Buyer is sending up some red flags. Not sure if buyer just doesn't understand or is trying to scam.

[fudder1]

Hello. So I've sold an expensive item (over $750) and I'm debating whether or not whether I should refund this sale and give up the 2.9% paypal fee or not. The reason for this is because the buyer is tossing up some red flags. The item was bought about a week ago with 10 days handling which the buyer was okay with. When I finally had the item ready to be shipped out I sent the buyer pictures making sure to confirm that that was the item they had wanted it. He explicitly said everything looks good. I message him again to make sure that he was the owner of the paypal account that authorized the purchase. He explicitly said that it was. I message him saying that the item will be shipped out the next day as it is late and then he says that he won't be home at the time so I will have to put a family member's name. I tell him I have to send it to the address given in the sale. He messages me again asking if I can send it to his family member's house then. I say again that I have to send it to the address given in the sale and tell him some options where he can pick it up from the post office or have whoever is home at the time sign off on it. He okays thisnd tells me to ship it out. I haven't shipped it out yet because I can't tell if he's going to scam me because he told me to ship to another address or if he just doesn't know the rules as a seller/buyer on ebay. He's been a member since 2017 and has a handful of reviews over 60 days old. I could use some advice from someone who has more experience. 

[lja440]

Sending them pictures does not stop them from filing a SNAD. The item has damage not shown in the pictures, SNAD, the item is damaged in transport, SNAD, the item is listed as bubblegum pink and the buyer says it is more Pepto-Bismal pink, SNAD.

Really there is very little other that packing well and shipping with the proper level of tracking that you can do to avoid a SNAD. 

Myself I don't list what I can't afford to lose. $75 would suck to lose but as I sell in low scam categories I am willing to chance it and rely on my packing skills.  $750 I would survive losing but really I have little other than horse saddles that reach that price point and I have already dropped them from my eBay inventory due to having now to pay for return shipping. I won't even touch high scam categories at any price point.

[fudder1 · Accepted solution]

Okay thank you all for replying. General consensus seems to be just ship it to the buyer which I will do today. While I understand that there are many variables out of my control I just hate how the attitude seems to be to ship the item out and hope the buyer doesn't go for a  chargeback. 

[no_zero369]

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@fudder1 wrote:

Okay thank you all for replying. General consensus seems to be just ship it to the buyer which I will do today. While I understand that there are many variables out of my control I just hate how the attitude seems to be to ship the item out and hope the buyer doesn't go for a  chargeback. 

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@fudder1 

Look, I get where you are coming from as I was exactly in your shoes when I first started selling!  Same concern with selling items that require signature confirmation.  I read the boards here and was so shocked that I almost quit selling.  But as others have wisely pointed out, there is an education here.  I took some time to read posts and ask questions!  I got into some tough back and forth debates here until the brain trust beat me into acceptance and knowledge.  So I know it can happen here at the eBay Community College of Online Selling.

I strongly suggest you do the same.  First thing you need to get your head around, which for me was the hardest thing, is that returns are part of retail selling.  Second is that when a return happens you are going to lose money.  But the key is that how much money you lose depends on what you do or don't do, so you have some level of control.  So there were things I could do to set up contingencies for selling that helped me accept the concept of returns and how to plan for it.  Once I got that stuff in place I was better able to manage things as well as sleep at night.

Also, in that learning, came things one can do if a sale starts to go bad. {Best I can tell is this one hasn't started to go bad yet, you are just nervous and seeing a problem before it happens.}  Then there are things one can do IF a sale does go bad.  But no point in pushing all of that on you as nothing bad has happened yet and you haven't asked those questions.  I believe in the old saying, "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

Finally I will say that one of the hardest things for me was getting control of emotions and switching over to a business mind set.  It was a struggle.  Yes, there are many things that are 'out of your control."  So for some that are control freaks, perhaps an evaluation of the ability to harness that is key to successful selling?

One last thought I'll leave you with is this.  When in doubt as to what to do, take off your seller's hat, set aside your ego and put on your buyer's hat and try to think of how you would wish to be treated if you were on the other side of the situation.  Using that perspective often leads to excellent results.

Good luck, let us know hoe things work out!

[lamber9347]

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@fudder1 wrote:

While I understand that there are many variables out of my control I just hate how the attitude seems to be to ship the item out and hope the buyer doesn't go for a  chargeback. 

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That attitude is being pointed out to you by so many experienced sellers because there is NOTHING you can do at this point. You are continuing to think there is some magical way of preventing a chargeback- but there isn't. It doesn't exist. You are beating yourself up with worry and stressing out when really nothing wrong has occurred at this point in time. 

Try to change your own attitude towards this will be a great sale. It will be your highest dollar amount sale and your buyer is going to love the item. You have learned much already. I hope you will put some of these lessons to good use and simply continue to sell and grow as an online seller. Best of luck to you...