Help - novice seller

[Rumandcokeplease]

Hi, I recently sold a Next dress, BNWT and the buyer has just sent me this message:

this isnt acceptable !! it meant to b a new product and it has some brown horrible staining onit . how can you even dare sell or post this ..

I've attached photos of the item I listed and the photo she sent to me.

What am I supposed to do?

Thanks!

[Chrissy41]

ask her to return for a refund. Your photos are small so difficult to see tbh.

[fairisledog]

Are you sure it is the one you sent the buyer and not an identical damaged one ?

To be fair we'd need to see much bigger/clearer pictures to be able to advice further.

[Rumandcokeplease]

She only sent me one photo so I have no idea if it's the same dress or not! I will ask her to send it back and I'll refund her!

I wouldn't know if she had an identical damaged one or not!!

[Rumandcokeplease]

This is the dress I sent!

[millymae]

If you are 100% certain that the dress you sold was like new with no staining etc I'd be inclined to call the buyers bluff. Reply telling her that normally you would be happy to refund for an item you had incorrectly described but on this occasion you are seeking advice from the seller protection team because you know absolutely that the dress you posted was bnwt and had no staining when it left you.

If she worded her message to you as you've typed it, then it is rude in the extreme. It questions your honesty and I think you would be well within your rights to question hers by reporting her

This view may not be popular amongst others on here but as someone who has sold many 100s of items and had my fair share of buyers like yours I now don't hesitate to report buyers who I think are trying to pull a fast one.

[Rumandcokeplease]

Thank you for your advice milly, I didn't realise I could get advice from the sellers protection team, I thought the buyer was the most protected. I am 100% sure the item I sent was in new condition so I will contact the sellers team.

The message she sent me was worded as above, I copied and pasted it from the message she sent me!

[Chrissy41]

you cannot refuse a return for a refund - ebay will only advise you to ask the buyer to return it and refund in full. Anything else is a definite neg.

[Rumandcokeplease]

Hi, thanks for your help so far. I have offered a full refund when I receive the returned item and this is the response I got from the buyer:

'why should i return it ?? that means i have lost out then and have to cover the p&p charges . I brought this item in good faith due to the fact it said it was brand new, so i expect it to be like that . the packaging didnt have any rips or marks that why i contacted you to say this is something that was there all the time.
if i was to return it i would have to send it recorded ,as i would need it sign for my protection.
of course i am annoyed so would anyone .
i dont know you personally to make a judgement but all i can assume is this happened before you posted it .
believe it or not there been a handful of stuff i recieved which was nothing as they described .
i will offer a solution of a partial refund of say £3.50 so i can take it to a local laundrettes or dry cleaners and if it doesnt still come out then i guess i will just have to throw it out and leave it at that .'

Where do I stand? I would rather have the item back than pay the buyer £3.50 (she paid £6.16 plus £3 postage for a dress that originally cost £18). It would probably wash out in a washing machine!

[Chrissy41]

the answer to her tirade is no - if it is so awful why does she want to keep it huh? Seems to me she knows it will wash out and just wants a cheap item.

Ask her to return it in the condition in which it was sent and then you will check your security marks and refund her. She is either wanting to return her own faulty item or has worn it for a party and now wants to send it back dirty. Or was it sent out dirty do you think?

Either way - eBay will not give a partial refund. Tell her if she is not happy she can open a case - but either way, if she doesn't return it she doesn't get any money back whatsoever. Her message reads that if you don't give her what she wants she will neg, but she will prob neg anyway. What is her feedback left for others like?

[Viviennemary]

How annoying! But sadly some buyers do try it on I've heard from people who sell regularly. I would not offer her a partial refund and allow her to keep the dress. Don't let her be in pocket. I'd rather lose out than see those chancers gain anything. Don't give her a penny unless she returns the item.

[Rumandcokeplease]

I'm assuming the buyer isn't returning the dress, just got some nice feedback!!!

[NoelleHawthorne]

you know you can give Counter feedback now?

[Rumandcokeplease]

Yes, I've commented on her feedback if that's what you mean? There's a limited number of characters but I just about managed to write a response that made sense!

[Chrissy41]

you responded to what she said or you left her a bad comment on hers? The latter is not allowed.

She sounds a nightmare - add her to your blocked bidder list. And contact eBay live help - say you asked her to return it and she refused. They may remove it.

[Chrissy41]

oh dear - the feedback you left her is against the rules as it is a neg statement on a pos comment - and it doesn't make you look v good at all - sorry.

[Rumandcokeplease]

I responded to the feedback she left for me, and I have her feedback-I didn't realise it wasn't allowed, oops, I've found ebay great as a buyer and a seller up until now, it's more complicated than I realised! I will see of I can figure out the live help.

Thanks for your help.

[Excitedforxmas]

Contact the eBay live team and ask them to remove the neg. tell them you have pictures of the original item and its nothing like the one you sent

[Rumandcokeplease]

I'll contact the live team. I've just received an email from paypal saying the buyer wants a full refund, which I am happy to do if I get the dress back!

[19lottie82]

Hi OP - I hope you don't mind, but I had a little nosey about here, and it seems "zara_powell123" is a bit over keen at leaving negatives, if you got to her feedback and look at "feedback left for others", she has left three negatives in under a month. (I think I've left 2 in my whole 12 years of ebaying), and a load more if you scan through the feedback she's left.

PHONE ebay (you will need to go through the help menu, until you get a "call us" or "we'll call you" option), and point this out while explaining your case. I'm not guaranteeing it will work, but ebay certainly don't like buyers who leave a high number of proportionate negatives and will take action against those who do.

[Rumandcokeplease]

Hi Lottie, thanks, it's definitely worth a try, I will call them at some point.

She hasn't contacted me again other than through PayPal and the money she paid me is on hold so not quite sure what happens next as I've declined the refund she wants unless I get the dress back!

I will let you know how I get on!

[nickstmoritz]

oh bad luck OP, buyer sounds bloody awful. I have added to my BBL!

[19lottie82]

OP - To get her refund, she must return the dress to you, tracked.

I'd just sit tight at the moment. She has already left you a negative, so you've nothing to gain by pussy footing around her.

Also, defo call ebay and point out the high number of negatives she has left previously......

[19lottie82]

also ask her to provide more photos. you can't 100% tell that's your dress that she's photographed, it's too close up.

[Rumandcokeplease]

Hi, thanks for your advice everyone. I will call ebay this morning and let you know how I get on.

I haven't heard anything from the buyer in the last couple of days so Ibam just siting tight at the moment! I just can't believe how rude her initial email to me was! I sold several items of baby clothes all at the same time that were photographed, stored and packed together, within a timeframe of a week so I honestly don't know how the dress could have become mouldy.

[Chrissy41]

I doubt it was - she has claimed another seller sent out a mouldy item in previous neg feedback.