Buyer sent back wrong item.

[tweetystwades]

How should handle this? Buyer was returning a bra, and I received a dress. Legit mistake, probably mixed up labels. I messaged buyer no response yet.  I do not have to refund them unless I get the bra back right?     

[12345jamesstamps]

But did buyer actually 'sent back wrong item"?

I had a few returns where buyer sent something back on purpose...and kept the good item.

"Legit mistake"...I guess buyer returns a lot of items...scary....

Package had tracking thus something returned...even if it's a box of rocks...yes...refund the buyer.

Will buyer message you?...probably not.

Block the buyer and it might be a loss.

[tweetystwades]

This is a legit mistake, I even found the seller they bought the other item from. 

I know no one is going to pay shipping to swap the items.

Can I even keep a percentage for wrong item returned?   

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

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@tweetystwades wrote:

I do not have to refund them unless I get the bra back right?     

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You do have to refund, however you are able to withhold 50% of the refund. This is because you are TRS and accept 30 day returns on your bra listings.

Keep in mind, if you refund 50% you will not get any of your final value fees credited. Do the math to see what works out best between a partial refund and loss of fees / original shipping or a full refund, credit of fees and loss of original shipping.

I'm sure you know you can write off the loss when filing your taxes and you should keep good records.

If you proceed with a 50% refund you should upload a photo of the dress - maybe add text to the photo that says you received a dress sold by "seller name" and not the bra you sold.

[12345jamesstamps]

Kinda a new 'how do I handle this'.

What would I do with...say I have a  busy schedule...not sure what yours is.

Refund the buyer and block them...but it's because I have enough of drama in my life. 

'bra'...is it still new or used?

'messaged buyer no reponse'...and buyer made a mistake do you actually think they can correct it no matter what steps you tell them....buyers are not shippers usually so always a problem with a return...as we are shippers on eBays we kinda know what we are doing.

Just do the refund and let it be.

Most sellers will tell you we take a hit of a bad sale gone wrong every now and then.

[wastingtime101]

One other thing @tweetystwades : you can always resell the dress to recover some of your loss.

You might even message the dress seller and offer to swap photos (if their pics are decent) so there's less work for both of you selling each others' returns. Hopefully the items are of comparable value so both you and the other seller come out OK in the end.

[tweetystwades]

That's a good idea. I thought about messaging the other buyer, but wasn't sure they would respond. They will get a brand new Maidenform Bra, and I got a used Old Navy not very attractive dress. 

Thanks for help. 

[wastingtime101]

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@tweetystwades wrote:

 I got a used Old Navy not very attractive dress. 

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😂 Well maybe the donate bin is a better option. Then again, resellers often say the uglier it is the faster it sells.

[tweetystwades]

I had to come back and admit defeat to you, I should have listened. Because the end result was inevitable.

I told the seller she sent me the wrong item, her first go to was for me and the other seller to swap packages. 

I disagreed, because it's not a perfect world. I offered her a partial refund for fees, shipping, and cost of item.  I would also try to sell the used hideous dress that was retuned to me (did not use those words with buyer). She did not hear back from the other seller, so she got savvy very quickly.  She ignored my offer for partial refund, and said she would just wait for ebay to step in and refund for both. Accepting no responsibility for her mistake. 

So, I refunded her, and blocked her. You were right, the loss was not worth the time and drama.

[wastingtime101]

You could have refunded the 50% and when she protested, eBay would either refund her the balance from their pocket or if the buyer had a history of abuse they would have told her too bad.

If you haven't done so already, report the buyer @tweetystwades . Even if it started out as an honest mistake, the buyer's behavior afterwards speaks to them abusing the returns system, expecting a full refund after shipping back the wrong item. Report them for abusing returns / MBG.

[tweetystwades]

I should’ve done that, but after her response, I was flabbergasted.
I just gave her a full refund, Reported and blocked her. 
I got myself upset when the end result was the same.

Being that she made a mistake, I thought she would’ve excepted the partial refund quickly.

Thanks for your help.