@abfabvintage wrote:
Are any sellers bothering to review this Summary of the May 22 Chat? My only concern is the Smoke Smell regarding Returns. Whether remorse or SNAD. Unless I am blind, I never saw on that original Chat on May 22 the comment from another Blue, other than Trinton:
"I don’t understand how an issue with the smell can be seen as not as described if eBay considers concerns with the odor to be remorse. Can you explain?
There are times when the smell is considered an integral part of the item, and concerns with only the smell would be reason to return the item (such as a vanilla scented candle smelling like cinnamon). We also would expect a return if the odor poses a health risk (ie. chemical smells, smoke or pet odors for a new item, etc.)."
To my friend: starting_5
Unless I am just crazy or blind? This goes against the The Trinton "policy" as recorded months ago? I guess I am reading this incorrectly? Trinton clearly stated (and am just paraphrasing): if you have in your listing you are a pet free, smoke free, iguana poop free (lol) referenced in your listing, if you receive a "smell" problem as a return, it WOULD be a SNAD. If you do NOT have this reference, it would not be a cause for a return. Now I bring to your attention: Trinton stated "no cause for a return" not even whether a remorse return at all would be allowed?
Rather than having this subject come up over and over. I need a real eBay "policy" in writing on just what is the policy. Have now 2 different Blues commenting on something that I thought was resolved?
Hi @abfabvintage, I apologize that we have not been able to be concise and clear enough on this topic to lay it to rest. I wrote up the recap in hopes that it would address the concerns raised in the chat, and partnered with brian@ebay during the chat to clarify what I have previously stated in the past. I will try again here to provide a final answer on this concern:
If your buyer opens a return and states the item does not match the description, you are expected to accept the return, cover the cost of return shipping, and provide a full refund. The supplementary messages that you exchange with your buyer would not invalidate their assertion that the item did not match the description.
When I have previously discussed with the Community the eligibility of return requests for concerns of smell, I have clarified that we do not typically consider this to be a not as described reason. To elaborate, we do not consider this a not as described reason by itself in most instances unless the odor is an integral part of the item (such as a scented candle arriving with the wrong scent), the smell poses a health risk (chemical smells, or pet/smoke/mold odors on a new item), or the seller has a disclaimer in their listing that says the item comes from a pet free/smoke free home and it arrives smelling of pets or smoke (regardless of item condition).
I will expand on these exceptions here with more detail and context:
- An item that is meant to have a specific smell that does not arrive with that smell (candles, perfume, scented oils, etc.) does not match the description, because the odor is a core part of why the buyer purchased the item.
- Chemical smells are a health risk and something we take very seriously. While odor is inherently subjective, chemical odors are strong and an understandable cause for concern. A New item should not have any discernible odor, such as smoke or pets. If it does have these, it may pose an unexpected health risk to those with allergies or sensitivities, and would also not be New.
- A disclaimer in the listing from the seller about odor (pets and smoke most commonly) is a promise to the buyer that these smells will not be present upon arrival. If they are, the item was not described accurately.
The above listed details outline times where we would consider smell to be grounds for a return by itself. I must be very very clear, as I feel this point is being overlooked repeatedly as our team discusses this topic - the reason a buyer selected for a return is the primary source of information to determine their concern, and would not be invalidated if they also refer to the odor as an issue.
To reiterate, if your buyer is stating that the item did not match the description, and also stating a problem with the smell, you will need to accept the return, cover the cost of return shipping, and issue a full refund because they have told you that the item does not match the description. Their comments about odor do not disqualify them for protection.
When we have discussed if odor is grounds for a return, this is in a situation where a seller does not accept returns and the buyer has requested a return for a remorse reason. In that situation, if their only concern is related to odors, and the concerns of odor do not fall into the listed exceptions above, the seller can deny the return request if they would like. If the buyer has voiced other concerns that would be considered not as described (such as selecting a not as described return reason), the issues with the odor fall into the exceptions above that would qualify it as 'not as described', or the seller offers returns, then they would need to accept the return, cover return shipping, and issue a full refund.
Our stance on how to handle a return for an item that did not match the description is clearly indicated in our eBay Money Back Guarantee policy. The exceptions I've listed here are simply examples of times where a smell would be a factor that qualifies the item as 'not as described'. Our written policies about an item needing to arrive to the buyer in the condition described in the listing covers these examples. It is not feasible to outline every possible example of how an item may not have been described accurately, so we have addressed the overarching expectations and common scenarios by stating that an item that does not match the description in the listing would be eligible for a return through the eBay Money Back Guarantee.
The statements that I and brian@ebay have made do not contradict, they merely supplement each other. If your buyer is requesting a return because the item does not match the description, you need to respond to this concern by accepting the return, providing return shipping compensation, and refunding in full once the item is delivered back. Attempting to interpret the buyer's messages to invalidate their return reason most commonly results in incorrect actions being taken. The only details from a buyer's messages that would alter the way a return should be handled are statements that make their concern ineligible for the Money Back Guarantee - having an item forwarded, repairing an item without permission from a seller, having the purchase cleaned, stating that damage occured beyond first time use, admitting to fraud, etc. In these instances, we have protection available for a seller. In instances where the buyer's messages simply provide more details and do not pose a clear indication of fraud, abuse, or an action that would invalidate coverage, a seller is still expected to resolve the buyer's concerns appropriately.
