Ebay problem

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

OK, this is a weird one.

 

Sold my sons surplus white Squier CV 50s last week, shipped and got positive feedback last Friday.

 

This morning I get a contact from the buyer saying he is very unhappy, and thatr his brother opened the package and gave him the OK, and that is why he left the positive feedback, but that it has dings down to the wood and signs of paint touching up. There were about 4 blemishes I could see all only visible in certain light, but having had the guitar from new, I KNOW for a fact there is no paint on there.

 

Am I on the verge of getting stiffed?

[Gitter]

 

Buyers remorse case. They're awful but a totally standard part of working on ebay.

There's also the very real chance this is an example ofa new breed of predatory buyer that spring up once ebay did away with two way negative feedback and basically told sellers that they would side with buyers every time in a complaint case... the "partial refund" buzzard. They consumate the transaction, then complain something's wrong but they can live with it if you'll give them ($X) back.

You have basically three options here.

1) Tell him you'll allow him to return the guitar and when you receive it back, you'll refund his money.

2) Lay it on the line. Tell him this is an obvious case of buyers remorse, this is not your problem and go ahead and do whatever you want.

3) Offer a partial refund.

 

The first option, you have to eat some shipping, give him back money you may have already spent but it's the most likely path, along with #3, to an outcome that just makes him shut up and go away.

Second option, you have to be prepared for a fight and yes, the horror stories you hear about paypal/ebay siding with buyers are all true. You may stand a chance since he already left you positive feedback however the ebay "buyer protection" policy really takes away a lot of your discretion and they can simply say "Too bad. Take it back." Consequences of not playing ball here: Your ebay account gets banned and they redline your paypal account for whatever amount is they paid him back. If you don't pay, you get sent to collections.

This is why so many people just say F them and sell it for 15% cheaper on craigslist. Figure between final value fees and paypals cut, they nail you for about 15% anyway and it eliminates SO much aggrivation. Rare or estoretic stuff, it's worth just navigating the ebay minefield since its the best way to find the buyer wiling to pay the most. On standard items, sell locally. You'd be amazed at how fast it will sell by just pricing it for ebay price -15% paid cash in hand.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

 

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Gitter wrote:

 

 

 

 

3) Offer a partial refund.

 

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Yes, did this, and it looks to have worked, he did have a 95% Feedback score, think I'll only sel to 100%ers from now on