Sigh..

JeniA

Member
Feb 8, 2012
451
1
I've been wanting to post here every day for a week but kept telling myself to have a little faith..

So I had a bag listed on ebay (BIN with BO) and buyer messages me telling me that my price is 'too ambitious' and would I accept less. So we went back and forth a bit and from the very first email I had a really bad feeling about this person and thought she'd end up trying to pull something..

She told me she was going to send the bag for repairs to swap some of the hardware (problems were described and photographed in listing, just some scratches and tarnishing). She was telling me the price of the repairs and as I am familiar with the brand I know the prices and know she was lying. She also told me the prices of the bag in the outlet, again lying as I saw on here someone telling her the correct prices, also this particular bag is not available.

I took a while (a day and a half) to decide whether to accept her offer, the whole time with a really bad feeling. I decided to accept and give her the benefit of the doubt. Within minutes she paid and I packed the bag, I was just about to go to the PO when I saw she had messaged me with concerns about authenticity because of the tarnishing. I replied bag is authentic, I am a member on here and there was recently a thread about the tarnishing and was a known problem to the brand. I was slightly hoping she would just ask to cancel.. I messaged her again to tell me when she was happy for me to post, she was so immediately posted it.

It arrived the next day and she said a bit of the leather on the strap (it's a chain with leather weaving through) had torn slightly, not all the way through and does not affect the use/look of the bag, I had checked the bag other myself and hadn't seen it so it must have been very small. I apologised and said it was a genuine mistake if I had missed it and as she was replacing the chain anyway would a small stitch help until then. I have looked at my photos of the chain and cannot see what she is saying.
She came back to me saying the cost of replacing the chain would now cost more. She said they were going to charge her per link they were going to change although I know they replace the whole chain for a reasonable price. Replacing individual links seems daft and would take a lot longer than an easy chain replacement.. So I emailed the repairs team myself and they told me because of the known problem with the chains tarnishing they would replace the chain for free. I told her this and offered to forward her the email, but she wouldn't give me her email address. The next day she told me she emailed the repairs team and said they covered the tarnishing but not the leather running through. It doesn't seem right to me that they would offer to replace the chain for the tarnishing but then not because there is something else slightly wrong. I'm having real trouble believing her.

I've been so stressed every time my phone got a notification, then it finally came.. She said she either wanted a refund or a partial. I had a feeling the whole time that she'd want a partial. (I don't accept returns and I really don't want to have to..)

It's all so much, especially from the teeniest tiniest thing.. Especially when she has lied so many times..

What do I do? Sorry this is so long :sad:
 
You should have blocked her after the first email.
At this point, just ask her to return it for a refund. There is 99.9% that she will not return it. If she tries to argue about it, just keep responding to return for refund.
In the future: trust your gut feeling.
 
You should have blocked her after the first email.
At this point, just ask her to return it for a refund. There is 99.9% that she will not return it. If she tries to argue about it, just keep responding to return for refund.
In the future: trust your gut feeling.

I know :sad: I wish I had just posted on here and for you all to tell me to listen to my gut after that very first email :sad: I'm worried that if there was something wrong with the leather that she's made it worse. And if she's going to neg me anyway I'd rather put up a bit of a fight..
 
Understand that I'm not trying to beat you while you're down, but by your own admission, she was difficult and you could see that she would be a PITA. TBH, I would have blocked her very early on. No sale is worth this kind of aggravation and when someone has so many problems, negotiations, complaints, etc., one doesn't need ESP to foresee the future.

At this point, NO PARTIAL!!

Although you don't have a return policy, unless you want to issue a partial (way too common a tactic and one I wouldn't recommend), take the return. In order to take a return, the item must be returned in the condition you sent it and buyer pays (at the very least) return shipping.


I'm curious about one of your comments. You've implied (I think) that she's on TPF. Did she post any of her concerns in the appropriate subforum?

I'd love if you'd PM me her ID so I can block.
 
Understand that I'm not trying to beat you while you're down, but by your own admission, she was difficult and you could see that she would be a PITA. TBH, I would have blocked her very early on. No sale is worth this kind of aggravation and when someone has so many problems, negotiations, complaints, etc., one doesn't need ESP to foresee the future.

At this point, NO PARTIAL!!

Although you don't have a return policy, unless you want to issue a partial (way too common a tactic and one I wouldn't recommend), take the return. In order to take a return, the item must be returned in the condition you sent it and buyer pays (at the very least) return shipping.


I'm curious about one of your comments. You've implied (I think) that she's on TPF. Did she post any of her concerns in the appropriate subforum?

I'd love if you'd PM me her ID so I can block.

No she didn't, she had only joined to ask about this bag (not mine in particular, just the general style)
I was having a good day so decided to accept her offer, thinking my concerns were because I have read too many horror stories on here.

I wouldn't offer her a partial. My listing had 'free' shipping but if I did decide to take the return would I be able to take my shipping costs off? If she did open a case, what would be my chances?

I'm worried about my feedback, I haven't sold many things. I just very occasionally sell my bags/shoes etc when I'm ready for a change.

I think in future I'll only buy things if I know its a keeper, and definitely trust my gut!
 
No she didn't, she had only joined to ask about this bag (not mine in particular, just the general style)
I was having a good day so decided to accept her offer, thinking my concerns were because I have read too many horror stories on here.

I wouldn't offer her a partial. My listing had 'free' shipping but if I did decide to take the return would I be able to take my shipping costs off? If she did open a case, what would be my chances?

I'm worried about my feedback, I haven't sold many things. I just very occasionally sell my bags/shoes etc when I'm ready for a change.

I think in future I'll only buy things if I know its a keeper, and definitely trust my gut!

Buyers leave feedback that is undeserved...not always fair but it is what it
is unfortunately

You don't want her to open a case against you it is better for you just to ask her to return the bag

Ebay doesn't really encourage partials.. Your free shipping is on you unfortunately

Your other feedback will speak for itself to potential buyers..buyers can detect
an unfair feedback comment & unless ebay has changed their rules, you should be
able to respond if she leaves a negative feedback..

And your instinct is usually right...
 
I have to disagree with the above. Some of the information posted above is incorrect.

1. Ebay doesn't encourage nor discourage partials. It's sellers who discourage partials because in doing so, you are making it easier for buyers to buy an item then try to negotiate a lower price.
2. Even if a case is opened, you can resolve it without ebay getting involved, i.e., prior to either side escalating it. In such a case, there's no ding on your account.
3. Even if you had "free" shipping, if your item was accurately described and if you have a no-return policy, you aren't obligated to refund the shipping if you are accepting a return as a goodwill gesture. You certainly can require the buyer to pay shipping in both directions. It's only in SNAD disputes where ebay resolves the complaint that initial shipping is automatically part of the refund.
4. As for feedback, you can bend over backwards and do everything in your power to make the buyer happy, yet the buyer might still neg. You can't control what a buyer will do and need to do what you believe is best for your account and your sanity!
 
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So sorry OP! It sounds like she was building a case for her partial from the very beginning, I would not let her have it either. I'd agree to refund of sale price and only if your item returns in the same condition you sent it. If not, you then have seller protection.
 
Thanks for your feedback and advice everyone!
It's almost 4am here and I can't sleep for thinking about this.. I'm worried what I'm going to wake up to.

I think I have decided what to do, will sleep on it (hopefully) and update tomorrow.

Have to keep reminding myself that it is only eBay and doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things and it shouldn't put me off selling in the future.
 
could you please also PM me the ebay ID so I can block as well? thank you! :smile:
you are so patient, I would have threw her off in the first message. I always tell buyers that ebay sellers are not retail stores, we offer many items no longer available in retail and they should either accept all current conditions or simply not buy. When you start being too nice they are prone to take advantage of you :sad:
hope everything turns out good girl, don't stress!
 
Too ambitious? What grapes on that one. It's YOUR item, and you can feel free to ask whatever you want for it. If I feel like listing a ball of lint for 7.2 million dollars, I will.

Anyhow, that issue aside, honestly I'd just ask her to return for a full refund and be done with it. She's just fabricating in order to garner more money back for the bag, and that just plain ain't right. Also, in the future OP, listen to your gut. If you have a bad feeling about a buyer from the get go, just block and move on. Life is way too short to have to deal with & get worked up over pain in the neck buyers.

:flowers:

ETA: And for GOODNESS sake please feel free to post her ID here so the rest of us sellers can block.
 
Too ambitious? What grapes on that one. It's YOUR item, and you can feel free to ask whatever you want for it. If I feel like listing a ball of lint for 7.2 million dollars, I will.

Anyhow, that issue aside, honestly I'd just ask her to return for a full refund and be done with it. She's just fabricating in order to garner more money back for the bag, and that just plain ain't right. Also, in the future OP, listen to your gut. If you have a bad feeling about a buyer from the get go, just block and move on. Life is way too short to have to deal with & get worked up over pain in the neck buyers.

:flowers:

ETA: And for GOODNESS sake please feel free to post her ID here so the rest of us sellers can block.


Well said!!:smile:
 
Hi everyone,

I've been really busy so didn't get round to replying to seller. Today she open a case wanting a partial refund (I didn't even know you could do that)

Here's what she said;

"Hi, As discussed, I have a problem with the bag in that the strap is hanging by a thread and will require replacement. This was not mentioned in your description, and the bag is effectively not fit for purpose until I can have it repaired, which is an inconvenience. I never heard back from you after my earlier messages to try and resolve this. I am happy to text you photos of the problem if you require."

Very interesting language she has used, note she is now not asking to return the bag, just a partial, she is saying the strap 'is hanging off by a thread' even though she told me it is just the leather running through the strap. Making it sound much worse to eBay than it is. Also saying she will text me the photos instead of uploading them to the case..

Everything here to make her case look stronger. She has asked for a specific amount which is 10% of the sale price, coincidently making it her first offer to me which I declined. I had given her 20% off my price.

How should I respond?