How should I handle this?
Hello! Can I cancel and refund a buyer who purchased an item and then is begging me to refund him partially because he "lost his job and his dad passed in 9/11 and they remind him of his dad"? I find this crazy because I'm struggling to feed myself right now due to illness and I just don't buy this story... the only 3 options to cancel did not include this situation.. any help thanks!!
25 comments
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI hate to say this because it's SO overused, but "I've been selling on here for over 20 years" and have found that beggars never turn out to be good customers. You can bend over backwards and they just demand more. Nothing new - some people are just like this.
And @reallynicestamps is right - the cheapskates are the worst.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoIf you use Best Offer, use Calculated shipping.
If you use Flat Rate or Free Shipping, don't use Best Offer.
I mean, you can, but you are selling here to make a profit, and BO reduces your profit.
BO however, never includes your shipping rate, which is rightly considered to go to the shipper, not stay with you.
And of course, Free Shipping means you are including the cost of shipping in your asking price.
The customers for low priced and underpriced goods are usually the worst to deal with.
I think it's because they feel when they get something for a bargain price that something must be wrong with it and they persuade themselves they are being cheated somehow. It's sad really.
wannefeller
OP2 years agoHi, I did cancel it earlier so I guess I'll lose my ebay account? Not cool.. I've never had this issue. I sell low priced items because right now every last penny helps. I feel like buying have all of the power on ebay.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoHi, I did cancel it earlier so I guess I'll lose my ebay account? Not cool.. I've never had this issue. I sell low priced items because right now every last penny helps. I feel like buying have all of the power on ebay.
You are probably not going to loose your account over a canceled transaction as long as it was not an out of stock cancelation. However, you are correct the buyers, even if they are scammers, have most of the protection on eBay either under the terms of the eBay Money Back Guarantee or through their CC company.
wannefeller
OP2 years agoThanks db. kinda eased some worry.. I don't sell a TON of stuff but list when I need to so hopefully it won't hurt my account.. so crummy stuff like this happens. The person join in November 23 too so he's new. A lot of us I know have been selling for years and years.
wannefeller
OP2 years agoHere is the message sent:
Thanks so much for offering quality items at a fair prices my friend. I recently lost my job i know it is hard on everybody but these figures remind me so much identically of my father who died in 911. If you could refund any dollars back on price and or decreasing shipping service quality and amount back would make all the difference in the world for me. Thanks so much and god be with you and your entire family. I really appreciate all your help. Most sincerely,
The grammar and "style" screams scammer as well.. idk.
a_c_green
·2 years ago"Kung Fu Panda" was not released until 2008.
What does his Feedback Left for Others look like? My suspicion is that he sends out that glurge to every seller, but if his feedback doesn't raise any red flags, I would just ship it. Not sure I would even answer that message, but if you feel inclined, you might gently push back:
"Dear Cheapskate,
I'm sorry but this sale has already been settled. If you would like to cancel, please let us know right away and we can do that; otherwise your package will be shipping out promptly.
Regards,
You"
I would also suggest not hanging Make Offer on everything, especially those listings selling for barely $10-$12 in the first place. If you enjoy haggling, I would reserve that for items with much higher price tags, so that you will still have some profit left over.
mondex
·2 years agoPeople keep saying cancel, but the buyer didn't actually request to cancel. If you cancel with the reason "buyer requested" and ebay determines that's not the case, you could receive a defect. Asking for a partial refund AFTER buying is ridiculous and very shady though. If you haven't sent it out yet I would send him the following message:
"Hi, I'm sorry, I don't do partial refunds, but I can cancel the item if you've changed your mind. Please let me know ASAP if you want to cancel. If not, I will send it out as normal before the shipping deadline. Thank you,"
Don't address them as scammer or cheapskate as someone mentioned, don't ever call anyone a name if you plan to keep selling, and don't say more than you need to. The way to avoid most negative feedback is to kill them with kindness, but be firm against potential scammers. If you end up sending the item out and they DO leave negative feedback, there's a decent chance to get it removed because of the message they sent. You would have to request an ebay agent to review the feedback, tell them about the message the buyer sent, and that this was vindictive feedback and against ebay policies (basically a low-end version of blackmail). Most of the time they will remove it.
wannefeller
OP2 years agoYeah I just checked his left for others... 2 negatives to people and what he wrote does not make sense... yeah this is bad. All for 2 McDonalds toys I listed good grief. I'm going to try to contact eBay in the morning... sigh.
wannefeller
OP2 years agoHi! To clarify, he purchased, paid then send the fake sob story and wanted me to refund him partial money and pretty much still send the items. He wanted it cheaper and was trying to lowball offers earlier today. Sorry to clarify, it's late here and I worked a double.
buyselljack2016
·2 years ago....................................................
wannefeller
OP2 years agoWow, thank you all for the replies! He DID pay right away.. they are mcdonalds toys.. very weird. So I will probably get bad feedback, his grammar is terrible... should I refund, how does that work? I've never had this happen. Thanks again!
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoJust tell him you'll refund him as soon as the funds become "available". Usually only takes a day or two. Then when they do you can cancel as buyer requested.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoHe's lying.
The tell is 9/11.
Also that his dog died and his truck broke down and that his grandma is back in jail.
Do not communicate.
If he does not pay in 96 hours, you can cancel as Unpaid Item.
He gets a Strike. You get any fees you may have paid returned.
Then add him to your Blocked Bidders List.
Note also that this kind of scamming is a violation of eBay's rules- demanding something not in the listing after purchase.
But let's keep this simple.
inhawaii
·2 years agoThe more refund you give him he less the item will remind him of his dad???
Hmmmmm.
Cancel. Reason: Buyer asked to cancel.
Don't forget to block this character.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoOops on the spelling.
And it's not even cocktail hour there.
dolcetreasures
·2 years agoCancel, I keep getting these same phony backstories over and over.
solidguitar1961
·2 years agoUnless the buyer requested you to cancel ,you'll get a defect if you cancel.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoI think "begging" qualifies as a buyer request.
janet9988
·2 years ago"begging me to refund him"
So you are saying that the buyer begging the seller for a refund is NOT the same as requesting to cancel and the buyer expects to receive those items for free?
Then the correct advice in that case would be to report the buyer for demanding something that was not part of the the deal.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/report-issue-buyer?id=4084&st=3&pos=2&query=Report%20an%20issue%20with%20a%20buyer&intent=report%20buyer&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1263
itemresa
·2 years agoThis guy is feeding you a line of you know what in the hope that you'll give him a discount. Cancel the order, refund him in full and then add him to your blocked buyer list.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoPoor grammar in the OP, the buyer is not asking for a partial refund.
The way I read it, the OP is saying "partially" because of the two reasons given, partially one of them and partially the other one.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoCancel the item if you want.
I would wait until the funds are actually in my bank and not "available funds".
Not a partial refund. I heard too many crying stories.
Do not mail it out.
The "refund" will immediately come out of any...and I mean any "available funds"...not the cancel item.
If you have no incoming past sales then you are OK.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoCancel the order as buyer requested and issue the refund.
dirk12955
·2 years agoCancel. There's no way the transaction will turn out in a good way.