Ebay sellers

what would you do?
If someone is not satisfied with something you sold them(in my case a hair product) and they are requesting a refund, do you ask them to ship the product back to you and then you will issue a refund?
In the 4 years I've been selling, and holding 100% pos FB, I've had a few refunds. I have asked that the buyer send the item back at their expense and once received, will issue a refund(minus ebay/paypal fee). never a problem!
This person is stating that the product is not the same as what auction stated???, so she wants a full refund and for me to pay if I want the item back. I had NO idea that this item 'supposedly' is not the exact same thing as what my auction states (i.e. like it says 'therapy oil' in the auction or picture but the bottle only says 'oil') I sold the same product to another buyer and just got positive feedback.
what do you do?
tia & sorry so long

Message edited 4/1/2006 4:45:39 PM.

Re: Ebay sellers

I am going through somehting similar now. I just told them to mail it back and I would refund them the full cost.

Re: Ebay sellers

I would tell the person that your policy is to only issue a refund after the item has been returned to you. IMO that's fair and since others in the past have done the same it's not unreasonable. You have your feedback to support you as an honest seller. It's not a perfect example, but you wouldn't go into a store with the receipt, ask for the money and then bring back the merchandise.

I think it's a little fishy that she wants her money back but won't send the product back till she has the money.

Re: Ebay sellers

Have you tried offering her a partial refund and letting her keep the item? That is, if you think she in any way has a valid point about it not being the same item as you stated - sometimes that can work out better than the whole process of having it shipped back. If you want to relist it, I'd just pay the shipping and then refund her the $$. I dont see it making any sense for you to refund the $$ until you have the item back, but I'd definitely pay for shipping if it could be considered a different item than was stated in your listing - even if your intentions were not to misrepresent. 100% positive feedback is one of those things as a seller you really want to try to keep intact. Long after the transaction is over, negative feedback remains and you cant tell the story to all the future buyers out there. Unless shes out and out trying to scam you, which I'd handle entirely different, thats what I would do.

Then going forward, if you dont have it already, put a standard "return policy" in each listing you post. Thats what I do now. Its helpful if it ever comes down to a dispute being filed with ebay. You can show them that you made your policy clear beforehand.

Good luck. HTH

Re: Ebay sellers

If your auction says nothing regarding your "policy"..you can tell her just that, send it back for a full refund...she could have asked "questions" before bidding and winning.

Was there a true pic of the item in your ad? If there was, there is no disputing it...

BUT feedback is a weird thing on ebay, I would do anything I could to make sure I had good feedback, in the end, on a low selling item(cost wise) , would pay I think

And in future sales, put your refund policy in the ad to save yourself from this again ...

I feel for ya!

Re: Ebay sellers

for future reference definately state your return policy or that you dont accept returns in your listings - personally it sounds fishy to me - did you have a photo of the product in the listing ? if so she knew whats he was getting - was this an expensive haircare product?
i wouldnt refund without getting the product back unless the item totally isnt what it looked like in the photo or the description was purposefully misleading.
doing arbitration through ebay isnt so bad either. if it is only a dollar or two then refund the actual cost of the item. just be sure to add him or her to the blocked bidder list some people are chronic complainers and once they get a refund they keep going back ... they talk about these folks on the sellers forum all the time.
sorry you have to go through this

Re: Ebay sellers

thanks all
I told buyer I will refund cost of item-$17. She is still arguing for the FULL refund and for me to pay to ship it back. Ebay sometimes

Re: Ebay sellers

I never give the price of shipping back to the customer. If I need to give a refund, I would also want the customer to ship the item back, and they would be responsible for shipping.

I try to be really good with my customer service, because that is what keeps people coming back to you and recommending you to friends and family.

I recently Sold a cookbook to a woman in PA and it has been over a month and she never received it.

I gave her a choice, a full refund or a new book. She wanted a new book. So I bought it from my supplier and shipped it to her priority. I usually ship media for books, but not anymore. It takes between 15 and 30 days for a media item to get to its destination.

Anyway, she received the book within 2 days and she gave me excellent positive feedback
Scott

Re: Ebay sellers

Except for QVC, there is no online store that pays for return shipping or credits you before returning the item. Tell her you would be happy to issue a refund upon receipt of the item.