Horrible threatening feedback from a scammer..help

[williazwer_0]

I just had my first negative feedback ever. It's a bit disturbing. 

The person obviously is scamming me, the item was sent fine, it appears that he tampered with the package himself and claims that it was defective. 

I'm prepared to fully ignore this and not refund him, what does he mean by "going through other channels"???

By not doing anything am I putting my account at risk? 

Also he did not read the fine print where it says clearly in my ad, if there's a problem with the item please message us before leaving feedback which he did not do.

[gurlcat]

Don't try to get a pebble out of your shoe when a truck is speeding toward you.
  You have a 99.5% positive and any buyers looking at your feedback can see all the happy buyers you've had, going back for years.  Future ones are not going to decide not to buy from you just because of ONE neg.     And even if you do want to obsess on feedback, ignoring this person is definitely not going to get the neg removed; it's just going to result in the neg staying AND your money snatched back, with no record back to resell.   Do you not understand that is what everyone is trying to tell you here?  
Apologize for the damaged item.  Tell them you will accept their return if they file one.  After you get the record back and return their money, THEN ask nicely if they'll revise the feedback.  

[mintsfmintsf]

You can request to have the feedback changed from the buyer and you can also notify eBay if the the seller has threatened you.  Some buyers will use the threat of negative feedback as a way to try to get things for free or at a discount and if you notify eBay they will potentially suspend a buyer and remove any negative feedback they have left you.

[mintsfmintsf]

A lot of times eBay will protect a seller with fraudulent chargebacks as I have had a couple and eBay notified and told me not to worry about them because they knew it was fraud.  

[itsjustasprain]

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@williazwer_0 wrote:

Obviously the item was not shipped in this condition, as it must have been tampered with in transit by USPS.

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Oh please. The buyer photo shows that it was simply damage due to insufficient packaging. If you are going sell LPs you need to use the proper packaging for those. Wrapping them in bubblewrap and Kraft paper (in 2024!) is insufficient.

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@williazwer_0 wrote:

That said, we'd be happy to initiate the return process upon revising your feedback. 

We will submit a feedback revision request, upon feedback revision we will accept the return.

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That is NOT how the process works. First you resolve the problem with the buyer. THEN if he is satisfied then you can ask if he will accept a feedback revision. I have never seen feedback extortion exhibited by a seller rather than a buyer but here you are.

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@williazwer_0 wrote:

Normally we wouldn't go this route, but since you went ahead and left this potentially damaging feedback in advance of any remediation (we clearly State this in our ad, to contact us BEFORE leaving feedback, which you ignored) we have no choice but to assume that you do not have the best intentions and will not give you the benefit of any doubt. 

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Wow. Way to sell your proposed solution! Not. 

Your unhappy buyer has left 298 feedbacks for sellers. Yours is the only Neg - all the rest are Positive. You should consider that maybe his unhappiness is genuine. His feedback shows what appear to be other record purchases and those all went fine. Just buy a small lot of cardboard LP mailers and your future shipping will go fine.

[gone.c-33]

 

That is more than plastic wrap damage. Yes, the record is now unsealed but the sleeve is also damaged and bent.

If you pay premium for a limited run RSD release, you want it to be mint when received.

OP owes their buyer a full refund upon return.

[gurlcat]

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@mintsfmintsf wrote:

A lot of times eBay will protect a seller with fraudulent chargebacks as I have had a couple and eBay notified and told me not to worry about them because they knew it was fraud.  

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Yes eBay will actually protect sellers who take care of buyers by offering 30 days free returns like you and I do.  The OP does not accept returns.  

[gurlcat]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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Oh please. The buyer photo shows that it was simply damage due to insufficient packaging. If you are going sell LPs

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I agree 100% with your whole reply; I just cut it off here to address what I believe is the core of the problem here.  The OP has been selling and shipping records for years already, and the reason they can't believe this one actually arrived damaged is because their method of packing between 2 pieces of cardboard has worked just fine before.  An actual box with some space and cushioning would be more failsafe (when I sold my record collection I was still working at Papa Johns and found that LPs fit perfectly in the large pizza box), but in most cases his simple snug 2-piece cardboard method works.  Maybe this time he used thinner/weaker cardboard, or it got handled extra rough in transit. 

Now I don't believe the buyer would purposely damage a limited release album cover/seal just to do a shakedown on the seller, but at the same time I also find it pretty cruddy that they left negative feedback as Step 1 of getting satisfaction.  And they absolutely did threaten the OP in that email.  Basically they resorted to nuclear options before they even gave the OP a chance for a peaceful resolution.  

But the buyer's cruddiness is besides the point.  We know how all the leverage is in their hands, but the seller doesn't appear to.  Like I said, worrying about the pebble in his shoe when a truck is speeding toward him.  -And a truck driven by a hot-headed jerk who WANTS to hit him.  

[gurlcat]

Ah!  Looks like the wreck is being averted.  Well done OP. 

[mam98031]

@williazwer_0 

If the buyer files for a Return in Ebay, if you try to deny it, the buyer will just wait a few days until the Return Request shows the option to ask Ebay to step in.  If Ebay steps in, they will rule for the buyer and force you into a full refund.  They likely will not refund your FVFs either.

If you want them to work with you on revising the feedback, then you are going to need to put in the effort and great customer service to inspire them to do that.  If you don't care one way or another, then deal with it as you wish, but just know if they file an INAD, like it or not you will refund the entire purchase price.

You may ask the buyer if the product is still useable.  And if it is, ask them if they would be willing to accept a partial refund.  Maybe 50% and then they wouldn't have to bother with returning the item to you.  I personally rarely offer a partial refund, but sometimes it is much cheaper for a seller to just bite their lip and move forward.

Then if they feel that is OK, process the partial refund.  Then send them an email asking them if they are still willing to revise their feedback.  If they say yes, then and ONLY then [after they agree], send them a feedback revision form.  Let them know they will get an email from Ebay and inside the email will be a link so they can easily revise the feedback.  But know you should never send one of these unless your buyer has told you that they are willing to do it AND you tell them about the Ebay email. 

You have a limited number of these forms available to you and they do have a self life.  So the buyer needs to use them in a few days or they will time out.  You can not issue another one on the same transaction.

[mam98031]

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@williazwer_0 wrote:

I've never dealt with that before. How does eBay know to charge me $20 if they resolve this on their own with their credit card?

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That is charged if your buyer goes to their credit card company [if they paid with a CC] and file a Chargeback.  Not all buyers do that.  Most will likely file their claim in Ebay.

But if they do the Chargeback and if you lose the chargeback, that is when Ebay charges you the $20 fee.  FYI, you would lose the chargeback.  There is clearly shipping damage.  Trying to fight that is only going to backfire on you and cost you more.

[mintsfmintsf]

Way to call him out.  That attitude that was demonstrated is exactly why some people don't like to use eBay.  If a seller did that to a buyer they could easily see their account suspended.  

[mintsfmintsf]

My grandfather was in business for years and one thing I remembered him always saying was "The customer is always right."  We all know that the customer is not always right, but I have found that by correcting an issue, I can oftentimes win  a long-term customer.  One of my first tough customers was this fellow that was convinced that a coin that I sold him had a flaw on it.  I knew that the item was actually toned, and beautifully so, but this "expert" thought that he was right.  The item was not that expensive so I simply offered him a little discount on the item which made him happy.  This customer has bought from me on eBay and off eBay now for several years, sends me cards during the holidays and has even apologized for the first interaction because he did realize later that he actually should have been charged more for the coin than he was.  I made up that little bit of money and then some now. 

I think another old saying that people forget is that "You can draw more bees with honey than you can with vinegar."  People should really consider these old sayings because they are truly wise sayings regardless how the YouTube generation thinks businesses should be run.  It is also to remember that how you respond to a negative interaction with a customer can be seen in your feedback.  If you come across as belittling to a customer, you will lose not just that customer, but many potential customers.  However, you can note the discrepancy between your reality and theirs politely.  Don't be a jerk with your response or let yourself sound childish or bitter. 

When I shop on here and I see a seller that has done that to a buyer I will almost always select another seller.  Yes, many of us will take the time to flip through your feedbacks and especially the negative or neutral experiences.  If a seller leaves feedback that is totally out of line and they refuse to remove it you can appeal it with eBay.  Lastly, if they leave you negative feedback because an item did not get delivered, but it shows that it was accepted by the delivery company, then eBay will remove the negative feedback because no seller can control how an item is delivered.

[slyders_finds]

Years ago I had a seller send a Vinyl Record in a Bubble Envelope! The jacket had all kinds of creases/bend. Was bummed because was a semi rare record. Returned.