Why are a lot of my Refunds Partial Refunds

[cluxsy]

So I just started shopping for clothes on ebay cause it's way cheaper. i bought like 10 pairs of clothes that were in small, but apparently I'm a medium so I had to return all of them. When i look at the refund it's only a partial refund. On the details for the a lot of the items I bought it says seller pays for return shipping. So why am I getting only a partial refund for all of these?

[toomuchstuffagain35]

What reason did you choose for the return?

If you chose "didn't fit'" those would be remorse returns and the seller is allowed to deduct the original shipping.

[cluxsy]

so that's why... just curious could i have lied and gave another reason i had no idea you can get a partial refund just for saying it doesn't fit like if it says seller pays for return shipping then i assume it doesn't matter what reason i give for a refund that's kinda frustrating. Sure i could have checked they fit before i bought them, but i am going off what the listing says... seller pays for return so I think to myself oh this is no loss for me if it doesn't fit i can just return it. All these little loopholes such a pain this was not made me clear to me as the buyer whatsoever

[kathiec]

So you think the seller should have to take a loss because you couldn't be bothered to check fit before you ordered? Wow. Clothing is a very competitive category on eBay, so sellers largely run on a very slim profit margin. And a large percentage of those sellers aren't huge conglomerates. They're small to medium sellers just trying to make a buck. So if you want totally free returns for your window shopping, you might try Amazon (actually a huge conglomerate).

[cluxsy]

My issue isn't that the seller should take a loss, it's that on the page listing for the item, it literally says seller pays for return shipping. It makes no mention of "oh if you say you should get a refund for saying the item doesn't fit, then you need to pay for return shipping as the buyer". Had it said that, I would have been a lot more careful, but I am thinking to myself well it's no loss for me I'll just return it if it doesn't fit. Kathiec you should read a bit since you're apparently a superstar you would be held to a higher standard. I just want you to read sentences using logic instead of emotion which you have done now. I get women are more emotional due to hormones and such, but I just like helpful replies not ones where people are being hostile at me when they haven't read properly that's all.

[joneseve67]

Maybe read the policies on "didn't fit" returns.  It's actually on the buyer to know the terms before they purchase.  The seller should not have to take the loss if they are following Ebay policy and you don't know them.

[cluxsy]

I mean I go off my own common sense. If ebays says seller pays for return shipping on the listing for the item, that makes me think I can return it with no loss. They should add a little asterisk or something to it with a note mentioning this "policy" you speak of. You can talk about little loopholes all you want, but it is deceptive as a buyer I just want transparency. For example you see a stop sign you stop, you see a item listing that says seller pays for return shipping you think they pay for return shipping.

[wastingtime101]

The listings said free returns, seller pays for return shipping.

The listings did not say free shipping, meaning seller absorbs the cost of outbound shipping.

There are sellers that offer both free shipping and free returns. Even sellers that do offer such policies are within their rights to block any buyers that cost them too much $ on shipping loss because the buyer, as you put it, "could have checked they fit before [you] bought them."

Could you have lied and chose a reason other than the honest one of doesn't fit? Sure, you could, and the seller can report you for abuse and you could lose return privileges on eBay entirely. We've seen many lose their return privileges, and even lose their accounts entirely, when eBay classified them as abusive buyers. Even Amazon boots buyers that lie to take advantage of return policies.

[cluxsy]

You just said it yourself thank you. What is the difference between seller pays for return shipping vs outbound shipping. As a buyer i am shipping the product back so that is outbound shipping. So on the listing it says seller pays for return shipping which by my logic would be the outbound shipping that I am doing. I'd love to hear about how I've been bamboozled cause those sound exactly the same to me.

[wastingtime101]

You have not been bamboozled.

Outbound shipping refers to the seller shipping the item to you. Look at a listing and you will see either "free shipping" or a stated shipping cost.

That is 100% separate from the return policy. Return policy will indicate if return shipping is paid by the seller aka "free returns" or paid by the buyer.

On a listing that does not offer "free shipping" for getting the item to you and instead charges a separate shipping cost, those funds are forfeit. You return the item because it doesn't fit, you do not get those funds back.

I mentioned this above, but I think it's worth re-stating: do not lie about the reason for return to try and force a seller to pay return shipping. Do not intentionally damage merchandise and lie and say it came that way. Be a decent human being, please.

[gator08041971]

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@cluxsy wrote:

What is the difference between seller pays for return shipping vs outbound shipping.

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Return shipping - Shipping that is covered when an item is returned to a seller.

Outbound shipping - The original shipping that is paid by the buyer or the seller to ship an item to a buyer.

Get those understood first.

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@cluxsy wrote:

 I'd love to hear about how I've been bamboozled cause those sound exactly the same to me.

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You weren't bamboozled.

The seller is well within their rights depending on the reason you chose for the return to refund in full or refund minus the shipping cost.

Here's the thing:

When sellers sell stuff on here, they pay a lot to sell it.  At best they might take in 60-70% profit, assuming the buyer pays shipping outbound.  When they pay for shipping too, now that profit goes down more.  Then you throw return shipping and if the seller pays for that, they take another hit, and they don't get those shipping costs back most of the time.  They have to eat it.   And the lower the cost of the item, the worse this gets.  Its conceivable to sell an item, end up returning it and actually lose money.

While sure, it would be nice if every seller was detailed about the returns, it is also good to know the policies you are permitted to have access to as a buyer.

And frankly, lying to get something returned is not cool.  More buyers just need to be honest, as do more sellers.  The bad ones on both sides make all this just that much worse.

So learn from it, and try to pay attention, research the buyer's guidelines here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-items-not-received-refunds-buyers/returning-item/return-shi...

More on returns here:

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-items-not-received-refunds-buyers/return-item-refund?id=404...

Abusive Buyer Policy:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/rules-policies-buyers/abusive-buyer-policy?id=4374

Good luck.

[iamalwaysright]

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@cluxsy wrote:

My issue isn't that the seller should take a loss, it's that on the page listing for the item, it literally says seller pays for return shipping. It makes no mention of "oh if you say you should get a refund for saying the item doesn't fit, then you need to pay for return shipping as the buyer". Had it said that, I would have been a lot more careful, but I am thinking to myself well it's no loss for me I'll just return it if it doesn't fit. Kathiec you should read a bit since you're apparently a superstar you would be held to a higher standard. I just want you to read sentences using logic instead of emotion which you have done now. I get women are more emotional due to hormones and such, but I just like helpful replies not ones where people are being hostile at me when they haven't read properly that's all.

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You’re confused. In your instances the sellers did pay for return shipping. If the listings say “seller pays return shipping”, it’s always true no matter what reason you use to open the return in eBay. And you paid for the original outgoing shipping.

I used to have all my items with free shipping. It’s buyers like you that made me change most of them to paid shipping and most likely migrate the rest of my free shipping listings to paid as well.

[marnotom!]

Good clothing sellers include measurements of the garments they're selling.  I recently bought a new-with-tags sweater that American Eagle considered to be an XS but seeing pictures of the sweater with a tape measure on it convinced me that it was more like small to medium.  And it fit runty little me just fine.

If sizing is this much of a problem for you, I would strongly suggest passing on sellers who don't give much in the way of information on the garment's measurements.

[iamalwaysright]

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@cluxsy wrote:

I mean I go off my own common sense. If ebays says seller pays for return shipping on the listing for the item, that makes me think I can return it with no loss. They should add a little asterisk or something to it with a note mentioning this "policy" you speak of. You can talk about little loopholes all you want, but it is deceptive as a buyer I just want transparency. For example you see a stop sign you stop, you see a item listing that says seller pays for return shipping you think they pay for return shipping.

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Again, you are confused because your sellers did pay for the return shipping. Transparency can go both ways. You should be transparent to your sellers and tell them you plan on not checking the size/fit and just return the item when you check the size/fit after you receive it. Let’s see how many sellers would be okay with that.

[iamalwaysright]

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@marnotom! wrote:

Good clothing sellers include measurements of the garments they're selling.  I recently bought a new-with-tags sweater that American Eagle considered to be an XS but seeing pictures of the sweater with a tape measure on it convinced me that it was more like small to medium.  And it fit runty little me just fine.

If sizing is this much of a problem for you, I would strongly suggest passing on sellers who don't give much in the way of information on the garment's measurements.

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All my listings give measurements and I still get a lot of returns with fit from buyers who don’t bother with or didn’t see my size chart and just go by their own size standard. They’ll say something like “I’m an XL size and this is clearly not an XL but more like 2XL”. I assumed the OP was in this same boat from reading their post. I could be wrong though.