If you offer seller free returns, you are able to deduct up to 50% (you must follow eBay's partial refund amount guidelines for seller free returns) from the return if returned in a different condition. You do have to offer seller free returns and accept returns for whatever reason, but it protects you with items that have high return and fraudulent return rate. In the event that a completely different item is returned, eBay may fully reimburse you as well, based on the information provided and you also have to sign a declaration with eBay. Because we sell electronics, we have to offer seller free returns as there are far too many buyers that send back cracked or damaged items and we cannot afford to take thousands of dollars in losses per month in returns for items that are returned damaged. So we utilize this to protect ourselves. Sure it's not for every item or category, as well as you must follow the rules and not abuse the policy, but it does protect you a great deal from taking a 100% loss on something, especially if you sell higher value items. Also, if you have to utilize the partial refund tool for seller free returns, buyer feedback and other defects will be removed. Again, though, you must follow the policy and guidelines. We always call customer support to document the returns affected, additionally so that it is documented on eBay's end, in case there is a system error and something is flagged or called into question.
