Maybe I've been lucky with my buyers - 99% have been fab, proper, nice feedback, paid on time, just what you would hope they would be but it's that 1% that nearly kill you with the stress of their behaviour.
I am very careful with my listing, very detailed, lots of photos so I don't have Significantly Not As Described issues. I had two defects, one I gave myself for cancelling a sale and refunding incorrectly when I found a moth-hole before I was going to send something out, and obviously couldn't sell it like that - last September and they drop off after a year so it will go soon - and the second one was something that got lost in the post last Christmas - I always have proof of postage receipts which means that every single item has to be taken to the Post Office but that's my protection so ... - so that was okay with me.
Now suddenly I have four defects, two for Significantly Not As Described in a couple of days because of lying, shitty buyers and eBay's protection of them - I am in bits. One was a lovely little Dior make-up bag - the ones you get with a purchase occasionally - which was returned according to the buyer who writes vicious feedback and has caused defects for eight people, nine with me, which is not normal! because of stains only it was brand new, still in its original box and had never been used, never been out of the box apart from to take the photos, and the photos of the areas she said were stained show, guess what for a new item, yup, no stains. I accepted the return (so I've paid out the postage to get it to her and then I had to pay to get it back) because sellers report that people damage items to ensure they can get a full refund so I was dreading the condition it was going to come back in, what she would have done to it, but it came back in the same perfect condition as it left in - all she wanted, it would seem, was not to pay the return postage and tracking fee - she even gave me feedback - who does that - and then marked me down for dispatch time of the item - the same afternoon as the she paid, exactly how much quicker could it have been sent out to her? So I got a defect for her lies.
The second one was a bike which the woman came around 40 miles to collect. She wanted to take the wheel off to get it in her car and expected me to help - I haven't the foggiest idea how to do stuff like that; I can mend a puncture but that's about it - the best I could do was hold it whilst she took the wheel off. The bike was in fine, I had cleaned it, oiled it, checked the brakes, the measurements were accurate, she examined it and was fine with all aspects of it, I offered her tea and the use of the loo before she left, I even gave her a bag to put all her tools and the wheel nuts and bolts in - I'm not sure what else I could have done but three stars (and an automatic defect) for the bike and 4/5 for communication. She was happy enough with the bike to actually sign the receipt to say it was as described and in good working order so what the hell?
EBay is only interested in the buyer so it doesn't matter what you can prove with photos or documents, all that matters is whatever lies the buyer wants to tell. If there was somewhere else, I wouldn't give eBay another thought, ever. I am gutted though I think some of that is that I am still too tender to deal with anything much more than just coping.
Oh well.
