okcartoono
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posted on September 14, 2005 11:04:10 PM new
Now what should I do?
Here's my problem: sometime last Fall 2004 I sold a US eBay item to a customer from France. He paid and I mailed the item which was original art by a French artist. About two months later he wrote that his friend had not received the item. He never signed any of his email with his real name and I still don't know what his name is, only his eBay ID name. He said that the name and address he told me to send it to was a friend of his and it was a surprise gift. Of course there was nothing I could do except wait for him to get it (or not).
Then a couple of weeks later it was returned to me by the France post office who said there was no such person or address. I wrote to the guy who won the item and told him that I would resend it if he gave me the correct address and paid the postage again. He said he would pay again, but I never heard from him ever again.
After many months of the package sitting around my house, I said the hell with it and relisted it on eBay in August 2005. Someone else in France bought it and that was the end of it, or so I thought. (It was a French item that no one in the USA would ever buy except me, it seems.)
The other I day I bid on an book on eBay France by the same artist (and lost). Coincidently (?) I must have reawakened the issue by bidding.
Today I received a PayPal payment for the postage cost (with no message of explanation, by the way. Just the artist's name and "art" in the subject) from the gift receiver guy, not the original bidder. Now what should I do? I would guess that he has no recourse with eBay after all this time and if I refund the postage he would have no recourse with PayPal.
I never refunded the actual bidder the purchase price because I never heard from him again. So I sold the same item on eBay again after nine months of not hearing from him. It went for less money than it did the first time. Now I hear from this other guy who was not the guy I dealt with in the first place. Should I give him a refund after ten months time. This is a different guy than the actual bidder. I think I ought to just refund the recent PayPal amount for postage and say that it is too late and too bad.
Any opinions on this? Am I a bad guy in this situation?
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cblev65252
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posted on September 15, 2005 04:34:44 AM new
You should have refunded to the original buyer a long time ago. You can't just keep their money. That's fraud. Refund the original buyer's money and don't refund to whoever this other person is. You are keeping money that doesn't belong to you. JMO.
Cheryl
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WashingtoneBayer
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posted on September 15, 2005 07:10:12 AM new
You should refund the money to the original winner.
Ron
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fleecies
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posted on September 15, 2005 07:36:27 AM new
Refund the original purchase amount to the original bidder and refund the PayPal postage amount from the gift recipient and tell them both that because you did not receive the postage within a reasonable amount of time, you had no choice but to re-sell the item.
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alldings
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posted on September 15, 2005 07:50:31 AM new
My thinking is the 1st bidder still has a claim on the item, you should refund the new bidder and send the item to bidder number 1. Tell bidder two you are sorry but your assistant made a listing error and the item had already been sold to another party.
Even if you are the only employee, always blame mistakes on the assistant!
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bizzycrocheting
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posted on September 15, 2005 08:03:28 AM new
I agree with Cheryl. Refund the original purchase price to the original bidder. Also refund the most recent postage that was just paypaled to you.
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HelgaGPataki
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posted on September 15, 2005 08:03:45 AM new
You need to refund the first bidder.
You should easily have and know his name if he paid you by PayPal ~ the information should be right there in the payment receipt.
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carolinetyler
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posted on September 15, 2005 08:45:22 AM new
I don't know that I agree with refunding bidder #1. It sounds like every effort was made to get him his item. He dropped the ball several times. So now the seller has to incur additional listing fees, final value fees, etc. because this guy couldn't get his act together enough to receive a purchase?
My inclination is to refund only a portion of the original selling price. Subtract out the difference between the 2 selling prices (the loss) both sets of listing and final value fees.
Not sure how much money is at stake here - but with the amount of time passed, that is way out of line on the buyer's end.
Cheryl, et al. - there was NO FRAUD on the part of this seller - their was IRRESPONSIBILITY by the buyer to not follow through on getting his item and not responding. There's only so much a seller can do, the Buyer must participate in completing a transaction as well. It would have been considered abandoned property.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Caroline
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on September 15, 2005 09:42:10 AM new
If I've got this story right, the problem is that the first bidder still has some dibs on the item. What should have happened is that after a couple of follow-up emails, the original payment should have been refunded (less postage and listing charges), and a UPI "mutual agreement" initiated with eBay for the FVF.
The first bidder could have gotten their full money back at any time from PP, but they don't seem to be that kind of person. PP won't accept the seller having the money and the item, nor should they.
The refund or item belongs to the first winner. Not the second winner or intended gift recipient. It should be his call what happens next.
JMO
Claude
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sthoemke
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posted on September 15, 2005 10:28:24 AM new
Gift receiver should have no claim on the item.
10 months is a long time to wait for the original bidder, but since you never refunded his money (you should have!), I would be obligated to complete the transaction.
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sanmar
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posted on September 15, 2005 11:06:38 AM new
I am at a loss to understand why you didn't refund the original buyers money after you sold the art to another buyer. That amounts to fraud & could have been a serious problem for you.
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
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davidsmom
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posted on September 15, 2005 04:37:23 PM new
You have to refund the first buyer his money for the purchase and and extra shipping. You are not the bad guy in this, but do the right thing.
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stonecold613
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posted on September 15, 2005 04:49:26 PM new
THE ONLY REFUND YOU NEED TO GIVE IS TO THE IDIOT WHO SENT THE LAST PAYMENT FOR SHIPPING.
The original buyer did send you money. You did send it as per his instructions. His instructions where incorrect and the item came back to you. You held it long enough in legal terms for payment to come for shipping. It did not arrive within the time limits so the items statute of limitations has run out making it yours again. The second bidder purchased it. You sent it and it arrived. Transaction over.
Also:
He never signed any of his email with his real name and I still don't know what his name is, only his eBay ID name.
This is always to be considered fraud. Any legite person will aknowledge their name to you. If not, then too bad for them.
.
.
.
Alive in 2005
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on September 15, 2005 05:14:48 PM new
Gosh, I usually only use my first name in my emails. I didn't know I was committing fraud. Shame on me. I hope nobody ever refunds me what they owe me; it serves me right.
Thanks Stone; I understand ethics much better now.
Claude Dohrn (no middle initial, or I would have used it)
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estatesalestuff
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posted on September 15, 2005 05:29:03 PM new
Oh Claude ... I am SO GLAD you're back ... cuz I love the word "dibs" LOL
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on September 15, 2005 05:38:09 PM new
estate, I guess I aged myself with that, huh?
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toasted36
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posted on September 15, 2005 06:11:11 PM new
lol cash I use that word also ...so don't feel bad. Heck I thought that was a everyday word...doesn't everyone use it 
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birgittaw
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posted on September 15, 2005 06:19:25 PM new
So, do I get first dibs at wondering if this is a real post, or a troll? Too bizarre.
B/
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aintrichyet
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posted on September 15, 2005 06:24:33 PM new
nosirree birg .... *I* get first dibs... ROFL
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toasted36
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posted on September 15, 2005 06:25:51 PM new
lol birgittaw twas thinking the same thing early this morning when I first read it cause I would have never relisted without doing the final value/refund paypal minus shipping things first
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on September 15, 2005 06:26:23 PM new
birgittaw,
You've been involved with eBay and you think this thread is bizarre?
Claude
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sparkz
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posted on September 15, 2005 07:44:37 PM new
I would sell it at least 2 more times. You'll make a bundle, and then when you sell it the fifth time, You should have figured out how to complete a transaction, even if the buyer is too stupid to reply to an email. Practice makes perfect.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
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barparts
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posted on September 15, 2005 08:15:23 PM new
I agree with Stone on this one. Any buyer who refuses to let the seller know who they are, deserves to be out the money.
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on September 16, 2005 09:38:21 AM new
Where does it indicate that he "refused" to give his name? It only says he didn't sign his emails with his name.
He paid with PayPal fer cryin out loud! Is it that hard to figure out who paid you when paid via PayPal?
Any of you who think a refund isn't called for: what goes around comes around.
Claude
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