Buyer doesn't want to pay customs charges. Please help!
- Thread starter choo_girl123
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I should add this to my eBay auctions!
Read through this entire thread, but what ended up happening? Did the buyer flip out about the partial refund he received?
After paying $22.62 in return postage, I finally got my agenda back (roughly 4 months after I sent it out!) It looked exactly the same as it did when I mailed it, and in fact, seemed like it had never even been opened (still wrapped in tissue with ribbon, card, etc.) So I promptly (within 24 hours) refunded the buyer the purchase price paid less shipping and the *bay & PayP fees. I had to use the 'send money' tab in PayP because the transaction is >60 days old, so there was no 'refund' option. In the note section of the PayP form, I offered a breakdown of the deductions (e.g., *Bay FVF $30.30, etc). Last night, I rcv'd this message from the buyer:
I've been notified of a refund payment you made to me of $203.9. I should like to thank you kindly for your vigilance and follow through, but also to enquire as to the reasons behind the high amount you've deducted from the original price paid of $345. I'm particularly intrigued by the shipping annotation of 'both ways' especially seeing as returned post is not charged to the original sender. I appreciate your help in elucidating this matter for me. Thank you.
- imperialion
To which I replied:
As per the message I sent you through PayPal, and consistent with all previous communications that I have sent to you, I have deducted all of the fees that were assessed to me, which includes *all* eBay and PayPal fees, as well as return postage (in the amount of $22.62, which was, in fact charged to me). I now consider this matter closed, and I will thank you not to contact me again.
And this morning, this from the buyer:
The matter is not closed until both parties involved it consent to it being closed I'm afraid, Ms. Abramson. I did not challenge your right to claim fees be they eBay, Paypal, or shipping. But I am entirely within my own rights to demand a breakdown of those fees in light of such an inordinately high sum being levied. Total charges of $141.10 amount to double what I was expecting to pay and seem to me rather extreme. I am therefore asking for an itemised accounting to explain away those charges and to verify for myself that everything is above board as I'm reluctant to just take your word for it. I've no doubt you'd expect the same from me if the tables were turned.
- imperialion
I have not replied to this, nor do I intend to. First of all, he paid $320 for the item, not $345 as he claimed. (The extra $25 was a shipping charge, which doesn't come into play.) The PayP form had a full breakdown of the deductions; his failure to read it is not my problem. Interestingly, when I contacted PayP to confirm that he can't open a case against me, they told me that I was not obligated to send him any money as he returned an item clearly marked final sale without authorization. The PayP rep likened it to dumping a final sale item on the doorstep of a brick-and-mortar store and expecting them to give you $$ back. Anyway, as much as it kills me not to reply to him, I've decided just to ignore anything else he sends me.
I do have some high-value items listed on *bay right now, so I'm going to be super-vigilant about watching them to make sure he doesn't try to interfere with my ongoing listings. *Bay has informed me that I have the right to request contact information for anyone that bids on my auction & I plan to do so for all buyers. If I see him trying to bid, I can then cancel his bid and report him for trying to circumvent my blocked bidders list.
So I think that's that. I just wanted to post the final outcome for anyone that's followed this thread and was interested in how things turned out. Thanks to all the great members here for your support and advice!
Danielle
The matter is not closed until both parties involved it consent to it being closed I'm afraid, Ms. Abramson. I did not challenge your right to claim fees be they eBay, Paypal, or shipping. But I am entirely within my own rights to demand a breakdown of those fees in light of such an inordinately high sum being levied. Total charges of $141.10 amount to double what I was expecting to pay and seem to me rather extreme. I am therefore asking for an itemised accounting to explain away those charges and to verify for myself that everything is above board as I'm reluctant to just take your word for it. I've no doubt you'd expect the same from me if the tables were turned.
Techinically if you used the send money tab then he likely got charged for the money coming in.
I am curious, what were the deductions you took. How much was shipping and what was the rest of it.
It is likely you could have gotten the eBay ones back if you filed that the item was returned.
Techinically if you used the send money tab then he likely got charged for the money coming in.
I am curious, what were the deductions you took. How much was shipping and what was the rest of it.
It is likely you could have gotten the eBay ones back if you filed that the item was returned.
It's just so infuriating how he has cast aspersions on your moral character (not wanting to take your word for it and so on) throughout this whole mess. Argh! And what a nutty little power trip he's on with the whole "consent to it being closed I'm afraid" BS.
The *Bay & PayPal fees cannot be recouped as the transaction was completed on 10/30/08. After 45 days you cannot file a case with either *Bay or PayP so the fees are history (roughly $40 for *bay & another $15 for PayP). Then another $23 for return postage, plus a 10% restocking fee ($32). This was all laid out for him in the PayP form. In addition, he was made aware of the reduced refund when he started this nonsense in October.
Either way, regardless of what he says, this matter IS closed as far as I'm concerned. I am done with this buyer & I hope none of you ever have the displeasure of dealing with him.
Wow!! So he still continued being a BONAFIDE AZZ! You did the right thing deducting all the PayPal/eBay fees. I'm sure you have done this already, but add him to your BLOCK list so he can't mess with your other listings!
I've been notified of a refund payment you made to me of $203.9. I should like to thank you kindly for your vigilance and follow through, but also to enquire as to the reasons behind the high amount you've deducted from the original price paid of $345. I'm particularly intrigued by the shipping annotation of 'both ways' especially seeing as returned post is not charged to the original sender. I appreciate your help in elucidating this matter for me. Thank you.
- imperialion
Dude, this guy never fails to bring out the best in me...the classy me.
He's such a d@#%head. And on top of that, he's a pseudo-intellectual of the worst kind. I agree with PayFoe that you weren't in any obligation to refund a single cent. Someone else wouldn't have. What this a$$hole has put you through, the aggravation, the time and money wasted, the insane letters...he's lucky he got any money back.
I say he can take his vigilation and inquiration and intrigation and annotation and shove it up real high.
Elucidate this
- imperialion
Dude, this guy never fails to bring out the best in me...the classy me.
He's such a d@#%head. And on top of that, he's a pseudo-intellectual of the worst kind. I agree with PayFoe that you weren't in any obligation to refund a single cent. Someone else wouldn't have. What this a$$hole has put you through, the aggravation, the time and money wasted, the insane letters...he's lucky he got any money back.
I say he can take his vigilation and inquiration and intrigation and annotation and shove it up real high.
Elucidate this
He should have just paid his customs fees, then he wouldn't be out so much in the end. Maybe he's just dense but seems to need a list of the breakdown for every cent. Its too late for him to file a dispute anyway so there's not much he can do. Keep us informed if he emails again. This is amusing, I know not for you but he's just such a snob and a dumb one at that. Maybe not at writing but at math and certainly at reading fine print.
This is what I keep thinking... how much would his customs charge have been???
He claims his customs charges were about $60 USD - less than what I ended up deducting in fees, etc. I think it was a case of buyer's remorse, because I've been telling him all along that the customs fees were going to be less than what I'd deduct from the refund. Who knows?
Hmmm.....
Leather Agenda & shipping- $345
Refund - $203.90
Loss to avoid $60 customs fee - $141.10
Mercy... the vocabulary of a rocket scientist, the common sense of a complete fool.... PRICELESS
Hilarious & too true. Maybe I should have referred him to this thread for advice