Tag Archives: extortion

Dear eBay Queen: Should I Buy My Way Out of a Negative Feedback?

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Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve talked to my husband about this and my neighbor. They both said I should ask your opinion. My neighbor said it’s just a newbie mistake, my husband says I’m giving stuff away and being passive with people I should not be passive with. I’m not sure if it’s a newbie mistake when I’ve been selling for 4 years!

My brother purchased a house and 100 acres in Nebraska 5 years ago. The house and 2 barns were FULL. Once a month he brings me stuff from his barns/house and to sell on eBay. We split the profit and he pays the listing fees. Some of this product he brings me is old store stock from a general store that the previous owner of the property had.

I had listed a Bakelite necklace, earring and bracelet set. I tested it to make sure it was Bakelite before I sent it, and packaged it in bubble wrap and double packaged it when I sent it. The buyer contacted me with this message:

Hello, thank you for sending the jewelry set so quickly. I don’t think this is new, and I’m not really happy with it. This looks like something my grandmother wore in the 1950’s, not the cute necklace set I thought I was buying from this century!

I paid $145.00 for the set, and I think I should receive half of it back. Perhaps if you used Buy It Now I would not have to negotiate with you for the price of the item afterwads. You know if you give me good customer service I will buy more from you.

I messaged the buyer back, and told her to send them back and I’d refund her money. She responded, and told me “it was not worth it” and if I didn’t refund in full and allow her to keep them, she’d give negative feedback. I was going to refund the buyer’s money, because I don’t want a negative, and just let my brother know what happened. I talked to my brother and he told me to NOT refund the money. So I am coming to you for help.

The buyer sent me another message today.

“Well, 5 hours have gone by, and I have not heard from you. What are you going to do? My negative feedback is not going to be nice. You will never be able to sell that crap you call inventory if you don’t give me what I want. I better receive a refund before tomorrow, or your 100% positive feedback rating will no longer be 100%.

So should I just give them their money back and save my account the negative?

 

  1. Jenkins

 

Dear M. Jenkins:

I’ve been in similar situations, and I think I would message your buyer and tell her that based upon eBay’s new rules for sellers, you can’t give a refund without her opening a request. Give her these instructions:

  • To start a return, find the item in the Purchase history section of My eBay. …
  • Select the reason for the return. …

Let her know that once that is done, you can proceed.

Once you message her, contact eBay. I’m pretty sure that eBay will side with you and this is why:

  • The item was never described as new, but as vintage in excellent, used condition.
  • By her own admission, it looks like something from the era it is from.
  • The buyer refuses to return the item.
  • The buyer wants to KEEP the item and receive half of the money back.
  • The buyer threatened negative feedback if you do not give her what she wants.

Make sure that you do not say in your message you will give her the item or a refund. Just wait for the case to be opened by the buyer.

I hope that you get a fantastic understanding eBay CS representative that handles this swiftly. I don’t think it would hurt to report this buyer either.

 ebaybakelite

Strange eBay Item of the Week: Item #121684686777. Bakelite jewelry is highly collectible. If you are ever lucky enough to come across a bakelite “gumdrop” bangle, you might be able to sell it for quite a bit on eBay! Rare Red and Cream Vintage Bakelite Bow-Tie Gumdrop Bangle Bracelet Late 1950’s SOLD: $3000.00.

 

Dear eBay Queen: How Do I Get A Negative Feedback Removed?

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Dear eBay Queen:

I had a buyer leave a negative for me a few weeks ago, and after much cajoling on my part and a refund + a new item, they’ve agreed to remove it. I’m not sure how to do that. Can you tell me how to instruct them on removing it?

Linda

Dear Linda:

Did your buyer state that they would remove it if you gave them a refund and a new item, or did you offer that? If they demanded those things, and you didn’t offer them, I would contact eBay and let them know this. I would do this before I send a feedback revision request. I have heard of eBay removing the feedback when a buyer uses the ‘Do this and I’ll remove the feedback’ attitude.

To send a feedback revision on eBay, go here: http://pages.ebay.com/help/feedback/questions/remove.html and click on ‘submit a feedback revision request’.

 

Dear eBay Queen:

I’ve been selling whatever I can find for years. I was looking on eBay last night for my favorite Ralph Lauren Jeans, and I came across a seller that only sells Ralph Lauren. I’ve never heard of this. I see a few Ralph Lauren things here and there, at thrift stores and estate sales, but never enough to actually make a living just selling Ralph Lauren. I reviewed this person’s sales, and they are bringing in 10,000+ every month! It wasn’t a fluke! They are really bringing in over 10K a month! I want to do that! But how can I do that?

I would love to focus on just one thing, but how can I buy just one type of product or brand? If I do focus on one product or brand, what do I do with the product I have now? Should I keep my stuff all together? Or open a new eBay ID just for my branded product?

DAP

 

Dear DAP:

I do know people that sell just certain brand names, or just certain types of items, like jeans, or kitchen utensils or matchbox cars. I think a lot of times when a seller specializes in brand or a product, they personally collect it or at the very least know a lot about it. Is there a product or brand that you know a lot about that you could create your own niche market?

It’s hard to say where this seller is buying their Ralph Lauren products. If it’s vintage or pre owned, they most likely are hitting up 20+ garage sales or estate sales a week, and are going to 10-15 thrift stores a week. That’s a lot of shopping. I would also bet they travel around to a large area to find the right Ralph Lauren product. If they are purchasing their product new, they are probably are buying it from a wholesaler. When I did a preliminary Google search, there were many wholesalers that have bulk lots of Ralph Lauren. Buying a load from a wholesaler would cost anywhere from 1500 to 10,000 depending upon the lot you purchase.

Another way to achieve your goal, is to start small and work your way up to being a large seller of a name brand product without the wholesaler. To do this, go to retail stores when they are having their big discount sales. It will take longer to do this, but you won’t need all the money up front like you do for a wholesaler.

I was a lot like you I went from selling just about anything I could get my hands on, to selling a niche product. I really thought I should start selling under a new id and open a new eBay store. I never really got around to it, and I just added my niche product to my current antique and collectible inventory. I think the biggest reason I didn’t change, is because I had 20K+ feedback and I didn’t want to give that up.

ebaytinyduck

Strange eBay Item of the Week: Item number –301650807195. Are you Creative? Can You work with polymer clay? Check out this Miniature handmade Mini Tiny Toy Dolly and Duck Rocker OOAK Dollhouse Doll House SOLD: $171.00.