Report a buyer who didn't buy an item | Selling

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@sapphire_studio wrote:
You should file a police report for mail fraud.

Can't do it if s/he's refunded by eBay. There would be no "damages" if the OP is made whole.

sapphire_studio

·3 years ago

1148 View listings

If they purchase an item but haven't paid does that count as being in a transaction with them and will it allow you to report them then?

I can understand if eBay doesn't want to allow anyone to just report anyone but they definitely should open it up to transactions that have been purchased even if they hadn't paid (that would cover a large majority of the instances where they're trying to take the transaction off eBay).

femmefan1946

·3 years ago

3977 View listings

@sapphire_studio

I can understand if eBay doesn't want to allow anyone to just report anyone but they definitely should open it up to transactions that have been purchased even if they hadn't paid

Wouldn't that be covered under the Unpaid Items Dispute policy?

He bought, he didn't pay, after four days the seller can cancel the transaction as an UID, and give a Strike.

And in that case, there is a transaction, so Reports should be possible.

krazzykats

·3 years ago

5712 View listings

I've searched, and it seems you have to have an item# to report a member with. Maybe ebay Facebook has a better answer.

pburn

·3 years ago

@krazzykats wrote:
I've searched, and it seems you have to have an item# to report a member with.

That was established in the OP's first post:

"I only see options to report a buyer who bought an item."

wastingtime101

·3 years ago

https://www.ebay.com/help/member-behavior-policies/policies/membertomember-contact-policy?id=4262

Hey @mreinsmith, if the buyer is truly abusive, you can follow the steps on this page to report them:

Edit to add in this link which has additional info on off-eBay sales and another contact link:

https://www.ebay.com/help/offering-buy-sell-outside-ebay/policies/offering-buy-sell-outside-ebay-policy?id=4272

If they're not really abusive but just kind of a jerk, then ignore the messages - don't open them. You've already blocked them so move on. When they don't get a response from you most will eventually give up and move on themselves.

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

Just a REAL jerk I guess, good advice

Thanks

wastingtime101

·3 years ago

@mreinsmith wrote:
Just a REAL jerk I guess, good advice

Thanks

No prob! So the M2M contact policy won't apply, but the off eBay sales policy does. If you want to report them for that instead of the abusive messages, eBay might take it more seriously.

You can use the contact us link on that second page I posted above (you'll get a chat bot just keep scrolling down the list of choices and clicking see more until you get to a real agent). Or if you have a social media account you can send a DM on eBay for business facebook or askebay twitter.

pburn

·3 years ago

@wastingtime101 wrote:
Hey @mreinsmith, if the buyer is truly abusive, you can follow the steps on this page to report them:
https://www.ebay.com/help/member-behavior-policies/policies/membertomember-contact-policy?id=4262

Edit to add in this link which has additional info on off-eBay sales and another contact link:
https://www.ebay.com/help/offering-buy-sell-outside-ebay/policies/offering-buy-sell-outside-ebay-policy?id=4272

What the OP and I are saying is that the links to report a buyer on both of the pages you've provided links for ultimately to go a page that requires a seller to select the (apparently paid) transaction they're reporting. If the "offending" buyer hasn't paid, there appears to be no way to complete the report.

Follow those links and see if you can report just a random member who hasn't made a purchase from you and report back. Maybe the OP and I are doing something incorrectly.

wastingtime101

·3 years ago

@pburn wrote:
@wastingtime101 wrote:
Hey @mreinsmith, if the buyer is truly abusive, you can follow the steps on this page to report them:
https://www.ebay.com/help/member-behavior-policies/policies/membertomember-contact-policy?id=4262

Edit to add in this link which has additional info on off-eBay sales and another contact link:
https://www.ebay.com/help/offering-buy-sell-outside-ebay/policies/offering-buy-sell-outside-ebay-policy?id=4272
What the OP and I are saying is that the links to report a buyer on both of the pages you've provided links for ultimately to go a page that requires a seller to select the (apparently paid) transaction they're reporting. If the "offending" buyer hasn't paid, there appears to be no way to complete the report.

Follow those links and see if you can report just a random member who hasn't made a purchase from you and report back. Maybe the OP and I are doing something incorrectly.

I have followed those links and used them myself to report members I was not in a transaction with. They lead to channels where you can chat directly with CS and report a member through the chat session to a live agent.

pburn

·3 years ago

@wastingtime101 wrote:
I have followed those links and used them myself to report members I was not in a transaction with. They lead to channels where you can chat directly with CS and report a member through the chat session to a live agent.

We seem to be referring to two totally different features.

The OP and I are discussing how to use the "Report a buyer" button and online report feature, and why it cannot be used unless there's been a paid transaction. You're talking about a link to contacting eBay's customer service reps. Two totally different features.

The "Report an issue with a buyer" page lists six examples of when to report a buyer. It then displays a "Report a buyer" button, implying that a seller could report a buyer for at least any one of those six examples; however, that does not seem to be the case.

There's a contact link on every single eBay webpage. No mystery about how to contact customer service. There's no need to go to and through all those links and pages and more links to get to customer service--just pick a page and go. The OP and I are questioning how the "Report a buyer" online reporting feature works.

Perhaps that clears up any misunderstanding.

@elizabeth@ebay

If the "Report a buyer" button does not work unless a seller has been in a transaction with said buyer, then one of two things should happen:

The "help" page should be rewritten to inform sellers they must contact customer service to make said report if they have not been in a paid transaction with the buyer, so sellers don't have to reach out to the Community to figure it out; or,
the "Report a buyer" feature should be redesigned to include reports for the examples that the "help" page implies can be reported using the feature, whether there's been a paid transaction or not.

krazzykats

·3 years ago

5712 View listings

Exactly. I followed all those report links, and could not report a member without an item. Many of the links say you could report a member for violating policy (offers off ebay), but when I followed the link(s), it went straight back to only being able to report a buyer /seller with an item involved.

It simply looped back to itself, which was the original question which is:

How to report a member for violating policy without an item involved?

elizabeth@ebay

Admin3 years ago

Communtiy Advisor0 View listings

@pburn wrote:

@wastingtime101 wrote:

I have followed those links and used them myself to report members I was not in a transaction with. They lead to channels where you can chat directly with CS and report a member through the chat session to a live agent.

We seem to be referring to two totally different features.

The OP and I are discussing how to use the "Report a buyer" button and online report feature, and why it cannot be used unless there's been a paid transaction. You're talking about a link to contacting eBay's customer service reps. Two totally different features.

The "Report an issue with a buyer" page lists six examples of when to report a buyer. It then displays a "Report a buyer" button, implying that a seller could report a buyer for at least any one of those six examples; however, that does not seem to be the case.

There's a contact link on every single eBay webpage. No mystery about how to contact customer service. There's no need to go to and through all those links and pages and more links to get to customer service--just pick a page and go. The OP and I are questioning how the "Report a buyer" online reporting feature works.

Perhaps that clears up any misunderstanding.

@elizabeth@ebay

If the "Report a buyer" button does not work unless a seller has been in a transaction with said buyer, then one of two things should happen:

The "help" page should be rewritten to inform sellers they must contact customer service to make said report if they have not been in a paid transaction with the buyer, so sellers don't have to reach out to the Community to figure it out; or,

the "Report a buyer" feature should be redesigned to include reports for the examples that the "help" page implies can be reported using the feature, whether there's been a paid transaction or not.

Thanks for sharing that info @pburn. I'll be sure to pass these suggestions, because I definitely understand what you're saying. I wanted to share the customer service suggestion, so @mreinsmith still has the opportunity to report the buyer, which at this time would have to be done by our agents. Thank you again.

pburn

·3 years ago

Thanks, @elizabeth@ebay, for passing the suggestions along to the appropriate team. It's just discouraging to read a thread about how to use a feature that would seem to be straight forward but doesn't work in an intuitive way.

I have no particular quarrel with a seller having to report a buyer through customer service (although I don't think there are many members who consider them to be the least bit reliable, nor do I think that's the most efficient way to do it for either the seller or customer service), but that should be made clear on the "help" page so members don't have to wonder why the "Report a buyer" feature is not working for them or what they're doing wrong.

Thanks again!

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/reporting-issue-buyer?id=4084

Just to complicate this even farther ðŸ™‚

In my case the item sold to someone else right after this happened. So, if I pick the item from the list to try to report it, it will go against that person. Does that make sense?

Now for your entertainment, let me tell you the rest. But let me say first that eBay has been very helpful with resolving this issue (Thank You eBay)

So, the person was trying to make a deal for 3 items. About 15 minutes after I broke off communication all 3 items were purchased at full price. A few days later they wanted to return them, saying that the items were not what was described. When I got them back, 2 of the items were the old junk they wanted to replace with these items.

To make an even more complicated story short, they got their money back. Shortly after that received a message from the original person which referenced "Karma", if you know what I mean.

Like I said, a REAL jerk.

BTW - this happened to me once before with another buyer and I just let it go.

Anyway, once again eBay has been helping me get this resolved and I'm very happy with the progress so far.

janet9988

·3 years ago

127 View listings

What specifically should sellers use for a member who violates ebay policy?

Does not show how to do so.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/buying-practices-policy?id=4374

Shows a link to report abusive behavior...Unwelcome and malicious buyer behavior. .when you click that link it only tells the seller that the SELLER will be punished and that ebay expects the seller to be polite against the abuser.

Why should any seller have to do such?

Also when you click on unwelcome or malicious buying or anything else mentioned in the screenshot ebay will sanction the SELLER as clearly pointed out here.... How unfair is that when the seller tries to report the scammer buyer that ebay tells the seller that they (the seller) will be punished.. It is very strong reason not to report the buyer.........

Activity that doesn't follow eBay policy could result in a range of actions including for example: administratively ending or canceling listings, hiding or demoting all listings from search results, lowering seller rating, buying or selling restrictions, and account suspension. All fees paid or payable in relation to listings or accounts on which we take any action will not be refunded or otherwise credited to your account.

wastingtime101

·3 years ago

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/eBay-to-add-Report-option-to-messages/td-p/33362995

I understand the situation.

- The report buyer button/link only works for a buyer you're in a transaction with. Nobody is disputing that.

- Members you're not in a transaction with can still be reported.

- The method for reporting them is to contact CS directly which can be done using the chat feature on the pages I linked above. That's what OP needs to do if they want to report this person.

- Info I didn't post yet is that supposedly eBay is working on adding a report button back to messages to make reporting easier, however that's not in play yet and might never be if eBay scraps the plan.

pburn

·3 years ago

@mreinsmith wrote:
How do I report a buyer who tried to buy items off eBay and I refused (at which point they became abusive)

I only see options to report a buyer who bought an item.

That's all I see, as well--which is odd, since several of the violations listed on the "Report a Buyer" page would transpire before a transaction is paid for, include trying to buy items off eBay.

When to report a buyer

You should only report a buyer if you think theyâ€™re violating our policies. Here are a few examples of when to report a buyer:

The buyer is demanding something that wasnâ€™t offered in the original listing
You believe the buyer is making a false claim
You believe the buyer is misusing the eBay Money Back Guarantee or the returns system
Theyâ€™ve asked you to complete a sale off eBay
Theyâ€™re abusing the bid retraction process, repeatedly bidding and then retracting bids
Theyâ€™re messaging you more than what would be considered normal, with no intention of buying the item

@kyle@ebay

@devon@ebay

@elizabeth@ebay

Can one of you help the OP with how to report a buyer who has not made a purchase in order to report one of the examples highlighted in red above? It appears clicking on the "Report a buyer" feature requires that the buyer has already made the purchase. Thanks!

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

Thanks

elizabeth@ebay

Admin3 years ago

Communtiy Advisor0 View listings

@pburn wrote:

@mreinsmith wrote:

How do I report a buyer who tried to buy items off eBay and I refused (at which point they became abusive)

I only see options to report a buyer who bought an item.

That's all I see, as well--which is odd, since several of the violations listed on the "Report a Buyer" page would transpire before a transaction is paid for, include trying to buy items off eBay.

When to report a buyer

You should only report a buyer if you think theyâ€™re violating our policies. Here are a few examples of when to report a buyer:

The buyer is demanding something that wasnâ€™t offered in the original listing

You believe the buyer is making a false claim

You believe the buyer is misusing the eBay Money Back Guarantee or the returns system

Theyâ€™ve asked you to complete a sale off eBay

Theyâ€™re abusing the bid retraction process, repeatedly bidding and then retracting bids

Theyâ€™re messaging you more than what would be considered normal, with no intention of buying the item

@kyle@ebay

@devon@ebay

@elizabeth@ebay

Can one of you help the OP with how to report a buyer who has not made a purchase in order to report one of the examples highlighted in red above? It appears clicking on the "Report a buyer" feature requires that the buyer has already made the purchase. Thanks!

Hi @mreinsmith and thanks for the tag @pburn. As this would require us to look into account specifics which we're unable to do, we recommend reaching out to our customer service agents here, so they can file the buyer report on their end.

pburn

·3 years ago

@elizabeth@ebay

That's not what I'm asking. My question has nothing to do with anyone's account or their account specifics. I'm not inquiring about a specific seller or a specific buyer or a specific transaction. I'm not sure how to make my question more clear for you, but here goes:

I'm asking how a seller--any seller--can report a buyer--any buyer--who hasn't actually engaged in a paid transaction with said seller.

The "Report a buyer" feature requires the selection of a transaction. I'm asking how to report a buyer with whom one has not had a transaction?

How does a seller--any seller--report a buyer--any buyer--for the following violations if there has been no paid transaction:

Theyâ€™ve asked you to complete a sale off eBay
Theyâ€™re abusing the bid retraction process, repeatedly bidding and then retracting bids
Theyâ€™re messaging you more than what would be considered normal, with no intention of buying the item

coolections

·3 years ago

2 View listings

Ignore, block, and move on. Never reply to someone who wants you sell outside Ebay.

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

Your right of course and I did block them (they still found a way to message me after that)

I'm trying to move on because I know it's not the last time it will happen

Thanks

pburn

·3 years ago

@mreinsmith wrote:
Your right of course and I did block them (they still found a way to message me after that)

If you've exchanged messages back and forth with another member, they can continue to message you for some period of time even though they're blocked. Communication blocks also will not prevent blocked members from contacting you through links on your feedback page or your profile page. eBay has designed it this way so that buyers can contact sellers. That's the way they want it to work.

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

Offering to buy or sell outside of eBay policy | eBay

That's a good thing and a bad thing at the same time ðŸ™‚

krazzykats

·3 years ago

5712 View listings

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

The problem there is that the item has since been sold to someone else

soh.maryl

·3 years ago

110 View listings

Why is that a problem? You did not sell it to the person who tried to get you to take the transaction off eBay.

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

It was the same person, just using their spouses account

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

Oh, I realized it right away, I should have canceled it, but I was concerned about getting dinged for that

janet9988

·3 years ago

127 View listings

Sadly you can not cancel if you suspect the buyer is a scammer.

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

Yep, that's how I saw it when I looked it up

The price of doing business ðŸ™‚

pburn

·3 years ago

Oh, man alive. These were married, "adult" members? (And I use the word "adult" quite wrongly.)

I hope customer service clears this up for you, including returning all your money and banning that member for malicious buying.

One thing I get a kick out of is how eBay seems to be so good at discovering sellers' IPs that might be linked with another banned seller, or discovering matching IPs in the Community if a member gets suspended, but they just can't manage to identify buyers' IPs when they pull this kind of junk--whether it's allowing them to create a new account or using another household member's account.

Please, please, please keep us posted in this thread on how this whole thing ends up playing out.

@house*of*paws

Here's another malicious buyer case for you . . . let's see how this one turns out.

mreinsmith

OP3 years ago

So far I've received my money back from eBay for 2 of the 3 items, just waiting for an answer to my appeal for the 3rd

So no complaints there

Thanks

wastingtime101

·3 years ago