Weird situation with a cold feet buyer
I recently sold a turntable to a buyer, and he paid, but then he realized he had overpaid for the item. Saying he can get a newer version of the same product for less. I had already shipped out the item to him before he messaged me. I feel like eBay might side with the buyer if he were to escalate, even though I had done my best to be as accurate as possible with my product description. I have already spent a significant amount on shipping the item. What should I do?
2 comments
christworks
·1 year agoYou do nothing. There is nothing for your buyer to escalate. If I'm understanding correctly, they've not opened a return. They could simply be hoping you offer them a discount. Don't do that. If you've not responded to the message, I don't know if I would. If you do, you could say something like, "We appreciate your business. Our prices are comparable to the eBay market rate. Sincerely, you_there" Leave it at that.
I see you do not accept returns. Prepare that your buyer may open up a false INAD claim, but don't borrow trouble assuming they will. As I said, they could be fishing to see if you will offer them a discount. If they open an INAD, you can ignore it, then they will escalate. Or, you can send them a shipping label, get the item back, report them for return abuse if they filed a false INAD claim, then refund them. If it comes down to reporting them for return abuse, make sure you've held on to all messages you've gotten from them so that eBay can see they were hee-hawing around about not wanting the order after you shipped it. You could then call eBay and maybe get someone who will refund you the return shipping as a courtesy. They will be able to pull up the buyer's account to see your report. Hopefully, at most, you will only be out the original shipping. You are a long way from there. Limit your engagement with them and try to not worry.
Imagine for a moment that you accepted returns. You could then let them know they could return it to you if they changed their mind, and you'll be happy to give them a refund. At least you could keep the original shipping you charged them.
Rarely is it good to not accept returns. Offering returns is an act of grace, especially free returns. When buyers know they can freely return anything they buy, it reduces the temptation to scam someone. They will move on to a better target, because in reality they want to keep the item and get their money back. When you offer free returns, there is no opportunity to create an argument and thus nothing to escalate. When a scammer sees "Seller does not accept returns,"it sends the signal that you do not want to deal with them after the sale. These scammers see the vulnerability and they will seize the opportunity, hoping to make you angry so you don't help them, and they can then escalate to eBay to get the result they really want.
caldreamer
·1 year agoNothing you can do really at this point. You just have to wait and see if customer opens a "return request". If customer opens return using reason "not as described" EBAY will force you to refund "purchase price + shipping BOTH ways. EBAY does NOT require customer to prove their claims. EBAY always rule in favor of the customer.