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

[reallynicestamps]

If you send the shipping label, you should get your gizmo back. Then the buyer will be refunded.

If it is in working order, you can resell it.

If you don't send the shipping label, you don't get your gizmo back. The buyer will be refunded.

You are out the original payment and the gizmo.

If you send the shipping label, you should get your gizmo back. Then the buyer will be refunded.

If it is  NOT in working order, you can appeal to eBay on the basis that the item returned was not what was delivered .  There have been cases where buyers washed a used garment (usually a smell question) and had their refund refused because of that. 

But the main point is, while the buyer may be an incompetent idiot who ordered the wrong part and broke it in the process of mcgyvering it where it could not ever work,  he will be refunded at least in the short run.

As above, it's business, not personal.

 Build the cost of the (very occasional) failed transaction into your asking prices.

And FWIW- the minimum wage where I live is 25c a minute. How many minutes can you spend on this before you have put more time into it than you possibly could make on other transactions?

[simply-the-best-for-you]

If the buyer opened a remorse return for a no returns seller & the seller had an opportunity to decline it, which OP stated he/she did, there is NO DEFECT.   It's one of the few benefits of being no returns.   I do it all the time, as do many in my category.   

Unfortunately, what everyone is telling you is true even if you are 'no returns', IF the buyer had opened a SNAD/INAD.   Then you pretty much have to suck it up & take the return, regardless of the reason & if you don't work it out, you WILL get a DEFECT on your account.  

OP, if you were able to decline the return, which you said you did, you will NOT get a defect & you got really lucky that your buyer didn't know to open a SNAD.   You would know the difference b/c with a SNAD/INAD, you would NOT have had the option to decline.  Your only option would have been to refund or escalate & escalating would have only gotten you to losing, even sooner. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I should add that you may still get a NEG from the buyer & they can hurt your DSR's, which could be a big deal with as new as you are, but you won't get a defect. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

I am sorry you were taken by surprise. What you are experiencing is the risk of selling online and on eBay, in particular. There is no way to avoid this risk. About the only way to mitigate one’s liability is to be as well informed as the buyer on eBay policy.

It is rarely a good idea to argue with a buyer or become entrenched. He bought the wrong thing—and you want to force him into being responsible for his mistake. Sadly, it doesn't work that way on eBay, where you are better off having a more buyer-friendly return policy. This is what buyers have come to expect—easy returns. There is no caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) on eBay. It is the seller who absorbs all the risk.

It sounds like you needed to do a little more homework before listing, so that you have a more complete understanding of the ramifications of selling here.

[downunder-61]

---

@gklei_94 wrote:

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”.

---

No, eBay gave you the option to deny the return - eBay will now refund the buyer in full and the buyer will legally keep the item since you said no to the option to return.

When you come to these boards with a problem, it is best to accept the advice from long standing members who know what they are talking about and how INAD's work.

If you are going to do your own thing regardless of advice, I fail to see the point in reaching out for help.

[fab_finds4u]

Once a case is opened you have two choices before eBay steps in.

You can refund and let them keep the item, which is what eBay will decide, or you can provide a return label and refund when it's returned. 

By refusing to accept the return you just gave your item to them. They'll get a refund and resell it. Is that what you want?

eBay doesn't read messages and change the claim to a remorse reason if you think that's what will happen.

[m60driver]

---

@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.

---

Well your opinion, which neither Ebay nor anybody else gives a rat's derriere about, has led you to dig your own grave.  Ebay, and thus you and all sellers, are competing with Amazon and so we are all having to match Amazon and accept returns and refund upon a  buyer's request.  Resistance is futile.  In all likelihood you will now lose both the item and the money.

[bonjourami]

Doesnt matter if you 'are not Amazon', as the seller of the item, the buck stops with you.

[gklei_94]

Wow everybody, thanks for all of the replies and advice.

To clear a few things up:

I did not come here for advice and then do my own thing. I did my own thing and then came here for advice after the fact, simply retelling how it all went down and what transpired. I know what you guys are saying is the way it works. I don’t disagree with any of it. To me it seems as though the buyer chose a remorse reason rather than INAD, as I don’t see any disputes or returns on my seller profile, and I was able to decline.  A few days later, after all of this, the buyer messaged me stating that they “called eBay about it, and eBay will be contacting me”, whatever that means. Which is what leads me to believe this has something to do with my current account hold. 

Luckily for me, (or not so lucky for me, depends how this all works out) It does not matter to me all too much what happens with the item in question. Nor the $50 involved... it’s not a big deal. Being a new small-time seller I was acting in ignorance because of how I felt about the situation. I get that’s not how it works on eBay. I understand it’s not worth it trying to fight it. If I could go back in time I would have issued the refund and let the buyer keep the item- if it meant avoiding this payout hold (though whose to say that it would have prevented it).

what I do care about, is my eBay seller account standing and all my pending funds /payouts that are now entirely “on hold” while eBay conducts some sort of review to “verify a few things”. I should mention that shortly after my first few sales, my account become suspended and required that I call eBay to answer a bunch of security questions to verify my identity... after which point the cs rep said “I shouldn’t have any more problems”... now my account is on hold again... so I guess I just have to wait and see what happens. By far my largest concern is with all of my pending payouts and items I’ve already sold and delivered. I do not appreciate having everything locked up, but, I know I get it... it’s the way it works.

thank you all for your feedback and time.

[lamber9347]

@gklei_94 Wow, I just have to say this is an excellent post to read. Thank you for taking the time to come back and say all this. I am often left wondering why some folks bother to post on here and never seem to return. I can see that you "get it", and understand how online selling works. With your attitude you will be just fine moving forward. 

The hold on your account will settle up soon enough, just have a little more patience and stay positive. You are a relatively new seller so it may take a little more time than normal, but in the end your account will be fine and the hold lifted. If buyer has asked eBay to step in, once a refund is done all will go back to normal. Concentrate on selling your other items and focus on the new year. Best of luck to you....

[gklei_94]

Thanks, 

some updates-

Person above is correct, the buyer chose "item does not fit" as the reason for their return... which then allowed me to decline it with the reasons stated above. The return has been closed out in my favor since 12/29. 

However, as soon as the 5 day hold period was up, I was greeted with a NEW HOLD MESSAGE!!

This time it is:

"Your payouts are on hold while we conclude a periodic performance review. We will disburse the funds once the review is complete. During this time, you can still continue to sell."

Which to me, seems even more ominous than the first hold message- at least that one had a time limit attached to it. Is this a regular thing that everybody experiences when starting?

Crazy how eBay expects me to continue selling items while hold after hold prevents me from retrieving any of my payouts. Its hard to have any faith that the funds will ever actually be released, especially after reading what others have said online. 

Anyhow, regarding this review- they linked me to my "Seller Standards Dashboard", which reads as follows:

Seller Level - Above Standard

Defect Rate - 0%

Late shipments: 0%

Cases closed without seller resolution: 0%

Tracking uploaded ontime and validated: 25/27

Transactions and sales: 27 - $2023.56

Return Rate: 1/27 - 3.7%

Which I think looks pretty good?

still waiting and hoping..

[shifterzautomotive]

Please stop giving false info here! 

[bill.purvis2012]

If you want to build a business here you need to listen to what lambert 9347 is saying.  It is no longer a ball in your court when the buyer registers a complaint and wants to return as not as described. It doesn't have to be true. You will always have to accept the return and refund upon receipt. Quickly. If you don't, Ebay will do it for you, mark it against you and charge you for doing so.  Since, you denied the return, you're now at Ebay's mercy and they will do it for you at more cost than you would have incurred. ALSO, THE BUYER NO LONGER HAS TO RETURN ITEM. 

[fordmemorabilia]

Sad but true!  This has happened to us a couple of times too.  I even had pictures of the new items as they were going in the box to be shipped.  

[ckimodog]

@shifterzautomotive 

Old thread from January of 2022.  OP is naru.  I doubt they'll be back to reply. @lamber9347 is a very knowledgeable, helpful poster here on this forum.  Most likely they are correct.