Advice Please - Nightmare Ebayer

ALWAYS_POOR

I sold a dress which was in perfect condition (although not brand new) on ebay. The buyer put in a bid at the very last minute. She had feedback of -1. What a nightmare. I posted the item next day. She emailed on the day of receipt (Saturday before May Day Bank Holiday) to complain and request a refund because it didn't fit. I was on holiday and did not see the email until my return on Tuesday after the Bank Holiday (today). By this time she had emailed me six times because I hadn't got back to her and the dress that didn't fit had escalated into a dress with a torn lining and of bad quality. She had also lodged a complaint with Paypal.

I offered to refund for the dress once she returned it which is the option I chose with Paypal's dispute system because I just want it all over now. In the meantime she has given me nasty negative feedback and keeps bombarding me with vicious emails.

I dread to think what condition the dress will come back in.

What can I do? I know that Paypal will refund her the money but what happens if the dress comes back even more damaged than just a tear in the lining? HELP PLEASE!

milliejon

I completely sympathise with you - bad buyers must doing a search for items based in Cardiff!

I do believe that if she's threatening you, you are entitled to contact the police in her area with the evidence. Sounds harsh but it might be worth threatening her.

As to a dress being too small - if you stated the size and measurements then it's her look out. She should just go on to sell again. As to increasing the problems with the dress - I'm not quite sure what to suggest.

Ebay is really getting to me lately - there seems to be too many dishonest people out there.

Sorry I couldn't be much help, but I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in being a bad buyer magnet!!

Gorgeous_George

I'm not sure that there's much you can do. Nothing legal at least!

It's always a risk selling stuff on eBay and as well as leaving strong negative feedback I believe you can add a response to the negative feedback left for you. It's a flaw in the system that you can refund the buyer in full and still receive negative feedback. As a 100% feedback eBayer, I'd be rather angry if someone did to me as has happened to you.

Perhaps we all should consider reserving the right to cancel any bid and doing so from anyone who has left -ve feedback in the past if we consider that there's a risk that the feedback was malicious.

Good luck!

GG

soolin

Gorgeous_George wrote:

Perhaps we all should consider reserving the right to cancel any bid and doing so from anyone who has left -ve feedback in the past if we consider that there's a risk that the feedback was malicious.

Good luck!

GG

There is the facility to set your seller options to stop anyone with an overall negative feedback being able to bid.

Soo

smartie1976

So she has made the dispute over the 'condition' of the item.
Even if found in her favour, surely the refund doesn't happen until you recieve the item back? Or am I confusing a refund with a chargeback?

quietheart

I'd reply to her feedback really calmly just stating the facts, I'm not that fussed about 100% as it's usually a matter of luck, if someone has received a neg I'm more interested in how they've responded. If they said they offered refund etc I'm more than happy with that.
Sorry you had to deal with such a loser....

Aiadi

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I wouldn't really offer her any refund until the PayPal dispute is settled and only if you receive the dress in the same condition when you sent it. Threatening email are quite unacceptable and I would as one poster suggested reply calmly but firmly stating that you would report any threats to the police. Hope it gets resolved to your satisfaction.

ALWAYS_POOR

In a Paypal dispute you are given certain options, you have to tick the box to say which option you prefer. I ticked to say that I would refund once the dress was returned. That was the best option there was for my situation. Paypal will refund her the money when they receive proof of posting, not when I am satisfied, ie when the goods are delivered to me in the good condition I posted them off. So there doesn't seem to be much I can do. I know Paypal will take the money whatever, even if I take all my money out of Paypal they will still pay her and I will be left owing them money. I think I'm in a no-win situation.

I didn't know that you could stop bidders with negative feedback from bidding on your items. That will be my next step.

The latest email from her states that I am a 'horrible woman' and the 'dress isn't even worthy of a donation to a charity shop', but she has sent the dress back by recorded delivery. She then goes on to say that she has blocked my emails (? - I only sent one) and has told all her friends not to buy from me (huh???). Oh, and I needn't try threatening her with negative feedback because that's pathetic.

Hey ho, another day!

Thank you.

soolin

I think we need another acronym, rather than the TSFE (Too stupid for ebay) we need something for 'shouldn't be let loose with an ebay account'. I think the latter would describe th ebuyer rather nicely.

I can fully understand a minor dispute about item condition on a second hand item, but resorting to childish remarks and insults is a step too far from a buyer.

Soo

Moglex

Gorgeous_George wrote:

It's a flaw in the system that you can refund the buyer in full and still receive negative feedback.

Not really.

What about the case where an uscrupulous seller is "trying it on", and accepting a few returns hoping that most people just won't bother.

If someone seriously mis-describes something so that you waste time and possibly money (and potential loss of another bargain in the interim) dealing with the situation, they deserve -ve feedback.

Contains_Mild_Peril

If an item were misdescribed but a refund given willingly, surely feedback should be neutral at worst? I think it is a flaw in the system that a buyer who is trying it on (e.g. damaging an item to claim a refund when the real problem was that it just didn't fit) can spoil an honest seller's reputation even when the seller has been very reasonable.
In the case ALWAYS POOR describes, I would make sure that the feedback warns others of the buyer's behaviour, but in a calm and factual manner, perhaps pointing out her feedback score as compared with the seller's.