Problem with a new bidder

notorious_pip

notorious_pip

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I had an auction up during the middle of February for Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8259397416&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESO:IT&rd=1
The person who won it ended up being a zero feedback bidder.

I sold it to her anyways, and I received the following message

we received the ddr mario mix yesterday, march 4th and it is so scratched that our gamecube cannot read it. I called the nintendo hotline and they had me clean the disk but it still cannot be read.
I want my money backyou are welcome to the game back. This is the first item I ever bought on e-bay so I need to hear from you soon or I suppose I have to contact them. Tell me what the proper way to do this is so that I have incurred no costs.

I've played the game a total of 2-3 times, and I even have a picture in the auction of the underside of the disc. Now she wants a complete refund, but I posted this as my return policy in the auction.

If you are not satisfied with the product, please message me so that something can be done to remedy the problem. If nothing can be done, I will accept return of items if they are sent back within 7 days of receipt (determined by Delivery Confirmation) and sent back in the EXACT condition they were sent to you at the expense of the buyer. If any damage was incurred from the time the item was sent to the time it comes back, only a partial refund will be given.

It seems like she's trying to screw me over by sending me back her scratched to hell game and keeping the one I sent her. What's the best action to take in this case? Thanks.
 
Yea it sounds like her gamecube scratched it lucky you though she has no idea what to do she says she will contact ebay not paypal so try to delay her from doing either
 
But I can only delay her for so long. I was thinking of just telling her that since it's not in exact condition that I sent it to her that the refund that I give back is at my discretion. She doesn't deserve a full refund, because whatever scratched that disc, it wasn't on my end. She didn't bother with the optional insurance either, so the scratched up part is on her head. I need a permanent solution to this, though.
 
How did they pay? If they paid by Paypal, I'm not sure what to suggest since if you refuse to give them back their money all they have to do is file a not as described complaint and they will get their money back once they ship it back to you.

If they paid by another method, you could just tell them tough luck but the downside of that is you will probably get a negative out of it.

I would take out the return policy on future auctions. All sales should be final IMO
 
if it was the middle of february then you just need to stall a little longer, she only has one month to file a chargeback with paypal. If she goes through her credit card and has them reverse the charges she has 3 months or 90 days(depends on the cc). I dont know what to tell you, there are risks on ebay and this is one of them`
 
She paid through an echeck through PayPal, so I don't know if that changes anything at all. That's crap that I get screwed either way though. So you don't think my refund policy and picture of the disc will hold up and protect me in any way?

I guess that's a lesson learned to not have return policies.
 
The good thing about the eCheck is that they can't do a credit card chargeback.

And I don't think the picture of the disc or the refund policy will protect you from a Not as Described complaint. It's really unfair to the seller but the policy is ridiculous. The buyer could tell paypal that they thought there were bidding on a PS2 game so they want to send it back to you for a refund and they could probably get away with it so I think if they complain about the disc being scratched Paypal will side w/ the buyer
 
Wow, it sounds like I would have been screwed even if I didn't have a refund policy and stated that all sales are final.

So since she paid with an echeck, it's less likely that PayPal would rip the funds from my account and send it back to her, because she doesn't have the option of filing with her credit card company then? But they're just as likely to side with her on a item not as described dispute?
 
When someone does a credit card chargeback, Paypal automatically will take the funds out of your account. If they do a not as described dispute, Paypal will have to investiage first so you have a better chance (though very small) chance of winning.

It's true that stating all sales are final may not help with a dispute but if you say all sales are final, it might give a buyer the idea that you won't take it back so they might be more heistant to ask for a refund.
 
Hmm, so even if PayPal does investigate it, it's not looking good for me, huh? I guess there's no foolproof way to protect myself from this type of situation. Live and learn. This is the first transaction that I've had on there that has turned out like this.
 
Unfortunately, it's one of the downsides of accepting Paypal in that you are always taking a chance of this happening. Another option for future auctions is for something valueable like the game you sold, don't accept Paypal. It might hurt the auction price a little bit but it's better than having this happen.
 
Man, eBay seems like such a huge hassle needing to know all the ins and outs of how to protect yourself as a seller. I wish they didn't make it so hard for the seller to protect himself/herself.

Thanks for the advice everybody. I'll keep you updated on what happens.
 
I sold a DVI cable on Ebay--brand new in the package. The guy tried to say it was opened and tried to file a chargeback, I sent with Delivery Confirmation and such and he didn't deny getting the package. He took pictures of the opened cable, after HE obviously opened it. Paypal took 3 - 4 weeks and sided with me on it.

I would blatently tell her you won't accept a return and the game was in good condition when she sent it. Stalling shouldn't matter. She's probably going to file a chargeback soon...

Just tell her you won't take it, empty your paypal account. I never heard from the guy with the DVI cable again after the dispute was found in my favor.

I dunno, Paypal will ALWAYS work with the buyer if you can't prove you sent a package, I don't think they worry as much about not as described or if you take too long to ship or whatever.

Just my two cents--do with it what you want. I have 500ish feedbacks on ebay with 10 or so being negative from douschebag people like those..I *NEVER* work with them. I had one problem that was my fault, and once I realized it was actually my fault I fixed it.

-Adam
 
Can she still file a chargeback when she paid me with an echeck via PayPal?

In your experience, do you think that PayPal will side with me on this one? I have delivery confirmation and those pictures from the auction as well as my policies provided in the description. It seems in a majority of the stories eBay and PayPal sides with the buyer unless you're a power seller.

Thanks for your advice.
Will PayPal put the money back in her account before the dispute is resolved and then return it to me if they rule in my favor or does it remain in my account before the ruling occurs? The reason I'm asking is because I might have some money going into the account in the near future.
 
[quote name='notorious_pip']Can she still file a chargeback when she paid me with an echeck via PayPal?[/quote]
Yes, so long as she paid through paypal.

In your experience, do you think that PayPal will side with me on this one? I have delivery confirmation and those pictures from the auction as well as my policies provided in the description. It seems in a majority of the stories eBay and PayPal sides with the buyer unless you're a power seller.
Click to expand...

More than likely PP will side with her, on the plus side the item must be sent back to you before PP issues a refund so if she forgets to use DC and the item never arrives her refund shouldn't go through. Also if the game arrives with any other problems other than the ones she mentions to PP (like a missing manual, beat up box, cracked case) you can try to complain to paypal that she damaged the item and see if they will only issue a partial refund to her instead.


Will PayPal put the money back in her account before the dispute is resolved and then return it to me if they rule in my favor or does it remain in my account before the ruling occurs? The reason I'm asking is because I might have some money going into the account in the near future.
Click to expand...
They will freeze any funds in your account and place a hold on any money you add up to the total auction amount, then they will wait several weeks until either they find in your favor or until she ships the item back and you recieve it at which point they will withdraw the funds from your account and give them to her.
 
Don't ever deal with 0 bidders... I know they have to start somewhere, but more often then not they are a pain in the ass, espically with high price items.
 
I think if it goes through paypal you will lose for two reason. One is that they always side with the buyer. The other is pictures don't show scratches on a disc unless they are really heavy. I however would let paypal take care of it. If it gets that far, I hope you get a person who cares that handles your case. That way you can bring up the fact that they took over 3 weeks to tell you there is a problem. When clearly your return policy is 7 days.
 
Yeah but his return policy says within 7 days of receipt. If the buyer received the item on Saturday then it's still within those 7 days
 
I'll second what Roufuss said. Dont accept bids from negative, or zero feedback bidders.


I block them from bidding on all my auctions. I require all bidders to have at least ONE positive before they can bid.


I know everyone has to have their first time experience with Ebay, but its not gonna be with me. I dont have the time or patience to hold someones hand thru their first ebay auction. Sure I guess theres a chance that it could go smoothly, but do you really wanna be that seller? Dealing with that? Not me.
 
I generally give refunds to unhappy buyers, but if my gut was telling me it was a switch job (as you seem to think from the OP) I'd probably do anything I could to not do the refund. Let her go to PayPal if that's what she chooses to do and just present your side. I had a bogus SNAD complaint go against me, so it definitely happens unfortunately.

Puffa - You can't block 0 FB bidders. You might think you've done this but you haven't. Read that section of your preferences closer. You can either block buyers with a negative feedback score (-1 or worse) totally or block buyers with X FB from currently winning 2 or more of your auctions in a given time period. You can't block 0 FB buyers from bidding and winning that 1st auction. eBay will never let you do this as it's an obstacle for new buyers and that's eBay's bread and butter. Unless you meant that you just put that as a requirement in your listing. Might keep some away, but I'd be very surprised if eBay let you use that to void a sale.
 
Well, this is my reply to her.

As per the Nintendo Customer Service states

'In some instances, it may be necessary for you to ship the complete product, FREIGHT PREPAID AND INSURED FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE, to the nearest service location. Please do not send any products to Nintendo without contacting us first.'

I would try contacting them again to see if they'll point you towards a service center.

As my return policy states,

'If nothing can be done, I will accept return of items if they are sent back within 7 days of receipt (determined by Delivery Confirmation) and sent back in the EXACT condition they were sent to you at the expense of the buyer. If any damage was incurred from the time the item was sent to the time it comes back, only a partial refund will be given.'

The disc you're describing is not in the same condition that I sent it to you. I can send you a larger picture of the underside of the disc for confirmation on the condition of the disc. The alleged damage that was incurred happened after I sent it. You chose not to purchase the optional insurance. If you send the game back to me, I can only offer a partial refund, the amount at my discretion.

Wish me luck, guys.
 
[quote name='Puffa469']I'll second what Roufuss said. Dont accept bids from negative, or zero feedback bidders.


I block them from bidding on all my auctions. I require all bidders to have at least ONE positive before they can bid.


I know everyone has to have their first time experience with Ebay, but its not gonna be with me. I dont have the time or patience to hold someones hand thru their first ebay auction. Sure I guess theres a chance that it could go smoothly, but do you really wanna be that seller? Dealing with that? Not me.[/QUOTE]

Unfortuantely, today a 0 feedback bidder won one of my auctions... as Wubb said, I can't just tell them to F off, but they paid really fast through Paypal, they have a confirmed address, so I might as well take the chance.... nothing else I can do.
 
That was the thing. She was a zero feedback bidder but her account had been on eBay for years and she paid almost immediately after the auction without me having to send an invoice. I thought the transaction would go smoothly. So much for my gut feeling.

So for future reference, can I just state in my auctions that I don't accept 0 feedback bidders and just cancel their bids?
 
[quote name='notorious_pip']That was the thing. She was a zero feedback bidder but her account had been on eBay for years and she paid almost immediately after the auction without me having to send an invoice. I thought the transaction would go smoothly. So much for my gut feeling.

So for future reference, can I just state in my auctions that I don't accept 0 feedback bidders and just cancel their bids?[/QUOTE]

Yea, I believe you can. You can just phrase it as "Due to some bad transactions with 0 feedback bidders, I no longer accept bids from anyone with 0 or negative feedback".

I don't know if Ebay would get pissed at you or what... I really don't want to send this game I just sold to a 0 feedback winner, but I have no choice, hopefully it turns out ok.

Most people pay immediately after the auction for me, I've never had to send one invoice, so that wouldn't look fishy to me. The fact they've had that Ebay account for years and still have 0 feedback, yea, thats a little weird.
 
[quote name='wubb']Puffa - You can't block 0 FB bidders. You might think you've done this but you haven't. Read that section of your preferences closer. You can either block buyers with a negative feedback score (-1 or worse) totally or block buyers with X FB from currently winning 2 or more of your auctions in a given time period. You can't block 0 FB buyers from bidding and winning that 1st auction. eBay will never let you do this as it's an obstacle for new buyers and that's eBay's bread and butter. Unless you meant that you just put that as a requirement in your listing. Might keep some away, but I'd be very surprised if eBay let you use that to void a sale.[/quote]

Hmmm, I went back and checked and I see your right. I have neg feedback blocked and the thing that stops them from winning 2 or more auctions, but I guess 0 fb can bid on my stuff... luckily no zero fb's have won anything of mine yet which is why I thought that block was in place... damn you ebay!!! :bomb: lol
 
I see listings here and there with similar requirements and I don't think eBay would consider cancelling 0 FB bids a violation, but I'm not sure. Of course, if they get it in right at the end you won't have time to cancel.

Personally I sell to 0 FB buyers with no reservations. I would agree that there is a greater chance of a scam buyer having a 0 FB account, but so far my only problem was with a 100% ~70 FB buyer.
 
[quote name='wubb']I see listings here and there with similar requirements and I don't think eBay would consider cancelling 0 FB bids a violation, but I'm not sure. Of course, if they get it in right at the end you won't have time to cancel.

Personally I sell to 0 FB buyers with no reservations. I would agree that there is a greater chance of a scam buyer having a 0 FB account, but so far my only problem was with a 100% ~70 FB buyer.[/quote]


Im not a huge volume seller, and luckily I havent had any problems yet (knock wood).

I think part of it may have to do with what Im selling. I think selling older games and systems attracts collectors, who are more likely to know how ebay works. I would imagine people who sell iPods and more in demand items would run into more stupid buyers, but I could be wrong...
 
The buyer still hasn't responded, and I haven't received any messages from eBay or PayPal. Do you think she's just trying to get help from NoA, or do you think she's backing off because she was trying to scam me in the first place?
 
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