help with ebay buyer

sambo31

I recently opened a new sellers account so i could make a bit of money and managed to sell quite a few things with no problems up until the beginning of June when i listed a watch for £30 BIN i recieved no offers and as i was skint when a member emailed me and offered me £25 i took him up on his offer i have since been told that i shouldnt have done this but as i am knew to ebay didnt realise, he sent the cheque which i cashed and then posted the item 1/6/06 the day before my weekly holiday and knowing this was a bank holiday didnt see the point of paying over the odds in first class so asked for it to be sent second class.

Once back off holiday i logged into my account and saw that one member had left positive feedback for item recieved but the member who had paid for watch hadnt recieved his and had sent me snotty email asking where it was so i then replied saying that another member had recieved theres fine and that they were both sent the same day and so would he be patient.

I hadnt heard anything for over a week so presumed he had recieved it in post i then recieved another email saying he still hadnt recieved it so told him to contact his local sorting office to see if it was there didnt recieve email back until last night where he has been very snotty saying i'm a crap business man (i'm a woman lol) and that he still hasnt recieved it and is not very happy basically so i have replied saying that i presume he hasnt contacted his sorting office and that how do i know he hasnt recieved it and he is blagging me to give him full refund and that i have never had problems before and that i am very honest.

Thing is where do i go from here
1. The post office didnt give me reciept on postage as it was second class (unless ive lost it but dont remember them giving me one)

2. He didnt bid through ebay like he should have he emailed me and asked if i would accept lower payment and that he would send cheque everything else was done via email

I am at a loss now as to what to do i dont want a bad name on ebay but cant see how he can as it was done by email

Please help.

skyranger

Whilst nobody can force you to issue a refund (as it was done outside of paypal and ebay), the buyer could report through ebay, but as it wasn't bought through ebay they couldnt do anything. He may try to be nasty an report you in some other way e.g. trying to avoid paying ebay final fees but really there is nothing that can be done.

frivolous_fay

Yep, your buyer is basically stuffed and will have a hard time forcing you to refund him. He may possibly be able to have the cheque cancelled, if he's willing to play dirty. Ebay will not get involved as he was daft enough to buy outside ebay.

He obviously doesn't realise the weak position he's in, otherwise he wouldn't be so aggressive and rude. His only chance of a resolution is if you choose to help him.

sambo31

Thanks all for your advice i have been fretting i would probably be more willing to help him but as he was so rude and there are obviously lots of people on ebay who will say they didnt recieve the item when they did i will now politely tell him that i have done my part and sent the item out and there is nothing more i can do.

bleugh

can I ask how the item was paid for?


if it was with paypal, then, unless you can prove posting (by special or recorded delivery), the buyer can claim ALL his money back (regardless of whether they've actually received the item or not)


if it was with another means, then the buyer can't easilly claim his money back, but, morally, you do have a responsibility to ensure the item arrived ok

as to you handle this, it's up to you, Ebay can't and won't get involved,
the buyer though can very easilly be vindictive and wreck your future auctions

it could possibly go down to small claims court, then it's up to you to prove that you actually posted the item

in future, ALWAYS get a certificate of posting, OR use special / recorded delivery, then, if problems happen like this in the future, you're covered

Mikeyorks

bleugh wrote:

can I ask how the item was paid for?

...............

he sent the cheque which i cashed

grimelda

Yes, you can get certificates of postage for second class and they cover you up to £32 (or maybe £35?). You should ALWAYS get one of these. Personally I think you have a moral responsibility to ensure the item gets to your buyer but as others have said, he paid by cheque and didn't go through Ebay so there's not a lot he can do to get his money.

bleugh

Mikeyorks wrote:

...............;)

hehe, i had to re-read it three times before i saw the bit about the cheque :-)

D'oh!

jenniferpa

He could, however, file a small claim against you, and if he wins, you'll be paying the £25 plus £30 filing fee.

He made a major error initiating this purchase in this way, you made a major error in posting the way that you did. Honestly, if he was pleasant about it I might try to reach a compromise, but if he's being difficult ...

Hintza

Sambo please read this forum in depth. You will find hosts of threads on this subject. You really should post at laest with Cert of Posting and for that I would have posted recorded. Expensive items should be sent Special. It is the sellers responsibility to ensure the goods reach the buyer.

Put yourself in his shoes!

Mikeyorks

Hintza wrote:

It is the sellers responsibility to ensure the goods reach the buyer.

.......despite the protestations, to the contrary, a lot of sellers put with their items!

I've just had to ask a seller to send an item special delivery I paid close to £400 for. Otherwise it would just have been posted standard 1st class. And, yes, I did ask, for the increase in price. And was quite pleased it was minimal. Possibly because, I suspect, he grossly undervalued the price he would get for it (or I and several other bidders overvalued it !!)