buyer disputes

1967
Contributor
Contributor

Hello,

      My buyer is claiming "not as described". Claiming damage that wasn't there when shipped. I'll give him a full refund just to get out of it even though I stated "no refunds accepted" in my listing. I'm thinking that he's going to return different items to me and keep mine. My question is- when will PayPal refund his money? Will they wait until I get the items back (in same condition that they were shipped in) or when he provides a tracking #. Also, he IS responsible for the return shipping costs, correct?? From reading other experiences on this site, it sounds like as a seller, I don't have a chance at winning. This is only my 2nd sale on eBay, and probably my last!

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118 REPLIES 118

Ducksinarow
Member
Member

I agree with many of the statements and concerns about the lack of easy and quick customer service. I agree Sarah is only good for questions you should already know the answers to if you are doing business on Ebay and Paypal. Where I see some avoidable problems for sellers - read, know, save all important Ebay and Paypal polices with regard to the responsibilities of the seller, what Ebay and Paypal base there decisions on when they will refund, settle etc. This information is in print on the sites and then,  develop a business plan that addresses what you do when a dispute is filed. Let me say It is stated in more than one update and terms of eBay accounts that the seller is responsible for safe arrival of the merchandise to the customer. This means if there is any of the many many rules in doubt, you should have insured the item... Because..Because why. Right you are responsible. Now I know it would be bad business to insure all the items you sell, so have a business policy.. Example all items shipped in the US under $75 are not insured and all items shipping foreign under $50.00 are not insured. Now to cover the insurance on the more expensive items since again,,.According to Ebay policy you are responsible  you charge handling on everything you sell..Everything. $.20-$.50 cents US, $1.00-$2.00 foreign. This "cost of doing business amount" will cover insurance for the parcels that need it, claims you lose US and Foreign and maybe even a little extra for packing materials.  Not a perfect system, develop one tailored for your own business.  The world is the way it is, it is not the way we would like it to be. Ebay and Paypal have polices to protect their business the best way they see possible. This does not mean they are against you. They expect you to read all the new polices and terms of sale and adjust your businesses accordingly. Most if not all of the important rules that apply to the complaints I've read here were agreed to by you when Ebay Lead Council page comes up and you read a line or two .. scroll past the   yadda..yadda...yadda click agreei... you did because if you clicked close my Ebay account which is the only other option you would not be reading this.  When you are doing business  and a  Lead Council writes you from a business partner (Which Ebay and Paypal are) and you agree to new terms... You should understand those terms over, under, sideways and down, and know how you can adjust your business to work when you agree to do so. Hey.I don't like reading all the terms..I like it even less when I have to agree to terms I know will raise the cost of me doing  business....the world is the way it is..It is never going to be how we want it to be...yes sometimes you may be out and out cheated by a customer...you protect you by having a little bit from each sale and chalk it up to the cost of doing business. I have become rude with Paypal reps when they don't understand my problem and make me ask more then once to speak to a supervisor. A good policy for you to develop. Call, explain and be businesslike with the rep, hope they can understand your problem, if not your policy is to ask for the supervisor..."may I please speak with a supervisor"...repeat it and repeat it.. they will get you a supervisor....but you have all said it...that's costly and upsetting...so on the smaller stuff you have yourself covered and life's to short...well I guess that's my cue to stop...good business and good luck.   

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clowns
Contributor
Contributor

Woman MadWe shipped an $800 acoustic guitar sold for $400. Buyer said he recd wrong item. Went straight to filing a claim. He returned a box thru USPS that is 3 ft square and only weighs 7 pounds and our box was huge and weighed 24 pounds SHIPPED FEDEX. Pay pal gave him his money back as soon as he showed proof of delivery. We have not opened the box he sent to us because we are planning on going to small claims court.  We did not have a leg to stand on and this was totally unfair.  We have been selling for years and have good feed back, while this clown only had 17.  Beware there are a lot of scammers out there and you are on your own.

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Temp20240121r
Contributor
Contributor

Well here is my sob story but lets add a little bit of background.   I have been using e-Bay for about 8 years.   Roughly 80% of my transactions are buy and 20% are sells.   E-Bay is strictly for fun and hobbies - I sold old stuff I don't want and buy stuff that can't be found in a regular retail store.  

 

The main reason I use E-bay is that it is was fun - what better than an online Flea Market?  So now lets jump into the meat of the matter.  

 

I recently sold a non-working modern laptop.    In the description I put non-working, as is, no refund, for parts or repair.   Do you get the picture that the laptop does not work?

 

A person buys it and I promptly ship it.   Several days later I get an e-mail asking for a discount - the laptop supposedly had soda spilled in it.   Within 40 minutes after the e-mail was sent the user automatically logged a complaint to paypal. 

 

The person couldn't salvage the motherboard out of it therefore the laptop was worthless according to the person.   As the string of e-mails progressed the keys were sticky, the LCD had a deep crack, there was a burnt spell, there was stick stuff on the battery.  

 

I never disclosed to the buyer that it was my Laptop from day one, I was the original owner.   It is possible that there could have been soda in the unit, I have 4 young kids.   But if someone spilled a soda in the laptop they did a good job of hiding it from me.   There was no burnt spell (the laptop broke six months before), there was no stickyness on the keys or battery.   My point being that I accurately described the unit to the best of my ability in the listing.

 

So I challenged the guy on why he dissassembled the unit if the LCD is cracked.   His answer - It was a deep crack and he didnt realize it until he put the LCD into another laptop.  

 

I really thought I had the guy - he bought the unit, I accurately described the unit the best that I could, sold it as is.  The LCD story took the cake.     Paypal ruled for the guy - "it was damaged".   No bleep paypal.

 

The guy who bought my laptop has a good scam, buy non-working laptops, keep the good ones (or get reduced costs by false claims)and  for the others file damaged goods or not as described claims and get a refund.

 

Anyway all of the fun I had with E-bay over the years went out the window.   This laptop was worth $50 - $100.   When I get the laptop back I will take the memory and hard drive out and throw it away.   I am sure the guy who bought the laptop switched parts (especially the LCD).  

 

I realized how much risk I was taking on selling through e-bay and paypal.   Never again.   I have several outstanding transactions.   As soon as they are complete, my e-bay account, paypal account and paypal credit account are cancelled.     Ebay went from being fun to a hassle.  

 

Bye Bye Paypal & Ebay - I liked to say it was fun but it wasn't.

 

Oh and buy the way E-bay & Paypal wake up and smell the roses - this is the internet age - when someone figures out how to scam the system it spreads like fire on the internet.   How long until Rome burns?  

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clowns
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Contributor

I shipped a $300 watch after a week buyer emailed me that it wasnt keeping time. I told him it might be the battery and he offered to have it looked at. 2 more weeks go by - I email him ask him what's up?  He said I havent had time to take it. Next day he says I sent him a defective watch according to jeweler.  Okay, I said send it back when I receive the original watch I will give you a refund. Well, today I got an emptly flat rate envelope.

First of all I shipped it in a 6x6x7 insured.

 

Second Is this going to be enough for Ebay to refund him.  I wanted the watch back so I could send it to the

manufacturer.

 

I am beginning to think that EBAY is beginning to get shakey.  More and more people are going to be doing

this and what recourse are we going to have.

 

There are a lot of honest people buying and selling on Ebay but it only takes a few to topple the company.

 

I would think that EBAY would be aware of this and start making different rules.

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Temp20240121r
Contributor
Contributor

The seller on E-Bay is always the looser in a dispute.    The buyer who worked me was very familar with the system.   It only took once for me to get burnt to realize the deck is stacked against sellers.   The only thing I can say is the sellers who stay better be selling high margin goods so they can cover the loss from scammers,  be lucky or be ready to loose there shirt.  

 

 

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1potatoqueen
Contributor
Contributor

THE MOST FRUSTRATING THING EVER!!!

Buyer bought my 3 piece St. John outfit and next thing I know, the buyer emails me and says the tank of the 3 piece set has a VERY NOTICABLE stain on it= out right lie- I don't offer refunds because I don't sell junk.  This guy says they want monry back or at least $50.00 refund to dryclean the tank- you read right-$50.00 to dryclean a tank.  I knew this was a scam from the beginning and I filed a complaint against them first plus, I had already given a positive feedback right away to them because he paid promptly- I could only add an additional coment- couldn't change the feedback.  The byuer then filed a claim against me.  In my response, I stated that I had already been contacted by 2 other sellers that this scammer did the SAME exact thing to.  In my response to the original complaint, I forwarded an email from another seller as well as the seller stating anothr seller with the same problem as us (so far 3 sellers targeted)  where this person had a history of wantnig to to get the item free or reduced greatly by targeting sellers with 100% positive feedback- PAYPAL ignored this buyer's history and sided with the them.  I was then warned by my fellow seller pal that told me the buyer would send a package that is empty just to fool Paypal by showing a tracked package so open in front of a witness-who could verify if I received my item or not- THANK GOD I DID because true to this person's scamming history- they did not return my full set - II opened the package in front of a law enforcement officer- I did not receive the St. John set in the box but PAYPAL had closed the case case, gave them a full refund and I am now in a negative balance -all before I even opened the package!!!!   Yes, I received A PACKAGE but not containg my 3 piece set.     I WANT TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST THE BUYER AND APPEAL PAYPAL's WRONG DECISION AND I WANT TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST PAYPAL>  I can't even comment or appeal the dispute becaue they closed it as soon as the package was dropped off. WHAT CAN I DO??????????????

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1potatoqueen
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Contributor

just happened to me- read the post i just left!

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FreshPrince
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Contributor

oh dont worry about buyer disputes, Paypal only makes money from seller fees so they pretty much allow sellers to do whatever they want. buyers beware..Paypal isnt making any money from you so they dont care if you get ripped off or not so long as they protect their seller fees

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1967
Contributor
Contributor

Fresh Prince--   Maybe the Sellers can do whatever they want, BUT- when the Buyer turns around and claims a "not as described" or "damaged" -- PayPal sides with THEM!  Who loses?? The SELLER!!  You are right about them making their money off of the Sellers' fees, they need to do more to protect the Sellers from these false claims!!  The whole point of eBay is to MAKE money, NOT lose it!!  Sometimes the Buyers making these claims get their money refunded AND are allowed to keep the item!!!!!!!!!!!!!   BS!!

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