Buyer didn’t request a return through eBay, instead returned to sender

[nawsetleigh]

A buyer bought an item from me on the 18th. I have a 2 day handling period. I offer 30 day returns with buyer paid shipping. I dropped the item off at USPS on the 20th and later that day the buyer sent me a message saying that all I had done was create the shipping label but hadn’t shipped out their item yet and they wanted to cancel their order if it wasn’t going to arrive by Thursday the 23rd. I informed them that I had shipped out their item already and it does take time for tracking to update sometimes. They messaged back saying they asked to cancel the order if it’s not gonna be there by the 23rd unless I’m doing two day priority mail shipping. I informed them of the two day handling period as well as that I only offered USPS ground shipping and that I had already dropped off their order at USPS before their request to cancel. I apologized as well if the item did not arrive on the day that they wanted. They did not reply after that. Their item was delivered on Saturday the 25th but then on Monday the 27th they took it back to USPS and tried to send it to a different address claiming it wasn’t theirs. That address did not exist so the USPS is now sending it back to sender, which is me. The buyer reported that they did not receive their item on the 28th and is requesting a refund. I messaged the buyer asking that they verify their address and make sure it was correct since it had been delivered, and I saw on the tracking that then it had been sent to somewhere else and that address did not exist, and now it was being sent back to me. I contacted USPS and asked what had happened. They informed me that the item had been delivered on the 25th but then brought back to them on the 27th claiming that it was not theirs and gave them a different address to go to. That address did not exist, and therefore they are sending back to me. I messaged the buyer again and explained that to them and again requested that they verify their info so that we can figure out why they did not receive their item and get it to them. The buyer responded saying that yes the item had been delivered, but sent back to sender and that he is waiting on  a refund or having eBay step in if he hasn’t received it by November 2nd. To me, he all but admitted that yes, he had received the item and just decided to send it back instead of doing a request for a return and pay the shipping costs like I have in my return policy. 

I do not have a problem with refunding him if he had gone about it the correct way in doing a return and instead of sending it back to sender so that he can avoid shipping fees and placing it on me. If I request eBay to step in, will they decide in my favor or will it be a mark against me and I will still have to refund plus pay the shipping  costs? What is the best way to go about this? As well as maybe report him so that he does not do this to other sellers? Am I just gonna have to eat the costs and completely refund him? 

[christworks]

For what it is worth, I had this happen last year. I did not even know the item had been refused. When I got it back, I contacted eBay. eBay had me fully refund the buyer and eBay refunded me the original shipping charge. You have to decide whether a few bucks is worth all the trouble. 

[chapeau-noir]

I call these "silent returns" and have had this happen a couple of times. I just refund item price. 

[gurlcat]

Next time please don't wait until so many steps have happened that your buyer is steaming out the ears and you're backed into a corner.  

If you had come right after that first angry message, we could have told you about the USPS/eBay tracking disconnect that was going on for orders shipped on Monday the 20th (tons of us had the same problem and there were many threads about it here).  We could have guided you to advise the buyer to click on the tracking number again, to see USPS's tracking which WAS showing scans (only eBay's wasn't, until Saturday).  

And if that hadn't cooled him off, we could have proceeded to help from there.  

Reading a huge text wall saga is exhausting too by the way.  

[chapeau-noir]

When I have something complicated and confusing (if even only to me) to explain, I number the events - it brings some organisation to chaos. 

[gurlcat]

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@nawsetleigh wrote:

I was gonna refund him minus shipping. But I don’t know how to except for refund him the whole thing. It won’t give me any other option because of the case being open. 

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Wait wait wait a minute.  I don't think anyone who's replied so far understood that the buyer actually filed a case with eBay.  -This is what happens when you write a giant page of text; people skim and don't understand.  

So when you said "The buyer reported that they did not receive their item on the 28th and is requesting a refund."  -Are you saying the buyer filed an "Item Not Received" claim?  If so, then you absolutely do not just wait for eBay to step in!  They would give you a defect, the WORST kind: 'Case closed without seller resolution' which you can't get more than a couple of that level of defect PER YEAR without serious consequences.  

You need to respond to the INR by putting the tracking number in.  Doesn't matter that eBay already has it.  On the menu of choices, click: Update the tracking details for the buyer.  Then on the next screen, paste that tracking number in.  And you will win this.  But do it immediately. 

[nawsetleigh]

Thank you for reading my post. I wanted to explain everything so that it was more clear what was going on. And it ended up long. Whoops.  I have done what you said already, I updated the tracking as soon as the buyer reported the item not received as well as messaged the buyer twice trying to understand if their address was entered in wrong and trying to communicate to them. I pretty much knew he had sent it back and was just trying to play it like I wasn’t assuming the worst. They only responded after I said that it had been delivered but then brought back to usps claiming it wasn’t theirs. In which the buyer responded saying that he had received the item and sent it back. He admitted to doing it. eBay has told me that the case will close in my favor on Saturday since I updated the tracking and did try and resolve with him what happened with his item. 

I think what most people seem to be trying to warn me about if I don’t refund him completely is that he might try and dispute the charge on his cc and get a refund that way and I’ll get hit with a fine for them coming after me for a refund. Even if eBay has told me he was in the wrong and the case was in my favor. 

[nawsetleigh]

His problem was actually that he had wanted the item by Thursday and received it on Saturday. Unfortunately shipping doesn’t work that way. Not on eBay at least. He should have gone to Amazon if he wanted it by a certain day. And if he had messaged me before ordering and asked if it would be there by Thursday I would have told him probably not and wouldn’t recommend he ordered from me if he couldn’t have the item any later than Thursday. 

[gurlcat]

If they file a chargeback, just enter the tracking on that too.  Even if their bank finds in their favor (which happens pretty often even when it's ridiculous -remember, the buyer is their customer, so they are incentivized to keep them happy at your expense) ..... eBay is actually incentivized to protect SELLERS at their own (eBay's) expense, sometimes.  So what would happen is eBay would give the money to the credit card out of their own revenues, rather than take it from you.  

[christworks]

@nawsetleigh  If the buyer did not open the package and they simply refused delivery or wrote "Return To Sender" on the package, then you will not be charged for the return postage as it is considered the same piece of mail and the return to sender costs are baked into the price you paid for the original postage. If the buyer had opened the box, then the post office would have required them to pay to send it back if they did not use an eBay label. 

Refused and Return To Sender packages take a little longer to get back as they are at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to what gets loaded on a truck. The last one I had this year took 3 weeks. 

[grand-and-glorious-purpose]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

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ebay cannot do a thing about it. 

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Uh huh...and here my experience is that they do and can...not enough mind you but I haven't lost a chargeback in years...even won an INAD but I know that isn't the average experience.

Makes me wonder what you are doing wrong or maybe you just have bad luck and I just have good luck.

...and again if ebay is not covering you for sales not covered by the MBG I would get on the phone toot sweet. You have real reason to be mad about it.

[fern*wood]

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@nawsetleigh wrote:

Thank you for reading my post. I wanted to explain everything so that it was more clear what was going on.

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Thank goodness gurlcat was able to decipher what the heck you have been trying to say.  I read your post, and actually just read it again, and no where did I see the buyer had filed a not received case on you.  I may have missed it again among all the back and forth and mentions of no return request being filed, trying to forward to fake address, charge backs, return shipping, calling ebay for help, etc, but not anything about a not received case.  Definitely changes what everyone has been trying to help with. 

[gwenscupboard]

I haven't read this entire thread yet, but, if an item gets returned to you, you don't have to refund the entire amount. In fact, you don't have to refund any monies according to the policy (now I can't find the darn thing)

I recently had an item returned because the buyer didn't know what address she was using. I gave her back the purchase price and that was that.

[nawsetleigh]

I would do that, but he had opened an item not received case. So I can’t do anything but refund him the entire thing. Including shipping. But because of the case he would have to close it so that I could refund the item price. And I am pretty positive there is no negotiating with him. He hasn’t been nice and has been demanding / threatening so far. 

[fern*wood]

If you have tracking showing it was delivered and you entered that in the return case, it should close in your favor and no refund will be required. 

[nawsetleigh]

I did not specifically say he opened the case in my post I guess. I did say he claimed he had not received the item and requested a refund. Which in my head was saying that a case had been opened. I did not make it clear it seems. I was trying to give as much info as I could to fully explain what was going on. Which turned into a long post. It seems to have upset quite a few people. But I appreciate all the advice everyone has been giving regardless if they understood what I was saying or even really read my post all the way through.