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@slippinjimmy wrote:I think this because the last name is spelled "PRQKYG"
What is it about the last name that makes you think you might get scammed? I'm not having any luck discovering the hidden meaning.
@slippinjimmy: what language would that be and how would you pronounce it. I'm curious.
@lavintagestreetxoxo: Protections vary based on how the customer approaches an issue. If they communicate and work with you, resolutions can generally be pretty easy. If they are "entitled" and expect you to bear all the costs of their window-shopping/mistaken purchase/under-estimating their hips... things could get uncomfortable.
My general rules (because there will always be exceptions):
- No Partial Refunds. If the buyer is asking for a partial refund because "I think I can fix it", "I can make do", or "I'm sure you just missed it" -- they are likely just looking to get money back for a product that is perfectly fine. No partial refunds will send most of those folks moving along to the next victi...er....seller.
- All communication thru eBay. Don't acknowledge or respond to any direct email. eBay has made this easier to enforce by not sharing email addresses on transactions and by scanning for contact data in Messages. Keep the conversation on eBay -- anything off-site will not be taken into consideration if there is a problem with the buyer. Anything on-site can be easily viewed by Customer Service.
- Require returns to go thru the Return Request system. This system documents the interaction and has various time requirements for both buyer and seller. You have a deadline to begin interaction and/or to resolve. The buyer has a deadline to ship the product back to you. A scammer isn't going to want to go thru the Returns system ... it creates a record on their account that eBay can more easily see (50 purchases, 30 Return Request is not a good ratio).
- In the case where the profit margin of the sale will not actually cover paying for a return shipment, I still ask them to open a Return Request. Yes, I'm going to simply refund with no return postage paid by me, but the act of asking them to open the Request will separate the 'script kiddies' (folks who found a video on YouTube showing them how to scam eBay/online sellers) and the serious, professional scammer. It's like locking your car doors whenever/wherever you park -- the kids walking by tugging on door handles will simply keep going and your car is safe. The serious car thief isn't going to be stopped by anything short of a serious kill switch, blaring alarm, and massive steering wheel lock. The serious thief is going to cost you time and money one way or another, but that door handle tugger will just move on and that's a good thing.
If the buyer opens a 'changed mind' Return, you can deny the return if the buyer isn't willing to be reasonable (say, pay their own return shipping and allow you to deduct the cost of the original shipping). They won't be able to open another Return, but they are still able to file a chargeback with their financial institution (bank or CC provider).
If the buyer opens a SNAD (Substantially Not As Described) Return, your options are much more restricted. You'll have 3-4 days to converse and see if the buyer will be reasonable, but at the end of that time (eBay will tell you the date), if you haven't reach an agreement, the customer -may- forward the issue to eBay Customer Service who will nearly always side with the customer (there are Federal reason for this). If this happens, eBay will refund the customer from your funds, not require them to return the item, and give you a defect for their trouble. You can avoid that only by sending them return postage and then refunding them in full WHEN THE ITEM IS RETURNED. Do not do the refund before you have the item back -- if they don't send it or USPS loses it, you get to keep your money and the Return will be close. Slim chance, but still a chance.
There's this "Free Returns" option that eBay has, and it changes some of the options and allows you to recover some of the lost funds in some cases (but not ALL cases). I don't use it, at home or at work, so I'll leave that explanation to someone else.
The good news is that bad buyers are generally few and far between. Doesn't feel like that as a new seller, but when you look at a large time period, they generally are. Most new sellers are told to stick to less expensive items until your feedback get much higher - I would recommend 200 minimum, 500 if you're going with big ticket item, and higher if you are planning to sell in high theft categories.
-Bob.
@lavintagestreetxoxo wrote:I thought it was a scammer because the last name isn't phonetically correct. So i assumed it was a scammer but I'm going to go with it and ship it. I will keep all my fingers crossed and dot all my I's and T's. 🙂 Thank you guys, I'm up late worrying about this!
Over the years, I've shipped a good deal of product to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Jesus, and all number of gotta-be-related-cuz-our-last-names-match. "Oh the people you will meet when selling on eBay" (with apologies to Dr. Seuss). I finally just gave up on the stress and focused more on the collectors I've met who share similar interests and the other interesting people who like things I like. It's a lot more fun and I sleep much better at night.
At least until the Jardiance tells my bladder that it's that time again.... a mere 1.5-2hrs since the last time I got that signal. Sleeping in 2hr shifts can make you a touch cranky by the end of the week...... 🙂
-Bob.
There is also this to consider....
What scammer would create a pseudonym/pen-name for themselves that was sure to attract attention and induce worry? I'd be more worried about John Smith (altho my wife does work for a company founded by a Fred Smith - a distant relative to my maternal grandfather's family line - long story).
Just a thought.
-Bob.
