Stories about ridiculous buyers?
Summary: quadcitypickers shares an experience about a buyer who was upset due to a lack of branded packaging for a generic power tool battery, which was never sold in a retail box. mam98031 advises on the importance of clear descriptions to set buyer expectations. Other participants contribute stories about challenging buyers, including incidents involving unrealistic demands and misunderstandings over product descriptions or conditions. These stories highlight the common experiences of sellers dealing with difficult buyer expectations and the importance of clear communication.
Please share.
Sold a new, generic power tool battery. These never came in retail packaging as they were not sold in stores, just a plain, thin, brown cardboard box.
I've sold probably 2 dozen like this without issue.
I get a return request on one I sold. The buyer is super angry because it has..no box.
Look at condition "New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable)"
It never had "original packaging" as it was never sold it a retail box. I mean literally a plain box, no branding or labeling of any kind on it.
No box was shown in the photos, either.
What is even more funny is they even unfolded the pink slip of paper in all orders where it says "please contact me if you have any issues" for the return photo.
I have no idea why they need the original box they thought would have full color graphics on it. Perhaps they thought it would come in some kind of box they could try to return their old one to a store for store credit (fraud).
squinkercat59
·2 weeks agoSome years back I had a vintage 1940s blue rhinestone necklace. I had one buyer message me that she wanted me to order one in green. I said, it's vintage, one-of-a-kind, I don't have any more. BUT I WANT A GREEN ONE. GET IT FOR ME. Blocked.
gurlcat
·2 weeks ago · EditedI bet I'd have the stones (no pun intended) to make it green, but depending on how many hours' work we're talking, I'd expect double, triple, or more, of the original asking price. edit: PAID UP FRONT.
fabrics24
·2 weeks agoHere's a tale of an inexperienced seller plus one odd duck buyer:
I once had someone complain not about the item price (the lowest on the market, for what it was worth), but the shipping.
Now, to be fair, this was when I was still exclusively shipping fabric on rolls.
Nowadays, we only do 10yds+ on rolls. But at the time, I had no boxes, so depending on the remnant size, packaging was either a polymailer or on a roll. This was 4yds, so it was on the roll.
Thing is, I used calculated shipping, meaning they saw the price of shipping very clearly. The shipping was high because it was an irregular package, but the tradeoff was that there would be no wrinkling or creasing in the fabric.
IIRC, I'd explained as much, but stated they were welcome to purchase from someone else if the shipping was a concern. My main competitor had much cheaper $8 shipping (albeit at a higher price for the item), so I was expecting them to quite sensibly move along.
Instead, they proceeded with the purchase anyway. I was perplexed, but figured that was the end of it since it wasn't like they were forced to buy from me.
They then left a negative positive saying they loved the fabric, but that I deliberately overcharged shipping. I made less than $20. Shipping was also $20.
For reference, this fabric costs $50 + Shipping new...for one yard. They got four, remember? There is no world in which they didn't get a deal.
Suffice it to say, I learned some very important lessons from this experience.
I still have no idea why this guy didn't just buy the item at a higher costs for lower shipping from my competitor, but they were the first person on my Best Buddy List.
burky79
·2 weeks agoThe first thing that came to my mind, and this was years ago, was when I sold a vintage game system, an Intellivision. Everything went smoothly until about a week after it arrived and the buyer started bombarding me with messages "How dare you scam me!!!!", "This was a gift for my husband!!!!", "I'm going to report you to eBay!!!"
After calmly sending them a response walking them through how to connect a vintage game system to a modern TV, I could practically feel them becoming extremely embarrassed, even though they only responded "Sorry" and left a basic positive feedback.
pickapaper
·2 weeks agoI guess the one that stands out in my mind is the lady who bought 8 yards of antique upholstery fabric from me; cost was about $400.00. She got it and immediately claimed it was 2 yards short and wanted a refund of $160.00 "to make it right". I was positive it wasn't shorted but I told her to return the fabric for a refund. Nope, she didn't want to return it. Then she said it had fold lines; it didn't, it had been stored rolled on a long bolt tube. Then she said it was faded; no, it wasn't. Each time she complained, I just told her to return for refund but she refused. She always said she wanted to keep and would "make do" and "work around" the problems. In all of the long messages she sent, she also called me names, told me what a horrible seller I am with no customer service skills, and on and on.
Then, a message from her mentioned something about "the spots" on the fabric. I finally told her something like "What spots? You have said this fabric is shorted 2 yards, has fold lines, is faded, and now you are claiming it has spots too? I can't imagine why on earth you would want to keep this fabric since it is so horrible in your eyes. All you have to do is file a claim and return it for a refund and it will be out of your life forever." I guess she finally realized I wasn't going to cave to her tactics because I never heard from her again.
I kept a copy of her messages for a long time. Her whole thing was so ridiculous, it was fun to go back and re-read them every once in a while to remind myself of the lengths some people will go to, to get their way. The funniest part of the whole thing was, this woman was also a seller, too.
zakstreasuretrove
·2 weeks agoI posted a story a while back about an EIS sale that was for a fairly pricey (for ebay items anyway), but parts/repair only A/V component. After the buyer pays the ominous messages start about 'make sure it's packed well' etc... Well sure enough after it arrives, of course there is a problem despite his pictures and description of the issues were exactly why it was parts and repair in the first place. He now wants $100 partial refund.
DENIED. It was an EIS sale so I told him to return it for refund. He hemmed and hawed about a partial refund stating he could get it repaired locally and it's better to do that than to return it. I just kept telling him to open a return case and send it back. Easy peasy! NOPE. He finally opens a return case only to immediately close it because he had to ship it back and still asked for $100 off to get it repaired. Since he opened and closed the case, now he has absolutely no recourse.
I blocked him after that nonsense. The guy could have had a full refund with no issue, but was just looking to be scummy and try and weasel a better deal after the sale.
I hope he was able to get it fixed because the piece was very cool and high end for retro audio devices. But good God, just follow the rules and don't aim at your own foot.
As an aside, this is why I wish all my sales were EIS. I lost nothing because of this behavior. I didn't even have to worry about a box of bricks being returned to me.
annadryl
·2 weeks agoThere's a classic that I haven't heard of in a while, but there was a buyer that complained that the shirt didn't come with sleeves.
It was a vest.
inhawaii
·2 weeks agoDole Plantation Chewy Pineapple candy.
Customer complaint: It's not chewy enough (or it was too chewy, I gorget which one).
chapeau-noir
·2 weeks agoI'm not going there.
mam98031
·2 weeks agoYou need to respect how the buyer may have assumed it would be a manufacturer's box and not a plain one since you did not make that distinction.
This is what a buyer sees on the listing when you call it New: New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable). Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See the seller's listing for full details.
While I agree that a buyer seeing it is unbranded and from China should have realized it is not likely to come in a branded box, still there is enough actually stated on the listing to cause this confusion.
Because you don't have a picture of the item in a box isn't reason to believe that a buyer is going to realize it comes in a plain box. IMHO you should have a pic of the item in whatever box you are selling the item in AND your description should clearly note that this is an unbranded / generic item that does not come in a fancy box of any kind but a plain brown [or whatever] colored box. Your descriptions are very slim and that does not serve a seller very well.
dirk12955
·2 weeks agoStamp buyer asks me to look at his want list. I'm 100% agreeable to look at his "Want List"
I use Scott to attribute and inventory my stuff.
Message go back and forth and he send me pictures of what he has
collected and wants me to:
1) Make a listing for what he hasn't got by looking at the pics of what he DOES have.
2) Use the Michel catalog #s which I do NOT use
3) When the listing is made with my best price, He'll decide
if it suits his needs and he like the price, He'll buy it.
No thanks........
gurlcat
·2 weeks agoPLEASE say he's in your BBL now.
dirk12955
·2 weeks agoOh yeah. Every so often I get a potential "Buyer" that wants me to do
all his research for him (Or her)
Not happening.
gurlcat
·2 weeks agoWhat's even the fun of collecting without the research and hunt?? Just owning? That's some Elon sh right there.
kandf_vintage_finds
·2 weeks agoI guess I'm fortunate. I have no ridiculous buyer stories to share!
dirk12955
·2 weeks agoJust wait.
zakstreasuretrove
·2 weeks agoThey lie in the shadows like wolves, waiting, interminably waiting.....