What to do about feedback

[naqahdriah]

Hello!

Long story short, I sold an item yesterday, and shipped it within an hour of purchase via the buyer selected shipping method (I live across the street from a post office, so this is normal for me). Shortly after I left the post office, the buyer left feedback calling me a scammer. The item wouldn't even arrive until 2 days from now, and the tracking (with signature / insurance) shows it is on the way, so I'm not sure what the scam is and the buyer is unresponsive. Looking at the feedback they've left for others, it looks like this is a pattern for them (on the first 4-5 pages like half of the feedback they've left is calling people scammers) which seems abusive, but... oh well. 

I've contacted them, requested a change from them, and contacted eBay through the removal form. While the negative feedback sucks (especially for an individual who only occasionally sells, and not a business), my concern now is - am I the one being scammed here? Has anyone run into anything like this? Have I done pretty much what there is to do in this situation?

[buyselljack2016]

For top rated sellers there is a 7  day wait. No such delay for a small seller.

[buyselljack2016]

On an $800 item I would have been in the buyer's feedback waaaaaaaaaay before I shipped.

Intercept NOW. $17  vs  $800

[inhawaii]

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@ga_open_box_llc wrote:

I wonder how they were even able to leave negative feedback already. I thought the system makes you wait 7 days at least before you can do anything other then positive as a buyer. I might be wrong but I could've swore that's what it says when doing feedback as a buyer.

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You are correct.

So how did that happen?

tyler@ebay

gary@ebay

[mam98031]

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@stuff4divas wrote:

@naqahdriah   me?

i would go straight across the street to the post office and ask for the package back and if it already left, i would do an intercept, even if u don't want to, it's better than being scammed and out of $800

and letting yourself be scammed after all the bells and whistles that have gone off

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@naqahdriah  

This advice by @stuff4divas is EXCELLENT advice.  The easiest way to protect yourself, your money and the product.

[mam98031]

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@naqahdriah wrote:

Hmm, I guess my worry with that is even if I do a refund, I'm not sure how eBay looks on stuff like package interceptions. It would suck really, really hard to lose the item / money, but I also don't want to jeopardize my eBay account doing something that might violate their policies here.

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I'm not sure what you are worried about as long as you refund the buyer.  Exactly what do you think Ebay could or would do???

One buyer can't cost you your account unless whatever you did was really horrible and that isn't what this transaction is even close to.

[mam98031]

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@ga_open_box_llc wrote:

I wonder how they were even able to leave negative feedback already. I thought the system makes you wait 7 days at least before you can do anything other then positive as a buyer. I might be wrong but I could've swore that's what it says when doing feedback as a buyer.

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It is only TRS that are protected from buyers leaving feedback in less than 7 days.  The OP is not TRS.

[rugerskick]

Its a scammer.  They want you to give them some or all the money back to change the feedback.

This is called feedback extortion (and in this case, outright lying as well as defamation of character, libel).  Get with ebays fruad and security people and show them whats been going on.  Since this is a pattern scammer they need to deactivate their account.

[rugerskick]

Its classic scammer technique.  Part of it is to confuse you, especially when its done to newer sellers.

[12345jamesstamps]

Did you google the address of the buyer? To see where it is going? Is it a house, a building or a patch of land?

Buyer knows...will know exactly when it is out for delivery due to tracking.  Could even be a company or a hotel. Buyer will be waiting for it of course.

It might not get a signature the first time or someone else might try to sign for it.

[a_c_green]

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@naqahdriah wrote:

I'll have to admit, the turbo speed scammer feedback and their payment still "processing" makes me a touch nervous. I'd thought about just hitting refund, but I'm somewhat doubtful I'd get the item back,

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God, no, you do not just hit refund. That hands back the payment immediately, and the buyer would be under no obligation to return the phone.

Given the buyer's bizarre track record on feedback (to both you and others), you should get that package recall/interception moving immediately: 

https://www.usps.com/manage/package-intercept.htm 

Wait to see where the package ends up. If it's delivered to the buyer anyway, you may be kind of sunk, but at least you will still have his payment (for now). If it's successfully intercepted and returned to you, cancel the original sale as Buyer Requested (which he obviously wanted to do, since he was calling you a scammer), and then refund.

Incidentally, perhaps I missed it, but you did have Signature Confirmation on your shipment, right? That is required by eBay for sales of $750 or higher.

Unfortunately, as a new seller with very low feedback count, you are an absolute magnet for scammers. You should consider selling that phone locally for cash.

[cardxcraft]

Because of the buyers history of leaving negative feedback, I would assume the negative was intended for you.

I would recommend a package intercept; you can perform the function online.  Link below.

https://retail-pi.usps.com/retailpi/actions/index.action

[simply-the-best-for-you]

@inhawaii @ga_open_box_llc 

7 day wait only applies to a few sellers, not the majority.  It's either TRS or TRS+, I think it's + b/c I'm TRS & no waiting period on leaving it for me.  

@naqahdriah  You can most likely get that FB removed by going here: 

https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp

and following the prompts.  Keep your info short & sweet, point them to the FB left for others by the buyer.  I like this method best b/c it's super quick & you don't have to expose yourself to the security risks of Social Media.  

BUT, the FB is the least of your worries.  FIRST, I would end your other listing.  A brand new seller selling $800 phones is a huge target for scammers!  Then I would attempt to recall your pkg.  If you don't, you are likely to lose the phone & the money!   Ebay doesn't have an issue with recalling a pkg.  They do have an issue with canceling a sale b/c you're 'out of stock', but that's still better than losing the phone & the money.  If you can recall it successfully, do NOT relist it.  You have way too little FB to be selling such high priced/high scam items.  

ETA:  And definitely report them at some point, but my priority would be ending my other listing & getting my phone back. 

[a_c_green]

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@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:

Ebay doesn't have an issue with recalling a pkg.  They do have an issue with canceling a sale b/c you're 'out of stock', but that's still better than losing the phone & the money. 

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True, though in this case, "Buyer Requested" would be appropriate (not "Out of Stock"), as the buyer had already called the seller a "scammer," so he obviously wants his money back, not the phone. 😉

But in any case, focus on getting the phone back first, then deal with refunding after that.

[naqahdriah]

I did have signature confirmation on it. So the consensus here seems to be that they will get the package and then request a refund from eBay basically?

Ugh, I was hoping to avoid doing in-person for my phone / tablet because I also don't want to get stabbed for a phone, but it looks like my options are pretty slim.

How does a person rack up like 1200 feedback as a buyer while simultaneously doing this to half the people they buy from? I'd think if they were scamming they'd have long been flooded with complaints from all of the other negatives they've left, but I guess not?

Blarg.

[naqahdriah]

Neat thing is I got a message from a buyer about my tablet. 100% positive, but it's like the same 5 feedback messages posted by like 5 accounts a dozen times over. Do people just create these accounts now and rack up a bunch of transactions from a service or something so they seem trustworthy?