Return shipping cost

[dlpsales12]

Hello,

We have accepted a return and asked the buyer to ship back at our expense but the buyer did not consult us about the cost to return and decided to pay and this return is costly.

The buyer choose item not as described... as most of buyer they want to dodge the seller policies on return.

In this situation, we will refund the total cost including initial shipping cost but do we have to refund the full amount of this return shipping cost?

Ebay return section say's:
If you use alternative shipping arrangements, return shipping charges won't be included in any eBay Money Back Guarantee refunds, even if the seller agreed to pay return shipping charges. Learn more about the eBay Money Back Guarantee.

We do not want to be in trouble with claim or Ebay but we don't want to cover this return fee because the buyer did not inform us about the very costly return way he choosen.

Thanks,

[takikawa4]

@dlpsales12

If the buyer chose his own shipping and purchased the label, then you don't have to refund any of the return shipping cost.

[pjcdn2005]

The item was sent to China?  From North America, any shipping method to China with delivery confirmation is going to be fairly expensive so the price the buyer paid may not be out of line.  It would have been best if you had asked them to find out the cost before they sent the item back so that you would know whether or not it was worthwhile for them to send it back.

Technically, if the item is not as described, you should have sent the money for the return shipping ahead of time but the buyer is trusting that you will go through with your promise of paying return postage. I don't know if they could have sent the item for less or not, but since you didn't put any restrictions on the amount, is it fair that the buyer will be out of pocket?

[pjcdn2005]

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@takikawa4 wrote:

@dlpsales12

If the buyer chose his own shipping and purchased the label, then you don't have to refund any of the return shipping cost.

---

The buyer had to purchase their own label if they are in a different country than the seller.  

In that situation, it is up to the seller imo to find out the cost ahead of time.

[dlpsales12]

We are double checking this because we do not want a lightning strike from Ebay about this.
Even if we said the following to the buyer?

We will pay for the return
....
Please ask your local post office about the cost to return this item and send us a document showing the cost to return
....

[dlpsales12]

It is very confusing. Customer did not sent us a document of the cost prior to ship. He just ship and send the costing receipt after. Who is responsible, who is not, that's a debate...

[pjcdn2005]

The other poster is correct in that if the buyer pays for the postage ahead of time, ebay cannot force the seller to reimburse them however, overseas sellers are notorious for telling buyers that they will pay the postage when they get the item back and then just ignoring the buyer when they try to collect for postage. 

If you didn't specify that they tell you the shipping cost before you agree to pay it, then imo, it is up to you to pay for it.  I'm in Canada as well and if I have a return from the U.S I specify which service they should use to return the item. If I'm going to pay for the return, I want to pay $9.50 for first class rather than $30 for Priority. But if I didn't tell the buyer that and they sent it Priority, I would pay the $30 since I had already agreed to pay.  But that's me...as I said ebay can't force you to pay it.  I don't know the whole situation here but assuming that the buyer didn't ship a super expensive method, I feel bad for them if they are out the money. 

It looks like you are in Canada and drop shipping from China.  As you've already found out, this can cause problems because you have zero control of the quality of items that are being sent out yet is your reputation that gets hurts if the items are not as described.  Also, I would be very suspicious of any brand name electronics being sold directly from China as they are not always authentic.  

[dlpsales12]

It is very confusing. Customer did not sent us a document of the cost prior to ship. He just ship and send the costing receipt after. Who is responsible, who is not, that's a debate....

[pjcdn2005]

Did you ask them to confirm the cost before actually shipping?

[dlpsales12]

Yes, as said before:

Please ask your local post office about the cost to return this item and send us a document showing the cost to return.

[tina06457]

This is what happens when you drop ship and from China no less. Chinese sell garbage. No matter how it was shipped back it will cost a lot. If you keep selling this stull expect more and more returns. Pay your buyer, you owe him the money. He probably didn't realize he was buying from China.

[pjcdn2005]

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@dlpsales12 wrote:

Yes, as said before:

Please ask your local post office about the cost to return this item and send us a document showing the cost to return.

Unless there was more to the conversation that doesn’t specify that you must approve the price before the6 send it out.  I’ve learned from experience that you must be specific.

[kensgiftshop]

If they filed Not As Described, you're supposed to pay for the return shipping.

What you could have done is looked up to see how much it was going to cost to send it back to China and sent the buyer the money through Pay Pal to cover the shipping.