To hate eBay

[shopaholic999]

arghhhh why do I bother selling anything on eBay!?

Sold two pairs of shoes to one buyer, both in perfect condition and never been worn.

Buyer has been in touch today to say shoes are damaged and covered in paint..which is impossible and certainly weren't like that when I sent them out.

I've offered a full refund once I receive them back (I won't refund anything until I have them back and am able to inspect them). But this isn't good enough for the buyer.

She is clearly trying to pull a fast one. She wants some money back but wants to keep the shoes. Threatened me with eBay but as a seller I feel I have no protection at all. Can't leave negative feedback for a buyer!

What a waste of time.

Oh and a separate buyer bought a dress from me, it went for a measly £1.20 and has asked for time to pay..WTAF..!!

That's my rant for the day..!!

Has anyone had any positive experiences with eBay dealing with hard work buyers? I have a feeling she may get her money back and leave negative feedback on my 100% rating.!!!

[Frostycake]

This is why I stopped selling. I just send it all to jumble now or the tip if family and friends don't want it. Far too much hassle in my opinion. Having said that though, it's not much fun as a buyer either with people trying to sell knock-off goods and selling sub-par stuff as new.

[Pinkheart5915]

£1.20 dress, time to pay 😂

I've only used eBay as a buyer and don't even to that know after problems.

[OracleofDelphi]

ooofff nothing worse than an irrational ebayer! (them not you!). keep all messages to and from her and only respond via ebay message service. Tell her that its best for her to go to ebay customer support and raise a case against you if shes not happy. That way she will have to go through legimate channels and cant try to have her cake and eat it. I sell lots on ebay but go through real phases of having to have a rest from it because of some of the oddness of people on there. Ive been selling for years but you dont tend to remember the ones that are all OK - its only the ones that kick off get remembered. .

Ive had a few difficult people in my time but I just follow the ebay channels and processes and no one has left me negative feedback. Remember if they do you have the right to comment underneath to give your point of view.

Could you call her bluff and tell her you take dated photos of all goods before you dispatch to see if that stops her? How many feedbacks does the buyer have?

[shopaholic999]

I've reiterated that I will refund once I receive them back but she won't do this.

She is now saying she will try to sell them on to someone else!!

Pointed out that she can post to someone else but not back to me for a full refund!? I wouldn't mind but one pair was £2.50 and the other pair £4.20!! Jesus wept!! Never again.

[wasonthelist]

I hate ebay for their business practises and the fact that it's the default way to buy/sell a lot of things, so YANBU. I wish we had a UK Leboncoin (France) or Trademe (New Zealand)

[GoneGirl1234]

Make sure all your messages are sent through the eBay system so there is a record there and contact eBay customer support to explain the situation and ask if there is anything you can do to prevent / remove negative feedback.

I had a similar situation for a dress that was in perfect condition when it left me but buyer claimed had ripped seams when it arrived with her. My fear was that the buyer would intentionally damage the dress to have some "proof" to show eBay and I'm afraid I chickened out and just refunded her.

I also had a pervert messaging me to send pics of me wearing a jumper dress I was selling with increasingly heated messages saying things like "I just love angora and the way it caresses my skin but I feel really uncomfortable with anonymous pictures" ... I blocked the buyer and they registered again to continue to ask questions.
I ended up removing the listing!

[SquinkiesRule]

I too have had it. Sold a nice pair of River Island summer capris 99p for gods sake, the woman emails, the button isn't on it, but loose in the parcel, I can't sew, they are no good. So I sent her an email send them back to me, when I receive them I'll refund. Haven't heard anything since. So when I finished clearing out Dd's and my rooms, I took 4 bags of name brand stuff to the charity shop. (hers hardly worn she grew so fast) I can't do with the drama and whiney people.

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

Excellent advice from Clodia

Would also suggest you report any threats/extortion to ebay, though doubt it will do you any good; unless you're a big trader making them a fortune in commission they simply won't care

I'm afraid ebay are wrecking themselves - at least for "small sellers". Like so many, I now buy from there but won't risk selling

[greybead]

Ask her to send a photo of them as you cannot imagine how a pristine pair of shoes became covered in paint in the post.

[GeminiRising]

I had an incident through eBay recently - I sold a pair of DM boots which were in near perfect condition and the buyer insisted that I accept a return because they didn't fit her.

In the end she claimed through Paypal and they found in my favour as I had all the pics from the eBay listing and sent screen shots of her messages to me saying they didn't fit.

Given the speed at which she sent me back her exceptionally long-winded messages about consumer legal rights (which are not applicable as I am not a 'trader' as defined by Consumer Law) I suspect she does this all the time with people and most roll over and refund. She also threatened me with bad feedback.

It's always worth giving Paypal a ring and seeing what they say, they're usually pretty good with their advice on whether to refund or not. Tell them you've offered to refund if she returns but she's refusing to.

I buy stuff from eBay that doesn't fit all the time and I never expect the seller to reimburse.

[PoundingTheStreets]

I don't bother selling on ebay anymore either. Since they changed their selling practice, it's simply not worth the effort due to the indirect fees.

[RaeSkywalker]

I can't be bothered with it either. Had a couple of bad experiences at a seller and then one as a buyer that really put me off- item of clothing, supposed to be BNWT, arrived frayed along about 2 inches of a seam. Seller got really arsey and insinuated I'd damaged it deliberately, which I hadn't. They sent me a refund and a really vile message in the end, so I decided I was done with eBay. The item cost me £8.50 and I took it to a seamstress and paid £20 to have it fixed in the end. I really wanted it, just in the condition it was described as, and wasn't trying to pull a fast one. It was the first time I'd ever complained about an item after 10 years on eBay.

[RaeSkywalker]

I'd recommend just using Facebook selling sites. You get less money but don't have to go out to post items, or deal with grief. Much easier.

[shopaholic999]

She has now said she will sell on and list the faults. Again, offered to refund but she won't send them back and then has the cheek to call me awkward.

I've been in touch with eBay already but I'm just waiting to get negative feedback. So frustrating!!

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

If she negs you, maybe send all her emails to ebay and ask them to remove it? I doubt they'll bother, but it doesn't hurt to ask

Also I'd add her to your watched sellers to see if she really does relist them ... it should be interesting to see how she manages to describe all that paint covering them!!

[TheDuchessOfArbroathsHat]

Is she actually threatening you with bad feedback? Because feedback extortion is a thing and eBay take a dim view of it so bear that in mind. All messages should be via the eBay system and keep it polite and factual so that if you need them to step in you look completely rational and she looks like a chancer.
This is precisely why I describe everything I sell to the nth degree - and yet just yesterday I had to part refund some fool because I missed a scuff on something! It really has become awfully difficult.
If she does leave you bad feedback be sure to answer it calmly - say full refund offered and declined / other sellers beware or something along those lines.

[tibbawyrots]

If she's threatened bad feedback yet won't return the shoes to you for a refund then there's every chance that eBay would remove the feedback. You have to ask them to, point out that you have asked her to return them for a refund but she refuses to and that she has resorted to threatening you to make you refund without returning.

Don't reply to any bad feedback until after eBay have had a chance to deal with it.

[tibbawyrots]

Oh and add her to your blocked bidders list.

[expatinscotland]

Block her as a bidder. Lot of cheeky chancers on Ebay.

[shopaholic999]

Great advice here thank you.
Just waiting for the neg feedback to come through which she has definitely threatened.

I'll take a look at her items now to see if she's relisted them.

[BlueJug]

I understand. I have almost given up - it's just not worth it.

Sold two electric fans - cash on collection. Buyer delayed and delayed then came and collected. I wanted to ensure he was happy so I plugged both in and operated them for him in my home. He was happy. He paid and drove away. Next day he complained that they were not good enough and he wanted a refund. They were not as "strong" as he'd expected. I said "but you tried them! You operated them in my house!" - he was insistent. In the end I gave in because he knew where I lived and was making a fuss. By the time I got them back it was too late to sell, (weather changed).

[IsMyUserNameRubbish]

That happened to me too, I've been ripped off twice on eBay and I know they're ripping me off and yes the seller has no protection in my experience. I stopped selling cos it doesn't half wind me up that it really does.

[NeedACleverNN]

I posted something last week on here

I sold something on eBay and with postage it came to £22.

Sent it all off via a courier as it was really heavy and thought no more about it.

3 weeks later I received an email asking if I was still sending the product. It had never arrived apparently.

I started to panic because I don't have £22 to refund when I suddenly remembered I had a tracking number on the parcel.

I tracked my parcel which showed it had been signed and delivered and the signature was the same name as the addressee. I added the tracking information to my account just in case they opened a dispute and then sent a screenshot to the buyer showing them they had received it.

All of a sudden he back tracked and claimed that yes he had received it but had meant to ask if I had anymore for sale as he was interested in more

[sweetkitty]

I'm fed up with it too. Sold a purse for £40. Buyer said she never received it. I had the receipt of posting and claimed from Royal Mail only got £22 back 😟

[Winterbiscuit]

You can post a factual response underneath her feedback giving your side of things.