Golf Club Returns

I have a buyer that requested a return stating the club wasnâ€™t actually standard length. Iâ€™m not a club builder or fitter so I honestly have no way of accurately measuring the club length but I did use a tape measure and I got 45â€ before I sold it. I listed it and sold it with a brand new grip on it. I accepted his return request though and Iâ€™ve just received the club in question back with a completely different grip than what I sold it with which is leading me to question what heâ€™s done to the club since having it in his possession. Any advice?

mxhockey415

208 View listings

Posted 2 years ago·Last reply 2 years ago

9 comments

sextons-sweet-deals

·2 years ago

11053 View listings

Sounds like the buyer altered the item. That would actually void the return / refund.

Are you positive you received the same club back with just an altered grip? Is this issue related to the $400+ club you sold?

I guess be glad that you actually received the club back.

luckythewinner

·2 years ago

1162 View listings

Any advice?

Generally speaking, any buyer can steal any item from any seller at any time by filing a fraudulent dispute.

So my advice is to recognize that fact and adjust your business plan accordingly.

onefootflipper

·2 years ago

4442 View listings

The buyer could have also had the club regripped to match his other clubs and only then discovered that it was nonstandard length. Seems like you have only sold expensive clubs, so at least it isn't a dead loss like a return on a $20 club would be.

mxhockey415

OP2 years ago

208 View listings

Update: I've issued the refund and I've reported the buyer to eBay. I can resell the club but this is beyond frustrating to say the least. I suppose though in over 200 transactions that have gone well, I was due to have issues with one bad buyer. Thank you all for your input and advice!

duffy4444

·2 years ago

10887 View listings

This has the hallmarks of a typical switcheroo return by a scam buyer. It happens a lot to newer sellers as well as seasoned ones. Be thankful you actually got the golf club back, albeit with a different grip on it. No matter what you do about it by raising a big stink with even a legitimate complaint, eBay will consider this a "he said, she said" situation with no proof and will do nothing about it beyond making sure the buyer gets his refund anyway.

Be sure to refund the buyer's payment, then immediately block the buyer from further purchases from you. If you don't refund the buyer's payment, he will probably make it worse by filing a credit card chargeback, which will prolong things and actually make it worse for you with a loss anyway.

Do NOT get nasty with the buyer on his feedback, and do NOT get into a back-and-forth by messages to and from the buyer.

Suck it up and move on. Chalk it up to doing business online... we all have to face that occasionally, no mater which online venue we use to sell our goods.

Cheers, Duffy

kensgiftshop

·2 years ago

389 View listings

It sucks, but about all you can do is refund the buyer and move on.

You can report the buyer, but there's probably nothing will be done.

albertabrightalberta

·2 years ago

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

@mxhockey415 wrote:
I have a buyer that requested a return stating the club wasnâ€™t actually standard length. Iâ€™m not a club builder or fitter so I honestly have no way of accurately measuring the club length but I did use a tape measure and I got 45â€ before I sold it. I listed it and sold it with a brand new grip on it. I accepted his return request though and Iâ€™ve just received the club in question back with a completely different grip than what I sold it with which is leading me to question what heâ€™s done to the club since having it in his possession. Any advice?

You did the right thing in accepting the return and you'll have to issue a full refund since you don't have a return policy and cannot deduct anything from it.

But you can report the buyer as well as adding him to your BBL.

To report, go to your orders page and in the dropdown, scroll to "report buyer."

Ebay won't tell you if they sanction him, but If the buyer has a history or continues to do it, ebay will eventually take action.

isaiah53-57

·2 years ago

961 View listings

@albertabrightalberta wrote:
@mxhockey415 wrote:
I have a buyer that requested a return stating the club wasnâ€™t actually standard length. Iâ€™m not a club builder or fitter so I honestly have no way of accurately measuring the club length but I did use a tape measure and I got 45â€ before I sold it. I listed it and sold it with a brand new grip on it. I accepted his return request though and Iâ€™ve just received the club in question back with a completely different grip than what I sold it with which is leading me to question what heâ€™s done to the club since having it in his possession. Any advice?
You did the right thing in accepting the return and you'll have to issue a full refund since you don't have a return policy and cannot deduct anything from it.

But you can report the buyer as well as adding him to your BBL.

To report, go to your orders page and in the dropdown, scroll to "report buyer."

Ebay won't tell you if they sanction him, but If the buyer has a history or continues to do it, ebay will eventually take action.

But you can report the buyer...To report, go to your orders page and in the dropdown, scroll to "report buyer." Ebay won't tell you if they sanction him, but If the buyer has a history or continues to do it, ebay will eventually take action.

By our experience, this is NOT AT ALL accurate information other than the part where you say "ebay wont tell you if they sanction him"(or not). The "eventually" part may be true in rare cases, but it sure doesnt inspire confidence - To tell you the truth, we believe booting a buyer here is a rare exception to the norm regardless of circumstance, given the site's desperate need for sales and market share...

mr_lincoln

·2 years ago

5145 View listings

Hi @mxhockey415

The Buyer either put a new grip on it or sent you a similar club but not the one you sold them. In either case they have changed the item. Here is a link to your Seller Protections AND make sure you use the Report Buyer link on the sold item to alert eBay of a problem: Seller protections | eBay

Depending on the situation, your Seller level, etc. you may be able to deduct the Buyer's original paid shipping and up to 50% of the item's price and have any less than Positive Feedback removed.