Most of the posts on BrickingTips.com are articles or guides about buying or selling LEGO on eBay. The information in the articles may be gleaned from my personal experience as an eBay seller, but I’m largely removed from the content of the article. Although Oops, My Bad: 3 eBay Seller Screw Ups and How to Fix Them covers similar ground, today’s article is different. In today’s article I will have a starring role. Why? Because I’m the one who ruined a buyer’s Christmas.
December 18, 2014 (Thursday)
‘Twas the Thursday before Christmas and a buyer purchases a shirt. Yeah, it’s a shirt and not LEGO, but this story could have just as easily been about LEGO or any other product for that matter. I pack up the order and ship it the same day via USPS First Class.
December 22, 2014 (Monday)
The buyer messages me on eBay Monday evening, writing, “I’m very upset. I am contacting you before I leave negative feedback in case there is anything you can do for the situation.” The buyer is upset because my listing said the shirt was small, but I sent them a medium. They are requesting my return address. “It was also a gift,” they continue, “which now will be late past Christmas.”
Oh boy. This is one of probably one of my worst selling nightmares. Not only am I at fault for sending the buyer the wrong item, but I made someone’s Christmas gift late. Not my intention. What can I do? I don’t have a small version of the item to send the buyer. After some careful consideration, here’s the message I sent the buyer the same evening:
Hi [name removed], thank you for contacting me about this. I hear you and understand your frustration. I strive for accuracy in all of my item descriptions, but clearly made a mistake here mislabeling a medium as a small. I’m very sorry for my error.
I always try to fix a mistake as best as I can. In this case, though, I don’t know what I can do to make up for the fact that you won’t receive a small version of this shirt in time for Christmas. The medium that I unintentionally mislabeled as small is the only shirt [of this design] that I have.
I’ve sent you a full refund via Paypal. I’ve also sent an additional $5 for the inconvenience. You can just keep the shirt and do with it as you see fit. You don’t need to go through the extra hassle of mailing it back to me. I know none of these things fixes the problem, but hopefully they help a little.
I’m not sure what else we can do here or what else I can tell you. I can write an apology letter to whoever was supposed to receive the shirt, if you’d like. I know that might sound strange but I’d happily write it if helps in any capacity. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do.
In Summary
So what happened here? Long story short, I apologized profusely, refunded the buyer, allowed them to keep the item, sent an extra $5, and offered to write an apology note the intended recipient of the gift. Some sellers may call this response overkill or above and beyond what’s necessary. They might be right. This article isn’t intended to tell you what to do if you have the misfortune of finding yourself in a similar situation. I just thought I’d share how I decided to handle the situation.
The Result
So what happened after I sent the buyer the apologetic message? They messaged me back, offering to return the shirt anyway since they have no use for it. Also, no negative feedback so far.
The Takeaway
If and when you do screw up as seller–the odds you’ll make a mistake at some point (you are a human being, aren’t you?)–put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. What would you like the seller to tell you or do for you to fix the mistake? How would you feel? Putting yourself in the buyer’s shoes can help you problem solve the situation. Keeping the line of communication open and responding quickly to messages (ideally within 24-48 hours) is also essential to maintaining a positive relationship with the buyer, even if they are upset with you. Good luck, fellow human being! Strive to avoid errors and mistakes in your orders, but if you do mess up, fess up and try your best to fix the mistake. It’s only fair.