How would you respond?

[crampslux]

I sold something to a buyer in Washington state recently and I just got a message from the buyer advising me that the tax they were charged was incorrect and demanding that I refund them the difference in the tax amount they feel they should have been charged.  They inserted a web address to the state tax info in the message as well.  I'd like to avoid the situation escalating; thoughts on how to proceed? 

[soh.maryl]

The correct terminology here is not "refund".  Do you understand that this is money that the seller does not have.  It's collected by eBay from the buyer and remitted to the state.

[cwcsports]

If you look at the op's listings you will see that the most expensive item he has is $30. The buyer sent the seller a link showing what the sales tax should be, so I'm assuming the buyer is right about the tax rate. Let's say it was a 30 dollar item (which we don't really know, it could very well be a cheaper one) and ebay charged the buyer 10% tax when it was maybe 8%, that's a 2% difference that the buyer is wanting refunded. Were talking 60 cents! There is a good chance the buyer will leave a negative feedback if he feels ripped off. Ok, maybe you can get it removed if you spend an hour and a half on the phone with ebay. What is your time worth?

[mam98031]

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@cwcsports wrote:
If you look at the op's listings you will see that the most expensive item he has is $30. The buyer sent the seller a link showing what the sales tax should be, so I'm assuming the buyer is right about the tax rate. Let's say it was a 30 dollar item (which we don't really know, it could very well be a cheaper one) and ebay charged the buyer 10% tax when it was maybe 8%, that's a 2% difference that the buyer is wanting refunded. Were talking 60 cents! There is a good chance the buyer will leave a negative feedback if he feels ripped off. Ok, maybe you can get it removed if you spend an hour and a half on the phone with ebay. What is your time worth?

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If the buyer leaves negative or neutral FB regarding sales tax for any reason on a transaction that Ebay collected the sales tax on, Ebay will certainly remove the FB if the seller were to call Ebay.

Sellers have NO responsibility when it comes to the sales tax that Ebay collects.  Zero.  It is all on Ebay.  

[castlemagicmemories]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

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@tunicaslot wrote:

redrose has a great response. You are one seller among many that are having this problem.

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2019/2/1549947765.html

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@Anonymous (note to self, always read to the end of the article before posting)  EBay may want to think about having a page for buyers that detail who to contact and what to ask regarding sales tax issues by state.  The seller could then send that link to the buyer.

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That's a great idea, @dtexley3 

[castlemagicmemories]

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@myboardid wrote:

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@cwcsports wrote:
Chances are your buyer is not going to want to go to the trouble of having to call ebay or the state. If it is a very small amount you may be better off just refunding them and taking the loss.

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Absolutely NO WAY would I ever do that! 

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IMO, you shouldn't have to.

[cwcsports]

I agree you shouldn't have to but sometimes you have to look at the big picture.

[cwcsports]

I agree with everything you said, but, how much time do you want to spend trying to get feedback removed when you could have spent 60 cents and have the problem go away? You know you will have to spend a lot of time on the phone with ebay and more than likely more than one call.

[slippinjimmy]

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@cwcsports wrote:
I agree with everything you said, but, how much time do you want to spend trying to get feedback removed when you could have spent 60 cents and have the problem go away? You know you will have to spend a lot of time on the phone with ebay and more than likely more than one call.

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I've taken a neg for less and I would wear it proudly so I would not be wasting 1 second calling eBay about.

Too many eBay sellers live in fear and because of this the buyers who want to yank your chain know just how easy it is. First it's a few cents of sales tax, next it's a shipping discount, then it's a partial refund and in the end any of those buyers could still give you a neg and do it in a fashion where it would stick.

As far as how WA Sales Tax works, I wouldn't count on a buyer understanding the details given that there are plenty of sellers who don't know and seem to be unable to look it up never mind accurately interpret the rules.

[cwcsports]

The buyer sent a link showing the actual sales tax. That leads me to believe the buyer is not scamming. If I thought they were scamming I wouldn't give them a penny.

[mam98031]

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@cwcsports wrote:
I agree with everything you said, but, how much time do you want to spend trying to get feedback removed when you could have spent 60 cents and have the problem go away? You know you will have to spend a lot of time on the phone with ebay and more than likely more than one call.

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I think we have different selling experiences and philosophies.  I don't create my business policies from a base of fearing what a customer might do.  I approach my customers and any issue they come up with in a respectful fair way.  Sales tax is a huge issue for everyone.  Through learning more about how it affects each of us we can be stronger together.

Teaching a buyer that even though the seller has no control over sales tax or how Ebay collects it a buyer can get a seller to replace their money is just a bad plan.  But if that is what you choose to do in your business, it is your right.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@cwcsports wrote:
I agree you shouldn't have to but sometimes you have to look at the big picture.

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Oh, absolutely!  Kind of like, losing 62 cents as opposed to a negative.  Losing 62 cents would most likely win hands down.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@cwcsports wrote:
I agree with everything you said, but, how much time do you want to spend trying to get feedback removed when you could have spent 60 cents and have the problem go away? You know you will have to spend a lot of time on the phone with ebay and more than likely more than one call.

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Yes, losing 62 cents makes sense, LOL!

[bigdeals.etc]

Regardless of who believes they should just credit the buyer the small amount or not, for the big picture and collective whole of eBay, the OP should bring up this issue with CS agents so raise awareness of this tax "breakdown." Clearly there is some misunderstanding, miscommunication, or error on the buyer or eBay's part that doesn't concern the seller. Ebay needs to address this regardless if you'd rather risk a negative or pay the buyer out. This issue will generally become more significant if not taken care of.

I've sold many to WA and have seen the notice of tax collection. But I have yet to get a buyer complaining about it. I was totally unaware of this issue and realize it's only a matter of time until I experience it. So for the sake of eBay and its sellers, the OP should spend the time to notify eBay.

[gopetersen]

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@cwcsports wrote:
Chances are your buyer is not going to want to go to the trouble of having to call ebay or the state. If it is a very small amount you may be better off just refunding them and taking the loss.

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There's NO WAY the seller should do this. The seller has no control over the cross-state tax and does not collect it and if the seller refunds it to the buyer to appease them the buyer will ALWAYS expect sellers to do it, and will bully and abuse them and tell their friends to do the same.

Don't reward bad or inappropriate behavior. RedRose's letter example was good.

[turquoisetulips]

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@crampslux wrote:

I sold something to a buyer in Washington state recently and I just got a message from the buyer advising me that the tax they were charged was incorrect and demanding that I refund them the difference in the tax amount they feel they should have been charged.  They inserted a web address to the state tax info in the message as well.  I'd like to avoid the situation escalating; thoughts on how to proceed? 

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Just tell them when the tax money  is refunded to you  then you will refund them.  Tulips