Ebay Frustration - Any Help Appreciated
PSARich
Posts: 534 ✭✭✭
Here's the case.
Buyer wins my auction and pays. Next day I take it the card to the Post Office and they scan in the package. For three weeks tracking shows nothing except the PO received it. After three weeks the buyer files with eBay that he didn't receive the item. Ebay contacts me and tells me if I can't prove delivery I should refund. I check with the PO Claims / Lost Items person who checks into it and says its probably lost but might show up at some time. So since I can't prove delivery I refund the buyer. A day later the PO person calls me and tells me they found the package and it should be delivered in a couple days. When I see it has been delivered I contact the buyer and ask if he would please re-pay me. He says he won't refund the postage because he had to wait and if I don't like that he will return it. I tell him to return it through the eBay system. Nothing happens so I contact him again. He says he'll round up to cover a portion off the postage and send me the money. I say fine but after a couple days nothing. Next he says he doesn't know how to use PayPal, then he wants a bill, etc., etc. That night, after midnight he send me 4-5 messages offering bizarre ways he might pay me. So I tell him we're done and I will contact eBay. I guess he got a little worried because he then left me positive feedback. Another proof that he received the item. Now since last March you can't speak to an eBay representative but must file a complaint against a buyer online. Which I did and eBay rejected my claim in minutes saying the issue had already been resolved. Soon after that I got a survey to complete regarding their service which I completed. I told them that the the buyer's issue was resolved but my issue is not and didn't they even read the detailed information I provided, including delivery confirmation. They respond again saying they have closed the case. And suggested I try PayPal. I sent them one last message telling them I have over 5800 positive feedbacks without a negative, They have sent me many Top Rated Seller certificates and provided me a help line that is not functioning and yet they would even consider my issue.
So, has this ever happened to anyone? And if so were you able to get it resolved?
I might add that was not an expensive sale, I'm only out about $12. It's just the principal of the thing that bothers me and that a buyer is perfectly happy getting something that he didn't have to pay for. My dear wife says its time to move on and since I have vented here on the message board I believe it is out of my system. Thank you!
Comments
out the buyer here or privately please so i can add to my block list.
does he have a $12 item for sale? 😉
that might provoke him into figuring it out on his own.
Ebay is stacked against small sellers and favors buyers.
I gave up selling there last year and won't be back until they change their policies. I won't hold my breath.
Sorry you had to deal with that situation.
$12? The amount of mental energy and time spent on this is worth way more than that, imo. When I first started reading this post, I was expecting it to be a 1K+ purchase. If it were me, I'd just block him and move on. Or maybe ask him if he has Zelle or Venmo?
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
agreed, out him, block him and move on. I send a lot of PWE and had to refund a few for not receiving, I had people try to play that card with tracked items too. On PWE, I refund and block, on tracking if PO dissed me and didn't do a delivery scan same thing, other wise I fight. I had plenty of items where person says "I've been looking for x for years and ebay won't let me buy it" I say, sorry can't help you" but I know it's they screwed me on a previous order, sometimes I'll check the id and confirm to myself. Moral of the story: Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice shame on me.
I have to much S**t; so if you working on sets or are a player/team collector, send me your want list, with conditions desired. Keep in mind I have a another job so please allow me a few days to respond.
almost said the say thing, grote. and on another day, i would. yet, there's something about principals too. mental anguish of do you let it slide bc it's $12 and have that eat at you considering what the guys done? and letting him get away w/ it and continuing to do it to others?
or ride it until what's right is right and/but having the "am i really doing this for $12?" eat at you too?
and the one answer really is "there's no right answer". it just sucks.
If op don't out the buyer, it didn't happen.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
Sorry to Agree with your dear wife, but she's right...$12 bucks....Really, Really Move On! Buy another Starbucks and move on!
But: out the Buyer via Private, Message so I don't have to go thru this pain again for the 100th time, which I have!!
Thanks
YeeHaw!
Neil
i would like to change my answer. i totally missed the part of the wife just saying "forget about it". if that's the case, just do that. id rather send the guy an EXTRA $12 bucks than battle the wife over this. this falls along the lines of picking your battles wisely.
Your right, moving on is the way to go. Off to Starbucks in the morning! Plus I listen to my wife who was paralyzed in an auto accident 18 years ago and never complains, lives her life to the fullest, and knows more than most what is important and what is not.
It really isn't the small amount of money that p...ed me off, mostly the fact that eBay was of no help. Once the buyer files for "non delivery" eBay gives you a couple days to prove delivery or issue a refund. I did as eBay requested and later when the card was delivered, they consider the case already closed, even though as the seller I can now prove delivery through tracking. I naively thought it would be simple for eBay to verify the card was delivered and issue a new invoice. (They have access to the listing and tracking number)
I'll count my blessings and look forward to this week's auctions and consider how buyers are paying way more than I expect for my listings. The sports card market has gone crazy!
Thanks
If you are having trouble contacting eBay and use Facebook, look up Ebay for Business on there. I have gone to them as a last resort before when the regular CS reps just refused to listen or comprehend. They were extremely helpful and took care of all of my issues.
I just read all that and didn't see the buyers ID anywhere.
I always contact ebay via chat. Usually always works out good for me as a seller.
Terry Bradshaw was AMAZING!!
Ignore list -Basebal21
While at $12 this isn't a big deal, and I'm not sure how much you care about your ebay metrics, but when YOU refund a buyer, there is no way for the buyer to repay you since they don't have your email or a way through ebay. What I'm not sure of is if you refund the buyer in full, does the system allow you to send an invoice again (I'm guessing no).
Once you refund a buyer on your own, you can't complain to eBay and get them to suck money back from the guy, even if it does get delivered at that point.
Now I bring up your eBay metrics because if a case is opened against you and you DON'T refund it (or figure out something else to get the case resolved), if the buyer escalates it and you lose, then you get a mark on your metrics (not to mention possible bad feedback) The offshoot of this is eBay has a policy that an item must be delivered within 30 days after sale, but this usually comes into play when someone opens a case after 30 days. The other thing, and what happened to me and would have protected you, was when I sold an $80 car part and the package was MIA as the tracking stalled. After 40 days the buyer opened a case. Asked him to wait a week, but he escalated the case the minute he was allowed to. eBay instantly ruled for the buyer and refunded him in full. Flash forward 3 weeks and I am still looking at the tracking when the package finally moves and gets delivered. eBay has a policy of allowing an appeal of a case closed against you up to 30 days. So I open chat, register the appeal pointing out delivery. 5 minutes later I get an email that the case was reversed and my money returned. And if the buyer had left negative feedback by this point, it gets automatically removed.
So unless you are gunning for Top Seller status, if you risk your metrics, you can still get paid!
I had a similar thing happen, a small priority mail box got lost for a few weeks. Luckily for me it wasn't an expensive item and I had sold to the buyer in the past. We both stayed relaxed and the box was found and delivered.
In the worst case scenario, I think the seller is out of luck........surprise!
Ebay certainly should account for shipments that get delivered after the seller is forced to refund purchase as long as tracking was provided. Buyer should be recharged for the item.
Many thanks to coolstanley and others.
I went to chat room and immediately got help. The eBay rep said once the buyer's case was closed it could not be re-opened even as I stated this was now my case not his. Apparently eBay has no case option for my scenario. He visited the listed and saw the history of the buyer's complaint, my refund, and then the later proof of delivery of the card via tracking. He said eBay cannot issue a new invoice to the buyer and I could try and work with PayPal but he didn't know how successful that would be.
What he did do was issue me an eBay credit coupon for the amount I lost in the sale.
I know the buyer is still off the hook but the eBay rep could suggest no options for dealing with him other than blocking.
And spreading the word to us so that we could do the same.
I had the same thing happened. It was a $13 item, not card related. I gave him a refund after no post office action in 10 days. Item finally arrived after around 30 days. I ask him to pay or return it. He said he returned it, but that's been 3+ weeks and I've received nothing. It's incredible how dishonest people will be even or a small amount of money.
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About two weeks ago I had a low feedback buyer file for a refund because he didn't realize the card was so off-center, even though I provided a large front and back scan of the card in the auction:
I reminded him that I provided a front and back scan in the auction, but he insisted he couldn't tell by the photo, so I just said please ship the card back to me and I will issue a full refund. I haven't received the card back yet, but I at least know he shipped it. Once I get the card back (hopefully the same card, and in the same condition I sent it in), then I'll refund, block, and out the buyer here.
This is the first time I've had a problem in years and after thousands of transactions, so I consider myself lucky.
Wish there was a solution for you and everybody. I experienced the same issue. Buyer over paid by 10x on a listed card. Then manipulated a scenario re: card pictured and card sent. He obviously did not read the description, which detailed very specifics. He contacted Ebay without notifying me. Through EBay I was notified, he wanted a refund. I agreed to do it, even though “no returns” was clearly stated. ( I personally insist on customer satisfaction). Then a barrage of emails calling me a liar and quoting consumer protection laws from this buyer. Ebay was in the loop all the way. He got his money back, but the negative feedback remains. Emails to EBay go unanswered. This one time issue ( which was resolved) remains on my seller rating.
Wait. It took 30 days to get to him from you. He returned it 21 days ago, but it hasn't arrived yet, so he's dishonest?
I've sold hundreds of items since April, and by far, 30 days from Peoria, Illinois to Orlando, Florida is the longest delivery time. While I am hopeful my item arrives back to me, there has been absolutely no movement on tracking since it arrived at his place on January 15th. It took 34 days to get there. He took four days to put it back in the mail, so it's only been 27 days or so coming back to me. Obviously, it should take 2-4 days each way. He supposedly wrote "Return to Sender" on the package. Again, my tracking number should be scanned on the way back, and the last scan is on January 15th saying it was delivered to him.
I messaged him about it again this morning saying I will try to make a claim with USPS. My guess is that it will show up in 3-4 days because he may finally send it today or tomorrow.
I've probably sent close to a thousand packages with USPS tracking over the years, and maybe one has been lost in the mail, maybe zero. But, it's interesting when I used to send low dollar items in a PWE without tracking, about 30% of buyers claimed that the package never arrived and I had to refund them. It has always surprised me that the percentage was so high.
I don't know if my $13 item from Orlando is in the mail or not. But once I had to refund him, I was immediately concerned that he would never return the item since he is not obligated to do so. Again, I stand by my statement that it is surprising how dishonest some people will be when they have the opportunity to get away with something.
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I just recently had a similar instance. I sold someone 3 in-person autographed cards that were not authenticated because the price point was low ($13 each). He gets them and immediately asks for a return because...wait for it...he can't confirm the authenticity of them because he didn't get them signed himself. I politely told him I cannot accept a return for buyers remorse and that he shouldn't be buying autographs which he didn't get himself, only to return them because he again didn't get them himself. He then proceeds to open a SNAD case so I was forced to take the return. I was furious! I told him the items were exactly as described and I couldn't have been more clear and that he was just using the SNAD to force a return. They were described perfectly...I had clear, large scans, in my store the category was "in-person autographs-unauthenticated," I clicked on "not authenticated" under the item specifics when listing, and in my description said it was an in-person autographed obtained at the ballpark.
Did you let eBay decide the case, or did you just throw in the towel and take them back?
It's so hard to win SNAD cases, so I just begrudgingly took them back.
Evening,
You don't "Let" E-bay decide a Case, they decide.....period! And in every instance, for the Buyer!
YeeHaw!
Neil
I got hosed in the other direction. I bought a raw Seaver rookie several years ago. It had a flaw that was not disclosed, so I returned it for a refund. The shipment was showing out for shipment but never arrived back at the seller. Fortunately I insured the package. I ended up losing $50 due to the deductible. About 6 months later I noticed the seller relisted the card. Apparently the package eventually arrived but he never informed me. In the end, the crook ended up with my money (since I got refunded through USPS) plus got to sell it again.
would have turned him over for mail fraud in a heartbeat.
Did you use the eBay supplied label for the return?
Not really a lot of documented cases, but if the tracking just stopped, I think eBay would still refund you at some point since it was their label, and I guess they would let the seller keep the money? Think eBay self-insures as it is rare.
This was years ago before they had the automated shipping system and strong buyer protections. I did get restitution though for another scumbag seller who was ripping people off by listing expensive cards and then never shipping them. He got arrested and had to pay back all his victims. I think he stole over $400k in that scam.
@thedutymon11 said:
You don't "Let" E-bay decide a Case, they decide.....period! And in every instance, for the Buyer!
Exactly!! The game is to open a return case with E-bay, do a chargeback with buyer credit card bank. The 3rd party involvement takes E-bay & PayPal out of the case. Case closed, bank decides for buyer.... Always. If you keep complaining to E-bay they will eventually refund final value fee to your seller account (2 months to get $250 fee back).