eBay selling - when to put your foot down?

[travelover]

I've been selling a number of articles on eBay in preparation for moving and have started to run into the statistically predictable customer issues.

The most recent was a guy who said he did not receive his package. I pointed out that the tracking document showed it was delivered. He replied, "yes, but that was my old address". Since the shipping label is printed automatically from his account information, I see myself as blameless. I told him I'd refund to him if it was not forwarded in 10 days (sent 1st class USPS).

Part of me wants to protect my 100% rating and part of me wants to tell these folks to pound sand.

eBay sellers, where do you draw the line?

 

[jazz4cash]

You shipped it according to his instructions. I would direct him to the Post office to see if the item was returned. Did he file change of address with the post office? (NO!, naturally). I would resist giving a refund without receiving the item back. I wouldn't worry too much about the seller rating.

 

[travelover]

........... Did he file change of address with the post office? (NO!, naturally). .........

I asked this question but he conveniently forgot to answer.

I guess my question is really how valuable is a 100% rating. I'd only consider a seller's rating in a sketchy, high dollar transaction but I value other's opinions on this.

 

[pihwoah]

An address change is the buyers responsibility. I would not refund their money based on this. Have them open up a case with eBay and they will handle it.

 

[Aerides]

Does Ebay intervene if you got FB for "not received" and have delivery confirmation? Either way, you could respond to a negative review I would think, something like "Shipped to address provided by customer, proof of delivery provided" something something.

No I would not refund!

When i look at seller ratings I look at the comments, and I've found that very often, a bad comment reflects more on the person that left it than the seller.

 

[Moemg]

That happened a times to me and what I would do is contact the post office and have them work on it .That shows the person you are doing something and if it is a scam the item will suddenly show up . Most times the item has been found and everybody is happy . Where I did draw the line in selling is returns after 14 days and requests for partial refunds .They were usually from people who used the items and now wanted their money back .

 

[travelover]

That happened a times to me and what I would do is contact the post office and have them work on it .That shows the person you are doing something and if it is a scam the item will suddenly show up . Most times the item has been found and everybody is happy . Where I did draw the line in selling is returns after 14 days and requests for partial refunds .They were usually from people who used the items and now wanted their money back .

This was an inexpensive item and I did not purchase insurance. What can I expect the PO to do re following up on a tracking number?

 

[sengsational]

I'd tell him we'd discuss a refund after the post office had time to work things out. If it didn't show-up from the post office, I'd ask the buyer to jump through some hoops: have him contact someone at eBay to get guidance on what to do next. Say "I'll refund after you check to make sure eBay will not make you whole." If he says eBay refused, say "I'll send you a refund when you send me a copy of what eBay said". If he does all of that, if it was under ten bucks, I'd certainly just eat it. If more than ten bucks, I'd let him ding me and just answer his bad feedback with the truth.

 

[Running_Man]

I sell only a few things via EBAY the vast majority of buyers and sellers are reasonable the ones that aren't make it a pain. That being said, having 100% rating is worth more than any one item when it comes time to sell. I would give the refund, tell him he should update his address and block him from buying from me any more.

 

[athena53]

I confess to having forgotten to update my shipping address on e-Bay when we moved, then making a purchase on e-Bay. The seller was very understanding and suggested we wait patiently for the USPS to get it back to him. Eventually he re-shipped it, refusing additional payment. I gave him great feedback.

 

[travelover]

I'd tell him we'd discuss a refund after the post office had time to work things out. If it didn't show-up from the post office, I'd ask the buyer to jump through some hoops: have him contact someone at eBay to get guidance on what to do next. Say "I'll refund after you check to make sure eBay will not make you whole." If he says eBay refused, say "I'll send you a refund when you send me a copy of what eBay said". If he does all of that, if it was under ten bucks, I'd certainly just eat it. If more than ten bucks, I'd let him ding me and just answer his bad feedback with the truth.

He actually filed a complaint with eBay without contacting me, eBay says work it out in 4 days or come back to us. Since it was less than 10 bucks, I told him I'd refund to him if it doesn't show up in 10 days. He appears happy, but my post was really about strategy in the future for bigger fish.

I sell only a few things via EBAY the vast majority of buyers and sellers are reasonable the ones that aren't make it a pain. That being said, having 100% rating is worth more than any one item when it comes time to sell. I would give the refund, tell him he should update his address and block him from buying from me any more.

Good advice.

 

[irishgal]

He actually filed a complaint with eBay without contacting me, eBay says work it out in 4 days or come back to us. Since it was less than 10 bucks, I told him I'd refund to him if it doesn't show up in 10 days. He appears happy, but my post was really about strategy in the future for bigger fish.

Good advice.

I've been selling on eBay since (gasp) 2003, and the fact that the buyer opened a case with eBay before contacting you makes my spidy sense go up. Normally I've found that people will contact the seller with a "what's up" email while people who are scammers would go directly to eBay or Paypal and open a case.

You've gotten great advice here, best of luck.

Hmmm maybe we need an eBay thread... Do's and Dont's, what to do if... Things like that.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Moemg]

This was an inexpensive item and I did not purchase insurance. What can I expect the PO to do re following up on a tracking number?

The Post Office actually does a good job of tracking the item & checking with the delivery person . I have sold over three thousand items and only one was lost forever . They are usually just misplaced and eventually show up . If it was an inexpensive item I would refund after a reasonable time .

 

[sengsational]

I don't recall seeing it as a suggestion for future selling... You can default to block nubes and "problem children" from even being able to bid. Look for that setting and tighten it up. Because, yeah, opening an issue before contacting you sounds like a nice move. I have found that if you have a tracking number, eBay will side with you. And I'm sure you know not to go first on the feedback, since thats the only defense you have (hitting the buyer with a retaliatory negative)

 

[easysurfer]

I don't sell a ton of stuff, maybe about 5 items a year. Been lucky with all positive reviews buying and selling. I'm thinking now though to be more selective using only positive reviews bidders as a filter. Looks like I have a filter setting to work on before my next sale.

 

[Aerides]

In most cases if you have DC showing delivered, and the customer claims it wasn't, a call to the USPS to investigate will have it show up (ie, wasn't really delivered but now it will be). I'm something like 5/5 on doing that. They are also very good about moving things along that look stuck (like scanned a week ago and nothing since). Always just call the central 800# for that.

In your case, the debate wasn't about delivery, but that you needed to be psychic and know the customer had since moved. USPS and insurance isn't going to help you there. New resident got the item and unless they return/refuse/forward it's done.

USPS insurance will not pay if it shows delivered, only 3rd party insurance will help then.

But yes for $10 I would not want the headache either way.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Get his new address so you can go to his house and slap some sense into him.

 

[travelover]

Get his new address so you can go to his house and slap some sense into him.

Great advice. I'll swing by your place so you can hold him while I smack him.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We'll be the eBay Enforcers.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Inasmuch as the buyer already opened a case, and admitted he provided a bad delivery address, I would let E-Bay deal with it.

 

[aja8888]

Inasmuch as the buyer already opened a case, and admitted he provided a bad delivery address, I would let E-Bay deal with it.

Maybe the buyer should drive over to his old place and see if the new owner has his item.

 

[Katiek]

Sounds like you've already handled this issue, but in general, I'm fine with any seller that has a rating of mid-90's and if a seller has a lot of items sold, I'm fine with anything 90 or above. I generally figure there are going to be some problem purchasers, so a few pieces of negative feedback don't bother me if there are enough good ones.

 

[38Chevy454]

The problem with ebay, and especially Paypal, is they take your money out of your account and hold it until resolution. So OP has already "lost" his money. While you have the tracking and the buyer did say he had wrong address, I believe the finding will be for the seller. My opinion is that ebay and Paypal always default to the buyer, and it is guilty until proven innocent for the seller. It can be very frustrating as seller to have to provide the proof, when you did everything correct. Ebay has almost become too much BS and hassles for selling stuff; although for many items it is still the best method. Kind of puts you in a risk and out of your control at times.

 

[FUEGO]

Under $10 I'd probably refund just to not spend mental energy worrying about it.

So far I've only had 1 problem as a very occasional seller on ebay and it was a laptop LCD screen that I sold and when the buyer received it, it was bent (but not broken). He claimed it didn't work but I doubt he tried it. I had $50 insurance (priority mail) and I think I sold it for $60 or $75 including shipping. I salvaged the screen from a dead laptop anyway, so no real $$ out of my pocket. I refunded the dude his $ and got my $50 from the post office after filing a simple claim.

 

[davemartin88]

When buying on Ebay, I don't get turned off if the seller has a less than 100% rating, usually take a quick look at the comments if it's a bit low and see things like you're dealing with. For less than $10, I'd tell the buyer to work it out with Ebay or the Post Office since it was their mistake, especially since their first action was to open a dispute without contacting you.