posted on August 27, 2001 05:36:22 AM new
OK, here's one to brighten my Monday morning:
I check my email this morning to find that one of my auctions closed with BIN not a half hour ago. Great! Not only that, the buyer paid with Billpoint right away. Super!
I process the payment and send out my customary "Thank you for your payment notice".
Buyer replies to that notice with this:
i want to cancel this order i picked the wrong item thanks.
So I check the buyer's history. A complete newbie it seems. Just registered last week.
I responded with this:
I'm sorry, but when you place a bid on an item, it is a binding contract to purchase, according to eBay. Therefore, you are bound to follow through with the transaction. Had you not already paid for the item, I would be within my rights to report you to SafeHarbor for refusal to follow through on the transaction. They do have a strict Non-Paying Bidder policy in place.
I'm not certain if I was too harsh or not. But I figured, I'm out the listing fees as well as the Billpoint fees.
I've checked her bidding history and I can't see that of the bids she's placed, all today in fact, that my item she won and paid for is in any way similar to anything else she's bid on. In other words, since I sell books, I could buy her story if I saw bids on a similar book, same or similar title, same author, etc. But my book is the only one she bid on prior to trying to back out and neither of the other items has any similarity to the title of the book.
I'm planning to ship this item tomorrow. Am I wrong for refusing to refund her money? I hate to send the message that it's OK to win and pay for auctions, then change your mind and try to get your money back.
I basically took the stance that "You bought it, you paid for it, now it's yours, end of story."
Maybe that was stupid, now that I'm thinking aloud. The shipping is more than the item cost because it's an international buyer. And if she refuses it or something, I'm out much more money than the listing fees and Billpoint fees.
posted on August 27, 2001 05:56:47 AM new
OK, here's what I did. I issued her a refund less my listing fee and Billpoint fee, so I'm pretty much even. Now I'll do the NPBA thing and block her from bidding on my auctions.
Sorry for the rant. I never had this happen before. I guess I've just been lucky up to this point.
But it's better than paying $12 or more to ship the thing to have it come back refused or something.
posted on August 27, 2001 06:01:11 AM new
BJGrolle,
I can only speak for myself and I would have let them off the hook (with a stern warning, of course). Especially being a newbie AND an international newbie.
A cancelled sale beats a deadbeat in the poker hands of life.
BTW, when I do let them off, I give them a little sermon about how ebay considers a bid a binding agreement and there can be action taken by ebay regarding not following through. Then I go on to say, other sellers might not be so charitable to let them off when they make a mistake like this but I will IN THIS ONE INSTANCE.
I get the goodwill and they are educated that a seller doesn't HAVE to let them off the hook AND that continuing such action can result in being in hot water w/ebay.
But, why the heck did she pay for it???!! If you return the money, you should atleast recoup any fees lost.
posted on August 27, 2001 06:11:40 AM new
Good rant, BJ.
It seems to have been a very productive vent for you!
How I love this place!
As few minutes to let off steam & a rational outcome!
FWIW, I think you did the right thing from start to finish!
Thanks for helping to train a Newbie and
Congrats on your, as always, mighty fine customer service.
It's going to be a Great Week!
posted on August 27, 2001 06:16:28 AM new
Thanks for the compliment Eventer!
Yep, I got my fees back, a whole $1.25, not enough to warrant any chargeback action. And I explained in the little Billpoint box that I was refunding less the fees I was charged.
I also forwarded the email with her "cancellation notice" to SafeHarbor and asked them to warn her against persisting in this type of activity.
I'd already left her positive feedback, but I did a follow-up comment:
Buyer backed out ***after*** paying, issued refund less fees, not recommended!
I've blocked her from bidding on my auctions. I guess the only thing left for me to do now is file for FVF after waiting the appropriate time.
posted on August 27, 2001 06:27:29 AM new
Thanks zoomin!
Yes, this rant was productive! Like being in a room with a few friends and family members.
Sometimes you just need to think out loud and the answer comes. And if it doesn't, maybe friends and family can pick up on a solution because they're not emotionally involved with the problem.
I would have loved to have stuck with my principle on this, but it would have cost me more money in the long run if the buyer had decided to play nasty.
We've seen threads before about buyers retracting bids, and trying to back out after winning. But winning and paying and then trying to back out? It's a new one on me!
Timetable was as follows:
1. Auction ended with BIN at 7:43:59 Eastern Time
2. Buyer sent Billpoint invoice request at 7:47, just minutes later
3. Buyer then paid via Billpoint (without my sending an invoice because I hadn't yet checked my email for the day) at 7:51
So she was certainly prompt enough when it came to paying!
4. I sent my "Thank you for your payment notice" at 7:59
posted on August 27, 2001 06:37:01 AM new
You're welcome, BJ!
I think you were successful in making a point that a bid is a binding contract, while still not "frightening away" a newbie.
I would love to have a BIN end with such prompt payment from this bidder in the future...
methinks yoube a good edjumacater.
Thanks again!
posted on August 27, 2001 07:10:07 AM new
Yea, there's one more thing to consider here. If the newbie deadbeat does a chargeback through their credit card company, you could also be out the item, the money, and an extra ten dollar Billpoint fee IN ADDITION to being out the listing fee and regular Billpoint fee that you mention.
posted on August 27, 2001 12:30:29 PM new
"I could buy her story if I saw bids on a similar book, same or similar title, same author, etc. But my book is the only one she bid on prior to trying to back out and neither of the other items has any similarity to the title of the book."
I'm not sure why this would, or wouldn't, prove/disprove her explanation. A lot of people come to ebay with a "shopping list" of items - perhaps presents for an upcoming birthday,and there is no reason for them to be similar. At one point recently on ebay I was interested in fluorescent light bulbs and ISA ethernet network cards. Both use electricity, I suppose, but that's about where the similarity ends...
In fact, the wide range of items might be very consistent with this explanation - if she's working from some sort of shopping list, perhaps on behalf of other people, its easy to make mistakes. ("oh, they wanted the paperback edition..." ).
I think a number of people have had a similar "oh shoot" experience shortly after bidding on ebay...the difference now is that, with BIN, there is no bid retraction option when that thought bubbles out of your subconscious five minutes later...
Or it could just be a crock. Really hard to tell without more information.
posted on August 27, 2001 12:59:31 PM new
Assuming her story was true, who knows what was "wrong" about your item, or what triggered her realization? Kinda like when you are swinging the car door shut..and as soon as it closes..you realize you are locked out.
Wrong title, author, version, type, color, size..who knows? So many people start out on ebay, they get all excited at the items for sale/bargains/etc., they hurry through the description, and place their bid. I think a lot of these "oh shoots" were hidden from sellers by the fact that many/most bids are outbid, so mistakes are never known. Of those that do get through, many buyers are too embarrased to admit their mistake, or don't want to renege, so they follow through, even if they really don't want it.
With BIN, such uncorrectable mistakes will be more numerous and visible to the seller. One of the bad side effects of BIN.
Yes, i agree, I hope this is a "once in a lifetime" occurence...
