Archive for the ‘unhappy buyer’ Category

Dear eBay Queen:

I bought an item two weeks ago. After two days I noticed that the seller hadn’t marked the item shipped, and there was not a delivery confirmation number on my purchasing history page.  I sent the seller a message asking when I would receive my item.  She emailed me back to say she had lost it, and would try to find it so she could send it to me. She then asked me if I wanted a refund.  I replied that I did not want a refund since she said that she would find it soon.

Several days went by. I sent her a message asking for details about the item and what had happened, she did not reply. I sent her another message two days later asking the same thing. She rudely replied and told me to stop emailing her about the status on the item constantly. We got into a little argument, and she offered to send me a check and I refused and told her to put the money back in my card, but she hasn’t. It’s been a week, and I have not received anything. I sent her a polite message two days ago and no reply. Should I warn her that I am going to file a claim? What should I do?

Don

Dear Don:

I can’t believe that this seller would not update you herself! She’s the one in the wrong. I’m assuming, since you said she needed to put this back on your card, that you paid with PayPal, right?  I would send her one more email and ask for the money to be refunded through PayPal.  Do not threaten with a claim, feedback or anything else.  Just be professional and kind.  If she does not send the money back within 24 hours I would then file a claim.

If you do end up filing a claim, make sure you are professional and polite on the claim. eBay reviews the claims and I would not want anyone to have any ammunition to use against you.

Dear eBay Queen:

I won an auction last Friday morning.  Within 2 hours of winning, the seller sent message stating “Please check out now or I will relist.” As a seller myself, I found this to be unprofessional and rude.  I am a brand new customer for them and giving them my business.  On Saturday morning, I received another email saying if I don’t pay for the item today, that she/he will relist”. Again, it had not even been 16 hours.

I am wondering the best way to handle this.  I paid for the items in a timely manner, about 18 hours after the auction was over.  As a seller myself, I would not want to wait for payment so I do my best to pay ASAP, and I think 18 hours after the sale ended was fast.  I am just taken aback by the rudeness of the seller’s emails – not a thank you for purchasing or reminder to pay…pretty much a pay or else….

Is it worth it to leave neutral feedback, (once I receive the item and it is as described of course) – I mean the experience was not pleasant at all.  What would appropriate feedback and DSR’s be to leave for this transaction?  I’m thinking I should hit the DSR’s hard, especially the communications DSR. The DSR’s seem more important to eBay’s computers than feedback. Do you have any suggestions?

Michelle

Dear Michelle:

Before I would leave feedback I would check out his seller terms and contact him.

• What do their terms say?  Does it say it needs to be paid for the moment you win the auction?  I agree, this guy is jumping the gun a bit. 
• Have you contacted him and asked him why he was sending these emails when 24 hours hadn’t even passed?

I probably would do that before I gave him the neutral.  Another thing I would do is contact eBay to let them know that this guy is demanding buyers pay immediately, and sending threatening emails.

I’m not sure what type of feedback I would leave.  I would probably ding his communication star for his inability to communicate.  I don’t know that I would leave a neutral or a negative feedback.  Whatever feedback you do leave I would make sure it is clear and to the point.  “Item arrived in perfect condition. Seller demanded I pay minutes after the sale or else”

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 160898864420. I have never been one to decorate for Thanksgiving.  I wish I was so I could have a few of these to sell!  Check out this Simpich Character Doll Thanksgiving Indian.  SOLD $527.00. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Simpich-Character-Dolls-Thanksgiving-Pilgrims-and-Indians-Indian-Boy-/160898864420

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.

Dear eBay Queen:

I am so mad and frustrated right now that I could spit nails.  I sell new makeup that I either purchase on sale, or buy from a wholesaler. I’ve done pretty well with selling makeup until recently.  I’ve had a slew of buyers that think my makeup is for them to just “try out” and then send back!  My current problem is a buyer that after buying foundation from me, sent an email 20 days later saying she did not like it and it was broken.  I emailed her immediately after that email and said the following:

Thank you so much for letting me know there was a problem.  I am so sorry your foundation does not match your skin tone. When you say it was broken, do you mean the bottle is broken or maybe the brush applicator? As per my listing I do have a 14 day return policy, but I would like for you to be happy, so if you would like to send it back, I will be happy to refund your money, and not apply my return policy to this listing.

Here’s the letter I received in response to that, I left all the spelling errors in there for your reading pleasure.

Dear idioit;

Congradulation in successfully making me angry. What the hell has happened to customer service these days?  I have thrown away your make up as it was BROKEN.  Don’t you understand that? Some sellers will do anything to take advantage of a buyer! If it was B R O K E N why would I send it back to you? Can’t you just make an insurance claim or SOM THING? What is wrong with you? You need to refund my money immedatly or I will be leaving the feedback and it won’t be positive!

I contacted eBay and asked them what to do.  eBay’s customer service told me that since it was makeup and she used it, I did not have to refund her money.  I contacted the buyer back, and told her what eBay told me.  She then gave me a negative feedback.

Her feedback complaint read: “MakeUp tOo LiGhT Seller sTooPiD I tHrew AwAy Not a ReFunD GiVen” (yes, it looks just like this)

I called eBay back, and they told me it was not eligible for removal.  I don’t understand, how I followed what eBay told me to do, and they will not remove the negative! Why am I being punished?

Harriet, Gardner

Dear Harriet:

If your email wasn’t so true it would be funny. The buyer didn’t spell “idiot” or “stupid” right, which seems like irony to me, plus her statement “Congradulation in successfully making me angry.” Sounds like something The Hulk would say, “You don’t want to make the Hulk angry.”

Based upon her statement; “You need to refund my money immedatly or I will be leaving the feedback and it won’t be positive!” I believe that would be considered feedback extortion.  I would contact eBay again by phone, and point that out in her email to you.  They should remove the negative right away.

I am sorry that not only were you abused by your buyer, but in a way you were mislead by eBay’s Seller Support.  The CS representative should have told you that even by following their instructions you could still receive negative feedback, but you would not be in violation of any of eBay’s policies. This is one of the ridiculous things about eBay.  You can be COMPLETELY in the right and still receive a negative feedback.  I’m pretty sure your negative will be removed, but if for some reason it’s not, rest in the knowledge that this negative feedback only makes you look good, and the buyer look ridiculous.

Dear eBay Queen:

I am hoping to bid on a trailer today but I have become concerned because the seller has not responded to multiple emails I have sent him over the past few days. He has a zero rating, so maybe is new to eBay- but also maybe something’s wrong? What should I do?

Antonia

Dear Antonia:

If the seller isn’t responding to you, I would not purchase from them, especially on something as expensive as a trailer.  There is always the possibility that there was an emergency in the sellers family etc, but when it comes to large purchases if I can’t get a hold of the seller, I will not make the purchase.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 300690552662 Summer is coming and those herbs aren’t going to dry themselves! Check out this Antique 18^th Century Iron Utensil or Herb Rack great Curled Heart Design. SOLD $710.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item46028db756&item=300690552662

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.

Dear eBay Queen:

I purchased a pair of Converse tennis shoes for my son.  When I received them, I realized that they were not a men’s size 8, but a women’s size 8.   They were listed by the seller in the men’s category and a size 8.  I contacted the seller and asked to return them, as they were not what I expected.  I didn’t hear back from the seller for several days, when she finally responded she sent this email:

“Hi, it’s pretty clear these are a size 8, it says so in the shoe! I don’t understand why you want to return these, as they are as described.  Go ahead and send them back, but I am not going to be happy about this.”

• I mailed the shoes January 16^th with a delivery confirmation.
• I show she received the shoes back on the 20^th of January.
• I emailed on the 22^nd.  No answer.
• I emailed again on the 27^th and 31^st.  No answer.
• I opened a claim on February 3^rd.  She finally responded with this.

“What is your problem lady? Don’t you know what patience are? You’ll get your money, when I’m ready to send it back.  Thanks a lot for wearing the shoe for a month before sending them back. I can’t wait to leave you negative feedback.”

What is she talking about?  I received the shoes on 3 days before I sent them back, and there was a weekend in those 3 days!  I’m not the best eBayer, but even I know that a seller can’t leave negative feedback for a buyer anymore!  What would you do in a situation like this?

Randy, Ottawa, Ks

Dear Randy:

I would ignore all communication outside of the PayPal with this Seller.  Has the seller responded to your PayPal claim?  They only have  a few days to respond to the claim and then you will be able to close the case in your favor.  Have you entered in your delivery confirmation # on the PayPal site so that PayPal knows your seller has received your item back?  If not, make sure you do that immediately.

I am really sorry that you’ve been treated this way.  The good news is that you will receive your money back through PayPal, and you won’t receive any kind of strike or negative feedback from this seller.   The seller however, will have a ding against their account for having a case and not responding before it was closed.

Dear eBay Queen:

I have been selling on eBay for years just here and there. I decided to come back and try to sell full time due to my husband losing his job. I’ve posted about 100 items, and my fees are over $80. I opened a store in the hopes that would help offset some of the fees.

I haven’t had any big ticket items because I just don’t have the money to buy anything that has a high return. I’ve been selling stuff around the house, but I’m not making any money. It’s all going for fees. Can you help me understand how to go about making money? I thought I was making a little profit, but I found out that I wasn’t it. I’ve put all this work into listing and I’ve got nothing to show for it. What do I need to do?

Jan

Dear Jan:

Sometimes it takes a little help to get your selling off to the right start. Are you posting 100 items a month?  If so, a store is probably not the right way to go.  Non store owners get 50 free listings a month.  Sometimes eBay even runs 2 or 3 promotional specials each month, that will give you even more free auction listings.

I have also found that for the most part items do not get multiple bids like they used to, so you need to set your start price high enough to cover your expenses and make a profit. I used to start all my items at 99 cents to reduce fees and entice bidding.  Back then I almost never took a loss, but in today’s economy it is pretty risky to do.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 180751971872 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page.  Do you have any old election buttons? Check out this Franklin Roosevelt 1932 Campaign Button. SOLD $6158.92 HERE

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul, Kansas.