eBay

sommerstime · ‎11-18-2018

I have a buyer requesting a partial refund ‘in good faith’ because the glasses she bought are giving her a headache. They were prescription glasses. Brand new never worn. I always take returns on my items in my store, but this item I put no returns because I did not want them back. My auction was correct and clear with significant amount of information., also stating no returns.

her email stated: “I suppose I should have done more due diligence with this item. But I hate to be out that much for something that may not be of value. Would you consider a fair amount of up to $25? I made a mistake. Thanks.”

she paid $85

What would you do and how would you handle this situation ?

softersilk · ‎11-18-2018

@atikovi wrote:
Still better than getting back something you have no use for.

That's not how it works. He said NO RETURNS. eBay has explicit policy against what this buyer did. Every customer service rep has seen this old game before.

The weasels who try this game have no intention on returning anything. They just want free money. It's called "shaking the tree to see if something falls out".

b8uvs9e-0 · ‎11-18-2018

It has been my experience that partial refund garbage doesn't work.

If you give in and give them the whole partial they asked for it won't be 5 days they come back for more, and more... First it's the headaches then it's on to something else, folks like these...

Just so we understand...

There's no good will in me about partial refund requests, none at all.

There only exist two paths...

One, full refund no return.

Two, Return for refund.

The problem with path two is with a No Returns policy the MBG makes it impossible to enforce, you can try it and hope the buyer doesn't realize what you're doing but then again you did say you did not want the item back...

Here is where I'm not sure I want to give the buyer the opening to scam me, which can lead to their oh-o-great satisfaction... Personally I would rather cancel and issue a full refund without saying another word.

Rest assured it's not out of good will.

More like being bent over a barrel, then again all of the above is a scenario I've already accepted when listing a No Returns item, more often than not I've already made the decision of what I'm going to do should a partial request arise.

@sommerstime wrote:
Thanks everyone for the advice! All have valid points. I appreciate your time. I have decided to give a 20% discount bc I did just lower 1/3 of my store for holiday sales. I don’t want them back and am happy they are gone 😂 a little bit back to make the buyer feel better felt right and hopefully it rectifies the situation to make her happy.

Mhm...

Please let us know if that's really the end of things, I would be interested in hearing...

b8uvs9e-0 · ‎11-18-2018

@softersilk wrote:
@atikovi wrote:
Still better than getting back something you have no use for.
That's not how it works. He said NO RETURNS. eBay has explicit policy against what this buyer did. Every customer service rep has seen this old game before.

The weasels who try this game have no intention on returning anything. They just want free money. It's called "shaking the tree to see if something falls out".

That is correct, however the returns policy merely covers the item itself, it does not cover the money.

The MBG is what covers the money, and on ebay the MBG will rule on the side of the buyer.

Deny their request and the buyer opens a SNAD.

Which is how we come to...

The folks who stated "return for refund..."

1. The item was sold under a No Returns policy.

It is very easy to simply open a SNAD as a buyer, then stall the case until it's time to escalate without ever shipping anything back... Ask ebay to step in when the time comes and the MBG will issue the full refund.

Yes it's that simple, the buyer may return nothing and still get issued a full refund.

2. The seller stated they didn't want the item back.

Wouldn't a return defeat that purpose?

Pay shipping back and do what, relist?

mam98031 · ‎11-18-2018

@softersilk wrote:
@atikovi wrote:
Still better than getting back something you have no use for.
That's not how it works. He said NO RETURNS. eBay has explicit policy against what this buyer did. Every customer service rep has seen this old game before.

The weasels who try this game have no intention on returning anything. They just want free money. It's called "shaking the tree to see if something falls out".

@softersilk

Wait. I respect that the OP has the right to do as they did with the partial refund. It is the OPs business afterall. While I wouldn't do it, it doesn't make what they did wrong. IMHO it just encourages this type of behavior with other sellers.

With that said, you are NOT correct about having a No Return Policy. Every seller on Ebay has to meet or exceed the rules of the Money Back Guarantee. So if this buyer were to file a SNAD, the OP, even with a No Return policy would HAVE to accept the return, pay return shipping and then refund the buyer in full. Sellers have NO choice in the matter. Well except for one. They could allow the buyer to keep the item and give them a full refund.

The ONLY type of claim a seller with a No Return policy can deny is if the buyer files a Buyer's Remorse claim. Then the seller can make the decision to accept the return or deny the return. But most buyers will not file one of these even if it is really a buyer remorse reason. They will choose a different reason and file a SNAD so that the seller has to accept the return and pay the shipping.

You are correct that the CSRs do know about these types of games, however they can't do anything about it except report the buyer for misuse of the return system.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

atikovi · ‎11-19-2018

@softersilk wrote:
@atikovi wrote:
Still better than getting back something you have no use for.
That's not how it works. He said NO RETURNS. eBay has explicit policy against what this buyer did. Every customer service rep has seen this old game before.

The weasels who try this game have no intention on returning anything. They just want free money. It's called "shaking the tree to see if something falls out".

So what if the buyer claims SNAD? Then this seller gets their item back and has to pay return shipping. You have no way of knowing that they have no intention on returning the item.