posted on February 6, 2001 07:04:54 AM new
Was the bidder a newbie?
Okay, I know I am about to get hammered by all of the other sellers out here so in advance "You run your auctions how it works for you, I do what works for me"
Taking into account how many transactions this bidder has (I don't know in this situation) and what the item is really worth which I also don't know), I would probably (oh man here it comes) refund the bidders money and have them keep the jacket. Why throw good money after bad by paying another $3.50 shipping to get back an item that is less than $10.? Do you really want the jacket back? Consider it a lesson learned in checking out items more thoroughly (so you would know if the item was stained) as well as a lesson in describing your items (no rips, tears, stains, etc). This transaction has taken up a lot more of your time than it would have to initially check out the item and describe it thoroughly, hasn't it? What are you out besides the jacket and one way shipping? I agree that the bidder should have been nicer. You are pretty clear in your demands ~ if dissatisfied, the bidder should e-mail from a "no harm in asking" approach.
No offense intended, just my opinion!
posted on February 6, 2001 07:14:10 AM new
chepistar
Interesting post. A while ago, I shipped what I thought was a great copy of a $30 book. I got an email from a very nice, but upset buyer who told me that it was missing 2 pages.
My response was, "Sorry send it back and I'll refund your money and shipping both ways"
The book came back, the pages were missing, I sent the refund, threw out the book and we all lived happily ever after.
But I still don't know why I spent $4.00 to have a worthless book returned to me.
Bill
[ edited by cdnbooks on Feb 6, 2001 07:14 AM ]
posted on February 6, 2001 09:23:05 AM new
joelyfaith..You seem to have a problem with your TOS being violated, yet you violated AW's TOS by posting a link. I guess not everyone follows posted TOS, we all make mistakes.
posted on February 6, 2001 10:02:46 AM new
Your TOS are fine. The rule at eBay is "all sales are final" and you reinforced that in your ad. You are under no obligation to refund.
Having said that, there is some question as to whether "stained" and "nice" are the same. I don't believe they are. I would meet the bidder half-way. Tell her you will refund her bid price upon receipt of jacket. I would not refund her shipping.
Like you, I am much more prone to refund if I get a polite email, not a threat. On the other hand, negative feedback will hurt and probably cost you sales down the road. Swallow your pride, beat your pillow for 10 minutes, refund and move on. JMHO.
posted on February 6, 2001 10:22:51 AM new
I am a power seller (woopee) and I also state ALL SALES ARE FINAL in all of my auctions.
I DO, however, feel that there are exceptions. Your auction is one of them.
I feel it is the sellers responsibility to accurately describe the item. Like mentioned in previous posts...the buyer cant look at the item for themselves so they are totally relying on the sellers description of an item. If a seller misses something than I feel it is THEIR responsibility and they should try to correct the problem. Like I said, all of my auctions state final sale but there have been times I have taken things back when I missed something. I myself refund them the total amount they paid (including all postage costs) PLUS postage for them to return the item to me. I feeel this in only fair since it was my error to begin with. Why should they have to pay for something I missed? And I will tell you that in all cases I developed a wonderful repoir with that person as they feel they can trust me.....and thats a BIG deal in this business! I have also made repeat customers out of each and every one of them. And to further add.....they have often recommended my auctions to their friends!
My advice it to take the item back. It wont kill you.
posted on February 6, 2001 10:36:27 AM new
If all sales are final and as is, then all sales are final and the product is as is.
If you bend a policy, the customer will break the policy. Her assumptions are not your problem. eBay is not likely to take sides with your bidder on this one. No refunds is no refunds, but since you want to negotiate away your terms, she'll keep yelling. Tell her if the jacket is not returned in ten days, you'll consider your offer to refund void. Then do it and no more discussion.
posted on February 6, 2001 10:59:23 AM new
...IMHO, before you can hide behind the "all sales final wall" you have to have shipped what you described.....
But what an awful way to conduct business. No wonder people are wary of eBay.
posted on February 6, 2001 11:11:02 AM new
Here's another rule some of you should familiarize yourselves with.
While the vast majority of eBay transactions are trouble-free, rest assured that when fraud happens, our guarantee can help. Here's how fraud is defined on eBay:
1.Paying for an item and never receiving it
or
2.Receiving an item that is less than what is described
FYI - With as little as 1 single complaint of fraud, eBay can terminate your account.
Not saying they will, but with Unsafe Harbor ya just never know?
posted on February 6, 2001 11:21:17 AM new
Chepistar & Bill
Last month I had a high bidder email me & complain after he had already left me pos feedback. He told me that the tin I sold wasn't all that old, and he wished I'd been clear about that in my ad.
I emailed him back, we discussed it further, and after seeing this customer wasn't real happy [high feedback buyer], I told him to keep the tin, and I would send him a FULL refund, inluding shipping.
The buyer was both shocked, and thrilled that I was willing to do that for them, and they insisted on returning the tin & paying for the return shipping themselves.
I eventually talked him into keeping it & told them to consider it in lieu of their wasted time & effort on this item.
posted on February 6, 2001 11:44:42 AM new
You're going to run into people you just can't please no matter what your TOS are. Personally, I would refund, with her original postage and let her keep the jacket. To me, it's just not worth the arguing and possible NFB for $10 or $14...Ebay has been good to me, and I make a good monthly income which I wouldn't want to jepordize for that small amount...I think you've got to look at the big picture here, and it's just another cost of doing business.
posted on February 6, 2001 11:48:07 AM newso happy I could plotz!!!
reddeer, yadda, cdnbooks ~ you made my day!! Call me corny but I like taking a not so great situation and turning it into a warm fuzzy feeling.
You got it, Bill, "and we all live happily ever after".
posted on February 6, 2001 11:50:01 AM new
<i>Happy Customers = Repeat Customers </i>
So true!
Joelyfaith,
This may sound anal retentive, but it really couldn't hoit to include a very detailed description of the item for sale.
I would much rather have a perspective bidder pass on an item of mine because the dustjacket was torn or the movie was a PVT than to have to deal with the time and expense it takes to smooth over a customer's ruffled feathers.
posted on February 6, 2001 11:57:41 AM new
The buyer is out of luck whether you missed the stains or not. You said it is in nice condition which is open to interpretation, but nothing misleading even if you knew the stains existed. In AS IS auctions buyers must examine photos closely or ask extensive questions. No exeptions.
It's too bad many of the replies disagree because it makes it harder on the next seller when you have allowed a buyer to ignore your terms.
\"They say the grass is greener on the other side. But have you flipped it over and looked?
\"
posted on February 6, 2001 11:58:16 AM newI would probably (oh man here it comes) refund the bidders money and have them keep the jacket.
I think I'm getting your bidders. Whenever a customer tells me that there is a flaw in my merchandise, I tell him to return it and I'll refund the purchase price plus shipping both ways. Less than 10% ever return the merchandise. What usually happens is that the customer is surprised that I expect him to return the merchandise. And when I confirm that he has to return it, all of a sudden, he realizes that he can live with the "flaw".
I think that there are a significant number of bidders out there that know if they complain about some flaw, real or imagined, they'll get a partial refund or, maybe, in Chepistar's case, free merchandise.
The trouble is that when some well-meaning seller gives partial refunds or free merchandise, it just encourages the scammers to do it more.
Of course, it is possible that it really is stained. In that case, give a full refund including shipping each way. "As-is" or "All sales final" doesn't cover inaccurate descriptions.
Chepistar recommends that you let the buyer the keep the jacket and refund his money. In which case, you're out a jacket and $3.50 postage. If accept the return and refund all money, you're out $7 postage($3.50 each way). You can always resell the jacket and cut your losses or maybe even profit, but Chepistar's way is a guaranteed loss of $10.
Odds are, it won't be returned even if you offer a full refund including shipping both ways. If it is returned, whatever stains there are will be minor. If you don't think there were stains then there probably weren't any. If there are, they would probably be new stains, or it's a case of buyer's remorse and they found a couple of insignificant hidden stains. If somehow you did miss a couple of significant stains, you can always give it to charity. A stained jacket will keep someone just as warm as an unstained jacket.
posted on February 6, 2001 12:02:13 PM new
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP. She and I were able to come to an agreement we could both live with and she thanked me. I refunded her bid price and allowed her to keep the jacket.....and all is well here! Thanks for the help!
posted on February 6, 2001 12:08:00 PM new
"It's too bad many of the replies disagree because it makes it harder on the next seller when you have allowed a buyer to ignore your terms. "
To a certain extent, I agree. This statement especially hits home since I have just gotten a nightmare client out of my hair who kept amending and changing what he wantedto do and ignoring my offers to try to fix the situation to his liking. What a mess! If I had stuck to the original offer as spelled out in the auction I could have saved myself time and money.
Edit: Joely, glad to read that you resolved the issue!
[ edited by RosanneRosannadanna on Feb 6, 2001 12:09 PM ]
[ edited by RosanneRosannadanna on Feb 6, 2001 02:34 PM ]
posted on February 6, 2001 01:21:55 PM newIt's too bad many of the replies disagree because it makes it harder on the next seller when you have allowed a buyer to ignore your terms.
Hmmmmmmmmm.
The way I see it, every time a seller treats a bidder on eBay the way some of y'all do, that's one more potential customer of mine that I may have just lost forever.
And some of you same sellers have the nerve to whine about bidding being down ..... duh.
I wasn't born yesterday, and I can smell a con job from a mile away, but with complaints averaging 1 per 500 sales, I'm not about to make a stink over a few $ on an item where I may have indeed missed something.
I've only turned down 1 return over the past 3+ years, because the high bidder was attempting to pull a fast one. Once he understood that I knew what he was attempting to do, and that I wasn't going to be an easy mark, he had a sudden change of heart, kept the item, and left me positive feedback.
Not even sure why I'm wasting my time posting this, some of you can't seem to see the forest for the trees ...............
posted on February 6, 2001 01:47:28 PM new
I should shop with you guys. I've only had two incidents where I asked them to return the item, both claimed the item got damaged. One was silver napkin rings (tough to break). As soon as I offered to replace the item or refund once I have received their return and verified my mark on the item. Both decided it was fine. Both left wonderful feedback. Just my thoughts, everybody does what works for them!
posted on February 6, 2001 02:40:53 PM new
Redeer,
It's good business sense to be flexible. However, when no remedies seem to be enough, including things specifically requested by the client and they are now costing you more money than you made, it seems like the best thing to do is make a flat offer to fix it and then move on.
Luckily, that type of client is very, very rare.
[ edited by RosanneRosannadanna on Feb 6, 2001 02:42 PM ]
posted on February 6, 2001 02:54:07 PM new
Losing a customer that is not profitable is a good thing for me. Chances are that person has similar friends so losing the word of mouth from them is another positive.
There's a difference accepting returns for my mistake, and accepting returns because of the buyers mistake. If I make a mistake, I pay. If the buyer makes a mistake they pay. Mistakes are how people learn. If you reward their mistake are they going to learn?
By the way Reddeer, I'm not whining about declining sales. I just finished my best Christmas and after Christmas period ever. My profits are rising too. So your theory doesn't hold water.
posted on February 6, 2001 03:00:58 PM new
Offer the buyer money to have the garment cleaned (say $3.00). Maybe cheaper than returning the postage and having to relist the item and it may satisfy the buyer.
so happy I could plotz!!!