eBay unwilling to remove negative feedback even though it was spiteful and malicious

[thejurassicparkguru]

I need some help and perhaps eBay will see this to help remove the negative mark on my account.

I want to first start by saying that all of my shipping is incredible. I have perfected my own way of packaging items so they cannot be damaged unless ran over by a car.

I sold an item and the buyer never paid for the purchase. I messaged the buyer multiple times with no response. The final message I sent explained that I would be cancelling the order. Once I cancelled the order I received a message from the buyer accusing me of not giving him more time. I apologized (not sure why I did that but I feel Customer Service is first and foremost next to my shipping practices) and offered to relist the item and waive the shipping to show good faith.

The buyer bought the item and was very happy.

I then get a message two days later that he received the box and it was crushed with a "stamp" from the Post Office stating they damaged the box.

He further explained that the item inside was damaged and showed pictures of the damage but never gave me a picture of the "stamp" from the Post Office. I asked the buyer to please provide a picture of the stamp so I could file a claim with the post office. 

The buyer immediately got upset and said that I was accusing him of damaging the item. I explained that I want to help him but I need more information and that the process is to file a claim first. I said that I would refund a portion of the money until the claim was filed but I still needed the stamp picture.

The buyer then said, "forget it, keep your money and I will keep the item and I will leave you some negative feedback so people can see what a horrible seller you are and that your customer service is **bleep**".

I have never been spoken to like this before and this is the worst experience I had ever had as a Seller.

I reached out to eBay and they gave me the runaround. After calling several times an eBay Customer Service Agent said they could remove the comment but not the mark on overall feedback. 

I did everything I was supposed to and I have been selling for over 20 years on eBay and this is how I am repaid. I hope someone can help me.

Thanks,

[thejurassicparkguru]

The buyer was going to send me the box back and he said, "you can see the stamp for yourself"

I went above an beyond the first time around and offered to assist. 

I understand eBay doesn't require it but what about being a decent human being. You sound like this guy's sibling. Thanks for nothing. The more I hear that this is somehow turned on me I am starting to wonder if....never mind. It would just fall on deaf ears.

[thejurassicparkguru]

I am sorry that happened to you. I wish things were different especially for those of trying to make a living.

[city*satins]

donsdetour, you don't need to open an unpaid item case or cancel for non payment.  As of about a month ago, eBay cancels automatically after 4 days.

[gracieallen01]

Personally, I think you are quite lucky that it only turned out having your feelings hurt, rather than your feeling and wallet.

It sounds like you came up against a bullying scammer who, when they didn't get their way (your insistence on a photo of the 'USPS stamp'), decided to call it quits as too much trouble, and went on their own.  When the buyer/scammer starts out coming on full steam, they frequently have fewer cards to play that will work for them.  Your response, in a reasonable and concerned manner, as well as your attempt at due diligence was, probably, quite off-putting and a deciding factor in the buyer 'going away' with just a 'parting shot'.

[luckythewinner]

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@thejurassicparkguru wrote:

I explained that I want to help him but I need more information and that the process is to file a claim first.

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There is no "process" that requires the buyer to wait for the seller to file a claim first. 

You tried to pull a fast one on your buyer, and it backfired.

[city*satins · Accepted solution]

I'm not the guy's sibling.

You don't appear to have read eBay's policies on returns.  Because you have a BUYER DOES NOT ACCEPT RETURNS on all your listings, you may have forgotten to read the part about Item Not as Described returns. 

Buyers who see that a seller doesn't accept returns, also put themselves at a disadvantage by not realizing that they don't have to come begging for some grace from the seller.  So the seller can impose all sorts of conditions privately that they would never be allowed to impose if the buyer used the RETURN REQUEST - Item Damaged/Not as Described process online on eBay.

Sellers will require all sorts of things from the buyer, pictures, videos, stamps, affidavits, anything to deter the buyer.   Most sellers do this out of lack of knowledge. Some do it dishonestly counting on the buyer not to know better.  I will assume you just set the conditions you did and told the buyer that "that the process is to file a claim first." you were merely being incorrect out of lack of knowledge and not deliberately untruthful.  

You seem to give me the same kind of credit that you give the buyer.  I give you more by assuming you just didn't know.  But now you do.

Next time tell the buyer to open a return request.

No USPS stamp is required to open a damage claim.  I don't know where you got that idea. Boxes of crockery arrive all the time, insured and double-boxed with the box looking fine but the contents in pieces.  Those claims go through without difficulty.  No special USPS stamp on the box is needed. USPS actually has pretty good customer service. 

[thejurassicparkguru]

Well I apologize. I am just so frustrated. This is the first time this has happened to me and when there was an issue I always worked it out. I have had items go missing or damaged and I always fix the issue for the buyer. 

Perhaps I did not know, after all it has been many years and I have been selling nonstop. 

All of these things happening are just so frustrating. I guess I will need to adjust my selling parameters and make sure that I just ask the buyer to open the return request first.

Thanks.

[city*satins]

I understand, truly! 

Just to share, last week I got a message from a buyer saying there were 'fingerprints' on the expensive notecards I'd sold him and that although he'd already framed 5 out of 8 of them, he hoped I would 'do the right thing'.   My best strategy was to play dumb about what 'the right thing' was, and eventually he swore at me and called me some pretty filthy names and wished a pox on my descendants.  It was already 60 days since the item was delivered and it was too late for him to open a case or leave me feedback.  But I'm consistently nice to customers and make sure when they contact me privately instead of using the eBay online request, that I am sweet but simple-minded, so they come right out and say what they want.   It doesn't always work but mostly does.  His feedback left for others was a nightmare so I kicked myself for not looking at it before I accepted his offer in the first place.   That one, in my opinion, was a scoundrel.  Your buyer...I just don't know.  I know it feels bad no matter what.

Before I put THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY BLANK on my signature line here, my sig called myself POLICY MONKEY.  That's because I'm kind of a nut about reading eBay policy and someone called me 'policy monkey' intending it to be an insult, but I decided to make it a compliment.

I wish you the best of luck and another several years before your next hair-pulling sale.

Thanks for your kind words.

Cheers.

[fab_finds4u]

Although eBay now lets you type 500 characters  in a feedback reply  i would keep it short and simple.

Buyer would not cooperate with the insurance claim.  

[fab_finds4u]

I'm  sorry everyone is jumping on you. USPS normslly wants to see a picture of the packaging to make sure it was properly packaged. It's easy enough to show the stamp in the pic, which is icing on the cake that USPS caused the damage and not your lack of packing material.   ASKING for a couple of pics is not an unreasonable request. Asking to cooperate with an insurance claim is not an unreasonable request.

You get the pics and you refund the buyer and you file a claim.   I think it's nervy of a buyer to expect you to take their word the box was crushed and the item was damaged. Their word is not proof.  No pics or no item back= no refund!

[coolections]

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@thejurassicparkguru wrote:

The buyer bought the item and was very happy.

From what you wrote it does not sound like the buyer was very happy to me.

[onlinecentral]

Once I cancelled the order I received a message from the buyer accusing me of not giving him more time.

It is the buyer's responsibility to be familiar with the time frame within the unpaid item policy. If they couldn't abide by that, they should have sent you a message explaining there would be a payment delay. So there was a lack of courtesy towards you. They ignored the payment reminders eBay sent them for four days. They have a lot of audacity to blame you for not giving them more time. Twisting things around to make their inaction your fault.

I apologized (not sure why I did that but I feel Customer Service is first and foremost next to my shipping practices) and offered to relist the item and waive the shipping to show good faith.

a) You should have added the buyer to your Blocked Bidder List at that point. Relisted the item and sold it to another buyer.

b) As an alternative, you could have let the buyer repurchase and pay the shipping.

c) You didn't owe the non-paying, manipulative, uncourteous buyer an apology or a show of good faith. I am bewildered by you rewarding the bad behavior with a discount.

[thejurassicparkguru]

Thank you so much for the encouraging reply gracieallen01. I really wish I could have helped the buyer even more than I did. 

Thank you again, this made my day 🙂

[thejurassicparkguru]

Actually, I didn't. I wasn't trying to pull anything. I have been providing the best Customer Service since 1999 and in this case the buyer was not responding to messages and when he finally did all I got was that I was trying to blame him. 

The fact of the matter is this, if you are unwilling to work something out during a sale then you should not be a buyer. 

[gracieallen01]

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@thejurassicparkguru wrote:

Thank you so much for the encouraging reply gracieallen01. I really wish I could have helped the buyer even more than I did. 

Thank you again, this made my day 🙂

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One thing to keep in mind - some buyers don't want, or are not looking for help.  And, some buyers are not having a problem, other than not getting something for nothing.  Not saying that is the case all the time, but they ARE out there.