Is buyer holding me responsible for their mistake?
I have a buyer who purchased two shirts with a print design very similar to this shirt photo.
After receiving the shirts, he messages me with this. “It was my understanding these shirts were printed on the back. As you know they are printed on the front. Do you offer back printing?”
I have no idea why the buyer even thought that. Nowhere in the listing does it state or indicate the print is on the back. But then again, the listing doesn’t state the print is on the front neither… the photo however clearly shows the print on the front of the shirt. I sell a ton of shirts and believe that should be enough to confirm the location of the print. I don’t think the listing needs to state the print is on the front if the photo already shows that. I took that message at face value but my wife says the buyer is passive aggressively saying that I (the seller) am at fault.
So I just replied to the buyer saying yes, the print is on the front as shown in the listing. We don’t carry that, but continued to tell him that I know my supplier can do the print on the back. I proceeded to tell him how to order the shirts with the print on the back from me.
I then received this reply “Well, my problem is, I've ordered, paid for, and received both shirts. Both printed on the front. I was under the impression they were back printed. So what now?” I guess my wife was right, but I like to try and give the buyer benefit of the doubt sometimes since some are so easily offended. I wish these buyers would just stop beating around the bush and tell me what they want from the get go.
Many of you are thinking to just tell the buyer to return for refund. But doing so is basically just asking for a not as described return as it doesn’t sound like to me that the he will file it as remorse. Which means that I will lose the original shipping the buyer paid as well as the return shipping postage. Also keep in mind that this item is a personalized item.
Do you think the buyer will get offended if I ask him why did he think they were back printed? Or politely asking for screenshots that misled him to that impression? After all, he sounds to be using that “I was under the impression that it is printed on the back” statement as leverage to get me to resolve his problem. Thoughts?
mr_lincoln
·5 months agoHi @iamalwaysright
I tend to agree with @lacemaker3 and the Buyer may be fishing for a partial or full refund since you are a new Seller and that tactic can work in some instances.
As to returns, Buyers are protected by the eBay Monay Back Guarantee for 30 days after confirmed delivery: eBay Money Back Guarantee policy
Message them and advise the to file a return and accept it. Get the items back and inspect them to make sure they are in the same condition you shipped them in.
If they have made a false claim on the return item use the Report Buyer link on the sold item BEFORE issuing a refund. That will help protect you against an INAD strike on your account. Below is a link to eBay Seller protections, some may apply depending on what happens on the return.
Seller protections | eBay
In the future state where the printing is on the shirt, front or back, sleeves, etc. The picture you provided makes it appear that it is on the front BUT, you did not state that in the listing and savvy Buyers trying to scam new Sellers can point that out putting you on the defensive.
participatrophy
·5 months agoCould be wrong but it almost sounds like the question he's dancing around asking you is "Would it be a total bleep move to return/exchange these since they're personalized?"
rugerskick
·5 months ago"Hi,
I am not sure what gave you that impression seeing the shirt images with printing on the front of the shirt.
In the future its something to remember, that it's better to clearly ask about any assumptions you have, before purchasing any item."
onefootflipper
·5 months agoWIth a customer like that who is pushing me into a no win situation that is their fault then I will start being very slow with replies and try to time them out past the return window.
You do not want to print more shirts for this person.
grann-4629
·5 months agoYou do not want to print more shirts for this person.
The buyer said "Naturally I will pay”.
It's a sale ..l why not?
onefootflipper
·5 months agoPeople who have "problems with their orders" tend to have more "problems with their orders".
Normally I block anyone who requests a cancellation. I had one yesterday, but it showed it was a repeat buyer, so I just accepted the cancel and didn't block him. Today he bought the same item again. And then requested cancellation again. I went back to look at my history with the customer. They had never actually had a complete transaction with me, instead they had purchased and requested cancellation of the same $7 trading card 5 times over the last year. The initial time I probably accepted the original cancel on my phone (if I do that then I don't have an easy bookmark to block them) and then proceeded to let them do it over and over again. Today I finally blocked them.
adamcartwright
·5 months ago@onefootflipper
Curious, did you report the buyer for violation of the Abusive Buyer policy?
We don't need buyers like that around here.
onefootflipper
·5 months agoI did not. He was a time-wasting Timmy and not a Timmy who made me lose money.
adamcartwright
·5 months ago@onefootflipper
Aren't those kind of the same thing?
onefootflipper
·5 months agoHe would have flipped to money losing Timmy had he not always cancelled so fast that I never actually had to pull his item.
iamalwaysright
OP5 months agoI doubt eBay would deem serial cancellers as “abusive” anyway. They’d probably just dismiss the report.
iamalwaysright
OP5 months agoI asked the buyer what gave him that impression. Then I said if there is somewhere in the listing that misled him to please point it out to me so I can fix it to avoid this issue with any future buyers.
He replied saying “Why would i mind you asking? (I started my message with “if you don’t mind me asking”). Just from the look of the necks of the shirts in your photo. Is it possible to redo the same order same shirts just Printed on the BACK? Naturally I will pay”
I thought I already told him how to purchase them again with prints on the back in my original reply to him. His reply here sounds contradictory to his previous reply where he said he had a problem with having to already pay for two shirts with prints on the front that he received. Am I just talking in circles with him now?
iamalwaysright
OP5 months agoSo this situation gets weirder. I kinda want to see it to the end to see how it plays out.
Quick recap: Buyer mistakenly buys shirts thinking print is in the back, it’s not. He tells me this and asks if he can get shirts printed in the back, I explain and give steps on how to purchase what he wants. He replies saying he has a problem because he already paid for the original shirts he received, because he bought them by mistake. I ask how did he make that mistake, afaik the listing isn’t misleading. He says the mistake is his fault, asks again how can he purchase the shirts he wants saying he never had a problem paying for it.
UPDATE: That last part of his reply confused me because up until then it sounded like he did have a problem. He even indirectly stated this in a previous reply. Anyway, so I decided to be nice (and fair) and offered two shirts the way he wanted at my cost of $28 shipped. I told him I wasn’t profiting off that sale and asked if he’d accept. He said he accepts but doesn’t like that I won’t make a profit from it. Then he says how about we make it $45 shipped instead. This confuses the heck out of me because the price he paid for the original order was only $43! He just offered me more than the price he had originally paid. What is going on with this guy?
lacemaker3
·5 months ago@iamalwaysright
It sounds like he was just testing the waters to see if you would offer a deal. Maybe he could have morally accepted a discount offer as long as you offered it "freely", but he would not come out and ask for one because he knew he made a mistake.
That seems like a very tenuous line of reasoning, to me, but I can see it making sense to some people.
Maybe he didn't even admit to himself what he was doing, and your reply was finally obvious enough that he couldn't keep his eyes shut. Couldn't deceive himself any more.
Best not to rub his nose in it. At least he reached the right conclusion in the end.
grann-4629
·5 months agoThe real loser here is Layla ... sorry dear 😔
umccars
·5 months agoAss/u/me. Never assume.
baydealz
·5 months agoI used to email upon order to confirm that they READ and offer details. They used to reply 'understood,' etc, which was in message system to show eBay WHEN they filed nonsense. Now no one replies to anything. eBay is now an automated machine, there is no recourse.
inhawaii
·5 months agoIn all honesty...
99.9% buyers fault for "assuming" something instead of asking.
.1% sellers fault for not specifying.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm guilty of the same thing.
Several of my t-shirt listings do not specifly "front" or "back".
I just assume the buyer will figure it out by looking at the picture, like you did.
az93
·5 months agoPhoto clearly shows image on the front of the shirt by looking at the neckline. You shouldnt have to point out the obvious. I would say sorry you are disappointed. If you request a return I will approve it.
luckythewinner
·5 months agoI wish these buyers would just stop beating around the bush and tell me what they want from the get go.
You wish the buyer would tell you what he wants, but he is not doing that. He is asking you to tell him what you are willing to do, so you need to do that.
Without seeing the listing he purchased from, it is hard to comment further. If it states explicitly that the shirt is printed on the front, your buyer is not being fair. If it does not, then you may need to add the three words "on the front" to your listings.
jbbowers12012
·5 months agoHi, Agreed with meme6253. You really should be VERY descriptive with your listings. Some buyers will use any excuse to ruin your day. Good Luck!
grann-4629
·5 months agoTell the buyer that you are not responsible for their 'impressions'. Wear the shirt backwards.
iamalwaysright
OP5 months agoHaha I actually thought of that as a funny reply to “just wear the shirt backwards.” Some interesting points have been mentioned here. Some have mentioned that graphic shirt listings need to state where designs are positioned on the shirt itself despite what photos may already show. Some have said this avoids having buyers using anything and everything to try and get a refund or credit.
While I can get on board that spelling out if the design is on the front or back of the shirt can help things, I’m aware that this is the first time I’ve run into this issue from the tons of shirts I’ve sold. But yes, it doesn’t take much work to add that verbiage in there. But more importantly I don’t know how sincere this buyer is with his “impression” because as many of you noticed:
-it would be really silly to have the print on the back.
-this item is generally a one time wear and trashed. eBay is seen as a free rental shop to many.
-this item is a personalized item and would be worthless to me if returned. The buyer might realize this and hope for a refund and keep the item.
This buyer can have ill intentions. If so, having stated that the print is on the front wouldn’t stop this buyer at all in getting what they want. He could’ve just complained that he was under the impression that the shirt only had one sleeve (because my listing did not specifically state the item has two sleeves). And there’s no way I’m going to change all my shirt listings to say the shirt has two sleeves to be as detailed as possible.
baydealz
·5 months agoI actually would write 'two sleeves ' (example of details I add)...but I'm now convinced that NO ONE READS, they slide photos on phone and impulsively buy, because there is no risk, they can return the bike they accidentally bought (at your expense) that they thought was a toy. BUT, I figured it was a contract that I could hold up to eBay, THEY DON'T READ or care. You've got two days to return money and that's it. This is why I stopped selling on Amazon 20 years ago. Now eBay, I think I'll try the flea market.
le-5262
·5 months agoOut of curiosity...
is there no middle of the road option
wherein no one has to suffer a dink?
Like a compromise sort of scenario...
kalyoth
·5 months agoYou are ultimately held to what "IS" & "ISN'T" in your listing. Pictures help, but so does the Item Description describe the item to the buyer. I suggest you include where the print is located in every listing as this is an easy door to walk through, as has happened, for the average buyer. You have to make listings exactly for that reason, spelling out everything for the average buyer.
Also, IMO, that graphic would be just downright silly on the back. But, people are not all created equal & come in every possible shape imaginable. You have to anticipate all their reactions to your advertisement.
meme6253
·5 months agoEven though it's very obvious that the design is printed on the front, You need to specifically state that in your listing because certain buyers will use anything they can against you in order to get a discount or full refund, This is one way to avoid that.
annadryl
·5 months agoI'm sorry this happened, more and more there's a buy/return/that's normal attitude in online buying now because all the bigger online sites just do it. That's just what we have to deal with too b/c ebay needs to do that too in a way.
I hate to admit it (and don't talk about it IRL, but can here) but my Mom orders stuff and just returns it willy-nilly quite often for petty reasons. I try to tell her that I'm a small seller and all this returns and postage and loss is killing the small guys here.
But buyers that don't source and sell and package and ship don't even know about all that... It's the culture we sell in. Most buyers (all ages) think everything is the Big A or Big W.
>edit< my mom doesn't buy ebay, but it's just the general idea that it's an American Right to order and return. She's a nice lady, but just doesn't get this one. It's how it is for consumers now.
christworks
·5 months agoI find it odd they would want the design on the back. I'm with @campanaelia and to an extent @iamalwaysright 's wife. I think they are setting you up for a refund after they wore the shirts for the party. You'd have to be an i***t to not see that the design in the photos is clearly on the front, though I disagree with @iamalwaysright on one point: I think the listing needs to clearly state what side of the shirt the design is on. Ideally, descriptions describe what is in the photos and photos confirm what is in the description.
The buyer is playing coy with you. I think a firmly worded message is in order: "Dear buyer, the photos in the listing, which are part of the description, clearly show the design is on the front of the shirt. There was absolutely no mention or any indication at all that the design would be printed on the back of the shirt. Regardless, you are welcome to open a return and select that you ordered the wrong item. Upon receipt, I will issue you a refund."
campanaelia
·5 months agoThe buyer has 10 days to mail the item back after the return is accepted.
I would be suspicious they'll use them for the party, and then return them using this lame excuse.
bonanza125
·5 months agoJust tell the buyer the same thing you told us " Nowhere in the listing does it state or indicate the print is on the back." Being under the impression is an assumption. It's what is in the listing which was stated. Just leave it at that. If the buyer files a case against you well then you will have to accept the return and issue a refund. That's just unfortunately the way things go. If they don't file a case and keep the item then great.
albertabrightalberta
·5 months agoIf you have a return policy, just tell the buyer to "return for refund." It's possible they'll do it as a remorse return.
BTW, I disagree with your wife that there's any passive-aggressive implication that you're at fault. I'm just interpreting the buyer's comments as what they are -- they thought the printing was on the back.