Selling to a buyer with negative feedback??? (and that's the only feedback they have!)

[thevintageparadise]

So I just got an offer on item and when I looked at the buyers feedback it says -1 next to their name. I've seen 0 before, but I don't think I have ever seen a negative number lol

I wrote to them saying I was declining the offer because selling to them is a risk and while I appreciate their interest i wasn't willing to take the risk.

They have NOT answered the message, instead they sent me another, higher offer. I am taking all of these things as red flags. They have 5 items listed, 2 sales and zero positive feedback and 1 negative feedback. The buyer that left the negative said the person never sent the package and never responded to their multiple messages.

Am I wrong here? I mean don't get me wrong, I'd love the sale but I'm also not trying to eat $75 plus shipping because this person is potentially a scammer

[adamcartwright]

@gurlcat 

No, kidding. Cookie jars are probably my most stressful pack job for me. Plus I always seem to underestimate the amount of packaging I use, so the shipping price goes over my estimate.

So I've decided to walk on past any cookie jars I see from now on, though that McCoy Apple is pretty cute.

[adamcartwright]

@thevintageparadise 

I'm sorry this all went down before I could offer my 2 cents.

I would have ended the listing and let it sit a good long time before relisting. I've done that before.

Hope this works out well for you.

[redlinear]

---

@adamcartwright wrote:

@gurlcat 

No, kidding. Cookie jars are probably my most stressful pack job for me. Plus I always seem to underestimate the amount of packaging I use, so the shipping price goes over my estimate.

So I've decided to walk on past any cookie jars I see from now on, though that McCoy Apple is pretty cute.

---

If you'll package them full of cookies (do minimize damage of course), I'd buy some. LOL

[reallynicestamps]

I was leaving a batch of feedback and noticed that on some (cancelled) transactions there is a Report Buyer button.

I hope you used it.

I have less faith in the phone reps than you, but asking for a case number sometimes helps. They claim to be recording for "training purposes".

[fashunu4eeuh]

---

@thevintageparadise wrote:

No lol it's this item, that has 328 views and 53 watchers in the past 40 days or so. That's why they offered $75 from their first account and $70 from their second account. After they messaged me from the 3rd account i wrote the following:

"Hello,

I don't think you're getting it - this is now the THIRD account you are messaging me from. I will not be selling this item to you at any price. Messaging someone from multiple accounts is a very shady practice. Especially when your selling account has -1 feedback. I have blocked your other 2 accounts and will now be blocking this one. Please stop. This is tantamount to harassment. "

I blocked their 3rd account before they had a chance to respond and so far they haven't created a 4th account to message me again thankfully.

Never offer explanations for your choices as a seller. All that does is escalate tensions. Calling a buyer out is like putting very tempting bait on the hook when the last thing you want is to catch an unruly fish.

[inhawaii]

I would gladly accept this sale.

I would consider it a challenge to make this buyer happy.

I like to live dangerously.    😉

[mtgraves7984]

Here is the really weird part....the account they ended up buying it on is ON my blocked bidders list. Maybe the system didn't catch it in time from when i added them to when they purchased it. This has been quite the ordeal, the person is obviously not working with a full deck of cards.

@thevintageparadise 

Once, I was replying to an OP's thread, as was another frequent poster. BEFORE WE EVEN POSTED, we had both BBL'd the OP. (Personally, I BBL from this forum more than from transactions.) Anyway... during the session, the OP bragged that he had just purchased from us both and we could expect NAD Returns.

Well, we did both make the sales and both received NAD Return claims. Thwarted them both when we pointed to this forum.

Lesson I think I learned: I think there's a 'lag time' between adding to the BBL and sticking in the BBL. 

[legalbeagle52]

@thevintageparadise 

I see this thread is still going ... I hope you're finally done with this pest.    I agree with many of the others, in the future just don't engage when you think there's going to be a problem with a buyer.    You're not at all obligated to.    You're trying to reason with someone who is not reasonable.    It just keeps them going as you've seen.   To try every which way was just nuts on their part.

On occasion when I've had a 'nutty buddy'  I have ended the listing and waited a little while, at least a week or more if I could ... before I listed again, in hopes that the pest bought from someone else or lost interest.   In fact it usually does the trick as I haven't seen any of them again.   Most don't go to the lengths that this one did.   Sorry you went though this...just ignore from now on.... good luck!

[gurlcat]

Indeed I did indicate that they would buy at full price if they had to, but you must have ignored the advice I and others have given for how to avoid it, because you have relisted the item even after they showed they won't take 'no' for an answer.  Don't you think someone who's created 3 i.d.'s won't just create a 4th if need be, and don't you think that after having their full-price purchase cancelled, they now have rage-induced tunnel vision?  

Let me ask, what are the feedbacks like on the 2 other accounts they tried (they should still be accessible from your emails)?  And do they also have feedbacks 'as a seller'? Can you see what kind of items they've sold?   Here's the thing - although Littlest Pet Shop is still in business, I find it unlikely that they have a daughter who would be so overjoyed with a 2007 display case that it would warrant such rabid fervor to buy it.  I cannot find another one of these for sale anywhere, so I think it's more likely that this is a vintage/retired toy reseller who at first just wanted to buy this item as a speculation investment, for as cheap as they could get it.  But being the Type-A personality freak they are, once you turned them down the first time (citing their -1 feedback which also hurt their pride), they made it their mission to get this item one way or another, whether they really still wanted it, or just to have the transaction to use against you.   

At this point who knows if taking the listing down is even the thing to do.  Could be they would just buy something else to craft a nightmare with, and how many purchases would eBay let you cancel without repercussions?  If they're really determined they could even use an address you wouldn't recognize as theirs, some friend or family member in another town or state, who's willing to aide in their vengeance.   You really cannot underestimate crazy-rage.  I'm sorry this person has targeted you but I'm glad to see you've gleaned the most important lesson: never give a reason for 'no.'  

[fern*wood]

Maybe I'm naïve, but I don't see feedback as a bad seller necessarily translating into that person being a scammer/bad buyer. 

[gurlcat]

---

@fern*wood wrote:

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't see feedback for a bad seller necessarily translating into that person being a scammer/bad buyer. 

---

I wouldn't call that naive at all, but in this case the person wasn't just buying but attempting to get an offer accepted, and to me that puts their sanity into question.  Like someone with any sense would use that -1 account only for making full-price BIN purchases, with hopes of building up positive feedbacks to a less spooky number (then again that would take A LOT of purchasing and not all sellers give feedback, so I would probably just abandon that account).   But this lunatic used it to make an offer.  So I would say the OP's instincts were spot-on for refusing it; it's just a shame they told the lunatic why.  

[albertabrightalberta]

---

@thevintageparadise wrote:

I wrote to them saying I was declining the offer because selling to them is a risk and while I appreciate their interest i wasn't willing to take the risk.

---

I never let a wannabe buyer know why I'm declining an offer (and maybe blocking them). 

I do have a b.o. option on my listings and before accepting or countering any offer, I do check their feedback left for others. If they appear to be a problem buyer, I block and ignore. I don't decline because I don't want them to think they can make another offer and risk them realizing they were blocked. 

On its face, the -1 feedback wouldn't bother me at all. Although I can't see the member's profile, I assume it's a new user and as such, know that in order to earn the neg, it was as a seller.  The compounding of the feedback with the other back and forth messages that YOU instigated, I would agree that you should block and report the multiple IDs and unwanted buyer activity.

[gurlcat]

---

@albertabrightalberta wrote:

If they appear to be a problem buyer, I block and ignore. I don't decline because I don't want them to think they can make another offer and risk them realizing they were blocked. 

---

Excellent point.  But to make it clear to the OP in case they're confused: not-declining is not the same as accepting.  Not responding at all is the same as declining, as either way their offer is not accepted.  And eBay does not expect you to respond in any way, so you don't get any kind of punishment for ignoring an offer.  

[albertabrightalberta]

---

@gurlcat wrote:

---

@albertabrightalberta wrote:

If they appear to be a problem buyer, I block and ignore. I don't decline because I don't want them to think they can make another offer and risk them realizing they were blocked. 

---

Excellent point.  But to make it clear to the OP in case they're confused: not-declining is not the same as accepting.  Not responding at all is the same as declining, as either way their offer is not accepted.  And eBay does not expect you to respond in any way, so you don't get any kind of punishment for ignoring an offer.  

---

Correct, but declining sends the buyer a message letting them know they were declined, whereas ignoring might just make them think the seller didn't see the offer. I don't want to proactively let the buyer know I declined their offer. 

[gurlcat]

'Let them think maybe I just didn't see it' - is a crucial life skill, in my book.  Voicemail from boss asking you to come in on your day off, text from someone asking for a favor you don't want you to do, the list goes on ....