Being blackmailed by buyer

[dburnside]

Sold an item,buyer claims faulty, they insist on gettin refund bfor returning item, this buyer sounds like they have done this before with threating paypal language, have perfect feedback an dnt want to risk gettin neg, should I trust them or stand my ground? Unfortunatley I didnt put any return conditions in auction so ebay will prob rule in their favour

[jeffweico]

You answered your own question...

You can either refund their money and avoid a negative feedback...

OR

You can refuse, PayPal will refund their money and you will get a negative feedback - not to mention you will draw attention to your account...

Either way the buyer will get the refund. So just bite the bullet and take it back.

[oompaloompa]

I concur with fatcat

[rsot]

Sadly any dispute is likely to resolve with return for refund. If you don't want the negative feedback, you will have to play ball with this scrappy buyer.

Put his bidder info on blocked list.

[TGMT²]

Originally Posted by dburnside

this buyer sounds like they have done this before with threating paypal language

This is becoming a normal scenario within eBay.

The buyer has 3 levels of leverage to wage against the sellers now, where before they only had one.

1. Negative Feedback

2. DSR's

3. Buyer Protection claim -- This one is actually the worst if you are a "Top Rated Seller", because we are only allowed 2 per year. One the 3rd one the seller loses their TRS status along with their additional 15% fee discount.

[needhelpplease]

UGGH! NEVER give into this type of buyer in the form of just giving a refund to POSSIBLY avoid neg feedback! First, be VERY kind and state that a full refund will be issued as soon as the item is returned as that is paypal/ebay policy and you have to adhere to their rules. Second, check this persons "feedback left for others" IF you do NOT see neg remarks left for others then this person has become an attempted pro ebay/paypal theif. Belive it or not, the pros who attempt to steal from sellers are those that do NOT leave neg feedback and insist on threats to get what they want. REMEMBER ebay/paypal NOW keeps track of buyers amount of paypal/ebay claims AND amounts of neg feedback/DSRs left, this is the number one reason you will first receive a threatening email to try and SCARE you into giving them what they want......YOUR money and YOUR merchandise! DONT DONT DO IT! Be nice and offer the full refund (the same they would get if they did the paypal claim anyway) as soon as you get the merchandise back and let them know that that is ebay/paypal policy and you must follow those rules. Good luck!

[forummember]

Best advice I could give would be to refund the money and take a loss. Don't ruin an account that has the potential to make lots of money just because of one bad transaction.

[GreenBean]

Another piece of advice is to re-write your listing to DEFINE your refund/returns policy.

[pod]

There has been no mention on value.

If its a cheap item [cost to you] then forget right or wrong and wash your hands of the scumbag.

If its costly, then maybe try as best you can to get it back first. but if we are talking about $20 or something, just blow it off.

[Melissa1971]

I wouldn't give in to anyone who was thieving but that is just me

[slapped]

It seems to me that your Buyer is indeed a Scammer,,Being that they know Paypals Procedures it might be Prudent for you to STAND YOUR GROUND,,,,


Let the buyer Know that you Know that if they file a dispute, Paypal Will Not Refund them Unless they return the Item,,,,I Know that this Does NOT Protect you from Recieving a "Box of Rocks" But I would NOT simply "Roll Over",,,,You can ALWAYS Make a New Account.

Just my Opinion

[isitworththestress]

If they know ebay paypal policy that much then it is likely they have been using it, and I recall when this first came out, it was promised they would be restricted to the amount of clawbacks and I assume buyer return requests through ebay.
If they are pushing so hard they may have reached their limit so depending on the value of the item it may just be worth giving in, but that is no guarantee that you will not get negative feedback.

Add their user ID to an external block bidder list or as many as you can find, so others are protected by this scumbag.

The only one I have seen that survived is this one Bad Buyer List

They seem open to comments and are trying to add more to the search options.

But there may be more so add them to all you know

[oompaloompa]

excuse my french but refund and returns policy on the listing means b*****ks

buyer has 2 weapons pp and eb complaints system. If you would like item back so it can be relisted, I suggest you just arrange this quickly and move on, not all buyers are like this but everyone encounters them.

[rsot]

Other weapons in the arsenal is the chargeback which will cost YOU a $10 or so charge too so that sucks.

[whatnow]

i had a buyer do this to me, stated item did not fit, i offered refund or exchange she stated she would only send back dress once i sent exchange out, she then opened up a case with both ebay and paypal, this got my account limited, my advise bite the bullet and refund item it would have saved me thousands in the long run for a £80 dress........ you live and learn

[Melissa1971]

If they give you bad fedback, you can report them for non-payment. They would then need to contact Paypal for proof they paid, it's not like they just have ebay check your account, it does put them out

I would wait a while if you go that route, especially if their account is seeing to slow down. Then if they don't respond to the accusations within a few days, you get to keep the credit automatically. Then you break even. I am not sure the time frames and it is considered abuse by Ebay, nor have I done it yet but would consider it.

[dburnside]

i have been biting my lip, have given refund, have offered their postage charges back upon return of item, still not recieved it, buyer emailed today and said they would send today, we will see

i dont think i will get neg feedback which is more important