Question about Buyer

[boa1701]

Just sold a $150 Lord of the Rings statue to a buyer who has only given feedback on 4 sellers. 3 out of the 4 were negative and 2 out of the 4 he claimed the statues arrived broken. I will send it in original packaging (Weta packs their items very well). I'm not worried about it arriving broken but I just don't trust the buyer. Can I cancel the transaction and give him his money back? Should I just bite the bullet and hope everything turns out all right? Any advice would be extremely helpful. Never had a situation like this before.

[pikabo-icu]

I actually graoned when I read that..

I'm sorry...

First, make sure you actually got paid by checking PP directly.

The bad thing is: If you cancel the sale, you'll get a defect on your account..

A few of those and you lose selling privileges.. Permanently.

I would NOT want to ship to that buyer but a defect or ship, those may be your only options..

I'm awfully sorry.. 

[pingpong517]

you should go with your gut... i know i will take the heat on this answer, BUT i try to go with the gut...feedback is silly, BUT this may be the perfect time FEEDBACKS tell you what you need to know...

take the defect.....and if you send it...then you take whatever comes...and hopefully I AM TOTALLY WRONG.....

long as your defects are not an often thing...you can live with the one....and not lose the money and item....

[deep-garnet-red]

I agree. I would take the defect. If it was just a $20 item I would risk it...but no.

[boa1701]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Not sure what to do. Man, this sucks. What's a "defect"?

[a_c_green]

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@boa1701 wrote:

I will send it in original packaging (Weta packs their items very well).

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They may pack them well for freight or palleted shipping (stacked like bricks in a cube and moved by forklift), but rigid packaging will not protect the item from shock and breakage if the individual box rolls off a USPS conveyor and drops on something hard. For mailing, it needs cushioning. Wrap the original box in at least two layers of large-cell bubblewrap, and put that into an outer box. That will give it the cushioning it needs to absorb drops and squashes along the way.

I agree that the buyer sounds like a pain. There's some chance that he only leaves feedback when something goes wrong, and doesn't bother with feedback when all goes well, but I know that's a longshot. (At the risk of piling on here, it appears that you accepted a Make Offer deal on your item, which should have given you enough time to check the guy's feedback before you accepted his offer, unless of course you had an auto-accept setting on your listing.)

[max39666]

"Better safe than sorry"-the red flags are there- your option no matter what advice your given.

Best of luck with whatever you decide

PS: if any buyers feedback was that bad  they should be on a sellers  bbl(bad bidder list quickly) 

[pingpong517]

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@boa1701 wrote:

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Not sure what to do. Man, this sucks. What's a "defect"?

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well...on your seller dashboard...there are sections that are criteria for your performance.... look at it...

and canceling an order is a "defect"...but not a big one...and this is expensive item...so long as you aren't on the line... it all is about "top seller" satus...a small discount... but you wil lose way more that any of that would be...as of your sales and listing numbers...so.....

[boa1701]

You are right, I should have checked his feedback first. That was my fault. I accepted it from my phone and just didn't think about it. Since it was my fault for not checking, I think I'll send it. I'll bubble wrap it inside another box. Lesson learned and let the chips fall as they will. Thanks for everyone's help.

[emerald40]

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@max39666 wrote:

"Better safe than sorry"-the red flags are there- your option no matter what advice your given.

Best of luck with whatever you decide

PS: if any buyers feedback was that bad  they should be on a sellers  bbl(bad bidder list quickly) 

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I would call ebay on this one and see what they say.  If this is a truely problem buyer they may remove his buyer protection.

And to answer your question - a defect is when you sell an item but then cancel it using the out of stock option.  Just a couple of them and you could lose your selling account.

[bigchief2472000]

I video record the boxing up process and fully insure all my packages.  Video close ups of the item, wrapping the item with bubble wrap, paper, etc., putting it in the box, taping up the box, putting the label on the box, weighing the box.  Too many ways for sellers to get scammed, so I do everything I can to make sure I have some evidence that proves what I sent was in the condition I described in the listing.

[a_c_green]

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@bigchief2472000 wrote:

I video record the boxing up process and fully insure all my packages.  Video close ups of the item, wrapping the item with bubble wrap, paper, etc., putting it in the box, taping up the box, putting the label on the box, weighing the box.  Too many ways for sellers to get scammed, so I do everything I can to make sure I have some evidence that proves what I sent was in the condition I described in the listing.

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None of which will make one iota of difference, unfortunately, if the buyer files a dispute, saying that it arrived damaged, wasn't what they ordered, or whatever. Video of you doing all that does not prove what the buyer received, or in what condition. There isn't any point in the dispute process in which video will be looked at. As the saying goes, don't sell what you can't afford to lose.

Just pack as securely as you can to guard against actual shipping damage, and hope that you've got an honest buyer, as eBay/PayPal typically take the buyer's side in any he-said/she-said dispute. Get back here to update us first before taking any further action, if any problem arises later. Good luck...