Another Scamming Buyer - Grrrr - They Know How to Work The System

[twk]

I have been on ebay, as a buyer and seller since 1998 and the scammers are getting ridiculous.  I sell antiques and vintage items and take great pains to describe and lots of pictures.

Today I had a case opened against me for a NAD when it is exactly what the seller bought.  It was a teapot, dimensions given, lots of pictures and now seller claims it - get this - only  holds 3 cups!  This is a good size English teapot and holds much more than 3 cups.  Also, the buyer has had since Saturday and just today opens the claim against me.

Fortunately, I had to cancel my first postage label on this because I forgot to add the insurance for $100 and had to do a second one.  I also let the buyer know why I canceled the first label so she KNEW it was fully INSURED.  She claims NO damage to item, just allegedly wrong item but provides no pictures, just verbage on her claim.

I have already talked to Ebay returns on this and the young man tried to close the claim in my favor but it is too soon.  He guarantees I will not lose out as I do not take returns AND it is what she bought.

How should I handle?  Yeah I know I will be advised to just take it back, but I have had far too many cases in the last two years where I eat the shipping and return costs for buyer's remorse....especially since they seem to have learned that to get ALL their money back an item not as described is the way to go.

Hubby and I have been on ebay for a long time and are small time sellers and not equipped for returns due to buyer remorse etc.  In the past we have tried to accommodate but buyers are really misusing the system.  If they just want to return they know they will not get original shipping back and will have to pay for return themselves, BUT if they claim NASD they get it all back.

With increases In shipping this is getting way out of line.

[moondogblues]

"Buyers see their cups with a capacity for 24 oz.
This is something new to me, now we have to pour water into a cup and show it in a video how it went. "

I collect and use vintage/antique tea cups. Most of them hold 1/2 a cup of tea. Teapots were also smaller back then because tea was VERY expensive. Your buyer may be doing what the above poster said and basing the cup size on modern cups or even mugs.

[moondogblues]

"She ordered a teapot and got a small teapot. Most decorative teapots don't have anywhere near a decent capacity. Especially if you're using mugs, it might not even hold enough for 2."

Jason, tea was expensive back then, pots and cups were smaller. And if the buyer is drinking out of a mug she should just fill it with water, add a teabag and nuke the durn thing.

"

[moondogblues]

OP, I am sorry you got the short end of the stick here.

[a_c_green]

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@moondogblues wrote:
I collect and use vintage/antique tea cups. Most of them hold 1/2 a cup of tea. Teapots were also smaller back then because tea was VERY expensive. Your buyer may be doing what the above poster said and basing the cup size on modern cups or even mugs.

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...which is why I suggested filling the pot in question with water until full, pouring that out into a measuring cup, and stating how many ounces it holds. (You can express that in "cups" too, of course, as long as you make it crystal-clear that 1 cup = 8 ounces.)

While a couple of dimensions were given and the listing was definitely well-intentioned, the width across from the end of the handle to the tip of the spout doesn't really give anyone a basis for calculation of the volume of the pot itself. Stating how much it holds will let the buyer figure out how many of his own cups (or mugs) it can fill. 

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

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@moondogblues wrote:
"She ordered a teapot and got a small teapot. Most decorative teapots don't have anywhere near a decent capacity. Especially if you're using mugs, it might not even hold enough for 2."

Jason, tea was expensive back then, pots and cups were smaller. And if the buyer is drinking out of a mug she should just fill it with water, add a teabag and nuke the durn thing.

"

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And loose tea was kept in a tea caddy under lock & key = )

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@twk wrote:

My Hubby had to return something to Wal-Mart (which he rarely ever does) and I guess they have changed what use to be a 30 day return policy down to 2 weeks.  He mentioned this because someone in line was arguing with the clerk about the time limit.

Says a bundle that even brick and mortar stores are shorting the return policies not this 30 day + stuff.

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They still have a thirty day return policy but certain items have a shorter return policy so it was probably based on what that buyer was returning. 

[twk]

You are right on there Moondog.  Thanks for making me laugh.

[twk]

Thanks Moondog.  I agree, English teapots are based on a 4-6 oz. cup when they say how many cups they make.  Any tea drinker, as my buyer claims she is KNOWS that.  And, as I stated before, if she is replacing an older pot in the same pattern she would have already had the dimensions of the older pot right there.    I have no doubt that she has the smaller pot and is going to do the old switcher roo.  OR, she was trying to get me to give her a partial refund rather than go through the return.

Even Aynsley, and the Replacements site show that the 5 1/2" size pot in that pattern holds 5 cups.

[twk]

Could very well have been.  We return so few things and when we do we do it right away.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I’m a tea drinker AND English and I would have thought cups meant 8 ounces. so you’re wrong about “any Tea Drinker”

Its irrelevant anyway if you didn’t list the volume. 

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@twk wrote:

Could very well have been.  We return so few things and when we do we do it right away.

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Yeah I only know because we had opened a return for a hover. It was a Christmas gift and holiday had been extended to the time frames starting after Christmas day.   However it was for my step son who had gone to his moms for two weeks right after Christmas so it wasn’t tested until he got back luckily it had one day left but I was trying to figure out why I only had one day to return it when I saw the policy of only two weeks for hovers.  A few other items fall under that policy too. 

[castlemagicmemories]

Any tea drinker, as my buyer claims she is KNOWS that. 

You can drink tea all the time and not know that.  One is not dependent upon the other.

[moo*cow*corner]

--General Reply---

Late to the party. Seeing as it's an English teapot, should the seller have expressed the capacity in liters? Good grief! Actual measurements of visible physical attributes should be good enough.

We all know that ebay expects the seller to accept the return and eat the loss. Once whatever comes back, seeing as it was listed in Pottery & Glass, the seller can deduct up to 20% of the refund if it comes back damaged or not in same condition as sent. Report the buyer and appeal to see if you can at least get your return shipping back from ebay.

I started using small unobtrusive security labels about a year and a half ago. Issues like this one dropped to nearly zero immediately. Switcharoos have been alluded to in emails, but when I insist on returns, what I sent has been returned .

One buyer bought dinner plates and then claimed she received luncheon plates. They magically grew back to dinner plate size during the return trip, and the security labels were picked at, but she wasn't successful in removing them. Silly, because if they had been luncheon plates, she got a screaming deal. Luncheon plates in her pattern are hard to come by, and are worth much more that regular ol' dinner plates. Not something I would have missed!

[twk]

Thanks Moo.  BTW, what kind of security labels do you use because I would like to do that on some of the items I sell.

Right now I insure everything I send out.  Some of the NASD complaints that have been started against me seem to disappear when I notify them to save all the wrapping paper, box etc. as the item was fully insured by the USPO.  And on expensive items I have them sign for it, which also helps.

Sadly, I expect to get back a smaller pot than what I sent based on her pictures.  Would that constitute for the 20% off the refund?  I also intend to take pic. showing measurements and send them with my appeal to ebay.

It is sad that there are buyers like this.

[moo*cow*corner]

@twk

Sadly, I agree. You are probably going to get the smaller one back. I'd deduct the 20% in a heartbeat, take pictures and call ebay to make sure the buyer gets put on a list somewhere.

I sent you a PM with more info about my security labels.

I put a short blurb with removal instructions on my packing slip. I've had one buyer mention my annoying blue stickers in feedback, but I'll live with that. The donut is still green.

For damage claims, I just tell the buyer to send me photos with my label clearly visible and I prorate a refund immediately. But, my items aren't near as expensive as yours. Usually it's one broken plate in a lot of several or something like that.