posted on August 23, 2001 11:02:27 AM
I just ran into a problem that I have never faced before in my year of selling on Ebay. I sold an item about two weeks ago. The buyer was late on paying, but did send payment as cash, with a $20 bill. I sent the item and change. I did not have any email discussion with the buyer, they just sent the payment in an envelope, and left instructions of where to send it. This was easy enough, and the transaction was complete to me. This is the response that I received a short time ago:
Dear XXXX:
I recently received a package from your company and I DID NOT order anything
from you. Quite understandibly my husband and I are upset about this as we
have no idea why this is being sent to us.
It was a dalmatian glass figure that had a heart shaped tag on it stating
"puppy love".
I would like to know who ordered this sent to me, how it was paid for, and why
there was a plain white envelope in the box with three 1 dollars bills in it.
This is very bizarre and quite unnerving. Please respond to my e-mail
promptly. I really would rather have us settle this between us.
The box was addressed to:
XXXX
XXXXX
XXXXXX
XXXXXX
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
XXXX
This "buyer" appears to be very upset about the incident. I sent an email back stating that the payment was made, and that this was the address where the item was to be sent.
Has anybody else had this type of problem before? I think that maybe a child or other family member may have bid with the "buyer's" name, due to the fact that payment was made with cash. Any suggestions?
posted on August 23, 2001 11:06:34 AM
Maybe someone in the house has Altizmers.
A seller recieved the same payment from a buyer 5 times...he had sent the item the first time...he phoned to see what was up and it turns out the women had Altizmers..the husband told him
posted on August 23, 2001 11:09:09 AM
I had one of those this week too. I had a buyer pay for the item 3 times with Paypal. I had to refund the last two payments, and eat the $.75 fee each time.
posted on August 23, 2001 11:18:06 AM
Does the buyers email match the email you recieved from this person? If they are diffferent you can email the person who paid for it and explain the situation to them.
posted on August 23, 2001 11:22:46 AM
I am going to check the email address when I get home tonight. The name and address were the same though. I did remember that. It is very rare for me to ever receive a cash payment. In my response to her, I asked her to check any other email addresses that she might have, because the EOM and personal email message that I send at the end of any auction will be there.
It is that she appears to be agitated about it. I sincerly believe that I did was I was supposed to do.
posted on August 23, 2001 11:49:54 AM
The buyer shouldn't get a refund, IMO. She needs to control her user ID and password so that she's the only one bidding on that account. Payment was sent, the item was received in good condition...end of discussion!
If you feel like being VERY nice, you could issue a refund, but I don't think it's necessary. It's unlikely she'll be a repeat customer no matter what you do...and neither will her kids, if one of them did the deed.
posted on August 23, 2001 12:08:29 PM
That's strange. Maybe your unwilling "buyer" has a stalker or something who made payment and directed you to send the package to this person?
posted on August 23, 2001 12:56:47 PM
The "buyer" and her husband both say that they are going to contact the police and the FBI because it is a form of harrassment. This sure has become a convoluted case now.
posted on August 23, 2001 01:14:01 PM
Its obviously not a form of harrassment...its not like you are demanding payment, return of the item, etc. If they ordered it, fine, if they didn't, tell them to throw it away (assuming you've checked the mailing address one more time just to be sure...).
All this over a $20 item? I suspect someone ordered it who wasn't supposed to, and is denying it maybe? (like one of the kids).
Send them the email and ebay userID bid history as explanation, maybe it will trigger something (or force the culprit to admit).
If this were porn or something, one might suspect a practical joke or some kind of personal vendetta against this person, but a dalmation figure seems reasonably innocent...
posted on August 23, 2001 01:20:42 PM
When I get home tonight I am sending them the information that I have. That is all that I am going to do. This is ridiculous. I am willing to bet money that it is a child, because it was cash. I don't believe that it is my responsibility to call the buyer to make sure that they really purchased the item. This is one of those days!!!!! Makes me not want to sell anything at all.
posted on August 23, 2001 01:55:34 PM
Harrassment? FBI? I'm certain the FBI will just run right over and investigate a Dalmation figurine since it's such a threat.
If the recipient (buyer?) claims she didn't pay for it, or order it, then what the heck is she complaining about?
Could be too that the recipient has a friend that knows her eBay name and password, and address, and sent it to her as a gift. Maybe the friend would want his/her identity kept secret. I find it odd that she's putting up such a stink and that her husband is upset too. Sounds like a coverup.
Other than as a bizarre human interest story, I wouldn't give this lady a second thought.
posted on August 23, 2001 02:24:37 PM
I sure wouldn't worry about them asking for a refund, if they dont know how or why you sent this to them and you had to explain about the 3 $1 bills they didnt pay for the Item and have no refund to claim.
as far as they are concerned the Item arrived unordered and they didn't pay for it end of story no harassment case here that even there local police department would do anything with. http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
posted on August 23, 2001 02:33:07 PM
I can't make this stuff up. It is like an ongoing soap opera. I am in the middle of something nasty I think. I am definately going to get this information when I get home tonight. Good thing this is a very slow day at work.
This is the latest email:
Please let us know what e-mail address that was used to make this purchase on
E-Bay, user name, item transaction number, and since we cannot access the
e-bay information, we need you to find the whoever's user name purchased
this, their personal information. I am sorry to involve you in this, but I
have no other choice. My husband is accusing me of having some guy sending
me stuff when I have no clue what is going on. We have only been married 4
weeks and I would like to stay married. Please give us as much information
as you can.
posted on August 23, 2001 03:05:29 PM
Tell her that maybe some lady sent it to her HUSBAND. Really stir things up.
I'm just kidding. Hang in there Critter! Remember that you have done absolutely nothing wrong and this day will end soon! :0)
posted on August 23, 2001 03:09:46 PM
If her husband really is accusing her, then maybe it is better that she find out what a jerk he is now so she can get an annulment.
posted on August 23, 2001 03:10:30 PM
thecritterconnection-
Boy, now your responsible for their break-up too. Sounds like a solid, trusting relationship they have, huh. If I were in this situation I would just ignore any further communication. Let her sort it out with the F.B.I. or her secret admirer.
posted on August 23, 2001 03:15:59 PM
"The "buyer" and her husband both say that they are going to contact the police and the FBI because it is a form of harrassment. "
"end of story no harassment case here ..."
I think you all misunderstand, if an old boyfriend had it sent to her as a gift it is HE who is the harasser, not the seller.
Nowhere did she say the seller was harassing.
Try reading the post again.
And if necessary, again.
posted on August 23, 2001 04:19:47 PM
I laughed over this thread, but then I felt bad about it because I know better.
Stalkers do a lot of strange things. When my ex was stalking me, he would come to my apartment door late at night and spray his cologne on the door to let me know he had been there. To the police and outsiders, however, it seemed harmless. My situation esculated to extremes. He wrote letters describing how he was going to kill me and my little girl. The judge read them and said they weren't threatening and that there was nothing wrong with a husband writing his wife a letter.
Over the years I've encountered women who were being stalked. The men would do strange things that would seem harmless to outsiders. Send magazine subscriptions, leave stuffed animals on her door, etc.
Also, this woman's husband might have done this to start a fight because he wants out of the marriage already and is too chickens*** to admit to it.
posted on August 23, 2001 04:47:50 PM
thecritterconnection:
I've had people send multiple PayPal payments
as well. Next time tell them to cancel the
extra payments and you won't be charged any
fees. At least I wasn't. I've also just
returned the extra payment in cash or via
check before, but having them cancel is easier.
Z
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on August 23, 2001 05:01:43 PM
Just email them and say, "Well if you are sure nobody in your house purchased this, then the address must be incorrect. Just throw it away, or keep it. You'll never hear from me again. Sorry about the trouble."
Don't try to help them figure it out. That's their problem.
posted on August 23, 2001 05:43:06 PM
luskdeals is right,
if they didnt order it's not your fault,
you got the payment and did your part of the job (sending the item & change)
if they are offend it by it, well,
the FBI will be offended by their call
and since they didnt pay for it,
you dont have to refund them....
just appologize and tell them to do what ever they want with the item...
posted on August 23, 2001 05:49:38 PM
Hi,
I usually lurk around these boards, but this time I just had to post a reply. A while back, I received a very expensive piece of jewelry from some jeweler in Seattle (I live in NJ). The only thing that was included in the package was a receipt with the jeweler's information on it, no mention of who was the purchaser. I called them up and they told me that they can't disclose their customers' identities to third parties. So, as the seller, you don't have to provide this "buyer" with any information. I suppose you could pull contact info for the user ID who purchased this, but you are in no way obligated to do so. If there is "harassment" involved, it is up to the buyer to figure it out. Oh, and in my case, the ring turned out to be a "gift" from an ex boyfriend.
posted on August 23, 2001 10:19:48 PM
Let's see now...
If they know eBay-
They can easily find your ID (assuming you use the same email address for selling that they used to contact you), so they can look up your auctions, including ones that have already ended. Then after they find the correct auction, they will know the buyers UserID. From there they can request contact information from ebay themselves.
All this is available for anyone who is familar with ebay. I would save them a couple of steps and a bunch of research and send them a link to your auction (if it is still accessable) and a link on how to request contact info. I would also add a note stating this is all of the information you have on the matter. Period.
[ edited by BlondeSense on Aug 23, 2001 10:27 PM ]
posted on August 23, 2001 10:46:20 PM
Granted this marriage doesn't sound like it is on solid ground, but, that is not really the issue.
Has anyone considered that maybe they have recently lost a Dalmation under suspicious causes and, to them, someone is playing a cruel joke on them. That is why they see this as harrassment.
Though my scenario sounds far-fetched, you never know. Sounds like there is something we don't know about going on at the other end.
I agree, if they have email, they have ebay access. Send them the links previously mentioned and get out of it now.
