eBay

taylor4956 · ‎09-02-2016

There are crooked ebay buyers as well as sellers. I am an honest seller that does not believe that the buyer is always right. I have encountered people who try to keep an item even though they want a refund, a buyer that inflated a COD for return postage so they got a full refund and the COD money to boot! Shouldn't have suggested a COD in the first place. Should have sent a postage paid slip to her, but wasn't sure she'd send the item back if I did. I don't know how anyone can say the customer is always right. Some are down right crooked. I have never given bad feedback even if items I received weren't as nice as expected. I recently got my first negative feedback because an item was broken in the mail. Customer didn't tell me it was broken, didn't send it back or send a photo of broken item. They just went off on me in negative feedback. Never had problems in 12 years. Frustrating.

retrose1 · ‎09-02-2016

@sbl_closeout wrote:
It's only a $4.50 purchase. Id straight up just send the refund through paypal and message the person on eBay telling them that you are sorry the item was damaged and you issued a refund. Then in a few days try and get them to change their feedback. Some people do things without thinking when they are mad or upset.

It has been my experience that buyers that neg without contact usually are hoping that the seller will auto refund in the hopes to buy a feedback revision.

Feedback no longer counts against the seller as far as ebay is concerned.

I would check out the buyers feedback left for others to see if they have a history of getting refunds. If so, I would leave a reply about that in a reply feedback. If not, I would message the buyer that you will be more than happy to file an insurance claim if the buyer would send pics of the item and the packaging so the PO will know that they are poorly handling their packages. If you don't get a response, you have your answer and can reply in feedback that the buyer is uncooperative in an insurance claim.

The point to doing that is to make the buyer look bad and you look like you were cooperative in trying to help the buyer out. This helps if the buyer is checking you out to see what kind of seller you are, so you look good to an honest buyer and look bad to a buyer looking to scam.

Or you could just let it go and move on.

(*Bleep*)

View Best Answer in original post

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎09-02-2016

Nobody here ever says the buyer is always right. Sellers should protect themselves the best they can and understand the world is not perfect, sometimes you're going to lose. Make sure you don't lose more than you can afford.

retrose1 · ‎09-02-2016

OP, a lot of sellers figure that selling goes a certain way and don't look into the best way to do things. ebay is set up so that the buyer is happy no matter what, and the seller must learn how ebay works so that they can protect themselves and keep the buyer happy within the rules ebay has set up.

Sellers also have to learn to recognize the most common scams. The send to my son in Nigeria is so last year. There are false claims, pity claims, manipulation of buyer protection and outright abuse of the system.

In the case when a buyer wants to return or want's to know what I (a seller) is going to do about it, I have learned to recognize that if the buyer is just sending an email, they are usually fishing for a partial. I say return for refund and they usually go away. I have recently started to tell buyers who aren't using the resolution center to file a return request with ebay to file and I can send them a return ship label, so they are not out shipping. They usually go away.

Many sellers do not know how to use the resolution center, and ebay has the site set up to be so adversarial so that sellers fear a dispute from past experience. But a seller who knows their stuff can make the rules and Resolution Center work for them and not against them.

So since it looks like you are going to be doing this on a regular basis, you might want to hang around and read the boards and read up on ebay policies so it will be harder for a scammer to take advantage of you. And if anything looks suspicious to you, just come and ask, we are here to help.

(*Bleep*)

sbl_closeout · ‎09-02-2016

It's only a $4.50 purchase. Id straight up just send the refund through paypal and message the person on eBay telling them that you are sorry the item was damaged and you issued a refund. Then in a few days try and get them to change their feedback. Some people do things without thinking when they are mad or upset.

retrose1 · ‎09-02-2016

@sbl_closeout wrote:
It's only a $4.50 purchase. Id straight up just send the refund through paypal and message the person on eBay telling them that you are sorry the item was damaged and you issued a refund. Then in a few days try and get them to change their feedback. Some people do things without thinking when they are mad or upset.

It has been my experience that buyers that neg without contact usually are hoping that the seller will auto refund in the hopes to buy a feedback revision.

Feedback no longer counts against the seller as far as ebay is concerned.

I would check out the buyers feedback left for others to see if they have a history of getting refunds. If so, I would leave a reply about that in a reply feedback. If not, I would message the buyer that you will be more than happy to file an insurance claim if the buyer would send pics of the item and the packaging so the PO will know that they are poorly handling their packages. If you don't get a response, you have your answer and can reply in feedback that the buyer is uncooperative in an insurance claim.

The point to doing that is to make the buyer look bad and you look like you were cooperative in trying to help the buyer out. This helps if the buyer is checking you out to see what kind of seller you are, so you look good to an honest buyer and look bad to a buyer looking to scam.

Or you could just let it go and move on.

(*Bleep*)

taylor4956 · ‎09-05-2016

I offered to refund if the buyer if they sent the item back or sent photos, and I haven't heard from them. I checked their feedback score and it doesn't look like they do this kind of thing often. I have since sold things and gotten good feedback, so I'm letting it go until this customer gets back to me. The feedback they gave me sounded like heat of the moment outrage. I think when new customers see this, they will see it for what it is, someone mad at the post office and taking it out on me. I have read up on the ebay policies.

gr8investor2 · ‎09-05-2016

Those claiming that ebay protects both buyers and sellers are full of **bleep**! On a regular basis, ebay will message me about a customer return THE SAME DAY they will email me and tell me a refund is being processed on behalf of the buyer because I didn't respond in a timely manner. I WASN'T EVEN GIVEN A 24 HOUR WINDOW TO RESPOND.

Example, a buyer purchased a smart watch on August 4th. On August 27th, I received notice a refund was being issued to the buyer due to no response on my part. This buyer contacted me on August 7th, requesting an exchange. I explained to the buyer our return/exchange policy.

Exchange- the buyer is responsible for returning the item purchased. Upon return, if item is in EXACT same condition as when purchased, an exchange will be processed and buyer will be refunded postage.

HOWEVER, IF ITEM IS RETURNED DAMAGED, SCRATCHED, OR ITEMS ARE MISSING- EXCHANGE WILL BE DENIED, POSTAGE WILL NOT BE REFUNDED, AND REFUND WILL BE ISSUED MINUS A 15% RESTOCKING FEE AND 10% FEE FOR MISSING ITEMS AND DAMAGE TO ITEM.

This buyer NEVER RETURNED THE SMARTWATCH!!! SO, WHY AM I BEING FORCED TO REIMBURSE THEM! ESPECIALLY AFTER THEIR REVIEW OF THE PRODUCT WAS FILLED WITH OBSCENITIES------A VIOLATION OF EBAY POLICY!

Once the buyer received an explanation of our exchange policy- BUYER FILED A COMPLAINT WITH EBAY. In addition, buyer purchased item for 21.00. However, since current listing is for 30.00, ebay is refunding 30.00---INSTEAD OF THE PURCHASE AMOUNT!

It is time eBay be held accountable for the policies they have in place that are descriminatory towards sellers.

savanna.dance · ‎09-06-2016

@gr8investor2 I think this is an error made by the bot Re: trademark violation. I remember another seller having this exact issue listing the microsd cards. Calling eBay and having them help you arrange the title in a way that won't set of the bots, is my suggestion.

You also want them to remove the policy violation from your account, while you're on the phone.

·•❖•· the wolf you feed wins ·•❖•·

coolections · ‎02-14-2017

@retrose1 wrote:
@sbl_closeout wrote:
It's only a $4.50 purchase.
It has been my experience that buyers that neg without contact usually are hoping that the seller will auto refund in the hopes to buy a feedback revision.

I don't believe that for a second on a $4.50 item. I would throw it in the trash and neg or neutral depending on the condition. Could care less about scamming a $4.50 item. Some just are too paranoid and not trustworthy enough to be in sales I guess.

llllady · ‎02-15-2017

@coolections wrote:
@retrose1 wrote:
@sbl_closeout wrote:
It's only a $4.50 purchase.
It has been my experience that buyers that neg without contact usually are hoping that the seller will auto refund in the hopes to buy a feedback revision.

I don't believe that for a second on a $4.50 item. I would throw it in the trash and neg or neutral depending on the condition. Could care less about scamming a $4.50 item. Some just are too paranoid and not trustworthy enough to be in sales I guess.

Most normal people wouldn't do that either. All scammers start somewhere, test the waters and if successful, move onto bigger and better things. You just never know if this was that "buyer's" entry into the world of scamming.

“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent” ― Madeleine K. Albright

Great! 45.8% down over the same time last year with 2x+ items listed. Are you impressed? I'm certainly not!

tommthre0 · ‎09-07-2017

I JUST STARTED AND HAVE ONE ALLREADY WANTED A DISCOUNT I SAID NO SO HE SAID I MISPOSTED IT AND ANYONE CAN SEE IN THE PICTURES HE GOT WHAT HE SAW BUT THEY PUT A HOLD ON MY MONEY ?????