Are fruitcakes running rampant on eBay lately? Selling, buying, listing, feedback, etc...

[Val-E]

You have their phone, right? Call them to work it out amicably then go through the agreed procedure online. Some people are just dumb/inexperienced.

You´ll get stifed for the paypal standard fixed charge so remember to add that to the new sale if it goes ahead.

It´s Speed not a Café Corner, after all.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Val-E

[Grynn]

Update if anyone cares:

 

I convinced the buyer to cancel the "return".

Then I learned the eBay system does not allow transaction cancellations on items for which a "case has been closed".

So we fell into the ingenious design vortex of craptastic automation where I could not ship (with seller protection) the item, nor could either of us (or customer service) cancel the sale.

After about an hour on the phone with two reps, I finally accepted the only resolution was to refund the buyer directly through Paypal, with personal assurance from a very reasonable sounding guy in "Trust and Safety" at eBay, that my eBay fees would be refunded as well, he would personally monitor the situation to make sure that occurs as well as erase any defects that might pop up on my account (especially since the transaction is now forever stuck in limbo, with "late shipment" status).

I told him I accepted that course of action but that I wanted the situation escalated so that eBay can fix this terrible design. To allow an idiot to mash buttons and cause a Top-Rated /  Power Seller (or anyone, for that matter) this much damn trouble AND not be able to resolve it for me is completely unacceptable. He agreed wholeheartedly, and I personally expect that sometime after 2030, eBay will in fact eliminate this possibility from ever happening again.

Meanwhile this fool has the honor to be the only buyer I've ever blocked in 7 years of selling, and I am now contemplating requiring some feedback from all buyers, like most of you scaredy-cats already do, lol

[Migration]

1 hour ago, Grynn said:

Update if anyone cares:

 

I convinced the buyer to cancel the "return".

Then I learned the eBay system does not allow transaction cancellations on items for which a "case has been closed".

So we fell into the ingenious design vortex of craptastic automation where I could not ship (with seller protection) the item, nor could either of us (or customer service) cancel the sale.

After about an hour on the phone with two reps, I finally accepted the only resolution was to refund the buyer directly through Paypal, with personal assurance from a very reasonable sounding guy in "Trust and Safety" at eBay, that my eBay fees would be refunded as well, he would personally monitor the situation to make sure that occurs as well as erase any defects that might pop up on my account (especially since the transaction is now forever stuck in limbo, with "late shipment" status).

I told him I accepted that course of action but that I wanted the situation escalated so that eBay can fix this terrible design. To allow an idiot to mash buttons and cause a Top-Rated /  Power Seller (or anyone, for that matter) this much damn trouble AND not be able to resolve it for me is completely unacceptable. He agreed wholeheartedly, and I personally expect that sometime after 2030, eBay will in fact eliminate this possibility from ever happening again.

Meanwhile this fool has the honor to be the only buyer I've ever blocked in 7 years of selling, and I am now contemplating requiring some feedback from all buyers, like most of you scaredy-cats already do, lol

As soon as the address shows up as jacked, I cancel. End of discussion. And you mean to tell us you haven't blocked Toycentric yet?

Edited January 11, 2019 by Migration

[Phil B]

This time I am the fruitcake ... on Amazon FBA. Sold a DUPLO 10567 Toddler Build and Boat Fun two (2!) times this Christmas, same set. Both sales came back as a return, the first time I was able to immediately relist and sell, the second one came back as Unfulfillable. Just received the set back from FBA in exactly the same condition as I sent it in. So I started wondering why this got returned twice. Turns out the "Clearance - was $19.99 now $11.19" sticker was still on the box. 

D'oh!

I guess my customers who bought this for $45 didn't like seeing that sticker

In my defense ... the sticker was barely contrasting with the printing on the box ... but still, epic failcake.

[Captain_chaos]

Received this message today:

"Hello i will want if you can to do the lego pirat of Caraïbes good aftermon"

I really don't know how to respond.

[Phil B]

Received this message today:
"Hello i will want if you can to do the lego pirat of Caraïbes good aftermon"
I really don't know how to respond.

"Is that you, Mr. President?"

[Val-E]

9 minutes ago, Captain_chaos said:

Received this message today:

"Hello i will want if you can to do the lego pirat of Caraïbes good aftermon"

I really don't know how to respond.

Phonejacker style.

[Grynn]

15 minutes ago, Captain_chaos said:

Received this message today:

"Hello i will want if you can to do the lego pirat of Caraïbes good aftermon"

I really don't know how to respond.

"So gud make ur sale, first rid go Small Werld then myb tomroland can we finzalie buy a shake hands or a kizz when do the pirat. just play it kool OK?

[MarleyMoose]

16 hours ago, Phil B said:

16 hours ago, Captain_chaos said:

Received this message today:
"Hello i will want if you can to do the lego pirat of Caraïbes good aftermon"
I really don't know how to respond.

"Is that you, Mr. President?"

More like Ms. Speaker...

[brickvoyeur]

12 minutes ago, MarleyMoose said:

16 hours ago, Phil B said:

16 hours ago, Captain_chaos said:

Received this message today:
"Hello i will want if you can to do the lego pirat of Caraïbes good aftermon"
I really don't know how to respond.

"Is that you, Mr. President?"

More like Ms. Speaker...

Can't we all just agree that our politicians have zero care for the average person; and are more interested in maintaining their hardened party lines than making any real changes to help the country?

Here is the only person worth voting for in 2020

[exracer327]

Well, I guess I've lucked out for all these years on ebay (about 17 years).  I've only had one counterfeit incident, one non-shipped incident, and one product was not what was pictured incident.   All were resolved either via ebay, cc, or the seller.  This past week I had a new one.  

Bought a LEGO lot.  I really kick myself because the subject said 5-6 lb, then the description said 10-12 lb.  Incl shipping it was around $70.  I saw several pieces I had been looking for for some time and thought there might be a few sets in it.    He had feedback of over 2000 with only a couple of neutrals in that whole time, no negatives.

Since the weight was questionable, I weighed the package immediately upon receiving it - 12 lbs.  This was a box (roughly 14x14x14) wrapped in cellophane and clear tape.  Odd, right?  I cut open this layer of cellophane/clear-tape and this god-awful smell starts filling our living room.  My wife complains almost instantly.  Inside the box was a kitchen garbage bag containing a second, 30-gallon heavy-duty garbage bag.  As I open the larger bag, the LEGO are inside and stink to high heaven.  

I set them in our breezeway to air them out thinking the guy must have been a heavy smoker or something.  But the bag itself also seemed to smell.  So a day later I dumped the contents into a large, unused box.  I intended to save the original shipping stuff but it smelled so bad I threw all of it away.  (I bet you can guess where this is going.  Yes, in retrospect, that was a big mistake!  Lesson learned.)

After two days I contacted the guy.  He was cool about it and then admitted to me his wife had complained about the garbage bags smelling even though he never noticed it.  OK, np, return to sender.  I pack them in an odor-guard garbage bag (febreeze scented - only way my wife allowed the LEGO inside our house).  Shipped it back to him in a Walmart box.  I told him everything I was doing.

He receives it and asks, "Where is the other half of the LEGO?  I sent you 14 lbs (What?!) and you returned 5.5 lbs (What?!).  You claimed it all smelled bad, but this all smells great."  *faceplam*  Of course, it smelled good I told him how I packed it in an odor-guard garage bag.  But LEGO shouldn't smell one way of the other... it's plastic!  I also went through what he sent me and how I returned every stinking piece to him.  Then we got into a debate about how I supposedly purchased 5.5 lbs but he graciously threw in another 5.5 lbs even though the description clearly said 10-12 lbs.  WTH?!  BTW, the box was 12 lbs with all the extra tape, cellophane and 30 lb heavy-duty garbage bag.  I'm guessing what I sent back was at least 2 lbs lighter but not 6 lbs lighter.

After going back and forth for a couple of days I contacted ebay. They looked at our correspondence and sided with me and refunded my money.

After I received the refund he fired off several emails to me accusing me of scamming him, picking out choice pieces and sending him "smelly LEGO," accusing me of being a thief, karma will get me, ebay will catch up with me...  blah, blah, blah...  I've told him several times I can't use LEGO that smells and that I returned everything to him to no avail.  I even suggested that if he didn't receive it all to check to see if the box had been opened and stuff removed.

Now he claims he's opened a fraud case against me with ebay and paypal.  *sigh*  I'm tempted to contact ebay again, but they should look at all of our correspondence since it all took place within ebay's message system, right?  I've already blocked him from bidding on anything I have selling and I guess I can't block him from our current transaction, but I'm done corresponding with him.

I learned a few lessons but I'm curious what else I should do / have done?

In the future I'll do the following:  #1) if there are discrepancies in the auction description, I will no longer bid.  No matter how much I want what they're selling. 

#2) weigh everything in the door and out.

#3) Take pictures of everything received and going out the door.   

 

Any thoughts / words of advice beyond what I'm already kicking myself for?  What should I do about this supposed fraud case against me via paypal/ebay?  I mean if ebay already sided with me after looking over the case, wouldn't that decide it?  Thank you for your help.

 

[ED-209]

17 minutes ago, exracer327 said:

Well, I guess I've lucked out for all these years on ebay (about 17 years).  I've only had one counterfeit incident, one non-shipped incident, and one product was not what was pictured incident.   All were resolved either via ebay, cc, or the seller.  This past week I had a new one.  

Bought a LEGO lot.  I really kick myself because the subject said 5-6 lb, then the description said 10-12 lb.  Incl shipping it was around $70.  I saw several pieces I had been looking for for some time and thought there might be a few sets in it.    He had feedback of over 2000 with only a couple of neutrals in that whole time, no negatives.

Since the weight was questionable, I weighed the package immediately upon receiving it - 12 lbs.  This was a box (roughly 14x14x14) wrapped in cellophane and clear tape.  Odd, right?  I cut open this layer of cellophane/clear-tape and this god-awful smell starts filling our living room.  My wife complains almost instantly.  Inside the box was a kitchen garbage bag containing a second, 30-gallon heavy-duty garbage bag.  As I open the larger bag, the LEGO are inside and stink to high heaven.  

I set them in our breezeway to air them out thinking the guy must have been a heavy smoker or something.  But the bag itself also seemed to smell.  So a day later I dumped the contents into a large, unused box.  I intended to save the original shipping stuff but it smelled so bad I threw all of it away.  (I bet you can guess where this is going.  Yes, in retrospect, that was a big mistake!  Lesson learned.)

After two days I contacted the guy.  He was cool about it and then admitted to me his wife had complained about the garbage bags smelling even though he never noticed it.  OK, np, return to sender.  I pack them in an odor-guard garbage bag (febreeze scented - only way my wife allowed the LEGO inside our house).  Shipped it back to him in a Walmart box.  I told him everything I was doing.

He receives it and asks, "Where is the other half of the LEGO?  I sent you 14 lbs (What?!) and you returned 5.5 lbs (What?!).  You claimed it all smelled bad, but this all smells great."  *faceplam*  Of course, it smelled good I told him how I packed it in an odor-guard garage bag.  But LEGO shouldn't smell one way of the other... it's plastic!  I also went through what he sent me and how I returned every stinking piece to him.  Then we got into a debate about how I supposedly purchased 5.5 lbs but he graciously threw in another 5.5 lbs even though the description clearly said 10-12 lbs.  WTH?!  BTW, the box was 12 lbs with all the extra tape, cellophane and 30 lb heavy-duty garbage bag.  I'm guessing what I sent back was at least 2 lbs lighter but not 6 lbs lighter.

After going back and forth for a couple of days I contacted ebay. They looked at our correspondence and sided with me and refunded my money.

After I received the refund he fired off several emails to me accusing me of scamming him, picking out choice pieces and sending him "smelly LEGO," accusing me of being a thief, karma will get me, ebay will catch up with me...  blah, blah, blah...  I've told him several times I can't use LEGO that smells and that I returned everything to him to no avail.  I even suggested that if he didn't receive it all to check to see if the box had been opened and stuff removed.

Now he claims he's opened a fraud case against me with ebay and paypal.  *sigh*  I'm tempted to contact ebay again, but they should look at all of our correspondence since it all took place within ebay's message system, right?  I've already blocked him from bidding on anything I have selling and I guess I can't block him from our current transaction, but I'm done corresponding with him.

I learned a few lessons but I'm curious what else I should do / have done?

In the future I'll do the following:  #1) if there are discrepancies in the auction description, I will no longer bid.  No matter how much I want what they're selling. 

#2) weigh everything in the door and out.

#3) Take pictures of everything received and going out the door.   

 

Any thoughts / words of advice beyond what I'm already kicking myself for?  What should I do about this supposed fraud case against me via paypal/ebay?  I mean if ebay already sided with me after looking over the case, wouldn't that decide it?  Thank you for your help.

 

U should've taken a photo when it arrived. Im assuming you photoed what u sent back and have tracking details showing he got it. 

I rarely ever buy used lego. I got a bit ripped off the first purchase i made on bricklink; an old set from the 80s i always wanted and the quality of the bricks was crap (+set had 30 missing pieces which took ages to get but that's another story...)

If one is to buy a bulk lot, it's better to buy locally so you can physically see it before purchasing. Buying bulk online is fraught with dangers. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by ED-209

[exracer327]

So far i had had really good fortune with used lots.  And there is one source online I've come to trust.  I guess it built my confidence up too much and I thought the guy would be trustworthy with his feedback rating.  Thx for the advice.

[KShine]

As soon as the crazy is revealed, limit all communications (and block the user) - Certainly communicate as you must, but don't try to reason with the unreasonable.

[Grynn]

2 hours ago, KShine said:

As soon as the crazy is revealed, limit all communications (and block the user) - Certainly communicate as you must, but don't try to reason with the unreasonable.

This, and don't over-react. You can't filter out every scam or A-hole. Wait a few days and decide if this is worth changing the way you do business, otherwise chalk it up to a learning experience and move on.

My recent 0-feedback buyer debacle was certainly a few days of headache but far outweighed by the sales I've gotten over the years with no problem whatsoever. Not changing my buyer requirements.

[exracer327]

2 hours ago, Grynn said:

This, and don't over-react. You can't filter out every scam or A-hole. Wait a few days and decide if this is worth changing the way you do business, otherwise chalk it up to a learning experience and move on.

My recent 0-feedback buyer debacle was certainly a few days of headache but far outweighed by the sales I've gotten over the years with no problem whatsoever. Not changing my buyer requirements.

I appreciate that advice.  This guy is the first I've ever added to my banned list.  I actually had to look up how to do it.  Like someone else said, you can't reason with crazy.  The really weird thing is, he tried to retaliate by giving me positive feedback.  He tried to cram his crazy accusation into the 80 char line.  But in the end, it's still pos feedback.  lol... *facepalm*

[Guest TabbyBoy]

Has anybody been asked by eBay to unblock a buyer? I have and I had to write a detailed report saying why I don't want to deal with this arsehoIe. It's been quite a while now, I've not heard back and I'm hoping that I won't be forced to unblock. It's probably OK, but I was surprised that I was asked to "prove" it. Keep evidence of bad buyers just in case.

[roxio]

34 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

Has anybody been asked by eBay to unblock a buyer? I have and I had to write a detailed report saying why I don't want to deal with this arsehoIe. It's been quite a while now, I've not heard back and I'm hoping that I won't be forced to unblock. It's probably OK, but I was surprised that I was asked to "prove" it. Keep evidence of bad buyers just in case.

You don't have to respond, just ignore them. EBay can't make you unblock a member 

[Guest TabbyBoy]

16 minutes ago, roxio said:

You don't have to respond, just ignore them. EBay can't make you unblock a member 

It's on my business account and it appears the rules are different to those using private accounts - certainly higher FVF fees and NO OFFERS whatsoever! If I am forced to unblock (or if they do it), I will refuse (or block again) and send them the statement from UK Trading Standards that any British vendor reserves the right to refuse service to anybody without giving a reason. Hopefully I'll not hear any more about it. However, I'm slowly building up feedback on my private accounts and will soon be using those a lot more.

Regarding zero feedback buyers, I honest can't recall a problem with any of them even though I do ask for a copy of a utility bill for a >£100 purchase - not one of them has refused.

[Secret Squirrel]

Just now, TabbyBoy said:

It's on my business account and it appears the rules are different to those using private accounts - certainly higher FVF fees and NO OFFERS whatsoever! If I am forced to unblock (or if they do it), I will refuse (or block again) and send them the statement from UK Trading Standards that any British vendor reserves the right to refuse service to anybody without giving a reason. Hopefully I'll not hear any more about it. However, I'm slowly building up feedback on my private accounts and will soon be using those a lot more.

Regarding zero feedback buyers, I honest can't recall a problem with any of them even though I do ask for a copy of a utility bill for a >£100 purchase - not one of them has refused.

Whenever I've set my account to not accept zero feedback buyers it doesn't work, they still slip through the net.

[roxio]

10 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

It's on my business account and it appears the rules are different to those using private accounts - certainly higher FVF fees and NO OFFERS whatsoever! If I am forced to unblock (or if they do it), I will refuse (or block again) and send them the statement from UK Trading Standards that any British vendor reserves the right to refuse service to anybody without giving a reason. Hopefully I'll not hear any more about it. However, I'm slowly building up feedback on my private accounts and will soon be using those a lot more.

Regarding zero feedback buyers, I honest can't recall a problem with any of them even though I do ask for a copy of a utility bill for a >£100 purchase - not one of them has refused.

I'm talking business account as well. Just ignore them. Wasting your time responding.

[roxio]

5 minutes ago, cocobay71 said:

Whenever I've set my account to not accept zero feedback buyers it doesn't work, they still slip through the net.

You can't set your account to not accept zero feedbackers

 

 

[Guest TabbyBoy]

17 minutes ago, cocobay71 said:

Whenever I've set my account to not accept zero feedback buyers it doesn't work, they still slip through the net.

I wouldn't want to as all the ones I've dealt with have been fine, they have to start somewhere. It's the ones that are anal about box condition and hacked accounts are the problem. Give me a zero feedback buyer over an 85% feedback buyer any day.

14 minutes ago, roxio said:

I'm talking business account as well. Just ignore them. Wasting your time responding.

I've not responded, but are prepared if they do.

Edited January 17, 2019 by TabbyBoy

[KShine]

6 hours ago, exracer327 said:

The really weird thing is, he tried to retaliate by giving me positive feedback.  He tried to cram his crazy accusation into the 80 char line.

False positives are against ebay policy, and can usually be removed by ebay fairly easily, if requested.

[Secret Squirrel]

2 hours ago, roxio said:

You can't set your account to not accept zero feedbackers

 

 

Buyer requirements

	Block buyers who:		Have received 2 unpaid item(s) recorded on their account within 12 month(s) Have a primary delivery address in a location I don't post to Have a Feedback score of -1 or lower