Washed listed clothing item after purchase and accidentally damaged it

[chksinga]

After listing a dark navy blue silk jersey Eileen Fisher women's top that quickly sold, I noticed a faint stain or discoloration that I did not notice upon listing. The top was otherwise in great pre-owned condition. 

The item was hand washable so I decided to carefully hand wash it before shipping. The reportedly "mild" special silk detergent I used caused new light spotting/stains and the top is now damaged. It is still wearable - as a layering piece perhaps - but I'm not sure if the spots the detergent caused will come out (I gently hand washed it again, to no avail). 

I emailed the buyer to let them know what happened and apologized profusely as this is a new occurrence for me as a seller.  I offered to cancel the order and provide a full refund. I also offered to send the item "as is" with a significant refund, plus original shipping. The buyer has not yet responded to my message which was sent less than 24 hours ago.

Asking if my options above are the best way to go about this? Will Ebay still charge me the full fee upon the originally sold price?  Thanks in advance. 

[fbusoni]

@chksinga 

When is your deadline to ship the item?  Do you have a few days left to hear from the buyer?

If so, I'd wait, and let the buyer tell you they want to cancel.

If you do not hear back, I'd simply cancel the order on your end and let the buyer know you've done so.

You will receive a defect to your metrics, but otherwise will remain whole... that has been my personal experience as a seller.  (At least I think it has... I've never really checked to see if a fee was levied.)

[chksinga]

Thanks. Yes, I have 3 more days to ship the item within my stated shipping/handling time. I'll wait to see what the buyer says. I took some photos that I offered to send to the buyer to show what happened but the quality is not the best. Taking photos of darker colored clothing items (with an iPhone) is not the easiest. 😉  

[chapeau-noir]

@chksinga  Since you have nothing to lose, first try soaking the garment in a solution of cold distilled water and white vinegar (or lemon juice), then rinse thoroughly in cold water. 

One reason is if one has even somewhat hard water, it can actually leave residue spots on the silk rather than change the colour itself.

See if this works at all - if silk is washable, it means that it has colour-fast dyes and shouldn't run or change colour on a wash.

[chksinga]

Thanks, I appreciate your advice! 

[chapeau-noir]

You are welcome - I restore old silk kimono so have a fair amount of experience with odd things that happen to silk. Hope it works!

[epowerbargains]

Another option would be to send the item and then do a full and complete refund. That way the buyer is reimbursed in full and can see that 1) there was a problem and can use it if he/she wishes 2) If you are able to restore it the buyer will feel good about the transaction. I say this because some buyers might be unhappy that their item was washed prior to delivery (even when the item is preowned). This way you hopefully avoid a not as described claim and/or a negative and an eBay ding for cancellation. The one thing that is a bit concerning is the silence from the buyer's end (could be they are just busy) or they could be waiting you out to see what you do..... Just a thought. 

[bashort]

I would of just shipped it and tried to do a better evaluation when listing next time. 

[chapeau-noir]

This has happened to me - 

I will contact the buyer, apologise and offer some solutions:

- I could ship the item to them as well as full refund (as good faith)

- Just a full refund (not everyone wants to keep something that can't be used)

- Offer something else from my store in exchange

[chapeau-noir]

@chksinga  I forgot to stress - make sure that rinse water is distilled, also. I see the garment is knit, and that tends to be 'grabbier' KWIM than a woven. It won't need much rinsing since you won't be using soap.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I always offer a FULL refund when I make a mistake like this, not a discount!  You damaged the item, it should not be on the buyer.  I also offer a significant discount off another item in my store.   You did the right thing by sending pics, otherwise the buyer is suspicious.  You'll have to wait & see what she wants, but buyers are on eBay a LOT less than us.   In the future, I would reccomend you refund her in full immediately.  

[chksinga]

Yes, it is now almost 24 hours and still no response from the buyer. I'm wondering: if the buyer says "no problem, thanks for letting me know", and then requests cancellation I'm guessing there is no seller ding from Ebay. This is what I'm hoping will occur. 

I suppose I could ship the damaged item and then do full refund which means I take a loss on the shipping and Ebay fees. I am in a time crunch this week and won't have a lot of time to try to restore the item to it's original glory. Oh well. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Relax.

Most buyers do not spend a lot of time shopping on Ebay and are not going to give your message a high priority either.

You already know what the worst thing that should happen is, a cancelled order and a demerit for cancelling.

If you have not written anything which is offensive in your message to the buyer, you should assume that you will not be dealing with a spiteful and vindictive idiot. And if the buyer is one of those, you would probably not have avoided difficulty even if you had done nothing wrong.

[chksinga]

Ok. I did offer a full refund while also cancelling the order.  I don't have an Ebay store as I am a small seller.  Just thought I'd wait to hear back from the buyer before actually issuing the refund. 

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

This has happened to me - 

I will contact the buyer, apologise and offer some solutions:

- I could ship the item to them as well as full refund (as good faith)

- Just a full refund (not everyone wants to keep something that can't be used)

- Offer something else from my store in exchange

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

This has happened to me - 

I will contact the buyer, apologise and offer some solutions:

- I could ship the item to them as well as full refund (as good faith)

- Just a full refund (not everyone wants to keep something that can't be used)

- Offer something else from my store in exchange

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Good sound advice. Personally, i would have sent them the item with a refund.