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19 replies

Two problem buyer issues - please advise

C cameoMember
I've only been selling now for a few weeks, so far so good, but as with everything a couple of issues have come up that I need advice on.

One is that a sale last week went to a buyer who is unconfirmed and unverified via Paypal. They paid right away, but I read Paypal's advice about making sure that I am sending the item to the correct address. I also wanted to be sure because the name and address on the Paypal buyer account are totally different than the name and address it says to ship the item to. I have emailed the buyer now three times requesting address confirmation (via eBay message center, Auctiva, and direct to their email) with no response. The item is paid for so I'm feeling ancy about shipping it in a timely fashion, but I'm also worried this may be a scam. Anyone else with advice on this one? I was planning to ship with insurance and tracking to be sure, but that wouldn't trip up a seasoned scammer, I'm sure.

The second issue is even more frustrating. There is a buyer who is bidding on every single thing I post every week. OK, fine, she finally won one, but now wants to back out, claiming she didn't notice the size was wrong for her and then that she didn't know the shipping would be so much (even though it's clearly stated on the listing). Now she wants me to do a mutual withdrawal on the item, and in the same breath informs me that she intends to bid on my next round of stuff as well. Is there any way to block this flake from bidding on my listings and wasting more of my time? I am all for the mutual withdrawal to get back my listing fees at least, but I'm really put off by the thought of having to deal with her every week.

Thanks for any and all advice!
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choochooguychoochooguyMember
Hi

1) Never send if you doubt the address even if they have paid, it is not unsual for some buyers to win and change their registered address even to keep it off of ebay, why I don't know, could be nervous could be fraudulent.

Many buyers are unverified and /or unconfirmed without being a problem that would only bother me if the item was very expensive and going international. in that case I would stipulate that in my listing.

Either way keep sending e-mails via ask buyer ONLY so it is kept on the system in case of dispute. Could be thier mail box is full.S ooner or later they must wonder where their win has got to.

2) First I would block her from bidding on anymore at least until this is resolved via your my eBay.

Then talk it through all by mail through ebay ONLY as above, if that fails file an unpaid dispute and then only communicate through the dispute console, is important to keep all communications on record in case of escalation.

In these circumstances it is not worth communicating by phone, letter or direct e-mail as it cannt be verified.

Be aware there are strict time limits on starting an unpaid dispute, and completing it.

Good luck and get back here if you need further advice from anyone. Smile

P.S. mutual withdrawal means you lose all the fees and the buyer walks away clean, go through with the dispute she gets a slapped wrist of an unpaid strike, you get your FVF fee refunded, she may red you but that in my book deserves one in return. As a seller only give feedback after receiving it to avoid malicious or lazy buyers.
M member8880Member
Yep, agree with Choo.

1) If the buyer has 2 different addresses that you can see, you'll pretty much have to wait to hear from them. Give them a week, if you haven 't heard by then post back.

2) In Ebay, click on 'site map' at the top of the page, toward the right I think. There's a place for blocked bidders list, center column. Add her Ebay ID. And please don't do a mutual, you lose your fees and she gets no strike. If your not paid within 8-10 days, start the unpaid item dispute . Then you can only close it if she responds or after 8 days have passed. I firmly believe in giving a strike...this is not a game, we all work hard taking pics and writing descriptions, etc. And it's way to early to even think about FB yet...

Good Luck
C cameoMember
Thanks for your quick and helpful responses, I really appreciate it. I have a couple follow up questions.

In the case of buyer #1, if they never respond to my address confirmation requests, at what point (or after how long?) do I a) send the item anyway, with insurance and tracking, and hope for the best, or b) refund their money. As I said, there was a name and address given on where to send the item, but it didn't match that on the buyer's Paypal account name/address, and this transaction was marked "ineligible" for seller's protection and also had an unverified/unconfirmed address.

Regarding buyer #2, someone suggested that I agree to the mutual withdrawal to preserve goodwill, but request the buyer cover my lost listing fees ($2) via Paypal. Is this a viable option or does it violate some obscure eBay rule? I really want to avoid the whole unpaid item dispute/negative feedback issue if possible.

Thanks again...
choochooguychoochooguyMember
Hi

1) never send to an address you are unsure of, insurance/tracking is expensive and if the buyer has not paid for it you could be even further out of pocket.

In the extreme case that they did not reply within a month with you sending at least weekly e-mails and dont forget they could be ill, gone on holiday just after paying (happend to me, all apologetic when they got back) you could refund their payment and relist.

I have seen one feedback instance where the person actually died !

What you do (except posting regardless) really depends on gut feeling and item value. Look at their profile have they a near perfect record for similar purchases, or a relative newbie profile number wise e.g. less than 20, or just poor rating ? All affects the judgement call.

And I repeat do not send without address confirmation, could be scam, which ever address it arrives at they could then keep the item and claim it never arrived at the other. Ok you may claim on the insurance that they not you should have paid for, and also be aware insurance does not usually cover the postage only the item value.

Like the postage the buyer pays it, you include it in your quoted p&p before they pay.

2) The buyer is very unlikely to say sorry here's some money I do not have to pay you and don't forget PayPal will take a cut from it as they did for the purchase.

You can mutually agree not to complete, but it costs you, what you do after that is a private deal outside of ebay/payPal, if they don't pay you have no comeback.

If you both end up with negative feedback as aresult then you can both apply to have the feedback withdrawn.
C cameoMember
All excellent advice, thanks!

I took a peek at the feedback of both buyers. Buyer #1 has 100% positive (53 purchases) but has been inactive for a long time until now, so I'm even more suspicious about the mismatched name/address on the Paypal side.

Buyer #2 has 99% positive and over 300 purchases, BUT interestingly in the comments she left for other sellers, even if she marked the overall transaction positive almost every entry had negative wording - complaint about shipping, color, fit, etc. If I had that many complaints about eBay, I'd never buy anything here. I will probably cut my losses and end the transaction just to be rid of her!

I imagine she'll pitch a fit if I block her future bids, but she seems to hop from seller to seller and bid like crazy on everything they have, so maybe she'll move on to find another "mark" next week...

Cheers and thanks again for your savvy advice.
choochooguychoochooguyMember
Hi,
1) if it has been a long time since they last bought anything they may have moved house, updated either ebay or payPal but not both with their new address thinking that both would be updated together.

All you can do there is keep trying to contact through ebay as suggested earlier.

2) sounds like this one is a professional timewaster, may just be worth counting your losses if the item value is low and definately blocking her. But do not leave feedback until she does, if she does. There are plenty more buyers out there and it is horrendous how much time one time waster can actually waste. Smile

P.S. 300 positives, but I wonder how many did not complete, if they all have resulted in no feedback you have no idea !
C cameoMember
Well Buyer #2 did have 3 negatives in the last 6 months, all of those said she bid on something and did not pay. RED FLAG to me!

And just a quick follow-up as I read the FAQ on eBay and it says the following regarding the mutual withdrawal:

"...the seller must file the dispute for mutual withdrawal. If the buyer responds to the dispute and agrees, the seller will receive a Final Value Fee credit and no strike will be given to the buyer. If the buyer fails to respond, the seller can still close the dispute to receive a Final Value Fee credit, and the buyer will not receive an Unpaid Item strike."

If I am reading that correctly, that sounds like I WOULD get credit for some fees as long as the buyer agrees to kill this transaction? Something is better than nothing...

Wonder if I can then go in and choose "Relist" on the Auctiva side?

Ugh, the selling side is fast becoming NOT FUN after only a few weeks Frown
C cameoMember
One more tidbit of detail from eBay...

4) Closing the dispute

The seller can close the dispute after the buyer has responded at least once, or if the buyer does not respond within 8 days. A seller can find all Unpaid Item disputes they have filed in their Dispute Console. The seller has several options to close the dispute:

1. We've completed the transaction and we're both satisfied. With this option, the seller does not receive a Final Value Fee credit and the buyer does not receive an Unpaid Item strike.
2. We've agreed not to complete the transaction. With this option, the buyer does not receive an Unpaid Item strike, the seller receives a Final Value Fee credit, and the item is eligible for a relist credit.
3. I no longer wish to communicate with or wait for the buyer. With this option, the buyer receives an Unpaid Item strike, the seller receives a Final Value Fee credit, and the item is eligible for a relist credit.

I'm all for Option 2 right now!
choochooguychoochooguyMember
As a new seller you are vunerable to lazy careless and darn right troublesome buyers who think they can trample all over you.

You have been a little unlucky, I don't know how many succesful smooth transactions you have completed but it does get easier I can asure you.

Some product types attract troublesome buyers more than other goods, depends on the age group, gender and nationalitites involved e.g. Nigerian scam frequently involving mobile phone sales for instance.

Or Chinese BIN bandits, win a BIN item don't pay pass sell email address on to spammers, so a lot of sellers do not include Asia now, no point chasing these people as they use dispoable accounts attached to dubious or ficticious addresses and e- mail through the likes of Hotmail.

I would rather be a seller than a buyer any day now, be firm learn by your expereince and move on swiftly to those customers who buy regularly without hassle. It's like most things in life odd things irritate and stay in our mind a lot longer than the many that don't.

Good luck with the next round of sales Smile
C catsownhomeMember
quote:
Originally posted by Cameo:
I've only been selling now for a few weeks, so far so good, but as with everything a couple of issues have come up that I need advice on.

One is that a sale last week went to a buyer who is unconfirmed and unverified via Paypal. They paid right away, but I read Paypal's advice about making sure that I am sending the item to the correct address. I also wanted to be sure because the name and address on the Paypal buyer account are totally different than the name and address it says to ship the item to. I have emailed the buyer now three times requesting address confirmation (via eBay message center, Auctiva, and direct to their email) with no response. The item is paid for so I'm feeling ancy about shipping it in a timely fashion, but I'm also worried this may be a scam. Anyone else with advice on this one? I was planning to ship with insurance and tracking to be sure, but that wouldn't trip up a seasoned scammer, I'm sure.

The second issue is even more frustrating. There is a buyer who is bidding on every single thing I post every week. OK, fine, she finally won one, but now wants to back out, claiming she didn't notice the size was wrong for her and then that she didn't know the shipping would be so much (even though it's clearly stated on the listing). Now she wants me to do a mutual withdrawal on the item, and in the same breath informs me that she intends to bid on my next round of stuff as well. Is there any way to block this flake from bidding on my listings and wasting more of my time? I am all for the mutual withdrawal to get back my listing fees at least, but I'm really put off by the thought of having to deal with her every week.

Thanks for any and all advice!
B biscuitMember
quote:
P.S. mutual withdrawal means you lose all the fees and the buyer walks away clean


Not quite true. Seller would get their fees back when both agree to a mutual withdrawal from the transaction.

from eBay:
quote:

*Mutual agreement indication. If the seller indicates that a mutual agreement has been reached with the buyer not to complete the transaction, eBay will ask the buyer for confirmation through an email and pop-up message.

    *If the buyer confirms the seller's statement about mutual agreement not to complete the transaction, the buyer will not receive an Unpaid Item strike and the seller will receive a Final Value Fee credit.


However, I generally wouldn't advise that sellers offer a mutual UNLESS the transaction was screwed up by the seller. I have been burned before by a buyer who offered the mutual, then rejected it. The dispute closed immediately, I was out my FVF, and the buyer didn't get a strike.
M member8880Member
I go with biscuit on #2--file the dispute and give the buyer a strike. They need to learn they can't just win something & not pay. The ONE time I went for mutual withdrawl, the 'buyer' disagreed (she didn't understand, even tho I explained it very carefully) and I was out my fees. Now I always go for the strike if I have to go to the trouble of filing a dispute for non payment.

And dont forget to visit the site map and put her on your blocked bidder's list NOW before she wins anything else.
B biscuitMember
quote:
Originally posted by member_8880:
The ONE time I went for mutual withdrawl, the 'buyer' disagreed (she didn't understand, even tho I explained it very carefully) and I was out my fees.


Yeah, this is EXACTLY how it happened with me! I swear I could not have explained it to her more completely if I had met her in person and walked her through it myself.
C cameoMember
Just a quick update - I didn't see the additional posts here until this morning, but anyway I filed for a mutual withdrawal last night and she DID agree to it and sent me an apology. So eBay has closed the dispute and will refund my fees. I realize I'm lucky she followed through, but anyway it's good to know that she is out of my hair. And yes, she will not be bidding on any future items of mine...I don't need this hassle every week.
S suthrnjewlMember
quote:
Originally posted by ChooChooGuy:

Or Chinese BIN bandits, win a BIN item don't pay pass sell email address on to spammers, so a lot of sellers do not include Asia now, no point chasing these people as they use dispoable accounts attached to dubious or ficticious addresses and e- mail through the likes of Hotmail.

No Way, No How do I open my auctions/sales to Asian Buyers.

I got burned once years ago and refuse to EVER, EVER open my sales to China/Asia.

Suthrnjewl's Auctionbyte Discussion Selling to China/Asia

Be cautious. Tread Lightly!
C cameoMember
Wow, Suthernjewl, thanks for sharing those important warnings here.

My husband also started selling on eBay shortly after I did, and his items are much more valuable than mine (electronics and such) - he is getting hammered now with emails begging him to sell/ship to Asia. (Both of us set our sales to US/Canada only.) I warned him not to respond to these wanna-be bidders as I'm sure they are scammers, and I sent him to read your story. He always believes the best of folks and I am the opposite, eternally suspicious!

This whole NPB buyer incident this week has been frustrating to me because so far most of my sales have been to Canada for some reason, but then that looney-tune Buyer #2 discussed above is Canadian too so I actually considered blocking a whole country from bidding on my stuff because of her antics. Now that I know I can block her individually I feel a little better.

Thanks again to everyone here for your help and advice. Any more words of wisdom, please pass them on!

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