SOLD ,but buyer unresponsive (no response for 3 days) - what can I do?

[sun*moonbygrace]

Hi,

I sold an item to a buyer (buyer has not provided any feedback/response for 3 days at all) on Feb 19.  Upon scrutiny of the items that belong to the lot, I found an "issue" that I wanted to ask the buyer's opinion on.  I went so far as suggesting that if the buyer is not satisfied with the "issue," I would be glad to "cancel" the sale, offer a partial reimbursement or ask the buyer to cancel the purchase.

With the above in mind,  I haven't gotten any response back to my TWO emails since Feb 19 (3 days ago).  Can I just "cancel the sale" myself?  I would want to correct the "issue" after which I would relist the lot (in case this buyer won't accept the lot) but I can't do it while I am still waiting for a response.

Any suggestions on how to handle this in a way that won't negatively impact my reputation or result in negative feedback?

Best!

JJ

[rebell45]

Do I understand that the buyer has paid? or not?  I guess you could try this link and maybe get their phone number: https://www.ebay.com/sch/ebayadvsearch?_skipfnorm=1&_sofindtype=9

Let me know if that still works, it's an old link.

[sun*moonbygrace]

Yes, all paid up but I would rather not ship the lot only to have the buyer tell me that the "issue" is not acceptable, wanting to perhaps return the lot.

[sun*moonbygrace]

Tried the link and it says: "This feature has been deprecated" (won't work any more).

[sun*moonbygrace]

Ebay called and told me to just ship it and if buyer is dissatisfied with the items (and would perhaps

leave negative feedback) then we'll revisit this.  Also, should the buyer go so far as leave negative feedback despite all my efforts to actually NOT ship items then Ebay would help me deal with it.

Ideally, I would rather not ship this item at all.....

[iart]

I know this will sound harsh but it's meant to be helpful.

It seems like you feel the buyer is being rude or unfair. But, really, the buyer owes you nothing but payment. They do not have to reply to messages - even when it is in their best interests to do so. If you made some kind of mistake with your listing. Or if you neglected to mention something, it is entirely on you. The buyer does not have to cooperate in fixing it.

What should you do? I agree with ebay. Ship as you normally would. But I doubt very much that ebay will remove any bad feedback you get for this. Instead, if the buyer is disappointed keep a professional attitude and do what you can to resolve the issue. This might mean a few apologies or it might cost you a full or partial refund.

My apologies if I've read more into this than what's there.

[kensgiftshop]

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@sun*moonbygrace wrote:

Ebay called and told me to just ship it and if buyer is dissatisfied with the items (and would perhaps

leave negative feedback) then we'll revisit this.  Also, should the buyer go so far as leave negative feedback despite all my efforts to actually NOT ship items then Ebay would help me deal with it.

Ideally, I would rather not ship this item at all.....

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You can take a defect and cancel the order as out of stock.

If you ship, there's a good chance you'll be paying to have it returned to you.

[reallynicestamps]

Yes there are three scenarios.

The best is that the buyer is happy with the sale.

The other two are problems.

• He is not happy and leaves negative feedback.  This is less of a problem than most buyers and sellers think, since eBay does not use FB to assess accounts, and most buyers seem to accept 95% ratings as just fine (when they are actually horrible).
• He is not happy and opens a Not As Described dispute. You  will be required to supply tracked return postage and refund when you get the item back. If you do this promptly, there will be no problem with your selling account, but the buyer can still leave "appropriate" feedback so a calm, friendly and professional attitude is key here.

The other question is whether you consider the Out Of Stock Defect you get for cancelling the sale is better or worse than the cash loss on return shipping.  Only you can decide that.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Many buyers don’t sit on their eBay accounts so it is possible your customer has no idea there is an issue with the transaction. He may not realize anything has held up the shipping until the time for delivery has passed. If it were me, i would ship unless the issue is egregious. Since the problem was overlooked initially, the outcome is on you regardless if you cancel the transaction or not. The buyer could be upset either way. In this case, i see no way to mitigate your risk. Good luck.

[chapeau-noir]

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@sun*moonbygrace wrote:

Hi,

I sold an item to a buyer (buyer has not provided any feedback/response for 3 days at all) on Feb 19.  Upon scrutiny of the items that belong to the lot, I found an "issue" that I wanted to ask the buyer's opinion on.  I went so far as suggesting that if the buyer is not satisfied with the "issue," I would be glad to "cancel" the sale, offer a partial reimbursement or ask the buyer to cancel the purchase.

With the above in mind,  I haven't gotten any response back to my TWO emails since Feb 19 (3 days ago).  Can I just "cancel the sale" myself?  I would want to correct the "issue" after which I would relist the lot (in case this buyer won't accept the lot) but I can't do it while I am still waiting for a response.

Any suggestions on how to handle this in a way that won't negatively impact my reputation or result in negative feedback?

Best!

JJ

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I don't know what you sold, but you can always discount if it's possible to do that, then send it along.  I've had to do that a couple of times when I've found a small fabric defect or something in an item and can't get hold of the buyer (often people aren't online a lot/don't check eBay or whatever).   I include a note explaining the discount and ask the buyer to contact me if any difficulties.  The few times it has happened buyers have actually been pleased with my being proactive.

[rebell45]

Thanks,  I thought that may have been the case since eBay has made member to member communications very difficult these days.

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@sun*moonbygrace wrote:

Tried the link and it says: "This feature has been deprecated" (won't work any more).

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[louies1948]

I find that many buyers do not check their messages as much as us sellers . Or maybe the winds not blowing and the buyer doesn't have power........some places are out of power right now from harsh weather.  I would ship and put a message in package and inform the buyer of the issue anmd ask them how they would like to fix the issue. to please contact you through ebay messages.  Good luck