posted on December 1, 2001 04:18:31 PM new
I find myself in the middle of a slightly humourous, yet slightly concerning matter. First, let me give you some background of the auction. I sold an item to a bidder. The auction was for a camera lens cap. Here are the terms quoted directly from my auction description that concern shipping:
>>>>>>
* High bidder is responsible for any and all shipping and handling charges. Small items (such as lens caps) are shipped for $2.50 in a protective bubble-mailer. Advertisements are shipped for $3.00 in a protective stay-flat mailer or sturdy mailing tube. Larger items under 2lbs will be shipped by USPS priority mail for $5.00. Larger items over 2lbs will have shipping charges based upon their approximate weight. Multiple items may be shipped together for an additional $.50 per additional item to save on the total s/h charges. International s/h charges depend on the country and item that is shipped. If you have questions on s/h , please contact me before the auction has ended.
* Seller is not responsible for lost or damaged items which are uninsured
>>>>>>
The item was shipped as stated, via USPS by first-class mail in a bubble-mailer. Today, I receive a negative feedback in my profile stating:
Seller charged $2.50 for shipping, sent item in envelope and paid 0.45 postage.
I also received an e-mail from him shortly after, stating:
I just received the XXXXXX.
The cap is fine, but you charged me $2.50 for shipping, and sent the
cap in a small envelope that doesn't even cost .25 cents, uninsured,
with a postage of .45 cents.
That wasn't nice, at least you should have sent it in a box, with
first class insured postage.
I promptly left the following response in my feedback profile:
Then, I proceeded to leave the following negative feedback in his profile:
Poor Bidder, Doesn't Read Auction Terms or Understand Costs Involved in Shipping
He then left the response in his feedback profile of:
Seller charged $2.50 for shipping, when it costed him 0.45 cents and UNINSURED!
Then, he left a follow-up in my profile to my response stating:
Seller sent item in cheap ENVELOPE, UNINSURED 2nd. class mail, I paid $2.50 s/h.
Immediately following this, I received the following e-mail from him:
I will file a fraud complaint with eBay and contact my lawyers on Monday
regarding that
negative feedback you just left under my name.
I am not questioning the $2.50 shipping charge, I am questioning the quality of
the package,
and the kind of service you used, UNINSURED 2nd. class mail, for which you paid
just .45 cents.
When I saw that your shipping charges were described as $2.50 in such a small
and light item,
I didn't have a problem with it, because I assumed that you were going to
package the item
accordingly and send it INSURED First Class mail. When I received that envelope,
I got very upset,
you used nothing else than an envelope that costs nothing more than .15 cents if
so, and sent the
item UNINSURED paying just .45 cents for 2nd. class postage. You charged me an
outrageous shipping
charge and didn't deliver the service I paid you for. My complaint is
legitimate, yours is not, I was ripped
off with your shipping charges, paying more than 300% of what the real cost was,
and I can prove it.
Okay.... so.... here's the Big Question... How on earth do I respond to this lunatic?!?! I know that eBay won't do anything about it... and I'm pretty sure the lawyers will laugh at him for a $4.99 item with a $2.50 charge.... but, still, I think some sort of response is warranted! Not to mention... I do want to point out to him that I sent the item FIRST class... not 2nd class as he is mistakenly accusing me of! Sorry this is long... but I wanted to make sure I got all the facts in. Your help is really appreciated in all this! Thanks for your responses!
posted on December 1, 2001 04:34:53 PM new
IMO... I would just ignore him. If you respond, then he will probably respond. Then you'll want to reply again and so on...
posted on December 1, 2001 04:40:13 PM new
I would not reply no futher the buyer knows this was sent first class
The stamp or stamps used on the Package tell the story I would also stop replying in the feed back other buyers pay more attention to the fighting in feed back threads then they do to the feed back its self.
as well I wouldn't worry about any others giveing you a problem if your listing stated this was a fixed shipping price.
If they want to contact a lawyer let them go for it there isnt one that will touch a suit of this nature today inless there is an insurance company to sue over the matter 99% dont take on personel cases that work for a percentage of the suit if there not gaureneteed money from Insurance.. http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
posted on December 1, 2001 04:49:01 PM new
I would ignore it. The buyer is within his rights to complain about your shipping charge, whether it was stated in the ad or not. However, you were not right to leave retaliatory feedback. Your negative feedback is based solely on the neg you received. I suggest you either lower your shipping charge or accept the fact that you will draw a certain percentage of complaints from customers because of it. JMHO.
posted on December 1, 2001 04:58:15 PM new
he is not going to see a lawyer.
you should not even bother to post it on aw.
may be you should become a short order cook if you have to ask what to do,it happens all the time on ebay
posted on December 1, 2001 05:38:44 PM new
Basically, it is pointless to respond at this point, except to block future bids. They'll move on, not really worth going to a lawyer for a negative feedback, etc.
Luckily I've not had this type of situation. The way I figure it, I am responsible for all items getting to my customers, whether insured or not. If it had gotten lost, I would replace or refund. On small purchases, it simply is not worth paying $1.10 to the post office because even if it is lost, it is not worth the hassle to refund on a small purchase.
posted on December 1, 2001 06:01:12 PM new
Thank you for all your responses. I had planned on ignoring it and letting it go... but guess what... I just got another e-mail from him! This ones actually a nice one though! Here's what he sent me:
I am writing now to apologize to you for all the inconvenience I have caused to
both of us.
You are absolutely right, I made a big mistake leaving unfair feedback on you at
eBay,
everything was well stated on your description, it was my mistake not reading
all the text,
and the item arrived in perfect condition, as it was described.
I still can't understand why I did what I did.
Please accept my apology, and let me know if there is anything I can do to
reverse all these
unfair and unjustified negative feedbacks.
I've gotta admit... it takes a big person to admit they're wrong after a situation reaches an inflamatory point. Should I direct this bidder to Squaretrade? If the bidder would be willing to put up the $15.00 charge... I'd be happy to work with them to get the negatives removed from both our profiles. What do you think?
