Recently scammed on here for the first time and eBay refuses to help me. What would you do?

[rexboyce]

I've been a seller since 2018, almost 1000 total sales with no issues. I recently sold a used apple pencil for 40 dollars to a relatively new eBay buyer, all was fine until he received the product and requested a refund because he said it wasn't working.  Now I had tested it and I know it was working, but I accepted the refund right away because I just wanted to keep my customer happy and 40 dollars isn't a big deal. He immediately left me my first ever negative feedback, even after I refunded him. He then proceeded to let me know that he would not be shipping the item back because "it was broken and he already threw it away", he then refused to change the negative feedback he left me now permanently falsely tarnishing my account. I called eBay for help and the customer service agent on the phone who barely spoke english agreed with me that I was in the right and that they would help me if I pushed to escalate further, but when I did that I got an automated decision made in the buyers favor and now I can't do anything. I don't even care about the $40, I'd rather not have the made up negative feedback on my account. This platform is so bad, it won't even let me leave the buyer a negative feedback, it only lets me leave him a positive one so I had to leave the guy positive feedback, with a note in the message warning everyone he is a scammer. This whole situation makes me not even want to use eBay anymore, what would you do?

[aproudparent2010]

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@rexboyce wrote:

Thanks I know I didn't follow protocol. I know this is not how eBay works, that's why I'm here complaining asking what would you do. Thanks for the least helpful response yet 

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What would I do? I'd realize I messed up, take the blame and not be mad at eBay or the buyer for you scamming yourself.

Also I'd ask eBay to remove my feedback left for buyer

[kensgiftshop]

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@bennotbill wrote:

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@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:

The FB should not be a problem. Your response was calm and factual.

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Except for the feedback left for the buyer.

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Buyer needs to report it and get the comment removed.

[kensgiftshop]

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@tobaccocardyahoo wrote:

Fortunately for all involved, few people will read FB left for a buyer, so the only risk is the buyer reporting it and Ebay punishing you.

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I always check the feedback the seller leaves, sometimes it tells you more about the seller then the feedback they receive.

[kensgiftshop]

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@rexboyce wrote:

It's honestly completely unfair that this is how eBay works. What is the point of feedback if I'm only allowed to leave the buyer a positive feedback? Even if the guy completely scams me I'm not allowed to let other people know? Sounds completely unreasonable to me. I appreciate all of the replies tho

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The buyer didn't scam you.

They filed for a return and you decided to refund without returning.

[gurlcat]

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@rexboyce wrote:

what would you do?

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I would report the buyer, file an official report of their abusive behavior.   You can do that here (click the blue button and go from there):

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/abusive-buyer-policy?id=4374&st=3&pos=3&que...

Also I would count my lucky stars if this was the first out of a THOUSAND sales to be any kind of problem, WOW congrats! 

Also I would come here to ask for help next time, at the FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE, not after it's too late.  We can give you incredible help here, much better than the phone reps who never do what they say they will.  But you can't get help for mistakes you already made.  I'm sorry you got bombarded with the same repeat replies here; I don't know why some people don't read prior replies to make sure they're not just going to say something redundant. 

[greatmidwestcoin]

Well, well. Looks like another learning experience. You learned about eBay policies and how not to refund. You also learned that posting here will get you a ton of snide replies from some people with too much time on their hands.

This board has turned into a drama zone to some. It no longer represents what it was intended to do - that is, to help with "EBAY RELATED" issues for both sellers and buyers. Now we can post about politics, things being left on your front doorsteps, etc. Dear Abby has moved in, and now the board is cluttered with non-Ebay-related posts. I rarely stop by anymore because of it. When I need a laugh, I come here.

The most important advice I could give you is not to come here for anything.  It is a waste of time - your time. If you need a chuckle, by all means, stop by this community board. That's all it is good for.

Let's face it. Real sellers running a "business" don't have time to hang around a board like this to post back and forth chit-chat. That's what Facebook and the likes are for, or did some of you forget. Please ask yourself before posting here - is it eBay related, and will anyone possibly gain something (eBay related) from your post or reply? In this specific case, look where you are posting. It's called SELLING. For those that do otherwise, you are ruining the original intent of this board. It is that simple. 

I wish you the best! Let the heckling begin! PS: I won't be reading it as I have real business to take care of - making money. And if I told you what I made(cleared) under my selling ID today for very little invested and time expended, you would not believe me. But that's just me and how I manage my time. Waste away!

[greatmidwestcoin]

As an eBay Mentor, I would highly recommend you review your language when posting. Inappropriate.

[gurlcat]

I would have been a horrible seller and probably given up in less than 6 months if it wasn't for this Community.  And even after 6 years I still learn something new every time I come here. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

You ask what would i do?

I would have given my buyer the benefit of the doubt. Sent him a prepaid label and got my item back if it was important to me. But for that price point, i would have just refunded and tell them not to bother with a return.

Couldn’t pull up the listing in question to see if this Apple pencil item was pre-owned or not, but assume it likely was.

I am confused by your insistence that you were scammed. You said you care about servicing your customers but you handled this situation indelicately. Just because a used electronic item worked prior to shipping is no guarantee it was working after transit. It is possible your buyer was being truthful and you have maligned them publicly with no proof of any kind. If your attitude towards them was even slightly as hostile and suspicious as shown here, i am not surprised the buyer did not want to revise his feedback. 

A refund does not always make a buyer whole. He is out his time and inconvenience. Instead of keeping your cool, you lashed out unprofessionally, name-called and ruined any chance of smoothing over this failed transaction to work towards a possible feedback revision.

[fern*wood]

You might want to read some of your past posts before condemning others.  

[conservitvs]

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@greatmidwestcoin wrote:

Well, well. Looks like another learning experience. You learned about eBay policies and how not to refund. You also learned that posting here will get you a ton of snide replies from some people with too much time on their hands.

This board has turned into a drama zone to some. It no longer represents what it was intended to do - that is, to help with "EBAY RELATED" issues for both sellers and buyers. Now we can post about politics, things being left on your front doorsteps, etc. Dear Abby has moved in, and now the board is cluttered with non-Ebay-related posts. I rarely stop by anymore because of it. When I need a laugh, I come here.

The most important advice I could give you is not to come here for anything.  It is a waste of time - your time. If you need a chuckle, by all means, stop by this community board. That's all it is good for.

Let's face it. Real sellers running a "business" don't have time to hang around a board like this to post back and forth chit-chat. That's what Facebook and the likes are for, or did some of you forget. Please ask yourself before posting here - is it eBay related, and will anyone possibly gain something (eBay related) from your post or reply? In this specific case, look where you are posting. It's called SELLING. For those that do otherwise, you are ruining the original intent of this board. It is that simple. 

I wish you the best! Let the heckling begin! PS: I won't be reading it as I have real business to take care of - making money. And if I told you what I made(cleared) under my selling ID today for very little invested and time expended, you would not believe me. But that's just me and how I manage my time. Waste away!

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But you just said “real” sellers don’t have time to post here… and you’re posting here?

And to which account do you refer, this one or “Oldwestgold,” as you post under both… for some reason?

[glorybells]

@greatmidwestcoin , I was responding by quoting back to them.  They called a responder here a “smart ah”, my response was that the responder was not being a “smart ___”, but was telling the truth.

Perhaps you should try to understand the context in what is being said before criticizing others.

[luckythewinner]

Eventually there will be a come to jesus moment and ebay will have to work in some protection for buyers but as of now that is too expensive an issue for them to possibly want to have to try and figure out.

The OP made a mistake by issuing a refund before the item was returned.

When a customer goes to Walmart and asks to return an item, they do not refund the customer and then say "Okay, just bring the item back whenever you feel like it, we trust you". They require the customer to return the item first.  Trusting the customer to return the item after refunding them would be a foolish business practice. 

The eBay "Money Back Guarantee" has existed since 2008, and since then countless billions of eBay transactions have gone off without a hitch. 

There will NEVER be a "come to Jesus moment" where eBay has the power to compel a buyer to pack an item and ship it after a refund has been made just because the seller made a mistake.   

There will NEVER be a "come to Jesus moment" where eBay has the power to dip into a buyer's credit card or PayPal account or Credit Card and take money without the buyer's consent just because the seller made a mistake.  

There will NEVER be a "come to Jesus moment" where eBay reimburses a seller after they mistakenly refund money to a buyer. 

[aproudparent2010]

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@greatmidwestcoin wrote:

Well, well. Looks like another learning experience. You learned about eBay policies and how not to refund. You also learned that posting here will get you a ton of snide replies from some people with too much time on their hands.

This board has turned into a drama zone to some. It no longer represents what it was intended to do - that is, to help with "EBAY RELATED" issues for both sellers and buyers. Now we can post about politics, things being left on your front doorsteps, etc. Dear Abby has moved in, and now the board is cluttered with non-Ebay-related posts. I rarely stop by anymore because of it. When I need a laugh, I come here.

The most important advice I could give you is not to come here for anything.  It is a waste of time - your time. If you need a chuckle, by all means, stop by this community board. That's all it is good for.

Let's face it. Real sellers running a "business" don't have time to hang around a board like this to post back and forth chit-chat. That's what Facebook and the likes are for, or did some of you forget. Please ask yourself before posting here - is it eBay related, and will anyone possibly gain something (eBay related) from your post or reply? In this specific case, look where you are posting. It's called SELLING. For those that do otherwise, you are ruining the original intent of this board. It is that simple. 

I wish you the best! Let the heckling begin! PS: I won't be reading it as I have real business to take care of - making money. And if I told you what I made(cleared) under my selling ID today for very little invested and time expended, you would not believe me. But that's just me and how I manage my time. Waste away!

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For someone who says that posting on here is a waste of time for someone with a real business you seem to post a lot..just saying 😉 with 2 different accounts too...LOL

[kensgiftshop]

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@gurlcat wrote:

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@rexboyce wrote:

what would you do?

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I would report the buyer, file an official report of their abusive behavior.   You can do that here (click the blue button and go from there):

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/abusive-buyer-policy?id=4374&st=3&pos=3&que...

Also I would count my lucky stars if this was the first out of a THOUSAND sales to be any kind of problem, WOW congrats! 

Also I would come here to ask for help next time, at the FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE, not after it's too late.  We can give you incredible help here, much better than the phone reps who never do what they say they will.  But you can't get help for mistakes you already made.  I'm sorry you got bombarded with the same repeat replies here; I don't know why some people don't read prior replies to make sure they're not just going to say something redundant. 

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Not sure what they would report the buyer for, they didn't do anything..