Buyer not happy with an item, Seller started a return, no response from ebay
Hello,
I'm a seller and recently a buyer purchased a print from me. It was noted as a print in the ad. The buyer requested that I remove it from the frame and I did. We negotiated a price, he agreed and bought it. I sent it on time.
He got back to me fairly quickly that it wasn't what he expected. Apparently he expected an original watercolor, which wasn't indicated on the ad.
I agreed to a return without the buyer's prompting and started a return last night. But looking at my seller's page, there is no record of any returns, not even anything in progress.
Do I just have to wait longer for the return process to start? I'm wondering if it went through the system at all. I'd like the item back and there's no indication that anything has been started here. I'd hate to get a bad review for a misunderstanding from a delay in the system...
Or is this normal?
Thanks people!
ryry-jj
·9 months agoThis went wrong when the buyer told you what he wanted and how you were going to sell it to him. Now you want to know how to tell the buyer to do his part and return the item? From the very beginning this wasn't going to be a win for you.
All you can do at this point is message and ask for them to return....but I don't see t hat happening with this buyer, hopefully I'm wrong.
Note for all sellers: sell your item as you listed them If it doesn't sell, then relist it a different way if you believe that helps, but don't let buyers tell you what you need to do for them in order to sell to them.
12345jamesstamps
·9 months agoYou need to check to see if you got a 'ding' or a mark on refund.
Sometimes a refund might get an 'out of stock' instead of a refund if there was no eBay claim for the return.
That's happen to me...issuing a refund and I got it as out of stock and a 'ding'.
giant_industries
OP9 months agoI'm afraid I messed up.
I don't have much experience issuing returns with my buyers after almost 500 sales but I did this one wrong.
After the buyer demanded an explanation of why he wasn't sent a watercolor painting, when a print was indicated in the ad, I thought it was best to expedite a refund immediately. I thought a refund included a return and I thought the return would happen after ebay would issue a mailing label to the buyer and the buyer would return it.
Of course I was wrong.
Now I'm left with an item that is worth money in the buyer's hands and a full refund in his pocket. Apparently he doesn't want it. But I'm left without the item back. I'd like to somehow convince the buyer to send it back to me althought I obviously messed the refund/return up. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this.
Any suggestions? Many thanks.
bonjourami
·9 months agoIm afraid you 'gifted' that buyer.
giant_industries
OP9 months agoIf I 'gifted' it to the buyer, it wasn't intentional. There should be a way that I or ebay could fix this. What do you think?
soh.maryl
·9 months agoHave you read the suggestions given to you here?
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·9 months agoYou were given suggestions.
eBay is out of the picture now. It is up to the buyer if they want to return it if you provide a label.
tobaccocardyahoo
·9 months agoThe only way you can deal with this situation is to convince the buyer to cooperate and return the item by the methods suggested by posters on this thread.
Many buyers will return the item even though they do not have to. I have had buyers return items after a refund at their own expense, even when I suggested the keep it or give it to someone who would appreciate it.
giant_industries
OP8 months agoAfter all the stress, it worked out well with the buyer who gave my shop a very happy endorsement. He sent it back on his own and I reimbursed him for the minor shipping. It was all about an inaccurate description. He thought it was an original water color, which I didn't mention in the ad but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. The piece was actually a magazine-sponsored rare print from the 1970s. I felt like he was unhappy from the start, so I did what I could to make him happy and save him face. It worked out, now it's just a matter of matting the piece again and sticking it back in the frame, not to mention, accurately describing it.
kensgiftshop
·9 months ago@giant_industries
Ask the buyer if they'll return it if you send them a prepaid shipping label.
If they will, you'll have to buy a label outside of Ebay and send to them, then hope they use it.
participatrophy
·9 months ago@giant_industries
Presuming you have a thermal printer: Buy a return label on PirateShip and snail mail it to him. Message him informing him you've refunded him in full and are sending a return label his way. If no thermal printer then just screenshot the label to him; no point mailing it if the convenience of a sticker isn't a factor.
Don't be too hard on yourself, customer retention counts for a lot and you've kept this one happy.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·9 months agoMaybe message them and tell them you will pay for a return label but please keep in mind they do not have to return the item.
stainlessenginecovers
·9 months ago@giant_industries Yes. Don't EVER do it that way again.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·9 months agoPlease explain what exactly you mean.
Only a buyer can start a return so what exactly did you do?
kensgiftshop
·9 months ago@giant_industries
A seller can't start a return, that's on the buyer side.
participatrophy
·9 months agoClarify what you did here. Returns are intiated by buyers, not by sellers. If you mean you just went ahead and refunded him, understand that such an action does not obligate the buyer to send the item back.
kibble-net
·9 months agoThis.
How would a seller create a return? This has never been a thing in the 26.5 years I've been selling.
soh.maryl
·9 months agoDid the buyer not open an item not as described case with eBay?