posted on May 19, 2000 08:16:26 PM new
So far, to date, my feedback is perfect.(knock on wood) I always stress in my
ads to please ask questions, if any, before
bidding. I am shooting for an ebay power seller spot, but need 100. Have 97 now, and
want to be the best I can be. But then, you
get a buyer occasionally, who quickly outbids
everyone else, then screams "Item not as described" wanting a refund. No questions were asked, and I have been dealing in this
very same inventory for 12 years, and I know,
the item was EXACTLY as described. So, I graciously refunded the money, but wanted an
explanation at the same time. He was frustrated that I would ask, and didn't want
to go into detail with me. How do you deal with morons like that without having your reputation ruined? Any other sellers have a
similar problem? Simply curious. How would
you have handled it? This is twice now this
has happened, and the first time was a 100%
switch of merchandise (no question). I would
love to hear YOUR horror stories!
Thanks much.
Anita (neeter5 ebay user ID)
posted on June 6, 2000 10:21:01 PM new
Sometimes you just can't please people. I had a buyer bid and win 1 of my auctions, then had a hard time contacting him. He finally paid after about 3 weeks and when he received the merchandise became irate that it was "not as described", which it was. I responded to him that I was sorry he was not pleased with his purchase and that I would gladly refund his money, less shipping and insurance. I guess he had a change of heart and I never heard from him again. My basic philosophy is that I'll refund if mdse is returned as sent and I don't bother to ask questions since the buyer has a right to change his mind, and if treated with respect, they may return again. However, my items are small dollars - if I sold high ticket items, I probably wouldn't feel this way.
posted on July 1, 2000 06:57:39 PM new
I've had 2 of these auctions recently. One was a drawing. I received an email from the bidder saying the item wasn't as described & she was leaving neg. feedback. I immediately contacted her and asked what the problem was and that I would be happy to issue a refund if that would solve the problem. Following her explanation, I followed with an email asking what action she would like me to take. No response!
On the second auction, the buyer was quite anxious to get the piece. Then an email arrived accusing me of sending broken merchandise and covering the damage to dupe buyers. He was leaving negative feedback. He sure did. I identified 2 chips in the description, the only damage either my husband or myself could find. He has never responded with an explanation of what was broken. I really feel buyers should contact sellers with their problems prior to posting negative feedback. Mistakes are made by everyone - often by buyers who don't read a description carefully enough. An honest seller deserves the opportunity to provide service if at all possible.
Fortunately this isn't a common occurance, or I wouldn't be on eBay. I spent too many years being paid for providing customer service - why would I want to screw up my own business?
posted on July 3, 2000 02:39:34 PM new
"I really feel buyers should contact sellers with their problems prior to posting negative feedback."
This buyer contacts sellers ad nauseum, or at least that's what it feels like. To date:
1 "mint" dress. Mailed to ask about condition of fabric. "Excellent." Fabric shiny with wear, buttonholes torn, not even suitable for Goodwill donation. Seller response: it's a great dress. Period. I don't give refunds.
1 "very good shape book" with "no writing inside except for the first page." Spine extremely loose, writing and underlining all throughout the book. Seller response: well, too bad you're picky, sorry, I just don't know a lot about books.
1 lot 22lbs "great condition" Lego. Covered with something sticky and gross, and 5+ lbs of it wasn't Lego but miscellaneous junk. Seller response: does not reply to e-mail.
And on and on. The creepy thing is that none of these people have negative feedback, leaving me thinking the whole feedback idea is worthless: everybody's too scared of retaliation.
Still...
1 pair boots in "good shape, no wear to soles." Boots had been re-soled due to extensive wear. Seller response: we agreed that I'd put them back up for auction with a better description, and the seller would refund the difference. Auction currently going; seller happy with it, thanked me for the honesty because she had been burned too but never bothered to mail the seller about it, and was now inspired to do so.
That's the *only* person I've complained (politely!) to who had a decent response.
If anybody wants to advise what to do when a seller adamantly maintains that a badly worn and damaged item is "MINT!!" as it was described in the auction, _please_ help me out? See the thread (er -- the one post) in this forum about 'Junk seller, junk merchandise' or whatever I called it -- nobody's responded even though people with more experience than I are obviously using this area, and I'd still just like a boot in the right direction if anybody knows.
The coat seller's response: "I am not a department store." "Do not buy clothes on eBay if you expect things to be perfect." Bizarrely nasty mails. I'm not out a great deal of $, just really irritated. (Seller uses UPS, so can't complain to the PO...)
*sigh*
Strangely, but maybe not so much, is that what few things I've sold on eBay sell for more than I expect them to because I try to mention every possible flaw, or put in a low starting price and note that I know nothing about what I'm selling so please e-mail questions; that sort of thing. It gives me the impression that I'm not the only one getting burned constantly, if people are more willing to bid on things that are *not* described as "MINT!!"
