Handling Customer Complaints

I recently sold a Kate Spade hand bag on ebay and now the buyer is saying that the bag is not authentic. I always take merchandise like this to local 'experts' to get it somewhat authenticated. I bought 6 designer bags including this one in question from the same person at a yard sale. Each other bag sold without question to its authenticity and now this person has a problem with the most expensive of all the bags.

I'm suspicious that I'm going to receive a fake bag in place of my authentic bag. She is comparing my used bag to other new bags. I clearly stated multiple times that my bag is used. She is saying that the tags are wrong, again saying that the other bags on ebay have the right tag, when they are just newer and have the latest tag.

I've explained all this to the buyer, but they aren't accepting my answers. Anyone else sell these type of items on Ebay? Had them escalate to Ebay through the resolution center? Results?

Sorry man, that sucks.

Fortunately, I have not had to deal with that. I've only sold a couple of designer bags and no complaints.

I have had people try to scam me in other ways though.

My suggestion is to tell her you sold it to her in good faith that you believe it is an authentic bag, and if she does not want it she can return for refund. Also inform her that she must send the exact bag back in same condition it arrived in. Once you receive bag back check against photos you have to verify she did not pull a switcheroo. If she does switch it out, report it to eBay. Most likely though she is just an idiot trying to get a refund or partial refund and still keep the bag. When faced with only option is to return for full refund, they will usually return it or drop it.

Iknow this sucks, but sometimes it is all you can do.

Oh, and if you are a good honest seller, eBay isn't as bad on sellers as people like to complain. I have only had 2 buyer protection cases escalated to eBay on me, and I won them both.

Good luck.

I know its after the point now, and I'm sure hundreds of people sell Gucci/Prada/Whatever Name here stuff on ebay all the time with no issues. But I've been burned before myself selling this stuff on ebay, and the fact that this stuff is counterfeited so much only adds to the uneasiness of the buyer.

The only way I'd feel comfortable putting myself on a limb to sell this stuff is if I had receipts/proof of purchase/ or some kind of authenticity to back the listing up.

I'm also uneasy about selling designer stuff online because of the high rate of counterfeits. However, I did get these bags checked out at a local used clothes boutique. They offered to buy them from me, but I felt like I could get more on ebay and I was comfortable with the fact that they were willing to make me an offer. I sold 5 other bags with no issues, I bought all 6 bags from the same person.

Since this one is causing me such a big headache, I feel like they're trying to get one over on me. I guess we'll just wait to see what ebay has to say, because I'm not giving her money back. She hasn't given me a good argument for it being fake except that it's not like the newest version.

Pictures are your friend. As long as you took good pictures documenting the bag sent out, then you should be able to win this case.

Yep, I took good pictures. This person even asked me to take additional pictures, which I did.. of course. She went away for now, but Ebay still has to decide what they're doing.

here's how I handle my complaints. basically i tell the customer if you dont want it send it back im more than happy to take a refund. i think alot of people would prefer to try to extort a percentage of the sale back. as soon as i start offering to take it back all the sudden no thats okay ill keep it.

no sense in getting into a back and forth arguing with a customer because more than likkely not only will ebya and paypal side with the customer but there's a good chance the customer will wind up getting their money back and keeping your bag.

basically i tell the customer if you dont want it send it back im more than happy to take a refund.

The problem here is if the buyer pulls a switcheroo and sends back a counterfeit bag and keeps the real one.

The problem here is if the buyer pulls a switcheroo and sends back a counterfeit bag and keeps the real one.

yeah i know thats a risk you run selling on ebay, especially designer stuff with all the counterfeit problems on ebay and how sensitive ebay is to this issue. that said if it really comes down to it the buyer is gonna get what they want, they are gonna get their money and wind up keeping the bag. id try to play nice from the start and just get your bag back. your right though, if they send a fake back ebay is gonna side with them unless you have stellar feedback inthe thousands and the buyer is relatively new

Ebay's decision was that the customer will send back the bag and issue a refund. We'll see if I get the same bag back. I really don't want to even accept the bag back and I'll be very upset if I get a different bag back. I'm not sure how they came up with this decision being that the buyer showed no evidence that the bag is fake, I took pictures from all angles including additional which were asked for by the buyer and when pressed to show evidence of the bag being fake, all the buyer could do was complain that the tassels were "yucky". I think Ebay may have just lost me as a seller.

Ebay's decision was that the customer will send back the bag and issue a refund. We'll see if I get the same bag back. I really don't want to even accept the bag back and I'll be very upset if I get a different bag back. I'm not sure how they came up with this decision being that the buyer showed no evidence that the bag is fake, I took pictures from all angles including additional which were asked for by the buyer and when pressed to show evidence of the bag being fake, all the buyer could do was complain that the tassels were "yucky". I think Ebay may have just lost me as a seller.

i know ebay is the best marketplace to get the highest dollar for an item like this vs doing craigslist or going to a high end womens resale shop but honestly because of how touchy ebay is with designer stuff and because some ebayers game the system and prey on sellers id avoid selling high end handbags on ebay period

I wouldn't give up on Ebay just yet Homegrown, there is just nothing else like it for selling certain items. Obviously name brand possibly counterfeit items not being one of them.

I wouldn't worry about having the bag switched out, could you imagine the difficulty of finding a close enough looking counterfeit? UNLESS of course that was their evil plan from the start, and they only purchased that bag because they had a knock off similar. But I'm sure the chances of that are slim to none.

I wouldn't give up on Ebay just yet Homegrown, there is just nothing else like it for selling certain items. Obviously name brand possibly counterfeit items not being one of them.

I wouldn't worry about having the bag switched out, could you imagine the difficulty of finding a close enough looking counterfeit? UNLESS of course that was their evil plan from the start, and they only purchased that bag because they had a knock off similar. But I'm sure the chances of that are slim to none.

the sad thing about ebay ad them favoring buyers is that the buyer doesn't even have to send a similar looking bag. the buyer could send a box full of underwear back and as long as the weight is similar to a bag its basically a he said she said and a tossup between whether they side with teh buyer and seller

That's what I'm afraid of! I don't want to lose my authentic product AND my cash. I just hope the process goes smoothly from here. You never know! I may not even get the bag back since this lady wanted ME to pay for the return shipping.

"the sad thing about ebay ad them favoring buyers is that the buyer doesn't even have to send a similar looking bag. the buyer could send a box full of underwear back and as long as the weight is similar to a bag its basically a he said she said and a tossup between whether they side with teh buyer and seller"

I was thinking this same thing.  Hopefully the buyer isn't this devious but would definitely get away with it. As far as the buyer getting the option to return it, I'm pretty sure EBAY will always side with the buyer and let them return for a refund but the buyer would definitely have to pay return shipping. Hopefully you will only be out the original shipping and get your product back. Heck, maybe you can sell it again and get more now that we are getting closer to the holidays.