Help with Ebay Sale! :(

[Babydoll]

Hey guys

I would really appreciate some help with an ebay sale.

I sold Euro Baby Lickity Split on eBay last month. She was sent to the buyer in the USA by regular airmail on the 16th February. On the 10th March I noticed the buyer opened a case with Ebay so I responded to the case & then messaged the buyer seperately to say along the lines of, I was sorry to hear they had not received their item & let them know international mail can be unpredictable & can sometimes take up to 6 weeks to arrive. I also explained that I could make a claim with Royal Mail after 25 working days. Lastly I thanked them for their patience & asked them to keep in touch & please let me know if they hadn't received their item by the 23rd March.
Today I log onto Ebay to find a negative feedback comment left from the buyer and this message (I edited the swear word):

New message from: rbar58
IT HAS BEEN WAY TO LONG.  PLEASE REFUND MY MONEY TODAY.  I WILL REFUSE SHIPMENT WHEN IT ARRIVES AND HAVE IT SENT BACK TO YOU AT YOUR EXPENSE.  A[ONG WITH F****** WITH ME YOU ARE DOING THE SAME TO A LITTLE GIRL WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.  i HOPE I HAVE MADE YOUR DAY AS NICE AS YOU HAVE MADE MINE.

I was pretty shocked by this message & I am so disappointed to have received a negative feedback. Im not sure what the best way would be to respond to that message? Any advice on how to handle this situation? I have my postal receipt but don't have a tracking number. Thanks

Babydoll~

[ponylady]

Call eBay right now!!! They will remove that ASAP.

[shimmlight]

Call eBay right now!!! They will remove that ASAP.

I agree! Totally uncalled for, sorry you got such a bad buyer!

[Babydoll]

Thanks guys I hope so, I'm gonna call them now.

Babydoll~

[The Little White Horse]

OMG! That's is really shocking and uncalled for. I agree, call Ebay to notify them - they will remove it. Mail can sometimes take a very long time to arrive.

I'm so sorry.

Keep us updated.

[Babydoll]

Just off the phone, Ebay have told me they can remove the comment but not the negative feedback. They advised me to contact the buyer first & try to resolve it with them as the buyer can request a feedback revision form if we come to an agreement. I'm not even sure I will be able to reason with this buyer though? Help!?

EDIT TO ADD: Ebay has just refunded the buyer in full with my paypal funds!

Babydoll~

[The Little White Horse]

I agree it seems like the buyer wouldn't listen to you, and would just insult you.

Also, why have they just refunded her like that? There is still a chance of the object turning up in her mailbox isn't there?

However, you're out of funds and the sold object which is totally unfair.

I sometimes get a bit confused over Ebay and their ways. ^^

[palaisdejouets]

This is terrible. So sorry it happened to you. I have not sold much on eBay, in large part because of things like this... one time I sold an item to a buyer in France (I'm in Canada) and she opened a case when it hadn't arrived in two weeks. And this was over the Christmas season!! I tried to explain to her that it takes time for a package to go across the ocean, much less at peak holiday time, but she kept the claim and of course eBay ruled in her favour. Fortunately I was only out ~$12 but basically this way she got a free item, because it would have arrived eventually.

UGH. Anyway, you're not alone in this.

[Babydoll]

I agree it seems like the buyer wouldn't listen to you, and would just insult you.

Also, why have they just refunded her like that? There is still a chance of the object turning up in her mailbox isn't there?

However, you're out of funds and the sold object which is totally unfair.

I sometimes get a bit confused over Ebay and their ways. ^^

I know right I'm completely confused myself, she opened a case with Ebay on the 10th March, ebay asked for tracking info but I could not provide this as I only have the postal receipt. She must have filed for a claim, I did not realise this would be processed so quickly. I'm kicking myself for not sending it with tracking now Thanks for your help hun

This is terrible. So sorry it happened to you. I have not sold much on eBay, in large part because of things like this... one time I sold an item to a buyer in France (I'm in Canada) and she opened a case when it hadn't arrived in two weeks. And this was over the Christmas season!! I tried to explain to her that it takes time for a package to go across the ocean, much less at peak holiday time, but she kept the claim and of course eBay ruled in her favour. Fortunately I was only out ~$12 but basically this way she got a free item, because it would have arrived eventually.

UGH. Anyway, you're not alone in this.

This is the first time this has happened to me on ebay, Iv had things go AWOL but always turn up & Iv only had two parcels get lost in 10 years.
I will definately need to be more careful from now on & I will need to start using tracking with some of my international sales which is going to be pricey, just can't beleive how quickly ebay sided with the buyer! Thanks for your support hun

Iv sent a feedback revision form so fingers crossed she accepts.

Babydoll~

[ClosetAvalanche]

That's horrible! I'm so sorry you're dealing with such a rude person. I guess you could send them a scan of the postal receipt, but I doubt it would do any good--they seem like a hostile person. I've bought from you before and one package took five weeks to arrive, but that's how international mail works.

[silverdawn]

Oh, Babydoll!  I am so sorry that happened to you!  That is absolutely terrible! *hugs*  That buyer is now on my big 'ol blocklist...
Silverdawn

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Unfortunately that is part of Paypal's Buyer Protection policy... they can immediately claim a case and win if you don't have an approved tracking method.    So not fair sometimes though!

[Lady Starflower]

I think that's crazy and the main reason why I only use ebay as a last resort. I hate that ebay always sides with the buyer. In my opinion it just creates dishonest people who want items for free!
Sorry to hear this happened to you

[Ringlets]

What an awful rude buyer! I'm glad the comments got removed but it's unfortunate that the neg is still there. I would respond to the neg and explain briefly what happened , keep to the facts but don't specifically mention that the buyer was abusive (that way other buyers can see it wasn't something bad on your part and that you handled it maturely when they check your feedback and see that neg. ) 

I hope that the buyer will revise feedback now that they have their refund, but honestly I'm not holding my breath after seeing how they responded to your perfectly reasonable message  (you gave them a date for a refund if the item still didn't arrive, asked them to patient and explained about international postage times. The paypal deadline hadn't run out either so there was no need for them to react like that) .  Here in the UK at least you will be able to get your refund back from the PO for a missing parcel since you have the receipt so you have automatically got the item insured for up to £20.
This TBH is the reason why I now send everything with tracking and delivery confirmation- especially internationally. You need the protection these days -  even if it is quite a bit more expensive to post items it's worth it so you don't have this kind of issue
I would block this buyer too. I don't want to deal with someone who sends messages like the one you received 

[cazz25]

I'm so sorry this happened, some people are so unreasonable. I've bought a pony of you before and I think you're a great seller

I sell on ebay a lot and a year or so ago I had a quite a few things get 'lost' in the post. In the end I decided I wouldn't post anywhere without tracking and since then (fingers crossed as I posted some things the other day) nothing has got lost in the post. Also I think buyers are more patient when they can see that it has been posted and where it is, they're not as quick to blame the seller if it takes a while.