Reporting a buyer for Return Issues -- Return Process already begun voluntarily

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Looking for info on my rights as a seller regarding returns -- return accepted already because I'm screwed otherwise with MBG.

I'm not going to get into all the details, I posted about this return already. It's a $65 coin.

Buyer has been cordial, opened a return case, claiming a bogus reason regarding condition when the real problem I am nearly 100% sure he has is coloration/discoloration. Arguing the item is not as described because I said it is in "high" grade, when I show many high res, close up, even zoomed far in, pictures of the coin. He is arguing about my use of one word in the description, among the many parts of the description that indicate the condition, flaws, the fact that I'm NOT using stock photos, to look at the detailed pictures, and it's their responsibility to judge the quality, condition and grade. He is acting like he never looked at the pics or read anything in the description besides the word "high" in terms of grade/condition, and wants to argue that simple fact (he is still wrong). This is a coin, not a product in a box, reading description and looking at pics is standard in this territory, it's not whimsical buying because it "looks" or "sounds" "about right"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

So... here are the (pertinent?) facts:

-I'm a TRS, but not TRS +

-Coin shows delivered 2 days ago

-He is yet to leave feedback (he needs to wait 7 days before leaving negative/neutral, right?)

-He opened a return for WRONG ITEM SENT

-We communicated cordially, I made my case to him how it's the exact coin shown and described while acknowledging varying appearance of color, but in the same breath agreed to accept the return, and I apologized for his dissatisfaction. 

-His argument equates to a NAD case (not sure how much difference or wiggle room there is between a NAD/wrong item)

-He also tried arguing the coin I sent him is not worth the money he paid (a frivolous argument in my opinion, not sure if it even matters)

-I approved/accepted the return "voluntarily"

-He has been added to my BBL

-No communication since return acceptance (other than a message I sent confirming I accepted the return).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like to report him for this return. If for no other reason than his ignorant and practically nonsensical argument.

-Does it matter that he opened a Wrong Item Sent rather than NAD? Is that reportable?

-Can I/How Can I argue to EBay that the coin is exact same coin in pics/description, and that he is arguing a single, subjective (and relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of things) word in the description (which is ridiculous)?

-Am I at risk if I report now that I can't report later a 2nd issue for same return? (If I report him for a false return, and he ends up sending me an empty box, am I unable to report that fact then or harmed in any way in my reporting abilities or fighting that case?)

-Do I gain anything by reporting the return at it's face value now? (I already accepted it because I know I'm S.O.L. if I don't)

-What rights do I have with regard to any potential neutral/negative feedback he leaves? What reasons could I get it removed for?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

If he leaves feedback, and it can't be removed, I'm going to give a cordial response and list of the facts, I think any coin buyer would understand them easily, as long as they believe me and not him, which I don't think is difficult if they look at what I do in all my other listings.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So far, my first return has been smooth but extremely irritating and frustrating. Any info on any rights I have (beyond the fact of not having almost any rights with MBG at play) would be much appreciated.

THANK YOU!

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Sorry, it's long, but I have a lot of questions, and I wanted to get all the details in thoroughly so people don't have to ask for 101 details. Hopefully I didn't miss any.

[klhmdg]

All you can do is hope he returns the same item you sent him.

Once the item arrives, report the buyer and then refund him.

The buyer cant leave a negative if you refund upon return.

There is zero fighting these cases. There is nothing you will accomplish except higher blood pressure and a mass of wasted time.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

@klhmdg 

Thank you for that. 

Questions:

-You specifically say REPORT then REFUND. Does this order truly matter? Or am I reading too much into your sequence?

-The buyer can't leave a NEGATIVE if I refund upon return ... can he leave a neutral? Does it block him from leaving negative or he can leave it and it gets removed?

-Can he leave a feedback while the case is open? Or does he have to wait until the case is resolved?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Oh yes, blood pressure is a little high, solely because I work hard to avoid these things, and his ignorance is getting me. Literally, his excuse is "sheet". Had he just admitted the real reason, I would have 0 care in the world. He either is ignorant and IDK how he came this far in coin collecting, or he is hiding behind the MBG to cover his you know what and doesn't want to say the wrong thing, because no one would believe the argument he is making right now. He probably worked hard to come up with it and craft it.

I know I'm overall lucky, still just doesn't feel good or right. Loser should pay for return shipping. Stupid EBay MBG... maybe they will reimburse me the return shipping? I don't remember their policy, I know they reimburse up to $6 for return shipping for certain instances, can't remember what they are. If you know or anyone else knows, please advise.

[inhawaii]

If the buyer thinks/says it's the wrong item (or not as described) just go ahead with the return.

Accept the return. Pay for the return label. When the item is returned, then refund.

In my opinion, you're wasting your time reporting him.  Nothing will happen to the buyer.

If you think it was a lighting/photo issue, then most likely you will be getting back the same item.

This kind of thing will happen from time to time.

It's something all sellers have to deal with.

Good luck!

[chapeau-noir]

As far as I know, the order is indeed report THEN refund - I believe it's because the refund closes the case and you want to report on a live case. 

The rest doesn't matter, not even a little bit.  I'm sorry.   Trying to argue that you sent the item your buyer is disputing boils down to a 'he said/she said' scenario - eBay does not know what you sent, nor what your buyer received and photos make no difference.  Basically MBG rules all. 

This is not going to ruin your reputation and you're certainly not alone in this kind of frustrating situation - I've been through it a few times both here and on Etsy down through the years.

As for any neg - a considered response NOT calling out your buyer but reassuring future buyers that you stand behind your items and have good CS is IMHO the best recourse.

My advice is to simply take the return, refund and move on. 

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

I agree, I'm most curious now klhmdg said about returning/refunding, they said the buyer can't leave a negative if I refund upon return. Is that accurate? I'm thinking they can leave a negative still -- not sure.

I agree it won't ruin my reputation, but I still prefer no feedback over feedback w/ good response. Then again, maybe a neg feedback with good response is better than no negative feedback ever. Can play that both ways.

[onefootflipper]

Coin is cheap shipping. I would be thrilled to get a coin return compared to what my average one seems to be.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

@onefootflipper 

I agree 100% coin shipping isn't bad at all and it's a $65 coin, so it's literally a fraction of the value. This could have been much much worse, and I have acknowledged I'm lucky. The guy is just playing the game to avoid the real issue at hand, and the principle of that irks me to no end because I do so much in my listing that he truly has no leg to stand on here if the standard used has any reason involved at all -- the only leg he has is the golden one -- the HOLY MBG, requires no reasoning or anything. Fully aware of it, accepted the risks when I started selling, fully knowing, accept it's part of the business, and appreciate it as a buyer when I have had to use it on genuine scam sellers ... still irks me though.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@chapeau-noir wrote:

As far as I know, the order is indeed report THEN refund - I believe it's because the refund closes the case and you want to report on a live case. 

The rest doesn't matter, not even a little bit.  I'm sorry.   Trying to argue that you sent the item your buyer is disputing boils down to a 'he said/she said' scenario - eBay does not know what you sent, nor what your buyer received and photos make no difference.  Basically MBG rules all. 

This is not going to ruin your reputation and you're certainly not alone in this kind of frustrating situation - I've been through it a few times both here and on Etsy down through the years.

As for any neg - a considered response NOT calling out your buyer but reassuring future buyers that you stand behind your items and have good CS is IMHO the best recourse.

My advice is to simply take the return, refund and move on. 

---

nah, order doesn't matter. I can go into my sales history and find any single transaction and "report buyer". I reported one after the case closed on an INR, and the case was closed, but I went to sales history and was able to report it anyway.

The reason you would report after the case is closed, is because then you know the outcome. If you report on an open case you haven't actually refunded the buyer yet (and if you choose not to, that greatly changes the outcome of the case, which suggests to me it won't be looked into until it's closed so they can see everything that happened).

C.

[sin-n-dex]

---

@ajs_coins_and_alchemy wrote:

I agree, I'm most curious now klhmdg said about returning/refunding, they said the buyer can't leave a negative if I refund upon return. Is that accurate? I'm thinking they can leave a negative still -- not sure.

I agree it won't ruin my reputation, but I still prefer no feedback over feedback w/ good response. Then again, maybe a neg feedback with good response is better than no negative feedback ever. Can play that both ways.

---

People have posted in the boards that if you're TRS, a negative is removable if the item was returned and refunded within the time period upon return (as in eBay didn't step in).

The 7 days thing you were mentioning is from the sale of the item, not the date he receives it. If more than 7 days have passed, he can leave a negative, but he probably won't do this if you don't argue with him and just accept the return, and refund right away when you get something back (which if it isn't the coin, you're probably screwed.)

C.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Thanks for all that info, I've been looking around and it seems like it is all over the place in terms of opinions on TRS getting neg feedback removed or not. I'm just going to be hopeful that he doesn't leave it or I get it removed if he does. I know it isn't the end of the world, but still. 

[chapeau-noir]

---

@sin-n-dex wrote:

---

@chapeau-noir wrote:

As far as I know, the order is indeed report THEN refund - I believe it's because the refund closes the case and you want to report on a live case. 

The rest doesn't matter, not even a little bit.  I'm sorry.   Trying to argue that you sent the item your buyer is disputing boils down to a 'he said/she said' scenario - eBay does not know what you sent, nor what your buyer received and photos make no difference.  Basically MBG rules all. 

This is not going to ruin your reputation and you're certainly not alone in this kind of frustrating situation - I've been through it a few times both here and on Etsy down through the years.

As for any neg - a considered response NOT calling out your buyer but reassuring future buyers that you stand behind your items and have good CS is IMHO the best recourse.

My advice is to simply take the return, refund and move on. 

---

nah, order doesn't matter. I can go into my sales history and find any single transaction and "report buyer". I reported one after the case closed on an INR, and the case was closed, but I went to sales history and was able to report it anyway.

The reason you would report after the case is closed, is because then you know the outcome. If you report on an open case you haven't actually refunded the buyer yet (and if you choose not to, that greatly changes the outcome of the case, which suggests to me it won't be looked into until it's closed so they can see everything that happened).

C.

---

@sin-n-dex  Thanks for letting me know - I'd heard the 'report before refund' so often but so far hadn't found any firm procedure.

[lightlily_arts]

I had a buyer return an item because he didn't like the gold color.  I use a photographic light tent for my pictures, and therefore, the color can be slightly different in normal light.  This buyer accused me of using fake pictures.  I did report the buyer after I got my item back, and eBay did refund me the $6.00 in shipping as I reported the buyer for filing a false MBG claim.  This was really a remorse return.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Ok, that tells me that if I report the buyer I at least have a chance to get my shipping refunded. Shipping isn't much, but every penny, or nickel, counts! Haha! (the coin I sold and being returned is a nickel if you missed that) Then it's worth reporting the buyer.