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Advice: Buyer requested a refund for a NIB item
Summary: ameadamss is seeking advice on how to handle a return request from a buyer on eBay. They sold a new-in-box Tile Mate and Slim from 2016, and the buyer claims only the Tile Mates work. The seller is hesitant about covering return shipping costs and is considering offering a refund for the product costs while asking the buyer to cover the original shipping fee. ameadamss acknowledges the age of the product and is cautious about selling electronics in the future.
Hi all, I've sold maybe 3 dozen of my personal belongings on eBay over the last 2 years. This was my first 'electronics' sale, where I had a new-in-box Tile Mate and Slim (the tracking devices) that I originally bought in 2016 and never used. The buyer claims only the two Tile Mates work and the two Tile Slims do not (which I don't doubt, since it is very old), and has requested a return (product "not as described").
I would love advice on what my options are. It looks like if I issue the return, I am responsible for return-shipping costs, which isn't great. If I issue a refund of the product costs (in this case $12), but ask that the seller still cover their original shipping ($6.25), is there any more chance eBay would side with me? Even if I'm essentially giving away an item, it would be a lot better than losing $6-7 on return shipping for a now open-boxed item I don't need and I would just post on my local Buy Nothing group.
And trust me, I've learned my lesson and will not post anything even tangentially related to electronics again! :)
disneyshopper
Mentor3 weeks agoIf the buyer files a return requests stating Item Not as Described, you either accept the return and pay for return shipping. If you do not want to pay the return shipping, you can refund the buyer in full and not require return of the item.
Years ago, I refunded the buyer in full and did not want the 3 pound item back, as I did not want to pay return shipping from New York to California, only to throw the broken item away.
If you pay for return shipping, you do not refund until tracking shows the item has been Delivered back to you.