Help with an item return

[lazer*lightning]

Hello I am looking for advice on this issue. I sold a shirt that the buyer claims it had stains and an unpleasant smell. I am not sure if that is true or not but since I have a 100% money back guarantee return policy I agreed to have her return it, plus refund the return shipping charges as it may have been something I overlooked. eBay told me the buyer would need to initiate the return request. Does this automatically open up a SNAD or just a regular return request? How do the return shipping charges work once the buyer opens the request? I've never had to do return shipping charges before.

I was reading this:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behavior-policies/condition-returned-items-policy?id=4763

The buyer in the first message though said she washed the shirt and the smell/stains still remained. The shirt was already sold used, but in excellent condition. Does this really alter the condition once I receive it back? If so, then do I have a right to deduct a portion of that refund since it's no longer in excellent used condition? This garment was stored with other clothes in a plastic bag in my basement and none of the other clothes smell or have stains so not sure what the buyer is claiming, is completely accurate. I want to avoid bad feedback and help in any way I can though. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[redlinear]

Buyer needs to open a return request.   Depends on the reason they choose if you have to pay return shipping or not.  (you probably will though).
Depending on how your settings are: Buyer will automatically receive a return label, OR, you will have to "okay" the return label. (that info will be in a message you receive after the buyer initiates the return).
When the item gets back to you.  You refund, or else eBay will do that for you if you don't.

[rockystradingpost]

These things happen with used clothing. 

I purchased a new dress shirt for my husband from a higher-end department store years ago. It appeared to be brand new in its original packaging.

It was only when I ironed it that it began to REEK.  Really bad.

Someone had obviously worn it and returned it.

So I think smells can go "dormant" and be revived later. 

[xochitllar-0]

Is the item worth paying for return shipping?  Do you think this is an inaccurate claim or does the buyer have good feedback for some time?  If it is worth the return shipping the buyer has to open the return request.  If it's not worth the return shipping refund all and you're ahead the return shipping.  It is, unfortunately, the cost of doing business at times...

[12345jamesstamps]

Not sure what the buyer paid for shirt and shipping.

If it was inexpensive...is it worth to get it back since it might be a tough re-sell again?

You be paying for something to return and probably can't re-sell.

And feedback...can be important to some buyers. I have refunded a few times just to save my feedback.

Funny thing...those I have refunded in the past never left me feedback or said thanks.

"excellent used condition"...it was used to begin with before you sold it.

[kensgiftshop]

You don't qualify to deduct any from the refund.

If they file an INAD, you'll have to pay return shipping and give a full refund, or just refund.

[chapeau-noir]

If it's the Planet Fitness shirt, performance wear like that tends to get what might be called 'eau d' sweat' and it BLOSSOMS if it's packed in plastic, and can be tough to get rid of unless one knows how (and can linger even after washing if one doesn't know how).

[lazer*lightning]

Well the buyer is at least trying to be polite about the whole thing. No return request or feedback has been left yet. She does not want to send back the shirt as it's a hassle and doesn't really have time. I offered a $4 partial refund for her to keep it but she prefers a full refund. The shirt was: $11 best offer plus the buyer paid: $6.55 shipping (I paid $4.55 discounted ebay shipping) & $1.09 tax - total of $18.64.  What should I do? Would offering to pay for dry cleaning be a good option?

[lazer*lightning]

Yes it was the Planet Fitness shirt.

[robbie31415]

I'd probably issue a full refund without return instead of paying another 5 dollars for something that would probably not end up being sold again.

[a_c_green]

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@lazer*lightning wrote:

The shirt was: $11 best offer plus the buyer paid: $6.55 shipping (I paid $4.55 discounted ebay shipping) & $1.09 tax - total of $18.64.  What should I do? Would offering to pay for dry cleaning be a good option?

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It wouldn't hurt to offer, at this point, although if she's not too busy to take it for dry cleaning and collect it again later, she must not be too busy to make a single trip to the post office to return it for a full refund. 

However, you've already made one partial refund offer, so aside from a dry cleaning offer, at this point you might as well refund in full and claim the loss on your taxes next year.

P.S. In rereading the sequence of events, I don't see that you washed the shirt after pulling it from storage. Did you? I'm looking at the listing photos and it seems like there's the shadow of a large sweat stain running down the center front, unless that's just the lighting.

[lazer*lightning]

Well I offered the dry cleaning thing but she didn't want to do that either. So she opened a return case and is returning the shirt for a full refund. No I did not wash the shirt after pulling it from the basement. That is just the lighting. I will be curious once it comes back and see if it really smelled or what happened.

BTW this person seems hard to please. Out of the 452 feedbacks received she only left 27 and 8 of those were negs (no neutrals).

[chapeau-noir]

Dry cleaning won't help if it's eau d' sweat, it needs to be treated with an enzymatic cleaner. Trust me on this, I'm a competitive athlete and I know from stanky synthetic sportswear and do end up using oxy-clean or whatever. Rayon also soaks this stuff up.

Also, one can be very clean and wash everything and still have that smell - it does tend to gas out when wrapped in plastic or heat touches it so one doesn't even detect it just wrapping it. But I'm bemused by someone who doesn't have time to wash a shirt - what does she do with her own clothing.

Generally I don't fight over this stuff but just refund the buyer. But since she's sending it back, get the shirt warm and sniff the right underarm (sorry, but that's the best way to tell).

[a_c_green]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

Dry cleaning won't help if it's eau d' sweat, it needs to be treated with an enzymatic cleaner. Trust me on this, I'm a competitive athlete and I know from stanky synthetic sportswear and do end up using oxy-clean or whatever. Rayon also soaks this stuff up.

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Jeez... I can't say I've ever noticed problems getting my summer sweaty stuff clean with just a proper run through the laundry with good detergent. I'll be peeling off T-shirts from lawn mowing and such, totally sweat-soaked, but they're just fine after routine laundering. OTOH, I don't give the clothing much time to ferment, so maybe the really ingrown stuff puts up more of a fight in the washing.

(I do notice that when the offspring are doing their laundry, they'll jam twice as much into one load, to the point where I wonder how they get anything clean...)

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

But since she's sending it back, get the shirt warm and sniff the right underarm (sorry, but that's the best way to tell).

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I sniff the left underarm as I'm a southpaw. 😁

P.S. I'm also a stickler about drying. Our dryer has a moisture sensor that advances the timer towards Off as it detects less dampness across the two sensor contacts at the back of the drum. However, if the clothing has tumbled itself into a ball, it might be dry on the outside but still have damp clothing in the middle.

Thus our standard practice now is that each dryer load gets what we call the Victory Lap: once its regular drying cycle has finished, we'll clean the lint filter, pull the assembled pile of clothing apart and rearrange it a bit, and then run the dryer again. It takes a lot less time to finish on the second go-round, and when it's done with the Victory Lap, everything inside is good to go.