Need serious help dealing with a 'Karen'! Please help!

[theofficefan4life]

In all my years selling i havent had the displeasure of a buyer as the one im dealing with now. I sold an ICEE slushie machine using best offer for the VERY REASON of hoping to "shop" for a potential buyer with an established history on ebay and of good fb left for sellers! And a lot of good that did me! So, i accepted "Karen"s offer which was $150 which to me is a lot of money. We are living in a time when porch thieves are rampant and especially so during the holidays. So I decided to ship UPS with signature required. That sent Karen into a rage. How dare I not list that in my ad! How dare I inconvenience her! Talk about a darned if i do, darned if i dont scenario! I didnt want to wait for her to give the go-ahead for signature required lest I be deemed Im waiting to long to ship.

So not thinking its any big deal I sent it requiring signature. Fast forward to today. The package is being held safely at a UPS store practically across the street from this Karen's house (after having done a quick google maps search), but I just received a nasty email how she is too inconvenienced to go pick it up and wants me to have them return it to me and how she is soooo hassled. I honestly don't get why she bought this???? Is it unreasonable to send something needing a signature so as to avoid a thief??? I digress....

So at this point, what do I do? I already know a negative is in the future. My question is do I call that UPS store and ask them to ship it back to me? Or do I wait until this Saturday which is the last day they will hold it and have UPS ship it back automatically? Please advise me on what will have the least worse consequences to me as a seller trying to do the right thing to protect myself. Should I take her up on her offer to have them ship it back to me? Or insist she go claim it? Or tell her if she really doesn't want it, then she simply doesnt need to retrieve it and it will get sent back to me?? I'm wondering if I should take her up on her advice and call UPS to have them ship back to me and HOPEFULLY ebay will remove any impending negative this hag will leave. Any advice is appreciated!!!

[electronics510]

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@theofficefan4life wrote:

Yep, kind of like being a keyboard warrior being a smart aleck when replying to a genuine request for help. Really classy.

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Well put.

[outdatedrecreated]

I'd like to congratulate you for being the ONLY buyer in the HISTORY of eBay that won't IMMEDIATELY blame the seller for an item showing delivered that isn't there when they get home. It's safe to assume that if that ever happens to you, you'll immediately say to yourself, "oh darn. someone must have stolen it. But the seller is protected so oh well. It's only $150. My loss." PAAAAALEASE. 

[electronics510]

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@pburn wrote:

IF YOU HAVE NOT DISCLOSED THAT YOU'RE SHIPPING WITH SIGNATURE REQUIRED, YOU SHOULD NOT BEING DOING IT. FULL STOP.

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Is this ebay policy? Sounds like an arbitrary demand you are making. Are you an authority who can demand sellers do this?

[wastingtime101]

Ask your buyer to re-schedule delivery and sign for the package online. That's what I do with my incoming packages. Although, lately that hasn't been necessary since carriers haven't been requiring signatures during this C19 fiasco.

If that doesn't work for the buyer then wait for the package to be returned and refund in full upon receipt.

I do agree with the point made above that you should never require signature confirmation without first disclosing it in the listing.

[dhbookds]

Agree with Wasting.  The "norm" on Ebay is not to require signature unless the item is $750 or more.  If you are going to require one, to avoid problem, post that in the listing so buyer is notified before they buy and so they have the choice of either buying under your terms or not......   Over the years, we've seen alot of posts with buyer reaction such as yours.......  For whatever the reason......especially this time of year......some don't want to go stand in long line in the PO to get the item, or simply can't because of jobs/care taking responsibilities, or now, because of Covid, they don't want to go anywhere they don't have to.  Those reasons are valid....... to the buyer....

Part of being a successful seller is looking at things from the standpoint of the buyer and trying to mitigate any problems before they occur. 

[bargainnation]

I understand you were trying to protect the item from being stolen by porch thieves. Going forward you should note in your listing that you require signature confirmation. If you did not state this in your listing then at least give the buyer a heads up in an email that you require signature confirmation.  This way the buyer can let you know they would prefer no signature confirmation because they might not be home for extended periods of time during the day.

As for your current situation, I agree with outdatedrecreated. I would apologize for any inconvenience to the buyer since the buyer clearly feels she has been or is being inconvenienced. Accept responsibility for sending the item requiring signature confirmation without letting the buyer know in advance.

If the buyer still refuses to pick up the package and leave you a negative feedback, it is not the end of the world. Politely respond to any negative feedback and say you were trying to protect the item from being stolen by porch thieves. And like some sports team if and when they make it to the playoffs it should be one and done, don't keep going back and forth disputing what happened or didn't happened or who did what, etc.

[candd205]

Maybe it would help if you stopped denigrating women by referring to them with misogynistic, sexist language? I know it's popular lately to put women down this way, but not really a positive customer service action. Just a suggestion.

[tdrake]

First off, I don't turn into "Karen" when I get an unexpected "signature required" package, but I do get (silently) **bleep** off and don't buy from that seller again.   I always look for that in a listing and if I see it I do not buy.  Until recently I worked a job where I was gone well before the PO opened, and not home until after close, 6 and 7 days a week.  Once I did leave work (2 towns over)  to go to the PO to sign for something, thinking it was something important I was expecting and still a bit **bleep** off, imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a $3 old road map I had won a few days before and not what I thought it was. 

That said, is there any way to have them remove the signature required and deliver?

[1tuna]

.............general reply............

 I can definitely idenify with this but not the signature part..I have to sign for plenty of packages with the USPS at my door.that is fine wth me and so is going over to the post office

not sure what I would do if I had to go to UPS or Fedex to get my package..I would feel like why dont they bring it to my house..most peole know where the post office is but I bet lots of people have not been to fedex or ups depot.

if I had to retrieve a package I would feel put upon  if it was not usps.  I like to be in control and if I have to go get something that often does not suit me..................maybe thats how the buyer felt

[smileytown18]

Am I the only person who feels bad for people who's actual name is Karen??

[maxine*j]

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@theofficefan4life wrote:

I had no idea. I was under the impression that if a package was left at someones porch, UPS marks "delivered" then a porch pirate steals the package, buyer says never received, then how am I not on the hook for that??? Should I have sent it insured instead???

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You are not on the hook because it is up to each of us to provide a secure place to which our mail and packages from other carriers can be delivered.  That's why your responsibility ends once tracking shows the package was delivered to the right address.  

[stuff-from-jewel-and-the-gang]

all of you suggesting to put the "signature required" blurb in the item description are assuming that prospective buyers/bidders actually READ the whole description 😛

[aproudparent2010]

I understand your frustration but I kind of understand the buyers frustration too. If requiring a signature that needs to be in your listing. My closest UPS location is  around 25-30 miles away so I'd be kind of upset to if it wasn't mentioned previously.

Signature is only required on items over $750. If it's any price below $750 as long a sit shows delivered you are covered. I've had buyers claim INR and I just show delivery proof and eBay closes case right away. The buyer is suppose to have a safe location for packages

[a_c_green]

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@tdrake wrote:

That said, is there any way to have them remove the signature required and deliver?

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I believe the buyer may be able to waive the Signature requirement and tell the carrier to leave it, either on his doorstep or at a neighboring house, for example, but the seller (shipper) cannot waive the Signature requirement if the package was shipped that way.

And just to be clear, eBay requires Signature Confirmation on a sale of $750 or more to maintain seller protection against an Item Not Received dispute. They will not defend the seller in an INR dispute of that much if the seller shipped with only Delivery Confirmation.

Below $750, DC is sufficient. Signature Confirmation below $750 adds complication for the buyer but no additional protection for the seller.

[juliuselizabeth]

First of all,  I sympathize with you.  She sounds very difficult.   But I object to the slur "Karen" which is racist against white people and sexist against women.   Hag I don't mind.  She sounds just horrible.  I am happy to sign for packages.   eBay doesn't forbid signature required for items under 750.   I can't imagine being "livid" over having to sign for something or just arrange for another delivery which is all she needs to do.  She can also waive her signature and take responsibility for it being taken from her porch.     She might have wanted to claim it was stolen  and you foiled her plans.  Even if you have to pay return shipping you are better off out of this transaction and you very well could have ended up with nothing had you failed to require a signature.