Issuing a refund to the buyer before receiving my return item! DO NOT DO THIS!

[raniamou]

To  all sellers out there...

I made a HUGE mistake! I accidentally issued a refund to a buyer (a 50 star one and above suspicion in communication), who paid and then asked for a return, as the shoes were "fine" but "too small"!

Of course, as time went by waiting, the case was closed. An of course I never got anything back!

I do not even have the option of leaving negative feedback!!! Ebay won't let me...

I can't forgive myself, as I'm an experienced seller and long time E bayer.

Sellers are not protected here.

Please READ and be careful before you press ANY button.

BIG mistake! HUGE!

[bonjourami]

Im sorry, but experienced sellers know not to refund before the item is returned. Why would you expect Ebay to protect you after that? It was your mistake, not Ebay's.

[kensgiftshop]

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@raniamou wrote:

I do not even have the option of leaving negative feedback!!! Ebay won't let me...

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Why would you want to leave negative feedback for the buyer, when it was you that screwed up?

And it's a policy violation to leave a negative comment in buyers feedback and that buyer should report it.

[kitschy*loot · Accepted solution]

@raniamou It is sellers like you that make people glad you can't leave negative feedback. You made a mistake and that's your fault. I hope that buyer reports you for breaking the feedback policy on eBay. You can't leave a positive with negative wording for a buyer. 

[raniamou]

Have you ever sold anything on eBay? I didn't think so. Thank you.

[raniamou]

Have you ever sold anything? I didn't think so. Thank you.

[bonjourami]

"Have you ever sold anything? I didn't think so. Thank you."

I have been selling on Ebay for twenty four years and have over two thousand feedbacks..how many do you have? Hopefully that buyer will notify Ebay of that negative fb you left, and your account will get sanctioned.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@raniamou wrote:

To  all sellers out there...

I made a HUGE mistake!

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Then why would you leave a disallowed feedback accusing the buyer of fraud? 

[epowerbargains]

It is always frustrating when as a seller you make a mistake. It's how you handle your mistake that counts. 

Did you send a message to the buyer explaining your mistake and asking them to return the shoes at your expense? Did you send a message prior to sending that feedback that is against eBay feedback policy? Even if the buyer refuses to send their purchase back and even if they refuse to communicate with you - you did the refund, and they might honestly and reasonably conclude that you did not want it back and thus the refund - there are sellers who do that when it is not worth it to them to pay for return shipping on a return and/or it was their mistake. 

You might want to consider self-reporting that feedback to eBay and request removal.

And....the people here who have responded to you are very experienced sellers who give their time to both buyers and sellers as a service to try to assist them. Your responses to a few of them showed unfair assumptions and were unkind to people simply trying to explain eBay policy. 

[albertabrightalberta]

It's very possible that the buyer (understandably) assumed that @raniamou didn't want the shoes back because of the price of shipping them back to Greece.

[bonjourami]

I see that fb has been removed.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@bonjourami wrote:

I see that fb has been removed.

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No, it's not removed. The feedback is neutral and it's there.

Oops, you're referring to the contradictory feedback left by the OP.