one more shipping cost question

[emdarling]

I sold a lot of plastic VHS cases.   They went for $15 but cost a lot to ship over $18.   I am helping my friend clean out her mother's house and found so many unopened VHS movies that we are listing.  We also found VHS tapes she recorded herself and stored in these boxes, so we are selling the storage boxes.  The buyer claims "ordered by mistake" and "Cases are bigger than I needed and in poorer shape than I expected!" and wants a refund.   I quesiton that to myself since VHS tapes?  I thought VHS tapes are all the same size, and they were listed as used but all hinges and closing tabs worked.    It wasn't a great photo in my listing of the lot (just them in a box), so I accepted the return.   

So give me the bad news - I am definately giving the $15 refund for the item.   Do I have to refund original shipping cost AND the cost to ship it back.    I didn't issue a label, I just accepted the return and was notified it was being returned.   Also what fees are refunded?   My listing states no returns, but I know I can sell this again with another 30 day listing so thought I would accept the return to avoid negative feedback.

I assume I will have to eat one of the postage costs, but both means I lose more than twice the cost of the item!   Live and Learn.

[johnrj1226 · Accepted solution]

1. Yes all VHS tapes & cases are the same size length & width and thickness for a single VHS tape - some cases that hold two tapes are about twice as thick (not very common).  I have had VHS tapes and made recordings since the early 1980 and bought blanks tapes as late as early 2000 - still have  a couple VHS players

2.  As long as the buyer has not opened a "Item Not As Described" case against but has opened a  buyers remorse case like "wrong size/doesn't fit" you are not responsible for the return shipping and have the option to refund the original shipping  charge paid by the buyer.

3.  Once your receive the purchase  back and you refund  your buyer in a timely manner eBay will close the  case, assuming you receive it back in good shape, eBay will refund your FVF and PayPal their fees except the 30 cent transaction fee.  If you have issues with the return -be  professional in communications with your buyer 'cause if they get upset and escalate you will lose.  eBay want sellers & buyers to settle issues w/o eBay getting involved.    My advise is "When in doubt do what  is right."

4.  Suggest you  read the eBay Money Back Guarantee - go to the Help and Contact tab on the top left  of your Seller Hub Overview page and type in the search word eBay Money Back  Guarantee in the  search bar.

5.  Just a couple suggestions for the future

a.) A no return  policy may cause you more issues than you want - ditch it.  No returns never means no refunds & the buyer may get to keep the item.

b.)  It is always a good idea to provide physical size dimensions -  whether you are selling a rock, clothing footwear, etc.  It is hard for buyer to relate to the size from the pics provided in a listing - also over the years I have  found my self talking  about a VRS tape and called it a cassette adn vice versa - "after all I am just a man"

[juststuffisell]

Yeah....you are probably going to have to eat it all.

[penguins_dont_fly]

@emdarling

"Ordered by Mistake" is a Buyers Remorse reason.  (The reason code is what matters, not what's in the comments)

Your buyer should be paying for the return label, unless you offer free returns (and you don't)

Just for reference, these are the reasons that eBay gives to a buyer in the dropdown return menu: (pink are SNAD, black are remorse)

Doesn't fit
Changed my mind
Found a better price
Just didn't like it
Ordered by mistake
Doesn't work or defective
Doesn't match description or photos
Wrong item sent
Missing parts or pieces
Arrived damaged
Doesn't seem authentic

[emdarling]

Thanks everyone.  I received the return today and the buyer paid $25 to return!!!!!   Yikes.    If it was me, I would have resold it myself and hoped to break even.

I will refund the postage for the original sale and eat that cost, and hope that ends it.   I hate returning online shopping merchandise because of the return cost, but awknoweldge that is the cost of changing my mind.  I hope the buyer sees it like that.

I will take the advice to measure the cases when I relist them.   Because most of my items are so low cost, I don't do returns.  I will have to revisit that for items that cost more than my usual listings.

[mansons2005]

And just to toss in some COMPLETELY irrelevant stuff - measurements are very helpful in this instance as the buyer may NOT want them for actual VHS cassettes but to re-purpose them for another item such as small collectibles OR for shipping a custom made/craft item (as I have done in the past).

[sam9876]

How much money did you lose?

[emdarling]

Lost the original shipping which was about $17. My return screen only said to return the original cost, $15, but I checked the box to add the original shipping in order to avoid any negative reviews.

I am going to separate these into smaller lots, since they are expensive to ship. I am not a store, so I don't do free shipping. I had a few watchers on a different listing of these same items that just ended, but no buyers and I expect the shipping is too much. I definitely will put in the measurements when I relist. Good to know people may use them for packing, so smaller lots may work better.