an ebay nightmare!!!

[right_in2]

hey girls,
i'm writing this because i need advice. recently(last thursday to be exact), i sold a much coveted bag on ebay. the auction only lasted a few hours. AFTER the girl had already bought and paid for the bag, i receive this email that she had found my thread in the forum, and saw photos of my bag - one photo was of the inside with all my junk, including a pack of cigarettes. she said she was worried the bag might reak of cigarette smoke, and if that was the case she'd have to send it back. i thought - ok, no problem. yea i smoke, but i haven't even used the bag for months, its been sitting in my closet on the shelf with the rest of my bags, and my house is smoke-free. so i wasn't worried. then, i receive this email, requesting the bag be shipped expedited, insured mail, and NOT usps, because they has supposedly lost 4 of her bags, and she didnt trust them. i ALWAYS ship usps priority, but i thought, ok, i'll go out of my way and make a trip to the ups store, no problem.
SO - the auction ended thursday, i'd been busy with work, and did not ship the bag until monday. i receive an email complaining that i hadnt sent a tracking # yet, and that it was "not cool" to not respond to her since she paid "so much money" for the bag. wth??
i told her i would ship the bag out monday, no problem. i ship the bag out 2nd day air via ups. it cost me $43, and i only charged her $15. i thought i was doing her a favor, since she supposedly was going out of town wednesday and wanted the bag by then. i get an email from her wednesday saying the bag had gone to the wrong zip code, and that she had contacted ups and they would deliver to her home on thursday, so she would let me know when she got it. obviously not going out of town now. this morning i check my email, and i see a message from paypal "item significantly not as described" dispute, as well as an email from her complaining everything from the bag smelt horribly like cigarettes, to IT WAS FALLING APART INSIDE!!!
i checked the bag before i sent it out, and nothing was wrong with it! there were a few flakes in the bottom of the bag, but i didnt have time to get that all cleaned out.
i cant help but feel like the girl has had buyers remorse since she clicked the "BIN" button, since from the beginning she kept stressing how it was "so much money" for her. i've never had a problem like this from a buyer before. she said she's going to contact her cc company to file a chargeback, and she "expects a full refund". ive already spent nearly $120 just on shipping and fees. i never accept returns or issue refunds unless something is my fault, ie. defected item, or actually "significantly not as described". i don't know what to do but this girl has been stressing me out from the beginning.

 

[SWlife]

Boy, I think I would almost refund her & just let it go. I know this makes you go into the negative as far as money goes but you didn't get it out early like you said you would.
As for the smoke, I'm an ex-smoker & I can tell you that I can smell smoke on anything!
I paid $1100.00 for a bag once & it came to me reeking of smoke. I kept it but had to keep Bounce dryer sheets in it. I never ever could bring myself to fall in love with the bag, just because of the smoke. Seller never disclosed the smoke issue.
In this case, your buyer will never be happy. To avoid a neg, I think you should refund her & ask for a neutral.
JMHO.....

 

[Veelyn]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear that. I would be really mad too. People are so ignorant these days! I can't believe another tPF'r would do that. Please keep us updated! Good luck!

 

[right_in2]

well at this point, i filed a claim, and am waiting on paypal to make a decision. maybe i should have refunded her, but i've already paid $120 in just fees and shipping that would be my loss. maybe if she wanted a brand new bag, and is anal, she shouldn't have boughten a USED BAG!!

 

[My Purse Addiction]

Wow- sorry this happened to you!

 

[My Purse Addiction]

Boy, I think I would almost refund her & just let it go. I know this makes you go into the negative as far as money goes but you didn't get it out early like you said you would. JMHO.....

What I got from the OP was that the buyer requested a shipment that was different (and probably more expensive) than the method stated in the auction. Even though she agreed to send it expedited, she never said when she would ship it. The buyer only said that she wanted the bag sent UPS because of problems with USPS losing her bags- not because she was going out of town and needed it before then (which she didn't say until later). I think the buyer should have asked all her questions regarding shipping and the state of the bag BEFORE clicking BIN and she sounds like a problem buyer to me. I'd wait to see what happens with the claim. Sorry this happened to you!

 

[print*model]

Oh nooooo... Well, I can only suggest that in the future you not photograph your bags with packs of cigarettes in them. One can only assume that anything you sell will smell like smoke. I used to smoke a long time ago and recall that even an unopened pack will leave an odor inside of a bag.

Your buyer saw the photos AFTER winning the auction and asked about the possiblilty of an odor. I can understand why she would be concerned. The smell may not be strong but even a faint odor of smoke is offensive to many.

About the shipping. As a seller, I would've shipped the bag as stated in the auction for $15.00 unless she was willing to pay the difference for the upgraded method she wanted. Sounds like she had you jumping thru hoops at your expense for no good reason. Especially since she wasn't really going out of town. On the other hand, you agreed to do this for her and the bag should have gone out sooner. I think you totally wasted your money on the shipping charge. Especially since it took a full week for delivery.

I looked at the auction and there are no photos of the inside of the bag so it's impossible to know if she's telling the truth or not about it falling apart inside. She could be using the fact that there are no photos of the inside of the bag in the auction against you and making up a reason to return the bag. There are buyer's who will use your mistakes against you in an effort to get a partial or full refund. You should've included photos of every aspect of the bag in your auction. If you know for a fact that she's lying, then prepare to get back a bag that has been destroyed.

At this point, I would have her return the bag and give her a refund. This one may not be worth the fight.

I hope this works out for you both!

 

[right_in2]

thanks for the support girls. i have a feeling i'm going to end up getting screwed. i just have to think positively i guess. i just don't understand why the buyer wouldn't ask all the questions before buying, you know?

 

[songofthesea]

i am so sorry to hear that this has happened to you...like you, i don't earn a living on ebay; i sell my older bags (in great condition) off in order to make way for newer ones...most recently on ebay (and i have 100% positive feedback), i described a bag to a "t"...the buyer got it and then decided i hadn't described it adequately and that she wanted her money back...as a matter of fact, she just assumed i'd send it back to her...she offered to pay for shipping, the bag came back, i relisted it and got more than what i had originally got for it...what bothered me was they "buyer's remorse"...this also happened with a 2nd bag...the woman SWORE up and down that she had sent the money...i waited 2 weeks...10 other auctions closed, all money orders received...she emails me in response to me emailing her asking very nicely where payment was..."oh, why don't you just relist it"...i don't have the time to get into disputes, etc., but it's really disheartening when people do that...so, what i'm doing now is putting in all of my auctions: "THIS IS A FINAL SALE SO PLEASE ASK ALL QUESTIONS PRIOR TO BIDDING"...it's really not nice when people just take advantage....

 

[maritza1973]

I think the buyer should have contacted you in reference to the condition of the bag when she received it. If the bag had a horrible smoke odor maybe you could have worked something out with her. Even though I understand her if she does not want an item that smells like smoke, I believe the buyer took advantage of the situation since she saw you went out of your way for her.

 

[jenny70]

thanks for the support girls. i have a feeling i'm going to end up getting screwed. i just have to think positively i guess. i just don't understand why the buyer wouldn't ask all the questions before buying, you know?

Wow, I'm sorry this happend to you. My take is that after winning your auction with the buy it now option, she came here and did some "investigative" work, finding your picture showing your bag with everything you had in it (the cigarettes) and from that point on, I think she was looking for a reason to get out of this purchase. She should have asked all pertinent questions prior to placing her bid such as could you take a few pictures of the inside of the bag, does your bag come from a smoke free home? if I was willing to pay a little extra could you ship via another methode other than USPS?

As a seller hopefully you will learn from this experience and include all important information needed to protect yourself as much as possible from this happening again. I have been selling on ebay since 1999 and believe me I have learned my lesson! All it took was one bad apple!

Good luck with this, it's a gorgeous bag!

 

[Fauve]

I would just refund her money and yes it was alot. One could buy a mint conditon Chanel for this. Sorry but I am not familiar with the Marco Tagliaferri brand.

Next time take more and bigger and better pictures: inside, outside and any potential trouble areas. I think it was negligent to not add that the purse did NOT come from a smoke-free household.

She caught you by seeing the pix here on TPF. I think it only fair she get her money back. She is not responsible for the extra shipping costs if you did not ask her to contribute.

It sounds as if you were happy to unload the purse and were overly willing to accomodate in order to do so. There is no way you will win this so be gracious, accept your loss and return her money. She sounds like an honest buyer and her feedback is very good if you take the time to look.

I would feel cheated also.

Sorry, but to me it looks as if you tried to take advantage of an innocent buyer. Perhaps I would feel differently if the purse were not so $$$$$$. The buyer obviously did not get her money's worth.

Sorry to offend, just another opinion here from someone who has had alot of experience buying and selling very high-end items.

 

[right_in2]

I would just refund her money and yes it was alot. One could buy a mint conditon Chanel for this. Sorry but I am not familiar with the Marco Tagliaferri brand.

Next time take more and bigger and better pictures: inside, outside and any potential trouble areas. I think it was negligent to not add that the purse did NOT come from a smoke-free household.

She caught you by seeing the pix here on TPF. I think it only fair she get her money back. She is not responsible for the extra shipping costs if you did not ask her to contribute.

It sounds as if you were happy to unload the purse and were overly willing to accomodate in order to do so. There is no way you will win this so be gracious, accept your loss and return her money. She sounds like an honest buyer and her feedback is very good if you take the time to look.

I would feel cheated also.

Sorry, but to me it looks as if you tried to take advantage of an innocent buyer. Perhaps I would feel differently if the purse were not so $$$$$$. The buyer obviously did not get her money's worth.

Sorry to offend, just another opinion here from someone who has had alot of experience buying and selling very high-end items.

um, the bag DID come from a SMOKE-FREE household. i don't smoke anywhere in my home. i did not "take advantage of an innocent buyer" either. she's a big girl, and should have asked any and all questions before clicking the BIN. this bag is IMPOSSIBLE to get ahold of. if it was a rip-off, no one made her buy it!

 

[print*model]

I expressed earlier that this one may not be worth the fight. But if you feel within your heart that you sold her a bag that does not smell of smoke and is not falling apart inside, you SHOULD fight it! I would.

It is absolutely not true that you have no way of winning this one. I've been selling high-end designer merchandise on eBay for 9 years. During that time, I've had only four SNAD disputes filed against me and out of those four, I lost ONE. That particular buyer told me that she paid with AmEx before she filed the dispute but I drug it out and fought it anyway, pretty much knowing that I didn't have a chance in winning. I fought it because I knew she was lying about the condition.

I don't think you tried to take advantage of her. Otherwise, you would've shipped her bag Priority Mail for $15.00. I'm a seller and I know there are people who will lie about a $50 purchase just as easily as they lie about a $1200 purchase. The price she paid has nothing to do with anything so don't let what others have to say about that aspect of the transaction have any affect on your decision.

No one here can say whether or not the bag is damaged. The only people who know are you are your buyer.

 

[mellyjr]

This is a tough one. But I agree that if the bag does not smell of smoke and it isn't damaged in any way then you should not refund her the money, but be prepared for a fight. I don't think its fair to sellers that buyers should be refunded just because they have buyers remorse. Good Luck to you.