topic Re: Feedback extortion from buyer in Selling

Feedback extortion from buyer

gelandangan — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 05:39:26 GMT

Today I received a negative feedback from a buyer, after over 1240 feedbacks for 100% positive reputation.

The buyer bought something that is a spare part of a larger set.

Upon receiving it, buyer demanded that I send him the full set.

Naturally I refused, but I offered him refund if he return the item to me.

He then threatened me with negative, and now after I maintain that refund will be given if the item is returned,

He posted a negative feedback and claim for goods not as described.

Simply looking at the feedback he gave to other sellers you can see that this buyer is a liar and a predator that regularly use this trick to obtain goods.

I have sent an email to ebay reporting this extortion, but I wonder if ebay would do anything about it.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

bdstratton — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:40:59 GMT

Unfortunetly eBay attracts alot of dodgy buyers who are out to rip off sellers.

This is why it is why to block buyers that have unpaid items strikes etc.

I suggest you use the buyer requirments function.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

digital*ghost — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:47:27 GMT

As you have reported them, eBay should take a look at messages between yourself and the buyer, if they agree that the buyer was using neg feedback to extort you, they should remove the neg. (If everything you say is true, I can't see any reason why they wouldn't remove it, but there are no guarantees).

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

***super_nova*** — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:55:53 GMT

As long as your listing was very clear that you are selling only 1 part, and NOT the whole kit, you should be right. But if your listing is deceptive, and the buyer could realistically believe they are buying the whole set, then demanding the set under threat of bad FB is not considered extortion.

If you want us to judge, post the title of the item, so we can look. 🙂

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

***super_nova*** — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 07:02:33 GMT

Should have go and read before I commented; the buyer does not say in his FB he wants full set, he says it broke after 2 days.

Yes, you make it quite clear it is only a pencil, but why put the whole thing in the main photo? You really should only have what is on offer; if you do need to illustrate what it belongs with, you can always put the second picture or in the text in description. The problem ma arise if people buy from their phone and cannot read the description properly.

eBay will most likely remove the NEG though if you have the messages that he demands the full set.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

gelandangan — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 02:10:19 GMT

Actually I did not put in picture in the original listing, however after a couple of queries I ended up putting the picture of the set.

I can see many sellers specially in the automotive section that can be exploited by similar scammer.

Anyhow, I have told ebay about the demand the buyer made, now I wait for the reply.

The buyer also file "not as described" to Paypal, and now it is on escalated claim..

I still maintain that for refund to be given, the item must be returned.

Btw, super nova, whats the implication on having your feedback changed to "Private" ?

Is it worthwhile?

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

***super_nova*** — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 02:22:01 GMT

Btw, super nova, whats the implication on having your feedback changed to "Private" ?

Is it worthwhile?

This is my posting ID. Many other people who have been posting on theses boards for many years found that some nasty trolls can attack your selling ID and make lot of damage, it is recommended by eBay to have special ID for posting here. i have bought few items to have the FB of 10 to be able tpo reply on AC, and occassionally I buy something on this ID when I could not be bothered logging out and logging into other ID. And it is absolutely nobody's business what I buy 🙂

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

davewil1964 — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 02:51:46 GMT

You can't change your feedback to private if you're a seller, anyway.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

thesoulyearns — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 03:56:36 GMT

gelandangan, is everything in the listing picture what was included in the sale?

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

phorum_junkie* — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 04:08:36 GMT

I too agree that your picture would be considered misleading if the buyer had complained they did not get the full set, the photo is of equal importance and if everything in it isn't included that should be made very clear, you need to say X,Y & Z not included rather than I am selling WW.

I also can't understand what you mean about posting to the buyer's paypal registered address? How would you even know what their PP registered address was?

I regularly have my items posted to about 6 different addresses on two different continents and only one of those is my Paypal registered address and there is never anything the seller will see that lets them know what my registered paypal address is..

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

digital*ghost — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 04:33:23 GMT

But... the neg says the item was broken two days after and the vendor did not want to do anything,

If everything the OP says is true, the complaint the buyer had, the demands they made and the neg they actually left are worlds apart. i.e. If they thought they were buying a full set and felt mislead, why not leave a neg to that effect?

If the buyer never claimed the goods were broken, thus - even if they were - not even giving the seller the opportunity to do something about it, then if all else fails I would go the defamation route.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

***super_nova*** — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 05:42:47 GMT

D.G I was just pointing out that there is a discrepancy between what OP said and the FB, I was just stating the fact. Without seeing the correspondence we cannot judge what exactly occured. It is possible that first the buyer demanded the full set, then tried to use the said item and it broke after 2 days. And they may have read the description again and realised it was their mistake. But then again, did the OP say that they now changed the listing? ?:|

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

digital*ghost — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 05:54:47 GMT

That's why I said "if everything the OP says is true", as I know not being privy to the buyer's side of the story, the exact content of the messages etc, can sometimes mean we don't get the full picture, and why I said if the buyer never claimed the goods were broken (other than in FB).

The OP mentioned that they put the picture in the listing after a few queries, but the buyer bought at the end of December, and the last revision to that listing (which was to the BIN price according to the revision details) occurred in July, so the listing as it is now is the listing the buyer would have viewed AFAIK.

I do think it would be better to only show the pencil in the image, despite the item title being quite clear. I would probably change "complete assembled unit" too, to something more specific which leaves no room for doubt, as that image couple with that phrasing does have the potential to cause confusion, but I was trying to address the OP's question and provide advice in relation to the information given, which I have no choice but to take at face value.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

bobbo*12 — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 11:30:07 GMT

Yes, its happening far too often on ebay, i had a person leave me negative feed back because they wanted to scam a refund on postage. 1st eBay rep agreed with me, the next, although I did everything right, didn't. The feed back remained..all over a few bucks.for packaging & eBay 10% fee on postage which I had mentioned in my listing & the purchaser agreed on paying. What's wrong with eBay not seeing through these thieves?

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

davewil1964 — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 11:46:13 GMT

1. This thread is almost SEVEN YEARS old. If you have an issue, start a new thread. If you don't, please don't drag up ancient history to no point.

2. Don't tell your buyers what the breakdown of your postage prices are - they are what they are. If the buyer is happy, they buy. If not, they don't.

3. Why would you expect eBay to vet every transaction on their site? Are you prepared to pay the fees that would be resultant if they did?

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

springyzone — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 12:43:29 GMT

@bobbo*12 wrote:
Yes, its happening far too often on ebay, i had a person leave me negative feed back because they wanted to scam a refund on postage. 1st eBay rep agreed with me, the next, although I did everything right, didn't. The feed back remained..all over a few bucks.for packaging & eBay 10% fee on postage which I had mentioned in my listing & the purchaser agreed on paying. What's wrong with eBay not seeing through these thieves?

I hope you don't mean you wanted the buyer to pay an extra fee over and above your item price/postage price in the ad?

That would irritate me a bit too if i bought from you.

I think it was davewill who said-don't go itemising the individual components of your postage cost. Take that as gospel.

Look, everyone (who thinks about it) must realise postage isn't free, but customers can get stroppy if they think they are being charged over and above the Aust Post price. Sometimes they still think it's too much even if you charge not a cent over! It's unreasonable, but some of them have that attitude, so you're probably better to bump your item up a couple of dollars to cover your fees. Mentioning them in a listing is asking for trouble. I'm not sure if you're supposed to in ads either, but one of the sellers will be able to guide you better on that one.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

k1ooo-slr-sales — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 14:52:32 GMT

@bobbo*12 wrote:
Yes, its happening far too often on ebay, i had a person leave me negative feed back because they wanted to scam a refund on postage. 1st eBay rep agreed with me, the next, although I did everything right, didn't. The feed back remained..all over a few bucks.for packaging & eBay 10% fee on postage which I had mentioned in my listing & the purchaser agreed on paying. What's wrong with eBay not seeing through these thieves?

you CAN NOT charge more for postage than what shows on the listing (circled in red). That amount that shows IS NOT a ‘quote’. You can charge less, but not more.

It doesn’t matter if you include this in your listing:

Please note, i make nothing on P & P and what it cost me is what is charged.

As such PLEASE WAIT FOR MY INVOICE BEFORE PAYING.

As often ebays postal "Quote" is incorrect.

If you have that in your listing the buyer IS NOT agreeing to pay more than what shows in the listing.

What you need to do is look for the fixed price satchel that an item like the one above can be posted in and use the price of that satchel as a base price for postage calculation. To this amount you need to add the cost of bubble wrap and boxes as this type of item needs double wrapping and boxing inserted into a satchel. Then, add 10% to cover the fee on postage and put the total as your P&H charge without giving a breakdown (as suggested by davewil).

If you can’t nail the P&H price before preparing a listing then do not list. To do so will get you more negs.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

springyzone — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 20:48:53 GMT

Oh boy, I didn't go into the account to check out the ads or the neg till i saw your reply, but if that is the ad and the buyer was asked to pay an extra $7, no wonder they were annoyed.

And I know it is a few years since I was a regular seller, but surely it is still the seller's postage quote, not ebay's?

Bobbo says it is 'all over a few bucks for packaging and ebay fees' but it's a 2 way street. He isn't happy to forego that money & calls the buyer a scammer/thief for being upset about them.

Solution is easy. Postage price is the seller's job. Set it correctly to begin with.

Re: Feedback extortion from buyer

imastawka — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 22:34:56 GMT

@springyzone wrote:
Oh boy, I didn't go into the account to check out the ads or the neg till i saw your reply, but if that is the ad and the buyer was asked to pay an extra $7, no wonder they were annoyed.
And I know it is a few years since I was a regular seller, but surely it is still the seller's postage quote, not ebay's?

Bobbo says it is 'all over a few bucks for packaging and ebay fees' but it's a 2 way street. He isn't happy to forego that money & calls the buyer a scammer/thief for being upset about them.

Solution is easy. Postage price is the seller's job. Set it correctly to begin with.

And proceeds to charge $11.90+ postage, for a set of stamps.

Even charging $11.90+ for a magazine

It certainly is the seller's job to apply the correct postage cost - not ebay's.

The negs will turn up eventually.