Ebay: Do buyers ALWAYS win?

[Rosette]

I'm curious about whether buyers always win, myself.  I have a case open against me where someone with a new account and little feedback is requesting a full refund saying that certain horses in a.Breyer lot weren't in the box.  I sent two boxes, have tracking numbers showing they were both delivered, but how can I prove I put everything in the boxes?  :/. It has soured me to eBay, bigtime!

I look forward to hearing your resolution...and mine.

[banditpony]

songtosis - no~ buyers don't always win. It always depends on the case.

But try to think of it from ebay's point of view. They don't know if the buyer or seller is telling the truth. That's why I think a lot of items are returned for a full refund. Seller gets an item back, and buyer gets their money back.

In you case, it could be the buyer is lying. You know you are not wrong. but let's say something really odd happen, and someone at the post office stole certain ponies from the box. But, maybe you'll be lucky in your situation. If the buyer sends back all of the horses, and there are some missing, the weight is going to be different. If that happens, hopefully you can use that information and ebay might look into your favor...

My husband had a case against him, when the buyer broke the an item (a camera) after he received it safely, and tried to blame my husband for it. I don't remember the details, but the buyer didn't win the case.

My other thoughts are-- no matter where you sell (online/offline) there is always a risk that a buyer is going to be dishonest and you will lose money. That happens in retail stores too.

[ThriftyPony]

I ship with Stamps.com. They provide you with a scale, and they use the USPS. You can schedule times for the mail carrier to come and pick up your outgoing packages, and all your tracking #'s are saved in one nice place. Priority flat rate shipping is the way to go. You get tracking & insurance and a faster ship time than first class. It costs $15 a month, but for me, it is worth it, as my work schedule makes it near impossible to get to the post office on any day other than Thursday. I had too many bad experiences on etsy with people making sketchy claims saying that they never received an item or whatnot, so now I always get delivery confirmation when the package qualifies.

Whenever a person does make a complaint, I just try to do what I gotta do to make them happy. I will refund, exchange, etc, to avoid the negative rating, but thankfully it doesn't happen to often.

[Sunshine]

If you sold it on eBay, you can print labels through eBay though - they always come with tracking included for free... If not free it's like $0.20... I used to not print labels but it's so much easier, cheaper and you always have tracking and online proof of shipping, that way eBay is usually on your side... I have to ask, was there a reason you didn't print the label online from eBay for a domestic package? (I'm not trying to sound mean or rude here! Sorry if it sounds that way! )

[ChipsteRJ]

If you sold it on eBay, you can print labels through eBay though - they always come with tracking included for free... If not free it's like $0.20... I used to not print labels but it's so much easier, cheaper and you always have tracking and online proof of shipping, that way eBay is usually on your side... I have to ask, was there a reason you didn't print the label online from eBay for a domestic package? (I'm not trying to sound mean or rude here! Sorry if it sounds that way! )

I already mentioned above that I do NOT have a reliable, quality printer. The only printer I ever owned and was satisfied with was a Lexmark/ Kodak printer - they no longer make these brands. I have owned 3 HP printers since then- I have not come across a printer that is reliable, so if you have any suggestions- please feel free to mention them.

[kitkatvintage]

http://walmart.com/m/phoenix;jsessionid=1B1B1B127B723818FB42E058C14BBFDC#ip/HP-Deskjet-1000-Printer/14905973?type=search

I've been using this $30 printer exclusively for printing postage for 2 years with no problems at all. At that price, it's almost cheaper to buy a new printer than to buy replacement ink cartridges.

[StoryDreamer]

I'd suggest a printer that is completely black and white. When you have to buy color cartridges, it means more parts, more things to break. 

I bought this scale and really like it. http://www.amazon.com/Weighmax-Digital-Postal-Scales-Shipping/dp/B003ZJQ5RU/ref=sr_1_2?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1378736704&sr=1-2

[Sunshine]

If you sold it on eBay, you can print labels through eBay though - they always come with tracking included for free... If not free it's like $0.20... I used to not print labels but it's so much easier, cheaper and you always have tracking and online proof of shipping, that way eBay is usually on your side... I have to ask, was there a reason you didn't print the label online from eBay for a domestic package? (I'm not trying to sound mean or rude here! Sorry if it sounds that way! )

I already mentioned above that I do NOT have a reliable, quality printer. The only printer I ever owned and was satisfied with was a Lexmark/ Kodak printer - they no longer make these brands. I have owned 3 HP printers since then- I have not come across a printer that is reliable, so if you have any suggestions- please feel free to mention them.

Sorry hun I didn't read that!
Get a Brother. Mine is fantastic. The ink is in smaller things, but honestly if it's just me printing labels, the black lasts forever. And I bluetooth it from my laptop so I never have to be plugged into it.

[partypony566]

Unfortunately for sellers, the buyer ALWAYS wins in my experience. I really enrages me that buyers have 100% control over everything and sellers suffer. I'm not saying all buyers are liars or crazy but some people out there have really no morals whatsoever. I've had morons try to ruin me completely on eBay. Here are some examples of cases opened against me ( and they won)

I sent a perfect Barbie doll to an absolute nightmare of a buyer. I KNEW she would be awful to deal with, it took forever for her to pay etc. anyway she opened a case and said the doll was BATTERED and CHEWED up with holes like it had been attacked by a dog. I didn't even HAVE  a dog!!!! She won even though she refused to provide pics.

Sent a £20 pair of shoes.  User said they 'didn't arrive'. eBay refunded her instantly and. I was out of money AND shoes. No parcels lost in 9 years and the one time I sent normal post, they don't arrive?! Hmmmm very shady.

I sold a brand new Adidas jacket complete with tags. Buyer said it was covered in white marks. Uuuuh ok then. eBay sided with them.

[StoryDreamer]

I'm starting to put a little paper sign with username on it next to the item in question, just to show they got that item in question.

[ChipsteRJ]

Well, the results are in she ended up filing a case against me and e-Bay of course sided with her...

Then it made me even more sickened to find that the buyer is a member here and I was called a liar.

Only thing I can do is block said user  then raise my shipping costs and purchase tracking.

[Rosette]

So sorry, Chip!  That's maddening when eBay is unjust or you get caught with a missing package.  Have you considered selling on the Classifieds here?  I know that I'm tired of eBay but not sure where to sell instead.  :/

[tikibirds]

If the buyer is a member of this forum, selling on here wouldnt really make a difference. If they were to file a dispute with paypal, the buyer still wins unless the seller provides tracking info.In the past I have sold to embers here and I have had international packages go MIA and lost cases even though I would submit to paypal a copy of the customs and USPS receipt.

[ChipsteRJ]

If the buyer is a member of this forum, selling on here wouldnt really make a difference. If they were to file a dispute with paypal, the buyer still wins unless the seller provides tracking info.In the past I have sold to embers here and I have had international packages go MIA and lost cases even though I would submit to paypal a copy of the customs and USPS receipt.

I'm sorry to learn of your misfortune. Must be wee need a more reliable Postal system too bad tracking is so useless. The USPS puts a tracking sticker on EVERY package these days, but it costs nearly $1 if you want them to post the status update on the website, but EVERY package is internally tracked. You just have no way of seeing the data.

It is just the cost of doing business I guess. Time to move on. Seems every month I have 5-6 NPB cases to file. Too many dishonest people out there.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Well, the results are in she ended up filing a case against me and e-Bay of course sided with her...

Then it made me even more sickened to find that the buyer is a member here and I was called a liar.

Only thing I can do is block said user  then raise my shipping costs and purchase tracking.

Oh dear!  Well, I hope the trader mods can support you with this one.    If it's a continuing behavior, the community needs to be aware.   But I agree, at this point, a cheap printer that allows you to obtain tracking numbers for all outgoing packages would make a world of difference!