how do y'all do it?

[kemayli_0]

I have been selling on Ebay off and on for about 3 years now. Lately it seems less and less worth it. On top of all my regular Ebay tasks I seem to spend the majority of my time disputing refund requests.  My return rate is somewhere around 30%. 1 or 2 are my fault but the rest are definitely not. My most recent return request is from a buyer that claimed "missing parts". I sold a sun visor that didn't have a mirror in it and the listing description clearly states that and the pictures clearly show no mirror but now he has asked for a return. When I pointed all this out to him, he decided that it was the wrong part, and is going to get Ebay involved. I'm losing money on almost every sale now, because of these people. how do y"all deal with this? or is it just me?

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@kemayli_0 

Yeah,  car parts would be a tough category. Never sold them but I have bought car parts for my police car, 1960s mustang and one of my Chevy trucks on ebay. I looked at your descriptions and you might want to beef  them up a tad. 

     Try for example to state everything that the buyer will receive by bullet points. List how many screws, wires, bulbs etc and if buyer made sure that they checked part to see if it fits vehicle. ( I know it's listed at the top but just a reminder)

Also, point out where the part was obtained if used, a wreck,  personal auto etc.

    I know when I was buying parts to replace or for a restoration job, I looked and read everything the seller had in the description. 

     Hopefully some ideas I've given can be useful to you and best to you.

[iart]

Your opting to 'not accept returns' is a benefit to the BUYER. Most often, when eBay gets involved, they will allow the buyer to keep the item and refund them your money too.

We accept free returns and only get 1 or 2 a year (out of about 1500 sales).

[ckimodog]

Hi @kemayli_0 

 Sorry this is your situation.  If I could be suggestive....ebay offers all buyers a Money Back Guarantee.  It really doesn't matter if the buyer read the description or not.   You need to start accepting returns and pay for the labels as well.  This way, if the buyer may be looking for something for nothing (and not all buyers do) and they don't return the item within a specific time frame, you are not out the item AND the money.  No returns does not mean no refunds.  This is the way it is. Don't give up okay? Have a great evening.  

[duncanvr]

That is one of the hardest categories to sell in. I would change the stuff your selling to different items in another category. I have never had returns etc or problematic buyers in my category

[clemowbooks]

Do you have a No Returns policy?

Don't.

That is not a No Refunds policy and you can't refuse refunds anyway.

However, even if you have a No Returns policy you can demand the return before refunding.

Let the Games begin!

If the buyer demands a refund through a Message or email, tell him to return for a refund.

"I regret you are not happy with your purchase. Please return the Thing for a refund."

If he demands a partial refund, tell him toreturn for a refund.

"I regret you are not happy with your purchase. Please return the Thing for a refund."

If he opens a Not As Described claim,tell him to return for a refund.

"I regret you are not happy with your purchase. Please return the Thing for a refund."

Do this in the Claim, and be prepared to pay for return shipping.

If the buyer is just trying it on, he will not want to return a perfectly okay item. He wants both item and money.

If he really is unhappy, and sometimes the buyer actually is right, you are providing good customer service, at least until you Block him.

If he returns something that is NOT what you sent, you still refund, but you immediately appeal.

I would suggest using social media (never the subcontracted phone folks) for this.

https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en



https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/ — Message button in upper right on landing page.



https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851

But the big culprit is the No Returns policy.

That tells an honestly unhappy buyer that you are unwilling to consider problems.

It tells sketchey buyers that you don't understand the Money Back Guarantee.

"I regret you are not happy with your purchase. Please return the Thing for a refund."

[monroe67]

"[H]ow do y"all deal with this?  [O]r is it just me?"

I do not think it is "just you."   Some buyers are just jerks.   They will be jerks everywhere, from car parts stores to office supply stores to restaurants.  

I can only suggest the old advice: (1) to describe as if you had no photos to load, and (2) to add photos that show enough specifics that any description you might write could be disregarded.  

Sounds like you've had some difficult buyers.  I would hope that your photos and your description will save you in an eBay dispute about that visor without a mirror.   Some sellers have, in fact, won disputes such as this.   Crossing my fingers on your behalf.  

[skeletonstore]

The average buyer(like 95+ %)is using the thoroughly useless and misleading ebay mobile app.  If you offer something that has established expectations you must clarify any differences in the title line.  The title line is really only 1 of 3 things the buyer will see along with the 1st picture and the price. Description has always been an optional tab.  don't be afraid to clean up your titles to talk to the algorithm not the buyer.  The buyer looks at pictures and tries to prove they have more than one thumb which is already got carpal tunnel from scrolling for hours. A good percentage don't even know what they want or what they're looking for.  Get rid of any punctuation,  the, and, type words...talk caveman....the ebay algorithm is from the caveman movie and only understands grunts and groans.  Not everyone makes informed decisions.  The walmart return a pair of underwear mentality and amazon rob people to pay paul sell below cost mentality and deal only in extremely high volume is the rule of the day.  You really can only offset problems by increasing your volume which will increase your problems.  You have to not care,  take losses here and there and move on and do not procrastinate.  

[divwido]

It's what you sell.  Not how you sell it. 

I sell what people want.  They are usually very happy.

You sell what 'do it yourself' people think they need.  They are mostly sure, but not really, because they don't really know what they are doing.  They 'think' a part will be included when it isn't, or they 'think' that will fit their car when it does not.

My best advice, which you say you are doing, list brutally honest.  THERE IS NO MIRROR IN THE VISOR, THIS PART DOES NOT COME WITH ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS....  maybe even in  the title.  Try  to get what needs to be heard into the face of buyers.   And stop paying for returns if they are not your fault.  Make the policy large and obvious.  and it's not just you, it's the entire auto repair industry and parts houses.  Auto Zone's diagnose the issue here and we will sell you the parts is the devil.  Just made everything so much worse.  I'm so glad to be out of that business.

[divwido]

Keep plugging along.  It gets better.

Keep in mind, the more you say in the listing, the more you can argue with eBay when they want you to do a free return.  There's no such thing as being too thorough or detailed.  not on this website.

[inhawaii]

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@kemayli_0 wrote:

 On top of all my regular Ebay tasks I seem to spend the majority of my time disputing refund requests. 

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Majority of successful ebay sellers don't spend ANY time disputing returns/refunds.

They accept returns.

Did you know that about 50% of accepted returns don't get returned?

That means you win, nothing out of your  pocket.

[divwido]

every time I see a post of yours that song gets stuck in my head.

And yes, that is true, most people are too busy/lazy to return things.

[chapeau-noir]

I would switch to 30 days buyer pays returns - 'no returns' is just asking for trouble in some categories/markets.

[kemayli_0]

I did not know it was as high as 50% of accepted returns not getting returned, but I have had that happen too. Even still accepting returns for bogus reasons gets expensive. my last one ended up costing me $72 on an item I only sold for $65. That guy never even opened the box and told ebay it was damaged upon delivery.

[vannvo_0]

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@kemayli_0 wrote:

I have been selling on Ebay off and on for about 3 years now. 

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I take it seriously, it is for me a side income but it's no hobby, it's not just a little game I'm playing.
I treat it as I would a job, because to me that's what it is.

As far as the sun visor, never state what it is NOT (or what it does NOT have or does NOT do).

Simply don't mention it, because stating a visor has NO mirror will allow search engines to pick up on the key words and later a buyer searches for "visor with mirror" and your listing will come up in the search results because key words...

Buyers never read the description and even if you put it in the title, my advice again is never discuss something an item is NOT.