Buyer claims item not as described when it clearly was

[fanfareplayer]

I recently sold a letter written by Thomas Edison. In the listing I CLEARLY stated that the letter was lamanated for protection. (Letter was lamenated personally by me nearly 20 years ago and remains in the exact condition it was in when  lamenated it.) I CLEARLY posted photos so that the buyer would see that the letter was lamanated. However, once the buyer ecieved the letter, he decided it was not as described in the listiing and so he started a return. I have researched complaints and it seems like eBay ALWAYS sides with the buyer. eBay already sent the payment to my bank and it has been sitting there for several days LESS the 13% eBay takes. M

My question is : what should I expect to happen? Will eBay side with buyer and stiff me of 13%? Will eBay refund the buyer with the entire amount and NOT stiff me 13%? Will eBay side with me? This is outrageous.

[broto_64]

I believe you will need to accept the return.

[kensgiftshop]

Accept the return, provide a shipping label, then refund once it's returned.

You'll pay the full refund, then Ebay will refund their fee's.

[klhmdg]

These are your options -

Accept the return.

Send a label and once you receive it, refund in full.

eBay will refund the fees.

OR refund the buyer now and eBay will refund the fees.

You will not get the item back but dont have to pay shipping back to you.

OR do nothing, eBay will refund the buyer and allow them to keep the item.

You will most likely get a negative FB.

eBay will keep all fees AND give you a seller defect.

Seller defects are one of the easiest ways to be removed from ever selling on eBay again.

[ittybitnot]

 However, once the buyer ecieved the letter, he decided it was not as described in the listiing and so he started a return.

@fanfareplayer 

This is eBay, the the process is automated.  For all intents and purposes,  the only thing that matters is what the buyer chooses from the drop down menu when filing the claim.  At that point, the item becomes what the buyer says it is.  It need not be the truth, but at that time your description and photos no longer matter.  They will never matter, and customer service is no longer allowed to intervene. 

You either accept the return, and provide a return label (or money if an international sale) and hope you get YOUR item back

OR

Refund, and let the buyer keep the product for free. 

If you do nothing, and eBay is 'asked to step in'  by you or the buyer, eBay will often take the proceeds from the seller, award them a defect, and allow the buyer to have their money back and keep the item at no charge.  

[mustang707]

If and when you get the letter back, when you relist it, I would suggest putting the word "laminated" in the title to avoid this situation in the future. Unfortunately, buyers don't read descriptions very well.

[gator08041971]

---

@mustang707 wrote:

Unfortunately, buyers don't read descriptions very well.

---

Or at all.

I mean if you shop using the mobile app, you don't even see the main description unless you scroll down and open description details.  Otherwise, all you will ever see is the main title and a truncated condition box, if you used it.  (I usually put the words See More Below) in that condition box. Or something.

But agree with everyone else.  Its far easier on you to return it, refund, and move on.  Its a PITA, but any other choice is only going to affect you worse.

[albertabrightalberta]

---

@mustang707 wrote:

If and when you get the letter back, when you relist it, I would suggest putting the word "laminated" in the title to avoid this situation in the future. Unfortunately, buyers don't read descriptions very well.

---

^^^^ This is exactly what I was going to say. 

And make sure you spell "laminated" correctly. 

I'm not a collector of historical documents but I would think that lamination would detract from the value. And according to what I found, that seems to be the case:

Plastic Laminating Of Old Documentation

[tobaccocardyahoo]

I strongly suspect that many potential buyers would not know what laminated means.

As a preservation technique, it was always questionable and anathema to all collectors today.

Take the return because you are likely to lose the claim and will have something rather than nothing.

[itsjustasprain]

---

@fanfareplayer wrote:

My question is : what should I expect to happen? Will eBay side with buyer and stiff me of 13%? Will eBay refund the buyer with the entire amount and NOT stiff me 13%? Will eBay side with me? This is outrageous.

---

When you respond to the return request by refunding the buyer (either with or without requesting a return first) then Ebay returns their final value fees that they took out of the original payment. They DO keep those fees if the seller does nothing and the buyer has to ask Ebay to step in. For a $700 sale I am sure you do want to request the return and refund after you get it back.

A couple of other comments here: that description has a strong whiff of AI writing about it - to which you have apparently added a sentence or two. I would strongly suggest that you write your own description and maybe add some more details as well. There is no indication of how big the letter is and no detailing of the flaws even though the photos do show some.

I can see that it was very deteriorated and appears to have been practically falling apart so lamination might be a last-ditch effort to save it for the future. But I think the lamination should have been stated more clearly. In both the listing and here in the original post I am seeing the word misspelled as 'lamanated' and 'lamenated' where 'laminated' should have been used. As that is a term that some buyers may be looking for (if only to avoid it) it is important that it is spelled correctly.

Just take it back and send the refund as soon as you receive it. When relisting be sure to provide more written details on its condition (you are off to a good start with your photos) and avoid using AI for your text. Good luck.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

I think you're getting played! $699 sale! I just looked at other Thomas Edison signature listings. WOW!

I would reply to send back and after receiving, you will refund. See how that plays out. 

Did you ever review this buyers' feedback profile?

Honestly, you should have entertained getting this graded, professionally framed, and sold elsewhere. Not laminated. 

best of luck on this. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

I am quite surprised that you were able to sell a laminated historical document for that much, or at all. Lamination destroys what it was meant to protect.

https://www.npr.org/2017/02/21/515410087/an-attempt-to-save-south-carolinas-historical-documents-is-...

[inhawaii]

Treat his as if you were wrong and the seller is right.

That's how ebay will treat this.

Accept the return.

When the item is returned to you, refund the buyer.

Don't forget to block the buyer.

[lux.ra_14]

---

@fanfareplayer wrote:

(Letter was lamenated personally by me nearly 20 years ago and remains in the exact condition it was in when  lamenated it.)

---

Your intentions might have been good, but lamination is non-archival and non-reversible.

It was an original paper letter. That was the "exact condition" before you altered it. Now it's a letter in a sheet of thermoplastic that can't be removed and will likely do more harm than good in the long run. Blame yourself, not the buyer, and accept the return. 

[junkinabox]

Your options :

-Accept the return.

-Send a label and once you receive it, refund in full. eBay will refund the fees.

-Refund the buyer now and eBay will refund the fees. You will not get the item back but do not have to pay return shipping.

-Or do nothing, eBay will refund the buyer and allow them to keep the item. You will most probably get a negative fb. eBay will keep all fees and give you a seller defect.