I am so sick and tired of Ebay always siding with buyers over sellers. Buyers don't always have the right intentions, yet Ebay will more often if not always side with the buyer. I have been in this situation before and I truly believe that buyers knowingly take advantage of this privilege. When is Ebay going to give sellers a voice? To make matters even worse, Ebay and Paypal are one and the same and approaching Paypal is useless.
Here is the latest thing that happened to me. I am ashamed to say that I agreed to issue a refund to an ill-intentioned buyer upon return of the item I sold her when I know that she was trying to get it for free!!
So, here it goes...I hope I don't bore you with the details but if you read through it, you will see how insane the whole situation is.
I sold a pre-owned Swatch watch, in mint condition and with a fully functional battery. My return policy was: "NO RETURNS." When the buyer received it, she emailed me saying:
"HI, I RECEIVED MY WATCH TODAY AND ONE SIDE OF THE BAND BROKE AWAY FROM THE WATCH DURING SHIPPING I AM OBVIOUSLY NOT HAPPY AND WOULD LIKE A REFUND PLEASE?"
I responded that I was very sorry and that I was very surprised that she had received a broken watch, given that I had wrapped it with a lot of care. I asked her to send me pics of the broken watch. Of course, she never sent me those pics. She then sent me an email saying:
HI, THE PROBLEM IS NOW FIXED. I HAD AN OLD SWATCH WATCH SAME ONE ACTUALLY THAT THE BATTERY WAS DEAD IN JUST TOOK THE BATTERY FROM YOURS AND REPLACED IT IN THE ONE THAT WOULDNT WORK THANK GOD. I CAN OWE THIS TO MY HUSBAND FOR FIXING IT SO PROBLEM SOLVED. YES, YOU WRAPPED THE WATCH PRETTY GOOD DONT KNOW HOW THE HELL THE STRAP BROKE DURING SHIPPING OH WELL IT'S OK NOW AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN. LISTEN STAY HEALTHY AND SAFE!
BEST REGARDS ,
I responded that I was glad the issue had been take care of.
Later in the day, I received a " Request to Return" the item citing "changed my mind" with a note from that buyer saying:
HI, WAS DOING THE DISHES THIS SWATCH WATCH IS SUPPOSE TO BE WATER RESISTANT SUDDENLY NOW WATCH STOPPED TELLING TIME IT JUST FROZE WOULD LIKE TO RETURN FOR A FULL REFUND. THANKS.
Huh??? I thought she had received a broken watch. How on earth was she able to wash dishes with a broken watch? Unless she washed her dishes with her old watch using my new battery, and in that case how can I be responsible for the fact that her old watch isn't water resistant?
I couldn't believe my eyes and gave up . I agreed to have her return the watch. Why did I do it? It's because I just had enough of her run-around. I did however answer her that I would refund her upon receiving the watch in its original condition with its original battery to which she answered me:
HI, ABSOLUTLEY THIS IS AN OLD WATCH HAS THE BATTERY YOU SENT ME PERHAPS YOU CAN LIST IT AGAIN. DONT THINK THE BATTERY IS TOO RELIABLE MUST BE SOMEWHAT OLD GIVEN ITS AGE.
BUT NO PROBLEM. THANKS AGAIN.
I sent her a final email asking her again to send back the watch in its original condition with its original battery so that I can refund her.
So far, no response from her part. I can't wait to see how the saga unfolds..
In conclusion, it is clear that my buyer is shady. I also know that had I not agreed to allow her to return the watch, she would've escalated the matter with Ebay and Ebay would have automatically taken her side. To add insult to injury, Ebay will most likely also debit my account for the return shipping label.
I am seriously considering taking my business elsewhere. Not only are Ebay's fees astronomical, I am convinced that their practices are unfair to sellers.
Would appreciate your feedback and advice and thank you in advance for reading through all these tedious details!
