Tag Archives: Dear eBay Queen

Dear eBay Queen: The Buyer Want a Partial Refund!

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Dear eBay Queen:

I sell refurbished Video Cassette Recorders or VCRS.  I’ve been in the business of doing this for quite some time.  I inadvertently purchased an old storage locker owned by an electronics dealer, or some guy that collected the stuff. I have more parts and belts that you can imagine!  I sold a very nice VCR to yet another dis-satisfied customer!  The VCR had a missing front cover.  This was pictured and listed in the description.  I did find a replacement cover for the opening and put it on the VCR, and sent it to my buyer, and sent them the following email:

“Good News! I found a part for your VCR and it now has a cover.  I have attached it and I am sending it to you. Thank you for your purchase!”

I received this message from him:

“I received the VCR, and it does not have a front cover! I wish I knew before buying it.  I paid a lot of money for this as a gift for my kids so they can watch all of the old movies I have.  I can’t believe I was hustled like this! I want a partial refund!”

I messaged him back:

“I am confused.  My listings and pictures stated it did not have the front cover, but I found one, and put it on for you. I even sent you a message that I was going to put it on for you.  Have you opened the package to see that? Please advise how you’d like to proceed.”

He responds back.

“Well, I guess you advertised this incorrectly. What are you going to do to rectify this?”

I message him back:

“I don’t understand.  Do you want the VCR with the cover or do you want a partial refund, no matter the condition of the item?”

He responds:

“I paid too much and I want a partial refund. DUH! Either figure out how to rectify this problem or  I will need to report this. To PayPal and eBay.”

So, eBay Queen – how do I handle this buyer?  I reviewed his feedback and he leaves about 12% negative feedback for the items he buys.

TS..

 

Dear TS:  

It almost sounds like this guy does this kind of thing all the time; buys and item and then demands a partial refund.  It in this situation, I would message the buyer a message similar to this:

“I am so sorry this item is not what you expected. I do not give partial refunds, however I would be happy to refund your money once the item is sent back.  Please send it back in the original packaging with insurance to: YOUR NAME and ADDRESS HERE.”

If the buyer tries to engage you in any other conversation or threats, contact eBay.  I would also go ahead and report the buyer through the “report buyer” link and contact eBay via phone to let them know what is going on.  Unfortunately I don’t think they can actually do anything to this buyer until after he makes good on his threat.

If you have not already done it, I would add a little blurb to your refund policy that you do not give partial refunds, only full refunds once the item is sent back.  Selling electronics on eBay is a tricky business to be in.  Most buyers are honest and good, but sometimes you’ll find a few that might take advantage of you. I have a friend that sells electronics, and he puts stickers on his items that say ‘once removed returns not accepted.’

I am sure that this buyer has a bit of feedback extortion in their message, and if they leave feedback that says the item is not described, it will be removed because you did describe it correctly. You even improved the item!

ebayvideorecorder

 

Strange eBay item of the Week: Item #182072707410. We’ve been looking into purchasing a VCR to watch all of our old VHS’s. They seem to be selling for varying prices on eBay. This one is one of the most expensive listings I noticed in my search. Sony SVO 5800 VCR VHS SVHS Industrial Works Great SOLD: $699.00.

 

 

 

 

Dear eBay Queen: Let Me Show You How to Cancel an eBay Transaction

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Dear eBay Queen:

March 29th  I purchased a Nintendo DS XL for my granddaughter.  I figured out about 10 minutes after I bought it that it was not the newest model. I messaged the seller to let them know that I wanted to cancel the transaction, and I received this message from them:

“Geez lady! I’m not selling this stuff for my health! Shouldn’t you know what you’re purchasing before you purchase it! I don’t really want to cancel the transaction.  Why don’t you purchase it and sell it yourself?  I see you are a seller!  That’s probably what you are going to do anyway since you got this one so cheap!”

I didn’t respond, I just paid for the item, and went and bought my granddaughter the one she wanted on Target.com.  Later in the day the seller sent me this message:

“Way to go! You’ve paid for the item.  I’ll ship it out in the next couple of days.”

I received the Nintendo DS that I purchased from the eBay Seller, and I immediately put it on eBay, and sold it for $20.00 more than I paid!

This last week a buyer purchased a Fiesta sugar, creamer and coffee pot from me on eBay.  They messaged me this before she paid:

“Hi, I have been wanting to complete my set for years.  I just found out my daughter in law purchased a set for me for Mother’s Day.  Would there be any way that I could cancel this transaction?  If not, I completely understand. I had no idea that my daughter in law would do something this wonderful for me.  I guess she does listen to me when I talk!”

I messaged the buyer back telling them no problem, and then I cancelled their transaction.  The buyer sent the following message to me:

“Thank you so much! I was so afraid to write you.  I buy a few things a month on eBay, and I’ve never asked to cancel a transaction. I have heard some nightmare stories from other people about how sellers are not nice to buyers.  You have changed my mind.  Thank you so much for doing this for me.  I really appreciate your kindness, and I will be looking at your other Fiesta Ware items.”

I’m a seller, and I understand it is disappointing to lose a sale, but why are other sellers so rude?

Jill

Dear Jill:

It is disappointing to lose a sale, but it is more disappointing to lose a customer.  I think you did the right thing on both issues.  What kind of feedback did you leave the seller that was rude?  I think I would have said. “Tried to cancel purchase. Seller refused. I sold for more money.”

Thanks for being a good example of what a buyer and seller should be on eBay.

 

Dear eBay Queen:

I sell mostly children’s clothing, and I ship them in either Tyvek or plastic bags.  A buyer sent me a message saying they cut the shirt when the opened the package, and asked I would replace it.  I told her I was sorry, but I could not replace the item.  She responded with this:

“What kind of seller are you? The envelopes you use need a scissor to open the package, so it is your fault that I cut the package! You need to use different envelopes or fold your products better. I think you should give me a full refund, or at least split the costs with me. I will NEVER buy anything from you. I will tell all my friends not to buy anything either!  You can guess what kind of feedback comment you will be giving me.”

What should I do?  Do you think I should actually give this woman back her money?  I called eBay, and I was told that what she said was feedback extortion and if she leaves the feedback they will remove it.  They did not give me any advice about the refund.

CP
Dear CP:

I would not give her back her money.  She admitted she cut the item when she opened the package.  If she had not admitted to it, and just said there was a cut in the item when she received it that would be a different story.  You would be forced to refund her money.

In a situation like this I would block her, and watch for her negative.  Once she leaves it call eBay and they will remove it.

spidermancomic

Strange eBay Item of the Week: Item #281747980393: Comic books are really collectible.  When it’s the right one, it’s worth a lot of money.  Check out this one! Amazing Fantasy #15 CGC 4.0 SS Stan Lee Signed 1st Appearance of Spider-Man!  SOLD: $85000.00.

 

Dear eBay Queen: I have an International Shipping Problem

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Dear

eBay Queen:

I have an international shipping problem with a costume jewelry necklace earring, bracelet and ring set I sold on eBay. I’m hoping you can me with this. The set is by a famous maker, and I sold it for $450.00.

I sold the jewelry on September 16th, and shipped it using eBay/PayPal international shipping with tracking. The buyer has opened and WON the claim saying they never received the item. I have called and gone into my local post office, and I have called USPS help line. They have told me to NEVER ship things through eBay and PayPal.

I am really upset. I thought PayPal always supplied tracking and protection through the transaction for both buyer and seller, but I guess not for international sales.   My postmaster has told me that the tracking number is just a number for the customs form. My postmaster says the number DOES get updated, but the USPS help line says NEVER will it be updated.

I called eBay, and they were very sympathetic to my issue, but they said they have to side with the buyer because the buyer says that it was not received AND that I have no tracking to prove it. They told me I should be enrolled into the global shipping program and I WOULD be protected. I have no control over the tracking being updated and now it cannot be tracked at all. What can I do? The buyer has been refunded for the jewelry but I don’t have the jewelry back!

I have called PayPal, they told me if I could prove the buyer had the item, that they would refund my money. I have messaged the buyer, but they say it has not been received. Do you know of anything else I can do to get my money or the item? Am I just out this money?

Sadie T

Dear Sadie:

I think you just might be out the money. PayPal should come with some kind of warning when it comes to international shipping. When I need to ship something high dollar to another country, I always bring the package to the post office. I make sure I can add signature confirmation and insurance to the package. The only real way to do that is at the post office.

Just because the post office and I both said you are out the item and the money, doesn’t mean you should give up. If the country you sent this too is an English speaking country, I would call their postal system/customs and try to locate it that way also. It would not hurt to call USPS once a week and see if they have an update. This was an expensive lesson to learn. I am so sorry that you had to learn it this way.

 

Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve been selling for 4 years, and have always had a “no returns” policy. I guess I’ve just been lucky, because I’ve never had someone that needed to return their item. Last week I had a buyer tell me their North Face jacket that they purchased 29 days ago did not fit, and they wanted to return it. I sent them a message and told them that I do not accept returns. They didn’t message me back, but this week they opened a return request. Now what do I do?

AGB

Dear AGB:

 

I don’t think you’re “no return policy” is going to help you get out of this return, or any return. If the buyer wants to return something, all they have to do is open a return request. The one thing that might help is the fact that they didn’t open the return request for 30 days after they received the item. I would contact eBay and see if they will close it because it was not opened within the 30 day time period.

cakestan

 

Strange eBay item of the week: Item #281794747271. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. Time to start thinking about entertaining guests – and there’s no better place to look than eBay! I found some nice pieces, but these are definitely out of my price range. Pr Paul Storr Sterling Silver Dessert Stands Lot 184 SOLD: $55,000.00.

 

Dear eBay Queen: A Blocked Buyer is Threatening to Bombard Me with Negatives

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Dear eBay Queen:

I’m not sure what to do about this. I had a potential buyer message me and tell me that they tried to buy a pair of shoes from me, and they were told *I* as a seller would not sell to them. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, and I went did a bit of research, and figured out that I blocked them a couple of years ago, for leaving me a negative feedback. I messaged them and said the following:

“Thank you for letting me know you were unable to bid. I did some research, and I see that you left me a negative feedback on April 21, 2013 regarding a pair of shoes that you bought. The feedback stated ‘Took 5 days to arrive. Won’t refund Shipping.’ I sent you an email and asked if you would be willing to remove the negative, because I sent your shoes in less than 24 hours of your payment. You responded that you ‘would not unless I refunded your money and let you keep the shoes.’ I was unable to do that, so I kept the negative, and blocked you.

Today I reviewed the feedback you leave other people on Toolhaus. I see that you still have an issue leaving negative feedback for unsuspecting sellers. At this time I am really not interested in selling to a person that gives negatives so freely. Thank you for your interest.”

I guess that was the wrong thing to do, because that made this person FREAK OUT. She sent me back a crazy email that says:

“Oh, REALLY? So now you get to decide if I can buy on eBay? What is the world coming to these days? Who died and made you the eBay Queen? It’s a good thing you don’t know who I really am! I can get my friends to buy your crappy shoes and lame gifts and see if their experience is good. And before you send me a message about how I can’t do it, Just Wait.”

I guess I should not have responded to this lady. Who knew she would react that way? I’ve contacted Seller Support about this, is there anything else I should do?

Linda P.
Dear Linda:

Well, normally I would tell you to message her back and explain to her that you are NOT the eBay Queen, but you know who is ;). With this lady I would not respond. If you have contacted eBay support by phone, I would say that is all you really can do.

I hope that she does not follow through with her threats, and if she does, eBay handles it swiftly.

 

Dear eBay Queen:

I’m really frustrated. I bid on a cute leather jacket with fringe, and 2 days later I found the same jacket in the color I really wanted. It had a buy it now, so I bought it. I told the first seller that I no longer wanted their jacket, and they told me I needed to cancel my bid. I thought it was enough that I told them, so I didn’t do it. Well, come to find out they have filed a non-paying bidder against me. I’m pretty ticked about this. I called eBay, and they told me I would need to pay for the item, or work it out with my seller. I DON’T WANT THE ITEM! Why do I have to do work it with the seller? Just re-list it. Is there something I can say to this seller that will keep me from getting a strike against my account?

 

GLD

Dear GLD:

eBay is really the final authority on this. If you haven’t messaged the seller yet, it wouldn’t hurt to message them and ask if they would cancel it. The worse thing they can do is say no.

 

 

Strange eBay Item of the Week: Item #371384898461. You can find very unique pieces of jewelry if you look on eBay. I found these just by searching for pearl earrings. Designer Trianon 18K Yellow Gold Carved Shell Turquoise Pearl Earrings SOLD: $2698.98.