So I have this buyer that is probably the most difficult buyer I've had in a long time. This "lady" bought 4 items and upon receiving them, one item was broken but said she was able to fix it. I apologized for the inconvenience and I asked her how it was broken because I need to know whether or not it is a quality supply issue or if it is something on my end that I need to fix. Regardless of which, I need to know this information so I can try to keep stuff like this from happening in the future. I asked and thanked her for her input.
What does she do? She turns around and opens a dispute with eBay saying that my items are poor quality, I offered her no compensation for the damaged item and that I'm protecting myself by blaming the problem on my supplier, so she wants "some sort of compensation". Um...that's not even true and how am I supposed to know the item is actually damaged without seeing it? Normally I would offer to fix it or replace the item if it is shipped to me so I can do that. I honestly didn't know what else to offer her since she said she fixed it. I have never had a buyer open a dispute against me before and I've been selling on eBay for almost 8 years. So I was caught off guard.
After receiving the info about a dispute being opened against me, I sent her a message asking her why she opened a dispute when I was communicating and working with her, corrected her on what I said to her and asked what kind of compensation was she wanting. She said she's just protecting herself and compensation was up to me. I have no idea what she's protecting herself from and she never even bothered to tell me why she said something I never said. Anyway, I figured it would be best for her to return the now fixed item and I would refund her money. So that is what I submitted in the dispute.
She gets upset and said she never wanted to give the item back she just wanted some sort of compensation for it. Well honestly, I would like to see the item to know it's actually broken before I issue a refund.
She basically wants to keep the item and get a refund for it. I don't think so. I emailed her asking her that if she wanted to keep the item why didn't she just say so when I asked. Seems pretty easy. I got no response and she escalated the dispute to a case so that eBay can review it. I guess she's hoping it will go in her favor or something and who knows if it will or not?
Because she was being so strange, I blocked her. That totally pissed her off when she tried to bid on more items. But then again she said my items were poor quality so why was she trying to bid on more? Again, she was being strange. It's as though she likes my items but wants to be mean and difficult at the same time. I don't get it.
Here are our emails, read starting at the bottom, Click to enlarge if you need to:
Shortly after that, she left me four negatives for all four items she won. You can see her feedback and my replies:
Shortly after that, she sent me this last message:
I guess I'm stuck with negative retaliation feedback. Oh well.
I didn't bother hiding her ID because you can see it on my feedback page anyway. But I hid her first name from one message.
I'm not really looking for anyone to agree with me on this. You might think I dealt with her incorrectly. But after all, I'm not a huge money hungry business with lotsa CS training or anything. I'm just one person here and I try to treat other people as they deserve while being as fair as possible. I feel confused as to why some people just won't let you help them but they want to throw tantrums about whatever it is that they are unhappy about.
Rant over. :-)
o.O what a shmuck! I have to say welldone for being so patient with the bitch, she completely discombobulated me. How can you expect a refund for a broken item that you took the time to fix and then when the person who made it tells you to let them know how it broke so they can better their service....you go and fucking open a case agaisnt them, call them a cunt and talk shit on their feedback page??!!
ReplyDeleteit's sucks that the world is overflowing with pigheads. I think you have enough to prove that she was trying to pull a fast one, there's no way ebay can side with her on this :/ Good luck in getting this sorted out :] xx
That woman sounds awful. When you write up your side of the story for paypal, make sure you include screenshots of the nasty message she sent you, as well as your responses to her, which indicate that you're trying to work with her.
ReplyDeleteWow, the only cunt is that thing. She wants to keep product and get money back? I'd like to see her try to do that in a walk in store. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. Is she from magical fairy land where you get paid to shop and you poop money?
ReplyDeleteIdiot.
The way she was acting makes me think she was 16 or something.
gah! TURD!
Hopefully ebay helps you out, that place is getting so full of bs I hardly shop there anymore unless I'm finding things for the mister. Or buying your awesome stuff of course :D
Well personally I think your very easy to work with :P I love all the items you have made me and hopefully before the cruise I can get one of your zombie skeleton pendants. Your work is very awesome and well done so pooh! on her for being a bitch to you. You don't deserve that kind of treatment when your trying to be helpful. hope your having a good week sorry we missed you kids on saturday.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing she likes your stuff but doesn't really want to pay for them, so she wanted the refund. People are strange.
ReplyDeleteWow, just wow. That is definitely a woman who wants something for nothing. Where I'm from, we call them free-loaders. I don't have any experience in the area, but I do believe reporting her for harassment and blocking her are like "strikes". I do believe she might of been issued a warning as well. There was absolutely no reason for her to want a refund, if she was able to fix the item. At least, be willing to wait for a replacement item! Not hard at all!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry this had to happen to you :(
wow. WOW. o.0 very rude, and unnecessarily so! i'm so sorry you had to deal with something like this =[ imho, it all sounds very fishy. like she's TRYING to cause drama just to cause it. i really hope you get this sorted out in your favor, because THAT person is a c***! =X haha. good luck, hun! <3
ReplyDeleteWow, the C word! I thought you were super prefessional. She obviously is just one of those people that loves to pick a fight. I'd just brush her off. There is no way ebay wouldn't side with you, just save all the emails. You can even get ebay to remove the bad feedback she left if you win, so bah to her!
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of sellers on various sites that have stopped selling due to people like this. Very sad - but hopefully you'll get 10 good customers in return!
Unfortunately, I'm seeing this happen a lot in public and on the internet. I'm sorry it happened, and you were way more tolerant than I would have been.
ReplyDeleteA tip for ebay shoppers/sellers: if you go to the website www.toolhaus.org and put in an ebay ID, you can see all of the negative feedback left for and by that person on one page instead of having to sift through a ton of pages. I've used it quite a bit when I've bought and sold on ebay.
omg shes just a crazy lady. she just wants free stuff and thinks because she complains she will get it. i can't believe she called you that!!! i would not have been able to control myself after that lol
ReplyDeleteSome people are so weird...
ReplyDeleteDude, I'm sorry this happened to you, how unfortunate!
ReplyDeleteYou can see from the emails that you were being patient, cooperative and formal. I don't see how you could've been any clearer on what you were trying to communicate.
Crazy woman!
Issues much? Sounds fishy to me. I don't understand this behavior, I'd bet there was nothing wrong with any of the items she received.
ReplyDeleteWhat a biotch! You handled the situation perfectly, and you were not unreasonable at all. She was just very rude, unfortunate customer. I deal with those types all the time in the restaurant. Many douches are just out looking for free stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs an ebay seller myself, sadly, these things do happen, you'll always find someone trying to get something for nothing and use the pettiest excuses to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is ebay is all for the buyer and not the seller, buyers know they have this "power" and therefore make use of it.
They all end up on ebay because you wouldn't give rubbish like that to a big company, you'd have to send the item back and all that, there wouldn't be any "I'll have the item and the money" rubbish.
So sad it's happened to you. In the UK if there's a problem with an item paypal ask the buyer to return the item. If they don't they don't get their money. Hopefully that's what they will decide for you, at least, even though she's given you hell she'll be without her item that she did want to keep.
Also, it's feedback abuse to leave a negative feedback for a different transaction. She shouldn't have left all 4. You should report that to ebay, along with the messages, they might decide to remove 3 of the negs.
I can't say for Ebay US, but that's what I would have done here in the UK. Hopefully you have similar rules and you should be able to get this sorted in your favour.
x
OMG! you must be angry and so disappointed. Just report to Ebay and ignore her completely. i am surprised people would go this far to hurt others.
ReplyDeleteWow... not all people from Wyoming are like that. At least I am not.
ReplyDeleteI once had an ebay seller send me a fake tracking number, but whatever I let it go.
I can not believe her attitude.
She basically wanted you to make her something, and then give her money.
:( Wtf?
You handled that so classy, by the way. You didn't sink to her level. Kudos!
Wow. That's crazy.. You really didn't deserve that kind of treatment, you were just trying to help her! She seems to be such a greedy idiot. I wouldn't be surprised if the item she said was broken was actually not broken really. She seems to just want your items but not pay for them..
ReplyDeleteToo bad you're now stuck with the negative feedback which you definitely didn't deserve. Maybe eBay can delete that feedback when they find out what's the case? That's not just a big deal though. when people go to see your feedback, they can see most of the feedback are positive and I don't think anyone would not buy items from you because of those negative feedbacks. If one person from over 6000 says your items are poor quality, how trustworthy is that. x
This is outrageous!
ReplyDeleteI believe just like PonPon that she just really likes your jewelry and wants it for free. Some people are rude like that and expect to get anything they want for free.
I hope the case resolves in your favor.
No matter where you go or what kind of job you do, you always find this kind of people who are too bored or...too stupid. In my opinion, you managed the situation politely and professionally. Hope she gets what she deserves from the eBay guys!
ReplyDeletewow what a nutter, did she seriously think it would be ok to have both the item and the refund? Id like to see her try that in an actual store - people seem to think that trading rules are different over online sales.
ReplyDeleteits such a shame that you had to put up with her and are now stuck with the negative feedback
x
I've only just started selling on eBay. Just second hand stuff, not any of my own creations...I imagine it's more upsetting when it's your own work and part of your livelihood. But I was always worried about running into people like this. So far I've only received positive feedback, except for one person who gave me neutral with no detailed comments (really helpful there!).
ReplyDeleteIt seems like some people think they have all the rights and you have none, an online version of "The customer is always right". Maybe they have some secret paranoia about buying online and think that everyone is out to swindle them? In which case, why are they buying online?
Thanks gals! I really do have a love/hate relationship with eBay. It helped me start my business many years ago but they have changed so many policies that basically protect the buyer and not the seller at all. We're not allowed to leave negative or neutral feedback for buyers even if they were committing fraud! Which I have dealt with.
ReplyDeleteI'm not taking her personally. I realize she has to be some crazy selfish person who is used to getting her way and exploded with a temper tantrum.
I do believe in karma so hopefully she will get what is coming to her.
It just sucks that I'm probably stuck with feedback I clearly don't deserve.
I am expecting that eBay won't side with me, just because that's how they are. It really has turned into "the customers always right".
It used to be fun and safe to sell on eBay and now I've become afraid that every purchase will be a problem. It's stressful.
I've recently had a few people say something was broken and left me poor feedback for it, but when I ask them to return so I can repair/replace it, they have turned me down or never bothered to respond. Who likes getting stuck with broken items and turns down help? I don't get it.
EW WTFF is wrong with some people these days? Well those people need to get a life. Really, is it that difficult to be polite?
ReplyDeleteIt is unfair and wrong. I've noticed that the majority of people on this planet don't seem to have manners when they get all worked up. There's very little benefit of the doubt being offered. I think she wanted to get away with a gripe and then when it didn't work, she got vicious. I'm sorry and I've had similar happen to me and as frustrating as it is....I know it's a drop in the bucket compared to reality which is you did the right thing and that woman has her own bad manners to live with. Thankfully, you know how to rise above. Well done!
ReplyDeleteSome people think they can get through in life by pushing other people around. She probably didn't think you'd take it this far. My guess is she just expected you to roll over and play dead, so good on you for fighting back, in and adult manner... as you can see by your comments, she's the one that looks like a shumuck!
ReplyDeleteThat woman is a walking contradiction! You kept your cool through the entire thing - I hope she doesn't "win" and you don't have to "compensate" her for anything!
ReplyDeleteI don't see how Ebay could possibly side with her, when you've got screen shots, and are pretty upfront right on the item pages about being willing to work with customers if they have complaints. I think it's only reasonable to expect her to return the piece to you if she wants a refund. If she wants a refund AND to keep the piece, then clearly there's no problem with it.
ReplyDeleteOne time, back when I was a waitress, I had two women order t-bone steaks, medium-well. They each ate half, then complained that it was too well done. I talked to the manager, and we decided to comp it, even though that meant I got no tip. Then they had the gall to ask for to-go boxes for the rest of the steaks, at which point the manager had a long talk with them that ended with 1-them paying, 2-them leaving, and 3-them not getting to-go boxes. If it was not cooked properly enough to warrant a refund, then, no, you don't get to take the rest home and eat it - obviously you're just scamming for free steak. I feel like the same shit is going on here, and it's so blatant, I don't see how Ebay couldn't rule in your favor. Did she pay by Paypal? I feel like they're better than Ebay about sorting shit out - maybe they could be involved, too?
Also, if there's any chance for you to provide character witnesses (like, in more detail than just going by feedback they've left for you) let us know. I'd be MORE THAN HAPPY to tell Ebay how awesome your products are, and how professional and communicative you are. I'm sure I'm not the only one who could attest to that.
ReplyDeleteMy Goodness! She's so rude and sneaky...
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that happened to you. Your items look really beautiful. Have you tried selling on Etsy?
ReplyDeletethat sucks, i am so sorry you have to go through this
ReplyDeleteWhat a horrible woman. Even if she thought she had a reasonable grievance (which she didn't) swearing at you is just unnecessary. It does sound like she was just trying to get free jewellery.
ReplyDeleteWOW! She probably was lying in the first place!
ReplyDeleteWhat an asscannon. You were 100 times more patient with her than I would have been.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds like one of those dreadful assholes that firmly believes that the customer is ALWAYS right no matter what, which anyone with a functioning brain knows is not true. I work retail, and at least half the time the customer is wrong. People are so damn entitled nowadays. People expect to be able to get everything for free if they just bitch loudly enough.
Isn't it easier for you to stay off ebay and just sell on a blog or site? That way you would be your own boss and people couldn't make up stories and go over your head with complaints.
ReplyDeleteIm sorry people have treated you this way, the world is full of nutty people and unfortunately we cant work around them.