Belated return request from buyer.
Summary: avocat123 discussed a situation where a buyer requested a refund for a mixed lot of press-on nails due to a strong chemical smell. The request was initiated through eBay, and the seller is uncertain about how to proceed given the possibility of the buyer making claims about postal acceptance. gurlcat, mamacassidy, albertabrightalberta, and inhawaii offered advice, suggesting accepting the return if it's a 'not as described' claim within eBay's 30-day window, and adding problematic buyers to a blocked list for future reference. The seller is weighing options on whether to have the items returned.
I sold a mixed lot of press on nails and many items via auction format a month ago. The buyer is now requesting a refund saying the box has a strong chemical smell and she hasn't been able to use any of the items inside. There must have been 50 plus items in there and the winning bid was 93 dollars.. Items were carefully packed and the 19 sealed packages of press in nails alone should still be useable. Im afraid that if I ask her to return the items she may claim that the post office wont accept it due to che chemical smell. Not sure how to proceed as I have until the 15th to resolve and then about 3 days after that before my card on file is debited. There were liquid items in there, but again everything was carefully packed and it's been a month since she received it.
inhawaii
·Sep 9, 2026 at 11:57 PMIf it's a "not as described" return within ebay's 30 day window, honor it.
If it's not, don't honor it.
albertabrightalberta
·Sep 9, 2026 at 11:27 PM@avocat123
"Request came from ebay."
How did the "request" come? Was it a NAD (not as described) claim? Or was it an ebay message that the buyer sent to you?
What was the date that tracking shows delivery?
If it's within 30 days and if the buyer opened an official return request for NAD, you need to accept the return if you want the items back.
mamacassidy
·Sep 9, 2026 at 11:20 PMI looked at the listing. Since it says you do not accept returns, then the return must have been Item Not As Described or Damaged. If that's the case and it was opened within 30 days of the buyer receiving the item, then you have to accept the return. You can ask her to send it back and refund once you receive it back or you can let her keep it and just send a refund.
If you tell her to send it back and you get back something different than what you sent, then you can report the buyer. But unfortunately, due to the ebay Money-Back Guarantee, that's pretty much all you can do.
In the future, if someone is messaging you with a low-ball offer before the auction ends, you might consider blocking them. Not always, but frequently these buyers are problematic.
gurlcat
·Sep 9, 2026 at 11:55 PMDefinitely add this turd buyer to your Blocked Buyer List @avocat123 -but wait until you're completely done with this case, because people in your BBL will also have their messages to you blocked, but they don't know that's blocked so they think you're just ignoring them (it's a major flaw in the system design).
gurlcat
·Sep 9, 2026 at 9:56 PMThis is upsetting, I'm so sorry you're going through it. But I'm a little confused -what do you mean by the buyer "requesting a refund"? What exactly did she say? Also why do you have until the 15th to resolve? How is there a date if she has only made an informal "request"?
avocat123
OPSep 9, 2026 at 11:12 PMRequest came from ebay. But this is the same buyer who asked if i would switch to a buy it now format and allow her to buy it for 30 bux, which I obviously declined. I waa hoping to get 150 for the lot but of course its a crapshoot when you send to auction and I think I only set the reserve at 50.
gurlcat
·Sep 10, 2026 at 4:33 AMOkay but it's still not clear what kind of request it is. There is no such thing as a straight "request for refund". Do you mean the buyer filed a RETURN? If so, then you don't have until the 15th to do something; it's only 48 hours from the time the notice was sent.
You have the option to just refund them if you want, but I would make them return the item, which means I would issue the return label.
I do agree the talk of 'chemical smell' does sound like they could be setting up a scenario where they claim they can't send it back. What you might do is preempt that by saying "If there's any chance the liquids leaked, please don't return those, just the dry items." -Which would be the majority of items, so you could resell them.