Name Calling in Undeserved Negative Feedback

[kaco_5248]

Can anyone help me contact eBay about a "buyer" whom I really began to feel was fishing for personal info because their communications were so suspect? I've reported them. I tried to contest their negative feedback and it was declined, "This seller has problems. I hope she gets help for them. She imploded after I won her auction and requested cheaper shipping. She refunded me, refused to sell to me and re-listed the blouse I had won in a whole new auction, and barred me from bidding. I've reported her to ebay. The whole debacle is documented in ebay messages between us."

Here are the 15 communications completely unedited over the course of only a few hours so that you understand the full story: 

Buyer: I have managed to find the item, and pay for it now. I was a bit shocked at the shipping charge. If there is any way to arrange cheaper shipping, please do! This will cost nearly $70 to ship in my currency.

Hi There,
Me: Thanks for your purchase. I buy stuff from Australia all of the time and it's around $30 for shipping. I cannot understand how this would be $70. Would you like to contact eBay before I print the shipping label and send it out? I do not have any control over the shipping prices. Thanks

Me: It is my goal to send items out same day. Please let me know.

Buyer: re shipping, kindly await my reply. thanks.

Buyer: ebay says to get cheaper shipping you need to fold it up tiny and send without box. can you do that, and send new dimensions for a shipping quote???? $49 US is just too much to pay for shipping this item which can be made tiny.

Buyer:  here's another option according to ebay:

"you do have the option to have the seller purchase a label outside eBay which will be through your preferred carrier that may have a cheaper postage."

if you make this into a tiny pkg and send by regular post, that woiuld be the answer.
Can you do this for me, and refund the difference in postage.

Buyer also ebay says: "Then, the seller can issue you the rest of the postage fee or cancel the order and have you repurchase it with the appropriate amount of shipping."

pls advise on the course of action you choose and direct me on payment. thanks. ebay gave you a quote based on your weight and dimensions of pkg so we need to get that packaging down and resubmit to ebay OR buying a label from your postal outlet.

Buyer: probably best to issue me a refund and then allowing me to pay for it again, but with the new shipping price?

Me: (I weighed it and gave photos of dimensions in a package): I'm not sure how that would work since this was won in an auction. 6.6 oz 9 x 6 inches

Buyer: perhaps you should contact ebay and find out how to go about doing it.
6 x 9 is pretty large packaging for that little blouse. You likely can make it much smaller for a cheaper shipping rate.
I have returned and received refunds for things I buy at auction before...

Me: (I find a smaller shipping option and crumple the blouse into a tiny ball, weigh it, show dimensions of the package with photos again) Ok, I'm really trying to make it as small as possible. After searching around my house and making it a tiny ball that will arrive wrinkled, it's 4.9 oz and 5x6. I really don't have anything to do with shipping. I only see the $99 for the sale. Please ask eBay. I don't want to reach out to them as it's outside of my responsibility.

Buyer: I take it you can only refund me the $99 and don't know how to retrieve the money paid to ebay for shipping. thank you for making up the smaller package.
I will ask ebay how to retrieve my shipping fee. They will phone me back in 70 minutes.
I will do this, but for clarity, it would be so much easier if you spoke directly with them since you are the one having to arrange the cheaper shipping. I can get information and perhaps you will have another issue I am unable to respond to.
Anyway, I will contact them a second time and get back to you.

Buyer:  what would happen if you just cancelled the sale??? Wouldn't the shipping of the item automatically be cancelled too?

Today I saw the exact same doen blouse in a Medium being sold with $21 shipping from Linda's Stuff in Pennsylvania, much further than you are from me....

Buyer: probably best to issue me a refund and then allowing me to pay for it again, but with the new shipping price?

Buyer:  New message from: mydogchip 
ebay says:
"Due to privacy policy, we are not allowed to contact the seller on your behalf unless the seller will contact us. So you just need to inform the seller to just issue a full refund that's showing on his end which is the $99 and once he successfully processed the refund then eBay will process the refund for the shipping cost."

so please go ahead and issue refund. then send me invoice for item with new, lower ship fee.

I cancel the order on the side of the road during a 20 mile run when I find cell service

Buyer: OK, ebay sent me a full refund! YYYYAAAAYYY.
So we can start over again.
I would like to buy the blouse again, with the adjusted ship fee.
can you re list and I will purchase? or do you have to secure the lower ship fee first?
Please advise.
many thanks for your cooperation.

I clumsily re-list the item not understanding if eBay has some control over the re-list to just have her buy it again

Buyer: I do apologize for bothering you again.
I have now contacted ebay and they have asked me to send you the following message today:

Respectfully, I am reminding you that we agreed in messages through ebay that you would refund me and process a new payment with revised shipping. We never discussed a whole new auction where I once again would have to bid on an item I had already won. I respectfully urge you to process a new payment for me, as per our agreement. If you have any difficulty doing that, kindly contact ebay.

I look foward to receiving your invoice or cooperating in the purchase of my blouse, as soon as it can be arranged.
Thanking you again.
Sincerely,
Buyer

Buyer: I don't understand. you have put it up for auction again.
I bought this blouse for $99.Won't you honor the fact I won the auction.
sincerely, this is surprising. I woiuld ask that you accept the $99 and ship to me as we agreed.
I have only tried all day today to get this sorted out.
If you will honour the auction, I will give you an excellent rating.

Buyer: also, shipping has remained the same at $49.15. Please advise. I am only a customer, trying to buy a blouse and I've tried my best to get answers from ebay for you in two separate time consuming chats.
I don't understand why you are handling this, in this particular way. I really feel very hurt.
Please help me out here.

Me: I do not understand how to sell this to you. I truly do not. Please stop with the constant communications. I'm not at a computer. I'm stopped on the side of the road trying to help you as I have been all day. 

[kaco_5248]

Yes but eBay said that I "promised the seller that I'd reduce shipping and re-list for buy it now." They let the negative feedback stand. I told the buyer I really didn't understand how to help her because I don't. 

[lilyswan2]

i'd reply to the feedback that buyer tried to change terms of transaction after auction ended. the time for buyer to ask questions was before it did...the would be buyer was casting doubt on seller in first two feedback sentences and i feel a well worded response would help new buyers if they read it and help seller clear her name instead of letting the accusation seller has "problems" hang there...

[reallynicestamps]

and now I have a bad mark on my account.

FWIW - eBay does not use feedback to assess member accounts.

And the buyer shows their colours in their FB.

@inhawaii  wrote

Reply:

This buyer bid on and won the item, then AFTER the sale tried to negotiate different shipping options. That's not how it's done.  Transaction was cancelled and buyer was fully refunded.

I would use that perhaps amending it to "This Australian buyer...."

What was the end game? ...It seemed like a ton of work for little payoff.

Power and egoboo.

[luckythewinner]

Name Calling in Undeserved Negative Feedback

I see no name calling in that negative, and I see no reason why eBay would remove it.

That aside:

The buyer asked if could reduce the shipping, and if you were not interested then your answer should have been "Sorry, I cannot reduce the weight of the blouse, nor can I reduce the weight of the packaging enough to affect the shipping cost."

If you were interested in reducing the cost of shipping, I checked with USPS and it says I can ship an 8 ounce package by First Class International from the USA to Australia for $21.55. All you needed to do was relist as a fixed price listing at $99 with appropriate service class offered.

[kaco_5248]

I have it set for eBay to calculate shipping. How do I do this? The person is in Canada, not AUS. I did not know how to help and yes, I was not interested in trying to figure it out on their behalf after they had already bought it with the shipping price prominently displayed. Why would I want to spend hours figuring out how to save them money when it doesn't matter to my bottom line? I sincerely do not know how to select shipping costs when eBay is calculating it. 

[moretreasures4you]

You need to use eBay's global shipping program, and let them ship it to other countries. All you do is ship to a hub and then they send it from there. That way you are not involved with shipping. Also, I do not she international and it has never hurt my sales. As a new seller I would advise you to only ship USA for now.

[kaco_5248]

Thanks! I will see if I can figure out how to only sell to the US. There is just such a big market for 2 brands that I buy and sell that are out of Australia. That's the only reason I didn't try to restrict geographies. Clearly, I don't know what I'm doing and should probably get educated to prevent another mishap.

[reallynicestamps]

For Canada the cheapest service is First Class International Package which has Tracking, which is mostly what you want.

It's at the bottom of the list of available services.

But eBayInternationalShipping (eIS) offers more Seller Protection, pays import fees before shipping, and has a form* of protection against unwarranted Not As Described(NAD) claims.

*Basically, while you still have to send a Return Shipping Label, it only goes to the eIS plant outside Chicago, not to the overseas buyer at domestic rate not international.
It is up to the buyer to get it to your doorstep.

[moretreasures4you]

You can specify that you will only ship to Australia. Yes, you do need to spend some time figuring out what you are doing. 

[reallynicestamps]

@moretreasures4you 

If you list on dotCOM you must ship to the USA.

Any other country is optional.

If you list on dotAUSTRALIA you must ship to Australia, and in Aussie dollars.

Any other country is optional.

[moretreasures4you]

Not sure why you think this is relevant, the OP is in the US. She can specify that she will ship to the US and one other country Australia.

[mam98031]

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@kaco_5248 wrote:

Thanks for answering me! The name calling is inherently calling me crazy with, "This seller has problems. I hope she gets help for them. She imploded after I won her auction and requested cheaper shipping." It might be best to let people draw their own conclusions and not respond to her feedback on this one.

I didn't see the seller's name until now. I'll remove it because I am trying to be the bigger person although it certainly has not worked out for me. I did report her in that way that you recommended. I guess I've exhausted my options and will finally move on. I certainly hate when my character is in question. I've always been someone who tries to do the right thing. Maybe I'll get what I deserve one day 🙂

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In the feedback the buyer left you, there is no name calling in it.  Not that I saw.

Your buyer should not have asked for the cheaper shipping, that they aren't suppose to do, but simply telling them no politely should be enough.

I know you won't like this, but there is nothing in the feedback they left you that breaks any feedback rule.  It is highly unlikely that Ebay would remove it.