Big eBay predicament

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I need some advice on what to do. Here's the story.. I sold a white PSP with custom firmware and 4 gb pro duo on eBay last week. It went for like $250. The guy that won had only 1 feedback and said he would pay this past Tuesday when he puts his money in the bank. Tuesday rolls around and I get no payment so I e-mail him on Wednesday. Now he says that he doesn't have enough money or something... some bank-related excuse. Keep in mind, this guy can barely form a coherent sentence. Some of the worst grammar and punctuation I've ever seen. Right when I got that first e-mail about paying in a couple of days, I knew something would happen. Anyways, he says that he can only pay $150 of the $250. I reply asking why you bid then? Because this auction was mad popular.. I had like 25 watchers and lots of bids. There were other bids at $230-240-250, etc. So in my reply to him, I say "can you at least get another $100 or something"... because honestly, that auction took a lot of time and effort. I had to answer about 40-50 questions during the 5 days (for real). Most videogame related auctions tend to attract the illiterate type. So he replies back and agrees to $200 + $10 shipping. It's obvious now that he simply didn't want to pay the full amount and had second thoughts because earlier he said he only had $150. Then I send him a bill request through Paypal because I couldn't change the amount on the official ebay invoice. I send a bill request that says "ebay item" under the drop down box.. you know the one, with the "other", "goods and services" options, etc. I also put the ebay item # and URL in the specified boxes. Surprisingly, he pays. He has a confirmed address as well. I've already begun the 3-4 day transfer to my bank account. So I'm in a predicament here... obviously I'm not going to take his money and run, I'm not a scammer. But at the same time, he didn't meet his end of the bargain and wasted my time and effort. Going through the "non-paying bidder" process takes a while (isn't it like 7 days before you get all your fees back?)... it's ridiculous. And as mentioned earlier, I also don't want to go through the hassle of the auction again, with all the questions and whatnot. So I was thinking to take out the 4 gb sandisk memory stick duo, which is worth about $40-50 (?) and send him just the PSP. Obviously, I wouldn't tell him I'm doing this. What do you think? Any other suggestions? (besides paragraph spacing) :oops:
I've been an ebay member since 2003 and this situation is definitely a first.
 
If you leave out the Duo, he could file a Significantly Not as Described (SNAD)/(whatever it's called) strike against you and Paypal could (probably will?) refund some, if not all of the balance.

What you're doing is placing yourself in a predictament that could, at worse, end up with you footing the fees, no payment (refunded to the buyer) and out a PSP + extras.

It's eBay; not Craigs List. There shouldn't be space for negotiating. Obviously he felt it was worth $250. If he didn't pay, the right move would've been to file a NPB strike, relist and repeat, (or better yet, offer a second chance offer to the next highest bidder!) sad to say. You should've moved on after this turkey.

Since you've accepted $210 already, well, the right thing to do would be to send the package and chalk it up as a loss so you at least get something out of this since you were considerate in providing him a discount. If you do drop the Duo, he might file the SNAD against you and you'll have your funds frozen/pulled from your account. Or, you could refund the amount and state that you made a mistake in accepting a partial payment and that you're requesting the full amount, which the buyer obviously can't/won't provide.

You should really list explicit terms addressing these issues in your auctions because eBay's full of morons/scammers... :headache:

Well..good luck, and see what others have to say.
 
Wouldn't hurt to email him telling him you will keep the Duo. He didn't have any trouble modifying the deal, neither should you.
 
I've been on eBay for quite some time and I have had some experiences like this. Through trial and error I have learned that negotiating price and shipping with a buyer after the auction ends turns into a complete and total clusterfuck . You may get a negative or neutral feedback, but your best bet is to just refund his payment and state that you will only accept the full amount for the auction (as he agreed to by placing his bid). Obviously if your auction got so many bids, you can offer a second-chance option to the next highest bidder and file the Non Paying Bidder form with eBay. This way you will be covered and hopefully only lose a couple of bucks in the long run. If all else fails, just relist the item. I know it is a hassle, but sometimes you are better off than dealing with a moron buyer.
 
Why did you even negotiate? Now that you've modified the deal ($210 for your PSP bundle), you've backed yourself into a corner because you have no grounds to leave out the Memory Stick. You're the one that sent the invoice with the new price and he paid the exact amount that you agreed upon.

If it were me, I would have filed a NPB, got my fees back, and relisted. To me, all of that hassle is worth getting the extra $50. Bad move on your part in my opinion.
 
If you were going to keep the stick, you should have had that as part of the negotiations with him when you accepted the $210. I agree with Caliburn, if you just keep it out now, you'll wind up getting screwed even more.
 
[quote name='raisin']stupid move. shouldve just NPB'd him, then second chanced it.[/QUOTE]

I concur. That wouldve been the best chance of getting the most $$$. Now you are stuck in an agreement that you have to abide by.
 
If the invoice you sent him was through Paypal and not through Ebay - in other words, it sounds like you sent him a "different" invoice rather than a "modified Ebay invoice".

If this is the case, my understanding is that he cannot file a claim against you other than a chargeback from his credit card - and if he gave you a confirmed address you're covered.

Now, I'm not supporting the idea that you should just cut part of the deal out and send him less than what he expects to get. If I were you I would email him and clearly explain what you are doing. He has already seen fit to "renegotiate", and it is in NOBODY'S best interest for him to learn that this kind of behavior is acceptable. So email him, tell him what you're doing, if he throws a fit refund his money and neg him. If he's ok with it, call Paypal, confirm that you're covered, and send to him.

My number 1 rule of selling: Treat others with the utmost respect
My number 2 rule of selling: Insist that others treat you with respect.

Without rule number 2, rule number 1 will either cripple you or become irrelevant. I have a few negative feedbacks because of rule number 2, but I have never regretted it - and I can't tell you how many dozens of times I have responded to someone and clearly told them I will treat them with respect, but I will not allow myself to be bullied under any circumstances and had the entire situation turn out positive.
 
Also, I know it's not that much money, but eBay is charging you based on the final value price. So, by accepting less money you are giving eBay money for a final price that you never received. I have learned to be "brutally firm" with my buyers. That doesn't mean that I won't go out of my way to make the buyer happy, but I do not negotiate the terms of my auctions. (Of course, I have gotten a few negative feedbacks because of this but it has been worth it versus the amount of hastle and stress I avoided). But, for the problem at hand, you have 2 options. 1. Send the buyer the complete item that you listed and chalk this up to experience. Or 2. Refund the buyer's money and explain that only the full auction amount will do (and relist if needed). If you try to keep the memory you will open a whole can of worms that won't be worth your trouble or the money.
 
Yeah you really should have sent a non-paying-bidder notice, and sold to the second highest bidder. I mean, when you bid on eBay you agree to pay the amount you bid, it's a contract. If it was me I would refund his money and sell to the second highest bidder, this guy just sounds like trouble. :s
 
Either send him the item exactly as you described in your auction or refund his money and relist the item start the auction at $0.99.
 
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