Ebay Buyer Issue - Need Advice

[DrtyRat]

My 1st post here and I have to say I really love this forum. I'm learning alot and have been able to apply it to some of my collecting/buying strategies!

I Recently acquired some Bear Paw boots at a garage sale and sold them all on eBay. One buyer in particular bought two pairs from me and immediately began msg'ing me about them. He asked to have the items shipped together to save on shipping, which I was able to accommodate. The buyer also to me that they needed it quickly bc it was for their cousin. Lastly I got a MSG stating that he/she had just updated their address on eBay and to ship it there. Something didn't seem feel right with this buyer so I decided to purchase insurance for it.
Fast forward to today and the buyer tells me that the box arrived with only 1 shoe out of the 2 pairs I had put in it. They claimed that the postman stated it wasn't properly packed. I requested to have pictures sent of the 1 boot, and they complied. The picture I received was of the one shoe and a completely destroyed flat rate box(of course the one I had sent was a new one from the PO). They buyer made mention of the fact that they hoped I had purchased insurance. When I told him/her that I had and if any assistance was required to file the claim the tone of the msg's changed and a refund was demanded and then and only then would I get back the one boot. I told them I would get back to them tomorrow after I had spoken to the PO and they messages me back stating that they don't have time to wait for the whole process to play out and that I could refund them and make the claim on my own time.
The entire purchase w/shipping was approx 35.00, my question is, is it worth the possible negative feedback to try and wait out the claim or should I just eat the cost and not look back. I just recently started selling on eBay this summer on my feedback is only 52, so I really can't afford a dissatisfied cust.
What would you do?

Sorry for the long winded post, I know this isn't an eBay problem solving forum but I appreciate any advice.

 

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[Minrelica]

My advice is to just drop it, if the Post Office refunds them fine but it will take a while.. let them keep the single boot, it will do you no good whatsoever. In the end, you may need to eat the $35 but it's not the end of the world. This doesn't happen all the time, actually very rarely. Just move forward and don't let it discourage you.

I know that others on here may disagree with not only that statement but my next as well...

I've been doing this a long time and I have NEVER purchased insurance on anything. There are 2 flags that bad seed buyers see when they get their package and they are A) No delivery confirmation? Hmmmmm... I'll just say I didn't get it = seller screwed... B) They see the box is stamped "Insured".. use your imagination on this one.

IMO delivery confirmation is enough to keep buyers honest for the most part.

p.s. They just earned a spot on your blocked buyers list

 

[DrtyRat]

My advice is to just drop it, if the Post Office refunds them fine but it will take a while.. let them keep the single boot, it will do you no good whatsoever. This doesn't happen all the time, actually very rarely. Just move forward and don't let it discourage you.

I know that others on here may disagree with not only that statement but my next as well...

I've been doing this a long time and I have NEVER purchased insurance on anything. There are 2 flags that bad seed buyers see when they get their package and they are A) No delivery confirmation? Hmmmmm... I'll just say I didn't get it = seller screwed... B) They see the box is stamped "Insured".. use your imagination on this one.

IMO delivery confirmation is enough to keep buyers honest for the most part.

I was kind of leaning that way. I've done too much research/reading about selling on eBay to let one bad experience sour me on it.

I guess my question is, can I make any claim on the insurance or is that solely for the buyer?

 

[Minrelica]

I was kind of leaning that way. I've done too much research/reading about selling on eBay to let one bad experience sour me on it.

I guess my question is, can I make any claim on the insurance or is that solely for the buyer?

I haven't had to make a USPS insurance claim but I'm guessing two things... one being that you'd have to bring the tracking number to the post office but then what? How do you prove it was damaged? You can't really unless the postman scanned it and made notes which he should be doing but often doesn't. It's worth a try.. The other thing is that It's probably gonna be a pain in the butt to sort this out, unfortunately... Perhaps someone else here has made a USPS claim but I've only had to make them through the larger carriers.. I wish you luck with sorting this out.

 

[clovis97]

What if you tell them that you'll give a full refund when they return the single boot?

 

[Minrelica]

What if you tell them that you'll give a full refund when they return the single boot?

Sounds good but then he owes them return postage on the single boot on top of the $35 since (if the buyer is being honest) they are not at fault, did not receive what they ordered and should not be out any money in the end.

 

[JCPLTAB]

First of all did you check on the number of purchases and sales your customer had made ? Second did you check their feed back ? I have been buying and selling on ebay for approx 7 yrs I have a feedback of 100% . I have made it a condition of sale that if you have a feedback of 97% or less do not bid as I will not sell . If the person has 5 sales or purchases or less do not bid . The only form of payment I accept is paypal .
I got stung early on and had to bite the bullet and take the hit but I also filed a complaint with ebay .
If you plan on buying and selling in any volume I guess you'll have to take the hit and file a claim with the PO , also inform ebay about the problem and if they payed with pay pal inform them.
It,s to bad you got had, but for the most part 98% of the people on ebay are good people, it's the 2% that screws it up... just like in life.
I hope I was of some help.
JCPLTAB

 

[DrtyRat]

What if you tell them that you'll give a full refund when they return the single boot?

They were adamant that the boot wouldn't be returned until there is a refund issued. I doubt I'll ever see the boot. I'll chalk it up to the price of doing business.

 

[DrtyRat]

First of all did you check on the number of purchases and sales your customer had made ? Second did you check their feed back ? I have been buying and selling on ebay for approx 7 yrs I have a feedback of 100% . I have made it a condition of sale that if you have a feedback of 97% or less do not bid as I will not sell . If the person has 5 sales or purchases or less do not bid . The only form of payment I accept is paypal .
I got stung early on and had to bite the bullet and take the hit but I also filed a complaint with ebay .
If you plan on buying and selling in any volume I guess you'll have to take the hit and file a claim with the PO , also inform ebay about the problem and if they payed with pay pal inform them.
It,s to bad you got had, but for the most part 98% of the people on ebay are good people, it's the 2% that screws it up... just like in life.
I hope I was of some help.
JCPLTAB

I appreciate all advice.
The buyer has 100% feedback. With ebay's policy that a seller can't leave negative feedback it's kind of hard to tell if someone is shady. I've been in the retail business for 20yrs so I realize that most people are honest, but. It's always the bad ones that stick with you. I'll make it up somewhere else.

 

[GibH]

Default refund policy on an auction is:
•All returns accepted
•Your buyer should contact you within 14 Days after receiving the item.
•Refund given as Money Back.
•Return shipping will be paid by your buyer.
•Additional return policy details: None

 

[cheese]

If you don't refund him, he will open a case against you and your money will be taken anyway, plus you will get neg feedback. The insurance was purchased by YOU, and you are the only one who can claim it. The only time I had to worry with making an insurance claim, the post office picked up the damaged item from the customer at no charge to me. They then examined it to determine who's fault it was and went from there. The customer got reimbursed as soon as we found out what to do from the PO. How would you expect to be treated and what kind of feedback would you leave if a seller did this to you?

 

[Iron Patch]

The first mistake you made, and even though it's hard to say no, by sending to an address that is not their Paypal confirmed address I believe instantly puts you on the hook no matter what. Between that, and the gut feeling you had, would probably have made me take a serious look and more thought, but it is tough because you are wide open to negative even if they don't like what you say. As for the insurance, if USPS is like Canada Post you need the buyer to participate in the claim, and obviously no one committing fraud is going to start signing papers on your behalf. Perhaps there is another format with the postal service when it is a fraud, but hard to say for sure that is what's going on here.

If I were you I would refund the money right away and at the same time tell them you're doing them a favor, and you will be the one who waits for the claim money. You then start the process, and if they need to be contacted, so be it... just see what happens. Actually I should correct what I said, if it were me I would refund, block them, and move on. But for me a $35 sale is pretty small in the big picture so pretty easy to walk away from. I wouldn't file a claim for $35 even for a legitimate loss because it's just a pain to deal with. I should really change that and make every dollar count, but I like putting crap behind me fast.

 

[Minrelica]

Default refund policy on an auction is:
•All returns accepted
•Your buyer should contact you within 14 Days after receiving the item.
•Refund given as Money Back.
•Return shipping will be paid by your buyer.
•Additional return policy details: None

look at it this way... You buy a pair of shoes from me for $20, I mail them to you but you only receive 1 of the shoes.. In order to get your $20 refund you'll have to pay..lets say $7.00 to return the single shoe. After the refund, you end up with $7 less than you started with and for absolutely nothing. If you did not get what you purchased you should not be out any money, period. This is what separates me from the rest of the pack... Over 14+ years I've given out around 5 refunds, never asked for the item back and 2 people actually resent payment to me because one of them fixed their item and the other resold theirs.

Also, you need to be realistic about the "buyer pays return shipping". If its your mistake, you pay... If they decide they just don't like something then they pay. I worked as an eBay specialist at a used auto parts store and on occasion the buyer would receive the wrong part in the mail which was our mistake... Company policy was that "customer pays return shipping" which is total BS in that case.. Since the items were all shipped UPS, FedEx and courier, the proper thing to do was issue a call tag and have the item picked up from them. Some of the items are very heavy and could put them back $30 or more and end up with nothing in the end. They also won't be back.

Put yourself in the buyers position, that may be you some day.

 

[Ursus]

I would call eBay and just ask them to look it over. They can look at the buyer's history and especially the messages to make sure they did not cross a line "give me all the money plus shipping first or I will give negative feedback" type of thing. You can pay them off and end it but the negative may still come. You can reply to the negative comment but still that mark is there and early on, is does really affect your scoring. I had the same type of thing happen during my first six months but it has dropped off now, I have 324 positive feedbacks, score of 100% and top seller plus status. I have bent over backwards a couple times since, and the possible negatives were given as neutrals.

I have had one USPS shipping claim and that was initiated by the buyer. USPS mailed me a letter about it asking for proof of shipment (it had tracking ... WTH?). The other was through eBay's insurance. That is all done by the seller (me) but went fast.

Hopefully they will give no feedback or, at worse, give a neutral. Overall the pluses outweigh the minuses on eBay.

 

[Iron Patch]

look at it this way... You buy a pair of shoes from me for $20, I mail them to you but you only receive 1 of the shoes.. In order to get your $20 refund you'll have to pay..lets say $7.00 to return the single shoe. After the refund, you end up with $7 less than you started with and for absolutely nothing. If you did not get what you purchased you should not be out any money, period. This is what separates me from the rest of the pack... Over 14+ years I've given out around 5 refunds, never asked for the item back and 2 people actually resent payment to me because one of them fixed their item and the other resold theirs.

Also, you need to be realistic about the "buyer pays return shipping". If its your mistake, you pay... If they decide they just don't like something then they pay. I worked as an eBay specialist at a used auto parts store and on occasion the buyer would receive the wrong part in the mail which was our mistake... Company policy was that "customer pays return shipping" which is total BS in that case.. Since the items were all shipped UPS, FedEx and courier, the proper thing to do was issue a call tag and have the item picked up from them. Some of the items are very heavy and could put them back $30 or more and end up with nothing in the end. They also won't be back.

Put yourself in the buyers position, that may be you some day.

I've run into this a couple times because I buy a lot of inexpensive items and pay near as much for shipping as the selling price. Some sellers will try to get away with a little, thinking .... if the buyer doesn't like it they can just send it back. But they don't realize sending the thing both ways has me out just as much money as what the stupid thing cost. The last time I had this happen was just buying something to keep, a pair of gym pants. They were only like $25, and another $12 or so coming from Europe. So I get them and they are used not new, and the seller says just to return them... well not so easy! What I did was explained exactly what the problem was, and who created the problem, and who was not going to be out a penny for getting caught up in this.... that person being me! In the end he gave me 100% refund and I kept the pants. The funny part is stupid me didn't look at the length and they were way too long, so I threw them aside for a week. But then when I was deciding what to do with the things a closer inspection clearly showed they were used, and gave me my opening to get out of it. I bet there's tons of very good condition used clothing being sold as new without the tags, and quite honestly I don't blame them for doing it.... just make sure the item is mint!

 

[DrtyRat]

Most of the advice just reenforced what I was thinking. I refunded the buyer this morning and they seem satisfied....let's see how the feed back goes. I will just have them keep the boot(s?!?!)

 

[Minrelica]

Most of the advice just reenforced what I was thinking. I refunded the buyer this morning and they seem satisfied....let's see how the feed back goes. I will just have them keep the boot(s?!?!)

Yes, let it go, block them and move on. Things will get better.

 

[diggummup]

Most of the advice just reenforced what I was thinking. I refunded the buyer this morning and they seem satisfied....let's see how the feed back goes. I will just have them keep the boot(s?!?!)

Sellers worrying about negative feedback is how these people get away with this crap.

 

[Minrelica]

Sellers worrying about negative feedback is how these people get away with this crap.

I totally agree but sometimes you just gotta let it go. I gave an $80 refund and knew that the buyer was full of crap... Problem was that the correspondence was through my personal email and not through eBay messaging so there's no way I could prove the extortion, which it was. I've never really feared negative feedback but I could tell that this guy was a piece of work and it wasn't worth ruining my reputation over. That's a whole other thread which I may share some time. Besides, I bought the item for $5 and sold it for $80 so... oh well.

It was a sad, sad day when eBay decided to "protect the buyer" by giving them immunity from negative feedback. We are eBay's employees, the playing field should be level.

 

[GibH]

look at it this way... You buy a pair of shoes from me for $20, I mail them to you but you only receive 1 of the shoes.. In order to get your $20 refund you'll have to pay..lets say $7.00 to return the single shoe. After the refund, you end up with $7 less than you started with and for absolutely nothing. If you did not get what you purchased you should not be out any money, period. This is what separates me from the rest of the pack... Over 14+ years I've given out around 5 refunds, never asked for the item back and 2 people actually resent payment to me because one of them fixed their item and the other resold theirs.

Also, you need to be realistic about the "buyer pays return shipping". If its your mistake, you pay... If they decide they just don't like something then they pay. I worked as an eBay specialist at a used auto parts store and on occasion the buyer would receive the wrong part in the mail which was our mistake... Company policy was that "customer pays return shipping" which is total BS in that case.. Since the items were all shipped UPS, FedEx and courier, the proper thing to do was issue a call tag and have the item picked up from them. Some of the items are very heavy and could put them back $30 or more and end up with nothing in the end. They also won't be back.

Put yourself in the buyers position, that may be you some day.

That has been me. Still, you stated seller the would owe the return shipping. That simply isn't true. It might be your opinion and the way you see it, but it isn't a fact. I have issued a couple of refunds and you can't even include return shipping. I ended up having to go through paypal to do it.