eBay

uvmmmdu · ‎04-24-2018

Recently I sold 2 cookbooks to two buyers that I mixed up and sent them each the others cookbook. As soon as buyer #1 notified me of my mistake I apologized and said I would contact buyer #2 and do what I could to get them each the correct books. I contacted them both asking to return at my expense by opening a return wrong item received so they could get a paid by me label. I then contacted ebay because of the statement about making sure to refund the customer within so many days. I explained to ebay there is no refund its just getting them to the right party. They suggested I pay the refunds when they arrived and relist each so they could repurchase and I would be able to use ebay labels to mail them out again with tracking. I did this and notified each party and for their trouble I did offer to reduce by 50% the price which then total would be 3-3.50 free shipping. These were 1st class so there would have been about a week delay in delivery but also I was reducing cost for them.

So as a buyer would this be a satisfactory solution for you? Would this deserve a negative feedback? This is not a regular error for me. I have sold thousands and maintained 100% feedback for years without mix ups. I am human and I thought I was trying to work with buyers.

As a seller what would you have done? Ebay also said I could just go to post office and pay to resend and purchase tracking but that the sytem may refund because it showed returned. Returns dept. did not recommend I do that for that reason. So I followed their suggestion and handled it they way they thought best.

Just trying to find out opinions of other buyers and sellers on this issue. Thanks for your time.

packratville · ‎04-25-2018

I almost get the feeling that buyer 2 was upset that you didn't just tell them to keep the wrong book. Anyway, you responded brilliantly. Often when I look at a seller's feedback, it isn't a negative that bothers me so much, it's an unprofessional reply. Nothing else causes me to hit the back button faster.

When a seller sent me someone else's order, she ended up sending me a label so I could send it on its way to the correct recipient. She still rated a positive.

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-25-2018

@centexcompsvcs wrote:
I am sorry that negative FB was left for you. Sheesh, some people just utterly fail to understand the simple fact that we, as human beings, make mistakes.

Many times they can't understand that it isn't just about THEM.

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-25-2018

@centexcompsvcs wrote:
"The buyer had a poor experience so their FB is justified."

Disagree. The OP offered a more than reasonable, timely solution to rectify the mistake. The buyer chose to have a poor experience by not availing themselves of that solution.

I really do not know what other folks do, but I reserve negative FB for the worst of the worst situations/sellers. For myself, this unfortunate situation certainly falls quite short of that scope.

I chalk it up to the buyer being a rigid, cold and unempathetic person. Not someone that I would ever prefer to engage with, in any setting.

I applaud the OP for offering a great solution and for replying to the negative FB in a courteous and professional manner.

You're not alone. I save negs for truly egregious behavior. What happened here isn't it.

castlemagicmemories · ‎04-25-2018

@lovtaco0 wrote:
I didn't say it was deserved, I said it was justified. There's a big difference.

I think the seller made an error that we've all made in the past and did everything she could to fix the situation. I would have responded like her first buyer not her second buyer.

That doesn't change the fact that the second buyer was inconvenienced and had a poor experience. Not everybody is understanding when mistakes are made. The buyer is allowed to leave negative FB reflecting their experience. The OP's response to the FB was good so I don't think the one neg will hurt them at all.

With all due respect, the Online Dictionary lists justify as a synonym for deserved. 1 : one of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses. Thus no big difference here.

de·serve

dəˈzərv/

verb

past tense: deserved; past participle: deserved

do something or have or show qualities worthy of (reward or punishment).
"the referee deserves a pat on the back for his bravery"
synonyms: merit, earn, warrant, rate, justify, be worthy of, be entitled to, have a right to, be qualified for More