PSA…My very bad experience reselling jewelry online

[MissGotRocks]

Even though eBay sounds crazy in this situation, how about the credit card company? I just can’t imagine them offering this after a year! Maybe it was American Express or something? Everyone selling on eBay should know about this possibility. When is a sale ever final - never???

 

[Bron357]

These are screenshots from eBay. It says that a seller is covered by EBay’s money back guarantee if
Evidence of successful delivery to the address provided by the buyer.
Evidence of successful delivery is tracking information that shows a status of delivery and the date (you also have positive feedback for the transaction).
If eBay determines the item was successfully delivered we will not seek reimbursement from the seller for the disputed amount if the institution decides the buyer is owed a refund.
So I would be asking eBay why this transaction isn’t covered by their seller guarantee because according to their stated policy you meet all the requirements.

 

[jeaniefish]

Even though eBay sounds crazy in this situation, how about the credit card company? I just can’t imagine them offering this after a year! Maybe it was American Express or something? Everyone selling on eBay should know about this possibility. When is a sale ever final - never???

The second ebay customer support representative that I spoke to , Bridgette, was very sympathetic and offered me a bit of advice.. She said that it was possible to encounter this same situation on any resale website , not just ebay. The credit card companies ( all of them) make the final decision. It seems that the phrase “ Never say never” might actually be true!

 

[jeaniefish]

These are screenshots from eBay. It says that a seller is covered by EBay’s money back guarantee if
Evidence of successful delivery to the address provided by the buyer.
Evidence of successful delivery is tracking information that shows a status of delivery and the date (you also have positive feedback for the transaction).
If eBay determines the item was successfully delivered we will not seek reimbursement from the seller for the disputed amount if the institution decides the buyer is owed a refund.
So I would be asking eBay why this transaction isn’t covered by their seller guarantee because according to their stated policy you meet all the requirements.

Thanks Bron357. I had looked at some of the seller protection info. when this dispute started. According to Bridget, the ebay support person, the buyer knew she couldn’t file a claim on ebay because (1) she loved the pendant and left pos.feedback And (2) it had been over a year since purchasing it. It’s just a big old puzzling mess. I’m going to step away from all of it and not going back to ebay for anything until someone there contacts me with the credit card company’s final judgement.

 

[Lookinagain]

According to Bridget, the ebay support person, the buyer knew she couldn’t file a claim on ebay because (1) she loved the pendant and left pos.feedback And (2) it had been over a year since purchasing it.

So basically, there isn't any Ebay protection because all the buyer has to do is file the claim with the CC company and not Ebay and then the seller loses all protection? Yet Ebay won't tell you which CC company it is so that you can contest it with them? Am connecting the dots wrong?

 

[Patty]

Wow, I’m so sorry that you are dealing with this. It’s terrible that someone can try to get a refund after a year!

 

[Snowdrop13]

That is shocking. After a year your buyer should just be selling it on again if she wants her money back. No other “shop” would allow this unless there was a specific warranty. I’m worried now as have just sold a nice item on eBay………..

 

[jeaniefish]

So basically, there isn't any Ebay protection because all the buyer has to do is file the claim with the CC company and not Ebay and then the seller loses all protection? Yet Ebay won't tell you which CC company it is so that you can contest it with them? Am connecting the dots wrong?

No, I’m connecting the dots exactly in the same way that you are. If I call ebay customer support again it would be my 3rd time talking to them and you have to jump through a ton of automated “ hoops” in order to get someone to call you back. The first call resulted in a call back from an ebay employee with an accent that I could barely understand and the connection was really poor and full of attic. He tried to be as helpful as he could but ,basically, told me the same thing that I would be told when I decided to jump through those hoops one more time. The second call was when I got Bridget, and talked to her for several minutes. The connection was fine, easy to understand what she was saying, but still unable to tell me anything other than what I have already posted here. I’m not calling ebay support a 3rd time bc “ Insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results”!

 

[jeaniefish]

That is shocking. After a year your buyer should just be selling it on again if she wants her money back. No other “shop” would allow this unless there was a specific warranty. I’m worried now as have just sold a nice item on eBay………..

Odds are, your sale will be fine. However, like Kenny, I’m not a gambler either and just not going to risk putting really nice items on a resale site after this “learning” experience. That leaves pawn shops or IDK what other option. Just lock it all up again, and let my daughter deal with it one day, I suppose. I have already given her the pieces that she wants , so I feel really good about that.

 

[Paisley2628]

No, I’m connecting the dots exactly in the same way that you are. If I call ebay customer support again it would be my 3rd time talking to them and you have to jump through a ton of automated “ hoops” in order to get someone to call you back. The first call resulted in a call back from an ebay employee with an accent that I could barely understand and the connection was really poor and full of attic. He tried to be as helpful as he could but ,basically, told me the same thing that I would be told when I decided to jump through those hoops one more time. The second call was when I got Bridget, and talked to her for several minutes. The connection was fine, easy to understand what she was saying, but still unable to tell me anything other than what I have already posted here. I’m not calling ebay support a 3rd time bc “ Insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results”!

I've had to call ebay support in the past- I specifically asked to speak to a manager based in the USA.

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

Good Morning Fellow PSers,
I’m just adding one general follow up here but I appreciate all of your sympathy, empathy and suggestions.
The buyer never communicated with me ,except to say how much she loved the pendant when she first received it. The credit card company hasn’t issued their decision and may not do so until early November. That leads me to believe that there must be tons of these charge back claims waiting to be decided.
In the meantime, ebay has frozen the funds I have in my eBay seller’s account , from other sales, and I can’t access them. That dollar amount won’t cover the refund for the pendant. I’m assuming the remainder will be taken from my bank account ,which is just my personal mad money account. There is usually so little $ in it that I should call it my “ won’t-take-much-to-overdraft-it” account!
When the dust settles on all this, I will post here again. There is always the remote possibility that I messed up in the listing description, but IDK how that would have happened. I’m only human and anything is possible. What has really shaken me up is that someone can do a charge back a whole year after purchasing something.

Like many other PS members, I have lots of other lovely pieces to sell. I’ve never been inside a pawn shop.Maybe I’ll try that!

Consider EBTH over a pawn shop. Think you’ll do better at auction than a pawn shop. I sold somethings with Dover Jewelry ob eBay. Somethings sold cheap, and somethings went high, so it averaged out. Then Dover has the chargeback issue, not you.

 

[jeaniefish]

Consider EBTH over a pawn shop. Think you’ll do better at auction than a pawn shop. I sold somethings with Dover Jewelry ob eBay. Somethings sold cheap, and somethings went high, so it averaged out. Then Dover has the chargeback issue, not you.

Thanks for the suggestions….definitely places to consider. I’m just a bit concerned about whether or not I would be allowed to put a reserve price on my items. I will have to research this!

 

[fiona00004]

Omg THAT.IS.NUTS. A year later... without first contacting you about a concern beforehand. Wow. I have no words.

That pendant is adorable! But after receiving it, giving positive feedback...you'd think it's a done deal, transaction closed. All of a sudden buyer has a problem with it?

I really hope it works out in your favor. Buyer doesn't seem honest and transparent at all.

 

[Mrsz1ppy]

Thanks for the suggestions….definitely places to consider. I’m just a bit concerned about whether or not I would be allowed to put a reserve price on my items. I will have to research this!

No reserve with these two. You’d have to go to a traditional auction house like Heritage for that.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

eBay should have your back, whatever happened to customer loyalty??!

Awful! hope this gets resolved for you quickly. The chargeback allowed after a year is ridiculous!
I remember I filed a complaint and refund request with my cc company against a store that charged us for services not rendered, it was a small amount. But our cc company took its time and then came back to us and basically requested that I would have to provide proof of bad reviews about this owner/store before they would even consider revisiting this situation and here's the best part, I would have to fax all the information to them! DH said to let it go, but now I was pissed at our cc company, at the store/owner -especially once I looked into it the owner/store got away with this behavior with a lot of her customers! She would not deliver item and would charge the person cc and claim that the paying customer "changed their mind" and she was charging for her "wasted'' time! How she stayed in business is beyond me, so I got petty and I printed out 10 pages of horrible reviews proof going back years, took it over to the chase bank and had them fax it for me. Plus I had to provide proof of feedback from the friends that were with me when this awful transaction took place in the store! So much run around and it took maybe close to 6 months before it was resolved. CC company did not have our back- after all the years of loyalty, they see our spending habits- like did they really think we would be contacting them if it were not a serious issue?
Good luck!

i once misplaced a visa card and had it replaced,
new card, new dates, new expirary
at least two years latter Air New Zealand took out a payment for a reward points programn i dont remember consulting too from the old card
i got a visa bill in the mail for a card that no longer exisited

it took months and months and endless phone calls to void the bill
then i got a letter -and a very unfriendly letter -saying if my claim was untrue i would have to pay
well my claim was true

 

[jeaniefish]

Update : the pendant arrived today. It looks just as lovely as when I sent it to the ebay buyer. She stated the reason for returning as major difference in weight (. 4 gm., not 10). I balanced my scale with calibrated weights before weighing( picture attached) and couldnt have been that far off! I have also sold other pieces of gold jewelry that were weighed on same scale. I dont have any other scale with which to weigh it and buyer wasn’t required to provide any proof of the weight that she claims the pendant to actually be.
I’m just going to a scrap this piece. I dont want to wear it or see it again and I will not buy or sell on ebay again. I hope that my experience is a cautionary tale for other PS members. Buyers have all the power.It’s probably the same on other sites too, since a buyer can do a chargeback whenever he/she feels like it.regardless of time passed.

 

[minousbijoux]

I am so sorry to hear this! You do not deserve such treatment, especially after a year. But just out of curiosity, did you ask her if it miraculously lost weight as the year progressed?!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Update : the pendant arrived today. It looks just as lovely as when I sent it to the ebay buyer. She stated the reason for returning as major difference in weight (. 4 gm., not 10). I balanced my scale with calibrated weights before weighing( picture attached) and couldnt have been that far off! I have also sold other pieces of gold jewelry that were weighed on same scale. I dont have any other scale with which to weigh it and buyer wasn’t required to provide any proof of the weight that she claims the pendant to actually be.
I’m just going to a scrap this piece. I dont want to wear it or see it again and I will not buy or sell on ebay again. I hope that my experience is a cautionary tale for other PS members. Buyers have all the power.It’s probably the same on other sites too, since a buyer can do a chargeback whenever he/she feels like it.regardless of time passed.

it has bad karma now
best to just recoup as much as you can and just turn a corner
but i am sad about your experience

 

[MissGotRocks]

No, the weight thing is just a made up excuse. She probably needs the money back so she pulled this stunt. So final is never final I guess - what a crock! I am glad you got the piece back though so that you can determine its final destination. Thanks for sharing this experience with us - who knew?

 

[jeaniefish]

No, the weight thing is just a made up excuse. She probably needs the money back so she pulled this stunt. So final is never final I guess - what a crock! I am glad you got the piece back though so that you can determine its final destination. Thanks for sharing this experience with us - who knew?

That was why I posted my “ tale of woe”. Everyone here has always been so kind and helpful to me and other PSers. I just felt that I had to let everyone know.It probably won’t happen to you but be prepared JIC!

 

[lala646]

I'm so glad you got it back!!

 

[Dreamer_D]

The whole thing is still so bizarre! I guess this is why there are so few private sellers on eBay anymore. These kinds of situations are probably rare overall, and if you are a bulk seller then you just eat this type of thing as a cost of doing business. But if you are a private, occasional seller, then even if the odds of something like this happening to you are low, if it happens it’s so punishing! It’s sad bc 15 years ago when I started using eBay, I almost always bought from private sellers. Now I almost never see any at all!

 

[jeaniefish]

The whole thing is still so bizarre! I guess this is why there are so few private sellers on eBay anymore. These kinds of situations are probably rare overall, and if you are a bulk seller then you just eat this type of thing as a cost of doing business. But if you are a private, occasional seller, then even if the odds of something like this happening to you are low, if it happens it’s so punishing! It’s sad bc 15 years ago when I started using eBay, I almost always bought from private sellers. Now I almost never see any at all!

Yes, back when I joined( 25 years ago) , eBay really felt like a neighborhood marketplace. Now it feels like a place for Chinese sellers to hawk their wares.I noticed that visits to my listings started falling off dramatically several month ago. IDK why. I was never a high volume seller, just listed things I no longer needed and probably had originally bought on ebay. I will miss it a little bit but just don’t feel like being taken advantage of again.

 

[Dreamer_D]

I get it. That’s a natural responses. The odds of something like this happening again seem low assuming it’s a random occurrence. If you change your mind and want to sell there in the future, it wouldn’t be a bad decision.