eBay

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-20-2022

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.

espresso_warehouse · ‎02-20-2022

@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.

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.

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frodobagginskennedy · ‎02-20-2022

If you cancel the order you will need to choose out of stock and you will get a strike on you account. If you can afford a strike then cancel it.

I would ship and hope for the best.

This quest stands on the edge of a blade...stray but a little and you shall fail to the ruin of us all.
"The Lady Galadriel"

chapeau-noir · ‎02-20-2022

Setting aside all the assumptions of how and where this person lives, I would simply note on the package "deliver to apartment #XYZ only" and send it on its way. The only honest way to cancel that sale is 'out of stock'. Have faith in what you sell and your business practices.

“The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.” - Henry Kissinger

"Wherever law ends, tyranny begins" -John Locke

powell-memorabilia · ‎02-20-2022

Why wouldn’t it be “trouble with address?” Seems to me that a buyer in a location that is prone to have porch pirates is a great candidate for such a cancellation.

frodobagginskennedy · ‎02-20-2022

Because there is nothing wrong with the address. Just because she lives in a carpy place is not a bad address.

This quest stands on the edge of a blade...stray but a little and you shall fail to the ruin of us all.
"The Lady Galadriel"

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-20-2022

I am waiting for an answer from a seller who got a negative "item lost". I don`t think about cancelling right now, but if that seller tells me some scamming story about that buyer, then I`d have to protect myself.

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-20-2022

Totally agree. If the item can`t be safely delivered to that buyer, there is a problem with that address. The buyer stated that twice that there is something wrong with safety at her address.

a_c_green · ‎02-20-2022

@chapeau-noir wrote:
Setting aside all the assumptions of how and where this person lives, I would simply note on the package "deliver to apartment #XYZ only" and send it on its way.

Me too. Either it won't get there anyway, in which case you win an Item Not Received dispute and have the Neg removed (Canada is an e-DELCON country offering First Class tracking) despite an apparent porch theft, or it will get there, and you get extra Brownie points for putting her exact request on the package.

Odds are it will get there just fine, and her request will be in plain sight on your package.

One other thing you can do is visit USPS.com and sign her up for tracking updates on her package via email (the encrypted eBay buyer email address does work for this). That way she will know what day to expect it and can be on the lookout for it.

iart · ‎02-20-2022

This is one reason we use GSP, eBay's Global Shipping Program. It offers an extra level of protection.

I would ship it. I would also send a note, thanking them for buying and asking them to contact you if they have any problems with the order. Be polite & professional with all notes.

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-20-2022

Making a note with apt# is not the issue, the issue is the way she made the request and left a "package was stolen" to a seller - how`s that that seller`s fault anyways? I can assume she left more such negatives to other sellers who requested to remove them.

I googled more, and the area has a very high crime rate (with advises stay at home and don`t go outside after dark). Marking apartment # won`t make any difference. It`s like Baltimore in the US.

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-20-2022

How will GSP protect you? I mean what kind of extra protection will you get you don`t get by shipping yourself via USPS?

My concern is that the buyer lives in unsafe housing and is unhappy ebay buyer. No GSP can protect you from that.

P.S. If I knew French, I`d buy your Napoleon book -what a treasure you have for sale!

forward-motion · ‎02-20-2022

Cancel the order with a problem with the address. That will not be a strike against you and then block the buyer. Have no more conversations with the buyer.

lamber9347 · ‎02-20-2022

With the GSP, once the item is delivered you are covered. Whether or not it gets stolen your responsibility as the seller ends with delivery. If a buyer leaves a negative for stolen item or never received, you can easily have that removed because you have the delivered scan. It's one of the benefits to using GSP. Best of luck to you....

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎02-20-2022

ebay will remove the negative anyways if it shows delivered, and USPS has full tracking to Canada. So there is no difference when shipping to such countries (when no USPS del conf, then GSP has full tracking). GSP is more expensive, too.