mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@mebuck1234 wrote:Seller sells item with Fast and Free shipping, 30 day MBG- buyer pays return shipping.
Buyer does a remorse return and pays for return shipping.
Can the seller deduct original shipping costs from the refund?
Thanks
Is it a SNAD that was opened for a buyer remorse reason or a properly opened Buyer's Remorse Claim? That makes a HUGE difference.
When a buyer opens a proper Buyer's Remorse Claim, if you view the claim it shows you how much you will need to refund the buyer when the item is returned. If you have separately stated shipping, then it will show you that you can withhold the original shipping.
If you had free shipping on the listing, then NO you will not be able to withhold the original shipping.
@mebuck1234 wrote:
Actually, I am the buyer. It was a remorse return and I paid return shipping. The listing had free shipping. The seller, citing their return policy, has refunded me but deducted original shipping from the refund. I thought, perhaps, that it was ok to do that since it was a remorse return but from what I'm being told that isn't the case. To my understanding- the amount refunded on an item sold with free shipping is the total amount paid. Correct?
As a seller I agree. The seller should be able to keep the original shipping whether it is separately stated or a Free Shipping listing. But Ebay does not agree. If your seller withheld the original shipping, they did so against the Ebay rules. And the only way they would have been able to do that is if they had Free Returns on the listing a buyer purchases from.
For a seller, Free Returns is the only return policy that allows a seller to do a partial refund other than a Buyer's Remorse return with separately stated shipping. And in the partial refund guidelines, a seller is not suppose to withhold shipping to or from.
So while I agree with that the seller should be able to keep that original shipping charges, they did it against the Ebay policy. But for you, really it is the right thing. Your seller didn't make the mistake. There is no reason the seller should be out any more money. They already have costs they can't recover from the transaction, packaging, restocking, relisting, etc. That is just part of doing business and completely the responsibility of the seller, but I firmly believe that the sellers should be able to at the very least recover original shipping.
@mebuck1234 wrote:Thanks @mam98031 . I feel same. The seller did nothing wrong and shouldn't be out any money. I have no problem covering shipping both way. I really just wanted clarification in case I start selling again and need to make a refund. I would rather learn from those that know than from a seller not following the rules. Thank you!
I could tell by your other posts that you are a reasonable and responsible person.
We are all human and we all make mistakes. It is how we resolve those mistakes that define us NOT the mistake itself in most cases. Obviously there are some exceptions to that, but the ones that come to mind are brutal.
I'd welcome you anytime to my store. Heck bring your friends, you are all welcome. LOL
@bigdeals.etc wrote:Speaking strictly on ebay policy (and not what is/isn't ethical), in your case the seller isn't allowed to retain a percentage of the refund for original shipping cost if the listing was for free shipping. I believe they can get in trouble for that.
That's one of the downsides for selling things with free shipping that ebay doesn't tell sellers about. They only focus on the advantages of listing free shipping because they want everyone to offer it. Ultimately it's the seller's choice. If your seller aims to retain the original shipping, they should have listed the item with paid shipping from the start. Apparently the seller is trying to reap the benefits from both listing strategies.
All correct. But on the flip side of that. The seller probably gets more benefit, by boosts in the searches for having the Free Shipping than it costs them for those filing a return.
I say that because most buyers that file a claim are NOT like the buyer on this thread. This buyer is being honest and taking full responsibility for their actions. Most that file a claim will pick a reason that is inaccurate or completely incorrect in the effort to make sure it is a SNAD and they know the seller will be forced to pay shipping both ways.
For example, out of all the claims I've had in the past year, about 55 percent of the claims filed as SNADs were actually Buyer Remorse, but the buyers did not file honestly, so it cost me instead.
@bigdeals.etc wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:All correct. But on the flip side of that. The seller probably gets more benefit, by boosts in the searches for having the Free Shipping than it costs them for those filing a return.
I say that because most buyers that file a claim are NOT like the buyer on this thread. This buyer is being honest and taking full responsibility for their actions. Most that file a claim will pick a reason that is inaccurate or completely incorrect in the effort to make sure it is a SNAD and they know the seller will be forced to pay shipping both ways.
For example, out of all the claims I've had in the past year, about 55 percent of the claims filed as SNADs were actually Buyer Remorse, but the buyers did not file honestly, so it cost me instead.
You are also correct. I'm sure with many items, the benefit of exposure for free shipping outweighs the cost of losing original shipping from returns. But if that's the case for this seller, then they can still follow the rules and agree to lose the original shipping rather than circumventing... again I'm not commenting on the ethical part to this.
Yes, the OP is a great buyer. To be honest, I don't want to discredit many other buyers here too as I've actually had about 50% of remorse returns filed correctly. I know I always complain about false SNADs that I get, truth be told that there are still a significant amount of honest buyers here too (like the OP). That's why we are all still selling here, right?
The buyer is happy and takes no issue with it. I'm not sure the "ethical" label belongs directed at the seller, but more like it should be directed at Ebay that puts sellers in this type of position.
