Scammers
I sell fabric for under $2.00 and I have had these people send me a message saying they did not receive it and then request a refund. I send my fabric in a #10 envelope with 1 postage stamp so there is no tracking. Ebay always sides with the buyer so even if I send another piece of fabric to make things right they often say they didn't get the second piece either so I lose. How bad do you have to be to scam someone out of a couple bucks. Then they leave you rude negative feedback. Is there a way to block these buyers?
14 comments
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoSellers who come here with many complains have in common a variety of factors which include their belief and their buyer's belief that the item are worthless.
Low starting bid auctions with First Class letter shipping say that loud and clear.
Many buyers with marginal ethics fee free to cheat sellers who leave them a wide opening to cheat; After all, it isn't a lot of money.
You need to rethink what you offer, rethink selling by auction, rethink how you ship. Or you can accept the low prices and the losses due to crooked buyers.
I do not have a lot of issues with my buyers because I stopped selling things that create issues. When I had issues it was usually with the cheap crap.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years ago"I send my fabric in a #10 envelope with 1 postage stamp so there is no tracking."
Do you put your return address on the envelopes?
I wonder if the post office isn't delivering because you aren't putting enough postage on them. For example, your most recent neg is for a 9" x 21" piece of fabric. Not only would that weigh more than an ounce (1 stamp) but wouldn't it be too thick a package for a "flat?"
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoA flat can be up to 3/4 inch thick. A regular business envelope mailed as a letter can be up to 1/4 inch thick. A piece of cotton fabric measuring 9 x 21 inches could easily be mailed as a letter, less than 1/4 inch thick. If the weight went over 1 ounce, and if the PO cared, they would deliver it to the buyer with Postage Due for that extra ounce.
To answer the question in the original post: Sorry, no, there's no way to block buyers based on "not received" claims or on the bad feedback they have left, but wouldn't that be handy! You can, however, add specific ID's to your blocked-bidder list in your site preferences.
EDIT: I just put 4 JoAnn's "fat quarters" on my postage scale and the total weight was 5.1 ounces, that's a full yard of fabric. So those little 9 x 21 pieces, which are 1/8 of a square yard, even in an envelope, would be under 1 ounce.
terminatortoo
OP2 years agoYes I put my return address on the envelope and I have sent hundreds of 9X21 pieces of fabric they usually weigh exactly 1 ounce or even less depending on the fabric.
fashunu4eeuh
·2 years agoLike the other poster said, you would be able to block them after the fact.
I would lean towards believing those who claim INR. Sending fabric in a regular envelope could well be the problem. Raise prices slightly to cover the expense of a small padded envelope. Provides much better protection.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoSelling very low dollar items like that is a rough way to do business. As above, start lotting up those remnants and sell them for a price that allows tracking. If you have quite a few remnants, bold ends, etc., you can do themed lots.
4pawsup*
·2 years agoMaybe you could try to put together lots with a higher price so you could ship with tracking. Some people derive happiness out of making misery for others. Seems you are running in to those types with all the INR claims. To bad hope you find a way to work it out.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoSince you don't use tracking, you don't know if they receive the items or not so how do you know they are scammers?
Could just be buyers that didn't receive their item.
terminatortoo
OP2 years agoOne person said she did not receive the second envelope either but swore she would pay me if she did. Now I know things get lost in the mail but come on twice? I find that hard to believe and this is one of the scams mentioned in several YouTube videos.
If they actually didn't receive the goods I understand but why do people have to send rude messages repeatedly? Does it hurt to show a little common courtesy?
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoScammers, at least those with good scamming sense, for the most part are not going to be leaving bad feedback about a $2 item. Drawing attention to their actions is not a scammer mode of operation, and again............$2 ?
Piece of cloth in an envelope sometimes may not travel well through the USPS processing machines. You just refund, and move on.
Had a local woman infuriated with USPS when a small round (think pearl, or such) item was not in the envelope when it arrived. Hole in the end of the envelope. Likely a USPS employee had to dig that item out of the jammed-up machinery.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoI can believe it.
A few years ago, I shipped a item with tracking and it got to their PO and that was it.
I called their PO , the buyer went to their PO and nothing.
It was a cheap item, so I just sent them another one and the same thing, it got to their PO, then nothing.
I called them again and got nowhere, the buyer went back and talked to the Postmaster and nothing.
About a week later, they called him and told him they found both packages, together in a corner of a back room.
The carrier didn't recognize the name on the packages and didn't want to mess with them.
terminatortoo
OP2 years agoI would think that would be a very rare case.
broto_64
·2 years agoTracking is the magic sauce that makes all those "lost" packages reappear right out of thin air. Why we can't have anything nice in this world. It is amazing how tracking puts a fire under the feet of buyers who can't find their orders for just a few dollars extra in postage. Cost of which I tack on to every order since they apparently don't mind paying.
ebeths_eclectic_collectibles
·2 years agoYes, you can block these buyers but only after they have scammed you. If your business model is to sell small very inexpensive pieces of fabric without tracking those are the consequences