posted on January 17, 2014 09:38:35 AM new
Where to start. 2 Orrefors crystal ornaments were sold on my daughter's account, but came from my inventory. Value $50 each. Sold for $19.99 each plus free shipping. Shipped priority mail, received by buyer on 12/13. Buyer contacted her on 12/24 (Christmas Eve) that one of the ornament had been repaired (I do not know how you would repair a crystal ornament and I inspected the ornament prior to shipping). Demanded refund. Minutes later another email saying the second ornament was damaged in shipping,again wanted refund. Since this was Christmas Eve. There was a few days lag in here.
We responded that we were very sorry, but were also amazed at these requests since the ornaments were new, mint in original boxes, then bubble wrapped and placed in a fairly large box (#4) and shipped priority insured.
Quite a while goes by and we do not hear from him. Then a request for the receipt from the PO for the damaged item. I respond that you do not need the receipt, just the tracking # and you file online. He insists on a copy of the receipt. I scan & send.
Did I mention this is supposedly REPLACEMENTS LTD? Looks like he is a buyer only. And just ornaments. He has also bought other identical ornaments to the ones he claims are from us and are damaged & repaired.
Buyer ID 741741
We let him know we will be on vacation for a few days (WDW). Packaged is received at my daughter's home yesterday. I have not seen it yet. He send a a new email requesting refund. That PO insurance claim has been submitted for $17 (why that amount) and that it will be coming to us.
I am so confused. Why would the insurance be coming to us if he filed the claim??
Any advice. I have some ideas, but this one is one for the books. His emails have not been well composed. He has ++++ FB, but buyers can't get ---- FB, so who knows.
posted on January 17, 2014 09:48:42 AM new
you mentioned Replacement,Inc,does he work for that company or your crystals come from Replacement,inc?
you said you dont understand insurance of $17 come to you,do you mean the payment or the request for $17 to settle the claim??
Crystal can be repaired by filing away the chipped part,or using fillers to repair the dent or chip.
Depends on where you buy the merchandise,it could be returned,refurbished ,flawed when made in factory,closed out and they find their way to some shops which buy them in lots.
posted on January 17, 2014 10:35:31 AM new
Whoever files the claim with the insurance co,in your case it is USPS,can specify where should they send the claim payment,it sounds like your buyer wants you to have the $17 and reimburse him for full amount,what ever he paid for the crystal.
Is he returning the crystal?
posted on January 18, 2014 02:19:58 PM new
Ebabe, that could be it. I asked if he was sure the "repaired" and "damaged" ornaments were perhaps from someone else. He said, no. I personally inspected both ornaments. They were perfect. After I see the returned item, I will refund $19.99. He has no right to file a claim for less than he paid for the item & expect me to absorb the loss.
Also, there is no way one of the items was damaged in transit. We have sold hundreds of these, most shipped in manilla envelopes & these were in a #4 box and never has one arrived "damaged."
posted on January 19, 2014 12:31:18 PM new
Update, saw the returned ornament that was supposedly repaired. It is mint, perfect!! I am showing it to a friend that used to work for Orrefors tomorrow. I am at a loss.
posted on January 19, 2014 02:54:13 PM new
Lost, all he had to do was ask to return. I work with people. The other one is supposedly damaged.
Also, did you ever look at Replacementsltd (the seller ID)? They list identical / duplicate items. I get "yelled" at when I accidentally do that. And my items are removed. Apparently there are different rules for different sellers.
posted on January 19, 2014 07:21:50 PM new
but each listing has a serial number which makes it unique.
Replacement.com probably have many Orrefors pieces,he must be very picky.
Should charge him a restocking fee,he probably does not have time to leave feedback.
posted on January 20, 2014 09:23:17 AM new
merrie - unfortunately, this is an issue when you sell non-unique items. The only thing I can come up with is that they were trying to avoid a restocking fee to return it (if you have one).
I would question the claim to begin with. If it isn't damaged, then why did he file a false insurance claim? Red Flag!!!
Also, did you look to see in their buyer history if they purchased another for $17? If you dig a bit into their history, you may find feedback for that $17 item. Another Red Flag!!!
I would then be contacting eBay about it.
I never let the buyer "handle" any part of the claim. I always file the claim, and if they need to contribute their info, I tell them how to do so. There are two reasons for this. 1) I control the situation 2) In their eyes, I am providing quality customer service.
I have had two incidences where buyers mistook my items for another seller. One person claimed the item arrived damaged and wanted a refund IMMEDIATELY. When I told them I didn't sell it to them, they never apologized or replied back.
posted on January 20, 2014 09:59:11 AM new
If he is a buyer for Replacement.Inc,he may see flaws we dont see,any kind of touchup,filling or filing off the chip or blemish,but for a 19.99 item????????
posted on January 20, 2014 10:10:40 AM new
shag, good advice, but he was always abrupt & did not allow me to initiate the claim, etc.
Here is the latest response from him:
"The claim should have been for $19.99 not $17.00. That was an error by us. We have to initiate the claim for the amount that you expected to receive from us. The claim information that was submitted to the post office on January 7th on your behalf is listed below. Since you will be shorted $2.99 on you claim refund us 36.99 instead of $39.98.
Regards,
David
Replacements Ltd."
His earlier email said the claim was started on 1/2/14. Now he says 1/7/14.
I am learning since about claims since I have never had this kind of confusion before.The few buyers that claim damage have done it themselves and have the money refunded to them.
I think he is trying to scare me off since they are big buyers.
I wrote that I would refund the $19.99 for the returned item & asked to explain where is the repair. Since it is mint to me and I have others, identical to them.I also spoke to the Orrefors rep I buy items from & she said they would never repair an ornament & I certainly do not know how to.
OY!! Note message not very coherent & this is a better than most correspondence.
posted on January 20, 2014 10:48:18 AM new
From what I know of Orrefors ornaments, they are fairly easy to see flaws because most are flat clear/frosted glass ornaments. I would use a bright light and magnifier to inspect it before relisting.
I'd hate to think Replacements would be up to something fishy, but nothing today would surprise me.
I would contact several other sellers they bought from and ask if they had any issues with their transaction. Some sellers report no issues, but you might be surprised to find others with the same issue. You could be onto something much bigger here or nothing at all.
posted on January 20, 2014 11:03:27 AM new
shag, we have sold Orrefors ornaments & glassware for years. There are flaws in some. We inspect before purchase. This item has no flaws. I have held it up to the light, etc. I have held it up to others identical to see if size difference, etc. It is mint. I have sometimes missed a small scratch and picky buyers have noted & returned. But, they are few & far in between and they were my error.The biggest issue I have had with the dated ornaments is that the date is sometimes fuzzy. We reject them.
This transaction is full of confusion & problems. I would have preferred to do the claim myself because I cannot imagine this item being damaged the way that it was packaged, but for him to expect me to refund the entire amount just because he claims it is damaged is beyond my understanding.He has sent me no proof of damage and his emails request refunds were odd. He also insisted on a copy of the receipt when we all know all you need is the tracking # to do it online.
This is a buyer only. I have looked up the seller ID of Replacements, LTD and they must get a special deal from EBAY since they have many auction duplicates which Ebay always says is a No no.They have a # of negs & neutrals on their selling ID, but sell a lot, so it is not impacted much.
posted on January 20, 2014 12:13:37 PM new
But you can also see the list of items this buyer id purchased and directly contact the sellers for the items they purchased.
Many years ago I had a woman who claimed some Fiestaware coffee cups were damaged. They were bubble wrapped very well and double boxed in packing peanuts. When I asked her to send photos of the cups and boxes she claimed she didn't have the boxes, but was very demanding. Even though I issued a full refund for the questionable claim, she left me negative feedback.
I started emailing other sellers who she bought from and discovered a pattern of her making claims for damaged items. Through my investigation and contacting other sellers, we all saw the problem and complained to eBay who did suspend her.
Whenever I have a questionable issue with a buyer, I don't hesitate to contact other sellers to see if they have had any unusual experiences with the buyer.
posted on January 20, 2014 01:35:25 PM new
Shag, I have done that in the past & will do some investigating. It is not as easy as it used to be, but is possible.
These items were sold on12/10, received on 12/13. They contacted us on 12/24. I did look up purchases then. They bought several other identical ornaments. Now if I look up completed purchases, those items are no longer visible since it is over 15 days ago. I know how to snoop around, have to get up the energy.
posted on January 20, 2014 02:32:48 PM new
Actually, I was able to search completed items for Orrefor's ornaments and was able to see yours and others back to November.
posted on January 20, 2014 02:51:00 PM new
Shag, yes I did that, but I was looking at the buyer's completed transactions. They only go back 30 days.
Some of the completed auctions if you just look at Orrefors ornaments are aquaintances of mine, since we have the same supplier. I will start with them.
