Re buyer return item not as described * error in subtitle only ..but read the small print below .

[rosebudcottageantiques]

Hi i have had a customer from hell ! 

I sold a genuine victorian garnet brooch extremely cheaply and got a nasty horrid message from her today 

she has applied for a RETURN and i agreed and her reason was 

not as described as the gold filled chain wasnt with it ?

so i looked at the main title..no mention of a chain , the full description no mention of a chain or no chain in the photos ? 

i use auctiva to list my items then noticed and it has come up in the subtitle .... as i always do sell similar on that site .so you copy over a similar auction and change measurements etc... but for the first time i just didnt see it had gold fill chain in sub title  So it was a human error 

so i politely replied ..please return and i do apologise.. and i will refund in full

then she replied back that i am fraudulent , misleading etc etc .. and the wording was almost defamatory , !

She said YOU are going to send me that chain as well or i will have u up for fraud ?? 

Well i am an honest seller and refund for the most stupid reasons but i was shocked by the nasty wording and insinuating i am a criminal virtually ! 

So my question is .. can i request she return the item for a full refund ? She has started the ball rolling by requesting a return.. i

and quite frankly after her insulting message, i dont want to give this nasty person a chain as well for 20 plus dollars ! I just want the item back and refund her in full but she is threatening me that i have to send her a chain and i said what chain can i send ?

No measurements no description of it or any photos.. .and any normal person can see its a simple mistake,,  I explained it would have been so called fraudulent if there was a chain in the photos or listed in the full description or the main title ? 

Am going to call ebay in the morning but i dont think people can threaten you for a simple error.. and am happy to refund in full for her. But i dont want to be forcibly coersed into sending her a chain as well after her horrendous attitude. I think thats why she bought it, she saw i made an error in the sub title , and had designs to buy it purely so she could wreak havoc on me all along i think.. i have been selling for ten years on ebay but this is one of the worst i have struck ..thanks for your thoughts. I do hope i can decide to request it back.. that will really send her off the deep end, 

[phorum_junkie*]

Don't get into a slanging match with ther, ignore the tone and content of her complaint and just agree through the dispute process  to accept a return or if it went for a really low price tell her to keep it and just refund. Put her on your blocked bidder list straight away in case she tries to cause further trouble by buying from you again.

It is almost certain she will leave you a neg, do not respond to it as it will just make it stand out on the page even more than a red dot on its own.

[lm-entertainment]

phorum's advice is best. unfortunately, you're always going to have to deal with the occasional person like this who have no common decency. 

as far as i'm aware, you can't have it both ways - she can't DEMAND for something which was mentioned in the listing. she either opens a return request and you accept or deny it .. she returns the item and you refund her the purchase price - or she opens a "item not as described" dispute and you can offer a replacement, a full or partial refund and if the buyer isn't happy with any of these - they can escalate it or you can escalate it and ebay will make a determination.

at worst, ebay will find in the buyer's favour (more than likely if it escalates) and you'll need to refund the full amount and the buyer will be required to return the item to you. 

you can read the policy here - https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-pol...

[chameleon54]

OP, Unfortunately if you made a mistake in the listing and mentioned a chain that was not intended to be included, the buyer will win a case. Assuming the buyer has opened a case in the resolution centre, it is important that you resolve the problem within four days of the buyer opening the case. If you dont, the buyer can ask ebay to step in, they will side with the buyer, refund her from your paypal account and in all likelihood, wont require her to return the item. ie. she will keep your refund money and your item.

On top of this you will recieve a strike ( defect ) against your selling account for not resolving the issue before buyer requests ebay to step in. More than two of these in twelve months and your ebay selling days are over.

You will probably have to generate a postal label and pay the return postage for the item. I,m not sure how you do this as I have never gone through the process.

[springyzone]

She has been terribly nasty, especially as you have already apologised and offered her a refund. She does deserve a refund if she is not happy as the description was not accurate and I think would be confusing to a lot of buyers, though this particular one hasn't handled it well.

If you have told her the chain was mentioned by accident in the sub title, from an earlier ad, then I think it would be in order for you to explain you cannot supply a chain as there is no chain. She can't force you to send anything, even if you did have a spare chain. And you are certainly under no obligation to go out & buy one to send to her.

All she can force is a full refund.

I think do as chameleon says, you'll have to provide a return postage label etc. That way, at least you may get your item back.

[purplemon18]

It should be mentioned that ebay has a zero tolerence policy for abusive behaviour, so if it is warrented, you should consider reporting this person. More info can be found here:

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/profanity-policy?id=4258&st=2&pos=2&...

[wide-world-of-stamps]

The listing was a bit confusing, with the chain being mentioned, so she is entitled to a refund under Ebay's guidelines.

However, as she has been so nasty (even after you explained that it was an honest mistake), I personally would hate to give her a refund and let her keep the item as well.

I would insist on a return, even with the extra cost of return postage.

That's just me - we refund buyers for any problem, and sometimes (depending on the circumstances) offer them their choice of replacement from our store, and we bend over backwards to do the right thing, but also expect courtesy from others.

[springyzone]

I have to add, although your subtitle did say there was a long gold filled chain, the buyer doesn't have what I would call very good comprehension skills.

I just had a look at what I think the ad would be and it says " garnet fob drop pendant on a long gold filled chain.

Last time I looked, a pendant was not a brooch. A brooch doesn't usually have a chain, or at least, not a long one!

You'll still have to give her the refund but on the bright side, if you can get that brooch back, you may be able to resell it for more, you never know!

PS you have some reading challenged customers. Just noticed someone gave positive feedback but said they were disappointed as they thought it was a necklace. the title says bracelet.

[the_dutchess_of_dork]

I completely understand why you are so upset.  When you are an honest selling striving to do the right thing, it's confronting when someone attacks your character.

I experienced the same thing earlier this year.  A return request for a pair of boots.  The buyer opened a case of a "counterfeit item" claiming the boots were not leather, as stated in my lising.  This was despite the fact the boots were practically new so still had the material labels on the sole including the leather symbol and still smelled of leather.

The buyer received them 10 days earlier and left positive feedback although it was fairly generic like "prompt postage" or whatever.  I subsequently found out she had listed them herself using my photographs and my description almost word-for-word including referring to them as leather.

When I've done the wrong thing I have no issue refunding but I wasn't going to roll over when I knew she was lying.  Obviously ebay being ebay they decided in her favour.

However, what really upset me was the buyer saying I was a dishonest seller, ripping off a single mother, a fraud, etc etc etc.  She was bragging about what a great seller she was and how she would never do anything like that.  I know you have to let these things go because you know you're not that person but it's difficult.

But here's the end of the story.  I've never been a great believer in karma but a couple of weeks later I clicked on the buyer's ID and she'd received two negative feedbacks as a seller ... one for cancelling a sale and another for the same item being stained and dirty.  In the feedback, the buyer was accusing her of being dishonest, a fraud, etc etc etc.  Maybe what goes around, comes around.

So hang in there and don't let one buyer's misguided opinion spoil it for you.  Merry Christmas.

[cr.love]

Some great advice above, good luck and try not to get emotionally involved or respond emotionally [easier said than done]. I think if this is the worst you have had with your level of expreience then you hace actually done very well for yourself.

I always think that I am honest and on top of things but honestly it is that one in about 500-1000 customers that make my eyes pop. One customer that was not happy with the look of an item on her had me responding in a helpful way to exchange and before long I was at the police station making a statement with serious threats from her son to me.

So deep breaths and don't feel the need to reply straight away - gives you time to cool if needed.