HANDLING A RETURN ON EBAY
Hello, an offshore buyer bought some car parts that were quite big and heavy so couldnt be shipped to their destination, i gave them an offer to cancel or i could send the important parts and leave out the worthless parts that were the heaviest and really not worth shipping, all the parts were roughly $300 plus $400 shipping, they agreed they really needed the important parts and to go ahead and send them. So i did and then they got them and proceeded to complain about the tax and duty they had to pay and that i did not include the worthless parts that they told me to go ahead and ship with out and demanded $200 back which i declined, they proceeded to open a return on ebay which ebay says i must accept, return shipping is $600, They have not complained about what i sent them whatsoever . I understand if the customer doesnt send the item back which i suspect he wouldnt, then the case is closed in my favour, but he is clearly an irrational idiot and i suspect he would probably send me the old worn out parts from his car and this is quite the gamble with shipping along being in excess of $1000, please help what should i do!?!?!
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoThis is one of the examples which occur from time to time of a seller going too far to provide customer service, crossing the line between what is required and what is counter to your own best interests.
Offering greater customer service than Ebay requires is often seen as an invitation to take advantage of you and can be a very expensive lesson.
International shipments of items best shipped by LTL freight are to be avoided. Some of us who bear the scars of international shipments gone wrong, will not ship anything unless it qualifies for Ebay International Shipping (EIS).
You are now faced with a situation in which your cost for return shipping exceeds the value of your sale. Cut your losses and end this situation. You can join the rest of the " former nice guys"
tinsoldierunderground
·1 year agoUnder NO circumstances should you send a partial shipment, whether the buyer agrees or not.
Just as others have already posted, that sets you up for an INAD, which is pretty much what you're facing now. And yes, the buyer could very well send you back a crate full of his worn out junk, and ebay would be fine with that. I agree with @duffy4444 , this has bad buyer experience written all over it, which ebay doesn't view with much of a sense of humor.
reallynicestamps
·1 year ago@thesalvageguys
then they got them and proceeded to complain about the tax and duty they had to pay
Put that Message in the Claim.
At one time eBay gave sellers this boilerplate about import fees to add to our Shipping and Terms of Service.
Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying
Since the new Trump Tax on imports, as a Canadian seller I have put this in all my descriptions to stop such complaints from confused Americans who think that a tariff is paid by the exporter.
thesalvageguys
OP1 year agoappreciate the responses! Its tricky with selling used parts and knowing the finished packaging and weight sometimes for every package and knowing what the limitations are with ebay shipping and the allowed weights and dims. I agree certainly not an ideal situation all around but im confused how a buyer can agree to something via message, and complain about the taxes they had to pay and use that as grounds to try to extort me for a 3/4 refund and then open a return stating such when not agreed to. Sometimes buyers even specifically request to send a partial listing, is that frowned upon as well and should never be agreed to unless the whole listing is modified to reflect such?
duffy4444
·1 year ago@thesalvageguys:
From the outset, your listing should have had all the specific details all worked out by you beforehand, in order to have a happy customer who doesn't have to guess or be faced with sale that you as the seller modified after the fact. There's no reason why you couldn't have the weight, dimensions, and shipping source(s) predetermined.
It all could have been easily avoided by you being up-front in the listing. Modifying the terms by messaging back and forth with the buyer left you running the risk of facing a legitimate monetary loss and another potential negative feedback. You handed to the buyer on a silver platter the grounds to be unhappy and do what he is doing.
Take the loss, suck it up, and move on with better business procedures. Your feedback history will reflect that in the future if you are more upfront.
It's always better to remove the cause, rather than have to deal with the negative effect.
Cheers, Duffy
mtgraves7984
·1 year agoSometimes buyers even specifically request to send a partial listing, is that frowned upon as well and should never be agreed to unless the whole listing is modified to reflect such?
@thesalvageguys
^^^ Yes. Always make the listing and the item(s) shipped match. Otherwise, it's a NAD claim at it's face. Hang in there...
duffy4444
·1 year agoWhat should you do, you ask? -- Based upon what you say in your post, why on earth are you listing and selling to "offshore" buyers outside Canada, items that you later admit were so heavy that they could not be shipped? It sounds like you probably offered shipping in the listing, and then reneged on it... The only other alternative would be to expect a non-Canadian buyer to enter Canada to pick them up in person. And then you put the buyer in an unfair position by offering to ship only a partial order or cancelling the sale. Not wise from the outset!
The buyer, to whom you display very bad service by disdainfully calling an "irrational idiot", had every right to be upset about the entire Not As Described (NAD) situation, on top of the tax and duty he had to pay for receiving only a partial NAD order - whether he initially agreed to it or not when you put him on the spot. You shouldn't complain about the buyer potentially returning his old worn-out parts, as you put yourself into this position of a big loss.
As you explained it, this situation has Bad Buyer Experience written all over it, and your neutral and negative feedback history reinforces that. From what you explained, you should profusely apologize to the buyer and negotiate at least a fair partial refund, even if it's a big loss for you to eat after the items are hopefully returned... and then expect yet another legitimate negative feedback.
To answer your question, that's what you should do as I understand what you say in your post.
Cheers, Duffy
fashunu4eeuh
·1 year agoHi, sorry you had to learn the risks of selling here in a trial by fire. Below is a link from eBay’s Help page regarding the steps to follow in a return. They may be of some use. Good luck to you.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/handle-return-request-seller?id=4115
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoI think you're on the hook for this.
You listed an item that included all the parts then shipped (with or without buyer agreement) only some of the parts.
That means that what the buyer received wasn't as listed, in other words, the buyer received a NAD (not as described) item.
And if they open a return request for NAD, you have to either refund (without the return) or pay return shipping if you want the item back. And then, after receiving the return, you issue a full refund.