’t send me somewhere serving a “breakfast bagel” with arugula, pickled fennel, herb chèvre, heirloom tomato jam, and a $3 egg add-on.

I respect the creativity. But that is not a BEC! That is what we call a salad wearing a bagel as a hat.

So I’m begging r/AskSeattle: Where is the greasy, salty, cheesy, properly toasted, no-nonsense Bacon Egg & Cheese?

Does it exist? Is there a password?

Because I refuse to believe that Seattle has failed to reverse engineer something every random NYC bodega mastered decades ago.

I’ve been selling on eBay for 25+ years with 100% feedback, and this experience has made me question whether eBay has any real seller protection at all.

I sold a pair of NIB men's Nike Air Zoom Pegasus. I shipped them properly in their Nike shoebox using an eBay-generated USPS label. The label weight was 2lbs, which is consistent with a boxed pair of men’s sneakers.

The buyer, whose account was only created a few months ago with no history, claimed they did not receive the shoes. Instead, they said they received a plastic mailer containing 3 pair of children's shoes.

The buyer sent photos, and the photos showed major red flags:

1. A plastic poly mailer, not the Nike shoebox I shipped.
2. Three unrelated pairs of children's shoes.
3. My USPS/eBay label attached to that plastic mailer.
4. My label appearing to be placed over another label.
5. Other label remnants/stickers on the package dated 2024

The key fact is this: The buyer's own photos showed my eBay/USPS label attached to a package that was not the package I shipped.

This was not a normal “wrong item sent” situation. I did not ship three pairs of children’s shoes in a plastic bag. I shipped a pair of men’s Nike sneakers in a shoebox.

I sent eBay multiple detailed explanations. I explained that if the buyer returned the package they claimed to receive, I would not get my Nike shoes back. I would get an unrelated plastic mailer with unrelated shoes. That does not return my inventory or make me whole.

eBay ignored ALL the actual facts.

They sent generic replies saying eBay does not physically inspect items and that the buyer should return the item for a refund. Then eBay issued the buyer a return label, charged my account for it, and gave the buyer a full refund.

So apparently a buyer can open a new account, claim they received a different item, provide photos of a suspicious package with multiple labels, and eBay will still refund them, even when the seller has 25+ years of history, 100% feedback, shipped on time, and used eBay’s own shipping label.

What exactly is seller protection protecting?

Sellers pay eBay fees, shipping, promoted listing fees, and return costs but when something goes wrong, eBay’s protection seems to be: refund the buyer, charge the seller, and tell the seller to “report the buyer” after the damage is done.

I’m not saying every buyer claim is fraudulent. But when there is evidence of possible label tampering, package relabeling, USPS handling error, or return abuse, eBay should not blindly treat it like a standard return.

This experience has shown me that sellers are basically on their own. ZERO protection.

Has anyone else dealt with this kind of USPS/eBay label issue or buyer return abuse? Did eBay actually protect you, or did they just force the refund?

I’ve been selling on eBay for 25+ years with 100% feedback, and this experience has made me question whether eBay has any real seller protection at all.

I sold a pair of NIB men's Nike Air Zoom Pegasus. I shipped them properly in their Nike shoebox using an eBay-generated USPS label. The label weight was 2lbs, which is consistent with a boxed pair of men’s sneakers.

The buyer, whose account was only created a few months ago with no history, claimed they did not receive the shoes. Instead, they said they received a plastic mailer containing 3 pair of children's shoes.

The buyer sent photos, and the photos showed major red flags:

1. A plastic poly mailer, not the Nike shoebox I shipped.
2. Three unrelated pairs of children's shoes.
3. My USPS/eBay label attached to that plastic mailer.
4. My label appearing to be placed over another label.
5. Other label remnants/stickers on the package dated 2024

The key fact is this: The buyer's own photos showed my eBay/USPS label attached to a package that was not the package I shipped.

This was not a normal “wrong item sent” situation. I did not ship three pairs of children’s shoes in a plastic bag. I shipped a pair of men’s Nike sneakers in a shoebox.

I sent eBay multiple detailed explanations. I explained that if the buyer returned the package they claimed to receive, I would not get my Nike shoes back. I would get an unrelated plastic mailer with unrelated shoes. That does not return my inventory or make me whole.

eBay ignored ALL the actual facts.

They sent generic replies saying eBay does not physically inspect items and that the buyer should return the item for a refund. Then eBay issued the buyer a return label, charged my account for it, and gave the buyer a full refund.

So apparently a buyer can open a new account, claim they received a different item, provide photos of a suspicious package with multiple labels, and eBay will still refund them, even when the seller has 25+ years of history, 100% feedback, shipped on time, and used eBay’s own shipping label.

What exactly is seller protection protecting?

Sellers pay eBay fees, shipping, promoted listing fees, and return costs but when something goes wrong, eBay’s protection seems to be: refund the buyer, charge the seller, and tell the seller to “report the buyer” after the damage is done.

I’m not saying every buyer claim is fraudulent. But when there is evidence of possible label tampering, package relabeling, USPS handling error, or return abuse, eBay should not blindly treat it like a standard return.

This experience has shown me that sellers are basically on their own. ZERO protection.

Has anyone else dealt with this kind of USPS/eBay label issue or buyer return abuse? Did eBay actually protect you, or did they just force the refund?

I’ve been wondering about something and would love to hear perspectives from people who know more about the hiring process.

Law enforcement applicants have to go through what seems like an incredibly extensive screening process, lengthy (PHS) that literally has your entire life on a document , comprehensive background investigations, polygraph exams, psychological evaluations, medical exams, multiple interviews, reference checks, and more. It seems like there are so many layers designed to identify people who aren’t suitable for the job.

Given all of that, how do “bad cops” still end up on the force? I can understand that no hiring process is perfect and that a small number of people might slip through the cracks, but it seems surprising that it happens at all considering how exhaustive the process is.

Is it because some people are good at presenting themselves during the hiring process but change over time? Are there limitations to background investigations and psychological evaluations? Or is it more about organizational culture, training, supervision, or accountability after someone is hired?

I’m asking to better understand how this happens despite what appears to be one of the most rigorous hiring processes of any job anywhere!