Defective/Does Not Work

[partsman330]

I get a lot of returns for "defective/didn't work". I work for an appliance parts distributor and work closely w the returns/warranty depts. The rate of defect is INSANELY low when dealing with new product from the major manufacturers... its almost non-existant in fact. I liquidate parts on here and I get "defective/didn't work" as a reason for return so much.

The truth is the buyer had no idea what was wrong with their appliance and guessed and bought the part they hoped would be the cheap/easy way out. They installed it and it didn't fix their problem (bc this is not what was wrong with their appliance) so they return an installed part which I can no longer sell and must throw away (or at the very least sell as "used" for much less but usually I must toss installed parts). They use me to borrow/try said parts and there is no risk to them, only cost for me. They save having to even have someone come out and diagnose their problem! Its very smart on their end.... very bad for me (and anyone else selling such product). Sometimes i wonder how many other sellers they buy and return items from until they find out what the problem was (or they give up and buy a new appliance).

Its a fun game... where I am gambling with every single item I send out. Will it get sent back? Will they keep it? Will I break even on overall sales as a result of said returns? Will my loss of inventory bc of returns by buyers looking to borrow my items to troubleshoot their appliances even allow me to break even overall? Who knows?!?

The reason many sellers leave this platform is bc one-size-fits-all policies do not work for certain products. Forced returns def do not work when dealing with appliance parts and I am sure its similar for car and other parts for just about anything. They make it nearly impossible to sell many products and sellers are forced to find another venue or they must quit bc they are literally spinning their wheels/wasting their time on here. I'm sure there are other types of product that work well on here. But there are many that do not anymore. What a shame. There is so much more money Ebay AND sellers could be making.

[extrememobility]

In this case I would write in the posting all sales final! NO returns accepted! If you are not sure if this part will work with your application DO NOT purchase it! Any questions please ask before purchasing?

[2....1....0....sold!]

@partsman330 

FYI.

Beginning May 7th, 2019...yes, tomorrow...Paypal is keeping 100% of the fees collected...any type of refund for any reason and you get ZERO paypal fees returned.

For every return, you lose shipping both ways and 100% of the paypal fees...

How do you like them apples?

[2....1....0....sold!]

@extrememobility 

"In this case I would write in the posting all sales final! NO returns accepted!"

LOL! "No returns accepted"...LOL! You killed me with that one!

It doesn't matter what the listing says....you can put in 100 point font, 100 times, "NO RETURNS ACCEPTED" and all the buyer has to do is file "item not as described"...buyer gets 100% refund and seller pays shipping both ways and loses 100% of the paypal fees...probably gets a negative and punished by ebay for "being a bad seller".

I'd rethink that plan son...

[femmefan1946]

No Returns does not mean No Refunds.

It just means you don't want to see the item again.

With a demand for a return, the customer has to think if the time (if not the money) for the return is worth the trouble.

The only difference is in who pays for the return shipping.

[uniwarehousewares]

Buyer can still buy it ,no matter what seller policy says, and still can return the product even when there is no return setting. seller policy is not working, and ebay setting for "no returns" also not working. buyer can do anything buyer want, seller is facing alot of problems from scammers.

[uniwarehousewares]

i totally agree with you, in last update even ebay promise to implement seller protection but you see if you even adjust setting for no returns ,buyer still violate the policy and buy it and than return it, than where is seller protection?

[luckythewinner]

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@partsman330 wrote:

The reason many sellers leave this platform is bc one-size-fits-all policies do not work for certain products.

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There are hundreds of thousands of appliance parts listed here, so some sellers are obviously making it work.

I suspect eBay has one-size-fits-all policies because the cost of implementing multiple policies by product would be costly both in terms of money and buyer confusion. Imagine if eBay said they had a "Money back guarantee" and then went on to list the hundreds (or thousands) of products that it did not apply to or for which there were different rules.

[partsman330]

I can assure you other than a handful of foreign sellers selling generic/non OEM garbage parts no one selling these parts is making a killing. The majority of parts on here are sold below what cost is and I work for a company where that cost is LOW and the prices on here with shipping are even lower than our cost. I sell liquidation parts and most prices are set at a LOSS/below cost and are set as the lowest price on here (or anywhere) for NIB product. TBH only major sellers are prob only using this to pad their numbers/reach quotas to be able to get inventory at a lower rate and sell it via some other platform bc I'm telling you there is no way you are making much selling these parts unless you are moving hundreds of thousands of items annually at an extremely minimal profit per sale.

My goals of liquidation at a loss on here are difficult to meet. To try and make any sort of profit unless you are some sort of mammoth-corporate entity selling these parts would be next to impossible. esp with the current policies.

I personally sell other product on a different platform and I do quite well for myself, unfortunately you cannot sell appliance parts on said platform. If the rules of that platform applied to Ebay it would be heaven and people like myself, as well as many others, would be able to easily make a killing regardless of competition from bigger sellers who can afford to absorb the costs of these policies.

[myescape]

Any return policy is trumped by buyer protection when buyer claims defective/does not work.A seller can still chose no returns but that is only in play IF buyer admits error on their part

[18704d]

"The truth is the buyer had no idea what was wrong with their appliance and guessed and bought the part they hoped would be the cheap/easy way out. They installed it and it didn't fix their problem (bc this is not what was wrong with their appliance) so they return an installed part which I can no longer sell and must throw away (or at the very least sell as "used" for much less but usually I must toss installed parts). They use me to borrow/try said parts and there is no risk to them, only cost for me."

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What percentage of total items that you have sold end up being faulty returns?

2%?

5%

10+ %

?

Lynn

[partsman330]

That number is irrelevant to me. The only one that matters if the % of my $$$ that it impacts which some months is as high as 25% or more of my total $$$. That is not product I can resell either. Electronic parts, which are the most expensive, are worthless once installed and cannot be resold. I am eating up to $1,000/month as a result of these bogus claims.  Parts distributors do not credit or accept returns on installed electronic parts (this is basically industry standard) bc the losses are catastrophic.

Quite a "cost of doing business" right?

[bmp_auto_salvage]

Don't forget your skyrocketing final value fees too!

🙂

[coolections]

@partsman330 wrote:

I sell liquidation parts and most prices are set at a LOSS/below cost. My goals of liquidation at a loss on here are difficult to meet.

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That is your problem. The authorized dealers I would guess have half the amount of returns as you. Ebay is full of liquidation lots, store returns, refurbished items etc. 

[partsman330]

I work for an authorized dealer and have for over a decade. You are incorrect in your assumption regarding their returns.