Ebay a new low...

[jason4kstate]

Prepare to be shocked by this one...

So I sell a run of the mill video game for a descent profit. I tested it and it worked just fine before shipping. I packaged it properly and mailed it out to the lady. After 3 days I get this complaint: "The game doesn't save my kids are heartbroken refund my money." So I try to substitute the game but it was not the exact one she wanted so I told her how to repair it. I receive no response and then a case is opened. So I battle with ebay over it and neither one of us is found at fault. I think the issue is over....oh no.

I receive a message last night saying "i sold the game to someone else and they say its a fake you have to message me or I will leave negative feedback." So after being completely dumbstruck that this person would attempt to profit on something they received for free and was "broken" they now are complaining to me a month after the fact. Oh the other thing is that it was apparently playable and they finished it and therefore decided to sell it...so much for the "broken" part. So I call Ebay again and they said to send a standard message to them. I then got a negative feedback saying I sell fake games. So I call ebay and get these replies...this is what was exactly said:

1. They can't do anything because its within 30 days

2. They will monitor this person but will do nothing about the fact they a perpetuating fraud on their site

3. What she wrote did not amount to feedback extortion because they did not request money...in the US I do believe a threat like this is extortion

4. Too bad this is a "buying site" so I should have "understood that"

5. I can leave a buyer case and they will "investigate it"

Am I overreacting or does this seem insane to anyone else?

 

[DizzyDigger]

I would have refunded her right at the start. People like that tend to become
a ginormous pain in the keester. Unless very high dollars are at stake it rarely
makes sense to argue with people.

Not that you did wrong in any way, however the country is full of these "YOU
OWE ME" kind of people, and they have no capacity to comprehend anything
outside their own little desires.

 

[vpnavy]

I would have also refunded her money - the price of doing business jason. Yea, you really got screw'd on the deal and hopefully the buyer will get a bunch of bad karma in the future.

 

[Iron Patch]

Well you can't shock me as I've seen all types. The error you made was taking it to battle, and it was not ebay you were against, it was her, and now she's bitter and giving you the payback.

So next time....


"The game doesn't save my kids are heartbroken refund my money"


- hmmm it did work fine when I sent it, but sorry something went wrong and please send it back and I will refund right away.



It's all about damage control and you might as well leave your emotions out of it because it does nothing for you. Often times it comes down to pride vs. just ending it fast, and for a long time I went with pride, but now I've reached the point that I know how some people are not willing to reason, or are just idiots, so I'd rather get it over with and block them (even if I am out some shipping or whatever) . Most times if you make the right move from the start you'll come out with min. losses and headaches, but there is some who will do their best to test you.

 

[duffytrash]

i sold some vintage onionskin typing paper on ebay....one guy bought 2 boxes of it...it said it was ok but he thought it cost too much....there were something like 8 bids...he wanted half his money back...some people have bidders remorse....

 

[jerseyben]

i sold some vintage onionskin typing paper on ebay....one guy bought 2 boxes of it...it said it was ok but he thought it cost too much....there were something like 8 bids...he wanted half his money back...some people have bidders remorse....

Are you saying he wanted his money back AFTER he already paid?

 

[jason4kstate]

The reason I was apprehensive about doing the refund is that I found the complaint really suspect. My main concern is that they bought a broken game and were trying to switch it with my working game. If it was an antique, collectible, etc then I would have no problem issuing the refund and getting the item back.

jerseyben: she was refunded by Ebay and therefore was not out any money. she then resold the game listing it as like new condition and that it worked perfectly. the gall of it was that she listed it for a higher price than what i sold it for and she knew it was broken, defective, etc.

I called ebay this morning and had the feedback removed. They claimed she violated "a fraud" clause...never heard of it but I will chalk it up as a win.

 

[rlf2174]

A similar situation happened to me. After the buyer was found at fault, (because he did not return the item) ebay refunded me the highest bid amount, shipping & my listing fees.
If they have not informed you of this, call them back & get your money.
It is e bay's policy! Good luck.

 

[jason4kstate]

Yea they did that for me when the case was closed. We were both refunded the money so I thought the incident was over but she decided to neg me a month later.

 

[jerseyben]

I would just take the neg, respond appropriately, and move on. Really not much more you can do. Sounds like the person you are dealing with is one of those "really special kinds of people" that just causes havoc everywhere they go and with everything they touch.

 

[deserdog]

I make and sell various gold prospecting hand suctions devices on Ebay. They are made out of schedule 40 pvc. I had one customer her item arrived with a big chunk broke off the handle. I asked her how badly was the box damaged, she said not at all! So I know her story was BS, she broke it some how, but I just sent her a new plunger assembly. If she decided to open a case, she would have received her buying price and shipping!

 

[Lafitte Deux]

I called ebay this morning and had the feedback removed. They claimed she violated "a fraud" clause...never heard of it but I will chalk it up as a win.

Are you saying she listed it on Ebay? That would be bold.

 

[devilpookie]

People like that lady suck. I can imagine what she is like to be around in person. She is probably a miserable turd all the time. I used to sell a lot on Ebay. Between the crazy people and Ebay/Paypal fees, it just isn't worth it to me anymore. I notice that the newer low feedback Ebayers were the worst. "I just paid for my item, why isn't it here already.." Last item I sold went for almost 900 bucks. Between Ebay and Paypal I ended with 600. Craziness.

 

[diggummup]

The reason I was apprehensive about doing the refund is that I found the complaint really suspect. My main concern is that they bought a broken game and were trying to switch it with my working game. If it was an antique, collectible, etc then I would have no problem issuing the refund and getting the item back.

jerseyben: she was refunded by Ebay and therefore was not out any money. she then resold the game listing it as like new condition and that it worked perfectly. the gall of it was that she listed it for a higher price than what i sold it for and she knew it was broken, defective, etc.

I called ebay this morning and had the feedback removed. They claimed she violated "a fraud" clause...never heard of it but I will chalk it up as a win.

They should give you your money back. Since she was refunded and resold the very item she was refunded on. Sounds like fraud in more ways than one to me.

 

[diggummup]

Last item I sold went for almost 900 bucks. Between Ebay and Paypal I ended with 600. Craziness.

I don't see how that is possible... at all. 33%? Come on now.

 

[Cojones]

""i sold the game to someone else and they say its a fake you have to message me or I will leave negative feedback."

I believe that is feedback extortion which goes against ebay policy. You might want to consider reporting her to ebay.

 

[jerseyben]

""i sold the game to someone else and they say its a fake you have to message me or I will leave negative feedback."

I believe that is feedback extortion which goes against ebay policy. You might want to consider reporting her to ebay.

Re-read the above replies. The entire situation has already had ebay involved. He also stated that ebay told him it wasn't extortion because there was no request for compensation.

 

[thrillathahunt]

I sure miss the way ebay used to be years ago. I don't use it anymore.

 

[CladSpends2]

This post is very timely for me. I have pretty much stopped listing on eBay for all the reasons I have read on here. Today I bought one thing or one set of things while out picking. I bought a Nintendo game cube and a few games and a Nintendo 64 also with a few games. I checked eBay and got an idea what they were going for, then went to my local gaming store. Some will call me stupid, but I took his offer of $101 even though I know I might have gotten 3 or more times more through eBay. I paid only $30 dollars for the lot and now I have some more money in pocket to go back out tomorrow and do the same thing or just put into my pm and coin collection. eBay has certainly killed it for the little guy seller in my opinion. Sorry for the rant and hope I added to the thread. I know others defend eBay til the end, and I respect that, but it has become ridiculous out there.

T.

 

[jason4kstate]

Yea video games are an easy flip especially the older games. If you see any Pokemon, Final Fantasy, or RPG games its easy money. I don't go out and go to garage and estate sales to make money I go out to have fun and maybe pick up a few things for myself. I won my case but it took heaven and earth to do it.