Negative Feedback

[herway]

I sold an item 6 weeks ago and was contacted by the buyer today claiming that the item was not as described and they wanted a refund and an apology. 

The item was a glass seed bead handbag. The glass beads were sewn on a rigid fiber material. 

Buyer said the beads were not glass and I lied about them being glass and about them being sewn on the bag. When I told her that she was incorrect, she left me a nasty negative saying that I lied.

I don’t know if I am suppose to share the link but it’s a brown beaded handbag that is searchable in my sold listings.

Should I respond to the negative or just leave it alone?

[mam98031]

Don't respond yet!!!!  As it is written, it isn't removeable, sorry.  

I would send a message to the buyer, don't mention the feedback.  Let them know they are welcome to  open a request for the return of the purse.  You will approve it and issue the return shipping label.  Once the item is received you will issue a refund to them.  See how they respond.   

Clearly you are dealing with a bully.  They may be a little new at this bully stuff as she made no demands.  But if they do agree to return the item, there might be the opportunity later to get the feedback removed one way or another.  Be patient and don't let them bully you.  

[chapeau-noir]

I'm familiar with that type of beaded bag, and those are definitely sewn on. I even know how it's done. If they were glued on I could almost bet that you'd be seeing bead loss and yellow residue. I can't answer as to glass or not as I've seen them both in glass and plastic. I usually click things like that on my teeth to try to determine.

You also offer returns - why did she wait six weeks to complain when she's covered with the buyer guarantee?

The neg is already buried in green doughnuts, but you could answer that you stand behind your items, and if the buyer is dissatisfied with their purchase, you have an easy 30-day return policy.

[herway]

this is what she said in her first message:

Hello! This purse is not made of glass beads, as you indicated in the description, but of textile cord with lurex, which has a much lower cost and is of no interest to me.Your detailed description that "The glass beads are all hand sewn on the body" and "No beads are in risk of falling off", misled me. I am ready to send this purse back to you, although my partners have already sent it to me and now it is outside the USA. I think we should find a solution that would suit both of us.

[mam98031]

Yep.  Clearly she wants a refund and to keep the item.  

Check something for me please.  Go to her feedback page.  Click on Left for others and see if she is doing this to others.  Let me know what you see.  Or if you want, you can send me a private message and give me a link to her feedback and I can take a look.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

The important concern is when the buyer received the item.

They cannot open a return request under the MBG after 30 days from delivery.

As for the FB it always feels bad but usually does very little to affect your sales.

I must admit this buyer's FB makes me hostile and were I the recipient, I would wait some time to cool down before I responded to the FB or communicated with the buyer. An unprofessional response could be more damaging than the FB.

This buyer will continue to wind you up if you engage with her.

[chapeau-noir]

^^ Wise advice from @tobaccocardyahoo. I would not engage with this person.

I'm not even sure if she's looking at the same bag? I've seen textile cord and lurex, but those are beads. I can even see how they're strung and then wound, and on your closeups one can even see them individually stacked.

This is vintage lurex:

 

[soh.maryl]

Since, per the OP, the seller, this transaction was six weeks ago, isn't it too late for the buyer to open an item not as described case? 

[mam98031]

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@soh.maryl wrote:

Since, per the OP, the seller, this transaction was six weeks ago, isn't it too late for the buyer to open an item not as described case? 

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It is too late if the seller doesn't want to process a return.  But the buyer can still file one if they want.  I suggested it as a mechanism that may enable the seller to get the feedback removed if the seller was willing to process the return and the buyer was willing to send the item back.

I said it before I knew that the item is out of the country now, or so the buyer says.  It is more likely that the buyer was trying to get a refund and keep the item, which is why I suggested that the seller check the buyer's feedback left for others to see if they may have tried this with other sellers.

[pickapaper]

@herway wrote: "I sold an item 6 weeks ago and was contacted by the buyer today claiming that the item was not as described and they wanted a refund and an apology "

So, this buyer wants a free item and wants you to apologize for it?   That is my laugh for the day.

One thought, though, the buyer indicated she is out of the country and "her partners" do the buying and send things to her.  I wonder if they buy a lot of things for her and perhaps sent her the wrong bag or got the information mixed up about which bag belonged to which seller.   Maybe they bought a lurex bag from someone else and thought it was yours.

[herway]

I checked, lol, lots and lots of postives in the last month.

[herway]

Thank you, I have cooled down, silly me....

[12345jamesstamps]

I think you can request a revision of a feedback in a 10 day timeframe from the buyer.

'Glass beads'...it is in your description...but technically if they were the bag would not be perfect...for anything glass will break with the right force...it looks like a perfect bag.

Try for a buyer's revision first...before leaving feedback...but you only get 60 days to respond to feedback as well...so this is a time frame in the buyer's corner.

Might just not leave any feedback as well.

[chapeau-noir]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

I think you can request a revision of a feedback in a 10 day timeframe from the buyer.

'Glass beads'...it is in your description...but technically if they were the bag would not be perfect...for anything glass will break with the right force...it looks like a perfect bag.

Try for a buyer's revision first...before leaving feedback...but you only get 60 days to respond to feedback as well...so this is a time frame in the buyer's corner.

Might just not leave any feedback as well.

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I have handled these a number of times when I used to sell a lot of vintage. Beads like this are not necessarily subject to breakage so much as they are to chipping and wear, and condition can be compared to the general condition of the bag (in this case quite good). So I don't think material can be deduced from that alone. They look like glass to me on the close-ups, but I'd have to handle it to know.

Glass feels "cool" and plastic has a warmer feel, for one thing. If the bag were soft one could tell also by whether it has a sort of 'heavy' drape (glass is heavier than plastic) or slump when handled, but this one is wall sided. 

[roccotacodad54]

   You are right about them not being prone to breaking. I didn't look at the pictures of the bag but if the beads are glass with a rounded profile they aren't prone to breaking. Much like glass marbles. The tension created on the surface when they cool from the molten state make spherical or rounded glass objects resistant to breakage. That's why one can drop a glass marble on a concrete sidewalk and it will bounce, maybe chip or scratch but not break.