Is this a new trick? Abuse of returns policy for profit- sellers beware!

[bikefan54]

I don't sell often (not a pro). I have always offered returns to buyers because I recognize that buying online can be a problem. I sold an item to a buyer and was contacted that they wished to return the item (with reason "purchased by mistake"). I immediately authorized the return with the buyer being given  fairly large time window to ship the item back.  I authorized June 25 and they have till July 3 to mail. After several days elapsed the buyer contacted me stating they were waiting for the shipping label  to mail the item(this surprised me as I knew these were generated automatically with the return request). Later that day I was getting ready to leave them feedback and was shocked to find the gold earrings I had sold listed for sale on ebay for $200 higher than the buyer paid while the return was still pending. Basically the buyer received the earrings, requested a return, then listed them at a higher price for profit. I have no problem with someone buying something and reselling it for profit. I do have a problem with someone buying something, requesting a return, then attempting to sell that item. Presumably I will get it back for a refund if it doesn't sell- I reported what had happened to ebay but all I was told was that I had to honor the return. I pointed out that, with the return authorized, this buyer was selling my property, but they did not seem to care! Clearly this is a scam where the "buyer" is using the ebay return policy to make a fast buck with no risk of financial loss or long term cash outlay. Needless to say I'm reconsidering offering returns or even selling on ebay at all in the future. I have blocked the buyer - amazingly enough they were trying to purchase more items from me !!!!!!!

[retrose1]

The buyer is hedging their bets.  If the earrings don't sell, then they will return them/or something to you and be out nothing.

I would never have sent them a return ship label if their reason was bought by mistake.

And it is never a good idea to sell something high dollar/high risk unless you have as much recent selling feedback as the dollar value of the item.  That way you can gain experience with ebay buyers and scammers before you lose a high dollar item.

I would also put the buyer on your blocked bidder list, unless you want to be the buyers supplier again.

[llllady]

@bikefan54

If you are around this afternoon, it might be worth bringing this up at Weekly Chat with eBay employees.  They will probably have you send them a message with the details.

Here is the link to weekly chat. It starts at 4:00 Pacific.

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Community-Chat-June-28th-1pm-PT-Gene...

[turquoisetulips]

Don't offer returns any longer , or block that buyer .Yes it is a scam and buckle up , it will get worse . 

[emerald40]

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@tkdgirl wrote:

I don't sell often (not a pro). I have always offered returns to buyers because I recognize that buying online can be a problem. I sold an item to a buyer and was contacted that they wished to return the item (with reason "purchased by mistake"). I immediately authorized the return with the buyer being given  fairly large time window to ship the item back.  I authorized June 25 and they have till July 3 to mail. After several days elapsed the buyer contacted me stating they were waiting for the shipping label  to mail the item(this surprised me as I knew these were generated automatically with the return request). Later that day I was getting ready to leave them feedback and was shocked to find the gold earrings I had sold listed for sale on ebay for $200 higher than the buyer paid while the return was still pending. Basically the buyer received the earrings, requested a return, then listed them at a higher price for profit. I have no problem with someone buying something and reselling it for profit. I do have a problem with someone buying something, requesting a return, then attempting to sell that item. Presumably I will get it back for a refund if it doesn't sell- I reported what had happened to ebay but all I was told was that I had to honor the return. I pointed out that, with the return authorized, this buyer was selling my property, but they did not seem to care! Clearly this is a scam where the "buyer" is using the ebay return policy to make a fast buck with no risk of financial loss or long term cash outlay. Needless to say I'm reconsidering offering returns or even selling on ebay at all in the future. I have blocked the buyer - amazingly enough they were trying to purchase more items from me !!!!!!!

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No good deed goes unpunished.  Ebay gives a buyer 5 days to send it back and you should stick to that time frame.

And do know that even if you do not offer returns, you will still have to do so for SNAD items.

[emerald40]

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@retrose1 wrote:

The buyer is hedging their bets.  If the earrings don't sell, then they will return them/or something to you and be out nothing.

I would never have sent them a return ship label if their reason was bought by mistake.

And it is never a good idea to sell something high dollar/high risk unless you have as much recent selling feedback as the dollar value of the item.  That way you can gain experience with ebay buyers and scammers before you lose a high dollar item.

I would also put the buyer on your blocked bidder list, unless you want to be the buyers supplier again.

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Yes, but if a seller has a return policy don't you have to do so no matter the reason.

[dedwards9839]

If you don't offer returns Ebay does it for you! If you have a policy that says "buyer pays return shipping" Ebay changes that if they want to. If you have a policy that says "items must be returned with original tags" Ebay can also change that when they wish to! 

I had a ring I sold on Ebay. The buyer didn't like it when she got it. She said that my description was wrong so she wouldn't have to pay return shipping, so Ebay took money from MY account and sent her a return label.  There was no way for me to prove her wrong, never got a chance. She also took the tags off this ring and Ebay did not care.

Ebay doesn't help seller's at all!

[d-k_treasures]

Another necrothread brought back.

At the very least, can't they just not show board search results if a thread hasn't been responded to in 30 days? And just have a checkbox if you want to go back further(for research)?

Or would that be too logical?

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

Another necrothread brought back.

At the very least, can't they just not show board search results if a thread hasn't been responded to in 30 days? And just have a checkbox if you want to go back further(for research)?

Or would that be too logical?

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What's logical is to lock all threads that haven't had a response in so much time - say thirty days.  If the OP wants to re-open, they can PM a mod. Every single forum I belong to operates that way, with the exception of this one.