eBay

kiltednomadd · ‎03-31-2021

Okay, since the folks at eBay chat weren't available, I'd like to get you folks opinions on if I handled this right or not, and what my options/obligations in a worst case scenario.
I listed a set of 8 ceramic Easter Bunny napkin rings and had them as a BIN listing. Finally had a buyer on Sunday, and when I got home, I went to prep/package them and discovered that two of them were chipped, which I'm guessing must have happened while I had them stored on a shelf in a box. I'm guessing the box got jostled just enough that the two came into contact with each other. So I immediately messaged the buyer to let her know about the discovered damage and suggested that I could either credit her back part of the purchase price for the order, or cancel the sale and refund her if she decided she didn't want them after all, (The damage is cosmetic, and doesn't affect the usability of the item, but you know how picky some people can be) and to let me know what course of action she preferred. I also sent a second message, with a pic attached of the damaged bunnies, so she could see I wasn't trying to pull something shady in regards to honoring the sale.
No response... Tuesday morning, I send a third message re-iterating what I had stated in the initial message, and asking her to let me know ASAP what she wanted done. Get home from work that night and still no reply from the customer. At that point, I decide to err on the side of caution, (and wanting to make sure the order was shipped within the expected time frame.) I print the shipping label and scheduled a pickup for the package. I also immediately refund what I felt was a fair amount for the damaged items, which were included in the shipment for her to do with as she saw fit.
So now I'm wondering if she's going to decide she doesn't want the order after all, and if so, am I going to be obligated to let her return them and have to refund her, or if I'm good since I had made several several attempts to contact her, and she didn't respond. Or if she leaves negative feedback, do I have any recourse? Had I just cancelled the order, I could have gotten dinged for that, or waited to long to ship, gotten dinged for that. So I did what I thought was the best course of action under the circumstances. Thoughts?

lamber9347 · ‎03-31-2021

@kiltednomadd No good deed goes unpunished. No you should have cancelled and taken the demerit for that as it was your fault. Even though you didn't purposely damage the bunnies, as a seller you are responsible to ensure your items look exactly as described. These things happen, you learn to take the hit and move on.

Now your buyer will most likely open an item not as described case, which is correct and you will lose even if it wasn't correct. You will have to supply a return label and receive a demerit for that as well. Buyers are not required to answer any messages from a seller, there is no policy for that. Your several messages mean nothing except you tried to do the right thing.

As long as any negative FB doesn't break any policies no it won't be removed. Why would it? Some of the bunnies were broken and not as described in the original listing. This is part of online selling. Things happen but the seller's responsibility is much higher than the buyers. Try to remain positive that all will work out with this buyer, but also be prepared for the worst case. Best of luck to you....

1tuna · ‎04-01-2021

my only thought is it shoud have been shipped sooner

waiting on a buyer to deliver them bad news is never a good option for me

Germantown proud Germantown strong
up the whiskey hickon
moving right along
19144

pureinnocenthelp · ‎04-01-2021

you should have not shipped it. plus she wasnt messaging you back so im assuming she was scamming you by buying the item and then sometimes they re sell it ( happens a lot). but it is not your fault some of it broke

soh.maryl · ‎04-01-2021

You assumed she was scamming the seller? Can you explain why?

There are thousands of reasons why some of us don't read our messages.

This was someone who bought an item and was awaiting its arrival, probably expecting it in time for Easter dinner. No, it wasn't the seller's fault that some had chipped, but the seller made the wrong decision.

The best course for the seller would have been to cancel and take the hit while still trying to contact the buyer to explain.

powell-memorabilia · ‎04-01-2021

@pureinnocenthelp

No one is scamming the seller. What kind of scammer orders inexpensive Easter-themed napkin rings that, if resold, wouldn’t be available for a new buyer until AFTER Easter?

Maybe - just maybe - the buyer isn’t checking eBay messages. Perhaps that buyer eBay account is linked to a not often used gmail account, so the buyer is seeing no notices of an issue.

drvsway2fast · ‎04-01-2021

That’s one of those situations that’s hard to call. I think I would’ve canceled and put the reason as “damaged item”. Yes, you take a strike but that’s what it’s there for. Most likely your seller will want to return it so you’ll be out the shipping and you’ll get a strike anyway. No worries though - we all learn and make mistakes! You did the best you could.

drvsway2fast · ‎04-01-2021

Not a scam to buy something and resell it in eBay. Tons of sellers do it. And it is totally the seller’s fault that it broke, even though it was an accident.

bbravo65 · ‎04-01-2021

...it's hard for you...no matter what options you try to do a good deed, you will be hit with a negative result...praying that your buyer has an open-minded and well-consideration...I wish you the best of the outcome...please let us know the end of this situation...

frgre3717 · ‎04-01-2021

@pureinnocenthelp wrote:
you should have not shipped it. plus she wasnt messaging you back so im assuming she was scamming you by buying the item and then sometimes they re sell it ( happens a lot). but it is not your fault some of it broke

OR maybe she had better things to do than wait around on some ebay sellers whim