Refund me! or else...

21 replies
Hi gang, curious to know where things stand with "I'll post a nasty review unless you give me a refund" type threats.

Now, this doesn't bother me too much... refunds.. meh whatever, takes 2 clicks. Posting nasty reviews? When I've received this kind of threat, in the interest of honesty and transparency, I've published their review on their behalf - to show them silly threats don't intimidate me, and so their behavior is visible should they attempt to blackmail other WSO sellers (not a lawyer, use of the word blackmail might be inaccurate?).

I suspect this kinda thing is against the WF rules, but I'm not 100% sure, hence the asking for clarification.

Obviously I believe WSO reviews, good or bad, should be posted regardless of refund policies, threats or rewards... afterall even negative reviews should help us to improve our products. But mindless threats aren't professional or productive.

Anyways, thanks for your help.
#refund
  • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
    Originally Posted by JaRyCu View Post

    OK this was a mean trick Mick...I clicked through to your WSO because I wanted to see the reviews. I love when people turn this kind of thing around on the threateners LOL!
    Ah, J.. thanks for reminding me. Forgot to remove my sig from the OP.. no tricks intended.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rod Cortez
    Originally Posted by Mick Meaney View Post

    Hi gang, curious to know where things stand with "I'll post a nasty review unless you give me a refund" type threats.

    Now, this doesn't bother me too much... refunds.. meh whatever, takes 2 clicks. Posting nasty reviews? When I've received this kind of threat, in the interest of honesty and transparency, I've published their review on their behalf - to show them silly threats don't intimidate me, and so their behavior is visible should they attempt to blackmail other WSO sellers (not a lawyer, use of the word blackmail might be inaccurate?).

    I suspect this kinda thing is against the WF rules, but I'm not 100% sure, hence the asking for clarification.

    Obviously I believe WSO reviews, good or bad, should be posted regardless of refund policies, threats or rewards... afterall even negative reviews should help us to improve our products. But mindless threats aren't professional or productive.

    Anyways, thanks for your help.
    Any buyer making threats (and you have proof of this via PM or e-mail) against a seller that they will threaten them with phony reviews is clearly against the rules and should be reported to the mods immediately. This kind of behavior is so offensive that you shouldn't even warn them off. Just report them to the mods as indicated below. This kind of nonesene needs to stop.

    If it's done via PM then use the report message icon on the upper-right-hand corner (the red triangle thingee). If it's done any other way than do a screen capture (CNTRL + Print Screen for PC users) and save it just in case.

    RoD
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  • Profile picture of the author JamieSEO
    Originally Posted by Mick Meaney View Post

    Hi gang, curious to know where things stand with "I'll post a nasty review unless you give me a refund" type threats.

    Now, this doesn't bother me too much... refunds.. meh whatever, takes 2 clicks. Posting nasty reviews? When I've received this kind of threat, in the interest of honesty and transparency, I've published their review on their behalf - to show them silly threats don't intimidate me, and so their behavior is visible should they attempt to blackmail other WSO sellers (not a lawyer, use of the word blackmail might be inaccurate?).

    I suspect this kinda thing is against the WF rules, but I'm not 100% sure, hence the asking for clarification.

    Obviously I believe WSO reviews, good or bad, should be posted regardless of refund policies, threats or rewards... afterall even negative reviews should help us to improve our products. But mindless threats aren't professional or productive.

    Anyways, thanks for your help.
    Meh - I've had one or two of those over the years.

    I look at it this way...
    If it is a product, I refund them (which I would have anyway).
    If it is a service then I do not provide a refund, simply because all of my services are non-refundable and I make that clear up-front.

    Regardless of whether or not you issue a refund, they will still go and do whatever they want. If they threatened to give a bad review, then they will do so after getting the refund anyway.

    I just have a standard response for those kind of pains in the neck:

    If it is a product then....

    "Thank you for your email.

    Sorry to hear that you were dissatisfied with the product.

    A refund has been issued.

    Your feedback regarding how this product could be improved is most welcome."

    If it is a non-refundable service then....

    "Thank you for your email.

    Sorry to hear that you were dissatisfied with the service you have received.

    As clearly stated in the service description, purchases for this service are non-refundable due to work being customized to your particular order.

    I am happy to work with you to address any concerns to resolve this matter."

    In general I am happy with negative reviews since they usually give you a clear idea of what the buyers expectations were vs what the product contained, and can help with writing clearer sales copy.

    Unfortunately, sometimes you get negative reviews that just make you want to hit the buyer over the head.

    One of my most recent negative feedback was "I am an expert in [software product], and this guide sucks. It did not contain anything new."

    The product this guy was reviewing? '[Software Product] for Beginners: How to Get Started'.

    Sadly, sometimes buyers purchase something that is clearly not targeted at them, and so then leave negative feedback. While there are times when a description may be unclear, I was kind of annoyed with this guy since I had all but screamed in both the title and description that the product was intended for beginners. :p
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I have actually had the exact opposite happen to me. I have had two customers over the last year who have asked for a refund and told me they would still be leaving a nice review because they did think the product was good, just not for them.

    I think it's their way of trying to butter you up to process the refund.

    I simply process the refund and tell them I don't want the review. If someone is not willing to pay the money for a course then I don't want them telling others how much they loved the course. It's not right.
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  • Profile picture of the author owenlee
    Refund them and beg them to post a negative review..most likely they will also do the same for the other WSOs....your royal customer will be able to see which review to look at...
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  • Profile picture of the author anonymous99
    From being in e-commerce i've heard the "give me a refund or else ill call the better business bureau".... to which I reply "that would give me a great reason to buy an A rating from them".
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  • Profile picture of the author talfighel
    Mick,

    There is a good chance that even if you do give that person a refund, that they will still write bad things or a nasty little review about you. It could be both good and bad.
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  • Profile picture of the author maestro2010
    Refund them and beg them to post a negative review..most likely they will also do the same for the other WSOs....your royal customer will be able to see which review to look at...
    hahaha, that's True. because warriors always purchase products,services based on the reviews. If the reviews coming from reputed members then almost that's ok.

    Btw, if a user already received refund from seller , still he/she can post their reviews ?
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  • Profile picture of the author maestro2010
    So my advice is refund and move on, don't bother after all they will never be succesfull in anything in life with that mindset.
    Well said Alyona
    1, If it this downloadable Ebook Then getting refund request within 2 minutes.
    2, if it this service then when we delivered service then immediately asking refunds.
    Eg: if it this SEO related service then links will not appear within overnight, but they are not ready to wait at-least 7 days.
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  • Profile picture of the author matchoo77
    I get refunds in my niche...my refund rate is around 4% most of the time...some ppl can be nasty about it...but I bet it's alot worse in the IM niche....since all of us know how easy it is to get refunds...

    To think I'm about to release a product in IM niche....yikes! it's all good though, refunds are a part of any business.
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    • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
      I never, ever give into such extortion demands. Instead, I let them know they will be sued for a false and defamatory review and ask if it is really worth being dragged into a year of litigation costing thousands of dollars. Then they get banned.

      .
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      • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
        Originally Posted by kindsvater View Post

        I never, ever give into such extortion demands. Instead, I let them know they will be sued for a false and defamatory review and ask if it is really worth being dragged into a year of litigation costing thousands of dollars. Then they get banned.

        .
        lol - it's never wise to threaten a lawyer with extortion.

        Rob
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  • Profile picture of the author lgibbon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Alyona The Publicist View Post

    Unfortunately I have noticed a larger than usual amount of refund requests in the past years,
    Maybe it's just people are less tolerant of junk these days.
    It was pretty well known that years ago people who received below par
    products were more likely to chalk it up to experience than ask for a refund.

    With more and more willing to take advantage of peoples better nature
    it was only a matter of time before enough was enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author crissie
    This could all be avoided if :
    - you offered a review or two (to non-affiliates) so they can tell potential buyers just what they think.
    - if you give immediate access to something non-returnable, like an ebook or access to information...than your terms should clearly specify something like "once you access our product, refunds will not be accepted).

    If someone asks for a refund then, you've got something to protect you.
    The buyer purchased AFTER he/she had concise details on what he/she was buying into and read the terms...
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  • Profile picture of the author thatkeywordguy
    Last week someone asked me to refund him because he bought my product via HIS OWN ClickBank Affiliate Code, and he was mad because he didn't get the commission. (he didnt even craft the link right!) He wanted me to paypal him the commission that he would have got!

    >.<
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  • Profile picture of the author twinkenterprises
    I've had that happen on sites like elance or ebay. I let the hosting site know what was going on. That someone wants a refund and will try anything they can to get it. I'd send every conversation I had with the person regarding the order.
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