problem buyer - please help me

harley1

Hi all.

First post so please be gentle with me if I'm being a bit thick

10 days ago I had a buyer buy two things and ask for reduced postage, which I did. By mutual agreement she held off paying until the end of another auction on sunday (last) so that she could have combined postage for all items. I agreed to this and advised that she should assume postage at 70p per item to be on the safe side. I have weighed all items together and know that I have been fair.

By tonight she had still not paid, or answered my 'gentle reminder' email so I had to open a dispute on the first two items she bought. She replied pretty quickly saying

"im sorry for late but acctually my paypal account's pay limit is crossed over exactly when i was paying."

Now I don't really know what that means but I said I was prepared to wait until Monday night for her to sort it out.

Now she is saying that I have not amended the invoices properly and was only expecting to pay 50p per item postage, although I have the email to prove I said 70p.

Do you think she is just messing me around or am I being my usual impatient self.

Anyway, sorry it's so long, and thank you for looking. Any help will be much appreciated.

Sugar_Coated_Owl

It seems like she is giving you the run around. Personally I'd give her one last chance to make payment, if no payment is received in the next day or so I would close the dispute by choosing the option of 'I no longer want to communicate with the buyer e.t.c' (not sure of the exact wording).

harley1

Thanks razor, thats pretty much what I was thinking, though I'd better wait until Monday since that's what I promised. I'll have a look for the option you suggested. Never had anything like this before so didn't really know what to to. Thanks again for your advice.

Harley x

soolin

Bung in disputes as soon as you feel able, do not discount the postage any further than the 70p per item you agreed.

Once a buyer starts to get difficult I take a step back..keep all your emails brief and firm and don't let her start any silly arguments about what you did or did not agree. If you start to justify things it often makes the buyer think they can gain an advantage and start pushing...stay firm. If she won't pay then just complete the disputes and relist once they are closed.

harley1

Thanks soolin. I am sticking to my guns on the postage but I will give her until monday as promised. Don't hold out much hope since that only leaves her one working day, and that's a Saturday. She has emailed again stating that she has gone over her spending limit and will take 3 days to clear. Then she says that she hopes I will co-operate :rolleyes: I think I will assume that this is a language barrier issue rather than her trying to be demanding. God, I'm far too nice for this game.

Anyway thanks again for your help. x

goldspanners

harley1 wrote: »

God, I'm far too nice for this game.

when you get more buyers like this your attitude will soon change!

open all the disputes asap.wait until you can close the dispute (i think its after the 8th day of the dispute being opened) and you will get your fees back and you can then relist them.
they can still pay you even when the disputes have been filed.

harley1

Have done the dispute for first two items. can't do the other two until sunday. I wanted to end the first two now by using soolins suggestion of saying I no longer wanted to communicate with the buyer but it says I have to wait until 8 days after opening the dispute.

Since this last winning bid for two of my items she has managed to pay someone else for something she bought from them so I can't really see why she couldn't pay me when she won my auctions.

Sorry for the rant, I think my real question now is: If she pays up between now and me being able to close the disputes how can I make sure she doesn't try to say that the items didn't arrive or are damaged or something. She has 20 feedbacks and all are really good but I'm just getting the feeling that something isn't right.

Anyway, thanks both soolin and spanners for help so far, any thing else you can offer would me most gratefully received :-)

custardy

what postage service are you using?

harley1

Royal mail. It'll be quite a small package and I've checked the price on the website, so I know she's getting a good deal.

Though this morning I've sent something that I'd weighed and checked but something went wrong and it cost me more to send it than he paid in total. :eek:

Obviously sent it anyway, as I like to treat my buyers the way I would like them to treat me, but a harsh lesson.

goldspanners

post your items special delivery and then add the tracking number to the paypal payment for both items.
remember to keep a hold of the reciepts!

harley1

Hi spanners.

Thanks for reply, just checked that out on price checker and would cost £8 to deliver SD. Due to her asking for me to combine the postage that is double what I have agreed to charge her. Obviously that was prior to me realising that she could be a scammer. Not sure why, as her feedback is excellent, but really not trusting this one.

I normally only send 2nd class and get proof of postage but I guess that might not be enough in this case.

Can I just refuse to deal with her? I know I risk a negative but could I just refund her money (if she does ever pay) and relist the items, or with this leave me wide open to grief from ebay?

Harley x