eBay

canadian.tree · ‎12-27-2015

Ok so I had someone buy an item on the 23rd 0 feedback , I I was going to ship it out then I realized the address was incomplete (missing street number) and messaged to get full address . He sent address apologizing and asking me to make sure I got it to him by the 3'rd of April . I said okay I can't ship it till Monday because of the Holiday Friday . I also can't guarantee you it will get there because the 3'rd of April is a Sunday. That would only leave 5 business days usually letter mail takes 5-7 with all the mail around this time . He does live in Ontario and stuff but with the slow shipping by Canada Post I'm just trying to save my and not make promises I can't keep . He then responded with 5 other questions during Christmas eve which I never responded to because well .. It's Christmas eve and we live in North America .. All types of questions about the game which I thought were OK answered them all the next day .

5 min later I'm getting more questions like how is it going to arrive when is it going to arrive? Personally I am really busy with family and stuff , it is frustrating but I'm finding time to answer as my message box is just filled with messages only from him this weekend. He the asked me to please please ship it Saturday I said I can't Canada Post is not open if you really need it by the third I can't promise so I will just send a refund if you want . He said no I still want the game . I said I can bump it up to express parcel and guarantee it in 2 days for 4$ which I usually don't offer people . No I don't want to pay an extra 4$ he responded.

Today he is saying Thank you so much for all the answers it's okay if it doesn't deliver by then we will get it though I'm sure

followed by.

What if it does not ship in 2-3 days , I have a question about that refund you offered me can I keep the game and get my money back.

( I said it would be 2-3 days if it was bumped up to express , but I'm shipping 5-7 letter mail )

Followed by

One question. If i dont get it in 2-3 days can I get ALL my money back and still get the game. Because my son is starting to notice that i'm going on the computer a lot and he does not know I bought . He is starting to ask questions ....

The last messages he sent are giving me red flags in all honesty I don't want to ship it at all and just give him a refund But eBay probably would not support me . Or I'm just going to ship it express take a bit of a hit but nothing major it would be 4$ extra if he does have a kid like he states in other messages which he is buying it for I did not include I guess I would not want to let the kid down even though the initial buyer is being strange about the whole thing... and add him to blocked bidder list any other suggestions .

canadian.tree · ‎12-27-2015

just saw the other post on these forums did not know Monday was boxing day . Makes it even harder for me 🙂

reallynicestamps · ‎12-27-2015

He sent address apologizing and asking me to make sure I got it to him by the 3'rd of April .

Relax.

I'm pretty sure Canada Post can get it to him within the next four months.

canadian.tree · ‎12-27-2015

thanks. read the whole message.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-27-2015

There is no mail service on Friday Jan 1st either so he is absolutely not going to receive it by Sunday if sent by lettermail.

As far as asking if he can keep it if it doesn't get there within 2 or 3 days but he's not willing to pay extra for express shipping....well the guy is obviously a jerk and I would see red flags too. I've had buyers ask if I could get something to them quicker but when it was too expensive they were fine with it and there were no problems. But this buyer seems to be one of those high maintenance buyers that end up causing a problem regardless of what you do.

You might want to just shell out the extra postage yourself however, there's a possibility that he won't be happy with the game and will want you to pay to send it back. I don't normally suggest that a buyer is going to do that but I'm always wary of customers like this one. He waited to late to purchase this and now wants to make that your problem...that irks me.

Or be firm and tell him that he will not receive it by the 3rd if sent by lettermail and to keep in mind that the shipping estimate given by ebay is 2 - 11 business days. For that reason you are not able to refund and let him keep it if it arrives after the 3rd

Sorry but I don't have any really good suggestions right now..but I'll think about it.

dmil8030 · ‎12-27-2015

Hello 'videogamezstore',

Twice you mentioned April, -- that the customer wants the item by April 3rd. Is that your mistake or his?

If someone wrote to me in December inquiring if I could assure delivery by April, I would reply with a question of my own,

reminding him that April is 4 months away so is this what he intended.

For now I will do like the others here and assume it is an error and 'January 3rd' is what was meant.

<<Personally I am really busy with family and stuff ,. . .>>

A lot of people feel the same way and that is why they put their listings on vacation whilst they spend time with

family and friends. If your listings are up it is assumed you are open for business.

<<He the asked me to please please ship it Saturday I said I can't Canada Post is not open if you really need it by

the third I can't promise so I will just send a refund if you want .>>

If you will pardon my saying, I think you invite all sorts of troubles by mentioning the word "refund" before you have

even shipped an item. The phrase to use is "cancellation", -- when you are unable to guarantee delivery by a

given date, you can ask the buyer if he would prefer to cancel the sale. . . .

Because sure enough,

<<Today he is saying, . . . can I keep the game and get my money back . . .

Followed by . . . can I get ALL my money back and still get the game>>

Sorry mate, you started it. Most people do not read particularly well, never mind that just as many do not write very

well, and all sorts of confusion can result. In all that mess he focused on that word "refund" and now he thinks he can

get to keep the item and the money. A nice little extra Christmas present.

So at the very least you will have to find a nice way of telling him that this is not ordering pizza. You were not

implying that "3 days or it's free".

If you decide to send the game I urge you most strenuously to use tracking. Then you can send him the tracking #

and assure him it will show online that it has been delivered just as soon as the postal system allows.

It sounds to me as if at the moment of posting you have the buyer's money but have not yet shipped. You must

therefore decide on a course of action and do it quickly.

<< if he does have a kid like he states in other messages which he is buying it for I did not include I guess I would

not want to let the kid down>>

His kid's happiness is not your problem. It is not up to strangers to ensure the contentment of someone else's child.

That's a parent's responsibility.

If it were me, I would have sent one final, very clear message (assuming he had said January in his posts and not

April) indicating that as Canada Post is operational for only 3 days this week at the most, I cannot guarantee

delivery before the 3rd (meaning on or before Dec 31) and thus would he prefer to cancel the sale.

If he wished to proceed anyway, -- I would absolutely use Delivery Confirmation.

Time is running out, so make a decision.

tobyshitzu · ‎12-27-2015

I wouldnt use tracking. That wouldn't risk a loss, it would guarantee losing all or most of the sale for those games (not sure which one it is, none of them ae with tracking). And the buyer still might be mad about the time.

If you are going to mail it and its still unsettled, just tell the buyer its mailed and if he doesn't want it write return to sender amd drop it back in the mail, and you'll refund when it gets back. You'll probably never hear from him again

dmil8030 · ‎12-27-2015

Hello 'toby**bleep**zu',

<< I wouldnt use tracking. That wouldn't risk a loss, it would guarantee losing all or most of the sale for those games>>

Most of the time on cheap little items like that you are right, -- if a seller insisted on tracking it would be an awful lot

like relisting unsold items over and over again.

The reason I said that if it were me and had considered, as 'videogamez' suggested, that "to ship it express. . . would

be 4$ extra", - the concern is not so much about the cost as getting the item to the buyer quickly.

He says the item was bought Dec 23, so near as I can see, it was either a $5 or $8 item. In any other situation,

definitely not worth tracking.

My unease comes from this buyer's apparent interest in keeping both the item and the money, and how he can

go about doing this.

Who knows, maybe that game sent without tracking would be received, excellent feedback left, and all would end well.

But for me, I just don't have the patience for scammers and sneak-thieves looking for freebies. I'd cough up for the

tracking myself on this one just to let this buyer know he is not getting a free item from me.

Someone else may say it's only $5 (or $8) so not much of a loss if the buyer steals it. Therefore a lot depends on

the disposition of the seller. I think crooks looking for free items should be halted and booted, not placated and

given freebies because the items are too low cost to fight about.

It is my contention that when someone twice inquires about keeping both the item and the money, it's a bad sign

and thus I'd prefer to let them know that with me this is not going to be an option.

Depending on where exactly the buyer and seller are located for this (both Ontario) it might actually arrive by Dec 31

even sent cheap-o mail. It might not. The buyer might say it never arrived. He might not.

The seller has to decide where the risk is and how he feels about it , -- and conduct himself accordingly.

femmefan1946 · ‎12-28-2015

I'm with dmil on this one.

The reason for tracking is as a PYA.

For a couple of toonies, the poster can prevent a phoney INR claim and also get the item to the customer on time.

In this case, losing money on the transaction is not the greatest concern.

I'll ship without tracking on items that cost me a lot more than this would have, and not be concerned about the rare loss or delay.

But this is not that kind of customer.

Anonymous · ‎12-28-2015

I definitely would use tracking number for that kind of insane buyer(s) to protect myself! Sound like he is a scammer trying to keep the item and get the money back at the same time. Good reasons to use tracking number! So he can see how long the mail delivery takes

And what more we are not superglue to our computer/eBay!! LOL!

avenueshopswapsell · ‎12-28-2015

Too many questions, too much pressure to receive the item by a certain date. Refund the buyer, take the hit from Ebay and move on, not worth the hassle.

In my experience, when a buyer asks a million questions through a million messages, trouble is ahead.

rose-dee · ‎12-28-2015

I agree with 'femmefan' on this conundrum, and I feel, like the others here, that a buyer who is already asking a thousand questions, especially on Christmas Eve (including asking about a refund) is not likely going to improve after the transaction is concluded.

I think you have two choices: either pay the extra $4 shipping out of your own pocket to thwart this guy from causing you more trouble, or else refund and take the defect. Which is more important to you?

Personally, if I were in this situation, I'd pay the $4 and use tracking. If the item is of relatively low value, let it be the buyer's problem to return it for a refund.

By the way, did you check the buyer's FB history? I'm wondering if his anxiety is coming out at the other end as negative/neutral FB for buyers? If so -- and you decide to refund -- you may be able to use that fact to get the defect removed.

Best of luck with this.

pierrelebel · ‎12-28-2015

"Too many questions, too much pressure to receive the item by a certain date. Refund the buyer, take the hit from Ebay and move on, not worth the hassle."

I totally agree.

"either pay the extra $4 shipping out of your own pocket to thwart this guy from causing you more trouble"

Paying more for shipping on December 29th does not guarantee anything. Even of the item arrives on December 31st (two days later) there is no guarantee the buyer will not find something to complain about.

Just not worth it.

Refund and move on.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-28-2015

I was thinking something similar. Even if the item arrived in time, the buyer would possibly find something wrong and end up costing the seller more money. Plus...I'm curious if the seller would actually be paying just $4 more to send it express. I would think the difference between lettermail and express would be a lot more even if the buyer is in the same province.

tobyshitzu · ‎12-28-2015

I wouldn't be looking to pick up a seller cancelled transaction unless it was unavoidable with the new standards counting that as almost the worst thing you can do. It won't take much for op to be out the trs discount, for a year, which will cost more then losing the item (which isnt expensive). The late shipping thing isn't good, but much more lenient then cancelled. Anything else the buyer can do won't count at all. Maybe could get out of it only because the buyer had the incomplete address originally.

Not a surprise to have one like that selling games. They always want it shipped anyway after telling them it cant or might not make it to the date they want it. Can't recall any of them ending up being a problem. The problem ones come out of the blue without warning (just got unauthorized chargeback)

reallynicestamps · ‎12-28-2015

Maybe could get out of it only because the buyer had the incomplete address originally.

Good point.

The purpose of using tracking is only to have proof that the item was in fact delivered.

As a side issue, it would also show that it was delivered within the published time period.

It just takes some potential complaints off the table.

As for the rest (NAD etc), 'Return for a full refund'. Rinse, repeat.

triber · ‎12-28-2015

Maybe you have reason to cancel because the buyer wants it in a time frame that is not possible. Just tell them sorry, can't get it to you by that date, so I will have to cancel. I sometimes phone eBay in a situation like this, so that if the buyers tries to send bad feedback, you have the transaction registered on the phone call.

canadian.tree · ‎12-28-2015

I meant to say January in message sorry sorry I get it thanks for pointing that out guys.

maximus7001 · ‎12-29-2015

I fail to see how an extra $4 can buy tracking. If it is going to Ontario then it is either expedited parcel which is tracked for like $12 or lettermail it it fits through the 2 cm slot for $1.80 - $5.05 in stanps. The math of adding $4 does not add up.