There's no greater feeling than paying it forward. I love seeing the reaction at the supermarket from that elderly couple struggling with their cart, or the mum struggling with her kids throwing a tantrum, when the checkout operator tells them it's already paid for.
I love seeing the look on an old digger's face when the barman at the RSL tells them "it's covered".... or the look of confusion from driver in the car behind me at the drive-thru when they're ushered on to the pickup window without paying.
Let's face it... who doesn't like getting something FREE (essentially).
Since I've been selling online, I gift the occasional DVD or game to a buyer. After they purchase, I print a packing slip and strike through the price. I write $0.00 underneath the total and highlight it. I also write "This one's on me" at the bottom of the slip and highlight that as well. I package the item and packing slip, photograph it, send a dispatch email (with pic attached) and mark as sent.
About an hour or so later, I process a full refund using the reason "Other" - as no other reason applies. There is a message attached to this refund which states, "Random act of kindness - you get this DVD free. Enjoy 😊".
So here's the issue...
While responding to a thread today, I thought I'd have a quick look at my stats. I know I'm at 100% for tracking and I have no defects at all on my account. But for some reason there are 9 defects showing @ 2.18% and it places me in the "below standard" category.
I'm gobsmacked, so I look a little further. All 9 defects are for cancelling transactions for being out of stock. I have NEVER cancelled a transaction for this reason. I never list anything I don't have. So I know this is clearly an error.
Next, I contact an agent via chat. They tell me they can only look at 3 defects and I'll have to wear the rest.
Unacceptable. I explained that I've never used the "out of stock" reason and it must be an error. They tell me that eBay themselves used the reason "out of stock" because a refund was processed.
There's more to and fro while I'm bashing my head up against a brick wall, and I'm told the reason they did it is because I provided a bad buying experience. I near fell off my chair. I asked how receiving something FREE could be considered a bad experience. Turns out, this agent believes that once a refund is processed it means the buyer doesn't receive any items. They kept on saying that I didn't complete the transaction, so a defect is warranted. Ummmm... the buyer received and was happy with their item - isn't that the very definition of me completing the transaction?
I tried explaining the "pay it forward" concept, and they had no clue at all. Then they tell me that defects can't be removed for any item shipped without tracking. Everyone knows regular untracked letters don't have tracking, and tracking is completely irrelevant in this situation. The agent was just looking for any reason they could think of to justify not removing the defects.
Then I was told that because I refunded, there's no proof that I shipped the item within my advertised handling time. Apparently marking the item as sent means nothing now.
I asked for the relevant policy which states I can not gift an item to a buyer - it couldn't be provided. I asked for the relevant policy which states that not charging a buyer will result in a defect for the seller - it couldn't be provided.
Every request to be transferred to someone else was flatly denied, and I was told I'm already chatting with the only person who is qualified to deal with my enquiry.
I was told rather rudely to appeal each defect via the seller help page and the chat was abruptly ended.
I've been in touch with the buyers involved, and all who have replied so far have confirmed prompt postage and delivery. They're also over the moon about getting their purchase for FREE.
Unfortunately for me, the request for the agent to peruse the messages was declined. The offer of me providing the item images was refused.
Following the above, I later received 9 separate emails (one for each item) stating that the defects will not be removed and the decision is final and can not be appealed. I was also given instructions in bold to make sure I have enough stock before listing in future. That's just flipping me the bird. Clearly, they haven't looked at anything relating to this issue. I never list any item I don't have in front of me. That's the whole issue. I've been accused of something I simply haven't done.
Perhaps it's time to stop being nice to others. I'm so worked up and angry right now that it's probably not good for my health, and I really don't want to experience this type of "kick in the teeth" again.
