The best way to deal with suspicious cases

[rocketscollectibles]

Those reading me on the community know how i deal with suspicious cases and potential scam attempts. I started doing this a while back and i can't count how many times it worked. Basically i reply in a way that would scare a scammer, while staying a minimal professional in case the buyer is legit. The number of cases buyers closed with this approach is insane. Once i even made a buyer admitted it was 'a mistake' and succeed to have ebay close case in my favor, without tracking 

Just wanted to share another suspicious case i had today where the buyer (0) tried to return or force whatever refund for a damaged magazine in a four magazines listing. While it was truly impossible to be missed 

[recped]

What is "suspecious" about a buyer that didn't fully read the listing description?

[rocketscollectibles]

It was very visible on main photo. Second photo was a close up of that magazine, 3rd photo was a zoom on tear. Condition was listed as acceptable with a highlight again saying there is a tear. The whole listing was about that. 

Not to mention the buyer could have check listing if he missed something. But instead instantly opened a case. While no purchase on ebay and knew exactly where to open a case and where to close it. 

You know some people buy bundles and try to keep the good and return the bad stuff sometimes, right? 

Can't say at 100% it was an abuse of money back guarantee attempt, but can say at 100% it was a suspicious case. 

[mrdutch1001]

may or may not be suspicious buyer activity just because a buyer didn't read>no one is perfect but a "reply in a way that would scare a scammer " is nothing more than the actions of a bully seller and is not professionalism.

[rocketscollectibles]

Thank you for sharing. 

[brettjet38]

There is nothing suspicious about the NEW Buyer's request, and nothing that warranted a veiled threat of "reporting" a new member like the OP did, extremely unprofessional.

A 100% courteous and professional reply from the OPer would have worked just as well if not better as that Buyer may have become a repeat Buyer, like many new buyers I have encountered.

No chance of that NOW.

Instead, the OP sent a "passive/aggressive" veiled threat to the NEW Buyer, who probably never even saw the (you have to find) descriptions, and probably scared them away, permanently.

[rocketscollectibles]

Thank you for sharing. 

[ricarmic]

When I've encountered similar situations, IMO I employ the couteous and professionaly response.

I can say that I have had at least one zero (or very low feedback) buyer who subsequently purchased $1000s (yes thousands) of dollars of material from me subsequently after we figured out and resolved the issue to their satisfaction and several others 100s of dollars in situations when there was a misunderstanding (normally their fault, but of course I'm biased) around their first purchase from me.

I do not think the approach here, while it works for the one transaction, and assumes "criminality" of the buyer, would enourage the non "criminal" ones of coming back and it probably would have little chance of stopping a true "criminal".

More than 50% of my sales are to repeat customers so I approach things in a way to invest in the long term, but that is possibly more appropriate in my (stamp) world than some other categories.

[rocketscollectibles]

hat is possibly more appropriate in my (stamp) world than some other categories

Category indeed has a huge impact. This is something i noticed over time in the community, it's like we're not in the same world at all. The trading cards category is full of frauds and all sort of attemps. While most people here seem to never notice any red flags. Even sometimes when they are obvious.

I think it's ironic to say my reply is unprofessional. I have 4k sales without a single negative feedback or any comment about the way i deal. I also made several fraud cases closed by using this approach. Everything i wrote in my reply is just straight facts. Leaving that case open would have been an abuse of money guarantee. 

[needsmorerobots]

All I can contribute is how I purchased a Japanese TV series DVD set from a seller on my mobile without seeing it was in German audio only.

I brought it up to the seller after it arrived only for them to point that fact out. I felt foolish afterwards.

They were in the right, but they handled me in a way that I was okay with.

[brettjet38]

It is called courteous and professional behavior, and usually leaves no "sour taste" in the Buyers mouth.

Oversights happen, and explanations usually correct the issue.

[brettjet38]

And, I have over 18K items sold just on this one account, what's your point?

I also do not block (0) feedback Buyers...

And, FRAUD happens in ALL categories, higher value ones way more often than low-priced items.

Also shipping Letter Mail / Letter - Post is an invitation to get fleeced...

[brettjet38]

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@ricarmic wrote:

When I've encountered similar situations, IMO I employ the couteous and professionaly response.

I can say that I have had at least one zero (or very low feedback) buyer who subsequently purchased $1000s (yes thousands) of dollars of material from me subsequently after we figured out and resolved the issue to their satisfaction and several others 100s of dollars in situations when there was a misunderstanding (normally their fault, but of course I'm biased) around their first purchase from me.

I do not think the approach here, while it works for the one transaction, and assumes "criminality" of the buyer, would enourage the non "criminal" ones of coming back and it probably would have little chance of stopping a true "criminal".

More than 50% of my sales are to repeat customers so I approach things in a way to invest in the long term, but that is possibly more appropriate in my (stamp) world than some other categories.

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Well I was not going to say this but as you did  "I can say that I have had at least one zero (or very low feedback) buyer who subsequently purchased $1000s (yes thousands) of dollars "

I also had a buyer like yours, she ended up purchasing over 8000$ in figurines in a month, she turned out to be an author /collector using a (new) account, imagine if I had blocked (0) feedback Buyers, lol

[flipistics]

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@needsmorerobots wrote:

All I can contribute is how I purchased a Japanese TV series DVD set from a seller on my mobile without seeing it was in German audio only.

I brought it up to the seller after it arrived only for them to point that fact out. I felt foolish afterwards.

They were in the right, but they handled me in a way that I was okay with.

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Yeah, this is a big issue on mobile (which apparently most buyers use now). The seller's description being buried behind extra taps means that many people (especially new buyers) probably don't even know it exists, and pictures highlighting a flaw might not be noticed the same. I've stopped listing any region 2 DVD movies for that reason.

[ricarmic]

@flipistics I try to put everything "contentious" in the title, I assume nobody reads the descriptions anymore. Generally this works although I still have had folks that haven't even read the whole title....sigh.....

[rocketscollectibles]

Thank you for sharing. 

[rocketscollectibles]

By the way guys i never said this was a fraud case, i said this potentially can be one. There is a difference between saying it's a fraud case, or a suspicious one. It's very easy to buy a bundle and attempt to return or get a refund on a damaged item in the lot and keed the good stuff. No one can confirm here if it was legit or not, so i'm not sure where is the debate. 

[rocketscollectibles]

Thank you for sharing.

[brettjet38]

I use the old A/F when its a an issue item in the title and I put the condition as SECONDS in my item specifics.

For those who are too young to remember "A/F sold AS IS"

A Flaw - we would put that on the price tickets and it was sold AS IS!

And, you are correct on the app you have to dig to find our listing descriptions, so newbies often never even see or read them.

So I use tons of self-created and basic Item Specifics to make sure the info is there at least... 

[kawartha-ephemera]

@flipistics@ricarmic
There has been some recent tinkering with how the description section displays in the app. They've added a second, even less obvious means of viewing the listing description. Tapping on the title opens it, a panel slides upwards from the bottom of the screen. Previously, I would sometimes select and copy title phrases to use as search terms, cannot do that now because the title serves as a hidden link to the description. Kind of a strange design choice.