No Restock Fee Option Forces Free-Labor

[bmajormusicstore]

I am really sick of eBay forcing terms on us instead of making things optional. Now they have force taken away the restock fee option. If a buyer didn't want to buy from someone who had a restock fee, they always had that option. More freedom and choice is always a good thing. 

I have a restock fee becasue I pay employees to go pick up an item, plug in and fully test and inspect it to make sure no damage or problems has happened while it's been open to public on sales floor. Then fully wrap up this item and pack it. Take it to the carrier to mailed off. If it is returned for buyers remorse I have to again pay my employee and have them take time away from normal productive task to unpack the item, again fully plug in and test the item and return to sales floor. I've wasted time on the clock and gas to deliver to carrier for nothing.

Not only am I taking away from productive time the employee could be moving us forward in sales, but I am paying for them to do all of this out of my pocket. Basically eBay has made the option where buyers can force tie up all of my employee time doing things that are not productive and a loss for me as a business. This is totally ridiculous and I should have the choice of what I do as a seller. I'm very close to saying goodbye to eBay because of less freedom and continued force changes that are bad for us the seller. There are other online portals to sell items. It's so disrespectful that we don't have the option to have a restock fee, which the seller is clearly made aware of, and eBay is telling us as a business with employees to waste our resources and pay for the return when a buyer just decided they changed their mind, or if you do not have employees they are telling you to waste your time because your time is not valuable like you don't have to take away from other things to deal with that. 

It's such a bad policy. The only remedy I know of is to up the shipping rates on all of my customers so they all pay for the person who decides they really didn't want it after they bought it. That's not fair to everyone else. This whole policy is forcing a lose situation for the seller. It's unfair to ask the seller to hire or work for free. That is bad business on eBays part.  

[bonjourami]

Too many sellers abused the restock fee..so the fees have a reputation of being a rip off here.Im sure thats what was behind Ebays stopping that practice.

[mam98031]

I  haven't read that announced from ebay.   Where did you read that from ebay, not another poster?  The announcement I read from ebay stated it was to bring us more in line with industry standards.

[mam98031]

BTW restocking fees could only be charged on buyer remorse request.  Sellers have never been able to apply them to SNAD returns.  So exactly how were sellers abusing the fee?

[monster-deals]

---

---

ebay says a lot of things.

How on earth they can fundementally mis-understand that ebay has 1000s different industries with about a 1000 different standards but yet could enforce one is beyond me.

...not to mention that it isn't an industry standard no matter how many times an ebay rep says so

You would think that to be able to succesfully run ebay you would be a requirement to have actual working knowledge of what it is

[cprparts2u15]

exactly!

[cprparts2u15]

The restocking fee was about the only thing that made up for the "free shipping" and returns I was offering on listings. Buyers remorse returns would end up costing me the original shipping charge, but it kept down the "not as described" cases that were opened falsely. The restocking fee helped make up for the original shipping cost, and the buyer paid their return shipping as they should!

Now we are told we should offer FREE returns as well, and there are now NO options for restocking fees.
Its like eBay is giving a big ole " * you" to their sellers.

Now I don't offer free shipping, or returns. Business is a little slower but its worth it to me being in the electronics resale business - high cost items.

[bonjourami]

There were many many complaints on the boards thru the years of sellers charging a restocking fee on snad returns, subtracting the restocking fee from the buyer's refund..thats what I meant by abuse.

[monster-deals]

---

@bonjourami wrote:

There were many many complaints on the boards thru the years of sellers charging a restocking fee on snad returns, subtracting the restocking fee from the buyer's refund..thats what I meant by abuse.

---

Then ebay can track that just like they can track anything else based on the sellers history vs the buyers history.

They have all of the relevant information but choose to not use any of it for a reason that is not disclosed to us peasants

[mam98031]

---

@cprparts2u15 wrote:
The restocking fee was about the only thing that made up for the "free shipping" and returns I was offering on listings. Buyers remorse returns would end up costing me the original shipping charge, but it kept down the "not as described" cases that were opened falsely. The restocking fee helped make up for the original shipping cost, and the buyer paid their return shipping as they should!

Now we are told we should offer FREE returns as well, and there are now NO options for restocking fees.
Its like eBay is giving a big ole " * you" to their sellers.

Now I don't offer free shipping, or returns. Business is a little slower but its worth it to me being in the electronics resale business - high cost items.

---

Free returns is not that bad of a policy.  It is the same policy available to sellers for years, with a new added benefit of the ability to do partial refunds on SNADs.  But free returns = a 30 or 60 day return policy with seller pays shipping.

This enables sellers to reduce the refund by up to 50% with some protections from Ebay for certain things.  So if your buyer files a false SNAD, one that should have been a Buyer's Remorse Request, the seller can withhold original shipping and what they paid for the return shipping if the seller chooses to.

Each seller just needs to learn about all the options and then decide what is best for their business.  There is no right or wrong answer here.  For some Free Returns will be very good and others it won't.

[mam98031]

---

@bonjourami wrote:

There were many many complaints on the boards thru the years of sellers charging a restocking fee on snad returns, subtracting the restocking fee from the buyer's refund..thats what I meant by abuse.

---

There would have to be more to it as Ebay has NEVER allowed sellers to reduce a refund on a SNAD for a restocking fee.  Maybe some of those complaining did not realize they opened a BR request and/or assumed they opened a SNAD when they did not.  I don't know, we'd have to see the details of the cases.

[monster-deals]

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

So if your buyer files a false SNAD, one that should have been a Buyer's Remorse Request, the seller can withhold original shipping and what they paid for the return shipping if the seller chooses to.

---

Actualy it is only for returns that arrive in a different condition. Ebay will not back up false SNADs partial refunds.

[mam98031]

---

@monster-deals wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

So if your buyer files a false SNAD, one that should have been a Buyer's Remorse Request, the seller can withhold original shipping and what they paid for the return shipping if the seller chooses to.

---

Actualy it is only for returns that arrive in a different condition. Ebay will not back up false SNADs partial refunds.

---

Then your experience is completely different than I've experienced.  Back when you could charge a restocking fee, the ONLY time you could charge one was if the buyer actually filed a Buyer Remorse Rquest for Return.

With a SNAD of any kind, rightfully filed or wrongfully filed, the mere fact it is a SNAD prevented the ability to charge a restocking fee on Ebay.

[robot-hands]

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

@monster-deals wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

So if your buyer files a false SNAD, one that should have been a Buyer's Remorse Request, the seller can withhold original shipping and what they paid for the return shipping if the seller chooses to.

---

Actualy it is only for returns that arrive in a different condition. Ebay will not back up false SNADs partial refunds.

---

Then your experience is completely different than I've experienced.  Back when you could charge a restocking fee, the ONLY time you could charge one was if the buyer actually filed a Buyer Remorse Rquest for Return.

With a SNAD of any kind, rightfully filed or wrongfully filed, the mere fact it is a SNAD prevented the ability to charge a restocking fee on Ebay.

---

That's the old way certainly. Beta returns allowed for adjustment as does Free Returns.

[mam98031]

---

@robot-hands wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

@monster-deals wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

So if your buyer files a false SNAD, one that should have been a Buyer's Remorse Request, the seller can withhold original shipping and what they paid for the return shipping if the seller chooses to.

---

Actualy it is only for returns that arrive in a different condition. Ebay will not back up false SNADs partial refunds.

---

Then your experience is completely different than I've experienced.  Back when you could charge a restocking fee, the ONLY time you could charge one was if the buyer actually filed a Buyer Remorse Rquest for Return.

With a SNAD of any kind, rightfully filed or wrongfully filed, the mere fact it is a SNAD prevented the ability to charge a restocking fee on Ebay.

---

That's the old way certainly. Beta returns allowed for adjustment as does Free Returns.

---

That isn't the same thing as was being discussed.  It was specific to Restocking Fees.

Partial refunds for any other reason than specifically Restocking Fees is different.  Restocking Fees use to be an option and carried a specific percentage decided upon by the seller and was stated in the Return Policy of that seller.

If what monster-deals meant to say was that sellers were issuing partial refunds because they were disguising restocking fees by doing the partial refunds, that is different.  The OP was clearly talking about the option of restocking fees being taken away.