It doesn't matter what your return policy is. If the buyer wants a free return, he will get it. Buyers will lie, and eBay will simply say "The buyer says it doesn't work." Or, "He said it doesn't match the listing's description." They won't accept the sellers word, or any evidence from outside of eBay. Doesn't matter if you have 500,000 completed transactions, or 100% positive FB. Before the new auto accept policy, I could sometimes get a buyer to acknowledge they were unsure if the item I sold them was defective, or their part (I sell TV parts) was doing the same as mine, and then I could usually win a case. Now I have no leverage. The return is instantly accepted and many don't even respond to my questions. Since eBay is going to charge an extra 4% for sellers with high SNAD rates, which is probably every seller in my category, I finally just switched to free returns on all electronic parts. I actually have to tape a note on them advising that returns are free and asking that they don't claim an item is defective if they aren't 100% sure it is, or they will still claim defective thinking they have to for a free return. It's been effective. I don't really have any more returns than I had before, but I have about 80% less claiming SNAD. From a business standpoint, I understand eBay's policies. An upset (not my first choice of words) buyer may never buy here again, and they can't make anymore money from him. An upset seller who actually earns his living here will get over it, because he actually does earn a living here. And the sellers who do actually leave, there's millions more waiting to replace them.
