Buyer from Hell

[the-casemaker]

I've been an Ebay seller and user for 6 years. I have 100% feedback, numerous return customers, and operate in the higher echelon area of my chosen field - collectible books and custom slipcases.

   I am authoring this post - my first ever - due to the nightmare I have just been through in the last 24 hours. A nightmare  perpetrated by a 'customer' who seemed to literally circumvent or break every rule in the Ebay user agreement during that period.

  Yesterday this person started sending me 'offers' on an item that had already been heavily discounted. Not wishing to have any more of my time wasted after the second low-ball offer, and also informing them that the item has already been discounted 50%, I simply placed them on my block list . As we all do with disrespectful or time wasting buyers.

   Later that evening, I get an order for the item concerned from a different user ID. Upon examining the order, its is clear that its the same person I had placed on my block list less then 2 hours previously. I contacted Ebay to see if there had been a mistake. How could a buyer on my Block List purchase an item? And if they had, what could I do? Ebay rep Brittany (great job by the way) advised me to cancel the order, place the second user Id on my block list, report the buyer for circumventing my block list by using multiple User IDs, and get back in touch if there were any other issues. So that's what I did.

 I wake up this morning to find that during the night, the buyer has gone and done the same thing again, this time with ANOTHER user ID. He has also added a threatening and abusive message with the order just for good measure, warning me that if I don't process the order he will report me to Ebay. No joke. This now is two fraudulent orders, two circumvention of my buyer requirement and management page, and some abuse just for good measure.

   Not surprisingly, I cancelled the second order and let him know that this is not acceptable behavior, that I do not do business with abusive buyers who break Ebay's terms of service, and that he has also been reported to Ebay for the continued infractions. I even gave him Brittany's name and the call log number. I was thinking at this point that he would have got the message and gone away. Not likely.

   Next I get TWO more messages, full of more threats and more abuse, closely followed by a full paragraph  negative  feedback, questioning my sanity and calling me yet more abusive names. Lovely.

  So in summary - so far we have two fraudulent transactions, both made by circumventing Ebay's own buyer management page, three abuse and threat filled messages sent via the Ebay message system, and one malicious negative feedback specifically designed to harm my business. In six years, I have never encountered anything even remotely like it.

   Now the good news. After calling Ebay to report this person for the third time, the feedback was removed within the hour and his account is currently under investigation by Ebay Trust & Safety. What I would like to know please from my fellow long suffering sellers, is there anywhere else that this buyer's user ID's - all three of them - can be posted or shared with other sellers to ensure they do not suffer the same treatment?

Thanks for your time

Joshua

The Casemaker

[vintagecraze50]

Good advice and also can list everything buy it now. When they give the lowball, ignore.

[vintagecraze50]

You did a good job of reporting the abuse and ebay did a good job of helping to prevent the abuse. Sounds like a win.

[vintagecraze50]

Yeah, or just pull the listing for a short time and relist. 

[the-casemaker]

So your name is Karen is it? Thanks.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

There are a million places you can 'name & shame' but not here.  They are however all over the web.  I wouldn't waste my time b/c as you discovered, all they have to do is create another ID to buy.   Circumventing the BBL is unfortunately somewhat common.  Anyone who's been here for any length of time has had someone try it & unfortunately, many of us have had the rare abusive buyer too. 

I'm glad it didn't turn out worse for you!   You did the right thing by reporting them to eBay & I'm shocked & amazed you got a CSR who understood you & knew what to do. 

[femmefan1946]

When you set up Best Offer, include parameters for acceptable and not acceptable Offers.

You will never see the unaccepted Offers and the customer will see a polite automatic refusal.

If the Offer is Acceptable (or higher) you will only see the sale and payment.

Avoiding confrontation by avoiding communication.

[the_fancy_fox]

We all get them. 

I usually tell the person contacting me that the item will not be discounted until it’s been up for sale for 30/60/90 (you choose) days. Then I will probably discount 10% at that time. And I thank them for their inquiry. 

I usually don’t block after their first contact unless it’s really over the top (and I have had a few)

if they continue and do as this guy has done, I’d remove the item from the site for a while.

The biggest thing is don’t engage them some people thrive on conflict.

[the_fancy_fox]

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@the-casemaker wrote:

Maybe to you it was short term hassle. To me it was 3 hours of my time and work wasted and this person's behavior is clearly repetitive. If he's doing this to me, I'll wager a large sum he's doing it to others. Move along and forget it? That's precisely how these type of abiusive people keep getting away with it

I really hope you are never the victim of a crime or abuse and someone gives you this 'advice".

---

I know your all fired up right now but do nothing about it? What can you do? Ebay will do nothing even if they told you they were “investigating”. 

The best course of action is to be polite right off the top then stop engaging them.  Pull the item for a month or so or sell it elsewhere. 

As wrong as it is, there is not a lot of options. Don’t make this the hill you die on.

and if your taking best offers, set the parameters to reject low offers or use BIN immediate payment required. 

[the-casemaker]

So take your own advice just move along yourself 🙂

[the-casemaker]

Thanks for the advice....but. I did politely decline the two offers.  Then  I put him on my block list. You also can't do an auto decline on those listings when you have a sale in progress as the sale price interferes with it and it rejects the listings. There is also no mean to remove the BIN button while a sale is in progress to stop the offers. Catch 22.

[the-casemaker]

You can't do an auto decline on those listings when you have a sale in progress as the sale price interferes with it and it rejects the listings. There is also no means to remove the BIN button while a sale is in progress to stop the offers. Catch 22.

[the-casemaker]

A buyer fraudulently buys two items, sends abusive messages and leaves malicious a negative feedback and when I do something about it,  I'm a 'Karen"? Wow. I think I know who the "Karen" is.

[brandsonhands]

lamber9347 means well, no need to be harsh to her. We are here to help you.

[the-casemaker]

Auto decline doesn't work on listings that are currently in a sale and Ebay has no means to remove the BIN button before a sale is launched or in progress. Its catch 22.

[the-casemaker]

Thanks to those who had suggestions and offered help. Its appreciated. Just a couple of things before I let this go. A little disturbed with the comments that intimated that Ebay would do not investigate or take action.. That's actually not my experience - on this occasion, or any other I'd had to contact them to be fair.

  That feedback came down with the hour it was posted and both transactions were cancelled.  I was given a follow up reference number for the report that was filed by the Ebay lead rep who dealt with it - not a call log number - the report number itself.

   I was very unhappy that their system allowed this person to do this, but when they wre informed they took immediate action and appeared to be taking it seriously. And that has always been the case whenever I have had to ask for help. I'm sorry some of you have not had that experience.

Thanks again for the help and comments.

Joshua

The Casemaker