posted on February 24, 2002 07:52:52 AM new
I cant believe the nerve of a buyer of mine. I sold her a childs dress and she got a great deal on it. The dress was worn once and in excellent condition. She emails me today and says the dress is ripped and falling apart (I know this is a lie) and she wants a refund but wants to KEEP the dress and have it fixed. I emailed her back and told her I'd be happy to refund her money but I will need to dress back. I cant believe she wants this dress for FREE!!!!
MEOW
posted on February 24, 2002 08:22:49 AM new
Some buyers will try anything. Hold back on your feedback and hope she sends the dress back for a refund. I just had one that is giving me a neg on feedback because I shipped artwork to her four days after her friday evening paypal payment. (two of the days were Sat & Sun and my shop is closed) I guess she wanted "instant" gratification because she paid with "instant payment". Doesn't matter that I had to do a custom matting for her. Be kind, some people just don't have anything between their ears.
posted on February 24, 2002 09:41:59 AM new
I just had a customer who had a problem with a jacket I sold them. They said it was ripped under the sleeve and it would cost so much to fix it. It is possible that the jacket was ripped ... unfortunately I did not look there before packaging it up.
My offer to her was half of her bid amount in cash or the full bid amount in credit on another one of my auctions. She would not be required to return the item in either instance.
I was trying to come up with a creative solution. What does everyone think, especially clothing sellers. Good idea or bad idea?
posted on February 24, 2002 09:52:10 AM new
mssanta,put yourself in the buyer's position. would you consider your offer as being acceptable? I wouldn't, give the customer a full refund, its the right thing to do.
posted on February 24, 2002 10:25:26 AM new
I agree with Alldings. If I was that customer and I was telling the truth about the rip, I would be annoyed that one of the options offered by the seller was not a full refund if the item was returned.
posted on February 24, 2002 10:56:17 AM new
I would not expect to keep the item free of charge either. I would give half and she keep the item, return to me for full refund.
posted on February 24, 2002 11:26:21 AM new
If the auction is less than 30 days old, have her fax or otherwise send a pix showing the tears. If the garment is falling apart, it wouldn't even make sense to repair it.
People who want a refund without returning the item are scam artists.
posted on February 24, 2002 04:34:17 PM new
you go to a dep. store,
they will not refund you the money unless
you return the merchandise,
I know most try hard not to be like a store,
but there are few things we should keep,
like the returns ... and refunds on shipping
(even Saks will not refund shipping back to them on a return, why should I, (and they can afford it )
(i know, some will say Nordstroms does -
but they are the only one I know of)
posted on February 24, 2002 04:58:02 PM newI would give half and she keep the item, return to me for full refund.
This is an P2P auction and buyers see a small photograph. They gauge their bid accordingly. If bidders want new in the box, want to try it on first or want a liberal return policy, they can pay retail at Macy's. You inspected the item and didn't notice any major flaws. End of story.
BTW, I have one bidder right now who I believe may be about to pull a "switcheroo." Claims I sent a different software version than the one advertised, wants to return the old one for a refund.
posted on February 24, 2002 05:15:22 PM new
I just got her email back ... she wants the half back and will have a new lining put in. Not a problem for me.
My goal is to get repeat customers ... and since this particular item was bought in a resale shop I have no idea what the age of it was. I am just happy that I can keep her happy.
posted on February 24, 2002 05:17:15 PM new
This is why I stamp all of my merchandise with a special UV ink and custom stamp. This way, if the item returned does not have a stamp, then no refund will be issued.
I had too many problems with the "switcheroo" technique.
posted on February 24, 2002 05:54:05 PM new
I HAD A BUYER PURCHASE A PAIR OF BRAND NEW VICT. SECRET PANTS AND SAY THEY WERE RIPPED WHEN SHE RECEIVED THEM AND WANTED A REFUND(WHICH WAS A LIE).
I TOLD HER TO SEND BACK THE PANTS AND I WOULD REFUND HER MONEY. I RECEIVED THEM YESTERDAY AND THEY WERE WORN, DIRTY, WASHED A HALF DOZEN TIMES AND SHE TOOK A RED MARKER AND TRIED TO DOT THE TAG LIKE I DO AND IT WENT THROUGH THE TAG AND THROUGH THE WHITE PANTS. I THINK YOU CALL THIS "BAIT AND SWITCH".
I TOLD HER THESE WERE NOT THE PANTS AND THAT I WAS CONTACTING EBAY'S SAFEHARBOR AND I HAVE NOT HEARD A WORD FROM HER.
SOME PEOPLE WANT TO KEEP THEIR MONEY AND THE ITEM--JOHN
posted on February 24, 2002 05:58:49 PM new
I told her FULL REFUND if item was returned to me. She emails me back and says that she has no time to do that since she is trying to find a seamstress on a SUNDAY to repair it for a picture sitting on Tuesday. She adds that she already went out and got a hat and gloves for easter to match the dress. Is it just me or is this chick think shes smart????
MEOW
posted on February 25, 2002 04:45:30 AM new
Another buyer problem in the same week! <sigh>. About 2 weeks ago I sold a video tape. All my listings say clearly that I only accept Money orders or Paypal. The buyer took her sweet time sending me payment and it was in the form of a personal check. I emailed her and very nicely thanked her for her payment but did not accept personal checks. Below is the email I got from her yesterday:
"I can't see the justification in driving the 30 miles to get a money order. If you won't accept the check, please discard and disreguard the order."
posted on February 25, 2002 09:16:28 PM new
OK: Here I go. Why the heck can't a seller accept a personal check? I know, it is your auction and you can do what you want, but geez, hold it for 2 weeks, three weeks, or a month. It might be different if seller gave signs of bad checks, or it was a huge amount. Money Orders are a pain to buy, cost money, and give sender no way to verify reliably that you cashed it.
If you don't have a bank account available to cash checks, well.................., that is no better excuse than buyer doesn't have a mo store nearby.
posted on February 25, 2002 09:59:02 PM new
Last month I sold two ceramic flamingos (small and slightly larger), matching. Buyer reported that the large one arrived broken, box bashed in, and sent pictures. Since he had the smaller one intact, I offered him $15 back (on a total of $23 including shipping) immediately and he accepted. I think we were both happy.
I suppose it could have been a scam, but it wasn't a high-end item, and I was happy to have those birds out of my storeroom!
And, by the way, I too do not understand sellers who won't accept personal checks. I agree with someone above--keep it for a month or more, if you have to, but don't deny the buyer a chance to send you some money!
Now, after 16 months of selling on ebay, I have accepted checks all along and never have had one of them bounce.
posted on February 26, 2002 02:13:26 AM new
Even on personal checks, I've had almost 10,000 transactions on eBay, and have only had 8 checks to bounce. I've successfully recovered 7 of them, plus bank fees, and the one I was unable to recover was less than $10.
Not really worth it, IMO, to hold checks unless they're for a huge amount of money.
Just my two cents.
Oh,and regarding refunds, I don't do partial refunds. All or nothing. If the buyer is unhappy for any reason, he/she can simply return it in the condition sent, and can get a full refund, no questions asked. No return, no money, unless it's a VERY low-dollar item, and then I will make an exception at times.
posted on February 26, 2002 05:17:07 AM new
Accepting or not accepting personal checks is NOT the issue here. The thread started off regarding the nerve of one of my buyers wanting a refund and still keep the item. In the next post I wrote, pertaining to the thread subject "BUYER PROBLEMS", was about a buyer totally disregarding payment instructions and then having an attitude about it. I do NOT nor will I ever accept personal checks and if a buyer refuses to comply with that rule she shouldnt have bid and I dont care if she has to do cartwheels into town to get a money order.
MEOW
posted on February 26, 2002 11:30:32 AM new
I encounter this same problem from time to time. Recently I had a lady win the bid on a silk robe. When she got the robe she wrote me and asked for refund because she already had one like this one. I asked her to read my listing information that says no refunds given...items sold as stated. Finally after several emails between us, I said I would give her a refund provided she shipped the item back to me first. I told her no shipping would be refunded. That is when she said she would keep the robe...it seems she had figured out that by paying all the shipping fees she would be out some money and the refund from me would not be beneficial in the end.
I seldom see where a seller refunds shipping fees when giving a refund. Why on earth would a seller want to refund something they cannot get a refund on themselves?
I also remind buyers that I am not a retail store where they can get a refund for items won. I've had my share of stories believe me. I can relate to those stories of a buyer saying the item arrived ripped, or ruined somehow when you know the item was in perfect condition when shipped. I've left feedback response on occasion that says: SOME PEOPLE JUST CAN'T BE PLEASED NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO. It pretty much says the person was hard to deal with.
In the end, you as a seller, must do what is best for your business. My biggest complaint is that buyers do not read the listing information prior to bidding and then after winning, want things changed to their liking in order to complete the transaction.
All in all..these types of buyers are few and in between for me. I encourage you to just do what is best for you and move on.
