Hustled by a buyer

[sunrisesunsets]

First item, she says she did not get, I refunded.  It was a charm, I usually don't get tracking for those small items.   She bought two other items from me, both tassels with charms at different times, June 4 and 11.  Tonight she writes and says both tassels are broken and there was no charm with either one.  I double and triple check my items before I seal the envelope and the tassels are a very strong polyester nylon.  NEVER in 10 years of selling this item has any been "broken" or I forgot to attach the charm.  I did write her back and say I would be happy to refund if the tassels were sent back to me, per ebay policy.  I have been threatened at least 4 times in the last year about giving money back.   I am just getting sick and tired of these people who have learned to beat the system.   The only negative I have received in the past year was one of those people, but I did give them a refund for their whole order, just not the part they complained about and they still gave me a neg.  I looked at their "Feedback Left" for other sellers, and out of 24 they left, 10 were negatives.   Ebay has mostly been a positive experience for me these past years, but it is getting to the point where it is not a pleasant experience any more.  Having 100% feedback is nice, but in reality,  I know you can't please all the people all the time.  But to get negs when you don't deserve it and have eBay always side with the buyers is very frustrating.

[tdumonde2014]

Block that buyer and any other buyer that claims INR. Since you don't use tracking a certain number of buyers will scam you. You will have to decide how much you are willing to tolerate. If it gets to be too much you either stop selling that product or you start bundling them to make tracking possible.

[pikabo-icu]

Yep BBL

And tell them "return for refund"

Sorry.. This has been happening more & more..

[jonathankirkland · Accepted solution]

Really sorry to hear this. Even though it sounds like (correct me if I am wrong) this is a less expensive item, NOBODY wants to be stolen from whether it's a stick of gum or a $3,000 fancy gaming computer.

It baffles me that someone would lie to steal such a small, simple item. These people must be really desperate. Perhaps mentally ill? Not trying to offend anyone but honestly I don't think it's too much of a stretch. Sadly in the United States we do not offer nearly the care required for those with mental illnesses.

Anyhow, you have nice vibrantly colorful items, photographed well. The only tiny suggestion I'd make is cut out that block of text about feedback. Instead, consider perhaps putting a small note in with each other but keep it short, something like "Thank you for your order! Customer satisfaction is number one to me so if you are satisfied I'd appreciate positive feedback on ebay's feedback system. However if you are not happy for any reason, please contact me on ebay so I have a chance to make it right!"

And please try not to let the few bad apples spoil the bunch. You've obviously been very successful here so keep it up! Try to focus more on the great customers that are very happy with you. 🙂

Good luck!

[gjs_16]

I don't sweat the negs anymore, I just do the best I can.

[coolections]

You could have made a mistake. Two signs of why I think that. First is scammers really do not scam for a $5 item, and secondly they don't leave negatives. Even if it was not a mistake it looks like you have sold over 10,000 items so to have something like this happen in all that time is not really a big deal. Take is as a cost of doing business.

[bigdeals.etc]

Haha I read your second sentence and thought you were describing how easy it was to refund them… “like a charm.”

Anyway, fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Regardless if this buyer was legit or not, I’d might be inclined to BBL them. “Cost of doing business” on the buyer’s side I guess.

That’s one of the reasons why I probably won’t even complain on a $5 purchase I made. If that happens I trash the item and move on. It’s like buying a bad tasting fruit from the market.

[sunrisesunsets]

Thanks to you all, I guess I did my "venting", and thanks again for the suggestions and outlooks on selling here on eBay.  I know I will not be happy with all outcomes, either buying or selling for one reason or another, but most experiences have been positive and I have met many nice people, including all of you who take the time to listen and greatly help the eBay community with your knowledge and experience.   Thanks again!