What do you do when a troubling buyer make a purchase from you?

[beautifulbeauty2012]

I sent blind offers to watchers, and a buyer from Canada purchased two small items (total $27+ shipping). She made quite a rude note on the order "make shipper deliver to apt # only" - no hello, no thank you, no anything of that nature-not even a polite request. Fine, some people just that way. 

Then I went to see what this buyer left to other sellers, and was shocked- about 20% is red negative and 10% is green with complaints. It is either "package was stolen", "shipping is too expensive", "not wrapped the way I wanted", or some other complains.

I googled the address (since her package was stolen and she made that rude request to deliver to her apartment only), and it is something like a housing for projects with very small windows; Soviet-style block houses look much better than what I saw on Google.

So, I have a nasty troubling buyer who is unhappy a lot living in an apartment in a bad area (surrounded by the 

same projects) where her package was stolen (not sure how Canada post deliver to apartment residents - to concierge or in locked mail boxes).

What would you do? I smell a trouble already.

[coolections]

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@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

She made quite a rude note on the order "make shipper deliver to apt # only".  I googled the address (since her package was stolen and she made that rude request. So, I have a nasty troubling buyer who is unhappy a lot living in an apartment.

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I am trying to understand what was so "rude" about the buyer's request. Why the "rude" message got you so upset ? Why it was not "rude" for you top look up the buyer's address. Why you assumed the buyer has an unhappy life and hates living in an apartment ?

[beautifulbeauty2012]

Not willing to ship is false reason for cancellation. Problem with the address and the request to bring it to the apartment directly is being not doable (as our Canadian sellers stated here) is the only true reason for cancellation. Another option is to risk and ship at my expense without any protection from ebay.

[beautifulbeauty2012]

Buyers who leave at least 30% negatives to sellers are either unhappy people or scammers. Or both.

[wrong66]

Solid advice. Who needs the grief?  And GSP will cost more for her, which I'm sure she will love. Cancel and block.

[espresso_warehouse]

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@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

Buyers who leave at least 30% negatives to sellers are either unhappy people or scammers. Or both.

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Absolutely. Ignore the people who don't sell and take the buy side of every post, defending that behavior.

Your dilemma is sort of a coin toss. You'll get the 'never had any problem' crowd, and there is validity to their viewpoint. Especially if an inexpensive item, maybe be optimistic?

But the buyer is clearly a problem buyer and messing with them could be a hassle.

[beautifulbeauty2012]

Thank you 🙂 Despite I disagree with some respondents, during such conversations I am making up my mind on what to do. I am a small seller (sales went down 90% since ebay messed up the search, etc), so I have a "luxury" to analyze my risks from every transaction. That saved me from losses many times. 

Sometimes, before I ask the board, I am more inclined canceling transaction with red flags, and the crowd votes for that. Then, after I calculate how much I`d loose if I ship, I go ahead and ship hoping for the best.  I want to hear from sellers here, but the bottom line is to listen your own intuition. I am pretty sure what I am going to do this time.

[aprilmoviebuf2000]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

That`s correct-cancelling with out of stock reason is the most dishonest reason chapeau-noir suggests.

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@beautifulbeauty2012   @house*of*paws Yet what do you do?  Buyer requests?  No.  Problem with address?  Again, no.  Out of stock is a poor choice but it's the only one that is true due diligence, unless the reason is "I don't want to complete this transaction."  It's not the NAME, it's the intent.  It's why I say to ship.

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Exactly.  Maybe there should be a cancellation reason for sellers "I just do not want to ship to this buyer".  With a defect to the seller.  Sorry to the OP, but there is way too much opportunity to take the easy way out of a cancellation with no defect for sellers.  If a cancellation is done by the seller for problem with address or buyer requested, in my opinion there should be some sort of proof for that cancellation.  Not sure how this could be done, or if eBay even cares.  But it's clear from some of the comments in this thread that way too many sellers use this loophole with no repercussion.  All a buyer could really do is give the seller a neg and/or report the seller....but not all buyers would even do that.  

[espresso_warehouse]

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@aprilmoviebuf2000 wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

That`s correct-cancelling with out of stock reason is the most dishonest reason chapeau-noir suggests.

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@beautifulbeauty2012   @house*of*paws Yet what do you do?  Buyer requests?  No.  Problem with address?  Again, no.  Out of stock is a poor choice but it's the only one that is true due diligence, unless the reason is "I don't want to complete this transaction."  It's not the NAME, it's the intent.  It's why I say to ship.

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Exactly.  Maybe there should be a cancellation reason for sellers "I just do not want to ship to this buyer".  With a defect to the seller.  Sorry to the OP, but there is way too much opportunity to take the easy way out of a cancellation with no defect for sellers.  If a cancellation is done by the seller for problem with address or buyer requested, in my opinion there should be some sort of proof for that cancellation.  Not sure how this could be done, or if eBay even cares.  But it's clear from some of the comments in this thread that way too many sellers use this loophole with no repercussion.  All a buyer could really do is give the seller a neg and/or report the seller....but not all buyers would even do that.  

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There's clearly a problem with this address. It's literally what the option is for and what this discussion is about. It's what the buyer messaged about. A problem with the address.

[chapeau-noir]

I'll say here that if a seller truly feels it's better to cancel, they should do so.  But there's nothing here that would cause me personally to do that, particularly with any sort of 'conclusions' about where they live and their mental state - even if they're a crankypants, I would have faith in my items and customer service.  In good conscience I could never say 'buyer requested' or 'problem with address' because that is not true - I'd have to take it on the chin and take my defect because there is no other choice that I can see that would assign self-responsibility than with the unfortunately unsatisfactory 'out of stock'.  To me THAT'S honesty.

As you can see, it has sometimes blown up in my face - oh well, life is never risk free.  And yes, I make my living selling online, even at part-time, so it's not just a hobby - I take it seriously.  But everyone's risk tolerance is also different.  You asked opinions, that's mine.

[espresso_warehouse · Accepted solution]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

I'll say here that if a seller truly feels it's better to cancel, they should do so.  But there's nothing here that would cause me personally to do that, particularly with any sort of 'conclusions' about where they live and their mental state - even if they're a crankypants, I would have faith in my items and customer service.  In good conscience I could never say 'buyer requested' or 'problem with address' because that is not true - I'd have to take it on the chin and take my defect because there is no other choice that I can see that would assign self-responsibility than with the unfortunately unsatisfactory 'out of stock'.  To me THAT'S honesty.

As you can see, it has sometimes blown up in my face - oh well, life is never risk free.  And yes, I make my living selling online, even at part-time, so it's not just a hobby - I take it seriously.  But everyone's risk tolerance is also different.  You asked opinions, that's mine.

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The buyer literally messaged about a problem with their address.

It's a coin toss and a judgement call, yes. Do you chance it or not? You want to be optimistic but there's a problem with the address. The buyer has messaged about a problem with the address. There's a cancellation option for this, and this is what it's for.

If a buyer can't figure out how to enter their address and needs to send a badly worded, vague email it's literally a problem. Hence the whole discussion here on what to do.

[chapeau-noir]

What was the problem?  The request to deliver it to her apartment?  These requests are made all the time - Even I've written 'leave on front step', 'leave round the back', I've put freight forwarding numbers, telephone numbers and printed out addresses in Chinese, Russian and whatever else and slapped it on international packages next to the customs label.  All by request.

What is the problem?  The message tone?  It's just business - some people are kinda cranky and others are terse.  I'm not an optimist so much as I'm a pragmatist. 

ETA:  Again, OP needs to do what they think is best for them - but again, that's my opinion.

[espresso_warehouse]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

What was the problem?  The request to deliver it to her apartment?  These requests are made all the time - Even I've written 'leave on front step', 'leave round the back', I've put freight forwarding numbers, telephone numbers and printed out addresses in Chinese, Russian and whatever else and slapped it on international packages next to the customs label.  All by request.

What is the problem?  The message tone?  It's just business - some people are kinda cranky and others are terse.  I'm not an optimist so much as I'm a pragmatist. 

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Additional requests regarding the address after purchase are always a problem. The solution might be some of the things you state, but it could also be cancelling for the reason stated.

You claimed it was dishonest. That is not an appropriate accusation.

[aprilmoviebuf2000]

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@espresso_warehouse wrote:

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@aprilmoviebuf2000 wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:

That`s correct-cancelling with out of stock reason is the most dishonest reason chapeau-noir suggests.

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@beautifulbeauty2012   @house*of*paws Yet what do you do?  Buyer requests?  No.  Problem with address?  Again, no.  Out of stock is a poor choice but it's the only one that is true due diligence, unless the reason is "I don't want to complete this transaction."  It's not the NAME, it's the intent.  It's why I say to ship.

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Exactly.  Maybe there should be a cancellation reason for sellers "I just do not want to ship to this buyer".  With a defect to the seller.  Sorry to the OP, but there is way too much opportunity to take the easy way out of a cancellation with no defect for sellers.  If a cancellation is done by the seller for problem with address or buyer requested, in my opinion there should be some sort of proof for that cancellation.  Not sure how this could be done, or if eBay even cares.  But it's clear from some of the comments in this thread that way too many sellers use this loophole with no repercussion.  All a buyer could really do is give the seller a neg and/or report the seller....but not all buyers would even do that.  

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There's clearly a problem with this address. It's literally what the option is for and what this discussion is about. It's what the buyer messaged about. A problem with the address.

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The buyer did not message with a problem, the buyer messaged the OP with a simple request.  Vast difference.  As I said, problem with buyer's address means there is truly a problem with the shipping address the buyer input into the system, ie missing information.  That does not apply to a seller's unease based on their presumptions after investigative tactics.  

The OP can obviously conduct business any way they choose.  But this is a cancellation loophole based on the seller's presumptive theories.  It is relatively obvious to me that the OP is basing those theories on the where the buyer happens to reside and a message they interpret as "rude".  

[eunster1313]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

I'll say here that if a seller truly feels it's better to cancel, they should do so.  But there's nothing here that would cause me personally to do that, particularly with any sort of 'conclusions' about where they live and their mental state - even if they're a crankypants, I would have faith in my items and customer service.  In good conscience I could never say 'buyer requested' or 'problem with address' because that is not true - I'd have to take it on the chin and take my defect because there is no other choice that I can see that would assign self-responsibility than with the unfortunately unsatisfactory 'out of stock'.  To me THAT'S honesty.

As you can see, it has sometimes blown up in my face - oh well, life is never risk free.  And yes, I make my living selling online, even at part-time, so it's not just a hobby - I take it seriously.  But everyone's risk tolerance is also different.  You asked opinions, that's mine.

@beautifulbeauty2012 

If you cancel using Buyers Address you won't get a defect if it is true.

But if it is not and the Buyer complains to eBay they will give you the

Out Of Stock defect anyways and that's worse.

Performance gaming policy

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/performance-gaming-policy?id=5029&st=12&pos=2&qu... 

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[chapeau-noir]

That's some OK rationalization, I don't happen to agree but disagreement doesn't bother me.  And putting words in my mouth is a debating fail - I accused no one of being dishonest, I did say what I feel what was the only honest action I could see - I have no idea what the OP is going to do, and have no intention of calling names whatever they do - I have no need to be 'right'.  They asked an opinion, they got a variety, and one was mine.  I stand by it.  That's pretty much it.