Horrible threatening feedback from a scammer..help

[williazwer_0]

I just had my first negative feedback ever. It's a bit disturbing. 

The person obviously is scamming me, the item was sent fine, it appears that he tampered with the package himself and claims that it was defective. 

I'm prepared to fully ignore this and not refund him, what does he mean by "going through other channels"???

By not doing anything am I putting my account at risk? 

Also he did not read the fine print where it says clearly in my ad, if there's a problem with the item please message us before leaving feedback which he did not do.

[gamersbaystore]

I've sold many vinyl records on ebay, I would never have shipped them the way you did, with nothing more than a thin sheet of brown paper to externally protect the record. You have 2 feedback with the same identical complaint, poor packaging.

You'd be better off to wrap the entire record in several feet of bubble wrap, then use a larger bubble mailer with the cardboard insert. This is what I always do, and I've never once had a record get damaged during shipping.

Anything you ship thru the mail is going to be handled roughly while in transit, a thin sheet of paper is not going to protect anything.

You could also use a large cardboard mailer, which are very expensive, but the former method I mentioned works just fine.

I saw the pictures, they don't lie, nothing but thin paper.

I know your frustrated, but you made some mistakes here. I'd consider reaching out to the buyer and making some concessions, offer to return, or offer a discount, and stop mailing vinyl records the way you are, its not good.

[mtgraves7984]

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@williazwer_0 wrote:

 here is the email where they said they will "go through other channels."... What does this mean? 

Also, I'm inclined NOT to accept the return because it's no guarantee that they will revise the feedback. It's like he's threatening me in some way. 

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@williazwer_0 

I'd say that 1) your satisfied  buyer is willing to revise the feedback and 2) that by "other channels", a CC chargeback??

[bonjourami]

If he does go thru other channels, meaning a chargeback on his cc, he will be refunded and allowed to keep the record. You, on the other hand, will pay an extra $20 for the transaction and receive a major defect to your account.

[williazwer_0]

What if I messaged him this: 

It's unfortunate that you feel this way about the product. 

Obviously the item was not shipped in this condition, as it must have been tampered with in transit by USPS.  

That said, we'd be happy to initiate the return process upon revising your feedback. 

We will submit a feedback revision request, upon feedback revision we will accept the return. 

Normally we wouldn't go this route, but since you went ahead and left this potentially damaging feedback in advance of any remediation (we clearly State this in our ad, to contact us BEFORE leaving feedback, which you ignored) we have no choice but to assume that you do not have the best intentions and will not give you the benefit of any doubt. 

Sincerely, 

Zeman collectibles

[mtgraves7984]

@williazwer_0 

Re: Post #19... NO!!!

[williazwer_0]

I've never dealt with that before. How does eBay know to charge me $20 if they resolve this on their own with their credit card?

[bonjourami]

Thats extortion, dont do it!! Just tell the buyer to open a not as described case, send him a return label and refund after return. I would say..pick your battles.

[yuzuha]

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@williazwer_0 wrote:

Obviously the item was not shipped in this condition, as it must have been tampered with in transit by USPS.  

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Oh good grief. There was no "tampering" involved, the item was damaged in shipping!

[slippinjimmy]

@williazwer_0 

If you are going to sell 12" vinyl and NOT use mailers specifically made for records you can expect to receive more negs.

Record buyers are picky but if you package properly then damage in transit will be extremely rare. I've shipped probably 25,000+ LP's and the tiny number (single digits) that have ever been damaged in transit and those were so severely damaged that nothing short of a wooden crate or a steel box would have protected them.

This is especially true for relatively high priced brand new RSD releases,  buyers of those expect them to be totally pristine on arrival.

CD's which seems to be what you mostly sell are easy, fold a piece of cardboard around the cd, toss them in an appropriate bubble envelope (#0 or #1) and you are good to go.

[bonjourami]

The dispute fee translates to the credit card investigation fee. Your buyer opened up a claim via the credit card & the investigation fee is being charged to you.

[mtgraves7984]

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@mtgraves7984 wrote:

@williazwer_0 

Re: Post #19... NO!!!

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@williazwer_0

Allow me to expand. By paragraph:

1) The buyer didn't mention disliking the product. It was the packaging.

2) The buyer says it WAS obviously shipped in that condition. 

3) A seller can't "initiate the return process".

4) The buyer doesn't have to show you his first.

5) That one will get you a CC chargeback faster than your own head will spin.

[nyr134]

Another negative received because of a vinyl/LP packaging complaint.

[bonjourami]

Your buyer's pictures of how the pkg arrived tell the story.

[orangehound]

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@williazwer_0 wrote:

 here is the email where they said they will "go through other channels."... What does this mean? 

Also, I'm inclined NOT to accept the return because it's no guarantee that they will revise the feedback. It's like he's threatening me in some way. 

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Here is how I read his message (between the lines): 

"The album arrived with some of the plastic wrap damaged.  I still want the album, but it is less valuable with the plastic wrap damaged.  $o, i$ there $omething you can do for me to help me be a $ati$fied cu$tomer?  If you $ati$fy me in $ome way, I'll change the feedback."

If this were me, I would send a reply that apologized for the damage that the product got in shipping, and offer him $10 to cover the deterioration to the plastic wrap ... it was packed poorly, and it isn't worth my time and hassle to get into a debate.  If that offer is insufficient, then I would give him instructions on how to file a Money Back Guarantee, return the item, and get a full refund.

You can't worry about the feedback, because you cannot control people ... maybe it will be changed, maybe not.  If he doesn't change it, there are kind ways that you can respond to the feedback so that other potential buyers see it.

[12345jamesstamps]

You living in Delaware it might have been a "freight forward" item from your state to a USA address to another country...where it got damaged. Check Buyer ID country and buyer address to see if it was freight forward first. It is possible it got inspected on the long journey doing freight forward.

There is usually an additional eBay fee of someone from another country using a credit card and it having an USA address....just a thought.