Bad buyer..need advice ASAP!

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

acegirl

acegirl

Member
Apr 27, 2006
2,197
12
#1
Girls, can you help me out? I sold a Chanel bag 10 days ago. My terms clearly state Paypal only, payment within 3 days (although I know Ebay allows 7..)

Anyway, after the auction was over, the winning bidder emailed & told me they couldn't pay until Jan. 20 (today) That's 10 days after auction. I was miffed because they should have gotten my OK to bid if they couldn't pay on time. I was nice & said OK, fine but I MUST have payment on the 20th, no later. Today, I get an email from the buyer stating they are having trouble with their Paypal account & want to "send Visa payment" (have no clue what that means...). I email back & remind them of my terms. I tell them I need payment today by Paypal or I'm contacting Ebay to void the transaction. The buyer just emailed me again & asked if they could use their wife's paypal account to pay for the bag. I was a little surprised as I thought the buyer was a woman to begin with but apparently it's a guy (not that it matters...) That just put up a red flag for me. Should I tell the buyer I can't accept payment from another Paypal account for the bag? For all I know, he's going through a divorce & his wife could come back & call it an un-authorized charge. Do you agree?

In addition, he emailed me 3 days ago & asked if I could send it Priority mail & how much the cost would be. My auction stated $15.00 via UPS. I responded that I would send it Priority mail instead of UPS but the cost would remain $15.00. I heard nothing back. Seemed strange...
 
#2
Hi there ... maybe the buyer wants to pay by credit card instead of using their bank account? If your account is set up to take credit cards through paypal, that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe the wife's account is the one that's set up to pay via credit card and his isn't? He may have 2 paypal accounts tied to the eBay account. If so, it won't be an issue.

It's OK to send via priority mail. Usually it's quicker. Make sure you send the bag insured, with signature confirmation. And release it only to the person who purchased it.

What is this person's feedback like? Are they a seasoned eBayer or did they just join last week?
 
#3
I agree with lorihmatthews that although this sounds seriously annoying and irritating for you there may be valid reasons for what's happened so far that are worth exlporing - he may just have expressed it poorly when he mentioned paying by visa for instance. If nothing else, it is so much hassle to void a sale and start again, I guess it is worth digging a bit deeper to see what lies behind all this. And I too would be influenced by whether this was a seasoned and reliable ebayer with a few preoccupations, or someone new to the whole game. Good luck - I hope it works out swiftly and easily for you.
 
#4
lorihmatthews said:
Hi there ... maybe the buyer wants to pay by credit card instead of using their bank account? If your account is set up to take credit cards through paypal, that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe the wife's account is the one that's set up to pay via credit card and his isn't? He may have 2 paypal accounts tied to the eBay account. If so, it won't be an issue.

It's OK to send via priority mail. Usually it's quicker. Make sure you send the bag insured, with signature confirmation. And release it only to the person who purchased it.

What is this person's feedback like? Are they a seasoned eBayer or did they just join last week?
Click to expand...

He is stating that he can't pay via Paypal at all~ I take any kind of Paypal payment (transfer, cc, e-check) Something is "wrong" with his account. He's asking to pay for the bag with his wife's Paypal account which is separate than his. I'll ask if his wife's account if linked to the ebay account & see what he says. They have 50 positive feedback, no negatives I see..
 
#5
Acegirl - go with your gut - ultimately, you are the one who could be left "holding the bag".

If he uses his wife's paypal account then just ship to the confirmed address with signature required. That is no different than you selling me your bag without Ebay and me paying you with PayPal and then you shipping to the PayPal receipt's confirmed address.

yes, there are a lot of potential red flags here - but, if you cover your butt you will be fine. You do have the right to cancel his winning bid and tell Ebay on him - after all, it is way past the allotted acceptable Payment time - you still have options - just don't box yourself into a situation where you have NO options.
 
#6
Thanks everyone, I guess I'm just super paranoid lately with all the dishonest Ebay & Paypal crap going on. I'm going to make sure I send it with signature required to his wife's name/address on the paypal account.
 
#7
Well, I emailed him & told him OK, as long as his wife's Paypal account was tied to their Ebay account & I would send it to his wife's name/address on the Paypal account with REQUIRED signature. He didn't email me back..:shrugs:

I was nice & gave him an extra week to pay & it all ended up being a waste of time. Oh well, that's OK.. I'm going to cover my butt, especially nowadays! I feel better just keeping the bag at this point anyway. Thanks everyone for your advice.
 
#8
How would you know if the paypal account he used was tied to his ebay account??? What if the buyer had uses two different email addresses for ebay and paypal. When I get an invoice from a seller, it doesn't say that I have to pay with a specific email address? I have two accounts, and alternate between the two when paying. Sorry, I'm suppose to help you with your problem, but I end up asking you more questions... :Push:
 
#9
^ Well, I guess I wouldn't know for sure.... :s I know your ebay ID has to be registered on your paypal account if you want to buy & sell, although you can have multiple ebay ID's registered. On the flip side, I assume you could have multiple paypal accounts registered to one ebay ID. I just wanted to ensure that if there was a problem, Paypal could go, yup this account is registered to the Ebay ID xxxx. It's just more protection for me, I guess. Yes, he could pay me with any Paypal account he wants but if it has no ties to the auction or Ebay ID & it's not his, that leaves room for an issue to arise, I think.
 
#10
Sounds like your gut feeling was right & he was just stringing you along. I don't know why people do this. But better safe then sorry glad you have the bag!
 
#11
Yes, good old intuition again. I have just come off the phone to Ebay trust and safety having had a 'hunch' about the latest apparent buyer of an expensive item who used BIN and wanted the item shipped to 'his son'. Sure enough they checked it out whilst I was on the phone and someone has hacked into the apparent 'buyer's' account. Thank goodness for those 'sixth senses'!
 
#13
Miss Sooky said:
Yes, good old intuition again. I have just come off the phone to Ebay trust and safety having had a 'hunch' about the latest apparent buyer of an expensive item who used BIN and wanted the item shipped to 'his son'. Sure enough they checked it out whilst I was on the phone and someone has hacked into the apparent 'buyer's' account. Thank goodness for those 'sixth senses'!
Click to expand...
Yes you do get a feel for people & my rule is if in doubt don't!
 
#14
Hi. The paypal account is probably frozen - something that might happen to a seller.

He is either going to have to "send You" the payment via the other Paypal account or I would have him send a USPS money order.

Or you can agree not to go through with the transaction - Mutual Withdraw - if he agrees with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back