eBay

blizzard2 · ‎08-12-2020

Within minutes of delivery, buyer opened a case to return an item, saying there was something wrong with it. There was nothing wrong with the item when I shipped it! I sent the label via ebay, and the buyer immediately shipped it back. Received it today, and the item (an old toy car) is now broken. It was definitely not in this condition when I shipped it; was packaged well inside a box so it wouldn't have been damage from shipping.

Do I have any option other than to give the buyer a complete refund? (I don't offer free returns). I chatted with ebay, rep said I could do a partial refund through Paypal, and that if the buyer complained about the incomplete refund, they might refund him but it would come from ebay not my funds. This doesn't sound right to me, first as I don't offer free returns and it's my understanding that's the only way to qualify for the partial refund option. And second, there is an open ebay case, so doing any refund via Paypal, partial or not, wouldn't close out the ebay case, right? The chat rep basically said don't worry about it, that's how it's done. Just doesn't sound right to me!

Not even going to get into complaining how unfair this is to sellers -- buyers taking advantage of ebay's pro buyer policies! At this point, I just want to close this case before my 48 hours to take care of it are up! So, what exactly are my options and how do I proceed? (Going through ebay, I only see a "Refund the buyer" box to click, which I'm assuming will give them a 100% refund?)

dandfmarinesalvage · ‎08-12-2020

Unfortunately I think you are going to be stuck eating the full refund on this one. I have no idea why a CSR would tell you to send a partial thru paypal and that they'd take care of it. Ebay isn't going to eat any cost for you, that's for sure. I suspect rather than try and fight a losing battle and getting more frustrated. You may be better off just issuing the refund and being done with it. Could it have been damaged in transit though and was the package insured?

rebell45 · ‎08-12-2020

I chatted with ebay, rep said I could do a partial refund through Paypal, and that if the buyer complained about the incomplete refund, they might refund him but it would come from ebay not my funds.

Yeah, I don't understand why a CS rep would say that. But I've had them give me false information in the past.

____________________________________________________________
Never sell anything on eBay that you can't afford to lose.

simba6 · ‎08-12-2020

You can report the buyer. Enough reports and ebay will remove them from the buyer protection plan.

kensgiftshop · ‎08-12-2020

@blizzard2 wrote:
Within minutes of delivery, buyer opened a case to return an item, saying there was something wrong with it. There was nothing wrong with the item when I shipped it! I sent the label via ebay, and the buyer immediately shipped it back. Received it today, and the item (an old toy car) is now broken. It was definitely not in this condition when I shipped it; was packaged well inside a box so it wouldn't have been damage from shipping.

Is that the reason for the return, it was broke.

It might not have been broke when you shipped it, but that doesn't mean it won't be broke by the time the buyer receives it.

Have a great day.

mtgraves7984 · ‎08-12-2020

No Returns and no refunds are two different things.

And eBay C/S reps are notorious for giving bad advice. You just got a dose. YOU will end up footing the entire refund. It's best to go ahead and issue it. Nothing to save now besides your metrics.

Sorry this happened to you.

blizzard2 · ‎08-12-2020

Thanks for the helpful responses; it helped to confirm what I already thought and that it's only going to cause me more frustration and time to do anything but refund. Just for the record, no, this damage really couldn't have occurred after shipping. It's a heavy duty old steel toy car and was wrapped securely and mailed in a box; if parts were even loose at that time, I would have noticed. Even throwing the package on the ground couldn't have caused this damage. I strongly suspect the buyer did something to cause the damage, maybe from trying to get a part off to use on something else, but of course, there's no way to prove what happened! Buyer's feedback left for others shows they've complained many times before.

cream_couture · ‎08-13-2020

Since you have eBay's word in writing, I would do what they said (partial refund). If they don't follow through, I would show them what they said they would do and hold them to it.

I should mention if this had happened to me, I would of asked for pics, filed a shipping insurance claim and refunded the buyer. No matter how well you package things, it can absolutely be damaged in shipping. I start with the assumption that the buyer is telling the truth. I understand that you researched the buyer and think their history says they are a bad customer, but I personally wouldn't approach it that way.

uniwarehousewares · ‎08-13-2020

you no need to misguide the member here, ebay does pay from their pocket for buyers, even if seller deduct money. as a seller i have faced this situation several times, ebay will fund to buyers from their pocket when seller give resolution and when buyer appeal about it.