Annoying Buyers (that make you want to scream)

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The old saying goes “don’t bite the hand that feeds you”, but I’m about to feast on my buyers hands!

I can’t explain why, but I’ve had some extremely Annoying Buyers recently. I’m talking about buyers who make me want to climb through my computer screen and give them a good old sucker punch. It got me thinking about the various types of Annoying Buyers out there and so in today’s blog post, I’ve outlined the top 3 types of Annoying Buyers.

Annoying Buyer #1

The first type of Annoying Buyer is the one who gives you negative feedback before even contacting you to give you a chance to redeem yourself.

I encountered this Annoying Buyer last week when I reviewed my seller feedback and found a negative feedback score next to my name! The buyer claimed that a (brand new) clothing item I sent them was ripped. I went through my usual damage control process and asked them to send a photo of the damage.

All I got back was excuses, despite my offer to give a full refund if the item was in fact, damaged.

In the end, I put it down to the Annoying Buyer deciding they didn’t like the item I sent, and accusing me of selling them a damaged item as an excuse to get a refund.

Annoying Buyer #2

Another type of Annoying Buyer is the one who asks “Can I pay less in shipping?” This one irks me because it represents a real misunderstanding of how cut-throat online marketplaces can be. I would love to be able to offer free shipping and still make a profit; Think of the number of sales I would make! Buddy, if I could charge less for shipping, I would!

Annoying Buyer #3

The “buyer’s remorse” buyer. These buyers are usually a little heavy handed on the old “Buy It Now” button and then regret their purchase soon after. This annoying buyer will typically send you an email a few days after they have bought an item from you and claim that:

  1. They can’t afford it
  2. Their 5 year old son hit the bid button (a 5 year old boy bidding on a leather handbag? Yeah, right)
  3. They just don’t want the item anymore

The bummer outcome here is that you will need to re-list your item again which is a real time-waster if it happens often.

If you sell on eBay, you can open a dispute with the eBay Resolution Center and get your fees refunded to you. You can also block the buyer (requires login) to ensure they don’t try to buy from you again.

Tell Me Your Annoying Buyer Stories! 

We all have a story about an Annoying Buyer, so leave a comment below and tell me about the ones you have encountered.

 

About the author
Simon Slade
CEO of SaleHoo Group Limited

Simon Slade is CEO and co-founder of SaleHoo, a platform for eCommerce entrepreneurs that offers 8,000+ dropship and wholesale suppliers, 1.6 million high-quality, branded products at low prices, an industry-leading market research tool and 24-hour support.

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74 Comments
  • Lola Rutter 28th of June
    My biggest complaint is when a Buyer is interested in two or three items, and want them shipped together so how much is the shipping. Then you have to combine them in a different box (I pack mine when I post them) to get accurate shipping or you end up losing money on shipping. Then when you have done all this, they don't buy it.
  • Angel 28th of June
    It annoys me when buyers bid on your item - and sometimes win - and THEN want to ask you questions. This happens a lot - I even had a guy win and then decide he didn't want the item. Luckily another bidder accepted the 2nd chance offer and Ebay refunded the fees so we still made out OK.
  • Paullette G. Talijancich 28th of June
    I do a lot of sales for similar costs. i.e. $25.00 plus postage. Buyer gives son money to bank. Son uses his name as a reference (Asian name) nothing like his mothers English sounding name. Through many emails and the process of elimination over 2 weeks, I come to the conclusion that this could be the one and same. Emailed her is this right. YES.!! Then she has the sheer audacity to give ME bad feed back.
  • dan 28th of June
    the annoying buyer #4 is one where you accidently send the wrong item, the buyer threatens negative feedback if they don't get the right item. you jump through hoops to get them the right item, yet they won't send the wrong item back. #5 is the one who wants a deal, and you go ahead and lower the price then they don't buy #6 is the one who asks for extras to be thrown in, you do and they still whine about something and ask for a partial refund.
  • Janine 28th of June
    Had all these buyers myself plus the ones who dont want to return mdse. but still want a refund (looking for a freebie) also, use the mdse for 5 or 6 wks. then claim it wasnt what it was suppose to be -didnt like the color or claim poor quality.
  • lynn 28th of June
    So true, but they still don't compare to having an antique mall with vendors (who think because they pay you booth rent) that they own your business and if they don't make sales it is your fault. Of course, it couldn't be their MDSE. or present economy. The public is a breeze as buyers compared to this goup.. Being involved with them was such a blessing in disguise, it prepared me for everything. Love the ebay buyers now, with all their problems.
  • Robyn 28th of June
    Time wasters. Buyers who ask everything about several different items over a period of time when you know if they just read the listing, all the details are there. In the end, they very seldom buy no matter how much info is given or how nice you are to them.
  • Sue 28th of June
    I am in total agreement with you, I think with the longer daylight hours we are now getting puts demands on the human brain that only functions well when receiving 12 hours of daylight instead of 14-15 hours during summer! As a general rule, I do not offer Buy It Now options in my auction listings. Right or wrong I just don't. I received a request from a buyer stating that they loved this particular object I was selling and would I consider adding a BIN offer for $100.00 and they would pay immediately. The beginning price was $39.99. I emailed them back accepting their offer and stated given the 3 hour time difference, if I did not hear from them that evening to please email me in the morning and we would conclude the transaction. No email, nothing........then 5 days later they realized no one had bid on it yet so they bid on it for $39.99 and won! Technically, they have done nothing wrong, but ethically a deal is a deal in my book. I have one more issue to vent on and then I am done. My sales on a monthly basis averages out ot around $5000, which in the big scheme of things, puts me into that"small potato's" category. Let me describe my cash flow chart which conforms to the rules selling on Ebay. 1) Purchase inventory for example of $100.00 2) go through auction listing procedure & then post 3) wait during the 7 day auction period 4) auction closes, invoice is sent 5) 3rd day no payment received 6) friendly reminder email, payment is due 7) a)no response -open payment not received case, buyer has 7 days to respond -7th day, no response, Ebay credits listing fees and closes the case -repeat steps 2 thru 6 -if you are lucky, the next buyer may pay in a timely manner -but wait, technically I do not avail that money to myself until after the 14-day period to return item has expired. total elapsed time to get the $100.00 back into cash flow...appx 2-months 7) b) -client responds stating they will pay in 4 days, payday -client then pays Saturday with an e-check -wait the 3-5 business days for the check to clear -then wait another 14 days for the return item policy to expire Total elapsed time to receive the $100.00 back into cash flow, appx 2 months Again, technically the buyer has done nothing wrong, but the more rules & regulations that thrust apon us make it difficult to keep the cash flow rolling, and to keep the products we sell new & interesting due to our money is tied up for quite some time with just one transaction. Thats all, thanks for letting me vent!!!!!
  • Svtko 28th of June
    What about the one that ask for tracking number every 2 hours since the time he pressed buy it now? and then you provide tracking but is not yet in usps system and screeems "its not a real tracking". oooooo mmmmmm gggggggg fffffff. kkkkkk (How could I email him the flame virus? i will send tracking for that too! ) jajjajajaj /: still its a good biz we just have to enjoy it and learn how to deal with the 8 ball!
  • 10yearEbayer 28th of June
    A few things ... 1) in more than a decade I've never actually had a buyer post bad feedback. This is not to say that I haven't had to give them their money back when I knew they didn't deserve it to shut them up. So, to the thousands of REALLY GREAT buyers out there, thank you. 2) Ebay will not allow you to say "I don't want to sell this item to anyone with less than a year of history and 100 good feedbacks at least 98% positive", but there is a way around that. Put it in the store. Dramatically overprice it and make it open to offers. I've just completely stopped auctioning expensive specialty items in favor of this method which lets me screen buyers. Be prepared for the outraged screaming when you take a lower bid over a higher one, but it is NOT against Ebay policy to do so. 3) Never ever ever ship anything without tracking. I learned this one the hard way when I took some things to the post office because the online postage engine was down, was in a hurry, the place was slammed, I'd never had anything get lost ... sure enough, a day later (long before the item could have actually arrived) a buyer asks me for a tracking number and when I can't provide one, immediately claims that the item never arrived and asks for her money back. Seeing a no-win (and a very obvious and well-rehearsed scam) I just refunded her money (including shipping) and put her on my blocked bidders list - about which she made another big stink. These are the buyers that make sellers hang up their shingle and go back to their day jobs - fortunately it was not an expensive item, and I learned my lesson. 4) Never get bullied into shipping something inappropriately. That includes both packing it down - using a smaller box and less padding than you know you should - and using the wrong service. There are things that simply need to be packed in twice their volume of packing peanuts and shipped UPS with insurance. If the buyer's going to complain about appropriate handling and shipping, well, they didn't want the item very badly and they were probably going to be a pain in the neck anyway. Happy selling.
  • Sonia 28th of June
    So far, I haven't encountered any of these Annoying Buyers, but I have encountered another one. This buyer either bids and wins or hits Buy It Now and never pays. You send emails, invoices, etc., and simply don't get an answer. Eventually you can re-list, but in the meantime it's a real aggravation! I reported it to eBay, then read the "buyer's" feedback: I was not the only one who had this problem with this particular person! Wish we could read feedback and block the buyer before the auction's over. Or is this an existing option I just haven't discovered yet?
    • Tim 4th of November
      I've just experienced my second buyer in this category. No reponse to repeated attempts at making contact, and no payment ever received. While I was waiting for the time limit on the unpaid item case to expire, I noticed the buyer's feedback score increment by 1, and deduced that they had bought and paid for a similar item from another seller (oddly, for a higher price), while ignoring me completely. If people would just confess and admit that they have had an attack of buyer's remorse and they no longer want the item, I would be quite happy as I could go ahead and start making Second Chance Offers or relisting the item, but just ignoring me until eBay's unpaid item dispute time limits expire is very frustrating.
  • Barry Williams 28th of June
    Hi, I have been using ebay for 2 month as a platform to sell my old clothes (as they have seem to shrunk) or is it me getting larger??? , anyway, I have recently sent a joblot of clothing which had 14 items which were all designer labels. i delivered on time, he received them and sent an e-mail accusing me of selling fakes but he could not back up the reason he why he decided they were fakes. all the items were genuine and the value was well above what he paid. ungrateful sprung to mind
  • Ed 28th of June
    Amen! I have similar stories. In the end, for the health of your business, reputation, and feedback score we need to take these customers in stride and focus on the big prize. I am getting better at dealing with these customers and strive to shrug them off with effortless grace. There is a little thing called karma and if you lie, steal, or cheat it will find YOU. At the end of the day and for that matter, all day, feel good and do not let people influence your attitude towards life.
  • angeleyes12 28th of June
    Their lost in all three situations! Hope things get better for ya! I can't wait to have a story of my own to blog about my buyers!!! Good Day nd Good Luck
  • Kevin and Lindsey 28th of June
    I always love the buyers that threaten you with negative feedback if you don't ship the item for free! or the ones that wait until the last day of the unpaid item claim to pay for their item and when they get the item they want to return it. They do this just to keep from getting strikes against them. To bad ebay doesn't allow sellers to tell the truth about buyers with negative feedback!
  • Vickie 28th of June
    I am new to selling on E-Bay, and I had one man send me 6 emails asking about a clock I was selling. He even went as far as saying he was color blind and could not see the colors, and wanted me to tell him. I told him the colors and he went and said that it looked blue to him. OKay, you are color blind huh? Then he said that he was interested in the clock and a cd I have for sale and wanted to know if I would include them together and not add shipping as well for cd. I said I would, then after I changed everything, he said well thanks but I am no longer interested. Wow.
  • CSGardens 28th of June
    I had a buyer around christmas who bought one of my wooden gates the gate should have been shipped on the 28th december to be delivered on the first working day of the new year however at 6 am my wife went into labour so sent a quick message to say sorry wont be about to ship it my wife is in labour and will have to send after new years I came back to a message saying my excuse is poor and he felt i should have not gone to the hospital to see my daughter being born and stayed and waited for tnt to collect the gate and the fair thing for me to do is send the gate and give a full refund aswell to compensate I think not my friend
  • Mary Holst 28th of June
    About 2+ weeks ago I had a buyer who claimed that the cosmetic item they purchased from me through "Buy It Now" was damaged upon receiving it. I respectfully replied stating that I was sorry to hear that and I would issue them a full refund provided that they sent a picture of the damage. To no surprise, I never heard from them again. Approximately 1 year ago a buyer claim that they received an empty mailer with no product inside and wanted me to either send a replacement or provide a refund including shipping. I replied and thanked them for contacting me with their concerns and told them that I would give them a full refund and that I was going to forward this information to the Postal General so that they could open a postal fraud investigation on their behalf. Again, I never heard from them again!
  • David 28th of June
    Yes we all get these buyers. In this game you just have to accept a small percentage will be like this and grin and bear it. Accept a loss on these customers and factor it in your overall pricing. Always be as nice as pie to them and bend over backwards. The main thing to avoid as much as possible is negative recorded feedback. It your can't avoid it try and minimise it by a reasoned sensible reply not just an attack on them.
  • Poida 28th of June
    I hate the buyers who use "Buy It Now" then contact you saying, but I can't pay for it for another month "when I next get paid". I mean, if you can't pay for it, here's an idea, don't bid! It's a useless exercise explaining your payment terms to them.
  • Alice Delore 28th of June
    Wow some interesting and shocking stories from you guys! Some eBay buyers certainly take advantage of the feedback system, that's for sure. I don't know if it's people being difficult because they can hide behind a computer, or if they are just making full use of eBay's lean towards looking out for buyers, regardless of the effect on sellers.





  • Alice Delore 28th of June
    Sue, thanks for sharing and well done on your monthly sales. I think $5k is an amount to be proud of :)

    Buyers who take so long to pay can really cause cash-flow issues in a business. It also makes a sale a lot less profitable if you have to take the time to follow up with buyers all the time and chase them for payments. Time is money! Not to mention, it's just downright frustrating!

  • Alice Delore 28th of June
    Poida, I have had this Annoying Buyer too! Why buy something if you don't have the money to pay for it? So frustrating! eBay and other online marketplaces are the only retail environments that allow this and it really grinds me!
  • Alice Delore 28th of June
    Barry Williams,

    In my experience, selling used clothing is like attempting crossing a minefield! You need to be extremely detailed in the state of the clothing and explain ANY wear and tear on the garments. With the exception of a few fancy dresses (that I've only worn once :P) I just take all my old clothes to the good will store now. It's just not worth the trouble in my opinion.
  • Phill 28th of June
    I had a buyer in another country file a "item not received dispute" on the day I had indicated the item may arrive. Then minutes later elevated it to a claim in ebay-so paypal froze the funds in my account putting it negative. The customer never responded to my emails, never knew if the item arrived a few days later. Because I wasn't using tracked postage to save on postage I had no proof the item arrived. So the customer so a free item as paypal gave him back his money and I got screwed even though I numerously pointed out to ebay/paypal he was not communicating. Lesson is some customers will screw you-always use a tracking number
  • Rod Sartwell 28th of June
    Threats of negative feedback even after you have provided a return/refund policy in your listing and follow-up email contacts. Buyers who are not involved in on-line selling have no appreciation for the costs involved with shipping but still seem to pick this as a negative.
  • paul 28th of June
    here is the buyer no one wants to encounter on ebay, the scammer, they are not really buyers as what they do is buy items for about $100 and then claim it is not what you advertised and refuse to provide any evidence of their claim, and they don't want a refund either, they want 'compensation' for what they 'claim' you have done, usually $1000 i found out in court. I realised what they were up to soon after it started, the demand email was too polished and legalistic. I asked ebay for help, they refused, between me and the buyer they said, the buyer left bad feedback because I wouldn't pay up, I again asked ebay for help, NO CHANCE, the response was almost rude. I swore out a complaint through my local police, that got a reaction from ebay as their name was on the complaint to, they suspended my accounts, both of them and paypal did the same 2 days later. I won the court case, the buyer was convicted of theft and blackmail (not the modern legal terms) and put on a good behaviour bond and the magistrate said ebay should be held accountable as well, for what they refused to do, not for anything criminal as their actions suggested they 'sided' with the criminal. The final post script to this saga is this, the criminal still has his ebay and paypal accounts, I do not and it doesn't worry me, I was never that involved, but 1 month after the court case was finished my brother who was a power seller with 99.9 feedback had his accounts suspended as well, and no one would ever explain why, This all happened in 2009 and Peter died in may 2010 and to date paypal/ebay have refused to even answer letters from his estate about his accounts (is there any money there still). I have his PC now and it still has all his information in it, logins and all, I will never use them, but I must keep them because every time I write something like this I get threats from them but they won't sue because they cannot win, not in Australia.
  • Saina 28th of June
    I have been selling on ebay for 3Months now. In my second sales, i had a buyer won a bid for a dress i was selling, however, she refused to pay for the dress. Outrageous!
  • Ben Watson 29th of June
    Only been selling on eBay for a little while, so far I've encountered 1. The non-payer - alice already mentioned this and I got the same excuse once, "my 5 year old son placed a bid". He didn't even somehow press buy now, he pressed place bid, then entered a bid, then confirmed it......yeh ok lady, I don't know how eBay works so I believe you...pfft. 2. The bargain hunter - "Hi I see your B.I.N price is $x.xx, I was going to buy from another seller for $x but they ran out, if you can match their price I will buy from you".....um...NO! $x.xx is my price, if they ran out good for me. In fact, if my competition has run out of stock perhaps I should raise my price, thanks for that informative email lol 3. Buyer places order and pays via PayPal. eBay give me a postal address, PayPal gives me a postal address, they match so I send to that address and mark item as posted. 5 days later I recieve an e-mail; "my item hasn't arrived. Did you send it this address?.....(completely different address)" AAAAAAARRGGGHHHH!!!!
  • Loretto 29th of June
    I am having trouble listing on eBay only because I have had more issues in the past 2 months than I have ever had in the past 1.5 years. Two different people bid on an item, won the item, did not pay. Another person paid for the an item and then the complained that the shipping was too slow. Well if you want an item shipped fast then pay for it. My problem is when things like this happen to sellers what recourse do we have. So what if eBay puts unpaid item on their profile or wherever they put it, did not help me. I am also not the one that puts the expected time of delivery, that is eBay controlled. So if they have a problem with shipping they should contact eBay. I have never had issues with shipping until now. Selling on eBay can be fun, at least it was, now not so much.
  • nat 30th of June
    i had someone complain about a free gift once.
  • Alice Delore 2nd of July
    @Phill

    Yes, that is a lesson very well learned - always use tracking for international and local sales. It saves you from having to spend time emailing buyers and tracking down orders, not to mention, it saves money offering refunds to buyers who may or may not be telling the truth!
  • Alice Delore 2nd of July
    @Paul,

    Wow, that's quite a story! Thanks for sharing. It's not often that eBay related disputes end up in court, but it sounds like a nightmare. How miserable of eBay to turn a blind eye and not offer any advice.

    Is your account still disabled?
  • Alice Delore 2nd of July
    @benwatto.

    "In fact, if my competition has run out of stock perhaps I should raise my price, thanks for that informative email lol"

    Haha, I like your thinking ;)
  • Alice Delore 2nd of July
    @Nat, that's unbelievable! Someone complaining about a free gift? That about sums up some eBay buyers, though, right?

    Good grief. I hope you are continuing to offer free gifts; despite that customers strange resistance to it, free gifts are a proven way to help get good feedback and to encourage repeat purchases.
  • John 2nd of July
    Things you need to know before selling on an auction site. If the item gets lost in the post it's your fault, if they return it and it gets lost in the post it's your fault. If they send payment and it gets lost it's your fault. If they order the wrong size, colour etc, it's your fault. If they send a postal order in an unmarked envelope with no information and the cost amount rounded up, if you can't tell who it's from and what they want, guess what. IT'S YOUR FAULT. Finally I always ask in feedback for buyers to contact me if they have any problems. I had one guy sent me a ranting email suggesting I was accusing him of complaining and making him look bad. It may not look like it but after 10 years I have factored all the emotional and financial costs into my mind and prices and whilst still giving a personal service I treat all the scams and unwarranted complaints in a professional but detached and unemotional manner. Do this and you will feel much happier. Regards and Lots of Sales to you all. John
  • Sam 26th of July
    I run an eBay shop selling handmade wedding stationery, I gave up my job to do this full time. Every day I have around 20 messages on eBay asking questions that are all clearly answered in the listing - "Do they come with envelopes", "What size are they?", "How much are they?". I even had one customer ask me if she could have her own details on her wedding invitations or if she has to have the details in the picture - what, she actually thought I would sell her wedding invitations with someone else's name and address on?!?! These questions take up valuable time every day to answer and can really be soul destroying! Then I get the customers who order their stationery, but don't give me their wedding details. I e-mail them several times asking for their details, and when they finally get back to me they complain that their order is taking so long! We mustn't forget the customers either that order their invitations 3 weeks before their wedding, so I bump them up the queue and then they have a go at me because Royal mail have taken longer than 1 day to deliver them! Oh and also the ones that send me an e-mail at 1am, and then another one at 5am asking why I haven't answered them yet! I forgot that us eBay sellers are machines that don't need sleep. And finally, the most annoying customer is the one that leaves you positive feedback and then 1 star in all categories for the details seller ratings, putting your Top Rated Seller status at risk because they don't know how to leave feedback properly. That's what makes me really glad that I stay up until 2am most nights working on orders for my customers at less than minimum wage...
  • Lee M 8th of October
    We have traded on Ebay UK for years but have recently pulled nearly all of our stock from the site. Our Amazon sales far outweigh any trade we have on eBay (about 12x better) and I just got to a point where I was sick of dealing with the idiots eBay produces. Amazon shoppers know what they want and buy it. Simple. In a typical week, we would have over 50+ questions about lowering prices, exact colour etc on eBay. On Amazon, we are lucky to get one product question PER WEEK! So now, we just use eBay so sell on customer returns and the odd end-of-line item. Life is much better. I will leave you with this gem from a few months ago: Item title: Cath Kidston Single Duvet Cover Customer question: is this a double or a king size?
  • Hazette 11th of October
    Thanks for sharing guys!
  • Rick 4th of November
    A few weeks ago I had the worst ebay buyer EVER!!!... I sold an item to a woman in Italy for around £10, then 3 weeks after the sale I get a message saying she has not received the item yet and asking how much longer it will take, I respond telling her that she should have received it by now and I will phone Royal Mail in 3 days to find out exactly where the package is ( I sometimes say this as a bluff in case they are trying to scam me as I did not actually use tracking, and this gives her 3 days to come clean to say she has the package ) and I told her if Royal Mail can't tell me where the package is then it is probably lost and I will have to refund her, and said to her 'but in the mean time if you get the package then let me know'. So 3 days later with no reply to my 'bluff message' I refunded her full payment and told her I refunded her because Royal Mail 'don't know where the package is'.. 2 days after refunding her I get a message from her saying 'it's okay now I have the package, thank you' ( she doesn't mention anything about me refunding her ) and I even get positive feedback from her... so I send her a friendly message saying 'So are you going to return the payment back to me through paypal that I refunded to you since you have the item now??'... I am still waiting for a reply many weeks later and the other day I sent her another ( sarcastic ) message saying 'Thank you very much!!!!!'... I can even leave her negative feedback for being a blatant scammer!
  • Jenny 7th of November
    My buyer left immediate negative no comms. at all Said it was a total ripp off!!Postage was well overcharged.Item was 99p+1.00 p&p. After contact with customer services who said they would remove it she made contact giving reason as it was cheaper at Poundland bearing in mind it was 99p I could not equate this. Poundland said they did not have this item on their system!!! 7 years selling 100% feedback ruined and she would not revise. I offered full refund and she could keep it. No answer it is still on site I left negative there as it was so stupid and having it removed would still not give me back my 100%. They walk amongst us!!!! Buyer is registered childminder scary stuff.
  • non miss 29th of December
    Sellers, do quality control, this will go along ways. You won't have issues if you take serious time to make sure you go over and above your duty as a seller.
  • Adrian 20th of March
    Anoying buyers who are harassing and used the item .I have a big annoying buyer problem I sold a prada T-shirt he said it was a fake even thou the item was not ship to my bad luck I always ship instantly when they pay and did not view the message until after i shipped he said he would keep the T-shirt he send me a total of 55 eBay messages stating he wants the T-shirt but didn't it , got to a point when , i told him I he was not happy with the item to return for refund and open on an eBay case he denied . 16 days later he posted a picture on his eBay profile wearing the T-shirt and stating he wants a refund and that item was never used really ?????? Yet again he keep on harrasing me with eBay message non stop I reply to him once again to open up a case he refused and stated he will keep the item, now to my bad luck I sold another item apparently to the same buyer but with another eBay account same shipping address different name, and he at it againg do not want to open and ebay case or return the item but want to harass me with eBay messages I personally do not understand what people get of harrasing eBay members ..
  • Little a 20th of March
    Anoying buyers who are harassing and used the item .I have a big annoying buyer problem I sold a prada T-shirt he said it was a fake even thou the item was not ship to my bad luck I always ship instantly when they pay and did not view the message until after i shipped he said he would keep the T-shirt he send me a total of 55 eBay messages stating he wants the T-shirt but didn't it , got to a point when , i told him I he was not happy with the item to return for refund and open on an eBay case he denied . 16 days later he posted a picture on his eBay profile wearing the T-shirt and stating he wants a refund and that item was never used really ?????? Yet again he keep on harrasing me with eBay message non stop I reply to him once again to open up a case he refused and stated he will keep the item, now to my bad luck I sold another item apparently to the same buyer but with another eBay account same shipping address different name, and he at it againg do not want to open and ebay case or return the item but want to harass me with eBay messages I personally do not understand what people get of harrasing eBay members ..
  • LMF 16th of April
    I had an annoying buyer recently that ruined my 100% positive feedback. She bought 5 items from me, and paid for it up front before receiving my revised postage for multiple items. I then had to change my invoice from $10 postage to $8 because she 'didn't have enough on her debit card'. This was when I knew she'd be a problem. She made her mistake my issue but to keep the peace I complied. After I sent the revised invoice I went to pack her items up and found, to my horror, that I could not find one of the items she had bought. I contacted the buyer straight away and offered her either a refund or replacement. She seemed ok and was more than happy to accept a replacement. I spent two hours of my time (finishing 9.30pm) sending her photos and descriptions so she could make a choice. THEN after all that she starts asking me about the items she had already purchased, which I then said to her she should already know because I posted all that information in my listing? So I send the items to her and get a response that she is VERY UNHAPPY with one of the items I sent her, a $5 costume jewellery item second hand - I think people forget we're everyday people and not selling Gucci. Apparently it was ugly and damaged (though the picture shows otherwise). She had also raised a dispute with paypal before I had even responded. She claims she did that to make it easier to refund her - later I discovered it's so you can't leave negative feedback against her as a problematic buyer. Sneaky and very cunning. I kindly asked her to send the item back so I could process the refund and offered to pay her postage back - I got an essay as big as war and peace about her pain and suffering and how I was dodging responsibility by not refunding her IMMEDIATELY and to top it off she claims a $6 refund instead of $5 so she made money on it. Best one yet - will not pay extra postage for combined items but will claim extra postage back when she doesn't like what she's got, complete scammer. I refunded the money after being harrassed and she still left negative feedback across ALL my items about the one item she didn't like, plus made negative comments about me greatly inconveniencing her by having to replace the item I misplaced, yet said nothing at the time, really vindictive behaviour. I contacted eBay and said this was clearly an abuse of feedback, and they did nothing about it. I said they were endorsing her scamming behaviour as I have seen other posts from this particular buyer on facebook about jewellery she had bought from other sites (I sent them a copy), and made a point of saying she requests refunds and wants to keep the items as well. Good way of getting things for free. EBay assured me that they had taken 'appropriate' action on her account, but have no idea what that would be. She makes a career out of hassling people and getting items for free, its disgusting behaviour which eBay policies have helped to create by protecting buyers and letting them take full advantage.
  • Bnd 12th of June
    Annoying Buyer #? The needy buyer, aspergers syndrome?, a buyer who see the world in black or white, yes or no. He/she will be impatient, become frustrated easy, ask same question in 4 different ways, no mater how you answer, may think you have answered the question, it will come back again and again, as it isnt and can never be a simple yes or a no answer. 3 messages a day? 8 a day? there is no limit, all that for $7 profit.
  • Bnd 26th of June
    Annoying Buyer ##? The wholesaler.... at one time ide view wholesale inquiries as opportunity, now many years in I cringe every time im asked the question. Their a wormy lot, range from amateur to prison yard bullies/criminals. Often there much like dealing with a sociopath, hidden agendas and trickery behind those wide smiles....prying, destructive, disrespectful, liars, tricksters... they will even use an ebay purchase to pressure the seller into negotiation.
  • Merilee 3rd of August
    A buyer contacted me about an item. It seems that under my listing the international global program was selected by mistake, which never happened before. The buyer had not actually purchased the item, but sent a message lecturing me on the global program Here was the message: "I am very interested in this lot of DVDs.... but I see that you have opted into eBay's dubious 'Global Shipping Program.' From an international perspective, that program adds NO benefits for the recipient while delaying the shipment for the seller (since the package has to go through a third party first). It also adds an additional fee (in this case, over $14!) which likely goes right into eBay's bank account. eBay tells buyers that "since you pay the import charges when you purchase the item, you won't need to pay these charges again when the item is delivered to you." However, in the VAST majority of cases, import charges are NOT LEVIED upon delivery. So I would be paying that fee for no reason. Perhaps you have opted into the program without being duly informed of all of its consequences. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Thank you for your time and consideration! Good luck with your auction." I said to myself: "huh?" When I checked my new listing, I saw the program checked by mistake. I know I never actually ticked it, but sometimes when the pages click, something ends up like that. Who knows? Well, although a mistake, and after reading a lengthy lecture from a "professional" buyer (this one is NOT a seller) on telling me how to sell, I messaged nicely back with this: Hi Thank you for contacting me. "I don't know how, but the international shipping was NOT supposed to be checked. I don't ship internationally since it causes a lot of hassle. If you hadn't contacted me, I would not have realized and the DVDs may have been purchased from another country by mistake. I've corrected the matter. I see you were interested and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. But I also thank you for the information and making me aware of the situation. Thank you once again!." Simple and to the point right? Nice and considerate, I answered the buyer, thanking him/her for making me aware of my mistake. So, guess what? I get this reply: "Thanks for your reply. To be honest, that was certainly not the response I was expecting to receive from you! Please bear in mind that, had you NOT also somehow opted into eBay's absurd Global Shipping Program, I would have used the 'Buy It Now' option on your auction by now, and you might well have been obligated to accept my winning bid for that lot of items. I certainly did not expect to be prevented FROM bidding when I brought this listing error to your attention.... proactively, I might add. I truly regret that your previous international shipping experiences were a "hassle" to you, but I assure you that 99.9% of the time, such transactions conclude successfully for both parties involved. I've participated in literally thousands of eBay auctions over the past 15+ years, and I have only had two or three USA-to-Canada shipment problems (and one of those was caused by the SELLER, who mailed my package to the wrong address!). However, I respect your policy as stated, so I will not bid on your revised auction despite my stated willingness to do so. Sorry we couldn't do business. Good luck with your auction anyway! Meanwjhile, if you change your mind about your international shipping policy, please feel free to let me know, especially if this lot of items fails to sell over the next few weeks." Well, nice person! Somehow the buyer believed I was being sarcastic, since he/she rather mocked me with the "NOT" that was in my answer (take note in his/her reply how the "NOT" was capitalized like mine was.) Also, it made no sense to say that if I DIDN'T have the international checked, he/she could have pressed the buy it now button. Um, no sir, ma'am, when it says United States, that's where it would be shipped to. If international is NOT (lol) checked, then the item would have not gone through. I might only be "obligated" when IN was checked. (I hate those that state the obvious). Did this person even know what he/she was talking about? Obviously he/she thought they did. Well, when you read the messages carefully, you can see how patronizing the buyer is. He/she was patronizing in the 1st message. The second, when I read it again, sounded so ridiculous, melodramatic, and pointless that I had to shake my head how some people think they're superior, and for such a nothing matter. You're tempted to answer, but being that there are nutcases in the world, who knows what the buyer may do? Ignoring is the best solution. I did not bother to answer back. But this buyer obviously thinks others are stupid by the condescending tone to the messages, and although not down-right nasty, the buyer did saying about changing my mind "if this "fails" to sell. Please. What we have here is a know-it-all buyer having a snit about not being able to purchase the item. In the 2nd message, he/she acts as though it were personal. I have every right to sell to where I want, and it's not a buyer's business to tell me what shipping method I should use, only if they ASK if they may have another shipping method, not TELL you.. And mistakes happen. I even apologized for inconvenience he/she may have felt, when I didn't have to respond at all. Many sellers don't. I checked the buyer's feedback, and he/she has given some negatives to sellers. One was about the item bought never arriving after 3 months went by. Well, how is that the seller's fault? An item has to go through customs, and may have a better chance of getting lost in another country than the US. Although it can go missing her, the odds are less likely. Also, international does not have tracking I think the Global program does, but I have no way of getting the package to them as I don't have a car. Unlike this perfect buyer, who says he/she has ONLY lost a few packages, i CAN'T afford the loss. Some people can buy or sell without all the worry in the world, but some forget that there are sellers auctioning things off to SURVIVE. We can't use the money on what we sell as play money. Sometimes we have bills to pay. I would be more than happy to sell internationally, BUT can't afford it! So I say excuse me if you didn't like the use of my word "hassle" sir, ma'am, but it's a "hassle" dealing with patronizing, sarcastic, obnoxious buyers! Even this person's "positive" feedback was obnoxious, as though he/she was granting a great favor! It was really quite funny. Especially with someone not very intelligent but actually believes him/herself to be. I don't know if i envy that sort of blindness or not.(oops, I said "not' again, lol) The poor dear read way too much into my simple message. I guess when you're on a pedestal of your own imagination for so long, one begins to believe everyone else it being sarcastic, even though obviously I wasn't. But it takes a certain maturity to realize your faults, but this buyer is NOT one of them. Hey, there I go again, with the "NOT"! So I vented long pretty much. Just had to get this off my chest. Add condescending buyers to your list of annoying. Buyers like this will not endear themselves to Ebay sellers. And us imperfect sellers do make mistakes! Jerk (or Jerkette).
  • Marge 8th of August
    I have been a buyer on eBay for about 10 years, and recently started selling some of my own stuff. I got the most obnoxious question the other day. I was selling my sister's Ipod, and I got a message from some guy. He stated that he had no intention of bidding on my item, and then started asking me questions about how to get a Paypal account and how to sell things on eBay. Do I look the customer service center? On another occasion, within an hour of me posting a 7-day auction, I get a bid on my item, immediately followed by message from the bidder asking if I could close my auction now for the starting price. Other than that, I constantly get questions about what is included/not included in my listings that are clearly stated in the description. These annoying buyers are the reason I cringe a little bit every time I'm notified that I have a new message in my inbox.
  • Stase 1st of November
    I had two cases whiich I want to share. Buyer from Sri Lanka "bought" a dress. He never paid for the item. After a few days i opened an unpaid item case and Ebay returned the fees, after closing the case . I reprted this buyer to Ebay. A few weeks later the same buyer opened a case against me, that he didn't get the item asking for refund. It took me one hour with Ebay representetive to explore this case. They closed the case in my favor. I have questions: how the fake buyer can open a case on unpaid item? I thought they just hope that someone will ship the item without them paying, but I have no idea, why Ebay lets them open a case and ask for refund. Does anyone have this kind of problem?
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