Should I poke the bear or leave it be?
A buyer of mine bought 3 items and complained to me saying the items are soiled and asked for replacements and they’ll send the originals back to me. They messaged me with a different account so I had to ask them for more info to look up the sale, eBay ID or order number.
They seemed pretty irritated saying they’re willing to complain to eBay if they have do. They gave me the additional info I needed but ended with saying all they are asking is for 2 new items quickly (originally I assumed it was all 3) and they’ll return the soiled ones back. I then asked for photos of the soiled areas in order to resolve this the quickest way and they won’t even have to return the original items. I also asked them which 2 of the 3 items have this issue.
They replied today that the post office is closed, so they’ll be there tomorrow and attach a photo of the soiled area. ??? So now I’m confused why they need to go to the post office for that. I still also don’t know which 2 of the 3 items are soiled. Did they misunderstand my task request? I was about to message them about this but stopped. Should I message for them to elaborate or just wait until tomorrow and see what happens? I hope they don’t end up sending the items back to me without me knowing.
ittybitnot
·11 months agoThey messaged me with a different account .....
@iamalwaysright
The account that sent the message would have been immediately been placed on "HIGH IGNORE" (Don't block because you won't see any other garbage coming your way after that point.)
If you believe anything they say, have and feel some sort of emotional obligation to a user that actually DID NOT buy your stuff, give them the link to what they should do if they "purchased as a guest".
It reeks of the old scam....Dear seller, I just bought your item and have a (heart wrenching detailed family emergency) causing me to be out of town. Please ship it to xxxxxxx (freight forwarder address in Delaware).
Though one may not think three shirts "scam worthy", one would be surprised.
reallynicestamps
·11 months agoThe Money Back Guarantee is a MONEY Back Guarantee.
Losses on returns are tax deductible.
Don't send replacements.
Tell them to Return for Refund.
They are grownups, let them figure out how to get a Return Shipping Label, you are not required to teach them.
They will get an RSL if they open a MBG Claim.
No replacements.
Refund only after Return.
gurlcat
·11 months agoAlso now that you know you don't have the stock to replace the "soiled" 2, that gives you an easy 'out' of that discussion. Just tell them to start a return, LOL!! It really is THAT simple!
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoHAHAHA what???? How did I forget this option. I think the problem was that I initially didn't suspect the buyer just wanted a freebie until recently so I forgot the option. So ultimately this this has gone full circle to the usual "sorry, return for refund" broken record.
Glad I didn't reply to the buyer yet. So now my new resolution is you can try to wash it to get it out if you want to. But if not, file a return for a refund. I'm all "out" of these right now so I don't have anymore to use as replacements.
wastingtime101
·11 months agoReally? That was the first thing I thought when I read your OP. I wondered why you were discussing replacements on this one. I was pretty confused. 😂
Yeah, that milk foam or baby vomit or whatever it is should wash right out.
Assuming your employees didn't spill anything (I assume they can't have beverages other than water in the packing/shipping area?) then the buyer is trying to get free product or a partial refund from you.
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoMaybe I’m off my game because of the increased volume of recent buyer issues with all the balls in the air. It’s as expected tho. With increased volume comes increased headache.
It’s possible that I dangled the idea of replacements in the air when the buyer was flaking and being so difficult to get them to provide a photo. It obviously saves me more money to send replacements than do a return refund. I’ve been known to offer it when it’s clearly a seller fault.
wastingtime101
·11 months agoYeah, definitely. And if it was something like the package was torn in transit so 2 of the shirts were exposed and got dirty then it makes sense to replace.
But it's hard to suss out what happened when the buyer is less than cooperative. The buyer being a pain from the beginning is why I thought it was more likely a buyer issue than a seller issue. It's always tough dealing with buyers that won't answer direct questions.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·11 months agoThat would void the MBG
gurlcat
·11 months agoI'm hung up on this very first sentence, never mind the goofy rest. That word "and" deserves the most side-eye in my opinion. Do they mean "and THEN" they'll send the originals back? -That would be a deal-breaker for me. Same with simultaneous replacement/return shipments, because how would you know what they're actually sending back until you get the package?
The account identity, the post office open hours, the chemical makeup of the "soil" -all irrelevant. If they want to return part of their order, they can do that without your approval, and you can either refund or replace what they return.
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoI didn't consider that but you're right. Sounds shifty. I went back to see the actual verbiage of their initial message. It was "The shirts I got have something crusty on the sleeve yellowish in color. Can you send a replacement and I can send these back ." In a later response they restated "Send me 2 new shirts and I will send the ones back"
So yes, I guess it can mean what you thought. Also I was just finally able to get this buyer to show a photo of the 2nd shirt. 😑 And as I suspected @wastingtime101 usually when it's this tough to pry any info out from the buyer it likely means they are hiding something.
Now I agree that this shirt is soiled and shouldn't have been, but the reason why it took the buyer so long to provide this one is because the soiled area is conveniently significantly smaller than the first. The buyer thought providing this photo would make their claim sound less important.
So I'm going to go out on a cynical limb here with my thoughts. 2 out of the 3 shirts have this soiled area. All 3 shirts were folded together in the package. The package shows no signs of damage or mishandling. The 3rd shirt is perfectly fine. The soiled area is roughly in the exact same relative location on the 2 shirts.
Suspicion: Someone or the buyer opened up the package to take out the shirts, unfolded them still stacked on each other and pulled the first one out to look at it. Then a beverage was accidentally spilled thus soiling the remaining two shirts in that area. I suspect this is buyer fault and not seller nor carrier. The buyer's behavior seems to support their guilt.
I think I'm going to suggest the buyer have the shirts laundered and I pay them for it. If it comes off, we're good. If not, file a return for a refund and I won't hold it against them that it's laundered. This will be my bluff as I'm not going to have it returned, I'll just refund them. Replacement offers are off the table. The buyer likes the shirts and I feel would rather keep them than send them back for a refund. Coincidentally I had already put the listing into OOS which means the buyer couldn't buy any more from me even if they wanted to.
Ultimately I'd be out about the same amount of money if I shipped out the replacements versus refunding them after paying for them to be cleaned. But the latter gives me more satisfaction in knowing they won't be able to get more of these shirts from me.
a_c_green
·11 months agoMy thought, after looking at all the photos, is that the buyer washed the shirts after opening them, but dumped detergent (maybe even bleach) directly on the items in the washing machine instead of putting the stuff in the dispenser (or whatever the proper procedure is).
I always hold the detergent measuring cup under the water flow coming in to the washing machine, so that it's diluted before it ever contacts clothing, but not everyone does things like that. It looks like the shirts came into direct contact with undiluted detergent or bleach.
gurlcat
·11 months agoWith all due respect, are you a seller or a server who spilled the 'whatever' on them at their table? You packed these shirts yourself right? Wouldn't you have noticed if they had those white liquid splats on them? So if you know you didn't soil them, why offer to pay for laundering them?
And by the way what do you mean by that? -Like at a professional cleaning business? For t-shirts? And if you thought it was hard getting them to just show you a couple of photos, what do you think it's going to be like coming to an agreement about this laundering plan? Sorry, to me that would be bonkers enough with a normal buyer, but one this squirrel-y, oh heck no.
Anyway I think this is another one trying to get a partial refund but going about it in an extra irritating way. Trying to wear you down to acquiescence. They are absolutely full of ..... shirt.
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoSo does anyone have any ideas of what caused the soiled areas based on the picture? Or even any remote unlikely theories?
I'm kind of stumped, with the lighting it kinda looks like a dried up latte with lots of creamer or something.
broto_64
·11 months agoI never (ok, almost never) get into discussions with buyers.
First sign of trouble = please return for refund.
Just return for refund.
I don't care whose account which, what or where.
Buyers who are messaging from an "alt" account?
Dear buyer, please return for refund.
You have no idea how many problems are solved with simple "return for refund"
No explanations, no back and forth, no trying to figure it out, no muss, no fuss.
Return for refund, the mantra that keeps on giving.
If however you wish to poke the bear, may I recommend the "Hot Shot" cattle prod?
It's top of the line among farmers, surely bears will love it as much as cattle.
sammiea1460
·11 months agoWhy are you not just following your policy on returns? Keep your transactions simple.
I find their picture suspect and wonder how you could have missed that spot on 2 shirts while packing.
Asking for pictures with the back and forth messages isn't always productive and it can certainly create confusion for both parties. At the end of the day, you can still be hit with an INAD/ negative FB regardless of what has been negotiated through messages.
Didn't you recently deal with a buyer and a green T-shirt he absolutely had to have by Tuesday?
reallynicestamps
·11 months ago"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase. Please return for a refund."
"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase. Please return for a refund."
"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase. Please return for a refund."
"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase. Please return for a refund."
"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase. Please return for a refund."
No refund until the return is in your hands.
Refunds are cash only, not product which cost you more to send.
meme6253
·11 months agoIf you choose to poke the bear, I hope you are fully aware of what happens when you poke a bear!, Your choice.
stuff4divas
·11 months ago@iamalwaysright Sounds like a scam to me
I agree with @a_c_green >
"just give them the old boilerplate business reply: "I'm sorry that you were not happy with these items. You may return them for a full refund." Lather, rinse, repeat."
12345jamesstamps
·11 months agoAre you looking for a 'pen-pal'?...with endless emails.
Block the buyer.
And if there is a open-claim do the refund thing and be done with it...of course it depends how they open a claim and for what reason.
You have more patience than me.
albertabrightalberta
·11 months agoOkay, something else occurred to me.
I wonder if this is a new twist on the type of scam in which the seller sells something and the "buyer" (but really someone pretending to be the buyer) asks the seller to ship to a different address.
In this case, buyer purchases and pays for an item and since the item(s) are fairly inexpensive, expects a refund.
But unbeknownst to the "scam buyer," the item hasn't been delivered yet plus, there's no way to issue a refund to an ID that didn't make the purchase.
stainlessenginecovers
·11 months agoYou, or someone, keeps saying 'the item hasn't been delivered yet'.
Not sure where you get that from and that is not what occurred. The whole 'post office is closed, do it tomorrow' was in reference to the buyer being able to send the items back.
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoOkay I'll answer a few different posts in this reply in one go. Yes, you are correct that the original item as been delivered. Yes the buyer is using guest accounts. To my understanding, what's "coming tomorrow" are the photo(s) of the soiled items. It remains to be seen if anything else is coming tomorrow as the buyer is pretty bad with being clear and answering questions. They may or not not tell me which 2 items are soiled. If not, perhaps I would be able to tell from the photos. But then again, in the past I've received some rather horrible photos when the buyer supplies them (blurry, dark, partially blocked, too far away, etc). The cynical part of me sometimes believes the buyer does this intentionally to hide something. I personally believe that the buyer doesn't plan on shipping it back to me tomorrow, but I could be wrong here. No idea why they need to be at a post office during working hours for this, perhaps it's physically in a storage mailbox or locker inside the PO? Or is it possible that the package was tagged as soiled or damaged by the PO during transit, you know in those clear plastic bags with a notice. If that were true, would it be possible that the PO is holding onto it for the buyer? I have hardly any experience with noted damage by USPS during transit packages.
The items are shirts, similar to the ones I recently posted about in another thread. That is the only similar thing they share with that other thread, totally different buyers. This is a different issue than that one. Given the numerous weird issues with buyers who bought this shirt, someone suggested that it attracts a demographic that can be troublesome. That actually might be true. This actually feels like the damage control post-Christmas aftermath season.
Did you send something that was that way?
No
Do you believe the buyer?
Too soon to tell. That's why I ask for photos in order to assess if the buyer is willing. I do believe that the buyer believes it to be true though. For instance, I once had a buyer who kept insisting that they received one shirt and not the two they ordered. I believed that he believed he was right. Then I had him look closer and said he didn't realize I folded the two shirts together instead of individually and stacked them. Had I just accepted the return without diving into it with him, we woulda done the entire return/replacement for no reason.
Is it something you can 'replace' with the same?
Yes. I always like to see if I can find the cause of the issue before dismissing it with a replacement. That way I'll know if I have to adjust anything to avoid the incident with the replacement or in the future.
Was it new or old?
New
How much we talkin?
About $55
@redmodelt @stainlessenginecovers @albertabrightalberta @wastingtime101
redmodelt
·11 months agoShould have scrolled down when looking at their post on the community section.
stainlessenginecovers
·11 months ago@redmodelt that goes without saying (yes, they did) as @iamalwaysright always uses a 'posting' id and not their 'selling' id.
albertabrightalberta
·11 months agoWhat am I missing? How do they know something is soiled when they won't receive it till tomorrow?
wastingtime101
·11 months agoThe buyer has the package. What's "coming tomorrow" is the information OP requested (pics, which items are allegedly 'soiled', plus return tracking info) because the buyer is being weird and saying they can't provide info until they go to the PO tomorrow to ship the items back.
jonathanbrightlight
·11 months ago@iamalwaysright
I would honestly not respond at this point, or possibly say something like "Please contact me from the account used to make the purchase in order to continue." It sounds suspicious, and I'm not even that skeptical most of the time.
wastingtime101
·11 months agoIf the buyer checked out as a guest they have zero ability to contact the seller through that account because guest accounts are not registered. All they can do is file claims, not send messages. Sounds like buyer/seller are amicably trying to work out a replacement without having a claim filed.
Buyer is the type it's hard to get a straight answer from, and that's where OP is stuck. This is why I suggest doing nothing at this point. Questions are out there, ball is in buyer's court. Either they follow up or they don't.
From personal experience, I've checked out as a guest with an assortment of retailers on numerous occasions because I couldn't remember my password and didn't want to reset in that moment. Guest purchase was faster. It's not uncommon for buyers to use that option even when they have a registered account.
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoYea you hit the nail on the head here. It's like pulling teeth trying to get info from these types of people. So I stayed silent to wait and see and this is what I get from them. Mind you they were previously asked for photos of the soiled area of 2 shirts and to specify which 2 of the 3 shirts are affected.
They reply "It's on both nothing sure what it is"
😑So at least there's progress. I have a photo of 1 of the 3 shirts with what seems to have some yellowish soiled area near the front or rear of the shoulder. Any idea what that might be? I'm stumped. Anyway, so I asked what they meant by "both"? The package had 3 shirts in it. I asked them for a photo of the soiled 2nd shirt in order for us to assess and see if we have to do something to avoid this from happening to the replacements. I then asked if the packaging looked damaged, torn, or soiled when they received it.
They came back and just said "The royal blue in the photo I just sent 1 × large the other large". No second shirt photo, no response on packaging damage. Still don't know why they had to go to the post office for this.
stainlessenginecovers
·11 months agoI would reply with
Not trying to rile you up but I don't understand what time the post office is open having anything to do with you a.) sending me pictures of the issue b.) telling me which 2.
Also,
Did you send something that was that way?
Do you believe the buyer?
Is it something you can 'replace' with the same?
Was it new or old?
How much we talkin?
redmodelt
·11 months agoThis whole thing seems kinda hokey to me! If they bought something using X account, why did they use a different account to send messages? Even is sent as a gift to a different address, they still needed to use the original account to work thru and get any refunds or open a return.
tsme35
·11 months agothat was what I was thinking, I'd tell them to open a return on the original account, if they want a refund, tell them it would be on the original account. Sounds off to me
redmodelt
·11 months agoFrankly I would stop responding to any messages. IF they did send something back without opening a return the seller really does not have to refund anyway, there is no paper trail on the return. BUT, I would suggest keeping all messages the have gone back and forth esp the ones coming from that different account.
Yesterday they posted this: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-would-you-handle-this-Do-I-give-up-on-my-principles/td-p/35306996
a_c_green
·11 months agoWere they using a guest account for the purchase? Seems weird that they can't contact you through the original transaction.
Rather than get into a back-and-forth over exactly what they mean by "soiled" or which items those were (BTW, what are these items that we're talking about?), just give them the old boilerplate business reply: "I'm sorry that you were not happy with these items. You may return them for a full refund." Lather, rinse, repeat.
Understand that buyers don't need to satisfy "task requests" to get a refund, but they do need to return the items if you ask to have them back first.
wastingtime101
·11 months agoStop replying and wait to see if you hear anything further. Ball is in their court.
simba6
·11 months agoThey are supposed to file a case with eBay. Either not as described or arrived damaged. Then you have the option of paying to get them back or just giving a refund. I would just wait and see if they send anything back. Then you can refund or replace. Many never do get around to sending things back. Did they ever send photos? If not , just sit tight and see what happens next.
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoNo. According to them that’s supposed to come tomorrow when they are at the post office because they are closed today. Whatever that means 🤷
dhbookds
·11 months agoI hope they don’t end up sending the items back to me without me knowing.
If that's your major concern, would seem in your best interest to contact them........
iamalwaysright
OP11 months agoMy major concern is ultimately riling up this buyer as least as possible while not falling victim to any straight out freebie.