Bicycle Sales: Buyer wants to return due to "wrong size" yet size was listed correctly in listing.

[mpls_john]

From what I have read, I the seller will have to accept the return due to ebay favoring the buyer. The frame size was listed correctly, and the buyer never asked to clarify the dimensions. Buyer wants to return it as it's "not as listed" and is too big for them. Can anyone shed some light on my situation?

[aquajoe07011]

Not much you can do.  eBay will side with the buyer, and you will have to refund.  Sorry this happened to you.

[a_c_green]

As above... You will need to refund, either with or without having the bike returned to you first (your choice). 

I would have them return it first, partly because that's a lot of bike to lose, of course, but partly because they may not actually return it anyway. They may be hoping for you to haggle a partial refund instead, especially as you're a new seller who may not know his options. 

If you do end up getting it back, I would suggest putting the side view of the entire bike in the listing first, as the main listing photo, and also adding the standover height for the top bar. Although you did give the frame size, some buyers may not know what that dimension is, but the standover height (ideally, shown as a tape-measure photo against the frame) is something they can compare with their own inseam measurement for themselves.

[orangehound]

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@mpls_john wrote:

From what I have read, I the seller will have to accept the return due to ebay favoring the buyer. The frame size was listed correctly, and the buyer never asked to clarify the dimensions. Buyer wants to return it as it's "not as listed" and is too big for them. Can anyone shed some light on my situation?

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What you do will depend.  I do not know what the return reason might be since "wrong size" and "not as listed" are not eBay return reasons.  So, what you do will depend on the return reason.

• If the buyer's reason for the return is "doesn't fit", then this is what is called a "remorse" return.  Because your listing is "Seller does not accept returns", then you can deny the return or accept the return.   If you deny the return, then the case will be closed in your favor and you can move on ... if you accept the return, then the buyer will need to return the item at their expense, and you refund the original purchase price when the bike is received back by you (you do not have to refund the original shipping price if you don't want to).
• If the buyer's reason for the return is something like "doesn't work or defective", or "Doesn't match description or photos", then this activates eBay's "Money Back Guarantee", and you would need to accept the return, pay for both original and return shipping, etc.

[berserkerplanet]

Just as with clothing items you really have to include actual measurements for bicycle frames - they vary a lot depending on manufacturer and frame.

Some manufacturers measure road frames to the top of the seat tube, some to the intersection of the seat tube and top tube, some to the top of the top tube, etc and it can vary an inch or more. Frame geometry varies a lot too (top tube/seat tube = undersquare, square, oversquare)

I ride a Bianchi 59cm which is really a standard 57cm, and is also a bit of an oversquare frame (top tube longer than seat tube), which makes it somewhat a stretched out ride. Not everyone's cup of tea. IIRC. Lemond frames were undersquare. And so on.

If talking about S,M, L road and mtn frames, that issue gets even worse.

Always better to provide buyers enough info to make an informed decision - some will use it, and the others will do what they gonna do anyway (purchase blind, change their minds, and lie to get free return shipping).