My first "shoplifter"

[jfmgray]

Any advice welcome.

Buyer purchases $7 CD. He receives the CD but tells me he doesn't like it. I say - no problems I have returns policy (buyer pays return postage) so he says great I will send it back for the refund.  In the meantime I check the feedback he has left for other sellers. Out of the last 72 feedback left, 25 negatives and 35 positives but indicating there were problems but the sellers agreed to refund.

So the CD arrives back today at our post office (registered post). I open it in front of the AP staff and discover there is no CD inside the jewel case. AP staff are willing to confirm in writing that the jewel case was empty.

I know if I contact the buyer to let him know the jewel case was empty, he will likely call me a liar and leave negative feedback which he will kindly revise if I refund him - thus is his pattern. Of interest he has not opened a change of mind request via ebay. Even more interesting he spent $5.20 on return registered post (should have only be 5mm thick so he got away with that one) in order to get a $7 refund.

I reported the buyer to the Trust & Safety given his pattern. I am sure he will contact me in the next few days as the tracking shows the item has been returned to me. Hopefully eBay will intervene once he leaves me the negative feedback if I do not refund him.

[digital*ghost]

I was gonna say in my earlier post, music is so easy to access via the internet (free and legally, eg I will often listen to several tracks from an album before buying it) that I'm surprised a COM return even happens much nowadays, but it seems like you have a buyer that's not quite prepared ro make things easy for anyone, least of all themselves. 😕

[springyzone]

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@jfmgray wrote:

Yep I have the same concern although I have been very clear the refund is on the purchase price only

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Have you clearly stated that a change of mind refund is for the purchase price if the item only ie $7, just to be clear. It does not include any refund of postage costs?

Even though you have told him it is for purchase price only, he may be expecting $10.95 back as he may see that as his 'purchase price'.

Mind you, he may be one of those people who does realise but figures that even if he ends up paying over $11 for postage all up, if he gets $7 back, he is still only just over $4 out of pocket instead of the whole $10.95.

[jfmgray]

I started by referring to the refund for the "puchase price" of the item and clarified in my last message yesterday a refund of the "purchase price of $6.95".  I have not heard back since then.  When you look at the feedback he leaves for others, the vast majority of his refunds are after he claims either lost in post or item not as described so he will be used to getting postage refunds also.  So I think he probably was expecting $10.90 and is now realising how out of pocket he will be once he returns the disc.  Am I correct in my understanding that he can leave negative feedback now if he wishes - the sale was about 16 days ago??

[jfmgray]

Yes he is difficult.  His messages are are mix of appreciation (as I offered the return), self-punishing (oh how stupid am I for not including the disc in the case doh!!) and assertiveness (I WANT a full refund).  I have looked further at the feedback he has left for others goind back many years - its all the same - either revised positives once refunded or negatives when (I assume) he does not get the refund, with a splattering of positives that are not qualified with a refund. 

[brerrabbit585]

With your feedback one negative isn't going to make any difference at all. I certainly wouldn't change how you handle things because of the fact they may leave a negative. My sales increased after my last negative and I'm sure some buyers felt sorry for me because of the comments made by the buyer.

[imastawka]

Save all the messages, and if he leaves a neg, get ebay to read them.

They show you did everything right and he did everything wrong.

Hopefully, they will remove any neg.

[twyngwyn]

OMG....that's like buying a book and not liking the ending, so expecting a refund.....I think not

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

So the buyer takes the disc out of the holder, makes a copy including the printed label and then want a refund.

Pretty simple scam and is why most retail outlets do not offer refunds on returns of CD's

[digital*ghost]

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@twyngwyn wrote:
OMG....that's like buying a book and not liking the ending, so expecting a refund.....I think not

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As someone who used to frequently purchase CDs of artists I've never heard of, purely because I liked their name, the artwork, or it was in the bargain bin so why not? I have to say to me it is pushing it in so far as reasons for return go. I never considered doing a COM return on music, even on the ones I couldn't make it all the way through the entire disc - those I either sold on and bought other stuff, or just gave away to some other poor, unsuspecting soul (not as an event - like birthday - gift, of course, just a random 'hey, you want this?' thing). 

Except for that one time I ran an auction for on ebay for one, but the listing title and description was clear that it was the worst CD ever. 

[brerrabbit585]

One man's meat is another man's poison. I have a friend who used to constantly tell me that just because I think one of my products is horrible it doesn't mean everyone else thinks the same and to just be paitient and it'll sell. She still tells me occasionally but I don't need reminding much now.