10-26-2018 05:53 PM
I had a very long conversation with an eBay representative today and could not get to the bottom of this question. I'm curious to hear from both buyers and sellers regarding this question.
Q: Who is obligated to pay for original shipping costs on returns, in the case of buyer's remorse, given the particular details below?
Here are the details:
So, what do you all think, should the seller or buyer cover the original shipping refund in my case? And why? Please include policy links if you have them.
Thanks,
Mike
10-30-2018 03:07 PM
@fishrivers wrote:"Until the last few posts, the "crux" of the thread was your believe that the seller accepts all returns did not mean you had to pay return shipping. Then you questioned about the original shipping."
Sorry, that is not correct:
- I questioned "original shipping" in title of thread and original post! And,
- I questioned "who is obligated?" under a very specific set of conditions. You've omitted 3 of 4 in your reference.
- Also, I had not formed any such a belief (as is clear from my original post and all of my replies).
- I've been trying to get to the bottom of the original question and have been trying to articulate how there is demonstratable room for misinterpretation, given the seller's listing details combined with ebay's vague and circular policy references as shown to buyers. I believe I succeeded in this last point.
And by the way the "bleep" insertion by ebay on one of my posts, was for a PG word for astonishment. No more extraordinary than "whoa".
I'm fine closing this thread. Though, I prefer not to be misrepresented and misquoted.
Thanks,
M.
OK
10-30-2018 03:16 PM
Sorry to get a little frustrated. I appreciate you resolved this issue in message 36.
I'm including one final comment though because this has come up again many times. I'd like to clarify (has been a common misunderstanding....
You wrote:
"But I honestly don't know why someone would expect someone else to pay for their mistake. Returns cost a seller money that goes beyond the actual shipping costs."
I've already responded to this same type of comment earlier. This is a misunderstanding of my position. My position has always been that the listing was sufficiently confusing such that I honestly believed (incorrectly) that that was the offering being made the seller. Just as some sellers offer free shipping at the same risk to profits. I didn't question what is motivating seller or why he/she might offer to take such a risk. I simply believed (at the time), that was the seller's position. Period. That the seller was presenting me with an offer to assume this risk (to cover original shipping) by his listing, as it was worded and presented, given all the factors I've listed. If that confusion can happen to me, it can happen to other buyers out there, and it will.
Thanks again for everyone's responses.
The issue is resolved in message 36 by MAM98031
Thank you!
M.
10-31-2018 02:40 AM
Simple answer, if you bought something from a store and return it because you changed your mind do they offer to cover your gas / parking fees / time ? Seller did what you asked of him, shipped the item, When you make a purchase you instruct the seller on your behalf to use the Postal service advertized, the seller no longer has that money, the service you paid for was carried out when your item was delivered, really do not understand why you think this should be refunded, I'm yet to walk into any postal service that let's me send my packages with no charge.
11-12-2018 02:52 PM
Check again, the policy changed and free shipping is paid by the seller even with admitted buyer remorse, They get 100% refund as of the 21st. I got burned on a large ground shipped item, it is in the new policy updates. Change anything you are not willing to eat the original shipping cost on or suffer the concequences of buyers actually getting "free shipping" for them and you having zero recourse for getting a partial refund. Along with the need to cancel notificaitons or get a daily barrage of eBay top seller recomendations and links to automatically change all calculated shipping to "free shipping" just to get a discount that in no way makes up for the difference in the cost of shipping losses. Some suggest restocking fees, but I would expect that would increase false SNAD and defenitely negetave feedback.
11-12-2018 03:11 PM
Check again, the policy changed and free shipping is paid by the seller even with admitted buyer remorse, They get 100% refund as of the 21st.
That isn't new. When offering Free Shipping, even on a buyer's remorse return we couldn't deduct original shipping through the claim on Ebay.
Along with the need to cancel notificaitons or get a daily barrage of eBay top seller recomendations and links to automatically change all calculated shipping to "free shipping" just to get a discount that in no way makes up for the difference in the cost of shipping losses.
"Recommendations" are not requirements, they are as stated "recommendations". You do NOT have to do a recommendation to acquire any discount on Ebay. It appears you are talking about the TRS 10% discount aka TRS+.
For a seller's listing to qualify for TRS+, it must adhere to the following:
1. You must be a TRS seller.
2. Your listing must offer Free Returns [30 or 60 day return policy w/ seller pays shipping]
3. Your listing must have a handling time of 0-1 days.
You can be TRS without having a single listing qualifying for TRS+. The discount isn't that big of a deal anymore. I've chose not to do the Free returns so none of my listings are TRS+ any longer. The $10 savings on every $1,000 worth of sales isn't important enough to me, so I made the decision to drop TRS+.
Some suggest restocking fees, but I would expect that would increase false SNAD and defenitely negetave feedback.
Whomever suggested that to you is wrong. Ebay no longer allows restocking fees as of June 2018. It is not an option for anyone.
11-12-2018 05:09 PM
When viewing this from a buyer's perspective, I kind of understand why he may have been confused.
Buyers shouldn't have to dig for explanation of policies. Buyers just wanna buy, not stay abreast of the latest seller policy updates. It's eBay's responsibility to have this info accessible without needing to leave the item's page, call support or post in a forum.
I'm viewing this as if it's my first time visiting eBay.
"Seller accepts all returns."
That seller should omit this from their listing. All sellers that accept returns, accept for any reason (even if they disagree).
The buyer sees this as "if you don't like it return it. No questions, no risk, money back! Just pay return shipping".
Money back... all of it or just item cost?
11-12-2018 11:22 PM
11-12-2018 11:35 PM - edited 11-12-2018 11:37 PM
yes, thanks (I'm aware).
My intent was siding with the OP, but I just re-read my post and it doesn't come across that way.
Apologies for the confusion. Putting thoughts into text isn't one of my strong points.
11-13-2018 03:03 AM
@fishrivers wrote:Please note, this forum thread is in regards to the question of "original shipping" costs only. Thanks.
Same response applies.
11-13-2018 03:30 AM
I must agree with you. If I was the buyer & it says buyer pay's return shipping. I would think I would be paying only the return shipping. Not the shipping to my location.
I offer free shipping on my items & if this is the case, I need to start charging shipping.
11-13-2018 09:52 AM
@grayirongolf wrote:I must agree with you. If I was the buyer & it says buyer pay's return shipping. I would think I would be paying only the return shipping. Not the shipping to my location.
I offer free shipping on my items & if this is the case, I need to start charging shipping.
Why? The buyer knows they paid for original shipping. Why do they need to be told again that they paid original shipping? All buyers do whether it is included in the price [free shipping] or stated separately.
So you think the return policy should say buyer pays original shipping and return shipping???
Why do buyers that return something for a buyer remorse reason expect sellers to pay any shipping at all? What mistake did the seller make? Why should your mistake cost the seller real money? Certainly as a buyer you would not expect that a seller mistake would cost you [the buyer] any money! It is doubtful you would stand for that!
11-13-2018 10:29 AM
Why? Because it just says Money Back, it does'nt say Money Back Less Shipping.
11-13-2018 10:34 AM
@grayirongolf wrote:Why? Because it just says Money Back, it does'nt say Money Back Less Shipping.
Yes, because you do get money back. It doesn't say 100% refund. It is money back instead of exchange or some other method of satisfying the transaction.
This isn't a new thing. It has been this way for years and years and years.
It is however unfortuntate that Ebay no longer allows a seller to further explain their return policy on the listings. Ebay took our ability to do that away and that could be adding to some peoples confusion. However with that said, I personally have never expected others to pay for my mistake, but that is just me. I can see from this threads that there are some that do not feel that way.
11-13-2018 10:38 AM
@grayirongolf wrote:Why? Because it just says Money Back, it does'nt say Money Back Less Shipping.
So you buy something at Walmart, get it home and decide you don't like it.
Walmart should pay for your original trip to purchase the item?
11-13-2018 10:48 AM
I can see a buyer getting confused about this. From a buyers perspective, the buyer probably thinks. I'll return the item & I get all the money I orginally paid returned. Thats the way it appears to me when I look at it.
& when they don't get all the money they feel scammed because they paid 2 way shipping.