Habitual neg feedback leaver says item is not as described. Oh what to do!

[dresscode2479]

Just after a few opinions please as not too sure what to do.
Received an "item not as described" message from a buyer this morning.

I sold her a pair of pre owned shoes and said in listing that they measure 26cm. She  says they only measure 25.5cm.
I immediately messaged back and said of course I would arrange return and full return if i had measured wrong - could she please send a photo to me with a measuring tape on them.
She has since sent a photo but it is too small to actually  see the measurements on the tape anyway.

All that aside I would have refunded BUT I just went and had a look at what type of feedback she leaves for other sellers.
In 15 out of her last 25 transcations as a buyer she has left negative feedback for the seller - wow she sure is an unlucky buyer.
She even leaves negative feedback if the seller refunds.

So if she is going to leave me negative feedback anyway - should I bother to send her a reund?
What do others think?

[van_werkhoven]

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@robinsonmarineparts wrote:

It'll get to the stage where sellers will become very vague with the description, for fear of this IND nonsense.

' Pre owned Shoes xxx brand were my daughters she was 6 years old" 

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I'm already there, I only list the brand, the labeled size and whether that size is unusually large or small. I wont do measurments for exactly that reason. I actually noticed an increase in sales in pants because people dont understand the difference between a natural waist measurment and a waistband measurment!

I wouldn't refund. You're going to get negged either way, so screw them. If it was 2cm off then fine, refund, even 1cm I might consider it since that can be big in shoes. But 5mm? Sometimes there is that much variance in manufacturing them! (I'm sure we have all tried on two matching sets of shoes in the same size to find one a touch bigger than the other)

[robinsonmarineparts]

Good onya, otherwise you just can't win.

I've had 3 neg's and 4 neu, all because the buyers don't read the discription properly.

I had a buyer the other day saying, 'item not as described',  i replied  'item is exactly as described', because it was, he didn't read the

discription properly.

[dresscode2479]

Thank- you everyone for your support and words of encouragement.
It's reassuring to know that we sellers are all on the same wavelength.

Ok . So, I reported her comment to ebay but apparently that is not feedback extortion. 
Äccording to ebay, she would have needed to say :

‘I am keeping this item, but I want a full refund or else I'll give you negative Feedback’, that would breach our policy."

The Buyer has now opened a paypal case and escalated it to a claim straight away. I have responded, but am not optomistic about my chances of success.
What will be will be and there will always be buyers like that on Ebay and no matter what you do you can't beat them - the ebay system is just not geared to support Sellers in situations such as this one.

Even if paypal find in my favour and I dont have to refund,  I will get a negative strike - that much I am already certain of.

My first one a couple of weeks ago didn't bother me at all as maintaining a 100% positive feedback rating when you sell preowned clothing is almost impossible.  This second one will hurt as I am not selling as much anymore so the defect percentage will rise dramatically.

Ironically they will both be for shoes -ha ha ha - time to give up selling shoes I think.

I continually tell my children, "dont stress over things you can't change".  I will take this onboard now and move on.

For every weird/annoying/difficult/unreasonable customer out there there are hundreds of amazing ones.

[i-love-my-sheep]

If she wants a refund, doesn't she have to send them back at her expense with tracking?

I agree with whoever said, when the inevitable red dot appears, name her in the reply so every other sellers can see who she is and exactly what she's up to.....and even other buyers who might check your feedback. At least it shows you did nothing wrong and it's just her MO.

She's determined, I'll give her that much. When it's all over with, I'd be sending her a message telling her you're not an idiot, you know exactly what she's up to. No-one could possibly be that unlucky all the time.

[2011.narelle]

The thing is though,by the nasty thing's attitude,message&history,is that the O.P is going to have a neg & a defect regardless of what she does.Why refund,accept a return,stress etc if the end result is going to be the same?

eBay brought out defects to improve customer service LOL

She refunds she going to get a neg& a defect.

She sticks to her guns she going to get a neg & a defect.

I know which way I'd prefer it & it's with that shoe somewhere involving the buyer's anatomy.

[tstore]

Agreed. Defects were brought in to improve customer service. Since a SNAD case has been opened, you have already copped a defect. So what is the incentive for a seller to work with the buyer in this situation? NONE.

[thecatspjs]

Now its gone to a claim she will have to return shoes, if you cannot fight it with evidence of the exact measurements.

IMO when you get the shoes back, measure them, if they are exactly as measured, ring paypal and appeal their decision, seeking their advice on what proof would they like from you, is it to send shoes to them so they can measure themselves   or provide a stat dec signed off by police member or JP ?

Worth the extra mile for you to get appeal found in your favour as it serves to get any negative feedback or defect left by this pest removed. 

[lane-ends]

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@dresscode2479 wrote:

Well, well, well.

I messaged buyer asking for clearer photos because from the one she sent me, it looked awefully close to 26cm and I would not be able to rectify the situation unless she could provide better proof.

Her response:-

"You're kidding me right? How about this - I'll open a dispute with PayPal and I'll leave the appropriate feedback. Happy?"

Is that enough proof to report her to Ebay for feedback extortion?

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Thats dumb, do as you say she gets a refund, make a paypal claim she has to send it back registered to get same refund..??

[wehavethatau]

eBay lately just seems to support buyer shoplifting. So many ways that the buyer can hold the seller to ransom to get their item for free...

[robinsonmarineparts]

I wrote you a big reply then lost it. lol

Fight it out with pay pal let it go the full distance and make her wait, your getting a neg any way.

She will have to pay for return postage with tracking, so it will cost her something at least.

Take solace in the fact that you have done nothing wrong, she's just an angry old soul.

I wouldn't leave any thing nasty in my follow up message to feedback, be polite but use her I.D in follow up.