Wow - druzydesign (Ehret Design Gallery) blocked me!

[marymm]

Kinda shocked - just found out that ebay vendor druzydesign blocked me from purchasing *and* blocked me from sending her a message! I tried to buy some loose pearls but am blocked from purchasing, and then I tried to contact druzydesign to find out the problem only to discover I'm also blocked from emailing her!

Back in late July, I purchased 3 items at once, all loose pearls, over $360.00 altogether- was very happy and gave glowing feedback.

In mid-August, I bought an apx $170.00 Tahitian pearl pendant and returned it, as it turned out in real life to be very close in color to a Tahitian I already have set into a pendant (from the pics and description I had expected more Peacock).

And in mid-September, I bought an apx $170.00 Tahitian keshi bracelet for my sister's birthday, but returned it as she decided she wanted a different style bracelet.

So I know I returned two items, but I followed her return policy carefully, and responded to each transaction cancellation request immediately. And previously I purchased several hundred dollars worth from her shop. It is just weird to me that under these circumstances I would be blocked from even contacting her let alone making a purchase.

I'm mostly venting, but I'm kinda sad to lose her as a vendor and kinda annoyed about it too.

 

[katbran]

That seems a bit surprising really. There is always the chance, especially with pearls and the difficulty in getting the photos to show true colours, that something bought over the internet will not be quite what someone is expecting. I would think that it wouldn't be worth losing a customer permanently (someone who has spent money and obviously still wants to spend money) over a couple of returns. Not like they are considerably out of pocket (and I say that only because I have no idea as to any costs the seller incurs that may not be covered on a returned item) . Odd

 

[pearlsngems]

I'm going to play devil's advocate, much as I sympathize with your situation.

Sellers do lose money on returns. Here is how:

When a seller refunds the full original payment (as eBay and PayPal require), a portion of what they refund is money they no longer have: it's the money they spent to ship the item to the buyer. That money must come from the seller's own wallet. This is true even when there is "free shipping". (Really there is no such thing as free shipping-- it really means "shipping included". Shipping is never free for the sender, so the cost must be factored into the price of the item.)

Example: Let's say the item costs $50 with "free shipping." Let's also say the seller has to pay the post office $5 to ship the item. The buyer pays the seller $50, but the seller only gets to keep $45 of that; the remaining $5 must be given to the post office to ship the item.

Now let's say the buyer returns the item and seller must refund the buyer. He can't just refund the $45 he kept-- no, he has to refund the entire $50, including the $5 he paid to the post office. So now he is out of pocket $5. He has the item back to resell, but he is $5 short, and if the next buyer does the same, he continues to lose money with each subsequent return.

By the way, I understand that the buyer has to pay to return the item-- I have had to do that myself when returning goods-- but I am just looking at it from the point of view of the seller, who is losing money on returns. I can see where a seller may decide to block a buyer who seems to be making a lot of returns.

You only made 2 returns-- not a lot!-- but they were fairly close together (August and September); if they had been more spread out with other purchases in between, perhaps the seller might not have been so concerned about 2 returns.

It is unfortunate! Fact is, eBay sellers don't make a lot of profit-- eBay and PayPal take a lot of money in fees, and returns eat into the seller's ability to turn a profit, and to pay their own bills.

Big companies can afford the cost of returns more easily than small sellers. They make up for it in volume of sales. But smaller sellers (like druzydesign) are more vulnerable.

As far as being blocked from messaging, sellers can choose how to set their seller preferences; one option is to automatically block messages from buyers who are blocked from buying. I'm sure that part wasn't personal; they just have their preferences set that way.

Again, I really do sympathise. We sell on eBay (small amounts) and we've lost money on returns, so that is how I know....

 

[NacreLover]

EBay was never set up to accept buyers regrets. Looks like you wore out your welcome at her shop.

 

[movie zombie]

EBay was never set up to accept buyers regrets. ........................

QFT.

 

[marymm]

Thanks for your opinions, everyone.

 

[alice87]

Unfortunately yes, ebay is not much for buyers profit. I agree when item is not as described, it is a legit reason to return it. I would not go back to the seller, who actually list an item and does not describe it correctly.
It seems like you return and you purchase for the same amount.
Buyers like return customers, but what are the chances you next transaction would be successful? Try retail - it is easier to return and not personal, less upsets.

 

[Pearlescence]

In Europe we have a law called the Distance Selling Regulations. This law requires that if someone buys remotely, as in over the internet, via a company website or via eBay and changes their mind for any reason or no reason (because it's Friday?) the seller MUST refund. That's it. No quibbles, no argument, MUST refund.
I got a pair of cufflinks and a tie stud returned a couple of weeks ago. I know they were worn for a wedding and then returned but the customer is still entitled to his money back.
So yes, we do lose out on secure shipping and on the rare occasions when I do have to do a refund and the little window pops up on the credit card handling company screen to say 'do you really want to make this refund' I always yell 'nooooooooooooooo' very loudly. But in the interests of good customer relations as well as to comply with the law that button gets pressed.
Incidentally Paypal refunds the fees for the transaction, credit cards charge you more as it's another transaction.
Over here we simply view it as one of the things which goes with selling on the net.

 

[NacreLover]

Some women have returned the items to her, some have not and got refunds anyway. (posts from other forums) Obviously there must be a reason she has chosen to use block at her store. NO one has complained they have not gotten a refund from her.

 

[Pearlescence]

My point is that we are perhaps a bit more phlegmatic about returns because something isn't liked than perhaps happens elsewhere.
I agree, btw, eBay is terrible for sellers. With listing fees, sale fees, paypal fees and much nonsense etc I do wonder why anyone bothers

 

[pearlsngems]

People bother because eBay is visited by so many buyers, and despite the fees and other annoyances, is still the best way to reach those buyers for many sellers, particularly casual sellers such as ourselves.

 

[ladyzee]

eBay certainly has it's challenges for sellers as well as buyers. I do think however if you are running an eBay store it should be run like any other business. Certainly for the seller there are many fees involved but in most cases these sellers can be sitting at their computer in their living room and not dealing with a storefront at the mall or on the street. Personally I think courtesy and professionalism should be extended to any customer, and blocking them without an explanation is like slamming the front door of your shop on a customer you don't want to deal with. All that would really be needed in this situation is an explanation and it would have gone so much further with the OP as well all the potential customers who are reading this thread. Any good recommendation about a vendor is worth it's weigh in gold!!

 

[pearlsngems]

I don't believe there is any way that a seller could inform a buyer that henceforth they were going to be blocked, and why, that would make it more pleasant or acceptable to the buyer. I truly believe a clean break is the best approach, once the seller has decided to block. Messaging back and forth about it would only prolong the unpleasantness and create more bad feelings. If a seller has blocked me, I really don't want them messaging me to tell me about my deficiencies as a buyer! Just block me and be done with it, LOL.

As for potential buyers reading this thread, they have learned that the seller has a limit to how many returns she is willing to accept. That is useful information for them and not bad for the seller, either.

As an aside, about 10 years ago our Walmart had an alcove for Walton jewelers. A local woman made the news when Walton denied her a refund because she had returned too many jewelry items. She was annoyed but they were within their legal rights and stood firm. Even in brick and mortar stores, buyers are not guaranteed the ability to buy and return without limits being imposed.

 

[NacreLover]

As a reader over at the QVC forums. (shopping network) There are many women who get the dredded "LETTER" from them shutting off their ability to buy at their shopping network for too many returns. Of course they are upset and vent at the forums.

As a buyer on occasions there, if items sell out I don't go back later looking to see if items bounce back after some women's CC deny payment or some women get the item home to look and send it back withing 30 days. It does hurt business when real buyers are not able to buy when they really want something for a gift or themselves.

As a seller and buyer on ebay, I have had people bid a thousand dollars on something then write me and say they changed their minds or were bidding for someone else and that person didn't like what they had bid on for them. Luckily I was able to contact the other bidders and the items did sell to others. Keep in mind you can't give these dead beats a negative feedback any longer.

 

[alice87]

Messaging back and forth about it would only prolong the unpleasantness and create more bad feelings. If a seller has blocked me, I really don't want them messaging me to tell me about my deficiencies as a buyer! Just block me and be done with it, LOL.

I like your quote

 

[Pearlescence]

The OP is a bit stunned at having a shop door slammed in her face. I agree. It could have been managed better. Perhaps an email to her saying that the seller was unhappy with returns due to changed mind and next time a sale would be final, only if the item was at fault would there be a refund.
The rules and law are different in the USA, I know, and isn't returning things much more common (impression gained from Rachel in Friends!)
What's the stated return policy on the ebay shop?

 

[pearlsngems]

The official shop policy is return for refund within 14 days, buyer pays return shipping.

This is pretty standard, at least among eBay sellers who understand that it is pointless to post a "no returns" policy because then buyers will open a dispute, claim the item is not as described, etc. and eBay will force the seller to refund them and give the seller a black mark to boot. In some cases a "no returns" policy will also lead eBay to tell the buyer they don't even need to return the item to get their refund. So the hapless seller loses both their money and their item.

Edit: Even if the seller were to message the buyer that they would not permit more returns, there is no way for the seller to enforce it. Buyer can still file a dispute.

This is not the case in brick and mortar stores-- many independently owned shops post a policy of "No returns-- store credit only." Such a policy won't fly on eBay. A determined buyer can usually force a refund.

On eBay, if you read the boards, you will see that the common practice is to block without prior or subsequent messaging. Indignant/entitled buyers have a tendency to leave bad feedback, which eBay then uses against the seller to lower their visibility in the order items come up on search. Blocking is a proactive way of protecting one's business. I venture to say that most eBay sellers have a blocked bidders list. We do.

People who own their own selling websites don't have buyers posting bad feedback for all the world to read; eBay sellers are more vulnerable that way and have to take care to protect their businesses.

 

[seaurchin]

I can't weigh in on situations and people I don't know, but in my experience, most of the pearl sellers do not post very accurate photos. They don't take them in filtered natural sunlight or a facsimile that shows the pearls as close to how they really look as possible. You don't get a reasonable and fair idea of what they actually look like until you see them in person. In person, they're usually not as good as shown in the photos, imo. Therefore, I do not think it's reasonable and fair when they're quick to block over returns. Catherine Cardellini and Pearllunar are two notable exceptions that I can think of right now, and even then there's always that discrepancy that's just the nature of the beast. Even at a physical jewelry store, the lighting is specially designed to enhance jewelry appearance hugely, so you don't really know what you've got until you get it out of the store. So, I think it also depends on what an ebay (or any other) business is selling.

 

[Pearlescence]

Photography is the bane of a pearl business. Photographing pearls is equivalent to photographing a mirror. With a gem shop as well I can testify that evn clear quartz is a doddle by comparison

 

[alice87]

I can't weigh in on situations and people I don't know, but in my experience, most of the pearl sellers do not post very accurate photos. They don't take them in filtered natural sunlight or a facsimile that shows the pearls as close to how they really look as possible. You don't get a reasonable and fair idea of what they actually look like until you see them in person. In person, they're usually not as good as shown in the photos, imo. Therefore, I do not think it's reasonable and fair when they're quick to block over returns. Catherine Cardellini and Pearllunar are two notable exceptions that I can think of right now, and even then there's always that discrepancy that's just the nature of the beast. Even at a physical jewelry store, the lighting is specially designed to enhance jewelry appearance hugely, so you don't really know what you've got until you get it out of the store. So, I think it also depends on what an ebay (or any other) business is selling.

I bought items from both vendors. Catherine is accurate, and she photograph at the larger scale. The item may seem smaller when expected when you finally get it in your hands, even with the proportions provided. Still, she is extremely good with photos.
I had a terrible experience with pearllunar. He uses (I assume he) stock photos that don't match the real pearls in any regard. Terrible quality. And the sense of humor? Oh, yes, ship it back to China for 23 dollars... I even left a positive feedback. This is one seller I will never forget.
I bought golden pearls and got lavender one's. No match in anything.... He pretty much deserve negative feedback for his actions.
Another example Augustus pearls on ebay - here I was very impressed at how accurate the photos were. I was afraid to get the item, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it matched exactly what I got.

 

[katbran]

I have bought from all three online sellers you mentioned Alice. I did return CC pearls once as they were very small when I received them and the colours were lighter ... they were in fact the size listed but it was years ago before I realized exactly how small 7 mm and 8 mm baroques actually are .. !!! So my fault ..but you are right in that the size of the photos is almost misleading . It's what, years later, made me add in a coin or some other point of reference/comparison for the size when I photograph something for a client.

As for Pearlunar .. I never had an issue with anything I received from them but then I only bought a few strands.

Agustus is great...good photos .. and you get exactly what you see. I have bought quite a few things from him..like CC .. you pay top dollar..no bargains there... but you do get what's been photographed and his quality is very good.

Colours are always very difficult as Wendy pointed out...takes a lot of practice and probably a bit of photo shopping/colour correcting to try and get the colours to match the item. I always assume the item will be lighter than the photo shows it to be. I bought a Tahitian baroque from Drusy based on the photo it looked very peacock..in real life it was very nice, I liked it, but not as brightly coloured as the photo.

 

[alice87]

Colours are always very difficult as Wendy pointed out...takes a lot of practice and probably a bit of photo shopping/colour correcting to try and get the colours to match the item. I always assume the item will be lighter than the photo shows it to be. I bought a Tahitian baroque from Drusy based on the photo it looked very peacock..in real life it was very nice, I liked it, but not as brightly coloured as the photo.

Totally agree. With tahitians I am truly afraid... They show such an amazing peacock color, and when you get the item, it is just dark, with occasional green hue in a very bright July sunlight.
Unless I see it with my eyes I am not willing to shop for Tahitians online. It is a hassle for me and a hassle for a seller.
I've heard about these three sellers on the board. And I saw pictures from pearllunar. So it was a total surprise for me. I regifted studs I bought from him, because lavendar is a difficult color on me, and when you expect gold and get a lavender....
But with Catherine I saw quite a few pictures of strands where I thought they would be small, and in fact they looked huge when women posted neck shots. I don't know. I am quite happy with her earrings, and she is so much fun to communicate with.

 

[Bonsai]

I've had a similar experience with poor communication. I bought close to $1100 worth of stuff. I could not get responses to questions until I made a purchase. This was an inquiry on information so I could make a purchase, never a complaint nor return.
On the 2 time this happened (separate purchases) she responded again like clockwork as soon as I made an order and told me they were starting a sale at that time. Since I had literally just made the purchase I asked if ti can apply to me. She refused to respond at that point and all communication suddenly stopped for 2 days. This was a Saturday afternoon.
I asked them to hold off on my order b/c I could buy similar gems at the new sale price and it would save me some $ having bought a lot from them recently. I even asked for a store credit that would allow me to use it to buy more from them.
Look I understand when stuff is on sale a day or week later, but less than 5 minutes???
2 days go by no response. I figure ok its the holiday weekend they aren't working....ThenI got a shipping confirmation today on Memorial Day. So I'm like ok cant respond to msgs but send shipping label? So I msg them again, I told them to hold off until they message me.
Suddenly they responded immediately again...They basically messaged me that they dont care and have sent the package anyway and it's "already shipped". No it hasn't, its Memorial Day and yesterday was Sunday. It hasn't shipped. It has a shipping label created and it's in pre shipment status.
Gems are pretty, communication is terrible.

 

[Bron357]

I have only been blocked by a seller once, my crime? I messaged asking for confirmation that the leather Jacket being sold was animal leather and not a synthetic type. I got an amazingly aggressive reply and was told I would never ever buy from her because I was BLOCKED.
Selling on eBay is tougher now. eBay “pings you” if you get returns or negative or neutral feedback. Even getting less then 4 star plus average feedback can lead to restrictions. including withholding the buyers funds until they leave positive feedback or 21 days.
eBay now takes their fee on the whole amount the buyer pays, including the shipping. So that has to be factored in.
If a buyer returns the item, eBay refunds the whole amount, including shipping. The seller is out of pocket for the original shipping even if the buyer pays return shipping.
And the final straw for many sellers, PayPal now keeps their fee if a return / refund is required. So the 2.6% fee + 30 cents (3.6% if international) the seller pays because the buyer used PayPal is kept by PayPal and the seller is out of pocket that amount too.
So your $1000 purchase with $50 shipping cost the seller (Not an eBay store) 10.9% = $114.45.
PayPal charges 2,9% plus 30 cents on $1,050 = $30.75.
Buyer changes mind get $1,050 back but seller is out of pocket $50 plus $30.75 = $80.75.
If buyer wins a “not as described case”, buyer gets back $1,050 and paid for by seller return shipping so seller is out of pocket $50 x 2 =$100 plus eBay final value fee $114.45 plus PayPal fees $30.75.
So an unsuccessful $1,000 sale (unhappy buyer) costs the seller $245.20.
AND the eBay punishment can see the Seller pay in future a final value fee increase at 14.9%.
So that’s why sellers choose their buyers more carefully, it’s not necessarily personal it’s financial.

 

[anne_h]

I have never heard of a seller 'blocking' a buyer until this thread. Especially over returns that their own policies permit, and without prior warning to the buyer. OP - I would feel annoyed too.

Even if sellers take a loss on returns, shipping, Paypal fees, etc, I say either build that into your pricing model, or craft your return policies accordingly.

Recent experience (with fees, not blocking)... a niche antique jewelry dealer stated she would only accept wire transfer, which I was not comfortable with since I'd never worked with her before. Normally I'd exit the purchase process there, but I really liked the piece and the seller seemed quite nice otherwise, so I just called her up and asked what the concern was. Her stated concern was with credit card and Paypal fees, since she said her profit margin is small already. Since I really wanted some protection on the transaction, I offered to pay an additional small fee, if she would allow me to pay by Paypal. She agreed and we continued to have a pleasant dialog.

Anne