Buyer Not Responding; Defect in Item

Summary: The discussion revolves around a seller's dilemma about handling a defective item when the buyer is unresponsive. Several participants, including chapeau-noir and inhawaii, suggest different approaches like canceling the order or shipping first and issuing a full refund afterward to avoid a cancellation defect. authentic*vintage contributes experiences with refunding for damaged goods without causing a negative impact on their seller account. A consensus seems to suggest shipping the item and refunding afterward, while adding a note explaining the issue, as this method apparently does not result in a defect mark on the seller's account. authentic*vintage and others agree that selecting 'other' as a refund reason instead of a cancellation does not trigger a negative mark for the seller.

I had two pairs of rollerblades for sale, both listed for awhile. Someone contacted me and asked if the straps at the top were broken. I checked and said they were intact and he made an offer and I accepted. When preparing the item for shipment, I discovered that I had grabbed the wrong pair of rollerblades to inspect and that the pair that were purchased had a strap at the top that was broken. I contacted the buyer twice through eBay messaging, explaining the situation and asked if he still wanted the item or wanted to cancel. No answer. I am a very small volume seller and don't want to ship a pair with a broken strap when I told him it was intact. He could then ask for both the purchase price and shipping returned. I am not sure what to do since the buyer will not respond. I have not shipped the item yet but am leaning toward cancelling the order. What advice does the eBay community have in this situation. I might add that my seller account is already below standard due to some cancellations when I couldn't find the items sold.

pamw123

873 View listings

Posted 4 months ago·Last reply 4 months ago

30 comments

pamw123

OP4 months ago

873 View listings

Thank you all for your input. I decided to contact eBay Customer Service, explain the situation, and ask what eBay's official response would be. They said to cancel the order and indicate "buyer asked to cancel order" since the buyer did not check messages or respond. They said not to ship the order because then the buyer could open an "item not as described". I cancelled the order yesterday morning, listing "buyer asked to cancel order" as the reason and the buyer has yet to respond or ask why I cancelled it.

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

I'll be interested to find out how the buyer reacts to this cancellation that they didn't agree to. Please let us know how that works out.

I feel as if the rep possibly gave you information that could end up being harmful to your account - more harmful than the advice that we gave you here.

gb58

·4 months ago

10821 View listings

I just looked up the item, it was a $20 sale. Ship the item with a note in the package explaining the problem.

Then as soon as they are shipped, refund the entire amount including shipping, choosing "other" as the reason. Also, message the buyer as soon as you refund explaining what happened also, so he wouldn't be surprised when the package arrives.

You will be out about $30, but due to your honesty you very well may earn a positive feedback that will help get that number up a little. A negative, plus an "out of stock" will just drive your metrics lower.

If it was a $200 item. I'd probably have a different answer, but you are talking about $20 here.

inhawaii

·4 months ago

Ebay's most handsome seller.4976 View listings

How about this...

Give the buyer a full refund AND send the skates with an apology note and explanation.

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

That's what we are suggesting but....

The order matters.

Ship with tracking THEN refund, choosing "other"

grann-4629

·4 months ago

47 View listings

Give the buyer a full refund AND send the skates with an apology note and explanation.

Probably the best idea to protect your account from further damage.

onefootflipper

·4 months ago

4442 View listings

Message sent.

onlinecentral

·4 months ago

15332 View listings

Go to a local store, purchase a replacement strap, install it and ship the package.

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

@onlinecentral wrote:
Go to a local store, purchase a replacement strap, install it and ship the package.

This is a great idea

bonanza125

·4 months ago

8889 View listings

You have two options first to ship the rollerblades the buyer purchased and risk a return/bad feedback or cancel the order with the reason being out of stock which will lead to another defect on your record. Unfortunately you are in a lose-lose situation.

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

I am going to give you an unorthodox answer.

Editing to say, ship first, then refund in full immediately thereafter, choosing other as the refund reason. Put a note in the package that explains.

I would be cool with that as a buyer.

Hope this helps.

chapeau-noir

·4 months ago

Klaatu barada nikto6593 View listings

@authentic*vintage wrote:
I am going to give you an unorthodox answer.

Refund the buyer in full, send them a message and ship the skates anyway - the strap can be repaired.

Editing to say, ship first, then refund in full immediately thereafter. Put a note in the package that explains.

I would be cool with that as a buyer.

Hope this helps.

That's normally my go-to remedy for this kind of thing, but there is the cancellation problem - the OP is already below standard and a 'damaged' cancellation might be a last straw. That's why I suggested the Hail Mary pass (phoning).

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

Yes and in this case if the Seller ships first and then refunds they can choose the option other as the refund reason.

I have to do that quite often when I have a buyer who purchased multiple items and the Combined shipping rules still give too high of a shipping cost to my buyer.

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

I sold a really beautiful vintage half slip a few years ago and when I went to pack it I noticed that there was a tiny hole just at the waist.

Now it didn't completely ruin the item but I did choose in that case to go ahead and ship the slip to the buyer because it was certainly usable but I also refunded them in full Immediately after.

Buyer was very happy with the slip and asked was I sure I did not want payment for it and I said absolutely not it had a flaw that I did not notice and I would not have sold it knowing that it had that flaw.

I'm sure some may disagree with my advice but as a buyer if I received the item and I knew that the strap could be repaired I would be happy with this compromise.

chapeau-noir

·4 months ago

Klaatu barada nikto6593 View listings

@authentic*vintage wrote:
I sold a really beautiful vintage half slip a few years ago and when I went to pack it I noticed that there was a tiny hole just at the waist.

Now it didn't completely ruin the item but I did choose in that case to go ahead and ship the slip to the buyer because it was certainly usable but I also refunded them in full Immediately after.

Buyer was very happy with the slip and asked was I sure I did not want payment for it and I said absolutely not it had a flaw that I did not notice and I would not have sold it knowing that it had that flaw.

I'm sure some may disagree with my advice but as a buyer if I received the item and I knew that the strap could be repaired I would be happy with this compromise.

It has been a good outcome for me, too, and is normally what I would do, but is 'other' a cancellation reason that will not adversely affect a seller's account? I thought it was only 'buyer cancel' or 'problem with address' - if 'other' does NOT trigger a defect, then that would be the way to go.

@onlinecentral Strap replacement isn't a case of just going to the store and getting another one - they're pretty specific to the equipment and then have to be installed.

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

@chapeau-noir wrote:
@authentic*vintage wrote:
I sold a really beautiful vintage half slip a few years ago and when I went to pack it I noticed that there was a tiny hole just at the waist.

Now it didn't completely ruin the item but I did choose in that case to go ahead and ship the slip to the buyer because it was certainly usable but I also refunded them in full Immediately after.

Buyer was very happy with the slip and asked was I sure I did not want payment for it and I said absolutely not it had a flaw that I did not notice and I would not have sold it knowing that it had that flaw.

I'm sure some may disagree with my advice but as a buyer if I received the item and I knew that the strap could be repaired I would be happy with this compromise.

It has been a good outcome for me, too, and is normally what I would do, but is 'other' a cancellation reason that will not adversely affect a seller's account? I thought it was only 'buyer cancel' or 'problem with address' - if 'other' does NOT trigger a defect, then that would be the way to go.

@onlinecentral Strap replacement isn't a case of just going to the store and getting another one - they're pretty specific to the equipment and then have to be installed.

I quickly researched this and based on other similar posts, it seems that on the back end, once the item is shipped with tracking, the transaction is viewed as fulfilled. A refund after that, choosing "other", shouldn't trigger a defect.

mamacassidy

·4 months ago

3239 View listings

@chapeau-noir wrote: "It has been a good outcome for me, too, and is normally what I would do, but is 'other' a cancellation reason that will not adversely affect a seller's account? I thought it was only 'buyer cancel' or 'problem with address' - if 'other' does NOT trigger a defect, then that would be the way to go."

"other" is not a Cancellation reason. "other" is the choice after you've sent the item and you issue a refund. I have had to do this with partial refunds when an item was damaged in transit, and it did not cause a defect or negative "ding".

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

@mamacassidy wrote:
@chapeau-noir wrote: "It has been a good outcome for me, too, and is normally what I would do, but is 'other' a cancellation reason that will not adversely affect a seller's account? I thought it was only 'buyer cancel' or 'problem with address' - if 'other' does NOT trigger a defect, then that would be the way to go."

"other" is not a Cancellation reason. "other" is the choice after you've sent the item and you issue a refund. I have had to do this with partial refunds when an item was damaged in transit, and it did not cause a defect or negative "ding".

Thank you for confirming. And yes, "other" is the refund reason and seller can add a little note there as well though I'm not sure buyers ever even see the note.

chapeau-noir

·4 months ago

Klaatu barada nikto6593 View listings

@mamacassidy wrote:
@chapeau-noir wrote: "It has been a good outcome for me, too, and is normally what I would do, but is 'other' a cancellation reason that will not adversely affect a seller's account? I thought it was only 'buyer cancel' or 'problem with address' - if 'other' does NOT trigger a defect, then that would be the way to go."

"other" is not a Cancellation reason. "other" is the choice after you've sent the item and you issue a refund. I have had to do this with partial refunds when an item was damaged in transit, and it did not cause a defect or negative "ding".

Thanks for the confirmation! That's good to know - the few times I've done this I've chosen "damaged" and just taken the hit**. That may be the perfect solution for the OP, then, though I think I'd still try to call or text just to leave a message as a preemptive warning - I'm thinking of their tenuous status.

**ETA: Thinking the effect on my account would be the same with 'other'.

I used to rollerblade and am pretty familiar with skates - they generally have a strap and buckle design - you can get them online, but unless one has a skate store nearby, they may be tough to match locally, though I don't think they're hard to replace with some diligence.

grann-4629

·4 months ago

47 View listings

A sporting goods store, if you have one nearby, should be able to help you with the strap and installation. You may not be able to satisfy the current buyer in time, but you'll have it ready for the next listing.

ryry-jj

·4 months ago

1913 View listings

Im not looking up the value of the skates, but your advise might be the best case scenario. Since the seller is below standard, it would kinda be like paying to not have a dangerous account ding. They would be givingaeay the skates, but that cost may be money well spent in this case. Im sure there are plenty of sellers who would pay if it meant the removal of metric dings

authentic*vintage

·4 months ago

5413 View listings

The skates sold at best offer for under $20 - definitely in this case, I think this is the best case scenario for OP - fingers crossed this all works out

ryry-jj

·4 months ago

1913 View listings

Oh, ya $20 to stay away from a BBE, easy spend

albertabrightalberta

·4 months ago

SIGNATURE! NOT DIRECTED TO YOU: I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.104 View listings

@chapeau-noir wrote:
@authentic*vintage wrote:
I am going to give you an unorthodox answer.

Refund the buyer in full, send them a message and ship the skates anyway - the strap can be repaired.

Editing to say, ship first, then refund in full immediately thereafter. Put a note in the package that explains.

I would be cool with that as a buyer.

Hope this helps.

That's normally my go-to remedy for this kind of thing, but there is the cancellation problem - the OP is already below standard and a 'damaged' cancellation might be a last straw. That's why I suggested the Hail Mary pass (phoning).

I think shipping the item and fully refunding after shipping (in that order) with an explanation why you're doing it will avoid the OOS ding because it's not a cancellation.

grann-4629

·4 months ago

47 View listings

Maybe it's something the buyer can fix?

Hope it works out for the OP 😎

chapeau-noir

·4 months ago

Klaatu barada nikto6593 View listings

@pamw123 wrote:
I had two pairs of rollerblades for sale, both listed for awhile. Someone contacted me and asked if the straps at the top were broken. I checked and said they were intact and he made an offer and I accepted. When preparing the item for shipment, I discovered that I had grabbed the wrong pair of rollerblades to inspect and that the pair that were purchased had a strap at the top that was broken. I contacted the buyer twice through eBay messaging, explaining the situation and asked if he still wanted the item or wanted to cancel. No answer. I am a very small volume seller and don't want to ship a pair with a broken strap when I told him it was intact. He could then ask for both the purchase price and shipping returned. I am not sure what to do since the buyer will not respond. I have not shipped the item yet but am leaning toward cancelling the order. What advice does the eBay community have in this situation. I might add that my seller account is already below standard due to some cancellations when I couldn't find the items sold.

Normally I would never say this as I would normally consider it intrusive, but in your case, with the below standard situation and buyer silence, I would actually call the buyer up and hopefully you'd be able to leave a message (or try texting) saying you've been trying to get hold of him and then leave a message.

inhawaii

·4 months ago

Ebay's most handsome seller.4976 View listings

What @chapeau-noir said.

-or-

Cancel the order. Reason: Out of stock or damaged.

soh.maryl

·4 months ago

111 View listings

So a seller CAN obtain a phone # for a buyer if/when he's in a transaction with that buyer?

Was always under the impression that the only possible way for a seller to contact a buyer was through messaging.

slippinjimmy

·4 months ago

4 View listings

@soh.maryl wrote:
So a seller CAN obtain a phone # for a buyer if/when he's in a transaction with that buyer?
Was always under the impression that the only possible way for a seller to contact a buyer was through messaging.

Buyer phone numbers are always provided except for numbers from a few overseas countries with rigid privacy laws.

Many carriers also require it especially for International shipments.

The number is shown for a limited time (90 days) on the order details page

44012

·4 months ago

2523 View listings

I am able to see buyer's phone number on packing slips.

It is on the order details page too.