Seller wants me to return after she ignored return request

[simoncher]

Hi I bought a pair of shoes. They arrived and were not as described. The seller agreed and said in a message 'return them'.

I started the return request and bugged seller to respond, but she never did.

After her window expired I contacted eBay who closed the case in my favor and issued me a refund.

Suddenly the buyer is contacting me asking me to return the item. What are my rights here? I think she intentionally is trying to get out paying for return shipping.

Thanks all!

[orangehound · Accepted solution]

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@simoncher wrote:

I started the return request and bugged seller to respond, but she never did.

After her window expired I contacted eBay who closed the case in my favor and issued me a refund.

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If this is a domestic return for a Not as Described item, you should have been provided a free return label for the shoes, and you should not have been refunded until the shoes were delivered.

So, I'm assuming that this is an international return ... in this case, the seller has to provide you with a return label OR the seller has to provide you money for the return label.

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Suddenly the buyer is contacting me asking me to return the item. What are my rights here? I think she intentionally is trying to get out paying for return shipping.

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On eBay, once a return is refunded, they consider the matter settled and you can keep the item.  However, I think ethically you should return the shoes if the seller provides you with a return label or gives you money to purchase the return postage.  

Your response to the seller might be something like "I am happy to return these shoes to you once you provide me with a return shipping label, or $X.XX to my PayPal account to cover return postage.  On eBay, if an item is not as described, the seller is responsible for return shipping."

[simoncher]

Thanks for your reply.

It is a domestic order. 

eBay issued me a refund because the seller was not responsive. There was no shipping form provided - where would I check that?

[orangehound]

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@simoncher wrote:

eBay issued me a refund because the seller was not responsive. There was no shipping form provided - where would I check that?

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When you request a domestic return for a Not as Described reason, eBay typically provides you with a return shipping label ... but, in some listing configurations (e.g., replacements available or a No Returns Policy), the seller has to manually indicate if they want the item returned or not.  If the seller does not indicate a decision within about 48 hours, then eBay can step in and approve the refund.

I'm guessing this is what happened.

(A lot of sellers do not understand how to navigate returns, particularly when they have a "no returns" policy ... it is confusing).

[monster-deals]

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@simoncher wrote:

Hi I bought a pair of shoes. They arrived and were not as described. The seller agreed and said in a message 'return them'.

I started the return request and bugged seller to respond, but she never did.

After her window expired I contacted eBay who closed the case in my favor and issued me a refund.

Suddenly the buyer is contacting me asking me to return the item. What are my rights here? I think she intentionally is trying to get out paying for return shipping.

Thanks all!

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Rights?

There is nothing to do but tell the seller to pound sand.

[lightlily_arts]

I encourage people to do what is morally ethical.  If the seller wants the shoes returned they should provide you with a return shipping label. If they are unwilling to pay for the return shipping label then you don't need to do anything.

[lightlily_arts]

I don't know who your seller is or how long they have been on eBay.  Nonetheless, if you are wiling to work with your seller they can send you money  via Paypal to purchase a  shipping label if they don't know how to print one.  The way I send return labels is to print another label from  the purchase.  But I have to scan it as a PDF file and email it to them.  If they don't have access to the buyer's email address then they have to send it as a JPEG  through eBay's messaging system, but you have to resize it.

[mkaczorsee]

Ethically, I would return the shoes. 

[jeannicho22]

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@simoncher wrote:

Hi I bought a pair of shoes. They arrived and were not as described. The seller agreed and said in a message 'return them'.

I started the return request and bugged seller to respond, but she never did.

After her window expired I contacted eBay who closed the case in my favor and issued me a refund.

Suddenly the buyer is contacting me asking me to return the item. What are my rights here? I think she intentionally is trying to get out paying for return shipping.

Thanks all!

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What are your obligations?  Not a darn thing.  As far as eBay is concerned, the issue is over.  Since I'm certain you do not really want to be unjustly enriched though, you may give the seller one more chance.  Tell them they can either send you a return shipping label or you will price return shipping and they can PayPal you that amount.  I would give her a deadline and let her know that once the deadline has passed, you will be donating the shoes to charity... case closed.

[jeannicho22]

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@mkaczorsee wrote:

Ethically, I would return the shoes. 

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Sure, but on whose dime.  I certainly wouldn't pay out of pocket to return them.  Not my dealio.  If the seller doesn't want them back badly enough to pay to have them returned, it isn't up to the OP to chase them down the street trying to get them to take them back.

[lightlily_arts]

I agree ethically that the buyer should return the shoes, but the seller should pay for the return shipping label.  I also agree with another poster who stated that the buyer should give their seller a deadline to complete the task as they don't have any obligation to do so as the case has been closed.   I'm not particularly  impressed with the lack of moral compass our society demonstrates these days.

[jeannicho22]

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@lightlily_arts wrote:

I agree ethically that the buyer should return the shoes, but the seller should pay for the return shipping label.  I also agree with another poster who stated that the buyer should give their seller a deadline to complete the task as they don't have any obligation to do so as the case has been closed.   I'm not particularly  impressed with the lack of moral compass our society demonstrates these days.

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We've had a few posts of this sort lately where one side is unjustly enriched by the deeds of the other.  I found it interesting how the attitudes differ depending on whether the one with all the marbles is a buyer or a seller.  When it is a seller, the attitude seems to be... stupid buyer, they missed out and you have no obligation to them.  When it is a buyer, some posters actually went as far as calling the buyer with all the marbles a scammer and a thief.  I guess I don't really see any difference between the two.  IMHO, whoever has all the marbles should make an attempt to make things right.  On the other hand, as posted earlier, the one with all the marbles shouldn't have to chase their trading partner down the street yelling at them to come get their stuff.

[lightlily_arts]

The original post was the buyer questioning her rights in the situation. That was already resolved as the case closed in her favor as she got both the shoes and her money. The seller finally contacted the buyer and asked to get her shoes back. If the seller will pay for the return shipping then I believe the buyer should return the shoes because that is the honest thing to do.   The buyer is not chasing the seller down at this point.  I just believe that both parties should do the ethical thing in any transaction and set the stage for it to happen.