Should I cancel and take the defect?

[slati_2013]

I posted this by mistake in the knowledge base instead of discussions. I need some quick advice:

Buyer places an order on Saturday. On Sunday while getting it ready, I noticed item is damaged. I message the buyer offering to replace the item with an even more expensive one. I hoped the buyer would message me on Monday, but no message.

The buyer has only five feedback which makes me think this is just a buying/guest like account and the buyer will not check eBay until the buyer notices the item has not arrived. I was hoping to avoid canceling using the "out of stock, item damaged" option, but with no reply,  item not shipped, and going into day three, I am contemplating just taking the defect and cancelling. Any advice? 

[luckythewinner]

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@slati_2013 wrote:

I was hoping to avoid canceling using the "out of stock, item damaged" option, but with no reply,  item not shipped, and going into day three, I am contemplating just taking the defect and cancelling. Any advice? 

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If you cancel the sale because the item is out of stock or damaged, choosing any cancellation reason other than "out of stock, item damaged" would be lying. 

You could ship it damaged and either (a) hope the buyer doesn't care, or (b)  if the buyer complains be willing to "buy" your way out of the defect by refunding and just losing the cost of shipping. 

[siayan]

You can give a full refund and ship it with a note inside with an explaination that you fully refunded, tried to contact them and apolgize. That is if the damage is not total I would think they would understand, but this iis eBay.

[slati_2013]

I already messaged the buyer explaining the situation. I think maybe I should ship the substitute one instead, but that would be a SNAD waiting to happen. I was hoping the buyer would have responded by now. The item is a projector.

At the bottom right corner, an unwanted image/discoloration has shown up out of nowhere.  Asking around it seems this is a common and known issue with the projector I have for sale.  It is small but noticeable and may be intrusive depending on what the projector is meant for. So I am pretty sure the buyer would care about the issue. 

[slati_2013]

I think I will ship as you suggest, but send the working one I have which is a different brand, but is more expensive and has more features, and put a note in explaining the issue. 

[siayan]

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@slati_2013 wrote:

I think I will ship as you suggest, but send the working one I have which is a different brand, but is more expensive and has more features, and put a note in explaining the issue. 

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That is a good idea. Also explain that you tried to get ahold of them before. 

[memphiskansasgirl123]

Ask eBay for the buyer's phone number or check on the print shipping label screen to see if he buyer's phone number appears.    If you can get the phone number, call the buyer and explain.   If you guys come to an agreement have him eBay message you the agreement to accept the better item.  Also In this same phone call, you can ask the buyer,  would he agree to the cancellation under buyer's request and if he does do you will sell the higher priced item to him at the lower price.   Remember to get the buyer's to agree to the cancellation in eBay messages. 

[tunicaslot]

Sorry memphis - you can't fudge things that wat. If the OP and the buyer agree that the higher value item be sent instead of the damaged one - that's a fair trade off and no cancellation is needed. I hate seller's that ask the buyer if they want to cancel and then use that as the reason for the cancellation thus avoiding a defect. Be true to yourself as it will come back to haunt you one of these days.

[mypostingid15]

If it's your first defect and your account can handle it, I would cancel, but first I would try contacting the buyer using their personal email provided by either ebay or paypal.

[adkhighker]

Did you try phoning your buyer? Their phone number is usually available right in the "print your label" window. When you click on that link to print, click on "Go back to classic label printing" located in upper right of the print label page. When you get to the classic printing page, go to where it shows the buyer's address where it says "Ship to" and you'll see "change" in blue font. Click on that and you should see the buyer's address pop up along with their phone number at the bottom.

[juststuffisell]

You can do any of the above, but I would not recommend sending the "Upgarded one" myself. If it were me, I would ship the original one they paid for - with a note apologizing for the item being "damaged". I would issue a full refund through paypal after printing the shipping label on eBay and include a copy of the refund in the box for the buyer. I would then ship it out to them. I would follow that up with a message to the buyer of what happened, why the order was funded and that they can expect the item in the mail with the appropriate tracking number. Appreciate the business and hope to do business with you again kind of thing.... Then I would drive on and not sweat it the expense I just paid for shipping and fees. I figure if I messed up, that is my cost for messing up. 

Buyer got the item, refund so cost them nothing and they can decided whether they can live with the defective item or not before they spend money on another one. Expect a nice note for the buyer.

While rare for me, happened only a few times over the years that I can think of, it has always been a winner solution.

Cheers

[siayan]

I suggested exactly what you suggested above but after thinking about it it may not be a good idea. If you issue a full refund through PayPal eBay has a way to see it and could assume it is a sneaky refund to avoid a defect. ebay assumes full refunds are out of stocks unless it goes through the cancellation process.  JMO

[castlemagicmemories]

Out of stock does give you a defect.  It isn't defect free.

[moo*cow*corner]

I've done this. Found a small chip on a bowl in a lot of several. Sent the items, and gave a full refund with an explanation via ebay messages and a note in the box. It was my error, and I said I hoped the buyer enjoyed the good ones and could maybe still find use for the chipped one. Ate my original item costs, fees, and shipping. No defects assessed.