Hi everybody,

Last Wednesday I had a purchase by an unregistered user at Ioffer of a Bobby Labonte Agent Series Men's watch. It was paid via a Paypal echeck which cleared today. Yesterday the same customer bought this watch 2 more times. There was no response to my email asking if this was a mistake. This morning the customer ordered yet another one. I have not authorized the shipment of even the one that has now been cleared by Paypal and have asked the customer to explain. Does this sound like some kind of strange scam? Thank you

Certainly does sound 'strange' to me - esp. if there is no contact. I've had someone come along the next day and buy 'another' - but usually they'll say - I just realized I need 2 vs. 1...

Perhaps if you write again, and say - please let me know the total quantity, I'll gladly combine shipping and create a modified invoice for you to save money!

Maybe they'll respond to that? Are they based here in the US? Very strange indeed!!

I have had some "older" folks forget that they had already ordered things and repeat the order the next day by mistake.

This sounds like it could be something like that. Or maybe the WHOLE family are Labonte fans.

Carol

Thanks for the replies. Yes, they are in the U.S. They still have not replied. I don't know if I should refund and cancel or proceed.

Ken:

I'd just send another nice message suggesting the first item, even tho it's paid for, is in on hold pending a notification of desired combined shipping or not.

You at least have 'communicated' that the first item has not left yet, and you really desire clarification from them on what they'd like their total order to 'look like'. Make sense?

As much as we hate to refund $$ to buyers, I've done it several times for a variety of reasons (PP doesn't like their zip + address, situations like this, etc.) - if I don't feel comfy with the transaction, i just refund and move on!

Sure sorry about this - I can see where it would baffle me to no end!!

Thanks 2Boys, I have tried telling them that they could save shipping expenses. I'm thinking now that tomorrow morning I will simply give them 24 hours notice to come clea. Then I'll refund and forget it. I think they want me to ship and they'll say the watches never came. It's still weird though because why not buy them all at once, in which case I would suspect nothing and ship. Thank you for your very sound advice.

kenhoodnet wrote (View Post): › Thanks 2Boys, I have tried telling them that they could save shipping expenses. I'm thinking now that tomorrow morning I will simply give them 24 hours notice to come clea. Then I'll refund and forget it. I think they want me to ship and they'll say the watches never came. It's still weird though because why not buy them all at once, in which case I would suspect nothing and ship. Thank you for your very sound advice.

You're welcome Ken - I hate to see you loose a sale, but ... if you're not comfy with the communication, then you almost will save in the end by minimizing any head-ache post sales issues!! Perhaps - give them a few days - one thing that is very difficult about online selling - we don't have insight into a customers' life and real-life events. I always error on the side of 'trust' and know my plans for each day often get derailed....

Just a thought - let us know how it turns out!!

Ken:

Maybe your emails are getting caught in their spam filters, and they are unsure they actually made the purchase (not everyone uses online banking).

I'd pick up the phone & call them to find out how many of the item they actually want, and explain that you are just checking to make sure they want as many as have been ordered. Customers appreciate it when you go the extra mile and look out for them - even while you are looking out for yourself, also

To avoid losing sleep over whether they will say they didn't receive the watches, ship with delivery confirmation to the paypal address on record, and go the extra step, insure it through U-Pic Insurance Cheaper than USPS, and filing a claim is a snap. If they say they didn't get them, file the claim, get your $$ back, and let your shipper and the insurance co. duke it out.

Congrats on the sale, that they are unregistered buyers means they came in from some link somewhere, search engine or Base - nice job!

Thank you all for your help. Eleganza, I took your advice, found a phone number and called. He's a high schooler in grade 10. His mother saw my emails and wondered becuse she didn't order any watches. He used her bank account for the echeck. She said to ship 1 watch and forget the rest. All's well that ends well.

As a side note to this sale, Eleganza brought it up, the unregistered part. That's something that iO started this year around the beginning of the year. All the iO sales I've had this year have been "unregistered" users.

That means that they are seeing my stuff on froogle or something like that that leads them to the listing on iO.

At first I wasn't sure about an "unregistered" user. But I think it's a good idea as not every shopper wants to have to "join" every site out there to just shop.

So as much as iO has some problems, it also has some good ideas that really work.

Carol

Very good point Carol, very good point!! I believe it's more common to have to register tho than to not - isn't it? Might be wrong!!!

Ken - so glad you found a solution! That's great that she's willing to honor the original sale - she could have 'begged off' - just as easily!!

Way to go all - this worked out nicely!

I recently had a customer that bought from me the same day they registered. They bought two of the same item in two separate transactions two minutes apart. They wouldn't pay or answer me. I sent invoices. Now ioffer is giving me the run around on getting a credit for these sales. They keep telling me to do the same steps over and over again. Some of the thing they want me to do are grayed out because I have already done them. I don't know how it will end up. I don't want to pay just for the heck of it. People could do this for kicks.

Ultrabuys - welcome to PSU! I do agree with you that there are some who do strange things 'as entertainment' - I wish they would stop it!! I hate chasing fees refund when there's a NPB....

Super glad you're here!

Better watch your invoices. I hear io is charging final fees on the total including shipping. Many people are complaining over here.

Quote: › I hear io is charging final fees on the total including shipping. Many people are complaining over here.

Yeah...now you're saying it that makes me realize things.
Christmas is there so they've become greedier.

The solution? Dealing outside of iOffer.
That's what I do when a regular customer. I don't earn more but I save him money (so he keeps coming back) and now I'm converting him to Google Checkout instead of the paypal jerks.

Explication: paypal "randomly" made a "security" check on one of my payment supposedly to prevent me of transaction trouble.
They asked for proof of shipment. I gave them, the buyer signed for her item and they still gave her her money back.

2 days ago I wrote them asking them why, gave the site along with the tracking number and asked them to give a human response.
Still nothing so far, is it because they have to write me manually and can't send me a canned response