Questionable buyer

[bigchiefgary]

I had a buy order a $11 item with free shipping.  After they received it I had a cryptic message about not working.  I sent one message saying "I hate to hear that...", this I realize they may not know how to use it so I sent another with basic instructions.  I did not hear back until the day it was closing so I sent a follow up message.  They came back fairly aggressive and then I got weird messages on Facebook that I believe was this person.  The messages were again hard to understand.  I looked at feedback and they had received less than 100 for buying but had never left one themselves.  All seems odd to me and a little concerning.

Not sure exactly what to do I reported to eBay on person not following eBay practices.  The next day I got a message from eBay saying they were awarding the return to the customer and I would be billed for the return freight.  So just getting it back I am probably at a net loss even if I did not want them to send them my address. 

Again not much money but I question if this is a common problem.  Is this a common problem?  Do you have to plan on just losing money with people acting like this.  

I have been on eBay since '02 and seems like I buy a little and sell a little then have a bad experience and I leave for a couple of years.  Forget the pain and come back.  Trying to figure out if this is acceptable at eBay and I am out of touch or if I just did not report correctly.

[paradiso*bella*a*venire]

Yes, you are sort of kinda maybe a whole  lot out of touch. Ebay has gone mental and will refund buyers even if an item shows as delivered. Its up to sellers to report  those buyers. If youre a TRS that offers free returns/30 day returns, you get the extra benefit of getting more seller protection than ones outside of these criteria. Extra seller protection includes Ebay removing defects, (at their discretion) negatives and sellers being able to offer a percentage of a refund rather than a full one.

Shoot for the stars! Well, as TRS anyway. You will get further with Ebay if you have the badge 😉

But yeah, as it stands now, buyers has everyone by the jugular, wearing Freddy Krueger finger knives on unsteady hands

[dirk12955]

"Do you have to plan on just losing money with people acting like this"

Yes,   Sometimes you do.    Loss is a part of every business .    It's been that way since the first trade was made between  a pair of cavemen when caveman #1 complained the fish "Tasted funny"     and caveman #2 had to return the rock he'd received for the fish"

If you are going to deal with the public you are going to have situations like this.   

[tdumonde2014]

Assume that you're going to lose about 2% of your gross proceeds to fraud and plan accordingly. It would also behoove you to spend some time reading these boards so that you have a better handle on how ebay operates.

[bigchiefgary]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.

[bigchiefgary]

I appreciate the reply. I away assume there will be disagreement and mistakes. Outright attempt at fraud is what I struggle with and eBay's passive approach.

[bigchiefgary]

Thanks for the note of 2%, I am below that but maybe I am just being greedy. 🙂 I just need to remove my emotions from the exchange and decide if it is worth it to me.

[dirk12955]

What a great way to put this into perspective.      2% is just about my loss rate.     

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

Wonderful advise as always given by Paradiso! Level headed and polite with a splash of good humor added, don't forget Edward Scissorhands on steroids!

[paradiso*bella*a*venire]

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@silverstatetreasureboxes wrote:

Wonderful advise as always given by Paradiso! Level headed and polite with a splash of good humor added, don't forget Edward Scissorhands on steroids!

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😆 Edward Scissorhands   😁

[soh.maryl]

There is a part of your message that I don't understand:  " . . .even if I did not want them to send them my address".

Wasn't your address on the package as the return address? And anyway, why did you not want someone who is returning something to have your address?  

[bigchiefgary]

Some of the terminology in the facebook messages.  I am past it.  I don't have to sell on eBay for awhile.   

[lja440]

I get very few returns, mainly because I stay out of high scam categories and write kick@$$ descriptions. 

BUT!!! 

You are always going to run into these people now and then. The best way to deal with it is to build a risk fund into your starting or BIN prices. I add 3-5% of the item trending price into my starting price. This I physically take from my wallet and drop into a coffee can on my desk. When it fills I run it through CoinStar and deposit it into a small passbook savings account. 

Like I said, I have few returns. Over the years I have used this account to buy my first Right Hand Drive Jeep here on eBay. It also has paid for my daughters marching band trips (and mine as chaperone) to Chicago and Disney. Current balance is a bit over $1500.