Buyer wants a refund, what do you think??

[buytradesell_us82]

Hey community,

I recently sold a rather expensive fly rod/reel combo and buyer bought it pretty quickly with no discussion on the cost and 30$ shipping, which I was surprised of. Regardless, I packed it and sent 2nd day air UPS. He received it and immediately sent for a request for refund. 

Return Reason: Arrived Damaged

Comments: Found rod broke on initial inspection after delivery. Was packed well and packaging shows no damage.

I sent this rod in a hard case with lots of bubble wrap (comes in 4 pieces that lock together), for 1 of the 4 pieces of this rod to be broken  in that manner, the box would have to be destroyed, which he said it wasn't at all, as well as the other 3 pieces would be severed. So either 1) he is really accusing me of sending him a broken rod, which I must have done during packaging.... What would my incentive be to do this, what do I possibly gain? I showed the listing with a complete rod that was in pristine condition. If he is not accusing me of this, then I guess he thinks 2) a UPS employee opened the box, which would be very tedious from how it was packaged, and snapped it over their knee to break it in half, placed it back carefully and packaged it again, and sent it to the buyer?? Likely not. Which in our back and forths he says to see if UPS or Ebay will refund me. 

What do yall think is going on? I have thoughts but would like to hear others'

Something I will note, this rod company does offer lifetime warranty on rods and will replace these segments of the rod for around 50$ deductible and you pay for shipping, may have to wait up to 2-5 months i've heard, so not too very convenient.  Just think about this fact when deciding on what could be occurring here. 

Ebay suggested I accept the return and go from there, which I did. I'm waiting to receive it now.

[soh.maryl]

ALL eBay sellers really need to read and understand the Money Back Guarantee, preferably before beginning a career on eBay.

All that buyer needs to do is open an item not as described case.  eBay will require the seller to send the buyer a prepaid return label and to refund in total when receiving the item back.

PS:  You're allowed to request pictures, did you know that?  

[buytradesell_us82]

He sent pictures. This is not my career. Just a regular Joe selling an item. 

[bashort]

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@buytradesell_us82 wrote:

Hey community,

I recently sold a rather expensive fly rod/reel combo and buyer bought it pretty quickly with no discussion on the cost and 30$ shipping, which I was surprised of. Regardless, I packed it and sent 2nd day air UPS. He received it and immediately sent for a request for refund. 

Return Reason: Arrived Damaged

Comments: Found rod broke on initial inspection after delivery. Was packed well and packaging shows no damage.

I sent this rod in a hard case with lots of bubble wrap (comes in 4 pieces that lock together), for 1 of the 4 pieces of this rod to be broken  in that manner, the box would have to be destroyed, which he said it wasn't at all, as well as the other 3 pieces would be severed. So either 1) he is really accusing me of sending him a broken rod, which I must have done during packaging.... What would my incentive be to do this, what do I possibly gain? I showed the listing with a complete rod that was in pristine condition. If he is not accusing me of this, then I guess he thinks 2) a UPS employee opened the box, which would be very tedious from how it was packaged, and snapped it over their knee to break it in half, placed it back carefully and packaged it again, and sent it to the buyer?? Likely not. Which in our back and forths he says to see if UPS or Ebay will refund me. 

What do yall think is going on? I have thoughts but would like to hear others'

Something I will note, this rod company does offer lifetime warranty on rods and will replace these segments of the rod for around 50$ deductible and you pay for shipping, may have to wait up to 2-5 months i've heard, so not too very convenient.  Just think about this fact when deciding on what could be occurring here. 

Ebay suggested I accept the return and go from there, which I did. I'm waiting to receive it now.

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that was your only choice, did the picture actually show that it was broke?

[iamalwaysright · Accepted solution]

Even if the buyer is pulling a switcharoo, you still have to accept the return or suffer the eBay consequences. You’ll probably find out more info about what’s going on when the returned item gets back to you.

[buytradesell_us82]

It did. I’m not debating that it is broken. My problem is how it broke and who broke it. 
I did not. There is nothing in it for me to send a broken rod to someone. My listing photos showed it complete. 
im going on a limb here saying UPS didn’t open my package and break it either. 

[inhawaii]

These are my thoughts. Please don't take offense.

Every seller/shipper since the beginning of time thinks that their broken item was packed adequately. 

A) You know you didn't send a broken rod.

B) Nobody opened the box, broke the rod and re-packaged it.

C) That only leaves one reason. It broke in transit.

I would accept the return (if you want to pay to ship the broken rod back).

Or refund the buyer (if you don't want to broken rod back).

One last thought...

Why do you put the dollar sign after the number???

[12345jamesstamps]

You did the right thing asking for a return.

What you might receive is another matter.

Check eBay buyer ID to see how new and how much feedback this buyer has...will give you some incite of what you might receive or if buyer decides not to return anything.

If buyer decides not to return anything you do win from eBay...but not a disputed credit card charge in the future...which is something that can happen.

It looks good in the container so I don't think it got damaged...unless I saw a photo of something broken  where  buyer sends you which is so easy to send to you from the buyer.

But that "no returns" does hurt...I would do returns where buyer pays for returns...which  I had one finally for 2 bucks...LOL

[buytradesell_us82]

That’s what I’m doing. Something he isn’t aware of is these pieces were marked beforehand. 

[buytradesell_us82]

There is no chance the rod broke in a hard case if no other pieces were broke. Box was completely undamaged as well. 

what number are you referring to?

[buytradesell_us82]

He just sent it back. That is why I started this thread haha. Didn’t want him to see it before it left his house. 
you were helpful, thanks. 

[inhawaii]

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@buytradesell_us82 wrote:

There is no chance the rod broke in a hard case if no other pieces were broke. Box was completely undamaged as well. 

what number are you referring to?

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FYI Things can break even when shipped in a hard case.

I'm referring to 30$ instead of $30 and 50$ instead of $50.

Not trying to be a smarty pants, just truly curious why you type it that way.

[buyselljack2016]

Could be buyer broke it.

Could be buyer already had a broken one, and wanted a replacement.

Marking it will give you piece of mind if "yours" is not returned, but that is the extent of having marked it.

[buytradesell_us82]

Fair question. I have no answer unfortunately. 

[buytradesell_us82]

I hate my mind went there first, but it’s where we are in the world I guess.