eBay

ejetdriver7992 · ‎02-05-2021

Hello Everyone,

I am a new seller here. A buyer is not happy with the product I sold and wants a refund. I sold the item as used and he is still not happy. Is it better to issue a refund through PayPal ? I told him to send the item back and I will refund his money. The buyer has not opened up a claim yet on Ebay for return.

no_zero369 · ‎02-05-2021

I hate to say this but your best bet is to have the return/refund process done through eBay. Direct the buyer to the Resolution Center and have them follow the procedures. They can post here if they need help on the process.

DO NOT refund the buyer until the item is returned and in your hands. Period. Too many sellers do this thinking they are being nice and suffer a Maximum Loss. Once you refund the buyer without requiring a return, there is no way to force a buyer to ship the item back - you lose both the money and the item.

Sounds like you are on the right track when you told the buyer to return the item and you would refund! Too many new sellers "fight" returns/refunds. Per eBay policy you can always refuse a return, but you can't refuse a refund.

No point in refunding through PayPal - you will lose your FVFs if you do that. Plus using the eBay return process has a few SLIM seller protections.

Finally, I'd encourage you to take a gander at the Money Back Guarantee (MBG) {blue text is link}. I know it is a lot to take in so take it in pieces. Too many sellers get tripped up with returns because they don't understand the MBG. So a bit of time invested in that will help.

Of course many here are glad to help if things seem too opaque!

Good luck with your selling.

Anonymous · ‎02-05-2021

@no_zero369 wrote:

DO NOT refund the buyer until the item is returned and in your hands. Period.

This cannot be stressed enough.

Even on INRs, let the process work it's course. Do not issue premature refunds.

disneyshopper · ‎02-05-2021

Your No Returns policy is for buyer's remorse only: didn't like it, changed mind, doesn't fit, found it cheaper elsewhere. If the buyer selected any of those reasons, you can DECLINE the return, or you can accept and the buyer pays return shipping. If the buyer files Not as Described, you WILL accept the return and pay for the buyer's return shipping label. Once tracking shows DELIVERED back to you, you have 2 days to refund the buyer.

disneyshopper
Volunteer Community Member

monster-deals · ‎02-05-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
@no_zero369 wrote:

DO NOT refund the buyer until the item is returned and in your hands. Period.
This cannot be stressed enough.
Even on INRs, let the process work it's course. Do not issue premature refunds.

...and do not poke sleeping bears.

Offer refund upon return once and then let the buyer decide what to do next.

Do not message them over and over.

be_4101 · ‎02-05-2021

@monster-deals wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@no_zero369 wrote:

DO NOT refund the buyer until the item is returned and in your hands. Period.
This cannot be stressed enough.
Even on INRs, let the process work it's course. Do not issue premature refunds.
...and do not poke sleeping bears.

Offer refund upon return once and then let the buyer decide what to do next.

Do not message them over and over.

Again, this cannot be overstated:

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wait for the buyer to return the INR item they did not receive. Let the process work its course. Do not issue premature refunds.

bigdeals.etc · ‎02-05-2021

@be_4101 wrote:
@monster-deals wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@no_zero369 wrote:

DO NOT refund the buyer until the item is returned and in your hands. Period.
This cannot be stressed enough.
Even on INRs, let the process work it's course. Do not issue premature refunds.
...and do not poke sleeping bears.

Offer refund upon return once and then let the buyer decide what to do next.

Do not message them over and over.
Again, this cannot be overstated:

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS wait for the buyer to return the INR item they did not receive. Let the process work its course. Do not issue premature refunds.

When I first started selling (even up until a couple of years ago) I always thought this statement was pretty darn obvious. I mean it’s common sense, right? How can you honor a return for refund without the return? Are the squeaky wheels that much more persuasive these days or something?

Try going into Home Depot and get a refund for a drill you just bought... but tell them to refund you first and you’ll bring the drill over later. See what they say.