Buyer bought wrong item, wants refund

[gklei_94]

Hi everybody, 

I would like some input from the community on this one.

I am a new seller here on eBay. I have sold around 20 items so far and everything has gone smoothly. I now have 7 positive feedback from buyers.

I sold an item, which happened to be a very specific item; an expansion module for a networking switch. I sent the module, as described in the listing (which included exact part number) and in good working order. 

a few days after the buyer received it, they send me a picture of the item jammed into an incompatible networking device. They say it doesn’t work with their 2920 series switch. They want their money back.

I respond politely and tell them that I’m sorry for their situation, but that the item in the listing was delivered as described and in good working order. I cannot be held responsible because they failed to properly research the proper model of item that they needed to purchase to be compatible with their equipment. I provided a link to my items .pdf data sheet where it clearly states that it’s compatible with only 2910 series switches, not 2920.

a few more days go by, I sign into my eBay and check my seller page. Suddenly my cash outs are “on hold” and my account is “under review”. Buyer sends another message that they have contacted eBay and told them that my item does not work and they want a refund. They said eBay will be in touch with me.

I respond once again and tell buyer it is not my fault that they did not know the correct item to purchase, and bought my item... which is incompatible with their system. I then report the buyer for the false claim they are making that my item does not work. Of course it does not work- buyer sent me a oicture of the item jammed into their incorrect model switch, it doesn’t even fit in the slot properly. Of course it doesn’t work, you bought the wrong thing!

obviously this is very frustrating because I have to imagine that this buyers complaint is the direct cause of my account payouts being put on hold. What’s more is I’m supposed to continue shipping out items for other sales when I don’t even know what’s going to happen with this hold/review.

so a couple questions:

1) what’s the official policy on a situation like this one? I can’t possibly be in the wrong here can I? 

2) I read online that eBay usually sides with the buyer. I’m afraid the person reviewing my case won’t take the time to understand what happened and decide in the buyers favor. Because I am new, I worry if my account and pending funds will ever even be returned to regular status.

should I be this concerned? Anybody ever dealt with something like this?

3) Finally, the buyer is claiming that my item is broken or defective when they don’t even have the correct model switch to confirm this. I have an image of the module jammed into a non fitting slot by the buyer... it’s completely possible that my perfectly good item now IS broken ... broken by the buyer.

what can I do?

thank you

[lamber9347]

@gklei_94 I'm sorry but this platform offers a Money Back Guarantee to all buyers. Your own no returns policy is superseded by eBay’s return policy in the TOS. Once the buyer selects INAD you will have to pay for the return shipping or eBay will deduct it from your account, regardless of what you stated in your own listing. There are millions of sales on a daily basis, no one looks at each return case. It is all automatic.

Your best bet is to accept the return and issue the return label or you will also receive a defect on your selling account. It happens; it's a part of selling online. It's not personal against you, this is just business. Best of luck to you....

[gklei_94]

Thanks for the reply, however:

I read that eBays money back guarantee only covers buyers if the item arrived damaged or if the item delivered was not as described.

my situation is neither of these. I would consider it buyers remorse... remorse at their own mistake.

also when the buyer asked for the refund the page clearly stated that I have the right to deny the refund request.

What’s the deal? I’d like to stand my ground but if my entire account and pending funds are truly at stake here it’s not worth it. Very sad this is the state of the platform.

[lamber9347]

No, you are getting caught up with words. Whatever the buyer said to you makes no difference. Once a buyer opens a return they are very limited in which choice they can make. Your buyer apparently selected does not work, and that falls under the category of item not as described. The ONLY returns a seller can deny are remorse returns, such as changed my mind, or item doesn't fit. Those are classified as remorse returns. 

Below is the link to the MBG page, you should spend some time reading it. It's not about your account being at stake, it's only a return. Your funds will be on hold until this is resolved. You can continue to sell and will continue to sell other items. We all get a return every now and then, it's a part of online selling.

Just be aware there is a time limit for you to respond, or eBay will automatically refund the buyer and allow them to keep the item. If you accept the return and send a label, then you can get the item back and simply resell it. Always keep your account in mind when making these decisions. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

[gklei_94]

Anyhow, I already denied the refund request days ago before my account payouts were put on “hold”. There’s no dispute or anything, just my payouts on hold. Day 3 of the 5 day “review”. My problem is that if this were my fault I would gladly refund. However it is not, and I am not Amazon, just an individual selling some items. Buyers should be responsible for understanding what they need and what they are buying. Just my opinion.

guess it’s up to the eBay gods now

[lamber9347]

And you are entitled to your opinion, and you do not have to agree or understand it. Do some more reading on this forum and you will quickly understand, the buyer always wins here. They have a guarantee to win, it's literally in the policy. The item didn't work, they will be refunded for it. You will end up without the funds and without the item returned to you. 

[gklei_94]

I believe what you are telling me to be true, however this is exactly buyers remorse. It doesn’t fit their system. They didn’t know the correct part to buy. They bought mine expecting it to fit their system. It does not; however, it is exactly as described in the listing.

ebay did give me the opportunity to deny the refund which I did. No open or pending returns or disputes. This person just messaged me and told me they contacted eBay after the fact... and that “eBay will be getting in touch with me”.

[a_c_green]

---

@gklei_94 wrote:

Anyhow, I already denied the refund request days ago before my account payouts were put on “hold”. There’s no dispute or anything, just my payouts on hold. Day 3 of the 5 day “review”. My problem is that if this were my fault I would gladly refund. However it is not, and I am not Amazon, just an individual selling some items. Buyers should be responsible for understanding what they need and what they are buying. Just my opinion.

guess it’s up to the eBay gods now

---

You will not be happy with the outcome. The buyer has filed a dispute based on the fact that it does not work for him, which it doesn't, because he bought the wrong item for the task, and that is not your fault.

Unfortunately, the dispute process does not get into assigning blame; it just oversees returns to ensure that if the buyer wants a refund, the seller gets the option of having the item returned first, but then after that the refund will be granted. Basically, you do not get to deny the refund on that basis; you only get to say whether you want the item back first.

I would suggest sending the buyer a return label if it's not too late for that, and then refunding after you receive the item back. If he does not use the label within 5 days (I think), then the return should be closed out in your favor (again, I think that is how it works), but if you dig in your heels and do not respond with either a return label or a refund, then eBay will refund anyway, let the buyer keep the item, and debit your account for the funds.

[gracieallen01]

I'm afraid you are in a no-win situation - for you, that is.  As far as ebay is concerned with INAD returns, it is a 'he said/she said' situation and the buyer garners the benefit of the doubt.  There is little to no way that you can prove what you sent the buyer or to prove what the buyer, if they do, sends back as being what you sent them or not.

One can deny returns under certain circumstances - INAD is not one of them - so you might want to spend time reading all of the TOS and UA to find out just how deep it can get here.  ebay can be a trial for the faint of heart.

[lamber9347]

This is your very first return, which is why you are taking this stand. You will learn very quickly and react differently for your next return. Best of luck to you....

[pjcdn2005]

ebay did give me the opportunity to deny the refund which I did.

Since eBay gave you the option of denying the return the buyer must have chosen a buyers remorse reason for  the return.  I’m guessing that they chose ‘doesn't’ fit which is considered as a buyers remorse reason.  If they had chosen a ‘not as described’  reason you wouldn’t have had that option.  It’s still possible that the buyer will open a payment dispute in PayPal or with their credit card.  

[annadryl]

Selling very specific items that only work for one application (out of many possible others) is risky. There's a chance that that one buyer who shouldn't buy it... will still buy it.

There's a legend on the boards about a buyer who bought a "shirt" and then complained it had no sleeves. The item was a vest.

Sooner or later, you run into "that" guy. It comes with the job of selling online. It's not all the time. Good luck forward~

[skeletonstore]

I don't see a pdf link. ebay might of blocked it or removed it . If that's the case the buyer could have been left in the dark if they didn't know enough about these things.  

[1786davycrockett]

What others have already told you, plus more bad news -- since you have denied the return, you also will likely be given a defect against you account.  Since you are a very new seller, with very few sales, this can be very catastrophic -- more than a few defects, and eBay may temporarily suspend your account -- perhaps even permanently.

I'm not sure what recourse you may have; but the next few days will probably foretell your future on eBay.  I sympathize -- I was in a similar situation when I first began selling, and my buyer deliberately folded one of my items in half, and then opened a NAD claim against me, which I fought.  Foolish me -- only a few hours later, eBay had found in the buyer's favor, and I wound up with a defect against my account.

Lesson learned -- in eBay's eyes, the buyer may be stupid, and lying, and a deliberate con artist -- but 99% of the time, eBay will side with the buyer against the seller, no matter how many halos are floating above our heads, or how many feathers in our wings.  Sellers can be replaced; but buyers are sacrosanct -- at least according to eBay.

[slati_2013]

The buyer says it is not working, that is all that matters. Now if he had written and admitted he had bought the wrong thing by mistake, you win. However the buyer states the item does not work. Ebay will take his word for it. In cases like this, ask the buyer to return the item for a full refund. If you don't, eBay will rule for the buyer, refund his money and allow him to keep the item.