Why is Buyer always right?

[vexrun]

I've been selling on eBay for few years now, few items a month to support my hobbies. Perfect record, I really take care of what and how I sell. Recently I sold a brand new item that is a niche product developed for retro computers. Buyer received the item promptly after payment, and left me a positive feedback. Almost a month later, he requested a return, claiming it is defective, because it's unstable. I offer no returns, I explained that I tested the item prior to shipping, and that the software for the item is in beta stage, with known issues that developer is working on. This is simply a case of a buyer changing their mind after playing with an expensive toy for a month.

eBay of course ruled against me, and now the I'm supposed to issue a full refund, including return shipping, once I receive the item. I'm at a loss here. Are buyers basically allowed to claim damage on anything they want, whenever they want, and sellers have to eat it?? It's an expensive item, and it is no longer brand-new, so I'm taking a big hit, and eBay could care less. Do I have ANY recourse here?

[ohnojoey]

" I explained that I tested the item prior to shipping, and that the software for the item is in beta stage, with known issues that developer is working on."

That's maybe what happened, the buyer experienced issues, and even if you put that in the description, or the buyer made up a reason; if the buyer files a not as described claim, having a no return policy doesn't protect you, ebay generally sides with the buyer.

[spittser]

It's an age old concept used in brick & mortar stores that does not translate well to ecommerce. Before the internet, people didn't need to be concerned about shipping and return shipping so when a customer brought something back, a business could accept the return with minimal to no loss. That doesn't work with online selling. You can take losses that makes business not feasible if you take the stance that the customer is always right. Yet, eBay still tries to adhere to the concept. I think a new set of rules need to be written to redefine the business/customer relationship when it comes to ecommerce. The irony is, before the internet, the closest thing to online shopping was mail order business and they always made the customer cover shipping on returns. They often even charged enough to make a nice return on their shipping services.

[kensgiftshop]

If buyer claims there is a problem with an item, Ebay has their MBG to make sure the buyer is covered.

Once you get the item back and refund, you can file an appeal and try to recover the return shipping, other then that, there's not much you can do.

[m60driver]

At least in my old brick & mortar store I could call balderdash on the really bogus returns.  Then said customer might go complain on to Yelp where I was affectionately known as "Mr. Rude".

[luckythewinner · Accepted solution]

Why is the buyer always right

The buyer is always right because that outcome makes the most financial sense to eBay. 

When you agreed to sell on eBay you agreed to let eBay make the final decision on any dispute. And since eBay offers every buyer a money back guarantee, that means the buyer will be refunded - and that refund will come from either (a) eBay or (b) you the seller. Guess which one eBay chooses?

And because eBay has far too many sellers and items to support the current level of buying, eBay does not really care if you stop selling or not. If you leave, chances are that your buyers will simply purchase a similar item from a similar seller at a similar price.

[vexrun]

Basically, Seller Protection is a meaningless and misleading statement then, and it makes eBay unaffordable for small-time sellers like me then. I'm going to lose over $100 on this transaction alone between item not being new anymore, and shipping costs, all because an unscrupulous buyer decided to play with an expensive item for a bit and then return it. Shame on me for not realizing it sooner, back to Craigslist and Facebook buy-sell groups I guess...

[weschurch]

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@vexrun wrote:
Basically, Seller Protection is a meaningless and misleading statement then, and it makes eBay unaffordable for small-time sellers like me then. I'm going to lose over $100 on this transaction alone between item not being new anymore, and shipping costs, all because an unscrupulous buyer decided to play with an expensive item for a bit and then return it. Shame on me for not realizing it sooner, back to Craigslist and Facebook buy-sell groups I guess...

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Ebay has turned the system so one-sided its ridiculous.

The whole premise of Ebay deciding on an items condition in which they never at anytime actually see,  creates an environment ripe for fraud. 

[gramophone-georg]

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@weschurch wrote:

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@vexrun wrote:
Basically, Seller Protection is a meaningless and misleading statement then, and it makes eBay unaffordable for small-time sellers like me then. I'm going to lose over $100 on this transaction alone between item not being new anymore, and shipping costs, all because an unscrupulous buyer decided to play with an expensive item for a bit and then return it. Shame on me for not realizing it sooner, back to Craigslist and Facebook buy-sell groups I guess...

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Ebay has turned the system so one-sided its ridiculous.

The whole premise of Ebay deciding on an items condition in which they never at anytime actually see,  creates an environment ripe for fraud. 

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Actually, it created  an environment ripe for fraud from the get- go, and unfortunately it seems scammers have the run of the place now. Sad, really.

[castlemagicmemories]

I offer no returns, I explained that I tested the item prior to shipping, and that the software for the item is in beta stage, with known issues that developer is working on. 

I'm sorry but I didn't find a completed listing for you that actually had that information in the description?