Selling mechanical items

[bear49999]

Hi  I've been selling on eBay without any problems. I want to  sell a used working  well pump. The buyer is in Texas the shipping is $175.  The pump has been tested. My worry is that if the buyer claims the pump doesn't work or something is mechanically wrong with it and wants a refund.  I know eBay is very accommodating to the buyer.  I am selling with returns but buyer pays return shipping. Is there any instance where Ebay grants a refund without making sure I get the pump back? Worse yet do they refund the $175 shipping to the buyer also. What is the worst case scenario here? It would be bad enough to lose the pump. but to have it cost me $175 on top of that... thanks for any replies. 

[redlinear]

When a buyer clicks "return this item", who pays depends on what the buyer "claims" is the issue.
And most buyers click the one that they know gets them a free shipping label (meaning you pay).
The choices eBay  gives buyers for the "reason" are overlapping and not super clear.  SO, even if the buyer thinks they are doing the right thing and are fine with paying return shipping, they usually wind up not having to pay.
  But yeah.  If you don't accept a return, you'll lose the money and the pump

[farmalljr]

Worst case? 

Buyer receives it. Claims not as described, requests a return. They send you a rock..... Then you have to refund them in full, even the shipping. Worst case? They also give you a negative feedback and you can't get it removed and you can't give them ANY feedback other than positive. 

Still willing to gamble selling it online and shipping it? Because that can AND does happen. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     Possibly the worst case would be the buyer opens a NAD chargeback with his CC company. There is a high probability that you will loose the chargeback, the buyer will be fully refunded including shipping costs, eBay will still charge you the FVF's,  and the CC company will NOT require the buyer to return the item.

     While there are plenty of scammers on eBay this is probably not a high target item. How big is this thing and what does it weight that it costs $175 to ship? I see the listing but cannot judge the size. 

[12345jamesstamps]

From Indiana to Texas I would say that is a hard no.

I would list it as a "pick up" only in Indiana. And as a buy it now.

Can't believe in the big state of Texas this buyer can't find such a pump.

That dispute on a "credit card" if it happens would be terrible.

[downunder-61]

Agree with jamesstamps, in fact I would not be using eBay at all. If you are going to sell only local, which I think is best, then save the fee's and use another local platform. Don't risk it on eBay.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

It would not surprise me if this sale as also subject to a payment hold, since you do not have recent history of a sale this large.

Would that influence your willingness to proceed?