Prevent Buyer Renting Item

[jpoldo]

What are the tools and techniques to prevent a buyer from renting your item?  It appears ebay generously allows buyers to use an item for 60 days, then return it at seller's expense.   Offering an item with restriction saying no returns appears to be ignored.  What can a seller do?

[pburn]

1. eBay requires returns to be requested within 30 days from the date of delivery, not 60.
2. PayPal allows returns to be requested within 180 days from the date of purchase.
3. "No returns" means no "buyer's remorse" returns only, not all returns.
4. eBay's Money Back Guarantee trumps a seller's return policy.
5. There's nothing a seller can do to prevent "not as described" returns. 

[jpoldo]

If item is exactly as described, can a buyer return it for these reasons:

a)  item didn't solve their problem;

b)  didn't like item for any reason;

c)  doesn't know how to use item, etc.

[pburn]

A "no returns" policy allows sellers to decline a buyer's remorse return. The first five reasons on the list below are considered "buyer's remorse" reasons. The following six are "not as described" reasons.

[southern*sweet*tea]

The tools to prevent a rental are selling in person and accepting cash only for payment.

Any other form of payment that is reversible - Paypal, credit cards, debit cards, checks, etc. can all be reversed by the buyer in some form or fashion, leaving the seller with no item and no money - or leaving the seller dealing with a rental.

If you sell online and accept payments online, you protect yourself with self-insurance.

[cityslickercreations2004]

Yes. (see pburn's post)

Essentially a buyer can return an item for any reason including seller's remorse. Buyer's remorse is usually not admitted. Buyers have learned they just need to file an INAD case and will receive free shipping and a refund from you. No questions asked.

[gracieallen01]

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@jpoldo wrote:

What are the tools and techniques to prevent a buyer from renting your item?  It appears ebay generously allows buyers to use an item for 60 days, then return it at seller's expense.   Offering an item with restriction saying no returns appears to be ignored.  What can a seller do?

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No it isn't ignored.  ebay doesn't care if the item is returned or not.  If the seller wants the item back, ebay will insist that the buyer return 'something' to the seller's zipcode.   However, 'No Returns' does NOT equate to 'No Refund'.  ebay WILL insist on a refund, whether the seller wants the item or not, and whether the original item is returned, in like condition or not.

What can a seller do?  Not a whole heck of a lot.

[fashunu4eeuh]

@jpoldo wrote:

If item is exactly as described, can a buyer return it for these reasons:

a)  item didn't solve their problem;

b)  didn't like item for any reason;

c)  doesn't know how to use item, etc.

Hi @jpoldo 

Since you offer 30 day returns, you must accept them regardless of what reason the buyer gives.

[dhbookds]

There used to be more questions about "rental"........especially from Book Sellers...........

While, as people have said, rental returns are certainly as possibility in many categories........but frankly, I think the fears probably far outweigh the realities.....  We certainly don't see complaints about books being returned......nor alot of tool complaints, tho I've seen a few of those that "could have been rental" over 15 years.  Ebay does withdraw their guarantee if buyers do alot of returns......those I've seen have usually been on repeatedly buying cheap China stuff...buying from China, griping about quality and then trying to return. 

I would not let the "fear" stop me from listing tools..........Certainly, if I got alot of returns, I'd rethink.

[divwido]

Not that those answers were not true, I'd be searching for rules you can force.  Must be returned in package as delivered.    Or could put something on it like a tag that if they removed your tag to use an item-you could refuse the return?

[buyselljack2016]

"Renting" would infer that the buyer is actually paying something for the time they had the item.

"Loaning out the item for free" seems to be what you are referring to.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

The word is imply not infer. They are not interchangeable although often confused.

By contract law if you don’t deliver what you promised you breach the contract. Breached contracts are undone and everything goes back to the original owner (item and money). eBay has no way of knowing who is telling the truth so they undo the transaction and costs go to the professional, the seller.

[aldente28]

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@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

By contract law if you don’t deliver what you promised you breach the contract. Breached contracts are undone and everything goes back to the original owner (item and money). eBay has no way of knowing who is telling the truth so they undo the transaction and costs go to the professional, the seller.

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Imagine if a plaintiff could simply file a claim with a judge to undo a contract. Now that would be something.

I'm willing to bet the only agreements here are between users and ebay.

[m60driver]

In my home town of Seattle there was  a large local retailer that always had a no questions asked return policy.  They sold womens clothing which of course had very high margins a few decades ago.  So even 50 years ago us locals called the buy and return rentals "Nordstrom rentals".  The smart moms always knew the tradition of how to get a prom dress for their daughters, and thus a Seattle tradition was born. Just saying as these types of rentals have been affecting retailers for generations.  In my old retail store we could always just red tag a returned item and at least get our cost back.  With online sales it is usually a write off loss.

[pburn]

Similar story:  I had a girlfriend who bought a sweater from the most expensive shop in town, went to get her 9th grade pictures taken, and returned the sweater the next day. That was 1967/68.