Please Help

[rob6063]

I sent an offer out to a potential buyer on a water bottle, and received a counter-offer at 50p less. I sent a message explaining that this was the cheapest I could do to which I received a rude reply back that I had lost a sale over 50p and that he would buy one elsewhere. Later on that day the same potential buyer accepted the original offer and I messaged him asking if he definitely wanted as per the correspondence earlier in the day to which he replied that he couldn't find another one on eBay so wanted the one I was selling. He paid for the item, I parcelled the item up in several layers of bubble wrap AND in a padded Jiffy envelope and I sent it off to him the same day. When he received the parcel I received a message from him saying that the water bottle is cracked down one side and he would like a full refund for the item, he also offered to send pictures over. I replied saying that I had refunded the amount and I screen shot the message from Paypal and messaged him to say no need to send photos as I trust people (I knew he was going to be difficult from the start having had the initial rude correspondence). Since then I have had 8 messages from him, telling me things like I send out damaged goods, I am a terrible seller, he is looking forward to leaving me negative feedback etc. His messages have all been rude and aggressive towards me, and offensive in nature. After he left negative feedback I replied to his feedback to which I received the last message from him as follows (word for word): "Told u eBay wouldn't remove my feedback and it's been added 2. Total tossa if your attitude was different it would of all been resolved but when u said I don't trust people u f*****d yourself up. Happy selling u idiot. Don't send broken stock to people and u wouldn't get negative feedback. Simple as that. Thanks for my money back" - he also added 3 laughing face emojis. I have not replied. I understand the process in asking for feedback removal but this won't happen in this case due to the sort of person we are clearly dealing with. So how can I get the feedback removed and this person blocked? If you check my feedback I have never had any negative plus if there have been any issues in the post I have sorted them, issued refunds etc - I have never ever sent out damaged items and never would. It was clear from the initial dealings with this person that he was going to make my life difficult. At these present difficult and stressful times I really do not need this and it has me upset and anxious, Thank you

[*madison]

First thing, don't let this person upset you, they are not worth it.

The buyer was probably lying about the item being broken...

Block nasty buyers here >>https://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BidderBlockLogin

You will need to speak to ebay about this issue.. Report the buyer, tell ebay what happened, and ask if they will remove the neg.. 

Don't communicate with the buyer again, ignore any messages.

@rob6063 

[duncanvr]

Save all the offensive messages he sent you and no longer reply to him. Block him. Report buyer button use it and say he extorted you for free item with threats of neg. If he does leave a neg email eBay and get the rep to read his nasty messages you. Threatening to leave a neg is extorsion. eBay should remove it if you contact them.  Make sure you report buyer as I mentioned as well as contacting eBay if neg left. Next is on best offer MAKE SURE you set auto decline to your lowest accept price so you don't have to haggle back and forward, and auto accept 1 cent higher than your lowest price. Lastly click his feedback score then check feedback left for others. Tell us how many negs he left sellers. If there are lots there mention this to eBay as well. Hope that helps.

[luckythewinner]

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@rob6063 wrote:

received a counter-offer at 50p less. I sent a message explaining that this was the cheapest I could do to which I received a rude reply back that I had lost a sale over 50p and that he would buy one elsewhere. Later on that day the same potential buyer accepted the original offer and I messaged him asking if he definitely wanted as per the correspondence earlier in the day

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IMHO this is the point where you went wrong - and it was right at the start of your dealings with this buyer.

You called his bluff over 50 pence, and the buyer came back to you hat in hand .... but rather than leaving well-enough alone, you just had to throw it back in his face by suggesting he might be a sport buyer or not know what he was doing. 

I'm not for a minute condoning what the buyer did, but IMHO that was a very unprofessional message to send to a buyer. Perhaps simply fulfilling the order without passively-aggressively questioning the buyer's decision to purchase might have create a different story arc. 

[atikovi]

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@rob6063 wrote:
 I replied saying that I had refunded the amount and I screen shot the message from Paypal and messaged him to say no need to send photos as I trust people 

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You must be new here.

[disneyshopper]

I parcelled the item up in several layers of bubble wrap AND in a padded Jiffy envelope and I sent it off to him the same day.

I would have used a BOX to ship that item.

[myboardid]

what disneyshopper said ^^^ - it should have been sent in a box. Your mail service probably dropped a 50 lb package on it.

[bar-29368]

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@atikovi wrote:

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@rob6063 wrote:
 I replied saying that I had refunded the amount and I screen shot the message from Paypal and messaged him to say no need to send photos as I trust people 

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You must be new here.

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And the buyer apparently read that as saying "I don't trust people" and ran with it from there.

[bar-29368]

Yep I sell kid's water bottles and they always go in a box.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Never get into a back and forth with an unhappy buyer. That includes feedback. It is not necessary to put something like “Be careful, sellers!” in a feedback remark. That is called throwing gasoline on a fire. The way to handle a disgruntled buyer is not by further inflaming him.

A follow-up remark is an important piece of real estate in the eBay landscape, because it reaches future buyers, and shows the seller's skill at handling a difficult transaction. The target audience is not other sellers but potential buyers instead.

By suggesting that this buyer was out-of-line and adding the seller warning, it goaded him into leaving another damning comment, one that cannot be replied to. 

Negative feedback stings, everyone who’s had one wished it wasn't so, but it just is. It is understandable to want to get a little of yours back at the buyer’s expense. But as sellers, we have to hold our professional demeanor up at all times, especially in the face of public criticism from a buyer. Doing that has the power to deflate the negative's impact. Something along the lines of "Sorry for any inconvenience, prompt refund given" would have served the situation better, not added to the buyer's ire, and made you look like the bigger person.

In the future, it is a good idea to wait to leave a follow-up comment until after attempting to get the feedback removed.

Keep in mind, most buyers are savvy enough to know that one negative comment over the course of a selling career is nothing to get in a twist about. It won't stop future shoppers from buying from you. Sorry you had to go thru all this. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done when dealing with an unhappy person.