selling problems

[toysandstuff2015]

I have been selling Playmobil and Lego for the past year on Ebay.ca.  In the past two months I have sold larger collector sets of both to customers throughout North America.  However, recently (ie- the last 15 orders) I have increasingly encountered what has to be scam buyers.  The result, despite paying for tracking and Canada Post stating that the item was successfully delivered to each person, is that ebay's customer guarentee is used by each of these people to get a complete refund.  One customer went so far as to email, after getting their refund, stating that they did in fact get the item but just didn't have the money to spend on it and so wanted their money back.  I forward emails like this on to ebay and am only told that a note will be placed on the user's account.  Further customers have used odd requests to also get back their funds without question from Ebay yet have received the item. Another user won a large and expensive lego set, claimed it as lost, got a refund and the promply relisted it for sale through their own user account.  The most recent person asked for expediated shipping to the US, got the item 5 days after buying it, but then emailed stating that they had needed it the morning it arrived rather than in the afternoon and threw it out.  They are in the midst of asking for a full refund.

As a result I am out between 2000-3000 in sales in the past two months. 

Each of my items is insured and trackable and for all the cases I am talking about here they claim to have been successfully delivered.  5 of the customers in Canada have refused to assist Canada Post invesitgate with the result being that they simply close the case and I am not reimbursed by Canada Post.  How can sellers protect themselves when they list properly, have items insured and tracked, but loose out repeatedly when ebay demands a refund time and again. 

Help please!

[pjcdn2005]

If you have online tracking showing that an item has been delivered and a buyer files an item not received claim you need to reply to the claim by entering the tracking number to show proof of delivery. You should win the claim but if you want to confirm that, you can phone eBay after you have entered the information, tell them that there is proof of delivery and ask them to close the case in your favour.  The claim will be closed and you will not have to refund. 

If you have delivery confirmation, you shouldn't have refunded but once you do, eBay cannot recover the money.  Also, make sure that you do enter the tracking number in that transaction once you send the item.  If you print your labels through PayPal that is usually done automatically.

What sort of 'odd requests' did your customers use to get their money back?  It's important to know what and when ebay and PayPal seller protection does kick in.  You often need to be proactive when a claim is filed.....you can't just sit back and wait.  When you do have a problem it is a good idea to post it here for suggestions on how to handle it.

[toysandstuff2015]

Good advice.  I am waiting and worrying.  I have begun to get frustrated that ebay isn't the forum to sell items.  With the recently Playmobil set the customer stated that they needed the item the morning of delivery and so disposed of it, hence no longer having the item they were out their money and wanted a refund. (No I am not kidding that is their claim in the resolution centre).  Lego sets are often claimed as missing one piece and rather than allowing me to replace or send a replacement for that one piece they file a claim for the whole amount.  Other Playmobil users claim that the item they receive is from the wrong production year, ask for a refund and then the item is "lost" in the mail while being returned. (this has happened 5 times now). 

I also find it odd that I can sell a 20-100 dollar Lego or Playmobil set and there are rarely any difficulties.  However once I sell 800 or 1000 set of either then you can almost bank on customers fileing a refund request. One person bought 4 lego sets for a total of 1200.00 and then prompty (prior to the tracking number stating they were delivered) filed a claim arguing that each was missing exactly one piece.  All attempts to point out that the package had yet to actually be delivered were ignored.  All attempts to point out that I would send the four replacement parts if I was told which ones were missing were ignored.  In the end the person pushed paypal to refund and the packages were "lost" in the mail while being sent back to me. 

While I am willing to admit that Canada Post or USPS does occassionally lose or damage parcels the regularity and frequency of the recent series of losses is odd to me.  More so when I have tracking numbers for everything sent out. 

Regardless of proof of delivery the Customer Protection Guarentee frequently leads ebay to prompt for the items to be refunded.  I also find it particularly had to be pushed by ebay to refund on items and then have users re-list the item that was "lost" or have them email me stating their apologies for going through the process (and admitting they received the item).  In both cases Ebay claims to file a note on the customer's file. 

[toysandstuff2015]

Sorry to rant further.  However what I suppose is the most frustrating here is that increasingly I find that with expensive items, customers are soon after asking for a refund and soon after receiving one email openly admitting that they have received the item but actually really wanted their money back too. 

How is this buyer protection?  These people are often admitting, in their emails, to seeking a way to get their money back and keep the item.

[davenjan2000]

I feel your pain 😞

Mail fraud is a criminal offence in Canada and the United States. If you are so inclined, you should gather as much evidence as you can and report the obvious ones. The buyer who sent you a confession via e-mail would be on the top of my list. It may not get you your money back, but it might provide some form of satisfaction, or prevent these people from repeating their criminal behavior on some other seller.  imho.

[pjcdn2005 · Accepted solution]

I made some suggestions to you on how to handle your current problem in the Scamming Buyers thread. I'm not sure what sort of claim they opened but if it is a return request they have to return the item.  If they don't return it, don't refund. No retailer gives a refund unless they get the item back so why Would you?

I have read about other problems from Lego sellers so that category can be a problem but based on the info that you have given you are not taking the steps to handle the claims correctly.  If they say they are missing a piece you do not have to refund them in full unless they return the full order. eBay will bot force you to refund without a return.  Is you think the complaint is legitimate you can offer a partial refund although some sellers will not do that as they feel that it supports scammers. 

Ebay may suggest that you handle something a certain way but it makes zero sense to refund for an item not received claim when there is proof of delivery and  eBay does not force you to do so.   You really need to learn how to handle situations like that.

[toysandstuff2015]

I think you are right.  I'm not good at ebay and should simply not be trying to use this forum.  Thank you for pointing it out to me that I am poor at this. 

[pjcdn2005]

Actually I didn't say that. You should be using the forum before you respond to the problem so that you can get other viewpoints.  I wasn't suggesting either that you are not good at eBay although you do lack experience on dealing with some of the problems sellers have here.  But no one automatically knows how to do that......it comes with experience and from talking to other sellers.  

There is nothing wrong with coming to the forum to vent but you will find that often other sellers will make suggestions on how to handle problems so that you know what to do next time.  We are just trying to help.