mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
I sold an item with free shipping. The item sold for $25, and $7.20 of that went towards shipping (purchasing a label through eBay).
The buyer now wants to return the item, which is fine- I offer money-back returns, which means I will need to refund the buyer the full $25.. does that mean I am completely out the $7.20 that went towards shipping??
YEP!
If so, wouldn't it make more sense to charge the buyer for shipping, so that way, if there are any returns, the buyer would only need to be refunded the amount for the item, and the seller doesn't have a negative balance on an item??
Ebay isn't going to allow you to do that. If the Request for Return is opened for a Buyer's Remorse reason, Ebay will allow you to withhold your original shipping amount if you state your S&H separately on the listing [no free shipping] and you can have the buyer pay for return shipping.
This is NOT true if the Request for Return is a SNAD. Ebay will make the seller pay for the return shipping and you will not be able to withhold the original shipping from the refund.
However if you choose to participate in the new return program called Free Returns, you can withhold up to 50% from a refund with cause. Cause being there was damage to the product or it was in new condition and they used it, which of course makes it a used item. You can find more on the Free Returns program in the link below.
https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2018-spring/simplified-returns.html
