Exactly when is enough ENOUGH?

[tellmemama]

So I sold a vintage doll outfit yesterday.  The buyer is fairly new at 141 and her feedback left shows she has no idea how feedback or eBay really works.  A few false/mistakenly left positives and a string of "how do you ship and does that include PO boxes?"  left AS feedback. 

She sent a few messages making offers on it and I replied I wasn't considering any offers right now.  Then she said she wouldn't have the money until 7/1.  I thought that was the end of it until she ended up buying and paying.  She said she "borrowed" the money.  Needless to say my hackles were already up.

Since yesterday I've gotten over 20 messages double checking that it was indeed vintage.  I responded with the reasons why I'm certain it is and if she was still in doubt I would be happy to cancel for her.  She would only say she wanted it if it was vintage.  Clearly my 25 years of experience in my niche means nothing, nor does my feedback which she is free to review to confirm that I'm not in the habit of trying to defraud anyone.

I can already see what's on the horizon.  She will receive it, claim it's fake, yada yada yada.  So to all the posters who say "kill them with kindness" and "turn them into happy repeat customers with your great customer service skills",  how would you proceed?

I'm one more message away from canceling and taking the hit.

[city*satins]

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@tellmemama wrote:

So the first update.  The package was delivered yesterday and as expected I wake up to a message from the buyer:  "Fake???"  I responded no it is not and if you are unhappy with your purchase please open a return request for a refund. 

Somehow I doubt that's the route she wants to take...

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I realize you expected it but still....it's disappointing when ones worst prediction comes true.

You have BBLd her by now, right?  I know it's like locking the barn door after the horse escapes and all that, but people who succeed in this game once often like to belly back up to the trough for another helping.

[sprucestreet238]

What is an INR claim? 

[mam98031]

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@sprucestreet238 wrote:

What is an INR claim? 

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INR = Item Not Received.

[tellmemama]

You have BBLd her by now, right?  I know it's like locking the barn door after the horse escapes and all that, but people who succeed in this game once often like to belly back up to the trough for another helping.

As Tina Fey as Sarah Palin would say, "You betcha!".  I blocked her after the second post sale message questioning the authenticity.  Of course that was followed by another 19 messages but you get the point.

Whatever the outcome, I hope this thread is a reminder to buyers why after they feel the need to ask a zillion questions only to wonder what could possibly be the reason they find themselves blocked.  This.  Is.  Why.  But more importantly it's a warning to sellers who when they get that gut feeling, ignore it.

I had it in spades and didn't listen. 

[tellmemama]

Update #2:

Surprise!  After three days of radio silence, she sent two messages.  One claiming snaps were missing (they weren't) and one complaining the buttons weren't wood (they never were).  I told her to open a return request and she would be issued a prepaid label to send it back for a full refund.  She did (and used "doesn't seem authentic" as the reason).  I followed up with informing her the package will be opened with the mail carrier present and once it is verified to be the same item I sent, her money would be refunded.

As a side note, not only was the return not automatically approved as it had been in the past, but I had to create and upload a label because there was no longer a selection to have eBay issue a label and bill me for it.  Is this yet another new hurdle??

PS:  She's getting reported for everything under the sun:  misusing the MBG, asking for something not in the listing (wooden buttons??), and making false claims about the item.  I hope she has the sense to return the vintage set I sent and not the reproduction version she uploaded photographs of in the return...

Also, thanks to her any buyer making an offer or asking more than two questions gets blocked.  Period.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

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@tellmemama wrote: not the reproduction version she uploaded photographs of in the return...

Oh boy! Here we go again. Sorry to hear that. Lying over a doll dress. How twisted can people be...no, don't answer that. 

You know what to do and I have confidence you will get it done. 🙂

[lasantino]

I too had a return that wasn't automatically approved. the buyer chose snad , and i was given the old options.. ..

send a message, accept return, buy a label. confirm you sent a label, offer refund..etc.

I did post a message asking if anyone else noticed this.   I wonder what is going on with ebays backend software this time! uggg

regarding this nightmare buyer..

I used to be one of those sellers who was shocked at the immediate response of manty experienced sellers to buyers that ask  too  many questions etc..  the sellers would immediatly block and cancel.. I used to think,wow,,that's harsh.. 

HOWEVER<< LIVE AND LEARN>>  unless it's an item where a lot of specific questions make sense( i once sold an antique chandelier, and the buyer asked several relevant questions because they wanted it to fit an a tight space, that sale went off perfect)

but when a buyer asks way too many questions which seem to be questioning what my listing says..  i now.. BLOCK AND CANCEL..... 9 times out of 10 these sales end up coming back for bogus reasons.. 

[peraspera55]

Many years ago, on an eBay forum, I learned something valuable from a veteran eBay seller who advised “ if you have NO OFFERS in your BIN auction, never yield to a buyer who keeps pestering you with something like ‘I give you $20, but I pay you NOW’. Don’t even bother to reply, he wrote.” I kept following his advice and, believe me, it worked, but some buyers were very close to use an open insult trying to make me yield to their preposterous low offers. If you are a veteran seller, you must have developed  a “gut feeling “ when you KNOW this or that buyer means trouble. Like in your case with a vintage doll. One should be nice, but also tough. I finally learned it... a hard way. Good luck for the future.

[moondogblues]

What a sad thing to happen to the OP. I wonder how some people can look at themselves in the mirror.

[tellmemama]

Well I know some of you will find this hard to believe but this morning I got this message:  "Give me a discount an I'll be happy" (spelled in context).  Because a partial refund will make this "reproduction" I sent her magically become exactly the vintage set she wanted?  I guess informing her the return would be opened in the presence of a USPS employee must have rattled her a little...

Clearly we all know what's going on here and I can't help but expect her to throw in the threat of negative feedback any minute.  If the whole thing wasn't so Basics To Ebay Scamming 101 , it would be sad instead of funny.  So today I got to report her for asking for something not in the listing. 

I didn't think I'd get to use that one...

<edit:spelling>

[tellmemama]

PS:  I just noticed she left feedback:  "Thank you.  Nice love it."  As a neg.

Hi larious.

[callahanmagic]

No partial refund, for sure.

-

Lucas

*still rollin’ with the punches*

[callahanmagic]

That should be removable, too - for sure.

-

Lucas

*still rollin’ with the punches*

[umie11752]

Cancel it at her request, is what I have done in the past. Then block. Citing your previous dms should have been enough. You have intuition for a reason. Example: A couple weeks ago I was selling Newly Released Ultra Rare Lol Dolls for a great price. I had 4 of the one particular. Some chick from Russia kept messaging to ask was she getting the doll in the picture (there’s a lot of sellers selling fakes) so her first 3 messages were answered with lengthy explanations hoping to appease her. By the 5th one saying the same thing, I was like, I dont know how many more ways I can explain this to you. She had one more time. Sure enough few minutes later she replies with some off the wall heated message and I snap and cancel it. Now she’s furious cuz she realizes what happened. I told her next time she finds a good deal to shut up and accept it. Especially if the seller has Stellar Feedback. I have repeat customers who spend thousands with me. They dont do that because I sell fakes or give bad cs. Do yourself a favor and realize that when something starts as an issue with people it becomes a problem later. Cut ties and move on. That’s what I’d do.

[drusalina]

I have had too many returns and hoax NADs on small items on eBay in the last few months when I sold here .  I was losing money instead of making it.  I stopped selling on all my accounts in March because of GTC.  All of the returns, and Hoax NADs  were too much, when you are just selling to make a few extra dollars for bills.  I also saw the "writing on the boards,"  that the scammers were going to outnumber sales, another reason I quit selling here. 

When a buyer asks too many question even after the first one, if it is a stupid question, then I block.  I have canceled a sale only a couple times in my 15 years of selling here.  My descriptions and photos were always clear with details and flaws about what I was selling.  I stopped selling high priced items a long time ago, because of eBay's policies and no seller protection.   I stopped going to the thrift stores and craft stores and I am saving money now.  eBay is a lost cause for me.