Buyer wanting to return item after 3 weeks of having it

[lisalou_38]

So a buyer wants to return an item after 3 weeks of having it claims it was not as described. But it clearly was described in the ad. Ebay won't help me, they are more on the buyers side and I am frustrated. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what can I do about this.

[orangehound]

Sorry, but you have to accept the item back.   Fighting the buyer or the eBay system will just give you heartburn ... under the Money Back Guarantee, a buyer has 30 days to inspect the item and request a return/refund if it is not as described in their opinion (their opinion is all that matters).

1. The eBay system has probably already accepted the return for you.
2. Wait to get it back.
3. When you receive it back, refund the buyer's money.
4. At this point, if you want to argue that the buyer was lying or that the buyer damaged the item, then you can call eBay and make your case ... they may do nothing, or they may give you a courtesy refund for return shipping.
5. If you feel the buyer abused the Money Back Guarantee, please report the buyer.  There is a "report buyer" option on the drop down menu beside the purchased item on your orders page.

[missjen831]

Orangehound is right. The buyer has 30 days to file a return request with eBay and 180 days from the date of payment to file with PayPal. You have to accept the return.

[siamdao]

Refund the money, move forward.  They will either a) not ship it back or b) ship it back.  We have got to the point where any excess in shipping fees (sometimes a dollar and a bit per item, sometimes less) is put aside as 'insurance'.  We sell about 100 items a month.  There has not been a month this year where we haven't used it to deal with irrational buyers, remorse purchases, partial refund scams and returns that have never been shipped back.  The one time we insisted the buyer ship back an item before we issued a refund was a nightmare--I could fill a book with the nonsense that was generated.   I can assure you that eBay will almost always side with the buyer if a dispute is opened.

[missjen831]

---

@siamdao wrote:

Refund the money, move forward.  They will either a) not ship it back or b) ship it back.  We have got to the point where any excess in shipping fees (sometimes a dollar and a bit per item, sometimes less) is put aside as 'insurance'.  We sell about 100 items a month.  There has not been a month this year where we haven't used it to deal with irrational buyers, remorse purchases, partial refund scams and returns that have never been shipped back.  The one time we insisted the buyer ship back an item before we issued a refund was a nightmare--I could fill a book with the nonsense that was generated.   I can assure you that eBay will almost always side with the buyer if a dispute is opened.

---

Please don’t refund the money. Refunds are to be issued AFTER the item is returned!

[myboardid]

Ditto what Jen said - do NOT, NOT, NOT refund the money until you get the item back.  The seller's experience that it was a nightmare when he insisted on a return first is NOT the way it usually goes. 

When a scammer insists on a refund without a return, that is the time to be the most insistant on getting the item back first.  And anyone who fights for a refund first is always a scammer. 

[monster-deals]

If they haven't opened a case you might ride them out and then they have to pay to ship it back by going to paypal....or they may not

Tell them to return it, give them a return address and they may just return it on their own.

If they have opened a case, you just have to take one for the team.