Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Trouble with ebay....

1

103734

Guest
Original poster
Apr 10, 2007
723
0
I just sold a copy of infamous last week and I am having trouble with the buyer. Yes I know it is only $5 but its the principle, I don't want this guy thinking he can just go around black mailing sellers into giving them refunds, it seems since they removed the negative feedback option for sellers that buyers have started bullying sellers. Last time I sell a game on eBay, craigslist for now on...

Here is a transcript of messages from me to him

buyer: hello, i just recieved your item. it was listed as like new but the disk had a few scratches on it and the case the peice that holds the disk was broken.refund me $5. and I will be ok.after the refund send me feedback and I will do the same for you.no worries.thanks

me: Hi when I sent the game out I did not see any scratches on the disk, I do know about the piece that holds the disk in place, also the like new covers the game, not packaging. I can't see the disk so I will have to take your word about it having scratches, I can offer you a refund of $3 but no more, considering that the case has no effect on the gameplay of the game

buyer: reconsider the $5. refund. i think i'm being very fair.if you look at the listing description for like new under condition it does cover the case as well.when i received this item the disk was out of place and may have been damaged in shipping but caused by the holder being broken. when i resell this item i would have to list the damage of this item which will cause less interest and will sell at a lower price. all and all i bid on a like new item and received a good item in terms of condition. so i would like to pay for a good price.let me know what you would like to do.thanks

buyer: you can't see scratches on a disk from a picture but i could try if you really want me to go through the trouble.

me: So the scratches are so small that you can't see them in a picture, yet you want a $5.00 partial refund? I will still offer you the $3.00 refund but not $5.00, I also do not leave feedback until the buyer leaves feedback, on the account of sellers not being able to leave negative feedback.

buyer: i don't want to make this into a big deal so why don't you just take your item back and refund me my total cost plus shipping to you.thanks

me: Sorry no refunds, feel free to leave negative feedback. I do not deal with buyers that attempt to blackmail me.

buyer: blackmail??? you listed a item as like new but the case is broken and the disk is scratched. instead of just leaving you negative feedback i try to work the problem out with you.i should be the one upset.i was the one the was mislead.if you don't want to work this out between me and you fine. I tried!

here is the item description.

I'm selling my copy of inFamous, it is one of the best games I have played in years. The game looks like new with no scratches, scuffs or fingerprints on the disk, I'm also including everything that came with it like the manual, case, and insert.

I will ship same day I get payment.
Click to expand...

Am I being unreasonable by not meeting his demands? Should I have just refunded him his money? Btw I sold the game for $30.00
 
I had a similar experience when I sold a CD player to someone.

I shipped via UPS, and stated that in the item description.

The guy who got it complained that I didn't ship via USPS and demanded a refund.

I said no. Plain and simple. He was trying to get his money back and also receive the item.
 
I really don't see why two extra dollars is such a big deal to you.

If the guy is telling the truth about the disk being scratched and such, give him what he asks or accept the damn return.

Not trying to be mean to you, but i feel the buyer is being the more mature one in this situation.
 
twistedlegato said:
I really don't see why two extra dollars is such a big deal to you.

If the guy is telling the truth about the disk being scratched and such, give him what he asks or accept the damn return.

Not trying to be mean to you, but i feel the buyer is being the more mature one in this situation.
Click to expand...

Obviously he is not telling the truth about the disk being scratched, he can't even get a picture of the scratches.. I do think that offering him $3 was a mistake, I should have not offered him anything.
 
Luckily, I've not run into this with ebay but I have had a couple of high maintenance buyers before. I have a 100% feedback that I zealously guard. To that point I'm wicked paranoid about selling on ebay these days because the seller cannot leave any negative feedback. While I only sell one or two things a year on ebay, I do try to sell them on craigslist first.

I'm curious to know if the volume of ebay auctions is decreasing since removing the tools a seller would have in dealing with folks like this.
 
I would take the feedback hit, you can always leave a comment on your feedback explaining your case. As for maintaining 100%, that is only for the last 12 months, so this time next year it will be all forgotten :)

I use eBay a lot, and I don't have a problem with the odd negative feedback, you can see from all the other feedback that it is a one off, especially when the seller leaves their opinion too.

Of course this is easy for me to say, I still have 100%!
 
dubhe said:
I would take the feedback hit, you can always leave a comment on your feedback explaining your case. As for maintaining 100%, that is only for the last 12 months, so this time next year it will be all forgotten :)
Click to expand...
I didn't know that, but still taking the hit would be painful for me just because I strive to keep it at 100%
 
Since the new system has been in place it has been down hill for me on eBay. This is one of the many problems that tend to reoccur. Usually it happens when someone who hasn't read the description properly jumps in with a bid at the last minute.

Some examples:

Used Spares/Repairs Dell Latitude: Description clear stated that there was no HD. Buyer threatened me with negative feedback if I didn't refund him (he said that I 'overcharged' to say there was no HD, despite the fact he BID on it). I said that I'd refund him, on the item's return. The laptop returned with obvious fire damage covered in profanity. Luckily the con artist was banned before he could leave negative feedback, but I still had to give him a refund thanks to Paypal.

R/C Dune Buggy: The buyer was quiet for three weeks after sale, but then he contacted me saying he'd only just receive the item (courier tracking said differently, he'd had it for almost the full three weeks), which was apparently crushed and 'clearly not usable'. I asked him for evidence, explaining that I'd need to see a photograph or video of the damage before I could help. Ignoring this, he simply gave me negative feedback saying my customer service was terrible. Obvious con, yet eBay were no help. Fortunately he never got a refund.

Baby clothes: I received a crude email claiming the items were covered in urine. The buyer demanded a full refund, yet wanted to keep the item. I refused, saying that I'd give them a partial refund if they could prove it and return the items. Again they refused to prove it and instead asked for a 50% refund. I obliged, as it was close to the above incident and I didn't want further damage to my reputation. Who would want to keep baby clothes that were covered in urine anyway? Surely they'd want to send them back.

I could list many more, but these are the most memorable from my experience on eBay. Unfortunately eBay fail to recognise that there are unscrupulous buyers as well as unscrupulous sellers and when the system is almost entirely in favour of the buyer in such situation, it leaves it prone to abuse from such people who want something for less or for nothing.
 
ButtUglyJeff said:
Always offer shipping insurance, as a separate line item. That way, when they pass in the insurance, you then have leverage on any "shipping damage", that they may claim.......
Click to expand...

how does that help when they more interested in saying it was broken before you shipped it before saying "oops, i forgot insurance." ?

if you say "well, you passed on it", theyll just retort you are just saying that to cover the fact you were selling a broken item.

you cant reason with stupid, or angry.
 
I'm done with selling on eBay:

Fees: Listing fee, final value fee and then paypal takes a piece (99% of my buyers would use paypal).

Buyer bias: I've learned the hard way that shipping insurance protects the seller and not the buyer. If the buyer claims to have not received an item, without shipping insurance or at least a tracking #, case always sides with the buyer.

Shipping limits: eBay has limits on how much the seller can charge for shipping. I understand the need as I was tired of seeing $20 shipping charges for small items but come on. The last three items, I've had to eat a few bucks as the shipping was higher than what I was able to charge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back