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When is it okay for a seller to call a buyer on the phone?
Recently I made a purchase which included multiple items of the same product. A few hours after I paid, the seller called me on the telephone and informed me they did not have all the items to send. The seller stated they had miscounted, and also needed to keep some of the product they did have for themselves. The seller asked if I wanted the order cancelled. Of course, I wanted the order cancelled. Did the seller expect me to say, "No, you just keep my money"?
I told the seller I would not leave negative feedback. That said, when the seller cancelled the order, instead of owning the mistake and taking the hit, they selected that I wanted the order cancelled. I then realized that the reason why the seller called me was to avoid the hit on their account. I found the action sneaky and underhanded.
I used to sell on eBay years ago, and recently returned to selling earlier this year. I completely understand how mistakes happen from time to time. I made a made an error and miscounted how many items I had of a certain product. When the last one sold, I realized I did not have it. I cancelled the order, issued a refund, and apologized to the buyer. My account took a hit, but that was fine because I was in the wrong. It motivated me to do better and ensure I have everything I list in stock.
In my case as the buyer, I kept my word and did not leave negative feedback. I did leave neutral feedback because I did not appreciate the seller's tactics. Afterward, the seller officially asked me to revise the feedback, stating they called eBay and was told it was okay that they called me. I reached out to eBay through chat. They confirmed to me exactly what I recalled from having sold previously: Sellers should only call buyers in very limited circumstances; such as, if the purchase is a local pick-up or in cases where a vehicle is being sold. Ebay advised me to report the seller though my account so they can take action against them. I am hesitant to do that because I feel that is too harsh. The seller has sold well over 5,000 items, so they are not new at this.
Am I being too harsh? Am I not being harsh enough? I feel like the neutral feedback I left is more than fair. Notably, the seller did not leave me feedback. They seem to only be concerned about their own.
monster-deals
·2 years agoWhen should a seller call a buyer?
Never.
When should a buyer call a seller?
Never.
Keep it on ebay.
mam98031
·2 years agoDepends on the particulars of the transaction. It certainly doesn't happen often, but over the many years I've been selling I've had maybe a handful of times I had the need to call the buyer. It has always been fine. It is all going to depend on what you have to say. Be selective. We do however get the phone numbers because there is a need to call sometimes. Either the buyer to the seller or the seller to the buyer.
dannydigital76
·2 years agoSounds like an honest person trying to make a living that didn't want to have to suffer for some policy.
Why go further and even contemplate their punishment?
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoThis is an old thread and I'm sure long resolved. The latest post was 7 months ago.
christworks
OP2 years agoAn update, after reading @gurlcat 's post, I did revise my feedback and removed any reference to the seller being sneaky. I kept the rating as I think it is appropriate. I then messaged the seller to let them know I revised my wording and why I kept the rating the same. I explained to the seller that eBay had suggested I report them, but that I was not going to do that. I asked the seller to please move past the neutral rating and use it to make them a better seller. They appear to be quite successful, and I congratulated them on that. I've since had at least three messages from the seller still pushing the issue. The seller has now resorted to being manipulative, telling me basically how hard their life is, they were in the hospital sick for a while, etc. They said they talked to eBay again and someone from eBay was going to contact me directly.
Thanks again for the comments...
mam98031
·2 years agoA neutral FB does not hurt a seller except emotionally or possibly their ego. But as far as Ebay goes, it isn't used in our monthly evaluations we get from them every month.
As a seller of many years here. I think you, as a buyer, have gone above and beyond in trying to do the right thing. Being very thoughtful as well as seeking other points of view. Very FEW buyers would do that or would likely even think to do that. So I personally find you VERY refreshing and an extremely considerate person.
I do not however agree with some of the others making excuses for this seller and I think now with the new emails you are getting just further proves that. One message would likely have been fine, but three is likely too much.
Would you mind sharing with us what they are saying to you?
gurlcat
·2 years agoJeez. So, they succeeded in avoiding a self-cancel strike, succeeded in avoiding a neg, you even gentled-down your neutral, and a neutral has zero calculable impact ..... by the way I've now seen their store and it looks like I was wrong about them being primarily a replenishable supplies seller; they sell mostly 1-off used items, so it's not even like a potential buyer is likely to take your feedback comment as a warning about them being out of stock ....... but they are STILL being sore ?!!!!
You actually remind me of myself, how you need to look at things from multiple angles repeatedly before being satisfied with an approach, and how you reached out to let this person know where you stood in a friendly and respectful way, sounds like something I would do. And as a seller, if this same thing had played out with a buyer like you I would have been so appreciative. Now I feel a bit foolish for offering my previous opinion summary. I think all the points I made are still valid on their own, but the sum of them doesn't include something you probably felt in your gut about this seller from the start. It sounds like they are the kind of person who takes any sign of grace, sees it as weakness, and treats it as a chance to PUSH. I have known people like that but never for long, because I won't tolerate that impulse whatsoever.
Hey @wastedtime101 , if this member (the OP) wanted to stop receiving messages from another member, could they do so by adding their username to their BBL regardless of who was the buyer or seller in their previous transaction? The OP was the buyer but also has a store, and used that account for this purchase that went sideways, and now the seller keeps writing trying to get them to remove their neutral feedback.
fern*wood
·2 years agoYour user name may have played a part to make the seller feel you were approachable and would be more than likely willing to offer forgiveness for their error.
gone.c-33
·2 years agoI personally don’t understand people who say they shouldn’t have to go through a third party service to communicate with customer service when referring to Facebook/X/Insta but have no qualms about using email or the phone to do so. Those are also third party services one must sign up for.
It’s 2023. Facebook Messenger (you do not need a FB profile page to use it) is a commonly used communication tool, on par with texts, emails and phone calls.
gurlcat
·2 years agoI didn't know that, I guess because I've had a FB account since 2008. And I'm sure most people who never had one (or did but closed it before the in-platform private message feature became Messenger) would know that either. I would commend you for sharing this info with anyone who might want it, except I don't see you giving instructions on how to sign up for Messenger (only), so it seems more like you are just exhibiting how you're more 2023 savvy than others.
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoTo simply deal with the TITLE of the thread;
It's ALWAYS ok for a seller to call a buyer as:
Some buyers don't read and have purchased things, from me, for 3 different cars.
Some buyers dont' "respond" or j"read" messages- so a Call is necessary after 24 hrs.
monster-deals
·2 years ago...but you left bad feedback anyway
christworks
OP2 years agoI told the seller I would not leave negative feedback. Likewise, I did not promise to leave positive feedback.
monster-deals
·2 years agoYou must be fun at parties.
5594shelleys
·2 years agoAm I being too harsh? Based on the described events? Yes.
gurlcat
·2 years agoOff-topic but related: eBay should not weight all OOS cancellations the same, against Seller Performance. And the fix would be as simple as differentiating between AUCTION sales vs. BIN, because the difference is night and day. We already know that abusing OOS is a tactic a seller may utilize to avoid sending an item whose winning bid was disappointing -and that's why eBay allows so few OOS cancellations; if sellers had more free reign to do that with auctions, many would abuse it left and right, some would do it just to get an idea of what BIN price they should relist it for, and eBay would hemorrhage angry buyers. What's more, the fact that an auction last only days means there is virtually no excuse for being legitimately, accidentally, out of stock -you just photographed the thing days ago! Granted you could still accidentally break it while packing, so there should be a tolerance greater than zero, but maybe even lower than the 0.3% currently allowed.
On the other hand, why be so harsh on OOS's for BIN's? How many customers does Walmart lose completely because of occasionally finding an item out of stock? How many people will never eat McDonald's again because their ice cream machines are "down" every other time you try to buy a sundae? Stuff runs out, stuff goes missing, stuff gets damaged, it happens. And with stuff that may have been listed literally YEARS before selling .... it's even more likely to happen. So eBay shouldn't treat sellers to whom it happens just as harshly as if they refused to send an auction item because they failed to set the minimum bid high enough.
christworks
OP2 years agoThank you for the responses and feedback. There seems to be some conflicting opinions, which matches my feelings on the situation.
Was the seller a "bad actor," as has been suggested? Personally, I would reserve that term for someone who was trying to defraud a buyer or deliberately do something that could harm the buyer's account. It does not seem to me that was the intent here. I also do not believe the seller's intent was to deliver exceptional personalized customer service. Instead, there was a deliberate attempt by the seller to avoid any written communication. I believe this supported by the fact they referenced no less than three times on the phone call they were concerned about negative feedback. In fact, the concern was less about their mess-up and more about their risk for negative feedback. This is supported by the subsequent written messages to me from the seller that they "called" eBay and were told there was nothing wrong with what they did and I should remove the neutral feedback I left.
As I have read through the responses here and thought about it some more, the seller could have properly cancelled the order, and still have called and apologized on the phone. My beef is not with the fact they were out of stock. Nor is it my beef that they wanted to keep some of what they did have for themselves. (Some buyers might have a problem with that, but I don't. Though, as a seller, I would not do that. ) My issue is strictly with how they handled it. It was not appropriate to call since eBay provides an acceptable way to resolve OOS issues. Had the seller simply messaged me, apologized, and asked if it was okay if they cancelled the order, there would have been no issue. The seller could have even asked if they could select the cancellation reason as a buyer cancellation request. I probably would not have any issue with that. In such a case, the seller would have shown me some respect and asked. Instead, the behavior is slimy and it speaks to their concern being themselves rather than their customers. I do believe that behavior like this - deliberate or not - hurts all good sellers in the long run.
gurlcat
·2 years agoI don't see what he did as "slimy." Now that I have all the pertinent information, I think what he did was desperate, and that is because the scenario of realizing too late you don't have what someone ordered (or can't find it, or accidentally damaged it while packing, etc.) is one of the rock and hard place positions anyone can find themselves in, because of eBay's policies and because of how petty some buyers are.
Maybe he was one OOS strike away from being demoted to Below Standard, after only a couple of other misfortunes in the past year. If he sells replenishables that could happen oh-so easily. And yeah he feared a negative feedback too. Who doesn't? -You say you would have been fine with him doing X, Y and Z, but he had no way of knowing that -some buyers would throw a hissy fit over nothing. And chances are the hissy-fitters would be buying-only members, not sellers, so they wouldn't even notice what reason was selected for the cancelation, or know what difference it makes. Clearly this seller was worried about you being a hissy-fitter, more than he worried about whether you might know more than the average buyer. He didn't lie to you, in fact if anything he was honest to his own detriment, by admitting he wanted to keep some quantity of envelopes for himself.
As someone who buys here almost as much as I sell, I can put myself in your exact position, and here's what I see. -A seller who contacted me "a few hours" after my purchase. WOW! That means he LEAPT to fulfill my order immediately. You know what I can't stand? A seller who stalls to ship for days, especially if it's a replenishable that I really need. And if it was days after I ordered before they informed me they didn't have the item, okay then I would be mad for sure. But immediate notification -that would enable me to find another source immediately. As for the part about the phone call, it's really unclear how you feel about that. One thing you didn't state is what his tone was like, and did he say "I'm so sorry, but ..." You did say in this last reply that you would have been fine with him cancelling "properly" and then calling to apologize. -So being contacted by phone, in and of itself, is not the issue. It's the fact that he did it as a tactic to get you to cancel, without digital evidence that it's what he did.
Okay, I guess that could warrant a neutral, but that's it. Reporting him would just be vindictive for no reason. His menu reason for cancelling doesn't affect you whatsoever. There are also a bazillion other padded envelope slingers to buy from, and you were notified almost immediately that you needed to do exactly that. Honestly, as many times as I've sat and watched day after day go by with no tracking number for stuff I needed fast, I am jealous of how "slimy" this guy was to you.
christworks
OP2 years agoI think you are spot on with a lot of you what you say.....and your points are well taken.
Their tone was fine - no issue there.
I also agree that reporting them would be vindictive, so I will not be doing that. I will let the neutral stand as long as they do not contact me anymore about the issue and can move on.
lakefor94
·2 years agoThe voice of reason comes thru again. Well thought out and presented.
gurlcat
·2 years agoAww, thanks. Reckon a science bachelor's with minor in sociology, followed by a master's in education has prepared me well for finding logic in human interactions and presenting those findings in a way that makes sense ..... but I wouldn't borrow eyeballs-deep debt for it again. Womp womp. 😫
inhawaii
·2 years agoYou are over-qualified for selling on ebay. 😉
gurlcat
·2 years ago🤣. Understatement of the year. I wish I knew how viable this was as a career and how much I would enjoy it before I set one foot in college, and had been doing this instead in all the years since. I'd be sitting real pretty right now.
janet9988
·2 years agoThat seller has 6 revised feedback so this seller has had problems before and just seems to keep getting lucky talking buyers into canceling or changing feedbacks
.. The OP did NOT ask the SELLER to cancel.......instead the SELLER asked the OP if they would like to cancel.
BIG difference.
gurlcat
·2 years agoI didn't say the OP asked the seller to cancel. I'm quite clear that the seller asked if the OP would like to cancel, and why they did it. My response to that is, big deal.
mam98031
·2 years agoThat is absolutely an assumption. The revised FB count simply means that for whatever reason there may have been the FB was revised. It does not separate buyer issues from seller issues. Not all revisions are due to a seller getting a negative FB removed.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoAlthough I don't recall where it's written in eBay rules, all correspondence between a seller and buyer needs to be through eBay only.
eBay sees other contact, even the innocuous kind, to be an effort to take an eBay transaction off eBay and thereby avoid fees.
gurlcat
·2 years agoOkay I have one more question -exactly where/how does a buyer see the reason the seller chose for the cancellation? It would be great if the OP themselves would answer this, but I haven't seen any engagement from them in the replies so far. So does anyone else know? BTW I don't just mean a simple answer like "In your purchases", I mean do you have to click on the purchase, then where on that page is it shown, etc? I don't expect anyone to provide a screenshot but that would be great if possible.
christworks
OP2 years agoGo to your purchases. Go to the order that was cancelled and refunded. Beside the statement, "The item has been canceled, " there is a "view details" link. Click that link. On the right side of that page there is a heading called, "Summary." Within the list of information given you will find the cancellation reason.
mam98031
·2 years agoWhen you get an email saying an order has been cancelled, the reason why the cancellation happened is stated in the email. Or it use to be. Things change so quickly around here it is always a gamble to say this is how it is. LOL
4pawsup*
·2 years agoI had to call a buyer this past week. The buyer sent me a message after he received my message that his item has shipped. His message was to please ship to his Florida home as he is a snowbird and was not in Pennsylvania. His Ebay address and the label i paid and printed was for Pennsylvania. I messaged and said i was sorry but i could not change it and why. 2 messages later i was tired of trying to explain why he just either did not understand or played dumb. He is a Ebay member for some years so i think he knew but i did not want to end up with a disgruntled buyer. So i called him and after talking to him changed his address with the help of the PO to his Florida address. I know i am not protected but after speaking to him i am confident i will not have a problem and i have a customer who is very happy. So sometimes you do need to call a buyer.
deltilogical
·2 years agoIt is insane I have to go to another platform to actually contact Ebay. It is also a security risk for me, providing more data to another platform.
"Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue..."
mam98031
·2 years agoNot sure why this would be an issue. You are forced to only use Social Media to contact Ebay, it is an OPTION, not a requirement. Simply use the method that best works for you, that is why there are options.
I personally don't use social media, not for security reasons as you have said, but because I simply don't have enough time in a day to do all this and all that.
Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.
https://twitter.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.
If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.
If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.
https://www.ebay.com/help/home
inhawaii
·2 years agoI ran out of the 2024 Ferrari you purchased.
I do have a 1979 Ford Pinto. Runs good buy has a oil leak.
Would you like the Ford Pinto or should I cancel the sale?
The buyer asked to cancel the sale.
ed8108
·2 years agoHow manny sellers would consider it as appropriate receiving a telephone call from their buyer on a noncritical issue ?
A buyer telephoning & requesting their seller to agree to a cancellation for example ?
Does this buying experience incentivise you to purchase from this seller or to purchase on ebay in the future ?
Did the seller fail to provide you with a persuasive reason why they didn't deserve neutral feedback ?
You state ebay has advised you to Report this seller
fm2000
·2 years agoWhen he called, you should have insisted he contact you via the eBay message system instead and quickly ended the call. You always want communication done on eBay's message system so they have a copy of the conversation and can make any rulings or enforcement actions with all the information available. Never have conversations about a transaction outside of the eBay system, this helps protect both buyers and sellers.
Outside of contacting a buyer to set up a local pickup or a delivery or such, a seller should never call a buyer.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoThe seller asked if I wanted the order cancelled. Of course, I wanted the order cancelled...That said, when the seller cancelled the order, ... they selected that I wanted the order cancelled.
So you agreed to cancel the order and the seller told eBay you agreed to cancel the order.
What's the problem?
The seller stated they had miscounted,
Well that happens.
and also needed to keep some of the product they did have for themselves.
This is a weak excuse.
When you mess up, you take the hit and sell even the one you wanted to keep.
That is where the seller lost my sympathy.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoThe buyer agreed to the cancellation because they didn't want to have paid $59.99 for nothing and didn't realize that they could (or should) tell the seller to "send me what you have and issue a prorated refund."
And in fact, what really think the seller should have done is to apologize profusely for not being able to fully fulfill the order, tell the buyer they only have x-number of envelopes and they'll send what they have as well as issue a FULL refund.
(I made a similar mistake in the past and although any profit on that item was obviously lost, it's a mistake I never made again!)
Had the seller done that, I bet she'd have received glowing feedback and wouldn't have to compound each lie with another!
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoWas this for the Padded Bubble Envelopes?
I would without question forget about it and move on. The fact that they lost the sale and receive a netural Feedback is as far as I would have taken it.
What would Christ do?
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoSeller should refund immediately and email buyer about the mistake which I would do. I also offer something free for "my" mistake and it's usually a higher priced item. I think the seller should correct their mistake...not by a phone call. I have never gotten a phone call from a buyer or seller. Not very businesslike.
I try not to leave negative or neutral feedback to anyone. I haven't in a very very long time.
I would just move on and respond no more to this buyer....and don't buy from him anymore.
And leave the feedback as is. Not very professional...considering all the items they sell and not even trying to do a replacement for item(s) not in stock with a refund. I hate greedy sellers.
gurlcat
·2 years agoHere's something I don't know. Does it harm a buyer when the seller cancels upon buyer request (legit or not)? If so, how? Is it anywhere near as grave as an OOS strike for a seller? To my knowledge that's the least-tolerated seller behavior, apart from outright scammy or abusive acts. I've always felt it's something that eBay is a bit TOO harsh about, to where an otherwise honest seller may feel they have to resort to dishonestly reporting the reason, after only a couple other times in the previous year. Part of the reason I stay so 'small' is wariness of losing track of my inventory. Just yesterday I was looking through it (physically) and found 5 things I had either photographed but forgot to list, or ended the listings but didn't move the items to dead stock.
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoThere are an occassional post where someone was banned from selling and occasionally someone may be banned from all activity. I have never seen any posts about a buyer being banned because they have requested too many cancellations.
To be honest I am not sure that a buyer requesting to cancel an order is a grave policy violation with eBay. It is like the Auctions where you have a person who has hundreds of Bid Retractions. They are still allowed to bid even though they have not followed policy with their hundreds of Bid Retractions. It would seem as though the policy is more of a guideline than a actual enforceable policy.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/invalid-bid-retraction-policy?id=4227
If someone makes a bid on an auction-style listing, and then retracts that bid, they could gain an unfair advantage – maybe by discovering a reserve price, or where another bidder's maximum bid stands.
We want to ensure a fair marketplace for all our users, so we only allow bids to be retracted under certain circumstances. Read our full Invalid bid retraction policy below for more details.
mam98031
·2 years agoNo it does not harm the buyer in any way. Until or when Ebay decides to change the rules and track buyer requested cancellations. They could do that at any time and as sellers know all too well, it could be retroactive. But honestly I don't see this happening, I'm just saying it.
What it does is protect the Seller's stats from additional defects.
ajs_coins_and_alchemy
·2 years agoOkay, so I totally see what the seller did, and wanted you to ask for cancellation...
However, i would turn around and say, if it were me, I wouldnt have called, I would have wanted it in WRITING that the buyer requested cancellation. To me, the seller gained that wiggle room but has no record of it!
I have wanted to ask the question, "When is it acceptable to call on the phone" for a long time now. Ive had 2 differrent sellers call me, Ive never called a buyer, although I have wanted to once or twice... Both times sellers called me were basically situations where I found it appropriate because.... simply put, in our every day lives, there are times where a text works and times where a call is needed, this was that type of situation where discussing via messages would be too tough and over the phone was easier... (Usually LEGIT problems with EBay and EBay's system, so discussing and coming to agreement on how to proceed).
One of the phone calls worked very well to both of our favor for ... additional reasons. Glad that person called me.
Either way, I only RECENTLY found out the main reason for phone numbers provided... its for FedEx/UPS shipping? Is that correct? That makes sense I suppose. I always found it odd for ecommerce to include phone numbers. Hmm... I would feel weird as a seller calling a buyer. Dont want to creep the buyer out... as a seller myself I don't mind a seller calling me (when I'm acting as a buyer) because I'm more open-eyed about EBay and don't mind having more direct/open conversations and relationships with other sellers. There are a lot of sellers I've bought from many times and a lot of those I've purchased thousands and thousands of dollars from ... so relationship goes a long way.
lakefor94
·2 years agoIn would not waste any time trying to hold the seller accountable for a account defect as you could cost them a lot of money in the long run. Doubt that investing the time would change anything.
There is really nothing appreciable to obtain, imo.
mam98031
·2 years agoAnd that is exactly how bad actors, whether buyers or sellers continue to get away with their bad behavior IMHO. No one holds them accountable.
lakefor94
·2 years agoI would not lump that seller in with the "bad actors". The seller had the guts to contact the buyer, explain the situation, ask for forgiveness, yada yada. So, he skipped out on shooting himself in the foot. He took care of the buyer the best he could. Most just cancel with "buyer asked to cancel" without even a message to the buyer. That is what we see continually in feedback. Calling shows concern for the customer whether the seller used it to his advantage or not.
Bad actor is a term I reserve for scammers, theives and the like. Personal preference in terms I would suppose....
I call customers now and then. Yesterday as matter in fact. Shipping via RL Carriers. Freight. Have to make sure there is someone at their office to receive shipment and access needs for delivery since Streetview showed no dock. Delivered today 5:29pm. Happy customer.
mam98031
·2 years agoOr the seller didn't want any written record [messages] with the buyer with them explaining this to the buyer and then ask them if they wanted to cancel. The buyer was not happy, the OP left them neutral FB.
This seller was trying to get around the rules and protect themselves. It is fine that you see it differently.
I'm with you, there has been occasions where I've found the need to call a buyer. But I have never done it for the reasons the seller in this particular case did.
slippinjimmy
·2 years agoRidiculous, if you don't think "Bad Actor" is appropriate what would think about "scummy and dishonest" and one of the reasons eBay is losing buyers.
One Out Of Stock cancellation does no harm to a seller, we don't need sellers that are liars, it's bad for business (and that is bad for ALL sellers).
It appears that in this case the seller ONLY called for their own benefit.
lakefor94
·2 years agoFrom what we have all surmised from the thread, did the seller actually lie or did the buyer agree to the cancellation?
"It appears that in this case the seller ONLY called for their own benefit."
appears is the keyword there.
Anyways, back to the OP's original question of "When is it okay for a seller to call a buyer on the phone?"
Depends completely upon the situation. Great customer service can certainly depend on communication.
Are we talking about a matchbox car for $5 or parts that a customer might need to complete an installation or something of that nature? Many situations don't require a phone call and some absolutely do, in my experience.
Most sellers cancel without even an eBay message according to what we continually read in feedback. More than likely the #1 negative feedback.
Here is a feedback screenshot from my AMZ account. This customer seems to never hear from sellers. Probably the norm.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoHad you looked at the feedback @christworks left for the seller (which IMO is better than the seller earned), you'd see that it's $60 bubble mailers that not only did the seller not have the quantity they'd listed but now, they wanted to keep some of what was sold!
THAT isn't a good buyer experience and not indicative of a honorable excuse from a seller for their own mistake (if indeed, it's a mistake).
lakefor94
·2 years agoSo what does that have to do with whether or not the situation requires a phone call or not?
luckythewinner
·2 years agoBy telling the seller you wanted to cancel, you gave him the wiggle room to avoid a damaging "Out of Stock" defect.
The fact that he did it over the phone really makes no difference at all.
mam98031
·2 years agoDang this seller is just literally lying to you at every turn. I am so sorry this happened to you. What it really scary is this seller seems to have this script down. That tells me this isn't the first time they have done this to buyers.
BTW you are exactly right, they wanted to avoid getting a defect on their account for being OOS [out of stock]. HOWEVER, they are not as clever as they think they are. The verbal confirmation from you to just go ahead and cancel the transaction is not going to hold water with Ebay if challenged. And Ebay is cracking down on sellers that abuse the Cancellation system.
If you are willing to put a little more time into this, I advise two things. First Report the seller for ABUSE of the cancellation system.
https://www.ebay.com/help/action?topicid=4022
Then I would personally spend the time with contacting Ebay and reporting this sellers for everything they did. Lie after lie. Heck you could do this through Social Media and copy and paste what you wrote here. Well you might have to shorten it.
Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.
https://twitter.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.
If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.
If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.
https://www.ebay.com/help/home