Returns

[adriennescloset-68]

Not sure if this is the proper forum for this, but i am livid.. been selling on ebay since 2005... i just sold (for $110) a high end leather skirt (retails $495), advertised size, pics and all proper info. a women bought it, and claims it doesnt fit.. skirt was a 14.. writes to me it fits like an 8.. and that it smells like its a from a thrift shop (which its not)....listing says no returns... she started a claim... i responded to claim  w a pic of the receipt from Nordstrom showing its a 14.... sure ennough, ebay tells her to return it me, charges ME for the return shipping.... i receve the skirt, and see she wore it... the leather in back is all stretched out... i start an appeal, sent pics of the skirt where its all stretched out, sent pics of the tags showing its a 14... and i still lost. 

i cant sell it again.... like this... its used.... I have 1700 plus 100% pos feedback, she has 14.... I got so screwed in this... I told ebay if they cant back me when I prove I am correct I just might have to close my store....

If a buyer claims they didnt get what they bought, ebay should ask for pics first to really see... just dont say return it....and screw the seller... they dont look at feeback, or ask for anything ... if ebay cant back their loyal sellers and stores... its disgusting and beyond sad...

[goodluckselling]

eBay has a way to report items returned in a  different condition that you sent it in.  I think (not sure as I have not used it before) it is under the transaction details drop down box. 

Also the only way for a buyer to know if something fits or not is to try it on. 

Good Luck Selling!

[pjcdn2005]

If a buyer uses doesn't fit as the reason for returning, it is considered a buyers remorse return so they must have used a different reason?

I understand your frustration but since different manufacturers have such different sizing, you should consider including measurements in your listings.  For example with the leather skirt it says it is above the knee and that makes me wonder how tall you have to be for it to be above the knee.  Adding the measurement might prevent any not as described claims and it might also increase sales.  I definitely wouldn't buy clothing if there were no returns and no measurements...its just too risky.

[jeannicho22]

Sounds as though the buyer used the "not as described" reason for the return and not "doesn't fit".  In eBay's world, a NAD claim covers any reason regardless of what your return policy is.

BTW, the sizes of most upper end stores (of which Nordstrom considers themselves) are very off particularly in women's sizes.  In my experience it generally goes the other way, a Nordstrom's size 8 dress would most likely be a 10 or 12 in reality.  This is a marketing ploy utilized so that women can say they wear a size 8 when they are actually a larger size.

[threshold.sales.group]

If it has those signs of wear my guess is that the buyer "rented" the skirt.  Unfortunately you could have described the item perfectly and it wouldn't matter at all. One thing that isn't made very clear to sellers is that there is no seller protection against return fraud. Seller protection consists only of protection against item not received claims where there is online tracking and the seller shipped the item on-time. 

[fern*wood]

I bet that skirt would hit me just above the ankle.

[emerald_door]

If a buyer wants to return something and claims that it is not as described, eBay will side with the buyer and the seller will be forced to pay shipping both ways and issue a full refund. 

You can't completely avoid this type of return, but it would help a lot if you would include measurements in your listing.  I would also remove the words "free shipping" from the title and the gallery picture, since the listing shows a shipping charge.  

It's possible that the buyer stretched the leather just by trying it on.  She didn't necessarily wear it.  

[pjcdn2005]

I guess that we are both 'slightly' vertically challenged. lol

[city*satins]

Hi adriennescloset. I'm sorry this happened to you but have to say that your listing was kind of a disaster waiting to happen one way or another.

1. You had FREE SHIPPING in the title and in your gallery picture but there was a shipping charge.  That alone is a mistake that can be a showstopper for a seller.

2. You listed it only with STOCK PICS  - no picture of the actual item.  Don't do that.  Use pictures of the actual item.  You argue that the buyer should be required to provide pictures of the item but you are the seller and you didn't do that yourself. 

3. You selected ABOVE THE KNEE in your Item Specifics but your picture shows this on the model as knee length - and models are typically long legged, so if this was knee length on the model, it is probably knee length or longer on the majority of women.  In the absence of a length measurement, this was apt to cause you problems.  
Even the Nordstrom Rack website that you copied the pics and some of the text from provided a length measurement  (26")  but you missed that.  26" is not above the knee by the way.

4. You provided no measurements.  It might not have occurred to you at the time, but if you got this skirt on sale at Nordstrom Rack, it might very well have been a return due to mis-sizing.   Always check the measurements of stuff you buy on sale.

Unfortunately, eBay won't support sellers for returns like this buyer's, even if it was returned to you with soup spilled all over it, you would still be in the red.  Unless you offer Free Returns, and the item is a 'remorse' return, the seller doesn't really have any way to recover from losses.

Since you have the item back - if you are going to relist it - measure it and photograph it this time.

[jeannicho22]

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@threshold.sales.group wrote:

If it has those signs of wear my guess is that the buyer "rented" the skirt.  Unfortunately you could have described the item perfectly and it wouldn't matter at all. One thing that isn't made very clear to sellers is that there is no seller protection against return fraud. Seller protection consists only of protection against item not received claims where there is online tracking and the seller shipped the item on-time. 

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But the item wasn't described perfectly unless the measurements were in the description.  As I mentioned above, different stores and brands have different sizing specs.  Merely stating that an Anne Klein skirt is a size 5 is not enough since it is probably more like a 10 in other brands.  

You are NEVER going to be free of returns especially on clothing, but why not decrease the chances that you item will be returned by also listing measurements.  There will always be the person who doesn't realize their tushie size or shape has changed due to cookies or gravity.

[ittybitnot]

If a buyer claims they didnt get what they bought, ebay should ..

We hear similar stories here every day.  Whatever a buyer claims becomes "the truth" as far as ebay is concerned.  There is no more contesting the veracity of their claim.   

[m60driver]

Here in the home of Nordstrom (Seattle) we have for generations referred to the wearing of a garment once and then the garment being returned as simply a "Nordstom rental", a local tradition long passed on from mother to daughter.  It is but one reason why the gross profit margins on womens clothing has always been close to twice the margins as on mens clothing (60% vs 40%).  So now you just need to do a quick steam clean and sell it in your "Rack" store at a 40% margin.