Do I have grounds to report this guy?

[pansy_6]

I listed a pair of NWT shorts and this guy bought them.  It states on the bottom of my ads that I need payment within three days and report all non payers.  This guy didn't pay so I reported on fourth day after sending a reminder that payment is needed and not getting any response at all.  Case is opened and all I get back is "wow..seriously.retarded".  I very politely explained to him that it says it in my ad and if he does not want the item I can offer it to someone else.  No reply again, the four days goes by that the case has to be open and literally the very last minute before I can close it he pays. 

Against instinct I send it out to him, expedited as promised paying more than he paid in shipping.  Week goes by, get an email "did I pay $10 (he paid $9) for shipping for snail mail I didn't get my package".  I explained to him again very politely that the tracking # was uploaded under the item # and gave him a link and everything.  This morning another email "received the shorts, whats the funky smell?".  I 100% know there wasn't a smell as they're new, I'm super sensitive to smells and no one smokes or eats strong food in my home.  Can I report him?  I know he's looking for a way to get me back for reporting him, even his feedback he leaves for others is negative without any good reason. 

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Never get in a discussion with a buyer. You opened a door to a conversation, discussion, excahnge of thoughts and ideas. How did that work out for ya?

There is a report button on the feedback page.

[pjcdn2005]

I don't know if it would or would not help to report the buyer right now but I would tell him that if he is not happy to return the item for a refund. If he files a claim, ebay will likely tell him to do that anyway so offer it first. He might just be fishing for a partial refund and won't want to send the item back but it makes you look good if you offer without being forced to do so.

I would probably report him if he does leave a negative, especially if he makes a habit of doing so.

[rose-dee · Accepted solution]

---

@inuk_the_polar_bear wrote:

Never get in a discussion with a buyer. You opened a door to a conversation, discussion, excahnge of thoughts and ideas. How did that work out for ya?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Ignoring the snide nature of your remark, I disagree.  

Sometimes it can be very useful to (politely) get into a discussion with a buyer, especially when selling clothing or other items that have subjective values.  Hitting the "report" or "dispute" button arbitrarily may net a seller some unpleasant consequences in FB and DSRs if the buyer is just being a little slow but does pay.

On many, many occasions I've sent a friendly reminder of payment to a buyer on day 4 or 5 and received a very apologetic reply a couple of days later, along with payment.  People do go out of town, have sick children to look after, even forget that they've bought something, etc. etc. etc., and by automatically hitting the dispute button you may be creating an upset or angry customer out of an otherwise pleasant transaction - it's not worth being hardnosed every time for the 1 in 100 who may really not want to pay.  

Besides, every contact with a buyer is a potential opportunity for PR and for cultivating repeat customers.  I prefer not to assume my buyers are deadbeats and problematic, and in fact that hasn't been my experience.    

Unfortunately in this case it seems the OP just happened to run into that 1% who are intent on being jerks no matter what consideration they're given.  Now that this particular buyer is in snarl mode, I think 'pj's advice is good.  

[gifts_of_elegance]

---

@inuk_the_polar_bear wrote:

Never get in a discussion with a buyer. You opened a door to a conversation, discussion, excahnge of thoughts and ideas. How did that work out for ya?

There is a report button on the feedback page.

---

I agree.  You can't win anyway.  Every time I have a non-paying bidder that pays after dispute has been filed ends up claiming "Item not received" or "not as described".  They  loose nothing if they have to return it and if you don't have tracking to prove they got it, then they end up with the item for free.  They will also avoid having a bad mark against  them for not paying.  I noticed the same pattern for people who ask you to falsify the Custom's Declaration.  

No, I am not being pessimistic.   This has happened to me several dozen times, so I have to be very optimistic to continue selling on line.

[gifts_of_elegance]

Yes, report the guy.  Keep reporting him as often as you can.  Maybe eBay will one day recognize the problem and give us the right to refuse service at our discretion.

[rose-dee]

---

@gifts_of_elegance wrote:

Every time I have a non-paying bidder that pays after dispute has been filed ends up claiming "Item not received" or "not as described".  

---

If this is in fact happening every time to you, have you considered that it might be because you are filing disputes too quickly and without communicating in a way that gets the desired result (payment)?  

If this is in fact your experience, it doesn't seem to be producing a more effective outcome than attempting to communicate.  In other words, from what you're saying you'd have nothing to lose by trying to catch some flies with honey.  You might at least reduce the 100% bad experiences to a few less per month.    

How many days do you normally give buyers before filing a dispute?  I admit it seems people can get "ticked off" so easily these days at the smallest things -- but maybe the dispute process is acting as a trigger, turning slow payers into snarly customers. 

I realize you're in a higher-risk category (jewellery), but if you're able to give buyers more time to pay (along with a very friendly reminder) before hitting the dispute button it could make a difference.    

[gifts_of_elegance]

---

@rose-dee wrote:

If this is in fact happening every time to you, have you considered that it might be because you are filing disputes too quickly and without communicating in a way that gets the desired result (payment)?  

---

Now you are assuming.  I never said a thing about when I file a dispute, so why do you say that its because I file disputes too quickly?  

[rose-dee]

---

@gifts_of_elegance wrote:

Now you are assuming.  I never said a thing about when I file a dispute, so why do you say that its because I file disputes too quickly?  

__________________________________________________________________________________________

I wasn't assuming, but suggesting it might be something to look at as the source of backlash by buyers if you're finding it's happening 100% of the time when you file disputes.

For some sellers 4 days may be too long to wait for payment, others are fine waiting a week or more.  With buyers who are not deadbeats but just plain slow at paying  -- people who are waiting a few days for payday, for money to come in, etc. but maybe too embarrassed to say so -- it stands to reason you'll capture a few more payments the longer you wait.   

Whatever your personal expectations for payment are, I was suggesting you try lengthening them and see if some of the retaliatory INR and NAD cases go away.  There is a limit of course to being patient, but if you can extend your current tolerance by a few more days, it could work in your favour. 

Worth an experiment...

[gifts_of_elegance]

Hello rose-dee,

I appreciate you taking the time to offer a solution, but you clearly don't understand the situation.  I see you sell mostly dress patterns and as such have never come across this problem.  I sold cross-stitch patterns on eBay from 2001 to 2005, I did 250-500 transactions a month. NOT ONCE did I have a non-paying bidder, not once did anyone claim "item not received" and I never had a dispute filed against me.  It was pure fun, without any problems.  My average sale was $8.50

I sell in a different catagory now.  Expensive Crystal, Jewelry and China.  My average sale for the last 90 days was $170.50.  My items are luxuries, coveted by many but not a necessity of life.  Buyer remorse, desire to own when the money is needed for more important things, high duties & taxes charged when importing, all these make the purchaser feel guilty about the purchase, which prompts "item not received" or "not as described."  A person that has no money to pay at the time of purchase, really can't afford to buy the item and probably will not have the money to pay duties and taxes if applicable.  

I am not trying to put down your items, I was just as proud of selling cross-stitch patterns as I am selling jewelry, etc.  I am not trying to put you down either, but I believe you really can't relate to my situation because you have not walked in my shoes.   

[canadianfootballcards]

Just my two cents.

In each of my listings I say, "Because we like to get your cards shipped to you as soon as possible, please note that payment is due within seven days of closing."

Ninety-nine per cent of my customers end up paying. Some pay right away. Some pay after four or five days. A lot of them are repeat customers, so I know their tendencies.

IMO, a policy of opening a case and/or reporting a buyer after three or four days seems a bit harsh. But that's just me.

Anyhow, though I suggest seven days, I usually wait 10 or 12 before I finally contact the buyer. I believe they've been getting automated messages from eBay in the meantime, so I don't want to pile on.

In my first message I politely explain the consequences of an unpaid bidder case, resulting in an unpaid item strike. I politely remind them that this can negatively affect their ability to function on eBay, and I politely ask them to let me know if there's some reason they have not been able to pay.

Sometimes, an apologetic buyer pays right away. In most cases I don't hear anything, and I open a case the following morning.

I don't use the word politely in a sarcastic way. I find polite and professional is a necessity in my buyer communications. And maybe I'm just really, really, really lucky. But so far, I can count the jerks on one hand.

A poster above correctly points out that life gets in the way of eBay sometimes, and as a seller I try to treat my customers as I want to be treated as a buyer.

That means communcation and patience.

[pierrelebel]

"IMO, a policy of opening a case and/or reporting a buyer after three or four days seems a bit harsh."

I totally agree with you.  When the policy was changed by eBay a little while ago to allow sellers to file a non-payment with the Resolution Centre at an earlier date, I suggested the policy change was ill advised.  It does nothing to make buyers feel welcome on eBay, more so for buyers often purchasing a large selection of items to be invoiced and ship at one time.

Personally, I feel each seller should determine and indicate in the listings when payment is expected: immediate, within two days, four days, seven days, ten days, or whatever, instead of having eBay set up a system automatically squeezing the buyer to pay promptly... "or else".. send payment reminders after forty-eight hours, etc...

Currently, each seller is free to determine "handling time".  Why not do the same with "payment time'?

Let buyers decide if the terms are acceptable to them.

[pocomocomputing]

eBay does allow customization of "payment time" in their automated system.

The eBay Unpaid Item Assistant is flexible and allows a seller to change the default 4 days to 8, 16, 24, and 32 days. The assistant also has an option to exclude an eBay id so if a buyer asks for more time to pay or there are issues, you can stop the process from starting for one buyer by placing their eBay id in the excluded list.

I state 7 days to pay in my listings and have the assistant set to 8 days to automatically open a case. This allows a buyer time to purchase additional items from me and I may be able to combine listings to save on shipping.

The auto reminder to pay after 48 hours can be turned off in My eBay -> My Account -> Manage communications with buyers in the third panel called "If your buyer hasn't paid after a couple of days". I leave this on. I have partially customized the original message sent out in the first panel "Buyer wins auction" to inform the buyer that I allow 7 days to pay and that I may combine shipping for other purchase made in the 7 days to save on shipping costs. I also state that eBay will automatically send out a reminder notice after 48 hours and that they should ignore it if they are still shopping my items.

I manually send a reminder after 5 days. If no response, then I let the assistant do the unpaid process for me at the 8th day. No point in communicating with the buyer any more. My items are so low cost and common on eBay that it is better to get started on the Unpaid item process so I can relist for sale again.

So it is possible to customize automated eBay unpaid process to cover most situations.

[rose-dee]

---

@gifts_of_elegance wrote:

[...]  you clearly don't understand the situation.  I see you sell mostly dress patterns and as such have never come across this problem.    

---

I'm afraid this is an assumption.  I have had my fair share of non-paying bidders, but generally after a few more days and some communication they finally pay -- if I jumped the gun on these people, I might well have experienced a higher level of backlash, and might not have been paid by some.  I state in my listing terms of sale that I expect payment within 5 days, but the fact is that I will usually wait 6 or 7 before contacting the buyer myself (as the previous poster has said, I don't like to overload my customer with reminders in addition to eBay's).  And -- this is perhaps where I differ - many of those buyers actually reply and ask if they can have a bit more time.  I usually agree, and I usually get paid. 

I have had a handful over the past year or so (for some reason this didn't happen much in previous years) who didn't respond and didn't pay, and against whom I finally, reluctantly, had to open a case.  

I've sold a lot in the vintage and antique clothing category, which is fraught with a different sort of discretionary buying risk, size issues, colour issues, buyer remorse and all sorts of other 'subjective' evaluations of an item that could easily lead to an INAD claim, which, thankfully, I have never had to deal with.  However, I don't think that result is sheer good luck or entirely category-based.

I think that by stating an expected payment time in listings and minimizing the number of disputes opened by being patient, it's possible to minimize the number of upset buyers and the number of "retaliatory" claims of that nature.  

[gifts_of_elegance]

I never told you this, but  I always wait atleast 7 days before I file a dispute.