Posts Tagged ‘Negative Feedback’

Dear eBay Queen:

I recently sold a guitar amp on eBay for right around $1600. It is a good amp and is no longer made so it has become somewhat collectible. I packed it with the utmost care, even removing the tubes and packing them in a separate little box. I was a bit leery of the buyer to start with because he had a few negative feedbacks. He was at 98.3%, so I ignored it.

So he receives the amp about two weeks ago, and he emailed me today saying the speaker is blown and two tubes are broken. I was surprised about the tubes because I packed it so well. The speaker being blown was a red light for me because I knew that it was not. So, I reply saying the amp was perfect when it left my possession and if there was any damage it would be a shipper problem (the amp was insured).

Without any further communication, or waiting for me to respond, he opened a PayPal dispute. In the dispute, he was requesting a refund of $65. I did not know or understand what was going to happen next! PayPal immediately froze my account for the full amount of the auction. My account is frozen and the $1600 is no longer mine. If it were frozen for $65 I would have fought this scammer right in PayPal, but, I had more auctions closing and I wanted my account clear to get those funds. I refunded the $65 with a note saying he needs to return the “blown” speaker. I EVEN OFFERED TO PAY RETURN SHIPPING. I contact him a week later asking for a tracking number for the speaker. He replied stating he hasn’t shipped the speaker, but what carrier do I want to use. I reply. A week later, and I’ve still heard nothing. I inquire and he replied, saying he must have thrown away the speaker. Well, now I know for sure that he was lying from day one! The last email I sent him just asked for a simple picture of the new speaker in the amp. Of course he replied saying “I don’t have access to a camera.”

Sorry for the long post. I know that I am screwed out of the $65 and that is fine. I am just hoping that you can help me figure out what to do next.  I’m sure that this isn’t the first person to try this partial refund scam. It has happened a few times with guitars and pickups. But, this is the first time PayPal’s policies have screwed me, the seller. I have always and will always be honest and willing to make good on any real issues when I sell things. Unfortunately, there are people out there who are taking advantage of eBay’s new no feedback for buyers from the seller and PayPal’s total buyer protection policy.  What should I do?

Pat

Dear Pat:

I don’t think you’ve been scammed, although I think the buyer should have explained what he wanted upfront without the PayPal claim.  If I had to guess what happened, I imagine that your tubes arrived broken, and the buyer took the $65.00 you refunded to buy more tubes.  You received your 1600.00 (less the $65.00) back from PayPal right? Why would the guy send you back the product and let you keep the majority of the money?  I believe this situation worked out pretty well.  In almost any other scenario you could have been out the $1600.00, shipping, and have a broken item.

If you should ever have situation like this again, I would contact PayPal and see if they can clear up any confusion you might have regarding the transaction.  Another thing you might want to consider is that PayPal didn’t freeze your whole account; they just placed a hold on that transaction.  That particular hold would not affect any other transaction you might have.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 221157728205 (enter this number in the eBay search box in the top right corner of the home page) Do you smoke a pipe? I’m not sure why this one sold for 15,000 dollars, but it did.  Check out this 1988 Bo Nordh Pipe Smoked slightly Used. SOLD $15000.00 http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-Bo-Nordh-pipe-Smoked-slightly-used-/221157728205

Suzie Eads is a nationally known eBay marketer and eBay trained Education Specialist. She lives in Rantoul. Do you have a question for the eBay Queen? Email: questions@asktheebayqueen.com

Dear eBay Queen:

I must be completely missing something. I just received a negative feedback. The buyer never contacted me about an issue, just wrote in the feedback that the item was damaged, so it wasn’t as pictured.  Well of course it’s not as pictured, it broke during shipping! I don’t know how to avoid getting these surprise negatives from people that don’t even give me a chance to fix problems. I shipped the item Fed-Ex so it was insured.  Have you been experiencing this unfair negative feedback lately? I have had 2 in the last month!

I am also having issues with duplicate listings.  I wish eBay would find a way to help us eliminate duplicate listings before they occur. For example, once an item is sold, it still remains in the unsold list and can get relisted accidentally in a bulk relist. I actually sold an item twice last week that way. But eBay could provide a check on the relist pages to weed out duplicates, right? Once an item is sold delete it from unsold items automatically, or reduce the quantity by one? At the very least, they could provide a warning if an item is being relisted that has already or recently sold. What are your thoughts on this?

Deanna

Dear Deanna:

I’m a little superstitious talking about not receiving negative feedback. I’ve always thought that negatives were a lot like famous people dying, they seem to come in threes.  In the old days a negative was the end of the world.  Now on the new eBay you and your buyer can mutually agree to remove it.

In this situation I would email your buyer and contact Fed-Ex.  I’ve not used Fed-Ex’s insurance, so I am not sure how it works.  I would first contact them and see what the process is; then contact your buyer and apologize all over yourself and tell her what Fed-Ex is doing for her claim.  Once she’s received the refund, ask if she will agree to remove the negative.  Hopefully she will.

I wish I had an answer to the duplicate listing issue.  I have a listing program, and still have issues with it.

Dear eBay Queen:

This is my worst eBay selling experience so far… I have 270+ (100%) feedback.  I sold a brand new PSP. The lady sent it to her brother as a birthday gift. The brother complained that the item has dead or stuck pixels and he wants an exchange or a refund.

I sent some emails telling the lady that a few stuck pixels are normal and I sent some links that describe the issue and how they can sometimes be fixed.

The lady opened a PayPal claim and said this:

I paid for a PSP in NEW condition for my brother for Christmas and I expect it to work. Instead, it has broken pixels and this is not acceptable. My brother has attempted all of the alleged “fixes” that you sent and none of them has resolved the problem. I wish I had never done business with you in the first place. Either refund my money or exchange the PSP for one that works.
I emailed her a link for the product’s user manual which clearly states that a few stuck or dead pixels is not considered a defect and is normal. I also told her that if her complaint is different what is described as being normal, we can try to work something out.

Here’s the response that I get: I have sent a request to my brother to take a picture of the screen so that we can see how bad it is. The bottom line is that the only “buyer’s remorse” that I have is buying from you on eBay. If I would have bought the PSP locally in a store I could have returned it and exchanged it no questions asked. Instead, I get this hassle. This has ruined my Christmas experience with my brother. If you would have disclosed the fact that this is pixel problem is common in PSP’s I never would have bought this. I will have to check in to eBay’s seller integrity standards before I feel safe shopping online again.
Apparently, I ruined her brother’s Christmas. What should I do now?

Erin

Dear Erin:

I would make sure that you have a link to what Sony says about their product when it is new, on the PayPal dispute.  It probably would not hurt to contact PayPal via phone to discuss the case with them.  Since she opened a SNAD (significantly not described case), I would push the fact that the item was as described by the manufacturers own guidelines.  Make sure you point out links to where Sony’s guidelines are for this PSP.  I would emphasize the item was properly described since stuck pixels are considered normal according to the owner’s manual.  Keep in mind, I don’t run PayPal.  In this case I would probably ask the buyer to return the item in its original packaging, and then give them a refund.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 170900333954. It’s that time of year again! Time to put up Christmas decorations! Did you know vintage Christmas items sell? Check out this:  Vintage Poloron Christmas Reindeer Blow Mold Deer Fawn Complete Original Box.  SOLD: $1000.00.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Poloron-Christmas-Reindeer-Blow-Mold-Deer-Fawn-Complete-Original-Box-/170900333954

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

Dear eBay Queen:

I have read your article for years. I have taken a class you have given and even spoke to you at Wal-Mart for about selling stuff on eBay.  I know you have said that you don’t let buyers pick up stuff from your house.  I did not follow your directions, so my story will start out this way: I let this buyer picked up the item she purchased on eBay from my house.  She bought a large vintage glass punch bowl, stand and ladle. Get this, she even came to my house and inspected it before she bid!

She ended up being the high bidder, paid with PayPal, came over and got the item, and took it home. About 2 hours after she came to my house, she emailed me thru the eBay message system stating that she broke the base while cleaning it and “please don’t take offense,” but she was going to open a case that the item was significantly not as described, if I didn’t issue her a refund or at least a discount.  I really thought she was joking.  I sent her a very nice email and explained that I was not able to accept a return or give her a refund since she stated she BROKE the item.

Afterwards, I did my homework and contacted both PayPal and eBay. Both parties advised me that I did nothing wrong and to recommend that the buyer file a dispute. I asked how the dispute process works with both PayPal AND eBay. BOTH parties stated that if the case was decided in MY favor, she would be refused a refund and get to keep the item. If the case was decided in HER favor, she would have to return the item to me. After I received the item, I would have to issue her a full refund.
She filed a dispute with eBay this morning. I responded that I was not able to issue a refund for an item that she broke once she got it to her home. Now what do I do?  Do you think eBay will issue her a full refund, allow her to keep the item, AND she will still be able to leave me negative feedback?  How is that fair to a seller that did absolutely nothing wrong?? I will be so ticked if she wins this claim.  The message that is being sent to the buyer is that they can buy whatever they want, file a claim, get a full refund, get to keep the perfectly good item, and get to leave negative feedback

Here’s the funny thing, we discussed you before she left my house!  So maybe she’s reading this article!  Do you have any advice for us?

Sad Seller; Wellsville, KS

Dear Seller:

Holy Smokes!  This is a horrible thing for this buyer to do!  I can’t believe she broke the item and thinks she can blackmail you to get you to refund her money!  I would immediately contact eBay’s customer support, and have them review the email she sent where she said she broke the base and was going to file a claim. If they don’t give you advice on what to do with the claim, I would escalate it.  Make sure before you escalate the claim you refer to the eBay message where she made the threat.  I’m sure her claim will be denied.  When it comes to feedback, I’m not sure what they will do about that.  I would ask the eBay rep what they can do to help you if she leaves negative feedback.

My advice for your buyer is this:  eBay is not Nordstrom’s, Wal-Mart or Macy’s.  No matter how hard eBay tries to make it that way, behind each sale is a REAL person: A real person that is trying to support a family, or raise extra money to pay for braces, or school supplies.  You are not returning something to a huge corporation; you are returning it to an individual that is paying for your mistake.  While we are on the subject of your mistake: you broke this base, the seller did not.  Do the right thing, the honest thing. Admit you are at fault for breaking the base and cancel the dispute.  I hope you realize that I would not condone this if you were returning this to a big name department store.  Either way it is dishonest.  You broke the item and want the seller to pay for your mistake. Once you cancel the dispute, call some of the local antique shops and see if you can find a matching base for your new punch bowl.

I hope this works out for both of you.

Strange eBay item of the week: eBay item: 170865128191 Do you love the Olympics as much as I do?  Would you like to own a piece of Olympic history?  Check out this 1948 Olympic Games Original Torch SOLD 10,308.25 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item27c85af2ff&item=170865128191

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