When to call the police on abusive buyers?

[zmoz]

So, if you're a seller on ebay, chances are you've had to deal with a belligerent, incompetent buyer about something. You probably also know that ebay doesn't care at all about you as a seller, and will do nothing about this, even when you report them multiple times as an abusive buyer.

It's not uncommon for them to start throwing empty threats. Amazon and ebay are teaching them to be extremely stupid and rude, they don't understand ebay is different when you purchase from an individual person, and of course, individual terms are set differently in each listing. Usually being a belligerent buyer just means you get to keep something for free with absolutely no warnings from ebay. (We have ebay to thank for this) They won't enforce their communication guidelines, either.

I am very particular about this if it involves me missing an item or a payment. If a buyer steals an item from me in any way (even with ebay's blessing) I will report both to the postmaster general (mail fraud) and their local police department (theft). Unlikely that anything will be done about it, but at least they will get a warning from law enforcement and it will be on record if they keep it up.

My question is, when should I report threats from buyers to law enforcement? I know most of them are empty, but that does not make it OK. I currently have a buyer sending numerous ebay messages that say things like "I will find you", "I'm going to get you for this", "I will get my money", etc, etc. He keeps insisting that he "knows where I am". Not direct threats of physical harm but I can read between the lines and the intent is obvious if you read the 30+ nasty messages. Ebay has been made aware, ebay has chosen to do nothing. (For reference this buyer is demanding a refund on a non refundable item with no valid reason)

I don't want to waste the time of the police over frivolous things, but on the other hand, people should not get away with making stupid threats just because they are hiding behind a computer. Ebay's answer to this problem is only making it worse than it ever has been. Should I make a police report about stupid threats like this? Should I call their local PD or my local PD?

I'm not particularly asking about this specific buyer, but something similar comes up on a somewhat regular basis. Buyers on ebay seem to be mostly really stupid people, and I'm tired of them getting away with it with absolutely no repercussions.

[zmoz]

Another thing I need to point out - simply deleting harassing messages is a very stupid thing to do. If this turns into a situation the police need to know about, they will need every message. They are evidence. Same for ebay, they will be reading our conversation, the more the buyer makes a donkey out of themselves, the easier it is to get their refund reversed. I'm not sure if ebay can read deleted messages or not, but the police definitely can't.

[zmoz]

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@coolections wrote:
Never unless you are being threated with your life. There is nothing they will do, can do, or should do. Take them to court if it is that important to you.

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That isn't how harassment works. If a buyer steals/owes me money I can "take them to court" to recover that. If a buyer is threatening/harassing, there is no "take them to court" without calling the police. The way you do that is by filing charges with the police. You can't sue for harassment unless you can prove it somehow cost you money. You also don't have to lose money for a person to be doing something illegal. Unwanted persistent contact is a crime.

Also, just because I am not physically scared of these dumb people, does that mean they should get away with a crime unreported? Should they be allowed to just get away scot-free and repeat?

[coolections]

At least now I fully understand why this buyer is so upset. I'm thinking you should rethink selling on Ebay as they have policies and procedures that all sellers must follow and you seem to think you are above their rules.

[moondogblues]

"Buyers on ebay seem to be mostly really stupid people, and I'm tired of them getting away with it with absolutely no repercussions."

Comments like these make me not want to buy here.

[moondogblues]

I can't believe this seller still has customers. Er, I mean morons....

[magbenv0]

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@moondogblues wrote:
"Buyers on ebay seem to be mostly really stupid people, and I'm tired of them getting away with it with absolutely no repercussions."

Comments like these make me not want to buy here.

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Ditto ❇️

[luckythewinner]

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@zmoz wrote:

 I currently have a buyer sending numerous ebay messages that say things like "I will find you", "I'm going to get you for this", "I will get my money", etc, etc. He keeps insisting that he "knows where I am". Not direct threats of physical harm but I can read between the lines and the intent is obvious if you read the 30+ nasty messages. Ebay has been made aware, ebay has chosen to do nothing. (For reference this buyer is demanding a refund on a non refundable item with no valid reason)

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I feel for you. I've been here 20 years, and I can honestly say I have never had an abusive buyer - let alone one where the situation has escalated to 30 messages! 

But as an aside ... given eBay's "Money Back Guarantee", the statement "I will get my money" is not a threat at all. It's just a simple fact. 

[loveyourimagination49]

“You are not above the rules” Is that what you want potential buyers to see in feedback. 🤦‍♀️

[aramintaca]

Go to your sold list and find the item. To the left of the item is a box. Check that box. Now go down to the bottom of your list and you will see several options. Delete is the first one. Other options include add to list, relist, sell similar, etc. Do not check the box at the bottom next to the delete option or you will lose all the items you've sold. you only want to do the one. Good luck!

[aramintaca]

When I did it several years ago it worked. If it no longer does my apologies for offering out of date advice. Can't keep up with all the "improvements" ebay does for making selling more fun. There is an option in Account Preferences to block buyers from contacting you through an active listing. But in communication preferences there is no option to block a buyer from your member to member communications. The buyer would have to know about going to your profile to get messages through. Most use the ask a question option in the existing listing. I guess I've just been lucky.

[muttlymob]

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@magbenv0 wrote:

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@moondogblues wrote:
"Buyers on ebay seem to be mostly really stupid people, and I'm tired of them getting away with it with absolutely no repercussions."

Comments like these make me not want to buy here.

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Ditto ❇️

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Comments like that don't affect whether I buy on eBay or not.  They do affect whether I buy from the seller making the comment.

Sellers like this are usually obvious.  Between hostile language in their listings and nasty comments to feedback, the warnings are there.

eBay is and always has been a haven for people with control issues.  Both buyers and sellers.  Use the tools available to weed out the problem sellers - read the entire listings, read the feedback received, left for others, and follow-up comments.

[dirk12955]

30 messages?        I'm a 20 year seller and haven't had the problems in 20 years that some sellers seem to have in 2 weeks.   

The only time I've ever had that much communication with an ebayer was when I told them the Postal inspector would be contacting them.     They went totally off the rails.     Didn't want the PI or the Police coming to interview them.

[wesk_36]

"So, if you're a seller on ebay, chances are you've had to deal with a belligerent, incompetent buyer about something. You probably also know that ebay doesn't care at all about you as a seller, and will do nothing about this, even when you report them multiple times as an abusive buyer."

No, I don't remember having a significant problem with a buyer; except a long time ago, a seller sold me a cellphone that was reported stolen when I tried to activate it. The seller wanted the phone back, instead, I sent it to Verizon who said they would return it to the customer that it was stolen from. The seller had a fit. I felt good.

I don't think my buyers or ebay buyers in general, are stupid people, I don't go into a sale with an attitude, some buyers make mistakes, one admitted that he didn't read the description, I gave them a refund anyway, no big deal, they were honest, not stupid. It wasn't worth an ego fight or defensive stance, nor even further consideration; we parted amicably. They became a regular customer. Do we create our own problems?

I can see you have many problems with returns or return requests so I can understand your frustration and ranting, but not the generalizations.

For some reason, the items you sell attract scammers?

Or you have too many people with product compatibility issues, I don't know.

Maybe your own marketing website would be a better fit and less stressful for you and you wouldn't have to answer to mom and pop ebay. 

All I know, from my selling experience (I sell rare advertising collectibles and silver coins), most ebay buyers are great people; friendly, flexible, honest, communicative; I even have invites to visit some in other countries... maybe a tiny percentage can get a little bossy but that's just petty stuff, no threats or arguments and certainly no reason to get into altercations with them.

My question is, when should I report threats from buyers to law enforcement?

If you are being threatened then by all means report to the local police, if only to be on record just in case, that's what they are there for.. The police can advise you. Visit in person.  Only you can determine if and when to do that. Otherwise, never respond to this nonsense.

[femmefan1946]

No returns does NOT mean no refunds.

It means you don't necessarily want to pay for return shipping, or that the buyer does not have to return a broken item, before you refund them for the unsatisfactory item.

[aimless-16]

You seem to be a very hostile person, and I suspect 99% of your "stupid" buyers see you as a bully.