eBay loosing Terms stated for "send an offer" - Angry Customer

[stickthisdecals]

This is pretty disappointing.  eBay have no records of sent terms of the offer. 
THIS COULD CATCH OUT ANY ONE OF YOU SELLERS!!

As most will know.  You can send an offer through ebay when someone messages you about an item.  In this instance buyer and I negotiated a deal.  They did not want the full kit and only wanted $50 worth.  So we sent them an offer for $50.  In the "message to buyer" we wrote "this is an offer for the front bar only not the full kit as per discussions"

Here is a sample of where you can write the message:  (sent to a personal account we have as a trial)

The buyer accepted the offer and received their item.  Now complains they only received some of the kit not the full kit.  And they claim they got 80% off the full kit.  Obviously they did not read the "message to buyer".

eBay are thick.  They do not understand.  There is no proof anywhere (other than in the buyers emails) on what that message states.  eBay have no record.  I checked other offers etc.  One that have been accepted I can not see by clicking previous offers.  Ones that have been declined I can still see the "message to buyer" that I wrote.

**bleep** why does eBay remove this from us to see.

Now we have a grumpy buyer that wants the rest of the kit.  (that he never ordered)

Anyone else had this issue?  

We have spent hours on the phone to eBay and they struggle to even understand what the issue is.  Is very disappointing!  

Any suggestions on how to get eBay to understand this/find this message for us?

[valeriem123456]

I have just posted about THE SELLER HAS NO RIGHTS.

You have been caught in ebay's new return policy - where all the buyer has to do is complain - they dont look at any evidence, any side agreements, any notes at all. They just give the buyer the win. Then they ask you to submit evidence but the case has already been decided. Not your way. 

Given this new policy, you should have re listed 20% for this guy to buy & cancelled the original listing.

Like I said: THE SELLER HAS NO RIGHTS

[stickthisdecals]

Sad but true.  BUT.  If you read the eBay Help on how to send an offer using the eBay message you received we did EVERTYTHING as per their How To.
They even note in their Help section on this subject to state your terms in the "message to seller" spot.

BUT do not keep any records of this.....

[gutterpunkz05]

I am always cautious of people looking for special deals, as it is often the first sign you are about to be scammed.   Got caught years ago and now if anyone wants more or less or any other change to a listing, I create a new listing with the titles starting as special order.  You would be surprised how many buyers then suddenly disappear.

[jellybirddesigns]

I agree with gutterpunkz - too many red flags when buyers start negotiating with you.

I would always check the buyers feedback for sellers, to see if there are any problems you can pick up prior to sending.

A lot of Ebay is managed by bots or by people in third world countries getting paid a pittance who either do not care, or do not bother to read.

OP - I know it's a loss, but just block this guy and wear any negative that they might give you. You can always leave a professional response that FUTURE buyers will appreciate.

@valerium - I think that you can opt out of the automatic dispute handling process, but I can't remember where it is - probably in the preferences. I remember Ebay tries to get me to agree to it a long time ago, but I opted out.

[digital*ghost]

@stickthisdecals wrote:

As most will know.  You can send an offer through ebay when someone messages you about an item.  In this instance buyer and I negotiated a deal.  They did not want the full kit and only wanted $50 worth.  So we sent them an offer for $50.  In the "message to buyer" we wrote "this is an offer for the front bar only not the full kit as per discussions"

How? I'm presuming the buyer messaged you and you replied, then this 'deal' was negotiated via messages prior to the offer being sent?

If so, eBay CS can easily access and read those messages, whether or not they can locate the clarifying message in the offer.

However, I can't guarantee this will resolve the issue for you, for reasons I'll clarify below, so it really is best to create a new listing that has a proper description of what the buyer will receive, if it will be different to what is in the description on the original.

eBay's T&Cs can't technically be overridden by a clarifying term in a message, and tacit acceptance of that term, so they may well decide the buyer is in the "right" even if their tactics are ethically and morally wrong. It works both ways - if a buyer sends an offer on an item, and says in the message along with it "plus free postage" (eg say it's a $100 item with $25 postage, buyer offers $50 and adds "with free post" in the offer message and the seller accepts, the terms of that sale are automatically $50 with $25 post, the "free post" demand and the sellers acceptance of this offer, don't actually entitle the buyer to get the item for $50 free post, this is per eBay's T&Cs, which a message does not override) - that is, agreed listing terms technically create the contract as far as eBay is concerned, not private communications, though of course these scenarios can play out very differently in something like a court setting.