Sometimes I hate selling on Amazon

I recently sold a game on Amazon and shipped it out next day using USPS first class priority. About 4 or so days after I shipped it I received an email from the buyer saying that he tried the game in two separate systems and it didn't work. I emailed the buyer back within 48 hours stating that I am sorry that it didn't work and I if he could return the game I will refund the money for him once I got the game back.

Well, that email I sent was a week ago, and this morning I got an email saying that the claim was ruled in the buyer's favor and they refunded the money to him, and yet I don't have the game returned to me.

Anyone else that sells through amazon have stuff like this happen to them??

Get used to it. Amazon is really pro-buyer, unfortunately.

I have sold over 200+ items on amazon and this is the first time I got something like this

Well I ordered some stuff from a seller last week and the moron has somehow sent my shit to Florida...

I once had an issue and seller support told me exactly that, if you ship something that is not as described (or even if the buyer just says it is) then Amazon lets them keep the "wrong" item and they get their money back as well.
Its a horrible system, and its why I go overboard in describing things to people when I sell on there

[quote name='addicted2games']Get used to it. Amazon is really pro-buyer, unfortunately.[/QUOTE]

This. Amazon doesn't care. They don't lose money from the refund, so they just refund the buyer without caring about you at all. That's the only pro eBay has going for itself lately, but even that's starting to change there. It's becoming just as bad as Amazon.

[quote name='shadyfozzie']I recently sold a game on Amazon and shipped it out next day using USPS first class priority. About 4 or so days after I shipped it I received an email from the buyer saying that he tried the game in two separate systems and it didn't work. I emailed the buyer back within 48 hours stating that I am sorry that it didn't work and I if he could return the game I will refund the money for him once I got the game back.

Well, that email I sent was a week ago, and this morning I got an email saying that the claim was ruled in the buyer's favor and they refunded the money to him, and yet I don't have the game returned to me.

Anyone else that sells through amazon have stuff like this happen to them??[/QUOTE]

When did they open the claim?

When do I use the "Order contained damaged/defective/incorrect items" reason while filing an A-to-z Guarantee claim?

If a seller has clearly misrepresented the condition or details of an item in a way that affects its value or utility, it is "materially different" and that seller should be willing to offer a refund or exchange within 30 days of shipment. If the seller does not accept the return of an item that is made in accordance with the seller's return policy, you may qualify for coverage under our A-to-z Guarantee. Please visit our Return Help pages for more information regarding returns.

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I would give Amazon customer service a call and start quoting their own policies against them. For one thing you were accepting the return of an item in accordance to your return policy, so being overruled by Amazon on that is bs.

Why was my claim denied?

The common reasons for a claim being denied include:

• the item received was the same as described by the seller.
• The item was received and the seller provided verification of delivery.
• The buyer failed to respond to a request for further information.
• The claim was filed due to buyer remorse rather than an actual issue with the item.
• The buyer filed a chargeback with their payment processor or bank.
• The buyer was unwilling to return the item to the seller.

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Buyers expect you to send them a return shipping label. If you don't then you are asking them to spend more money and risk that you won't refund any of it.

[quote name='donkeydrop']Buyers expect you to send them a return shipping label. If you don't then you are asking them to spend more money and risk that you won't refund any of it.[/QUOTE]

Buyers should have to pay return shipping if their claim is bogusIf I tested a game to work and then sold it the buyer is entitled to 1 free kick in the pants until they prove otherwise.

ebay treats sellers like crap

[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']When did they open the claim?

I would give Amazon customer service a call and start quoting their own policies against them. For one thing you were accepting the return of an item in accordance to your return policy, so being overruled by Amazon on that is bs.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. If you can prove that you were willing to accept the return (which is logged by Amazon), it should be overruled. Unless you ignored the person until they filed an A-Z and then you jumped into action, in which case, you're on your own.

[quote name='addicted2games']Get used to it. Amazon is really pro-buyer, unfortunately.[/QUOTE]

Yeah but what I don't get is, the OP offered the buyer a refund... so why would Amazon still rule the buyer's favor?

I love Amazon but I'll never sell on their again. I shipped out a $200 book the customer claimed he never received it, I had proof it was received and amazon said it wasn't good enough. So the guy kept my book and got his $200 refunded.

[quote name='Indigo_Streetlight']Buyers should have to pay return shipping if their claim is bogusIf I tested a game to work and then sold it the buyer is entitled to 1 free kick in the pants until they prove otherwise.[/QUOTE]

It doesn't really matter what "should" happen. If the buyer is telling the truth then why would he risk spending more money to send it back if he's not sure you are going to refund the purchase price? And if the buyer is a scammer, he is certainly not going to send it back on his dime. So, either way you have to pay the return shipping and then hope you can deduct it from the refund.

[quote name='gothamcentral79']I love Amazon but I'll never sell on their again. I shipped out a $200 book the customer claimed he never received it, I had proof it was received and amazon said it wasn't good enough. So the guy kept my book and got his $200 refunded.[/QUOTE]

For anything that expensive, you need to have Signature Confirmation. If you have proof of who actually received and signed for the item, Amazon is more inclined to take your side.

[quote name='donkeydrop']It doesn't really matter what "should" happen. If the buyer is telling the truth then why would he risk spending more money to send it back if he's not sure you are going to refund the purchase price? And if the buyer is a scammer, he is certainly not going to send it back on his dime. So, either way you have to pay the return shipping and then hope you can deduct it from the refund.[/QUOTE]

Show me the rule where it says the seller has to pay return shipping. As far as I know the prepaid return mailer is a courtesy given by a third party merchant if they know they're in the wrong. If the buyer verbally communicates that they're in the wrong (buyer's remorse, purchasing a game that was wrong for them even though it was listed correctly, etc.) then the seller doesn't have to be courteous.

The 3 times i had a claim against me I won.

First one was for Ninja Gaiden sigma CE. Happened like 3 months after i sold it - it was a credit card chargeback instead of an A-Z though. I guess Amazon fought it and won for me. Not sure what the claim was about, but probably the fact that the person left me a positive saying something like "Fast Shipping. Great Seller!" helped.

2nd one was for the same item. Apparently you can make multiple chargebacks for the same thing if you lose with some credit cards. Pissed me off to read that, but won that one too.

Third was one an A-Z claim. Person said something i shipped was broken(new and sealed disc). I said they could ship it to me and if it were broken I would refund them fully. If it wasn't broken then i would only do a partial refund. They opened the A-Z claim, but amazon sided with me. The person never shipped anything to me after that and I kept my money.

You are really lucky if you won a claim on amazon, from what I hear no one wins those. Ebay accepts DC for most packages as long as you input the tracking number into their site, which almost no one does since I am constantly receiving packages from people I buy from with no tracking on them. But for items that are over a certain amount you must have signature confirmation or the buyer can claim it wasn't delivered or not as described and they will get their refund. They can always claim its not as described but I go to pretty great lengths to describe every item, and its only happened once or twice to me over many years of selling. I have actually never had someone do a chargeback or claim on me, the 1-2 people that told me the item was bad just did it over the message system and we agreed on a mutual resolution.

Given everyones litigious tendencies these days, I'm surprised Amazon and eBay even act as mediators in these situations. If I had a seller file a bogus claim against me and Amazon or eBay sided in their favor without my input or despite overwhelming evidence in my favor, if it was for enough money like the guy with the $200 book, I would take them to small claims court and probably win.

[quote name='DarkRider23']This. Amazon doesn't care. They don't lose money from the refund, so they just refund the buyer without caring about you at all. That's the only pro eBay has going for itself lately, but even that's starting to change there. It's becoming just as bad as Amazon.[/QUOTE]

I sell on both Amazon and eBay and eBay hasn't been pro seller in years. I am still baffled that they took away the seller's ability to give a buyer negative feedback. I can get slammed all day long(not that I have, I'm very proud of my 100% positive on both sites thus far), but I can't give anything negative back? That's ridiculous. I had to change my policies and disclaimers because mine used to state that all customers shipped at their own risk and can purchase insurance if they want to protect their items. One person didn't purchase insurance and the Postal Service decided to play the World Cup with the package and of course, it broke. They threatened me with negative feedback if I didn't refund every penny. I contacted eBay about this and they said that it's up to the buyer if they want to leave negative feedback or not. So I refunded the money and lost out on my money. eBay's customer service for sellers is bullshit.

I haven't experience anything bad on Amazon yet, but I've only been selling there for three months, so I imagine it's bound to happen.

[quote name='thecoryjihad']I sell on both Amazon and eBay and eBay hasn't been pro seller in years. I am still baffled that they took away the seller's ability to give a buyer negative feedback. I can get slammed all day long(not that I have, I'm very proud of my 100% positive on both sites thus far), but I can't give anything negative back? That's ridiculous. I had to change my policies and disclaimers because mine used to state that all customers shipped at their own risk and can purchase insurance if they want to protect their items. One person didn't purchase insurance and the Postal Service decided to play the World Cup with the package and of course, it broke. They threatened me with negative feedback if I didn't refund every penny. I contacted eBay about this and they said that it's up to the buyer if they want to leave negative feedback or not. So I refunded the money and lost out on my money. eBay's customer service for sellers is bullshit.

I haven't experience anything bad on Amazon yet, but I've only been selling there for three months, so I imagine it's bound to happen.[/QUOTE]

It's going to happen, sorry to break it to you. I've received two negatives this year, thus far. In years prior, I never even had a neutral until this year.

One was from a woman who ordered a disc-only item, clearly stated as Acceptable and noted as disc only, "as a gift," and was not happy when she received it, blasting me for shipping it without being complete. I tried contacting her about the problem and she just seems to be one of those permanently piss-off people. She didn't even want her money back...

The other was from a guy that placed an order and requested it be cancelled 20 minutes later. I cancelled the order when I got home a few hours later, never even printing out the order slip. Two days later he negs me stating, and I quote:

I asked for my order to be canceled shortly after ordering. I received an automated reply that my request would be processed in 48 hrs. I never heard from them again except to learn thatthe package had been delivered by Yahoo. Annoying

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I emailed the customer twice and never received a response. Amazon said that since it doesn't violate their small list feedback no-no's, they won't delete it, despite it being clear that the order was cancelled per the customers request.

Sadly, it's the way things go on there. You are going to get the crazies, as well as the assholes. It's the price you pay for dealing with the general public.

[quote name='spmahn']Given everyones litigious tendencies these days, I'm surprised Amazon and eBay even act as mediators in these situations. If I had a seller file a bogus claim against me and Amazon or eBay sided in their favor without my input or despite overwhelming evidence in my favor, if it was for enough money like the guy with the $200 book, I would take them to small claims court and probably win.[/QUOTE]

The thing both Ebay and Amazon have learned is that the vast majority of sellers are willing to get screwed every now and again as a cost of doing business. So long as they control the lion's share of the buyers, sellers will be naturally attracted despite unfavorable rules and high listing fees. You'd probably win in small claims court and I'm sure they'll find a way to suspend your account due to agreement violations because of it, most sellers would sadly rather take the hit and move on.

Also I'm not sure if it's still true but ebay at least used to take the sellers side a lot more often when it came to disputes with powersellers so it might just be that the little guys don't mean much to either of them.

[quote name='sp00ge']It's going to happen, sorry to break it to you. I've received two negatives this year, thus far. In years prior, I never even had a neutral until this year.

One was from a woman who ordered a disc-only item, clearly stated as Acceptable and noted as disc only, "as a gift," and was not happy when she received it, blasting me for shipping it without being complete. I tried contacting her about the problem and she just seems to be one of those permanently piss-off people. She didn't even want her money back...

The other was from a guy that placed an order and requested it be cancelled 20 minutes later. I cancelled the order when I got home a few hours later, never even printing out the order slip. Two days later he negs me stating, and I quote:



I emailed the customer twice and never received a response. Amazon said that since it doesn't violate their small list feedback no-no's, they won't delete it, despite it being clear that the order was cancelled per the customers request.

Sadly, it's the way things go on there. You are going to get the crazies, as well as the assholes. It's the price you pay for dealing with the general public.[/QUOTE]


I've accepted that I'll eventually receive some type of negative feedback, but I just don't want to deal with it now. Denial is a wonderful thing.

[quote name='thecoryjihad']I've accepted that I'll eventually receive some type of negative feedback, but I just don't want to deal with it now. Denial is a wonderful thing. [/QUOTE]

That's how I was until I got my first. Needless to say, it ruined my day. Regardless, I still have a 98% lifetime, 97% for the past year and 100% for the past 30.

[quote name='SaraAB'] Ebay accepts DC for most packages as long as you input the tracking number into their site, which almost no one does since I am constantly receiving packages from people I buy from with no tracking on them.[/QUOTE]

Not true about ebay. I shipped out a $5 video game that netted me around $3 after shipping and ebay/paypal fees. 90 days later after the buyer had received the item and left feedback for me saying fast shipping great communication etc.. He filed a chargeback with his credit card. He claimed it was an unauthorized purchase despite the fact that his ebay and paypal account were linked, the paypal acct was verified and shipped to his confirmed address. Paypal sided with him because even though delivery confirmation shows the item arrived at that address it doesn't have a signature showing who accepted the package. Ont op of them refunding the $5 because feedback had already been left I couldn't even get the seller fee's removed. On top of all that you get hit with a $20 chargeback fee for someone else committing credit card fraud! After arguing with the ebay and paypal customer service reps for over an hour I did finally get the $20 chargeback fee reversed and woke up the next day to find my ebay account suspended for 30 days with no explanation. Guess they didn't like me asking for their employee id # to turn over to the police for assisting in credit card fraud across state lines.

Oh and then on topic about amazon. I recently sold a brand new straight from the factory paintball gun that the guy claimed didn't work. He sent an email within an hour of receiving the package. Then a week later after I told him to send it back and if it was defective I would give him a full refund to "verify my address." Then two weeks from then before he actually sent me a tracking number for the package. Gun functions exactly as it should so I can only assume it was buyers remorse. I took 20% off his return for my fee's/costs/time which was close to $30.

You can't do shit about CC Chargebacks. You will always lose those.

[quote name='spmahn']Given everyones litigious tendencies these days, I'm surprised Amazon and eBay even act as mediators in these situations. If I had a seller file a bogus claim against me and Amazon or eBay sided in their favor without my input or despite overwhelming evidence in my favor, if it was for enough money like the guy with the $200 book, I would take them to small claims court and probably win.[/QUOTE]

Not unless you're willing to travel to Washington.

[quote name='mrright4you4now']Paypal sided with him because even though delivery confirmation shows the item arrived at that address it doesn't have a signature showing who accepted the package. [/QUOTE]

Bingo and you would think ebay and paypal would stress then hell out of this to sellers but over the years I think I have only needed to sign for a handful of packages .

[quote name='gothamcentral79']I love Amazon but I'll never sell on their again. I shipped out a $200 book the customer claimed he never received it, I had proof it was received and amazon said it wasn't good enough. So the guy kept my book and got his $200 refunded.[/QUOTE]

I guess I should be glad I got my book back.

When I used to sell on Amazon, I sold a text book there in August. The book was returned to me in December. It had new highlights on it, notes, etc. They indicated that the item was not in the condition indicated (which was low since it had at some point gotten wet, so the cover was bad everything was usable).

The worst kick for me was that the new edition of the book came out the next semester, so I went from having something of value I could sell to having trash.

.........

That was years ago. Nevermind the people around X-Mas time who buy stuff on Amazon and expect it by X date but don't take into account that they paid for Media Mail shipping. Oh Amazon... Amazon's system is also worse than Ebay since most people seldom leave feedback. I sold on Amazon for years and had a grand total of under 50 feedback (selling thousands of things)... then you get antsy people at Christmas and your % based on your feedback can easily become tough to manage. I firmly believe a lot of the sales on Amazon of .01 items are fake between accounts owned by the same people to prevent the percentage from dipping too far.


..........

And Ebay --- man, my 1 negative currently is a review of the product. "Cheap cases". I sold DVD cases that were used. There's a picture. A brand name. A description. I used to store all my DVD-Rs that way and eventually decided it took up too much space. I sold the person 10 of them. I'd been sending way more than the number advertised because I wanted them out of the house. The person didn't contact me or anything.

Then there was the guy who claimed they were damaged in the rain and sent me back 15 of the 250 he purchased. Oh selling online, will you never cease to make me hate humantiy?

I wish I was a horrible person because at this point, I feel I have a great understanding of how to end up with items and my money on these places after watching people screw me for years.

I had a claim recently filed against me on Amazon for a DVD that I sold. The person said they never received the item, when the delivery confirmation proved otherwise. This was a good month after the item had arrived and after about 90 days Amazon.com finally sided with me.

I gave Amazon.com the proof that the item was at least delivered to the location and that I found it odd the buyer made no contact with myself and waited so long to even file a claim.

For any item over $50 I usually go with insurance and signature confirmation.

u need to sell on ebay if ur worried about this kind of stuff.

In case it hasnt already been said, I would threaten to speak to the persons local police department because this might be considered mail fraud. (Even if its not, it might sound legit).

[quote name='mrright4you4now']Not true about ebay. I shipped out a $5 video game that netted me around $3 after shipping and ebay/paypal fees. 90 days later after the buyer had received the item and left feedback for me saying fast shipping great communication etc.. He filed a chargeback with his credit card. He claimed it was an unauthorized purchase despite the fact that his ebay and paypal account were linked, the paypal acct was verified and shipped to his confirmed address. Paypal sided with him because even though delivery confirmation shows the item arrived at that address it doesn't have a signature showing who accepted the package. Ont op of them refunding the $5 because feedback had already been left I couldn't even get the seller fee's removed. On top of all that you get hit with a $20 chargeback fee for someone else committing credit card fraud! After arguing with the ebay and paypal customer service reps for over an hour I did finally get the $20 chargeback fee reversed and woke up the next day to find my ebay account suspended for 30 days with no explanation. Guess they didn't like me asking for their employee id # to turn over to the police for assisting in credit card fraud across state lines.
[/QUOTE]
This post is confusing. Did he do a CC chargeback, or a paypal claim? Because you first state CC, then say paypal. And from my understanding, you can't file a dispute after 40 or 45 days from the date of winning the auction. If so, paypal and ebay should have nothing to do with it after then.

I never sell on Amazon - always on eBay. Especially now that you can list auction style items starting at any price for free.

I sold a game on eBay, and advertised that I wasn't sure if the steam code was used, and wouldn't accept returns. Someone wins the game, and I send it off. He contacts me saying the steam code was used, and wanted a refund.

I was feeling nice, I offered to give him a refund after I received it. I get the game back in a few days, and find that he only sent me the case, and kept the game/inserts. He also left me negative feedback saying that "It didn't work, and I had to pay for return shipping." This genius decided to pay priority mail, when I had paid first class. He was refunded the price +first class shipping, ugh.

Anyway, I contacted eBay to say his return didn't include the game, he kept the game, the refund, and eBay actually gave me my money back as well. I was left with a negative feedback, a sour taste in my mouth, but at least kept the money from the sale. Sucks because I had already left him a positive feedback after receiving payment, ah well.

[quote name='Arakias']In case it hasnt already been said, I would threaten to speak to the persons local police department because this might be considered mail fraud. (Even if its not, it might sound legit).[/QUOTE]

I had one person buy from me that claimed they never received it. Funny enough, it was only going 15 miles down the road, to a really shitty neighborhood that I drive past every so often. This should have been a sign.

I contacted their local PO and the carrier claimed it was delivered to that address. The buyer still insisted it was never delivered. I ended up refunding them the $5-6, but emailed them recommending that it would be wise to contact their local PO and file a report for mail theft, because although it was only a cheap DVD this time, it could be something much more expensive next time. I in no way made any accusation, or implied anything, but I hopefully planted a seed.

I have no proof that this person was lying, and I'm not even 100% sure they were, but if they do inform their PO, they can hopefully be more diligent in preventing this from happening again in the future

The downside to calling the police over a person who claims the package never got to them is that you run the risk of ruining your reputation by blindly accusing the buyer. If you are a serious online seller (>$2000/week for me), I would rather eat the loss.

[quote name='addicted2games']Get used to it. Amazon is really pro-buyer, unfortunately.[/QUOTE]

So is ebay