Buyer claiming perfume does not smell like it should - do I have a chance? What should I do?

[whitelabelbidder]

Hello All,

Have come up against a though situation.

I have sold a perfume recently, which was originally a present and not used (stored in a coold dark place along with our other perfumes) and sold without box as is. The transaction went thought fine, the perfume was shipped and the buyer recieved it Friday. However today I get a message from the buyer that they are dissapointed because some of the notes aren't as pronouced as expected and that the scent does not last as long as expected. They aren't claiming that the perfume is fake or anything (which it is not). And I had stated in the auction that I dont accept returns, especially ones based on 'buyers remorse' so to say.

Anyways don't know what to do, they are threatening with an eBay suit, and I wanted to find out what to do - so what should I do? Just give the money back and thake the loss? Do I have a chance with eBay, or will they side with the buyer? Any preemptive action I should take to protect myself? The claim is totaly subjective, and more than that it seems that they have used the perfume several times already 'to test' so I will get a visibly used product back (the level of the perfume will be visible).

Will greatly appreciate any advice, thank you in advance!

D.

[whitelabelbidder]

Should add that the buyer was informed about the fact that the pefrume was recieved about a year ago, so is not brand new.

Normally I would just let it go but this buyer was finicky about shipping and I took a loss on shipping becasue of that and now to take another loss for such a suprious reason is a bit much.

[rolenboy01]

I guess it all depends on what the item is worth and if you can resell it after it has been opened and if it's still profitable after you have paid to have it shipped back to you, you have to weigh all these facts in your decision, this buy clearly will file a SNAD which means you will have to pay return shipping, only you can decide if it's worthwhile to get the perfume back and attempt to resell.

[whitelabelbidder]

Thanks for the reply.

The perfume will clearly be much harder to sell once it has been used, not to mention the need to drop the price - overall with the loss of return shipping etc even if I sell it afterwards I will still probably make a loss, well not a loss loss as this was a gift but will be basically giving it away for a couple of pounds. The perfume costs around 175 pounds new and I sold it for around 70.

Do I have any chance of eBay siding with me if they file? Or is there any action I can take before they file? I mean this is clearly the buyer making **bleep** claims just to return the item, dont I have some kind of protection?

Cheers,

D.

[siayan]

First you do not have to do anything until there is a case open. I will assume there is not a lot of money involved here.

My suggestion would be to have minimial chit chat. Tell the buyer they can open a case if they are not happy with the item. You can then accept the return and pay return shipping or refund and let them keep the item. It is your call.

This reduces stress and solves the problem. It is part of selling here.

[rolenboy01]

Not much you can do unfortunately other than offering a partial refund, I'd start with a partial refund that is less than your shipping cost and go from there that might appease them, again I say if you can get away with a partial refund than a return on an opened item it may benefit you even if it's not your desired outcome.

[rolenboy01]

Your main goal is to minimise losses so you gotta decide what it will sell for opened after return shipping and with shipping or minus shipping compared to what you have sold it for already and decide from there that's if they will even agree to it.

[themagicmountain]

Just accept it as a return and resell it. Mark it up a little to make back your postage cost.

[omgitlightsup]

---

@themagicmountain wrote:

Just accept it as a return and resell it. Mark it up a little to make back your postage cost.

---

If you accept a return, be very wary of reselling.

Nothing stops your buyer from draining the bottle and refilling it with "Designer Imposters" before mailing it back to you. If that happens, it definitely won't smell like it should.

It's been mentioned already, but reselling it now that it's been used is a risky venture.

[*eponymous*]

The buyer will win a SNAD claim with either PayPal or eBay.

Not having the original box is normally suspicious to a buyer, in addition to the much lower price.  I understand why you priced it that way.

When you reply to the case, select the option for you to send a label since perfume containing alcohol cannot be shipped by air, though you did ship this by air.  The bottle looks like a sprayer to me, but maybe it's not...?

[margarenisa_0]

---

@*eponymous* wrote:

The buyer will win a SNAD claim with either PayPal or eBay.

Not having the original box is normally suspicious to a buyer, in addition to the much lower price.  I understand why you priced it that way.

When you reply to the case, select the option for you to send a label since perfume containing alcohol cannot be shipped by air, though you did ship this by air.  The bottle looks like a sprayer to me, but maybe it's not...?

---

Just chiming in to agree with shipping. OP- it can only be shipped ground- USPS won't allow perfume to be shipped by air as it has the potential to be explosive because of the alcohol.

[mam98031]

I know another poster has recommended offering up a Partial Refund to this buyer, but I STRONGLY disagree.  That is most likely exactly what they are fishing for.

Don't get scared just because a buyer "threatens" to open a Request.  While it is in the Request stage, it doesn't hurt you one bit.  

Fragrance sellers whether an occasional seller of fragrances or a seller that does it on a regular basis can NOT guarantee everyone will like any particular fragrance.  I've often said that if I could come up with a smell test for the internet, I'd be rich!!!

Since you do not offer a return policy, your listings fall under Ebay's Money Back Guarantee.  One of the exceptions in that policy is Buyer's Remorse.  So you have a couple options here.

You can send a nice polite, short and sweet email to the buyer stating you will accept the return if they would like to do that.  And to let you know so you can give them instructions for doing so if they would want to return the item.

OR

You can politely let them know that you can't guarantee that everyone will enjoy the fragrance, but if they feel the need to file a Request for Return, it is their right and they are welcome to do so.

You don't want to upset them if you can avoid it because if they open the Request, it is in your best interest that they do it honestly by stating they didn't like the scent.  That is a Buyer's Remorse return not a Significantly Not as Described.  As long as it is clearly buyer's remorse, you can win the Request and get it closed.

But if you choose to go the route of offering a partial refund, know that you are most likely doing exactly what they wanted in the first place.  They just wanted the item for less money.  If they seriously wanted to return it, they would have already told you that.

Good Luck!

[whitelabelbidder]

Thank you for your reply, very helpful.

What if they open a case but state that they have had this fragrance before and that this according to them does not smell the same or has the same longevity? Again unprovable but a bit different.

Cheers.

[mam98031]

---

@whitelabelbidder wrote:

Thank you for your reply, very helpful.

What if they open a case but state that they have had this fragrance before and that this according to them does not smell the same or has the same longevity? Again unprovable but a bit different.

Cheers.

---

OK, what EXACTLY did their email to you state?  Copy the body of it into a post here, but don't identify them, block that or delete that info before posting.

[aramintaca]

Open case, return for refund. A partial refund won't make it smell any different. I agree they want it cheaper or they would have asked about a refund already.