INR case opened, I received the item back, buyer wants refund

[mrsmisfit]

After initially shipping an item out (which had free shipping for buyer), the following day I received a message from the buyer stating the address is incorrect and that they moved & are now living at different address & provided the new address. I told them I’m sorry but unfortunately I already shipped it the day before. Once the item was delivered to the old house, the buyer opened an INR case, and told me they will have a friend go to the house to see if they can retrieve the package. The friend ended up obtaining it, and buyer told me they are marking it “return to sender”. I told her I’d keep an eye out for it, but also said that if I receive it back then I would unfortunately have to charge her to ship it to her a second time since I already paid to ship it once. She said “I’ll just get my money back & cancel.” I told her once I receive the item back I can issue the refund. So now I have received the item back. My question is- do I issue the refund through the INR case? Or do I ask her to close that case and just cancel the order requesting a refund? Will I get dinged for this? And do I lose my initial shipping cost?

[janet9988]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@mrsmisfit wrote:

And do I lose my initial shipping cost?

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Unfortunately yes, if you offered Free Shipping, then you cannot deduct a Shipping cost from the refund. This was reiterated by kyle@ebay in a post of his on a similar topic from June of last year: 

"It seems there has been some conflicting information provided in this thread, so I'm happy to help clear this up.  For remorse returns, the refund will be the total purchase price of the item minus original postage charged.  For items listed with free shipping, there is no charge to the buyer for shipping, and therefore there is no deduction allowed."

Ref: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Returns/Am-I-Allowed-to-Deduct-My-Original-Shipping-Cost-from-Refund/m... 

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The OP's case is for item not received ..... The seller does not have to refund anything, technically.

[mam98031]

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@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:

I think you CAN deduct original shipping even if was FS as this isn't a "remorse return" it's a return because the buyer supplied an incorrect address and ebay doesn't even hold a seller to refunding at ALL in those cases.

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No you can't.  It has to be Stated Shipping on the transaction.  

[mam98031]

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@janet9988 wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@mrsmisfit wrote:

And do I lose my initial shipping cost?

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Unfortunately yes, if you offered Free Shipping, then you cannot deduct a Shipping cost from the refund. This was reiterated by kyle@ebay in a post of his on a similar topic from June of last year: 

"It seems there has been some conflicting information provided in this thread, so I'm happy to help clear this up.  For remorse returns, the refund will be the total purchase price of the item minus original postage charged.  For items listed with free shipping, there is no charge to the buyer for shipping, and therefore there is no deduction allowed."

Ref: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Returns/Am-I-Allowed-to-Deduct-My-Original-Shipping-Cost-from-Refund/m... 

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The OP's case is for item not received ..... The seller does not have to refund anything, technically.

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Yes.  I posted something similar in post #9

[pjcdn2005]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@mrsmisfit wrote:

And do I lose my initial shipping cost?

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Unfortunately yes, if you offered Free Shipping, then you cannot deduct a Shipping cost from the refund. This was reiterated by kyle@ebay in a post of his on a similar topic from June of last year: 

"It seems there has been some conflicting information provided in this thread, so I'm happy to help clear this up.  For remorse returns, the refund will be the total purchase price of the item minus original postage charged.  For items listed with free shipping, there is no charge to the buyer for shipping, and therefore there is no deduction allowed."

Ref: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Returns/Am-I-Allowed-to-Deduct-My-Original-Shipping-Cost-from-Refund/m... 

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I didn't read that whole thread again but that comment is about a return and says that if original shipping is free, the cost can't be held back from a return. But this isn't a return, it is an item that couldn't be delivered so it is a totally different situation.  If the seller had chose to, they could have entered the tracking number in the case and then won it.  In that situation they would have the option of not refunding anything, refunding in full or giving a partial refund,

[mam98031]

The seller was covered or should have been covered under Seller Protection.  They didn't need to refund at all.  The INR should close in the Seller's favor even without a refund.

Now personally I would refund, but as I said in my post 9, it would have been after the INR was closed in my favor.  Then I would refund the buyer for whatever amount they paid, less my costs for the original shipping and if any shipping was due when I received the item back.  Ebay would not force a seller to do this, but it is something I personally think should be done.

[a_c_green]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:
I didn't read that whole thread again but that comment is about a return and says that if original shipping is free, the cost can't be held back from a return. But this isn't a return, it is an item that couldn't be delivered so it is a totally different situation.  If the seller had chose to, they could have entered the tracking number in the case and then won it.  In that situation they would have the option of not refunding anything, refunding in full or giving a partial refund,

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Hmmm... okay, point taken... hopefully the buyer will not make a bigger fuss (e.g. chargeback) due to the deduction for the wasted shipping cost.

I have to wonder why the knucklehead buyer didn't simply have his friend who'd retrieved the package ship it directly to his new address.

[mam98031]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:
I didn't read that whole thread again but that comment is about a return and says that if original shipping is free, the cost can't be held back from a return. But this isn't a return, it is an item that couldn't be delivered so it is a totally different situation.  If the seller had chose to, they could have entered the tracking number in the case and then won it.  In that situation they would have the option of not refunding anything, refunding in full or giving a partial refund,

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Hmmm... okay, point taken... hopefully the buyer will not make a bigger fuss (e.g. chargeback) due to the deduction for the wasted shipping cost.

I have to wonder why the knucklehead buyer didn't simply have his friend who'd retrieved the package ship it directly to his new address.

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Why would the buyer make any fuss???  And what could they file a Chargeback for??  The OP refunded the buyer in full.

Filing a partial chargeback is not always an easy thing to do, but I suppose some would be petty enough to do that because it takes all kinds for those sellers that do withhold the original shipping.

[a_c_green]

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@mam98031 wrote:
Why would the buyer make any fuss???  And what could they file a Chargeback for??  The OP refunded the buyer in full.

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Ugh... right, I missed (or forgot) that the OP has already refunded in full... I think I shall just return to my gin & tonic for now...

[toomuchstuffagain35]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:

I think you CAN deduct original shipping even if was FS as this isn't a "remorse return" it's a return because the buyer supplied an incorrect address and ebay doesn't even hold a seller to refunding at ALL in those cases.

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No you can't.  It has to be Stated Shipping on the transaction.  

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Say what? It's an INR due to bad address. The seller doesn't have to refund anything technically.

[reallynicestamps]

Technically if the buyer opens an Item Not Received case and you show the tracking proving it was Undeliverable, eBay will not require you to refund a single red penny.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

But as good customer service, refunding the purchase price, less any fees you might have been charged, and not the shipping fees you paid to the carrier, would be appropriate.

[mam98031]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:
Why would the buyer make any fuss???  And what could they file a Chargeback for??  The OP refunded the buyer in full.

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Ugh... right, I missed (or forgot) that the OP has already refunded in full... I think I shall just return to my gin & tonic for now...

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I'll join you if you don't mind, but my preference is a vodka tonic.  😍

[mam98031]

Been there, discussed that early in the thread.