mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
I sold a very large item (swimming pool tank with filter) it was about 42"x15"x15" that cost me $60 to ship and it sold for $329.99 I had free shipping on the item. The buyer waited until it got from Nevada all the way to Miami, FL to open a return due to "found it $30 cheaper". I offered him up to $60 refund on it if he would not return it because I explained that at the very least the box and item would likely get beat up shipping back and forth a large item that distance. He ignored my message until 5 days later and said he had already sent it back. I just go down to the post office and sure enough the box is ripped up to the point you can stick your hand through it, and I have only seen the top part of it so far which shows plastic broken off of the top (I'm assuming there will be more damage when I take it all the way out). He was telling me that he did me a favor by paying the shipping back, but I think he would have gotten a free return due to me being a top rated seller? Anyways I am just trying to figure out how to handle this situation now as I am already out the $55 I paid to ship it there, plus the $227 I made after fees and shipping, and I can't resell it now. I know I can't recoup shipping and what not but it says that I can deduct for damages. The item obviously wasn't damaged when he received it because he returned due to finding a lower price. To add insult to injury I had to walk this thing 2 miles to the post office and back.
@fern*wood wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
@buyselljack2016 wrote:There is no insurance on eBay return service labels.
The buyer didn't use an Ebay label.
Maybe I've lost track of what all has happened, but I thought I read the OP state the label was the ebay return service one. I'm not clear on whether those have insurance or not. When the buyer printed the label they would have been informed they will be charged for it since the return was filed as a remorse return. The labels seem to look the same whether the buyer or the seller is charged for them.
No the OP has repeatedly said that the buyer purchased their own label and the label they created has not yet been charged to their account. The seller has already received the package back. The OP should be able to clearly tell from the label who purchased it.
With that said, the OP goes back and forth on several details of what they are going to do or not do with this situation. But they have been consistent about what they have said about the label.
Post 8 "...He said he paid the return shipping"
I think what happened here was when the buyer opened their Request for Return they were honest and said they found it for a cheaper price, which made it a Buyer Remorse Return on a seller with a 30 day return policy with buyer pays shipping. So even though the seller issued a shipping label from the claim, the buyer had to pay for it, not the seller.
The OP has been going back and forth in their post about what they were going to do. I'm not sure they have done anything yet or made a firm decision and followed through with it.
@bestpricedeals247 wrote:I never even thought he'd go through the trouble to do this but it makes more sense. He may have even shipped it upside down purposely to make it look like that's how the damage occured. I didn't understand why he wouldn't take my offer of refunding $50 AND paying to ship it back to save that $30. I guess nothing can be overlooked anymore.
I'm unsure of your continued questions. Information, detailed information has been given to you on this thread. You are running out of time and need to make a decision or Ebay will make it for you. And that you won't like because you will get a defect, the buyer will get all their money back and you will not get any refund on fees.
It of course is your decision to make, but if you don't make one quickly, Ebay will do it for you. You don't have all the time you want to make a decision after an item is returned. There are rules. Ebay always has rules.
So what are you going to do?
@bestpricedeals247 wrote:I've just been a little bit confused, and I wasn't sure what to do so I was looking for some ideas here since today I have to make the decision on the refund. After reading some replies I was thinking that if I didn't fully refund the buyer that I wouldn't get FVF reimbursed, but now I'm understanding that the FVF will still be refunded in proportion to whatever I withheld from the refund which makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying.
But lets say you don't get your FVFs back and you refund the buyer 50%. On a nearly $400 sale, you still would be better off. You would refund $200ish.
@bestpricedeals247 wrote:Thanks, I was thinking that the FVF wouldn't be returned if I withheld anything from the refund. I'm going to give it a shot at a fair percentage, and see what happens.
It is NOT anytime on a refund. As I posted in post #24, the policy is as follows:
What to do if an item is returned used or damaged
Once you receive the item back, you need to refund the buyer. However, if the item has been used, altered or damaged, it may be appropriate to deduct an amount from the buyer's refund to cover the loss in the item's value.
If the return is eligible, you'll see the option to deduct a specific amount or a percentage when you refund the buyer through the return request. Once you've sent the refund, we'll keep the return open for up to 10 days so that we can help the buyer if they ask us to step in, but because you're protected there's nothing more for you to do.
See our seller protections for full details of eligibility and how we protect you in these situations. Keep in mind that you're not eligible for fee credits when you deduct from the buyer's refund for a return that was used, altered or damaged, and you’ll no longer see this option if eBay steps in to help with the return.
How to deduct from the buyer's refund when the item is returned in a different condition
If you qualify to deduct an amount from the buyer's refund:
- Find the item in your Returns dashboard.
- Select Report Problem or Refund Now and enter the reason for the deduction.
- On the next screen, select the percentage you want to deduct from the refund amount (see our guidelines below).
- Add a comment explaining why the refund isn't full.
- Select Refund now.
@bestpricedeals247 wrote:I understand, thanks for your help on the matter I am going to go do this before I forget and get a defect or something.
You are going to do what exactly?
So going by the eBay deduction guidelines I felt like maybe 35% was a fair amount? I guess I was correct in thinking that if I deducted anything from the return that it would negate any FVF being returned to me on the rest of the 65% of the sale which is why I was thinking about just giving the full refund amount and taking the loss. I am just hoping that now they don't side with the buyer and then take the full amount including final value fees from me. Oh well I guess I'll see how things work out with it.
I'm not sure that refunding them in full made any kind of sense. Sure you may have gotten your FVFs back, but you saved more by refunding them the 35%. The math just doesn't make sense to even consider a full refund.
I'm glad you found something that works for you. That is very important. Please let us know when or if you hear from your buyer.
