Dispute regarding item qaulity
Summary: jopau_72_0 voiced concerns about a sold jumper, initially described as excellent, which the buyer claimed arrived with holes. They struggled with whether to issue a refund due to the low profit and requested photos from the buyer, who later asked for a discount. Participants such as cobwebcottage and dwhairandbeautystore advised asking for photographic evidence before considering a refund and warned against partial refunds without proof, suggesting that such buyer claims could be scams. jopau_72_0 ultimately decided to block the buyer after receiving no evidence and enduring rude responses. Other sellers shared similar experiences with potentially fraudulent claims, highlighting growing challenges in online selling.
Hi, I feel like I messed up slightly.
I sold a jumper for £18. Profits after that was only £12 as costs were removed for a charity donation and ebay fees. I measured it as asked and sent additional photos. I got a message from my buyer saying it arrived with holes/in need of repairs. I didn't notice these at all. And I'm not sure how I resolve this. I don't really have the money to refund them; and after the fees I didn't receive the full 18. I'm not sure what to do. I just sent them a message asking how they wanted me to resolve it. I'm a relatively new seller and I'm just selling items to clear out my flat and earn a little extra cash.
vintagechinashop
·1 week agoUnfortunately online selling is not what it used to be. Buyers are using AI to scam sellers. I have just lost £40 on vinted as the buyer produced photos which were clearly AI generated. One picture of them holding a cracked plate showed a hand and one finger disappearing into the plate so unless they truly had a hand with 3 1/12 fingers it was clearly not real. Other red flags when they mentioned that my parcel was the 4th one arriving that week broken. You have to be very vigilant these days against buyers who try to scam it’s a very sad face of life that not everyone is as honest as you would hope. Hope it gets sorted for you
dwhairandbeautystore
·2 weeks agoAnd as is if to prove my point, I've just had a buyer contact me with a photo of a very expensive eye cream I sold her, which was sealed and perfect when sent (as my multiple dispatch photos show) and she is falsely claiming it is half-empty!!
This is worth £65, she bought it for £35 (which also includes my fees and postage costs) and she is still trying to steal from me!!!
Looking at the feedback she has left other sellers, she has tried this trick multiple times.
I am now going to call her bluff and ask her local delivery office to investigate and file a police report for tampering with the mail.
Hopefully she'll have a very angry postman to deal with next week!
jopau_72_0
OP1 week agoThis is unhinged. I'm so sorry. I hope you can potentionally raise this with ebay. I tried to report my buyer and I got shut down fast. This is unbelievable
papso22
·1 week agoAre you falsely accusing someone at RM in order to call her bluff? If so that's highly irresponsible.
jopau_72_0
OP1 week agoNo. Not falsely accusing. I asked ebay to look into it because the buyer refused to show me evidence and insulted me. I ended up blocking her. I just wanted them to leave me be.
dwhairandbeautystore
·1 week agoNo. She is. And as I thought, as soon as I said this, she backtracked and told me it was immaculate and sealed when it arrived, the tube just wasn't as full as she thought it should be.
I checked the delivery photo and told her I could see it looked the same as it did when posted.
I worded my last post badly as I was angry-typing!
dwhairandbeautystore
·1 week agoI meant to say 'I'll tell her I'm going to file a police report for Royal Mail tampering with her mail'. Which I did, and she then said it hadn't been tampererd with and the seal was still intact.
choctaw-blues
·2 weeks agoAs a business seller I can help you with some of the pitfalls of selling and advice on good advertising.
Honesty is always your best policy, condition of an item is 100% important so be sure to correctly describe an items condition, "used" simply is not good enough if there are faults . Photographs are your best ally in case of dispute, therefore take as many as poss. you are allowed upto 24 for most items.
Best of Luck
jopau_72_0
OP2 weeks agoHi. I think I did slightly eff up. I should've said 'fair' or good not 'excellent'. I didn't realise there were faults. However the buyer didn't send photos after I asked three times and proceeded to insult me for not noticing the flaws. It was horrible and more trouble than its worth for a sweater. I have just ignored them because unless they give me any proof I won't be handing over a partial refund. It wasn't a good experience.
dwhairandbeautystore
·2 weeks agoBuyers often get angry when their scam doesn't result in a immediate refund. We can all make mistakes, but if I'd bought an item that was damaged, I'd definitely be sending photos of said damage!
From the sound of it, you reacted well to the buyer and just wanted to see proof. If they respond by sending insults, it sounds like they're annoyed you caught them out in their lie.
jopau_72_0
OP2 weeks agoThat's pretty much how it's gone. They insulted me further after I asked again for a photo and they replied that the damage wouldn't show up in a photo. I've just blocked them as a buyer because, it felt like they wanted a further discount on their jumper. I'll try to be more straight forward about item quality but damn, it was a lot of hassle over a sweater! Thanks <3
dwhairandbeautystore
·3 weeks agoPS. If they do return it, refund straight away if it is in the condition you sent it as eBay will step in after 3 days and refund them anyway, which will leave a black mark against you account.
Don't just ignore it as they'll end up with the item and a full refund from eBay!
dwhairandbeautystore
·3 weeks agoThis is a classic ebay scam. Do not give partial refunds!! It opens us all up to scam buyers.
If the damage is genuine, they will be happy to send you photos.
I ALWAYS ask the buyer to open a return case if they claim an item arrived damaged as 9 times out of 10, they are just trying to get something for less than they paid.
If there is genuinely damage you didn't show, they will send you pics and return the item. I wouldn't want a jumper with holes, would you?
Surely if you measured it and took additional photos you would have noticed if there were holes?
boundarycoins
·3 weeks agoHoles on jumpers can be easy to miss when listing. I’ve drafted some before that looked fine and then I held them up to the light and realised they had issues. The buyer might just be thinking they can do the repair on it, some buyers enjoy doing it and look for ones that they can bring back to life.
dwhairandbeautystore
·3 weeks agoYeah of course that's possible. I just know from experience that there has been a big rise in eBay buyers scamming sellers because they know how easy it is now!
There are some genuinely lovely buyers but sadly the scammers always ruin it for everyone else.
boundarycoins
·3 weeks agoYeah that’s true. I had a quick look it’s a Laura Ashley one and the sort of jumper that’s worth keeping and repairing so I’d lean to it being plausible if good photos are provided and they haven’t done an AI job on it.
I have been at both extremes of this type of issue recently. One the buyer added liquid to an NFL shirt and claimed it was stains but forgot to let the droplets dry so got called out for it and dropped their case.
The other I have just refunded a £240 item because of a crack that I didn’t see and I had to hold my hands up I’m fairly sure it was my mistake. My first reaction was I might be getting scammed but it became fairly clear to me that I probably wasn’t and even if I was I couldn’t prove it without overstepping.
cobwebcottage
·3 weeks agoUnfortunately, you will have to refund them if they open an item not as described case. If you don't respond to it, Ebay will eventually close the case and refund them anyway and you will have a defect on your account.
jopau_72_0
OP3 weeks agothey haven't sent me photos yet. So I'm waiting on this. Because I want to resolve this. Plus I understand they might feel a bit cheated if its not as described. But they need to show me thse pictures first.
jopau_72_0
OP3 weeks ago · Editedthey've asked me for a discount. I'm a bit stressed by this. I don't want to tell them no but if they ask for something ridiculous I might just tell them to send it back and I'll refund them instead. I don't know. ......
cobwebcottage
·3 weeks agoYes, you will need proof of the damage before you decide if you give them a partial refund. Just be polite and ask to see a photo of the holes in it.
4_bathrooms
·2 weeks ago · EditedI almost never give a partial refund after the sale. If a buyer makes a spurious claim that they have discovered a problem with their purchase that can be remedied by a partial refund they are directed to exercise their rights under the Money Back Guarantee and return the item for a full refund. It's amazing how many such buyers don't actually open a case when it is made crystal clear that is their only option. I certainly wouldn't entertain any discussion about a partial refund if the buyer hadn't even provided a single photo to support their claim.
In your shoes I would make sure the "Don't allow blocked buyers to contact me" box is checked in buyer management then add the buyer's eBay ID to your blocked buyers list. Once you have done that the buyer can only contact you if they actually open a case. If they do open a case you will have to issue a return label (if eBay doesn't do so on your behalf). You can report any issues with the buyer via the case once return tracking indicates the item has been returned.
jopau_72_0
OP2 weeks agoThanks . I might need to double check this. It's been a whole hoo ha over a sweater and I just was reeling a bit.