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Hey everyone, I recently started increasing my ebay listings and had a guy return an item. This item happened to be a circuit board that was fully tested when I sent it out, however he returned it saying that it wasn't working. Has anyone ever had an ebay customer buy a fully tested board and return their old one back saying that it "didn't work". If so, what are your suggestions on how to prevent that in future sales. thanks.
Not sure how it works now it's been a long while since I last sold on eBay but I would mark my boards and such then take pictures even video on higher end items and was able to use them when it came time to contest the return. I didn't always win but more often than not the pictures were the reason I won when I did win. Best of luck to you.
I assume you are certain it is another board if so you can call ebay and ask for assistance. I have been burnt more than once but I've also sold a few thousand items on ebay so a few returns and far fewer scam returns.
The first thing I would do is contact the buyer and state that he had accidently returned the wrong board. Refer to your listing photos and include photos of the board he returned pointing out the discrepancy.
In solving disputes between buyer and seller ebay depends entirely on your correspondence with the buyer and what your listing says.
I have been threatened with being given negative feedback from 2-3 buyers over the last couple of years. If that happens to you rejoice because ebay calls that....crap I can't remember the term(not blackmail) Anyway if they do ebay will side with you and the buyer will get the blackmark and you will not have refund the money.
So did you pay for return shipping? Did he "open a case" against you?
For me I've had returns in fact you might call it a lot but out of 2500-3000 sales maybe 50. I sell used stuff and even when I test it sometimes it doesn't work when it gets to the buyer. I have bought new stuff from Sears that didn't work when it got home. What has worked for me is accepting the fact that I will have returns. Often when I get them now I may send the buyer a question about what did or did not happen and have even asked them to call me.
It can be different when I am dealing with what I perceive is a professional. I'll often tell them to keep the item and issue a full refund(often also what I do with the non professional). If I get a return request under ebay rules I HAVE to pay for return shipping. Then there is the the full refund and then I have to retest and then relist the item. Often I just move on. I generally don't sell high priced items so my risks are much lower than others.
You should go through this process so you can learn from it and know how to more quickly and easily deal with in the future. I'm doing what makes me comfortable without feeling like a chump and I can spend little time on returns and go back to testing and listing. 73, Mike
I've sold a decent amt of items on E-Bay
All in All it's a system of honesty on behalf of the buyer
Ultimately the buyer is the final say . Item not as described is the final word .
The more you sell , will cause you to encounter a scam or two but it's a small %
So over all the profit you make covers the scam or hard to figure unhappy customer
Back to your question ? A customer can pull a switch on you
& send back same model Mother Board but No Good .
Did you do anything for that contingency ? like marking a secret spot engraving
I sell so much on ebay that this happens more then you think. My way of handling this is if its less then $50 then just refund the buyer let them keep the item. Trust me you will spend more then that in time and effort dealing with ebay trying to win that case. Report the buyer for it. If they do it again they will get flagged by ebay and have account revoked. Thats the best we can so in a digital marketplace.
I agree with PTS. I got to the point where I accept all returns immediately without question. Just isnt worth the time. I have learned, however, to put as many disclaimers in my listing to avoid this from happening. For instance, I write that I will "accept returns provided the serial numbers match our inventory". To be honest, I dont always record the numbers, but it makes the dishonest person think twice about pulling a switch if they know there is a chance we will monitor it carefully. Kind of like putting a fake burglar alarm sign in your yard. I believe this cuts down on these types of returns, although I cant substantiate that with hard data. I dont remember seeing a board without some type of serial number identification, but if there is none you can always etch into the board like mentioned before. Good luck!
Ebay will not do anything about buyer fraud .
You ether have to just accept the fact about 2% to 3% of all your sold listings will be lost, or you can thoroughly document every single item, and press legal charges against fraudulent buyers !
I can not stress enough that Ebay will do absolutely nothing unless you can convict the buyer of fraud, in a court of law !!!
Pretty simple..........Do not put anything on ebay you cannot afford to lose.........I sell 1000's of items per year and a small % always damaged/returned etc........Just the cost of doing biz........However this is how effective ebay is...........I had 30 of the same exact item.....listed both on ebay and craigslist.......Same price just $20 added to ebay listing for fees.......Sold 29 on ebay and one on craigslist.........Oh well I to am frustrated by Ebay sometimes but if you know what your doing you should always come out ahead.......If your losing money probably time to do something else
I agree fully it's the cost of doing business on eBay but when your deficits exceed your profits it's time to rethink the game.Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeinreco
When eBay took away the sellers ability to leave negative feed back, then with the initiation of the buyers so called protection all hell broke loose. Open game for fraud and what else could one expect.
You want to spend time dealing with returns - go for it.
feedback extortionQuote:
Originally Posted by miked
https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies...extortion.html
Yeah. I think any seller on the bay has had a customer say it is not as advertised. I will generally as them to send it back for a refund and many times it never arrives (never sent might be a better way of saying it).As long as it isn't a whale. at this point I don't worry about it.
Does anybody have any feedback on the notion of blacklisting an ebay buyer?
Short story long, I have a guy that offered me ~75% of what I listed an item for WITHIN SECONDS of listing it. I swear, I think he had an alert set for the item! I declined with a nice note that I'd just listed it & wanted to hold out a while and maybe if he bought multiple items I could ship together we'd talk discounts... He offered a dollar more. I just declined. He offered 2 dollars more. I waited 36 hours & declined. He sent me a RANT about how I should NEVER list an item as make offer since I wouldn't accept his.
I'm concerned that he might buy the item & then file a complaint trying to get a refund.
Should I blacklist him now, or wait & see if he buys the item full price & not honor the sale?
Are there unforseen consequences to blacklisting?
Advice?
Any odd requests/low ball offers buyer is blocked immediately........Not worth effort dealing with themQuote:
Originally Posted by auminer
I was getting offers on things and I had not realized that the "Make Offer" button was checked by default. I declined the offer and informed them I hadn't realized the make offer was enabled as I had not intended the auction to invite offers. Go in and edit the listing and uncheck the make offer button.Quote:
Originally Posted by auminer
They don't make it easy to find that tweak on your listings, but I finally figured out how to do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by t00nces2
It's a shame because I really wouldn't mind getting REASONABLE offers, and possibly working with people on shipping multiple items. I'm selling off my old NASCAR diecasts, and 2 of them would fit nicely in a large flat rate.
Funny, the one the guy was ranting about sold full price last night.
When making a "or best offer" listing, you are indicating that you will take less than the list price. Prior to doing the listing, you need to know in your mind what your lowest acceptable price is. Then, in the listing, fill in the box that says "automatically decline all offers below....". If you dont want to entertain offers, simply dont put it as an option. If you make a mistake you can always edit your listing.
I use lots of pictures and take pictures that include subtle markings or serial numbers. Used to have a terrible problem with graphics cards being returned, now we apply countermeasures and havent lost a fraudulent return yet. If you are able to remove the shadow of doubt entirely for ebay it will end in your favor. Ebay has to remove the possibility the buyer is correct before they will help you. It also means that if you provide absolute evidence, ebay would then be subject to the law if they knowingly side with a case of fraud. No term of service protects a service provider from knowingly allowing fraud to take place, there must be at least a piece of doubt to protect them.
AGW- I suspect your "countermeasures" are interesting. I can only imagine. Have fun!
I don't think "Best Offer" is always to be taken as accepting below the initial bid, especially if an item is hot. I've had buyers pay more than opening bid because they are then guaranteed to get the item instead of taking the risk of getting beat out in the auction. I've never had anyone throw a hissy fit because I wouldn't take their offer but I'm sure my time will come. Maybe its the stuff I deal in, sounds like used computer parts ebay auctions are the wild, wild west...
I have found the only way to prevent this type of fraud is don't take returns or file a complaint. you should be able to do something thru ebays complaints policy.
When you get an irate person, BLOCK IMMEDIATELY!!
As far as fraudulent returns, I had a stamp made that simply says TCER. Treasure Coast Electronic Recycling. Stamp any item that you think someone may try the old swaparoo with and include a close up picture of the stamp in your listing. That will weed out those that are setting out to try that crap before they even bid.