Trying to avoid possible feedback problem

[thegoldengeek]

I sold something in my selling account yesterday and posted it this morning. As soon as I marked it as sent I got a message demanding proof of postage claiming I was trying to scam him. Truth is it was only a small item so it was sent using a stamp, no prrof of postage available (except for a recipet saying I bought 100 stamps last week lol) and when I told him that he got testy. The account has over 2500 feedback and 100% so I can't imagine how he thinks I'm scamming anyone.

The entire value of the transaction is less than $5 so I'm tempted to cancel the transaction and let him keep his item and his money then block him. That account sells enough that I can cop one out of stock strike for cancelling, but will he then be able to leave feedback on a cancelled transaction? 

[imastawka]

They can still leave feedback, even if you cancel, so no point to it, really.

If there's a problem later, just refund.

But make sure you block them, so they can't purchase again.

[digital*ghost]

I tend to use a basic formula for replying to messages like these - ackowledge, empathise, options to fix (in this case there is no "fix", but the equivalent would be reassurance).

So, my message would say things like I understand purchasing can feel like a risk and that tracking information can provide additional assurace, but that I opt to use the most economical postage service in order to keep costs as low as possible for customers. I'd mention that problems rarely occur but in cases that something does, you'll be more than happy to assist further with a number of options, and that even though there is no online tracking, Australia Post will conduct internal investigations on all reports of lost mail. If you have a lot of positive feedback for selling, you can point them to that as it can show that you have a well-established history of posting items that are received in good time etc. 

I might change tactics if they persisted (it's interesting that such a well-established account would be so nervous over a $5 purchase o_O ), but I would use that approach for the first reply. 

[fixnwear]

Hi goldengeek,

Your buyer is a bit unbelievable!

Accusing you of trying to scam him of less that 5 bucks!

And that's even before he sees if the item turns up - as it should, tracking or no tracking.

If it eventually doesn't turn up (and how would you ever believe someone like this), much morely scenario would be that it got lost in the mail, or he's lying, anything but scamming!

He sound like someone who must have done it before - and got away with that - getting a refund almost imediatelly as a knee jerk reaction from the buyer - which gave him incentive to do it again!

Just wait and see few days, you may or may not hear anything more, if he still claims non receipt I guess you'll have to refund then - but don't worry about neg. f/back - it has lost totally any meaning to most buyers - for exactly this reason:

Anyone can say anything, unchallenged - which renders it useless. Actually a joke.

It's not even worth checking with Ebay - they would most likely see if that is repetitive behaviour on his part - as the amount is so low, much less than your time to do all that is worth.

[phorum_junkie*]

You may be reaping what previous sellers have sown, the buyer may have had to claim recently for a not received item with no tracking because the seller did not just refund or replace without the need to go through ebay. That would be unfortunate but taking a deep breath and empathising before sending a reassuring  response is probably the best way. I have no idea why you would be more concerned about getting a neg than losing even a small amount of money.

[chameleon54]

Its all starting to get a bit out of hand. I would have averaged maybe one item not recieved claim every six months before the money back gaurantee thing really took off. This would equate to one claim per 1200 items roughly. Now they have become a weekly occurance. In fact I have just refunded one tonight.

I,m also getting INR claims where the item turns up a day or two later and the buyer doesnt bother to cancel the claim, so my money just sits tied up in paypal. If I ask ebay to step in, I get hit for not providing a tracking number. Its actually starting to cost me real money. I,m soooo over the whole thing.

[springyzone]

Items sometimes can be delayed in the post but in my experience (as both buyer & seller), they turn up eventually. We've not had a problem(except for a few slow deliveries) in a couple of thousand transactions so i am a bit dubious about all these item not received claims, unless someone lives in a really obscure address.

[chameleon54]

I suspect a large part of the problem is that ebay are putting unrealistic delivery time estimates on listings and encouraging buyers to claim if the item does not arrive within the estimated period. This is particularly noticable with international sales. These are the larger proportion of my problem, but I am still getting Australian claims too.

I suspect many buyers genuinly have not got the item when they claim, due to Australia post or international customs delays, but they are unwilling to wait a reasonable period to see if it turns up. I refund to avoid a defect and no doubt many buyers recieve their item a few days later. Result one happy ebay buyer and one ripped off seller.

I suspect many buyers can see they will get the item for free once the claims process has begun and dont notify ebay or the seller when it does turn up, even if it is before the dispute has settled.

Ebay are effectivly training buyers on how to abuse the system and steal from sellers by using unrealistic postage time estimates and encouraging buyers to claim "item not recieved" if it does not arrive within their unrealistic estimated delivery times.. 

[brerrabbit585]

Just wait till ebay start plastering ads everywhere saying, "If it doesn't arrive on time we'll refund your money".  It'll only apply to listings where the sellers have opted in to the scheme, but if ebay advertise it the buyers will assume it applies to ALL items.