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

[Alpinemaps]

I think it is indeed some kind of delivery service at that location. I don't see why they have to legitimately create new accounts, but...(continued below)

...I think I'll go with D_R here and not lose sleep over what happens with my sales once I do my part.

I agree.  As far as I'm concerned, I was paid, I sent it, and it was delivered (and received) to the place it was supposed to go.  After that, I can't worry about it.  (And actually, after I put it in the mail, I'm done worrying about it).

[draugnor]

All,

I could use some advice as I have just started selling items on eBay. A week ago I had a person submit a best offer on an item I had listed and I accepted the offer the next morning. I sent a message saying thank you and sent an invoice to them as close to a day had passed since they submitted the offer and I wanted to alert them that they had won. Now the listing stated that payment was due within 3 days. It is now day 2 since the item sold, so I send another message thanking them again and stating I have the item packed up and ready to ship (waiting to pay for a shipping label until payment clears) once they pay. Day 3 rolls around, it's a Friday so I send them another invoice and a message stating that if they pay that day I can ship it out before the post office closes for the weekend. Today, 6 days after the auction ends I send them another message stating payment is past due by 3 days as per the item listing and that I will bring the matter to eBay if I don't hear from them.

Now they haven't responded to anything I have sent this whole time, but within hours I receive a message stating they did not bid on the item and have been in the hospital the last 2 months. This is clearly not the case as I checked their feedback and they have a handful of buyer and seller feedback from the last month. Not sure what to do at this point. Should I cancel the order and relist or open a case with eBay? I want to protect myself as I have been using eBay for years now and have a sterling reputation as a buyer, but only have just started selling items and am really trying to build up my seller reputation. Thanks for reading this, it has ended up a lot longer than I expected and thank you for any help!

[redghostx]

All,

I could use some advice as I have just started selling items on eBay. A week ago I had a person submit a best offer on an item I had listed and I accepted the offer the next morning. I sent a message saying thank you and sent an invoice to them as close to a day had passed since they submitted the offer and I wanted to alert them that they had won. Now the listing stated that payment was due within 3 days. It is now day 2 since the item sold, so I send another message thanking them again and stating I have the item packed up and ready to ship (waiting to pay for a shipping label until payment clears) once they pay. Day 3 rolls around, it's a Friday so I send them another invoice and a message stating that if they pay that day I can ship it out before the post office closes for the weekend. Today, 6 days after the auction ends I send them another message stating payment is past due by 3 days as per the item listing and that I will bring the matter to eBay if I don't hear from them.

Now they haven't responded to anything I have sent this whole time, but within hours I receive a message stating they did not bid on the item and have been in the hospital the last 2 months. This is clearly not the case as I checked their feedback and they have a handful of buyer and seller feedback from the last month. Not sure what to do at this point. Should I cancel the order and relist or open a case with eBay? I want to protect myself as I have been using eBay for years now and have a sterling reputation as a buyer, but only have just started selling items and am really trying to build up my seller reputation. Thanks for reading this, it has ended up a lot longer than I expected and thank you for any help!

Open a case with eBay so that you can get a credit and no mark against your account.  You have been more than fair waiting for payment.

[LegoEdison]

Open a case and move on. Never never cancel if it is not your fault.

[Huskers1236]

Make sure to ban buyer from your listings as well.  Being on life support is a new excuse, usually they just blame their kids.

[jbacunn]

No avoiding this with best offers but for other listings you can make the listing immediate payment required. Hear me now and believe me later, this will make your life much more enjoyable not having to deal with non paying knuckle heads. You might lose a few sales but the hair added to the top of your head and the months added on to your life will make it worthwhile. 

[Darth_Raichu]

All,

I could use some advice as I have just started selling items on eBay. A week ago I had a person submit a best offer on an item I had listed and I accepted the offer the next morning. I sent a message saying thank you and sent an invoice to them as close to a day had passed since they submitted the offer and I wanted to alert them that they had won. Now the listing stated that payment was due within 3 days. It is now day 2 since the item sold, so I send another message thanking them again and stating I have the item packed up and ready to ship (waiting to pay for a shipping label until payment clears) once they pay. Day 3 rolls around, it's a Friday so I send them another invoice and a message stating that if they pay that day I can ship it out before the post office closes for the weekend. Today, 6 days after the auction ends I send them another message stating payment is past due by 3 days as per the item listing and that I will bring the matter to eBay if I don't hear from them.

Now they haven't responded to anything I have sent this whole time, but within hours I receive a message stating they did not bid on the item and have been in the hospital the last 2 months. This is clearly not the case as I checked their feedback and they have a handful of buyer and seller feedback from the last month. Not sure what to do at this point. Should I cancel the order and relist or open a case with eBay? I want to protect myself as I have been using eBay for years now and have a sterling reputation as a buyer, but only have just started selling items and am really trying to build up my seller reputation. Thanks for reading this, it has ended up a lot longer than I expected and thank you for any help!

Yes, open a case and ban this buyer.  

If you want to make buyer's life difficult, report to eBay that his account might be compromised since per his own admission it was used by someone else while he was incapacitated.  Yes yes, I know I am evil like that

[dcdfan]

No avoiding this with best offers but for other listings you can make the listing immediate payment required. Hear me now and believe me later, this will make your life much more enjoyable not having to deal with non paying knuckle heads. You might lose a few sales but the hair added to the top of your head and the months added on to your life will make it worthwhile. 

I've had my listings as immediate payment required since 2000. How long until the hair gets "added to the top of my head"...?

[minicoopers11]

I've had my listings as immediate payment required since 2000. How long until the hair gets "added to the top of my head"...?

I've meant to have this be the case on all my listings, but when I re-list my listings have a habit to mysteriously change shipping methods and to uncheck the immediate payment required selection.

 

Also, I'm bald.

[dcdfan]

"Dear sir,
Today I received the post,
Found that the blue one figure has damaged,
Too bad and upset!"

Not to take away from your disappointment but I don't have a "blue one figure" & after doing a search of your user name, I've never sold you anything...

[exciter1]

I've meant to have this be the case on all my listings, but when I re-list my listings have a habit to mysteriously change shipping methods and to uncheck the immediate payment required selection.

 

Also, I'm bald.

I almost always use "Sell Similar" as my starting point.  It makes the retention of previous settings much more consistent.

[dcdfan]

I almost always use "Sell Similar" as my starting point.  It makes the retention of previous settings much more consistent.

I use it for everything & some are nowhere near similar...

[Darth_Raichu]

I use it for everything & some are nowhere near similar...

I noticed that as well. I think there is a bug in their code that randomly allows that to happen

[redghostx]

I noticed that as well. I think there is a bug in their code that randomly allows that to happen

I almost always use "Sell Similar" as my starting point.  It makes the retention of previous settings much more consistent.

I prefer to Cut and paste the body for a new listing because eBay defaults to my preferred shipping and payment specs anyway. An efficient way to deal with an inefficient ebay.

[fuzzy_bricks]

I just created a template that I always start with.  All the options I want are already selected and the body text is the same.  I just have to insert set name, set number, and any other pertinent information (notable damage).  Works pretty well for the few things I sell.

[dcdfan]

Once again, eBay is THE fruitcake...I tried to report the seller for this listing but CS has no idea what I'm talking about...331670715099

The 1st one just came in...

[TheGallows]

The 1st one just came in...

It makes me wonder if its worth reporting these. But I keep doing it and they seem to do nothing.

[dcdfan]

It makes me wonder if its worth reporting these. But I keep doing it and they seem to do nothing.

I'm pretty sure eBay ended the current listings but I'm guessing the seller ended this listing on his own prior as it's still viewable at this point...

[Alpinemaps]

Had a weird one today.

Logged into Paypal and got a message that I had an open case in the dispute center.  I log in, and there are no active cases.  Look at all my cases, and I've got a closed case.  Okay...

So, there is a transaction that's been disputed, with "Unauthorized Use of PayPal Account or Transaction Error" as the reason.  The case is closed, however, because a day later, "the buyer has cancelled the unauthorized activity claim, so this case is now closed."

Um...okay?

Meanwhile, the package is still in transit.  I've got seller protection, so I'm not worried about it.  Just weird that it was opened then closed.  I have a feeling that it may have been a kid that ordered it and paid from a parent's account (names don't match).  Seller protection was on from the beginning, so I didn't want to hold up the shipment.  Buyer has only been on eBay since the beginning of September, but with 9 positives, and no negatives (all as buyer), I was comfortable enough to sell it.

I've just never seen that one before.

[draugnor]

Yes, open a case and ban this buyer.  

If you want to make buyer's life difficult, report to eBay that his account might be compromised since per his own admission it was used by someone else while he was incapacitated.  Yes yes, I know I am evil like that

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I opened a case with eBay and surprise plot twist the person actually ended up paying after a few days.

I was planning on shipping flat rate thru USPS, but is there a chance that this buyer could try and pull something after the fact? I was planning on taking a picture of how I packed everything before sending it off, but are there other things I should do to protect myself from any possible fraudulent claims? Thanks for any help!

[CrabslayerT]

Posted a 42043 Arcos for sale on a couple of local sites (similar to craigslist). Had one reply this evening asking about delivery etc. Asked the guy where he was and he's about 2 hours away.He asks for a drop in price since it'll cost him 20 buck on fuel to pick it up.

I offered to drop it off when i'm in the neighborhood with work in about 3 weeks. He declines saying he has a buddy that does deliveries near me and asks for 35% off the price i advertised because he has to pay his buddy 10 bucks to pick up. I kindly declined since i listed the set 5% under RRP explaining that he would have trouble finding the sets for this price in store here. 

His reply: "Ok, I get what your'e saying but although it hasn't been opened it's still second hand, let's not fall out, you will probably sell it anyway, but if not my offer still stands"

Again I kindly decline telling him that when i got delivery of the set, it was unpacked, photographed for the listing and put back in its shipping box. No seals were broken nor damage done to the original packaging. 

He Emails me again asking for the lowest i can do so I offered another 5 bucks off and delivery in person when i'm up his way to save him the 10 bucks for his buddy. 

Last one i received he starts calling me friend and asking for "mates rates" and wants 30% off what i'm offering so we can meet halfway on Monday! 

Only reason i will meet this guy is to stamp on his head!!

[BrickLegacy]

Sold a larger set on eBay ($500+).  Packed it very, very carefully.  Box was in mint condition when I sold it.  Buyer was very picky about the packaging but I sent them pictures to reassure them how I pack everything.  A week after delivery they email me with some pictures of creases.  Some of the creases are very, very minor.  They weren't there when I packed it, they must have resulted from the stress on the box during shipping.  I shipped via FedEx with insurance but not sure if that matters in this particular case.

I've been very friendly and understanding with the buyer.  I offered a $50 PayPal credit as compensation so we could both move on but they didn't really respond to that.  Their last message was borderline accusatory that the creases (again, very minor) must have been present before shipping. 

They said they are going to contact eBay to see what they advise. 

What should I do?  Wait and see what eBay says or take more proactive action?  I don't offer returns on my listings but can I offer a return and should I?  Maybe offer a bigger credit like $100?  I'd like to avoid any chance of a negative feedback and just move on from this ordeal.  Thanks for the help.

Edited October 12, 2015 by BrickLegacy

[Migration]

Offer the return, and next time block the box snob before they make a purchase.

[msdontplay01]

Even though you did not offer returns in your listing, the plain truth is that every eBay seller offers returns when you think about it.  If a buyer receives an item they are not happy with, they are entitled to a return for their money back.  If they want to return the item and the seller still refuses, all eBay will do is refund the buyer's money AND allow them to keep the item since the seller refused to accept a return.  This is how their Money Back Guarantee works.

Personally, if the buyer is not happy with the creases on the box, I would have them return it for a full refund.  I never do partial returns unless it is a situation that would not make financial sense for the buyer to return the item.  Example: a buyer purchased something for $20 and it would cost $12 just for return shipping to send back.

About 3 months ago, I sold a case of Shopkins to a buyer on eBay for $155.  A day after it was delivered, the buyer contacted me saying they were unhappy since the purchase was to keep as a collectible and the cardboard box was torn.  They asked for a partial refund of $30 because the retail price only runs about $90 for a case in stores.  I politely told them no, and they were welcome to return it for a full refund since they were not satisfied.  I offered a prepaid return label to return it at my expense (return shipping would have been about $8).  They said they couldn't return it since they had already opened some of the blind baskets.  I asked why they opened some of the baskets if the box was torn.  They had no answer for it but threatened to leave negative feedback.  

I told them to go ahead and leave negative feedback; I would just report it to eBay and have it removed.  A few days later they left the negative feedback.  I immediately called eBay and the rep removed it while I waited on the phone.  Of course the buyer never bothered to return the item since they were full of BS to begin with.  A so-called torn cardboard box is not worth a $30 refund.  If a buyer is truly dissatisfied, they will most likely return upfront without asking for a partial refund.  Typically this is a move that scammers pull and eBay advises against it since people often try to use this route to get things cheaper after the purchase.  It should only be used on a case-by-case basis. 

[randrace]

That sucks. I would offer full refund (minus your shipping, assuming you didn't offer free shipping.) I was afraid of offering returns for years (now I love it.) Offering a refund, shifting the burden of satisfaction on the buyer. You also have the option to charge up to a 20% restocking fee when you offer returns.

Don't worry about negative feedback, just treat the buyer with respect. One negative wouldn't dissuade me buying from someone.