Unpaid Item Cases

[Nikki_]

As a seller, if you have to open an unpaid item case for a non-paying bidder, if your buyer ends up paying, are they nasty and rude to you?

I had an auction end several days ago, in which a person with a few FB won. I sent two invoices with friendly notes as reminders that their item was packaged and ready for shipment, pending payment.

On the 3rd day, I opened an unpaid item case and was paid within the hour. As with all of my transactions, I sent a friendly note stating that the item would ship the following day and thanked them for their purchase. Assuming the buyer wasn't aware of "unpaid item cases", I briefly explained in kind that a case won't affect their account in a negative way since they paid however; sellers can open unpaid item cases within 2 days of non-payment. I went on to thank her again for her purchase and told her to enjoy the day.

Instantly, I got this message back:

Let's hope this is in "pristine" condition or I will open a complaint



This buyer seems irate because due to her lack of payment and communication, I had to open an unpaid item case. I almost feel that she's going to damage my item out of spite. Fortunately, I have more pictures of the item that were not on the listing however; I'm not sure that eBay would not allow those as proof that the item was not damaged upon shipment.

Have any other sellers had problems such as this due to opening unpaid item cases?

 

[meandmylouis]

Sound a potential trouble to me. I sincerely hope your buyer will be happy with the item and not "open a complaint"

 

[chanelwish]

yes she is trouble...i hope she will be happy. is it expensive item? if she can destroy it i maybe would think twice about sending it to her.

 

[Nikki_]

Sound a potential trouble to me. I sincerely hope your buyer will be happy with the item and not "open a complaint"

Thanks for your thoughts. I truly don't understand why people ignore your communication attempts and then get so nasty when you have to open an unpaid item case. Do they not understand that we need to recoup our FVF if they don't pay?

yes she is trouble...i hope she will be happy. is it expensive item? if she can destroy it i maybe would think twice about sending it to her.

It was over $150 and already shipped. I'm just so very frustrated, hopefully everything turns out all right.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Fingers crossed ...

Perhaps your buyer received too many reminders within a short period of time?

The comment is unwarranted IMO but buyers sure have their own way of communicating...

 

[missbanff]

Be sure to save ALL your communications with her as if a case is opened, you will have good ammo to fight it.

Who are these people that think they can take days and days to pay for something? Can you walk into Nordstrom, take a new pair of jeans, and say "Oh, I'll be back in a week to pay for these?"

I mean honestly!

 

[Kylier]

I'm only a buyer on ebay, but I read that more as a, "you gave me no leeway so I'm giving you none". Not that she would damage it, but more like, fine, "you opened a case on me the third day, I'll complain on you if item isn't perfect". As a new buyer she may have taken it kind of personally.
I know she should have communicated, but I've seen people on here encouraged to wait longer than the third day to open a case, maybe due to this. I don't think you did anything wrong as a seller, but from how you explained it to her, you opened the case basically the earliest ebay let you, give or take a few hours, but you can't do it earlier than two days, so it sounds like the third day was the soonest.
As a new ebayer she may have read into that as you being strict, when really she just should have paid immediately. Just like I thought every item was like a buy it now and must be paid immediately (and frankly haven't changed because it just works great), she may not realize sellers expect quick payment due to the crazies out there who just disappear after winning. Just like sellers fear non payment, a lot of buyers fear inflated condition description. As a buyer, i know from experience it happens a lot if you dont watch out. She sounds a bit immature and defensive to me, but hopefully not dangerous to you or the item. I hope when she gets it she's happy and realizes she got a great item and gets over her hissy fit about the case.
Best wishes.

 

[whateve]

I probably wouldn't have mentioned the unpaid item case in your message. She may have taken it wrongly, like you were rubbing it in. It would be better to let her assume that it was something ebay did automatically.

Almost everything I sell is buy it now, which I think ebay has changed to not even count as a sale until the buyer pays. Even with the few auctions I've had lately, everyone has paid immediately.

 

[BeenBurned]

As a seller, if you have to open an unpaid item case for a non-paying bidder, if your buyer ends up paying, are they nasty and rude to you?

I had an auction end several days ago, in which a person with a few FB won. I sent two invoices with friendly notes as reminders that their item was packaged and ready for shipment, pending payment.

On the 3rd day, I opened an unpaid item case and was paid within the hour. As with all of my transactions, I sent a friendly note stating that the item would ship the following day and thanked them for their purchase. Assuming the buyer wasn't aware of "unpaid item cases", I briefly explained in kind that a case won't affect their account in a negative way since they paid however; sellers can open unpaid item cases within 2 days of non-payment. I went on to thank her again for her purchase and told her to enjoy the day.

Instantly, I got this message back:

Let's hope this is in "pristine" condition or I will open a complaint



This buyer seems irate because due to her lack of payment and communication, I had to open an unpaid item case. I almost feel that she's going to damage my item out of spite. Fortunately, I have more pictures of the item that were not on the listing however; I'm not sure that eBay would not allow those as proof that the item was not damaged upon shipment.

Have any other sellers had problems such as this due to opening unpaid item cases?

I've had buyers get pi$$y when they've had a case opened but I don't apologize for doing what I have to do in order to either complete the sale or relist the item.

I don't think your message was at all rude nor accusatory. Your mentioning the unpaid case opening can't "insult" her or rub her nose in it since she's well aware that it happened.

I think your explanation is perfect because rather than blaming her for not paying, you put the responsibility (honestly) on ebay, who opened the case after the requisite timeframe.

Perhaps your buyer received too many reminders within a short period of time?

Are you always promoting that "communication is key?" Nikki was doing just that - and very politely and in a non-accusing way.

OP, my guess is that your buyer might have had other UIDs and this one could have been the end of her ebay buying account if it wasn't paid.

 

[Nikki_]

Fingers crossed ...

Perhaps your buyer received too many reminders within a short period of time?

The comment is unwarranted IMO but buyers sure have their own way of communicating...

I didn't think that 2 invoices with pleasant notes attached to them were too many reminders within a 3 day time frame. As a buyer and as a seller, communication has always been very important to me.

Be sure to save ALL your communications with her as if a case is opened, you will have good ammo to fight it.

Who are these people that think they can take days and days to pay for something? Can you walk into Nordstrom, take a new pair of jeans, and say "Oh, I'll be back in a week to pay for these?"

I mean honestly!

I wholeheartedly agree with you!

I have saved all communication, thanks for the suggestion. I also did call eBay and the Rep was quite surprised at her response to me after reading my messages to her. The Rep made a note on my acct. should there be any problems with the transaction and told me to call back if there is.

I'm only a buyer on ebay, but I read that more as a, "you gave me no leeway so I'm giving you none". Not that she would damage it, but more like, fine, "you opened a case on me the third day, I'll complain on you if item isn't perfect". As a new buyer she may have taken it kind of personally.
I know she should have communicated, but I've seen people on here encouraged to wait longer than the third day to open a case, maybe due to this. I don't think you did anything wrong as a seller, but from how you explained it to her, you opened the case basically the earliest ebay let you, give or take a few hours, but you can't do it earlier than two days, so it sounds like the third day was the soonest.
As a new ebayer she may have read into that as you being strict, when really she just should have paid immediately. Just like I thought every item was like a buy it now and must be paid immediately (and frankly haven't changed because it just works great), she may not realize sellers expect quick payment due to the crazies out there who just disappear after winning. Just like sellers fear non payment, a lot of buyers fear inflated condition description. As a buyer, i know from experience it happens a lot if you dont watch out. She sounds a bit immature and defensive to me, but hopefully not dangerous to you or the item. I hope when she gets it she's happy and realizes she got a great item and gets over her hissy fit about the case.
Best wishes.

I'm not only a seller, but also a buyer so I can understand where you're coming from. Messages can quite often be taken in a negative way when in text. I worded my message to her very carefully and in kind, trying to explain to her that should she bid on other items in the future with other sellers, cases can be opened for non-payment within 2 days, so that this wouldn't happen to her again in the future. My message didn't sound like I was reprimanding her in the least, as I've always believed that kindness goes a long way. I certainly hope she cools down by the time my package arrives. Thank you for your thoughts.

 

[Nikki_]

I probably wouldn't have mentioned the unpaid item case in your message. She may have taken it wrongly, like you were rubbing it in. It would be better to let her assume that it was something ebay did automatically.

Almost everything I sell is buy it now, which I think ebay has changed to not even count as a sale until the buyer pays. Even with the few auctions I've had lately, everyone has paid immediately.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have mentioned anything however; I thought I was being helpful. Lesson learned, I guess.

I usually do Buy it Now listings, but I thought I'd try a few auctions. After this, I think that I'll be going back to the Buy it Now listings. Thanks for your response.

I've had buyers get pi$$y when they've had a case opened but I don't apologize for doing what I have to do in order to either complete the sale or relist the item.

I don't think your message was at all rude nor accusatory. Your mentioning the unpaid case opening can't "insult" her or rub her nose in it since she's well aware that it happened.

I think your explanation is perfect because rather than blaming her for not paying, you put the responsibility (honestly) on ebay, who opened the case after the requisite timeframe.

OP, my guess is that your buyer might have had other UIDs and this one could have been the end of her ebay buying account if it wasn't paid.

So, I'm not the only one. I'm sorry you've dealt with this as well.

I always try to go the extra mile to make my customers happy and will continue to do so.

Thanks for reassuring me that I handled this in the right manner. As always, I appreciate your input.

 

[Chanbal]

I'm only a buyer on ebay, but I read that more as a, "you gave me no leeway so I'm giving you none". Not that she would damage it, but more like, fine, "you opened a case on me the third day, I'll complain on you if item isn't perfect". As a new buyer she may have taken it kind of personally.
I know she should have communicated, but I've seen people on here encouraged to wait longer than the third day to open a case, maybe due to this. I don't think you did anything wrong as a seller, but from how you explained it to her, you opened the case basically the earliest ebay let you, give or take a few hours, but you can't do it earlier than two days, so it sounds like the third day was the soonest.
As a new ebayer she may have read into that as you being strict, when really she just should have paid immediately. Just like I thought every item was like a buy it now and must be paid immediately (and frankly haven't changed because it just works great), she may not realize sellers expect quick payment due to the crazies out there who just disappear after winning. Just like sellers fear non payment, a lot of buyers fear inflated condition description. As a buyer, i know from experience it happens a lot if you dont watch out. She sounds a bit immature and defensive to me, but hopefully not dangerous to you or the item. I hope when she gets it she's happy and realizes she got a great item and gets over her hissy fit about the case.
Best wishes.

My first impression was also "you gave me no leeway so I'm giving you none", but it's also possible that she only paid to avoid having her records damaged and plans to return the item back to you. Good Luck Nikki!

 

[Kylier]

My first impression was also "you gave me no leeway so I'm giving you none", but it's also possible that she only paid to avoid having her records damaged and plans to return the item back to you. Good Luck Nikki!

I am glad im not the only one who thought that. its hard to interpret tone through text. I really hope it's not the latter though. Maybe I'm naive but I like to think most of us buyers really do just want the item and are happy when we get what was listed. Haha I can hear some of you that have dealt with crazies laughing your heads off and I don't blame you lol.
She sounds a bit immature and reactive but tone is hard to read and I'm really crossing my fingers that getting her awesome item from a great seller quickly cools her off.

 

[Aaorin]

I didn't think that 2 invoices with pleasant notes attached to them were too many reminders within a 3 day time frame. As a buyer and as a seller, communication has always been very important to me.

And I'll have to disagree. While I always pay right away, in your buyer's shoes, I'd be extremely annoyed by your messages. If you shop a lot on ebay, you already get a crapload of automated notifications - those two days were hers to pay, without any nagging from a seller.

 

[GlamGirly]

I've had a couple of pissed off NPBs. Back in the day I waited days to hear from someone, finally heard from them after I opened a case and then about 30 seconds after they made the payment they sent me an email that said something like "I sent payment but have not received tracking". Lol, sometimes there's just no way around unreasonable folks. Just keep all your communications and have them ready in case you need them.