eBay

bigdeals.etc · ‎06-01-2019

We've all gotten that rude buyer who messages with aggressive words about an item they just received. We've been called scammers, rip offs, idiots, stupid, etc. It's one thing when the buyer is doing this after they bought something... you have to deal with them in a consistently polite and professional manner and provide that great customer service. But what if a buyer is doing this before even buying anything from you?

In their initial message to me (which has exclamation points and all caps where appropriate), the buyer rudely accuses me of trying to scam people because in one of my listings I have a picture of various colors to choose from and red being one of them. According to them I do not have red as a choice in the pull down menu when purchasing (they are mistaken). I reply that if they look at the entire pull down menu for color, they will see Red listed as a choice. Their reply begs to differ because they claimed to have looked thru ever single option and not see the Red... calling me a scam.

I then save that variation choice in my watched list so I have a direct link to it and copy/paste it to them so the Red is already chosen for them. The buyer then replies (with no mention of the Red) telling me okay, the shipping is way too expensive (calling it a rip off) and asks for a discount.

Would you continue to reply and do business with this person? They don't have many feedbacks nor left many of them. Can you foresee this buyer maybe being problematic down the road? And if so, I wouldn't even profit as much since the buyer is asking for discounts while being a burden. I understand that this issue could have been caused by eBay mobile app or site. But that shouldn't excuse the buyer's aggressive attitude. Perhaps I'm just being too picky about my buyers... dunno.

turquoisetulips · ‎06-01-2019

Would you continue to reply and do business with this person? Bigdeals

No ,, I wouldn't . This '' buyer '' has an obvious chip on their shoulder . Probably no matter how well you treat them they will still be determined to spread their misery . Tulips

Can you foresee this buyer maybe being problematic down the road? Bigdeals -

Absolutely ,, drop and block .. Tulips

tunicaslot · ‎06-01-2019

@bigdeals.etc wrote:
We've all gotten that rude buyer who messages with aggressive words about an item they just received. We've been called scammers, rip offs, idiots, stupid, etc. It's one thing when the buyer is doing this after they bought something... you have to deal with them in a consistently polite and professional manner and provide that great customer service. But what if a buyer is doing this before even buying anything from you?

In their initial message to me (which has exclamation points and all caps where appropriate), the buyer rudely accuses me of trying to scam people because in one of my listings I have a picture of various colors to choose from and red being one of them. According to them I do not have red as a choice in the pull down menu when purchasing (they are mistaken). I reply that if they look at the entire pull down menu for color, they will see Red listed as a choice. Their reply begs to differ because they claimed to have looked thru ever single option and not see the Red... calling me a scam.

I then save that variation choice in my watched list so I have a direct link to it and copy/paste it to them so the Red is already chosen for them. The buyer then replies (with no mention of the Red) telling me okay, the shipping is way too expensive (calling it a rip off) and asks for a discount.

Would you continue to reply and do business with this person? They don't have many feedbacks nor left many of them. Can you foresee this buyer maybe being problematic down the road? And if so, I wouldn't even profit as much since the buyer is asking for discounts while being a burden. I understand that this issue could have been caused by eBay mobile app or site. But that shouldn't excuse the buyer's aggressive attitude. Perhaps I'm just being too picky about my buyers... dunno.

Block them immediately - you don't need a buyer like that! I had a prospective buyer pm me about an item I listed - calling it fake, I was a scammer, it was only worth $75 ect - then turned around and sent a BO of $300 in on the item. I politely told him it was manufactured in Korea and an original not a reproduction and thanked him for his offer but that I had sold it for full price of $600 to someone else - which I did - it gave me some satisfaction - but he did go on my BBL so I won't have to deal with him in the future.

inhawaii · ‎06-01-2019

So many sellers are so quick to BLOCK a problem/rude/stupid customer, which is fine, sellers prerogative.

I see sellers on this board who will BLOCK a customer simply for asking a stupid question.

My boss (at my real job) has a different philosophy. Rather than ban problem customer from the store, i want him to come back so i can take MORE of his money.

Just a thought.

Undone - Bachman & Cummings

candiesduds · ‎06-01-2019

Wow at least you got lucky enough that the buyer revealed their nasty attitude before the sale, giving you ample time to block them. I guess it depends on how customer service friendly you wish to be. While I would never resort to their level and call anyone names etc.. I certainly don't allow any rude buyer to call me names or be a complete schmuck. I have no qualms about pointing out their bad behavior to them. Just because we are the sellers that should not mean we have to take buyer abuse with a smile on our face and I'm personally so over the 'buyer is always right' nonsense because they clearly are NOT!

lilbama911 · ‎06-01-2019

Although, I have not had buyers ask for a discount, I have had some international buyers requesting items be shipped as a gift. Therefore, my suggestion would be for you to email the buyer the following:

"Thank you for contacting me again. Your request for a discount on thus and thus item is under managerial consideration.

Best regards,

When the potential buyer contacts you for your decision, tell him/her that the item is presently not being discounted at this time and is currently selling for $_____ and they should feel free to place a bid.

Best regards,

If the potential buyer does not bid, cease contact, after all you are not operating a flea market.

batboy.inc · ‎06-01-2019

do us all a solid and give us the buyer's user name--I want to go ahead and get this one on my bbl now just to be safe...!!!...

treasure.hunter.d · ‎06-01-2019

@bigdeals.etc wrote:
We've all gotten that rude buyer who messages with aggressive words about an item they just received. We've been called scammers, rip offs, idiots, stupid, etc. It's one thing when the buyer is doing this after they bought something... you have to deal with them in a consistently polite and professional manner and provide that great customer service. But what if a buyer is doing this before even buying anything from you?

In their initial message to me (which has exclamation points and all caps where appropriate), the buyer rudely accuses me of trying to scam people because in one of my listings I have a picture of various colors to choose from and red being one of them. According to them I do not have red as a choice in the pull down menu when purchasing (they are mistaken). I reply that if they look at the entire pull down menu for color, they will see Red listed as a choice. Their reply begs to differ because they claimed to have looked thru ever single option and not see the Red... calling me a scam.

I then save that variation choice in my watched list so I have a direct link to it and copy/paste it to them so the Red is already chosen for them. The buyer then replies (with no mention of the Red) telling me okay, the shipping is way too expensive (calling it a rip off) and asks for a discount.

Would you continue to reply and do business with this person? They don't have many feedbacks nor left many of them. Can you foresee this buyer maybe being problematic down the road? And if so, I wouldn't even profit as much since the buyer is asking for discounts while being a burden. I understand that this issue could have been caused by eBay mobile app or site. But that shouldn't excuse the buyer's aggressive attitude. Perhaps I'm just being too picky about my buyers... dunno.

I'm one of those business people that you will always hear telling others to maintain a professional demeanor at all times, and every customer is important as a good word goes a mile while a bad one goes 20...yada yada yada.

Now I mean every word of that BUT, there are exceptions to every rule, and as much as I take great satisfaction in turning a problematic client into a long term, faithful customer, there is only so much you can do in that respect in the impersonal environment of the internet. I think that no one would dispute that this may be one of those exceptions right here, yessir!

I would counsel gettin' while the gettin' is good. On to the block list. Ignore any further communications and be mindful of their address/locale lest they try the old screw you from another account thing.

I hope it works out for you.

All the best.

toyshnip · ‎06-01-2019

@lilbama911 wrote:
Although, I have not had buyers ask for a discount, I have had some international buyers requesting items be shipped as a gift.

They ask it as a gift to avoid taxes. This is against the rules as it is a false claim on the invoice. We get this request all the time, and our answer is "The packing slip prints out of the system and it already has the prices there, so we can't change it".

As for discounts - we get requests all the time. We had a request for an item we sell at about $60, while everyone else sells at the $70-$99 range. My reply was that we are already the cheapest on ebay, so I don't see a reason to give a discount.

reallynicestamps · ‎06-01-2019

No response is necessary.

Blocked Bidder List is essential.

Remember to include the "no communication" part.

Mental illness is a terrible thing.

a_c_green · ‎06-01-2019

@toyshnip wrote:
They ask it as a gift to avoid taxes. This is against the rules as it is a false claim on the invoice. We get this request all the time, and our answer is "The packing slip prints out of the system and it already has the prices there, so we can't change it".

Well now, eBay in its infinite wisdom has changed that for you. No more prices on the packing slip. (You could optionally omit them in the past; now they do not appear at all.)

I did see one anonymous quote from an eBay source relayed to us that suggested that it might just be a temporary absence while they figure out how to do more coding relating to displaying sales taxes, but I would not stand on one foot waiting for the prices to return to the packing slip.

toyshnip · ‎06-01-2019

@a_c_green wrote:
@toyshnip wrote:
They ask it as a gift to avoid taxes. This is against the rules as it is a false claim on the invoice. We get this request all the time, and our answer is "The packing slip prints out of the system and it already has the prices there, so we can't change it".
Well now, eBay in its infinite wisdom has changed that for you. No more prices on the packing slip. (You could optionally omit them in the past; now they do not appear at all.)

There is a price on the shipping label. The shipping label is also a customs declaration. Now, we can change the price on the customs form. We can turn a $200 product to only $20. But that is fraud and not a good idea. My customers placed the order, not my problem they need to pay customs to import them into their country.

tellmemama · ‎06-01-2019

@inhawaii wrote:
So many sellers are so quick to BLOCK a problem/rude/stupid customer, which is fine, sellers prerogative.

I see sellers on this board who will BLOCK a customer simply for asking a stupid question.

My boss (at my real job) has a different philosophy. Rather than ban problem customer from the store, i want him to come back so i can take MORE of his money.

Just a thought.

With the way the cards are stacked against sellers, of course I'm going to block someone when I get "the feeling". Sometimes getting their money isn't worth the effort. If they start off rude, they're likely going to stay that way no matter how great my customer service skills may be. If they ask a question which is already answered in the description (and many times in the TITLE), all that shows me is I probably have someone who hasn't bothered to read the listing. At all. So more often than not it's a return just waiting to happen. Who needs the trouble and the inevitable defects?

Not me.

Joe

myjunqueyourtreasure · ‎06-01-2019

Even face to face it's hard to want to do more than offer a "sincere" apology when a customer comes at you with both guns blazing.

Reality is the leading cause of stress.

gamersbaystore · ‎06-01-2019

I often get people asking ridiculous questions and making worthless assumptions as well. My response is always to block and forget they exist. I wont even respond at all, just block and they're gone.