what to do

soolin

Having a slight crisis at home (long story short, long term house guest arrived to stay seriously ill yesterday meaning lots of medical attention urgently needed with me driving back and forth to hospital whilst trying to manage normal life) .

However, I had someone ask about cash on collection on one of my business items, sent a quick email with an offer through ebay saying that was fine, accept the offer which is item cost less postage, but don't pay and I'll have tem ready for collection. Buyer has accepted offer and paid (argghh) and then emailed to say hey will collect this morning and bring cash and to refund their paypal payment as it will probably be less for cash (remember they haven't paid any postage).

Obviously under the new rules (and remembering I already have a warning from New year about dealing off ebay in a similar situation) there is nothing I can do here is there? Frankly the item is under £20 so in the great scheme of things, and running on very little sleep I have said just collect it and forget about the cash (I have checked their address and it is local and the names all tally).

Yes I know the scam potential but in this stupid new ebay system being scammed seems a better deal than losing my business over a sub £20 item . My only issue is if the buyer thinks they will get a refund if they bring cash- but any attempt to refund the paypal payment is going to get me either a defect or a warning/suspension.

I don't trust my thinking at the moment, I probably should have turned ebay off while I'm dealing with everything else- but I didn't factor in getting a buyer who complicates things.

theonlywayisup

Sorry to hear about things at home. I hope it improves and quickly.

On the collection front. You are as you say, between a rock and a hard place.

If you cancel, you will no doubt get the 7 day ban. If you don't cancel you are likely to get an OOS defect.

In your position, I would probably leave it with the Paypal payment, unless the buyer is angling for a further discount?

Tealblue

Tell him to forget about the cash, let him collect and with luck all should be well. If he wants a discount for collection, just give him a small refund via Paypal to compensate for the fact you don't have to arrange delivery. Protecting yourself seems a much higher priority than anything else right now.

soolin

Thank you, I'm making silly mistakes here by dashing off emails and then doing all the A and E and emergency doctor stuff in too much of a hurry and have noticed a couple of silly mistakes I've made so far. I didn't want to get this wrong and wasn't sure if I had overlooked something.

Buyer is going to collect, I'll keep the paypal payment and hope she doesn't want any more discount, I had already accepted a lower offer to remove the postage and the paypal payment- frankly though it is a small issue when there is so much else going on, so if she pushes for any more refund I would probably refund a bit via paypal (which won't give me a defect) and take the loss.

janb5

Soolin- could you refund via Friends and Family option so you dont lose costs. Just need their email?

theonlywayisup

janb5 wrote: »

Soolin- could you refund via Friends and Family option so you dont lose costs. Just need their email?

That would be a bad idea as the initial payment will still be for the full amount.

Leave it as it is. If they want a discount a refund on the original transaction will be fine particularly as it won't be big enough to trigger a defect.

soolin

janb5 wrote: »

Soolin- could you refund via Friends and Family option so you dont lose costs. Just need their email?

That would be the worst thing I could do wouldn't it?

I keep their initial paypal payment which means it is open to chargeback, but also send them another £17 via friends and family, so I stand to lose twice as much as I do currently.

soolin

Just an update, my buyer was lovely - phoned me and asked if she could come round and turned up exactly when she said she would. Apologised for the confusion about PayPal and said she had wanted this widget for years and got a bit excited when she won it and just paid without thinking about it.

So all has turned out well.