Buyer return
Sold a pair of shoes in excellent condition all around. Part of my personal collection, not second hand purchase. Shoes are by Drew, which is a good brand and cost over $100. Buyer purchased shoes at end of Jan
2026. Just contacted me regarding the shoes. Said that they disintegrated at work after wearing a couple of days. From the photos:
1. Shoes are extreme stretched
2. Soles are off like someone cut them with a sharp blade
3. Top of shoes are well worn
4, Almost looks like another pair of shoes that were destroyed. Never seen a pair of shoes fall apart like this.
Also my policy says no returns. However if there a problem, I will accept a return.
Please email me with any suggestions. Thank you in advance.
10 comments
jdelightsllc
OP5 months agoThanks for all the feedback. The buyer was outside of the 30 day window. Wanted some general idea of how this forum approaches each individual that has a question. You couldn’t see the condition of the shoes, which may or may not have been helpful. Shoes dry rotting is one thing but the top and bottom of shoes destroyed is another . Just looking for fair responses. Planned to and did refund the customer her money. She is my first negative feedback and probably won’t be the last. However, she left negative feedback before giving me a chance and someone with almost 1,000 feedback knows how EBay works. Taking it as learning experience and moving on. Thanks for all the replies.
cinnamon1114
·5 months agoDo you think they took the shoes apart to copy them to possibly create counterfeits?
petals_and_vines
·5 months agoSo - all of you think the buyer gets to wear the shoes, trash them, then demand a return?
kensgiftshop
·5 months agoDon't like it, buy we know how Ebay works.
albertabrightalberta
·5 months agoIn addition to @kensgiftshop 's comment about ebay's buyer-centric policies, the seller never came back to update us after receiving the return so we don't know whether it's a scamming buyer who did a switch or if the shoes are those sent to the buyer but broke down as a result of dry rot.
Had @jdelightsllc come back and let us know whether the shoes received back are a switcheroo, we could have offered advice on the next steps to take.
albertabrightalberta
·6 months ago@jdelightsllc
In this case, I'm apt to recommend issuing a refund to the buyer. You have a 30-day refund policy anyway and if this claim is that close to the buyer's 30-day MBG time frame, I'm apt to believe that the shoes had dry rot and did fall apart quickly.
Since the buyer left feedback and you responded (professionally) recommending that the buyer reach out to you, I suggest you send the buyer a message letting them know that you've learned that older shoes can disintegrate and you want to make this right.
In your message, do NOT bribe the buyer by telling her that you'll issue a refund if she revises the feedback but she might be more willing to do so if you either accept the return and pay return shipping for it or if you don't think it's worth getting back broken down shoes, just issue the refund.
In the future, bend and twist shoes in make sure they're not breaking down.
roccotacodad54
·6 months ago" Part of my personal collection, not second hand purchase."
The "Part of my personal collection" part makes them second hand me thinks.
njtoyreseller
·6 months agoeBay has a 30 day money back guarantee for items not as described. If it is 30 days pass the date of delivery, then the buyer cant do much. But, if they are within the 30 day window, and open an INAD return, you would have to accept the return whether you allow returns or not.
lakefor94
·6 months agoWe see a LOT of used shoe threads here where shoes have been sitting around a long time, seller sells them, and they fall apart soon after the buyer starts wearing them.
If the delivery date was more than 30 days ago and the buyer opens a Return case, you ought to be able to refuse the return.
After 30 days from delivery, whether or not you want to go ahead with a refund is up to you.
If it has been less than 30 days from delivery and the buyer opens a Item Not as Described type return case, you will be refunding regardless of your return policy.
le-5262
·6 months agoEvery so often
you might come across a bad apple
regardless
even if you are right and choose to "fight" the return
they can still go over eBay and whomp you with a chargeback
I'd vote for you to take the return
irritating as it may be