eBay

dealmaster08 · ‎02-25-2021

Can someone please help me understand something about free returns. If I am a regular small seller (no store or anything) does that mean if I offer free returns then people can’t return something in a different condition than it was sold to them? And what happens if they do?

I often sell new/sealed video game collectibles, sometimes items that are 10 years old. I do not want people opening the items, killing their value and then remorse return them. So does offering free returns help me? If I put in my

listing that the item can only be returned if unopened, and someone sends me back an open item then what. Do I get to deduct some of the refund? How much?

southern*sweet*tea · ‎02-25-2021

If you offer free returns, you pay the return shipping NO MATTER THE REASON. A lot of sellers offer free returns, then get all upset when a buyer wants to return for a remorse reason. Free returns means seller paid returns for any reason or no reason at all.

When you get the item back, if it is damaged in any way, not what you originally sent or if it is a new item that was opened and otherwise returned in good condition you can deduct up to 50% for the damages. You are also protected from negative feedback. If the buyer has an issue with the partial refund, they deal with Ebay, not you.

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.

We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell

magic*moonbeams · ‎02-25-2021

If you offer free returns, you may have more back up from eBay if a buyer returns an opened item.... if you don't accept returns, even if the buyer opens an item that was a sealed collectible and wants to return it.....eBay will MAKE YOU take the return back. It's happened to me, so....

I mean, I sell mostly used or opened items. But if all or most of what I sold were brand new sealed items, I would probably choose to accept returns, only because you have more recourse in the return process.

The whole whether or not a sellers wishes to take returns or not issue, and the kind of help eBay gives that seller in the case of a return based on whether or not you accept returns, is lame as far as the seller having any say.

inhawaii · ‎02-25-2021

You can put anything you want in your listing, but ebay wont enforce it. You can't make up your own policies. Ebay offers a money back guarantee. If the sellers complains about the item (opened or not) you have to accept the return and/or refund the buyer.

Only The Lonely - The Motels

slippinjimmy · ‎02-25-2021

@dealmaster08 wrote:
If I put in my
listing that the item can only be returned if unopened, and someone sends me back an open item then what. Do I get to deduct some of the refund? How much?

Depends on the reason for the return, if it's a Not As Described reason then the answer is no, if it's a Remorse reason (changed my mind) then MAYBE.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

lamber9347 · ‎02-25-2021

@dealmaster08 There is always a risk when selling online to strangers across the country. There are no guarantees. Always make sure you are willing to accept that your unopened original item may get returned opened and lose some of it's value. That is a risk that one takes when selling online. If it's too precious then only sell to someone you are familiar with. Best of luck to you....

fashunu4eeuh · ‎02-25-2021

Hi, Free Returns give you an option to recoup some of your costs, under certain circumstances. If the buyer returns an item in an altered condition, then you can deduct up to 50% of the initial payment when refunding. It can also help protect your account from bogus Not As Described claims. Sometimes a determined, unhappy buyer will claim a false SNAD simply to get a free return. I take that incentive away by using free returns.

I have offered it for years (long before eBay started pushing it) without any serious issues. I rarely get returns as it is, so it makes sense for me to have my listings set up this way. In nearly 11 years of selling, I have never been the victim of a dishonest buyer or targeted by fraudsters.

Like @lamber9347 said, there is risk in online selling. But Free Returns hasn't added to that risk as far as I can tell, and I believe it gives shoppers confidence in my items and in me as the seller. That said, I do not list in high fraud categories like smartphones, computers, gaming items, etc.

So each seller must determine their risk tolerance when selling on eBay, knowing that it can only be mitigated, but never completely avoided.

dealmaster08 · ‎02-25-2021

Thanks for your answer. I actually do not mind paying the return shipping if it means I get to deduct a fair portion of the refund.

when the buyer goes to make the free return will it ask them what the reason is? Is there a way they can change their mind after the fact?

scenario: I sell a brand new limited edition item from 10 years ago for $500. The buyer opens it and then decides they don’t want it anymore. They go to return it with free returns, do

they Choose a reason like didn’t want or defective? Say they choose didn’t want it anymore. I get the item back and it’s open, so I return them $250 instead of $500. The buyer goes ballistic having lost $250! Can they then go back to eBay and lie and say the item was not sealed to begin with, or that it was defective? Thanks.