When will we be required to offer free merchandise along with free shipping, and free packaging?

[butterflyboutique88]

I’m really new at this but I see that some buyers buy my more expensive stuff and then in a round-a-bout way demand a full refund and keep the merch. Not wanting to receive a flogging with a neg,  and/or a nuke on my star ratings , either of which which causes me to go to eBay “prison” for months, can I just simply off everything for free without getting into trouble. Should I throw in some free money too? 

[richard1rst]

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@ten_o_nine wrote:

@richard1rst 

FALLACY - I have never lost a CC charge back.

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That just means you were lucky. Most of the cases go back to tracking information, USPS has a habit of changing the tracking without an audit trail, and you will lose in these cases.

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And therein lies your problem.

First you recognize the problem: USPS and eBay only keep tracking for 90 days,

Second you look for a solution.

I ship through Pirateship. I can retrieve tracking and proof of delivery for EVERY shipment I have ever made with them from the very first day several years ago.  They NEVER delete the information.

Problem solved.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

No one should get a refund without returning the goods.

Even if your returns policy is NO RETURNS, you should accept a return for claims of not as described and send a return label.

Stating in a chargeback dispute response that you will refund if the item is returned in the condition shipped can often lead to the bank requiring the buyer to return the good.

Your sales reflect mostly items which sell to a significant number of high maintenance buyers, selling these items with no returns is often a mistake, The shipping cost is low because they are small and light and you should consider the potential losses on returns to be a cost of doing business. Some of these buyers want the item and you disarm them by accepting a return.

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@butterflyboutique88 wrote:

I’m really new at this but I see that some buyers buy my more expensive stuff and then in a round-a-bout way demand a full refund and keep the merch. 

No one is allowed to demand a refund and keep the item. If you read it here that is fake news. The ones who do post here saying that either did not follow the instructions Ebay gave them, or they sat or their behinds and waited for the case to expire.

     Agreed as long as everything remains within eBay. If the buyer goes outside eBay and opens a chargeback with their CC company all bets are off. 

FALLACY - I have never lost a CC charge back.

     How many have you had and what type? Most INR or charge not recognized chargebacks are easy for the seller to prevail. NAD not so much. That is the reason I said all bets are off it depends on the type of chargeback and the details. 

[dbfolks166mt]

@ten_o_nine wrote:

@richard1rst 

FALLACY - I have never lost a CC charge back.

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

That just means you were lucky. Most of the cases go back to tracking information, USPS has a habit of changing the tracking without an audit trail, and you will lose in these cases.

And therein lies your problem.

First you recognize the problem: USPS and eBay only keep tracking for 90 days,

Second you look for a solution.

I ship through Pirateship. I can retrieve tracking and proof of delivery for EVERY shipment I have ever made with them from the very first day several years ago.  They NEVER delete the information.

Problem solved.

     I also use Pirate Ship and I have never lost an INR eBay case or a chargeback. I have however refunded a couple of buyers for lost USPS deliveries and been reimbursed by USPS for the loss. INR's and Charge Not Recognized are not the problem it's the NAD's where the seller is pretty much defenseless.  

[dbfolks166mt]

No one should get a refund without returning the goods.

Even if your returns policy is NO RETURNS, you should accept a return for claims of not as described and send a return label.

Stating in a chargeback dispute response that you will refund if the item is returned in the condition shipped can often lead to the bank requiring the buyer to return the good.

     Sadly most CC companies won't and don't want to get involved in the logistics process. It requires additional resources and that cuts into the bottom line. They would have to hold the buyers refund, monitor the return and refund only after the item was returned. Who pays for the return postage? What if the item is never returned and how long are they going to give the buyer to do that? What if it doesn't come back in the condition in which it was sent? CC companies already have enough headaches with the chargeback process and the laws they are forced to operate under to want to take on additional steps in the process. 

Your sales reflect mostly items which sell to a significant number of high maintenance buyers, selling these items with no returns is often a mistake, The shipping cost is low because they are small and light and you should consider the potential losses on returns to be a cost of doing business. Some of these buyers want the item and you disarm them by accepting a return.

[downunder-61]

Pretty sure the OP had sarcasm in mind when posting LOL

Sometimes it most likely feels like even giving things away for free with free everything will still cause some buyers to be PITA's  😋

[mam98031]

@butterflyboutique88 

Just starting with your title here.  I know you are partly saying this with sarcasm, but for other parts IDK if you are serious or not.

Free Shipping does not mean a seller has to give away shipping for free because as we all know, shipping is not free.  What sellers have to do is roll the cost of shipping into the price of the product.

IDK anything about Free Packaging.  I charge my buyers for that in the costs I have for anything I sell.  I pull together all my costs which includes packaging to develop the price of my product.  

You don't have to tolerate a buyer asking for a full refund and to keep the product too.  If a buyer were to leave you a negative feedback because you would not comply with what they were trying to bully you into, you would likely be able to get it removed.

With a buyer that wants this, your response should be short, polite and profession.  I am sorry you are experiencing issues with the item you purchase.  Please feel free to open a Request for Return and I will get that processed for you.

They keep sending you email, you just respond with that message again.  Eventually they will just go away or they will file the dispute.  If they file the dispute, you issue them a return label and then WAIT.  Do nothing else, no communication.  Just wait.  If they send the item back great, once you get it back go ahead and process the refund.  But if the buyer does not send it back, the claim will close in your favor as buyers have a certain amount of time in which to send the item back.

[coolections]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

If the buyer goes outside eBay and opens a chargeback with their CC company all bets are off. 

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Not necessarily true. I had a buyer do a charge back a couple months ago. Wrote in the case I would give a refund as long as the buyer returned the item. The buyer purchased their own label and returned. The day the item showed delivered Ebay deducted my funds.

[coolections]

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@ckimodog wrote:

Sorry for your situation.  You need to start accepting returns.  Since you don't, the buyer is not obligated to return the item, because to them it reads you don't want it back. 

Another false statement. I have had no returns for years and every buyer that has filed a claim (not many), had to return the item first. All you have to do is mention in the claim that you want your item back and are happy to give a refund.

[coolections]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

Most INR or charge not recognized chargebacks are easy for the seller to prevail. NAD not so much. That is the reason I said all bets are off it depends on the type of chargeback and the details. 

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Another false statement. The last one I had was a not as described. The shirt had a hole I had not noticed. Ebay made the buyer return the item first before getting a refund. The buyer even had to pay for the label.

[byrd69er]

Consider also adding a free gift card that gives the buyer 50% off their next free purchase.

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

Most INR or charge not recognized chargebacks are easy for the seller to prevail. NAD not so much. That is the reason I said all bets are off it depends on the type of chargeback and the details. 

Another false statement. The last one I had was a not as described. The shirt had a hole I had not noticed. Ebay made the buyer return the item first before getting a refund. The buyer even had to pay for the label.

     If eBay made them return it then it was not a chargeback it was an eBay NAD claim. EBay has no decision in the chargeback process and they will flat out tell you as much. When you responded to the NAD claim what option did you select. That is the reason it depends on the details. The following is from August of 2022 but it contains some interesting data and projections. 

https://chargebacks911.com/chargeback-stats/ 

[reallynicestamps]

All you have to do is mention in the claim that you want your item back and are happy to give a refund.

Yes.

Even with a No Returns policy, the seller is entitled to demand the return first. EBay usually tells the seller to send the Return Shipping Label, unless this is a Buyer Remorse claim.

The shirt had a hole I had not noticed...The buyer even had to pay for the label.

EBay was wrong.

The buyer had a straightforward "Not As Described" claim and you should have been responsible for the shipping since you made the mistake.

[soh.maryl]

Care to explain how a buyer can request a refund in a "round about way" without being required to return the item?  Wouldn't your response to that request be that they need to follow eBay's MBG if they received a defective item?  

[mam98031]

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@coolections wrote:

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@ckimodog wrote:

Sorry for your situation.  You need to start accepting returns.  Since you don't, the buyer is not obligated to return the item, because to them it reads you don't want it back. 

Another false statement. I have had no returns for years and every buyer that has filed a claim (not many), had to return the item first. All you have to do is mention in the claim that you want your item back and are happy to give a refund.

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Well the statement does have merit, it just leaves some details out.  

Even with a No Return Policy sellers have to process a Request for Return for damage or not as described.  IF the seller denies the claim or tries to fight it for any reason and it passes the timeframe so that the buyer can ask Ebay to step in, the seller will likely end up being forced to refund and NOT get the item back.  The seller will also not get their FVFs refund and they get a defect.

The ONLY type of dispute a seller with a No Return Policy can refuse to process is a properly filed Buyer's Remorse claim.

All sellers return policies have to meet or exceed the coverage offered to buyers in the MBG.