who's at fault here

[motherearth-7]

I recently had a buyer tell me that his package was left in the sun. He seen the van drive off and he didnt think the postman left the item so he went back into the house. Low and behold the driver actually did leave it but as he seldom goes to his front door he didnt see it until the next day. 

I just received this email

I purchased two frangipani from you recently - we exchanged correspondence about Australia Post having left the parcel on my front doorstep in the sun.

One plant is doing well. I believe the other has died - certainly its leaf has - and did so immediately. I have waited to see if the stem shoots but it has not. I have attached a photo for your reference.

Do you provide a replacement plant in this instance?

MY REPLY

Well to be fair I think we need a third party to mediate on this one.Pay Pal. 

But first I would like you to look at this from my side.
I posted the item and clearly marked on package ... caution not to be left in the sun.Also a sticker saying LIVE PLANT was attached. If I replace the one that died thats saying its my fault. It means if I send another, after postage I make nothing , in fact, I lose and it costs me more to replace the item . On the other hand , if I don't replace the item theres a chance you will give me 3 stars or less when you evaluate me re feed back which according to the new ebay rules will see me suspended for 7 to 28 days . I guaranteed I would send the item express. Once it arrives I can't guarantee even if a dog comes and eats the package like what happened just recently to a buyer.

If your unhappy with the way it was delivered then you can go to your post office and show them the dead plant and they will give you a claim form.
So what do you think is a fair thing for me to do?...Louise

I was just  told I was defensive 

[motherearth-7]

You wouldnt believe it....This buyer is obviously a newbie to gardening. The pics he sent through ebay was so small I couldnt see them properly...I searched for a magnifying glass and upon close inspection it appears that the leaves fell off...Stem is fine ...Plant is perfect. Customer is now happy....DOH!!!

[digital*ghost]

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@luvyourgarden wrote:

Yes, I think I was defensive but OMG, as soon as I get a sniff of a problem on goes the armour . I have already been demoted because of a neg I received from a possible scammer. another seller came on here complaining of the exact same problem from the same buyer. WHO ISNT DEFENSIVE now with all whats going on ?...I would love to know...

I know I know...its ok to be defensive but not show it to the buyer ..Right?

They say   write the letter...wait 10 mins ....tear it up ...the write it again....I guess I should practise that but thats harder than quitting the cigs...

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I can understand that, it's one of the side-effects of eBay's not-so-wonderful system of defects etc (which I loathe). 

The best strategy I've found is to write out the response outside of the messaging system (so you can't just hit send), then leave it for a bit, come back and edit out anything that doesn't keep things strictly about the issue at hand, ignoring any attitude from the buyer that may come across. Often times, even if someone starts out a bit stroppy, demanding or rude, a simple and professional reply will have them responding the same way (not always, of course, but it's better to try and get things to a amicable place if you can). 

[horizon1907]

Happy Ending. Great to hear. 🙂  🙂 

[ms_aussie]

When I read a thread like this one I am happy that I have decided to stop selling on eBay at the end of this month. I plan to sit back and watch and if things get better then I will be back. If not then I don't need this kind of pressure. I loved selling on the old eBay but now everything is just too hard.

I almost cry when I read what eBay is doing to their sellers. You are a great bunch. You care about your buyers, as I do, and want to do right by your buyers but at what cost to yourselves? Where does it all end? How much of your stock can you give away until you no longer have a business?

It breaks my heart that the only answer seems to be to give a refund ... or else! In the old days on eBay a seller had to do something really nasty to be negged by a buyer. Now all a seller has to do is to not give in to bully buyers who demand their own way even when they know (should know) they are in the wrong.

The fact that this man was expecting an express post delivery and saw the van drive away without even going to check whether a parcel had been left for him and then asks for a replacement cutting is beyond belief. The seller sent a perfectly good plant to him. He left it in the sun. It's his fault end of story. In the real world (not eBay) this person would not have a leg to stand on let alone be given a replacement out of fear of retribution.

[sparrow2207]

Im not laying blame anywhere.  

Just asking if they informed buyer that what may appear dead may not be.  

Frangi's are very unpredictable if posted to a different state.

Observations from my own experience of buying Frangi cuttings from other states.

[cq_tech]

Given the obvious fragility of frangipanis during transit, I have to wonder why the fellow didn't just drive to his local nursery and buy a plant there instead, then there'd have been no possibility of any of these issues cropping up. I guess it was easier for him to sit at the PC and order one to be delivered than it was to get off his ar$e and go and buy one locally.

[diecastcode3]

I guess it was easier for him to sit at the PC and order one to be delivered than it was to get off his ar$e and go and buy one locally.

same could be said for every single item listed on ebay.

sellers here depend on buyers for what ever reason they choise to buy online.

not a great aditude to have given most sellers here its there bread & butter that why they spend hours listing and offering a service to those that wish to buy online. so no need to be nasty towards buyer here. maybe a medical reason is there reason to buy online. 

[cq_tech]

It's not a matter of being nasty to the buyer at all (and in fact I wasn't), but people do need to exercise a certain degree of common-sense when it comes to buying on-line. Some things simply do not lend themselves to sale via mail order, and with all due respect to luvyourgarden, extremely fragile plants would have to be near the top of the list, and I suspect she would even agree with me.

Of course convenience plays a large part in on-line shopping and the vast majority of my purchases are bought through eBay because they're simply not readily available locally. If they were, I'd sooner buy them immediately from a B&M store rather than have to wait several days for them to arrive, especially given the exorbitant cost of postage in this day and age (and also petrol, for that matter).

There's also no need to be telling me how much work is involved in listing items on eBay, either. I just spent the better part of 2 days taking photographs and composing fewer than 40 listings so I'm well aware of what a thankless job it is, and that's totally ignoring all the carp we have to put up with from eBay, not to mention the ubiquitous NPBs and dodgy buyers who frequent this place in their droves.

I just found your comments rather interesting considering you don't appear to do any selling yourself (unless of course you're using a posting ID) but then you've only been a registered member for 6 or 7 months. Maybe when you've been here another few years you might start to see things from a slightly different perspective.

[motherearth-7]

I understand how you feel and your right, eBay is turning sellers into a wary lot. Always looking over our shoulder...getting defensive....I have been with eBay for over 10 years . I have a few stores now as ebay could close one down in an instant just over an inexperienced gardener not understang the way plants grow. I wasnt like this before May this year...I dont like how Im acting now, as soon as i see. ITEM NOT AS DESCRIBED...ITEM NOT RECEIVED ..and so on.... Alarm bells go off as soon as theres a tiny hiccup.

I think if your still active and earning, not to throw in the towel yet. Wait until you get the email ..LIFE SUSPENSION...sell elsewhere , like what happenned recently to a seller who buy they way had some bad feedback but wasnt a bad seller, just made one mistake which cost him dearly....

[ajarnjenny]

The frangipanni will not dead. Tell him to stick it in the ground and later on in the summer it will grow. Frangipanni cuttings are almost indestructible unless they are left lying on the ground out in the rain for weeks and rot.