Who Are The Buyers Giving Defects? My Experience Only.

[the-fab-gift-shop]

This is only from my own personal experience as a seller and may not be the general rule. Our bad buyers are only around 5%, so it would not matter to us in the greater scheme of things, but it certainly does matter to Ebay, so that is why we now have to BLOCK every BUYER who DEFECTS us,even if they do leave POSITIVE feedback. Why keep buying ... and keep defecting us?

Sad to say, ... these are our problem buyers: 

1. People receiving carer's pensions for looking after someone else who is disabled.

2. Disabled or very ill [not the aged] people who are on pensions.

3. Those on pensions for 'mental illness.' [Ebay staff are known to have particular empathy with these buyers. :)]

4. Unemployed.

5. Buyers 1-4 who take revenge using multiple accounts, usually because we refused to allow them to scam us.

6. Sellers who feel that we may be competing with them and feel annoyed. Usually spend 1.25.

In regards to 1-5, they've got time on their hands. They may or may not end up leaving Neg. or even defecting us, but even if they do not do that, they can still be a nuisance. They will usually spend an average of 1.25 and then whine for days about when the item will be arriving, sending "I Haven't Recieved My Item' emails after a couple of days. They will nearly always try to get a refund outside of the Paypal or Ebay system, so their multiple scams, are not left on record, except through their emails to the seller.

And Ebay supports this activity, because sellers are now defected when cases are opened at Paypal by buyers. Am I correct?

Not much we can do about who shops with us, and we would not want to discriminate against the above buyers either because there are good buyers who are in the 1-4 category. But our BLOCKED list grows longer by the day. My experiemce also shows that DEFECTS don't mean anything to other buyers, since our sales are still doing fine. BUT once Ebay hides our inventory again, the DEFECTS will mean something, because our sales will drop. Sometimes we do make mistakes [which we try to rectify], but mostly DEFECTS have nothing to do with who we are as a seller, and everything to do with our REFUSING liars and scammers.

We also now immediately BLOCK BUYERS who send rude, aggressive or idiotic emails when asking a question about an item.

The GOOD NEWS is that 95% of our BUYERS are AWESOME, but Ebay's SYSTEM, means that the 5% can IMPACT our selling.

[dylan11235813]

99.9% of my buyers are awsome. I guess there are going to be people that don't give a damn about anything. I actually stuff some buyers around a bit (not a purpose) and they don't mind.

[pennyforum14]

Maybe its just me, but I don't block buyers because they leave poor FB or low TSRs or are "a pain in the ....." and I don't automatically block every NPB either, only those who show a track record.  The defect system is likely in the long run to limit our customer bases anyway (since it will affect our visibilty to customers), so why keep adding more customers to the list of those who can't buy from us, just because they annoy us?  JMO

[dylan11235813]

a couple of years ago I actually blocked someone because I thought they left me bad ratings. They contacted me and said they couldn't buy. They are now one of my biggest long term customers.

[van_werkhoven]

Wait, how do you know your problem buyers are on pensions or unemployed etc? I couldn't tell you whether my buyers are doctors or disabled pensioners. Do you ask your buyers if they are on a pension when they purchase? How do you know ebay takes sympathy on mental health patients, have you had a couple dozen cases in which this has occured?

This sounds more like assumptions about certain people groups than any sort of fact. 

[dylan11235813]

I have had a couple of medical doctors by from me and they always put offers in. no offence intented towords them but I would assume they are quite well off and can afford to pay the extra dollar. Look after the penies I guess.

[dylan11235813]

I should learn how to spell

[digital*ghost]

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@pennyforum14 wrote:

Maybe its just me, but I don't block buyers because they leave poor FB or low TSRs or are "a pain in the ....." and I don't automatically block every NPB either, only those who show a track record.  The defect system is likely in the long run to limit our customer bases anyway (since it will affect our visibilty to customers), so why keep adding more customers to the list of those who can't buy from us, just because they annoy us?  JMO

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Just speaking personally, I'll block them if I don't have or can't see a valid reason for damaging my business (if the poor feedback is about product quality, or something in my control, then it's fair enough, but if I get a perfect positive comment, coupled with low DSRs for something and absolutely no indication about what the problem is from the buyer, then the buyer is the problem, because their actions have damaged my business for no apparent reason).

I would rather block 50 such buyers and still continue to sell to thousands, than risk selling another $5, $50 or $500 worth of product to someone who doesn't know or care about the damage they're doing, which has the potential to ultimately mean I can't sell to anyone.

[thecatspjs]

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@pennyforum14 wrote:

Maybe its just me, but I don't block buyers because they leave poor FB or low TSRs or are "a pain in the ....." and I don't automatically block every NPB either, only those who show a track record.  The defect system is likely in the long run to limit our customer bases anyway (since it will affect our visibilty to customers), so why keep adding more customers to the list of those who can't buy from us, just because they annoy us?  JMO

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Glad the feedback I and other sellers leave for non-payers provides the means for you to determine their track record

[yeoldecoinco]

This comment is spot on.

If you care about having a future business on eBay, block anyone who does not pay, leaves low DSRs or bad feedback.

A few of these people, under this draconian new system, will KILL your online business STONE DEAD, especially if your selling volume is not high.

If they ask why you blocked them, tell them why, it might change their behaviour towards others.

Having said that, most of my eBay customers have been terrific, friendly and appreciated.

I have been extorted a few times by customers (twice this year over $50 and $100 worth of goods, for example) and have usually  paid to shut them up. Then blocked them.

I have made some mistakes when sending items, coins are a complicated field, when this happens I refund and pay postage costs as that is only fair. Always have. If it is my mistake, why should the buyer pay anything more for that mistake?

My first negatives I ever got on eBay were three, count em THREE, from a person because, wait for it, I had not left them feedback first.. The good ones are many, the bad ones are few, but unforgettable..

But overall, most people, so far, in my experience, have been fine.

They just want what they want at a price they think is acceptable. And they like good service and fast replies to their questions.

Now that ebay has given the buyer ALL the power and Paypal has given them 180 days to change their mind,

(ridiculous Paypal, this will really hurt your bottom line more than you can possibly imagine)

this WILL change, especially in the fields of moveable, collectable, wearable or breakable items.

And let's face it, that is most items listed. Scamming buyers, welcome to paradise.

Six months to use it or find it at a better price then return at sellers expense? Utter madness..

And just to rub it in, seller also loses eBay/Paypal fees on the original sale and has to pay for two lots of postage.

Just love it.