Ebay Scammer

[goldrushfinds]

I sold these pair of boots just recently and buyer claims they were misrepresented, as he says damage is as shown in his photo. Here is my and his photos. I WILL NOT REFUND THIS SCAMMER. Ebay show some guts. 

[chapeau-noir]

I've seen that happen to boots AND shoes - I once received a pair of Dansko clogs that looked perfect, began wearing them and that evening noted black marks all over my kitchen floor, pulled off the shoe, and the soles were disintegrating.  I had a pair of cycling shoes that lost their soles, as well.  It doesn't happen from wear, it happens from poor storage and/or long term storage in unfavourable conditions.

[aproudparent2010]

You will be refunding them....sorry

[cubano4u]

@goldrushfinds  Um sorry, you don't get to tell eBay that you won't refund. This platform offers a MBG to all buyers. Unless this is a buyer’s remorse type of return you will have to refund. Once the buyer selects INAD you will have to pay for the return shipping or eBay will deduct it from your account. Your best bet is to accept the return and issue the return label or you will also receive a defect on your selling account for eBay having to resolve in place of seller. It happens; it's a part of selling online. Best of luck to you....

[southern*sweet*tea]

Did you flex test them before listing?

Even brand new, never worn shoes will do this if they've sat a while. I've had it happen to me, Birkenstocks. I wore them four or five times, then they sat in the closet for a few years until I dug them out again.  I was going to resell them, so I flexed the soles a couple of times and the entire bottom of one popped off.

I just epoxied the sole back on and wore them in the garden for a few years until they fell apart.

[chapeau-noir]

Exactly.  This looks like a classic problem.  Gently flexing (never twisting) shoes generally tells the tale.  The buyer probably put them on, started walking around and they separated.  It happens.

Barge cement would probably get the soles back on, we use it at my house to fix worn cycling shoes, hiking boots and the like, and Vibram soles themselves are actually durable - it's the glue that probably got brittle from storage conditions.  But I wouldn't try reselling them even with Barge cement. 

ETA: Darned good thing it didn't happen on a trail.

ETA v2:  I once had a sole fall off like this on my cycling shoe 20 miles from home.  Every time I got started from a light I had to make sure that I could get that flapping thing back into my pedal and pray that the entire thing didn't fall off.

[titipeo]

Very true. I bought a pair of Columbia hiking boots for a comping trip that never occurred, I stored the boots in the box and totally forgot about them for about a year. Put the on one day to shovel snow, and I walked inside the house I noticed how the sole was disintegrating. It became so brittle, that I could pull parts of it easily. 

OP, sorry to say, but once buyer submits INAD claim, that's it. 

[terrycece62]

Sory but as long as buyer files a claim within the 30 days that buyers MBG  covers you will be required to refund  whether you refund voluntarily or eBay deducts it from your account.

[inhawaii]

Common problem with shoes, especially vintage shoes.  I've seen this many times before.

I honestly don't think your buyer is trying to scam you. 

Sorry to say you WILL be refunding the buyer wether you like it or not.  Your buyer has a 30 day money back guarantee from ebay.  If they file a complaint that the shoes are damaged and they want a refund, you have 4 choices:

1) Partially refund the buyer (if you can agree on an amount). Buyer drops the claim. Buyer keeps the shoes.

2) Fully refund the buyer in full. Buyer keeps the shoes. 

3) Accept the return. If the buyer sends the shoes back you must refund them. If they don't send the shoes back (many times they don't), no need to refund them.

4) Deny the return. Ebay will refund them with your money and let them keep the shoes. 

[goldrushfinds]

Upon all your comments and recommendations, I have gone ahead and refunded the buyer. Thanks for all your comments and info. After a long day, seeing the return, I kind of blew my top. I guess as they say, knowledge is power. One tiny bit more shoe wisdom. Selling is not for sissies. 

[inhawaii]

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@goldrushfinds wrote:

Upon all your comments and recommendations, I have gone ahead and refunded the buyer. Thanks for all your comments and info. After a long day, seeing the return, I kind of blew my top. I guess as they say, knowledge is power. One tiny bit more shoe wisdom. Selling is not for sissies. 

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Sorry this happened to you. Hopefully you'll make so much money in the future that this will be nothing.   😉   Good luck.

[jonathankirkland]

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@goldrushfinds wrote:

Upon all your comments and recommendations, I have gone ahead and refunded the buyer. Thanks for all your comments and info. After a long day, seeing the return, I kind of blew my top. I guess as they say, knowledge is power. One tiny bit more shoe wisdom. Selling is not for sissies. 

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@goldrushfinds 

Just for future information, it is never a good idea to let ebay decide in your favor. You must always be proactive with a case. If you let ebay step in for you, you will receive a 'defect'. Just a few of those (3 to be exact) for a low volume seller is enough to permanently lose selling privileges on ebay.

If you've not already read this, I highly recommend giving it a read over just so you understand what you have agreed to by selling here.

Please try not to be upset. It's important to remove emotion from business dealings as it will almost never improve the results.

https://pages.ebay.com/ebay-money-back-guarantee/

Best of luck to you moving forward!

[numisnorway]

I read about a guy who got called into a job interview at some factory that produced something that required a high standard of cleanliness and this guy realized after being done with the interview that his shoes had disintegrated while he was shown around the facilities.. he never got called back.

Kinda fascinating that people pay top dollars for collectible shoes these days..

[coolections]

Both photos look like the boots should be in the trash.

[toysaver]

The Sole Destroying Effects of Hydrolysis on Leather Boots (lowamilitaryboots.com)

The old glue became ineffective.  The stain patterns on the top look too identical to be a scammer.  Did you try them on and walk around?  I recommend a refund and appology without return shipping. 

Think of it this way you're only out the original second hand thrift store cost and the shipping.  If they were originally yours looks like they served their purpose and had plenty of good hikes.