Shocked at the lack of Seller protection on Ebay

[Jules1979]

Hi

I just wanted to warn any other sellers or would-be-sellers in ebay that you will be out through the ringer if a buyer turns out to be a scamster.

I have sold 5 compare the meerkats to 4 different people and all were happy bar one person who I think has a hidden agenda.

It all started when she started demanding extra packaging and extra quick postage methods at my expense after she had already paid - I am not a fool, she got it sent as per the advert however I had a feeling she was paving the way to send it back as soon as she got it.

Alas abusive messages began to be sent claiming it had to come back to me as the postal service had "comprehensively destroyed" the meerkat. I had it insured for the value of £20 so I gave her all the reciept details etc and a link so she could make an online claim for compensation from them and issue them photos of the alleged damage.

However she ramped up the abuse at this stage and told me she now felt the damage was so out of this world that it was indeed me who deliberately did it and sent it out! Somebody please tell me what logic i could possibly use to do something like that! What would I gain and why would I have 100% feedback if I was sending deliberately damaged items out! Why would I target her meerkat and not the others I sent out and got positive feedback for!

I haver asked her to exhaustion to a) tell my why she is not acknowledging my feedback and why I would randomly damage this one single item and b) to issue me some sort of proof that it is damamged, she vehemently will not describe the damage or send a photo.

My advert states no returns, if ebay offer that freedom of choice then I have every right to stand by it, as I say I don't know that the Oleg toy I sent out is even damaged!

It is me that is suffering though as Ebay allowed her to post vile comments on my feedback yet I was not allowed access to give her any negative feedback! And now I find the Paypal have seized money I have made selling a boxset to possibly pay back to this nasty bully pending investigation! I have had to force both ebay and paypay to listen to my side of the story.

I did get the feedback removed straight away so even Ebay thought she was off her rocker. I am annoyed now that i do not know when this will be resolved or when my money will get released as they cannot possibly allow this scam artist to get a free item from an innocent seller!

My family have a theory that she has had one oleg ruined by a pet dog perhaps and this is her trying to con a free replacement with my oleg that I sent in good faith!

I may close the rest of my auctions down as I see no point giving my items away for free!

[kernowlass]

Ebay does allow you to say no refunds UNLESS the item is damaged or misdescribed on arrival at the buyers.

If it was damaged then you should ask the buyer to send the item back to you > refund them > make a claim from the postal service you used to send the item.

Really it should not be up to a buyer to have to make a claim for an item received not as described. 

As a seller this does happen, but if i have a buyer that is unhappy with an item i just ask them to return the item and refund them.

You can't prove the buyer damaged it so it is a bit unfair to accuse them with no proof.

After all if you received a damaged item (and they do get damaged in the post) then you would want a refund surely?

Finally if her neg feedback was abusive then it was removed for that reason only as she broke ebay rules concerning feedback.

[Jules1979]

I don't think you understood my post - she is accusing ME of deliberately damaging it and not giving me proof it's even damaged -  believe me she is up to something sinister!

I am a private seller not a shop or retailer, when I placed the advert it just says to tick the box to say whether you accept returns or not, there are no terms and conditions on the screen when this is done.  

If you went to a car boot sale and bought an ornamwent on the way home and it broke in the car - would you verbally abuse the car boot person and say they deliberately arranged for it to be broke in the car! You have to remember ebay is like car booting for private sellers that are just selling bits from round the home - you don't expect a returns policy from a car boot do you!

[Jules1979]

I don't think you understood my post - she is accusing ME of deliberately damaging it and not giving me proof it's even damaged -  believe me she is up to something sinister!

I am a private seller not a shop or retailer, when I placed the advert it just says to tick the box to say whether you accept returns or not, there are no terms and conditions on the screen when this is done.  

If you went to a car boot sale and bought an ornamwent on the way home and it broke in the car - would you verbally abuse the car boot person and say they deliberately arranged for it to be broke in the car! You have to remember ebay is like car booting for private sellers that are just selling bits from round the home - you don't expect a returns policy from a car boot do you!

By the way - I asked Ebay to remove her feedback on the online chat which they were happy to do as they could see from my other feedback that I don't deliberately destroy items prior to sending out

[kernowlass]

  she is accusing ME of deliberately damaging it and not giving me proof it's even damaged 

Whilst that is wrong, if she received a damaged item she is not to know if you did it or it was done in the post. And to be fair you are doing it yourself by accusing her dog of damaging it !!!

when I placed the advert it just says to tick the box to say whether you accept returns or not, there are no terms and conditions on the screen when this is done.  

The terms are in your ebay and paypal user agreements which you agreed to when you opened your accounts.

If you went to a car boot sale and bought an ornamwent on the way home and it broke in the car - would you verbally abuse the car boot person and say they deliberately arranged for it to be broke in the car!

No because it was "bought as seen". Your buyer did not "see it" until it arrived in the post and neither of you know if it was damaged in the post.

 You have to remember ebay is like car booting for private sellers that are just selling bits from round the home - you don't expect a returns policy from a car boot do you!

Its nothing like a car boot. When you sell on ebay there is buyer protection for items received but not as described. As a buyer cannot see an item like you can at a car boot paypal and ebay seller the seller is responsible in getting the item to the buyer in the condition described in the auction.

If you buy an item from amazon (where there are private sellers) and it arrived broken would you not want a refund??

I asked Ebay to remove her feedback on the online chat which they were happy to do as they could see from my other feedback that I don't deliberately destroy items prior to sending out

Sorry but previous feedback is not in the protocol for feedback removal. It would have been removed for language / abuse you said she left in that feedback which does qualify the feedback for removal.

To be honest I can't understand why you are so upset about this. As a seller if  a buyer is not happy then i refund them .....end of. If the item was damaged in the post i refund after the buyer has returned it and claim from royal mail etc.

She is accusing you of sending it damaged and you are accusing her of damaging it with her dog !!! Neither of you can prove those statements so why say them?

[Jules1979]

I opened my account with ebay many years ago for the purpose of buying so I know of know small print stating that when you tick to select no returns, it doesn't actually mean no returns - I expected to see such small print if it exists on the page when you list an item for sale.

My past experience of ebay and of what everyone thatr sells alot on eaby tells me is that for private sellers it is indeed sold as seen, just like it is when people buy cars in ebay.

My item was sent out as described - she will not despite my many requests give a description and pictures of the damage - I told her that if she did this a compensation claim could be filed at which point she seemed to not want to let the post office get involved and made nasty accusations at me - she is so desperate to get that item back to me without me or the post office seeing it that it would be ludicrous of me to fall for it! She also expects me to pay for a return  when that is not my obligation either as I sent out a perfect item.

Perhaps if she wasn't so cagey and aggressive and a downright bully I  may not suspect she is very much a scamster.

Oh and on the feedback I have a transcript of the conversation ebay and the person on the live chat said they gave my feedback a review and agreed the negative post had no cause to be there - they felt it untrue too. There was no bad language in the feedback so that is not why it was removed.

[kernowlass]

 so I know of know small print stating that when you tick to select no returns, it doesn't actually mean no returns - I expected to see such small print if it exists on the page when you list an item for sale.

Maybe because it is not small print on either ebay or paypal. They clearly state what your responsibilities are when you sell items. Maybe go read up on seller protection on both sites?? If they put it on the auction when you list it would take up way too much space.

My past experience of ebay and of what everyone thatr sells alot on eaby tells me is that for private sellers it is indeed sold as seen, just like it is when people buy cars in ebay.

Incorrect you still have to abide by the criteria for non receipt of item or items received but not as described policy on ebay and paypal. UK registered businesses have extra criteria on top of that.

My item was sent out as described - she will not despite my many requests give a description and pictures of the damage -

I don't doubt you described the item accurately, but you don't know that it was not damaged in the post !!! But you are correct in that the buyer should send piccies to prove the damage BUT paypal may well ask her for proof after all the case has not been decided in the buyers favour yet has it?

Perhaps if she wasn't so cagey and aggressive and a downright bully I  may not suspect she is very much a scamster.

Good point.

 There was no bad language in the feedback so that is not why it was removed.

Not bad language, abusive language is what you said, but thats a moot point.

We will have to agree to disagree on various points i guess. cheers.