What should I do?
I had a buyer return an item, stating that she wanted to return because the Disney mini backpack had a very strong “mold and mildew smell.” I was really surprised, because have sold a number of these and never had a complaint. I immediately messaged and said “I’m so sorry” sent her a return eBay label, and yesterday received the item back. I was curious about the smell and opened box. No smell whatsoever. I’ve had 2 other people smell (without telling them, just asked tell me if this smells bad or good) and neither could detect a thing.
My return policy has always been “return for any reason” so I wondered why buyer made specious complaint, but then realized aha, this way she could return without having to pay return shipping. If there’s nothing wrong, and buyer just changed her mind or found it cheaper somewhere else, she would’ve had to pay for return shipping. This way, she was able to return and have ME pay return ship.
Do I have any recourse ? How can I address this with eBay? It’s really only over the $10 ship label but I feel scammed. ( plus the original $10 ship label).
Thanks for any help!
reallynicestamps
·4 months agoAnd that is a $10 return label out of how much that you have grossed since 2007?
It's a business expense and deductible from your gross come tax time.
And you have a backpack you can resell.
You can put the nitpick/nitwit on your Blocked Bidder List and never deal with them again.
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoA 'very strong mold or mildew smell' is unmistakable. They just didn't want the item and decided to return it on your dime. Most people are honest, though.
theteamsetguy
·4 months ago@letergo ,
I would do as your moniker states. Letergo, relist, and move on.
vintage-camerastuff
·4 months agoThe fact is certain people have a different sense of smell. What smells fine to one person may smell bad to someone else. Ebay won't do anything for you. Only the nose knows!
frugalmarketplace
·4 months ago@letergo
Unfortunately people can be dishonest, You did the right thing and don’t waste your time reporting, as it won’t make any difference.
‘’I had a customer buy a beautiful knife, and then made an outlandish claim. It annoyed me, but I did what you did, refunded her after it came back and just moved on.
caldreamer
·4 months agoEBAY 30-Day Money Guarantee allows customers to lie and claim anything to get a refund. EBAY does NOT require the customer to "prove their claim". EBAY always rules in favor of the customer.
Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose (this is all part of doing business online). There is no way you can dispute "a smell". This customer could be "scent sensitive" and smells things differently than other people.