Vindictive seller plan backfires and she still doesn't get it.

[sea.breeze]

This is is hilarious, so put the kettle on make a sandwich too it could be a bit of an adventure, there may even be more updates before I've ficnished this post.

It all began innocently enough with a search for a battery for my m/cycle with over 300CCA I found what I wanted 325CCA 101 bucks done. Then I realise there's a 10% coupon so I order another one pay for it as it's Friday and send a message saying what I did and to only send one and refund the other. 

I give them the item ID. She says she can't see any coupon. I said, don't you worry about that, you don't see it you just need to refund the one whose item number I gave. Then I get two delivery notices. I phone them up and, (let's call her "REMOVED" because that is her name) REMOVED, tells me it hasn't been sent that was an automatic mail. So I say, good I just wanted to make sure you didn't send two.

Then she's back onto the not being able to tell which one is which. When I try to tell her they they have different numbers at both ebay and paypal, she wants to talk over me and tell me I don't understand. I may have called her an idiot, which in retrospect is fair enough.

So I decide to innitiate a return because that way she doesn't have to work out how numbers work. Then she sends me an ebay message saying that because I've started a return she can't cancel it. Whatever, but then she indicates that she's going to send it to me anyway and I'll have to send it back, because er... it's a return.

At this point I asked ebay to step in and just explain to her that to send me a parcel that they know they are going to refund to me in order that I can send it back, is just plain stupid. It's just trolling customers. 

Now it starts to get good...

Today I get a delivery, it has two batteries in it. Sarah the wily vixen has found a way to send it to me for free so that I have to pay to send it back... well done Sarah.

So the first thing I do is look at the battery box because I want to see that big beautiful 325 CCA writting in a reassuringly bold font. But it is not there, nor on the battery. A spec search lists the CCA as 235. Exactly what I don't want.

So apart from the fact that I've just wasted 5 days waiting for a battery that I can't use, I now see that because there is a rather serious error in the listing, albeit a typo but an error nonetheless and a crucial error  because it was the 325CCA that made me press the buy button, I'd never have bought it if it was listed at 235. 

OK you think that's it right, nothing complicated here, they have to pay the postage due to their error, I write a message to Sarah explaining the situation and comiserating with her on the failure of her otherwise spendid plan to make me pay for the battery return. The I supply screenshots of their specs and the actual specs so I prove to her that the listing is wrong. 

REMOVED's having none of it, she doesn't care that the listing is wrong and I've proved it, she sends me a message saying...

REMOVED writes...

I have already told you what you need to do. You continue to insult me and be rude about when all I tired to was to help you in the first place. If you would like a refund please return the items, until then I can not assist you Thanks

I respond...

I have already told you what you need to do. You continue to insult me and be rude about when all I tired to was to help you in the first place. If you would like a refund please return the items, until then I can not assist you Thanks

[imastawka]

Ummm, I think I know who the idiot might be.

Seabrereze, you've outdone yourself and found your name on a lot of seller's BBL.

You did everything wrong from the get-go.

Due diligence is when you research before you buy not after.

Seller doesn't have to do what you tell them.

You bought 2 - you got 2

[padi*0409]

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@imastawka wrote:

Ummm, I think I know who the idiot might be.

Seabrereze, you've outdone yourself and found your name on a lot of seller's BBL.

You did everything wrong from the get-go.

Due diligence is when you research before you buy not after.

Seller doesn't have to do what you tell them.

You bought 2 - you got 2

---

Stawks, I can't decide if it's a popcorn moment or a bourbon moment.......................

                             

Or :-

                             

Spoiler

.......maybe both............

[imastawka]

Spoiler

Both.

And I started hours ago.

[davewil1964]

Scotch

[padi*0409]

---

@davewil1964 wrote:

Scotch

---

If the Scots could make decent bourbon, I would.

[kopenhagen5]

I was going to suggest both.

A Jack n dry sounds good after a very busy week. 

seabreeze, as much as common sense told you to just have the seller cancel the first, you should have had them cancel the first BEFORE you purchased again using the voucher.

You decided to go your own way before asking the seller how they would like to proceed in order for you to utilize a voucher.

There in lies the problem.

[digital*ghost]

Oh my.

I realise you've already had a bunch of people take issue with how you handled things, but - while I will too - I kinda want to explain a bit more why. Take it as you will.

You lost me (as in, my empathy), the second you explained that you went ahead and purchased the second one, telling the seller how to handle the first transaction. You would have put the seller off-side, too. If you make any kind of error with an order, the first thing to do is recognise that you require assistance from the seller, as opposed to being entitled to tell them what to do about it. You may not see it that way, but most others certainly understand this, which is why you're gotten the responses you have - the best thing to have done would be contact the seller, explain the situation, and ask them if it's ok to cancel the first order so that you can take advantage of the discount. If nothing else, you get to know how willing and able they are to help you, and whether it's even worth forging ahead with the plan to get that 10%, and in real terms, they'll be more likely to be willing to help, because you've at least engaged them in the problem solving process, rather than just dictated to them what will happen. When you show people respect for their role as the seller, they will be more willing to work with you towards the outcome you want.

Some will likely say if the seller can't handle customers like that, that's their problem, but there's no need to be like that in the first place, and frankly every seller will have their own tolerance level - mine is pretty low at the moment, because I often deal with customers who are under the impression that buying an item from me suddenly makes them my boss, and me their lowly employee who is now obliged to say "how high?" when they say jump. Just, no. If you encounter a seller whose tolerance levels are similarly as low, maybe consider changing tactics instead of digging your heels in, they'll probably be really relieved that they're dealing with someone who can show a little empathy, and be willing to be more flexible. They don't sound like they're the most clued into the processes involved, and having an agressive buyer telling them what to do and calling them an idiot wouldn't have helped at all. 

If the seller was truly vindictive, they would have only sent you one, since you opened a request to return an item you wouldn't receive, and were therefore unable to actually return it. 

I don't think the seller handled it perfectly, presuming you've painted an unbiased picture of how it all played out, but they weren't exactly presented with a great suitation to begin with - also, be prepared for more sellers to be much less willing to cancel transactions at the drop of a hat in the next few weeks. PayPal's policy is changing from keeping the flagfall from a payment, to keeping all the fees from a payment. That means any seller who will cancel a transaction and give you a full refund, will be doing you a bigger favour soon than they are already. 

[springyzone]

The reason you're copping so much flak is your sense of entitlement.

It can put people's backs up. Digital ghost has outlined everything so well & is worth listening to.

I understand why you were kicking yourself after the first purchase. You realised there was a discount coupon you could have used but hadn't.

That was your fault though, wasn't it. Your problem doesn't make it someone else's emergency.

From the tone of your post, you sound as if you think it is a seller's responsibility to cancel a sale if the buyer tells them to. It doesn't always work that way in real stores, does it? Sometimes you can get a refund easily but the law doesn't require it unless there is something wrong with the product and at that stage, you certainly didn't know there was a problem with the item, you just wanted a refund because you had bought two.

Ebay sellers are not obliged to cancel a sale just for change of mind either, though in practice they sometimes will.

Now had I been the seller, I would have taken exception to your tone but I probably would have cancelled the sale. 

But you don't seem to realise that that isn't a totally free process for the seller. 

They'll be out of pocket for your mistake.

That's why it would have been nice for you to actually ask if it would be okay to cancel and for you to apologise for your mistake.

A few manners go a long way.

Of course, if the items are not as described in the ad, then yes, you are now entitled to return for a full refund. But that's a completely different issue to the first one.

[tazzieterror]

I recently had a buyer experience a similar situation where they purchased an item from me but managed to checkout without entering a promo code.

They used the cancellation request option for the purchase, messaged me to politely explain the situation and ask for help, and waited for me to respond, which I did.

They ended up repurchasing with the code applied, saving them a substantial amount of money, and being very happy with both the item and the service I provided them.

Civility and good communication goes a long way; my bbl continues to grow.