Ebay advice needed please

Tiger_greeneyes

I recently bought a ring through ebay which was advertised as a size 6 (American sizes) which I knew would be too small for me but I was planning to have it resized. When I got the ring, I decided it wasn't what I was looking for and relisted it exactly as it was listed when I bought it, but added a fair bit more detail so that whoever was buying it would know the exact condition.

I was honest on the listing - I said I'd bought the ring as a size 6 but as I know nothing about sizes, I'm relisting it as the same size.

One lady asked loads of questions. I answered all of them, and yes, I'd accept personal cheque instead of Paypal, etc - I bent over backwards trying to be as helpful as I could. Basically, it's a Tiffany ring, £715 on their website - I sold it for £350 to this lady. It had hardly been worn and was in fantastic shiny condition - she wasn't entirely happy that it had one or two 'very minor marks' but bought it anyway. She obviously wanted an unworn ring in perfect condition for less than half price I even posted it on the exact day she wanted me to post it on.

Anyway, I got an email this morning - the ring is a size 5, not a size 6, and can she return the ring and have a full refund.

I've replied to her and pointed out that I wasn't sure of ring sizes (as I'd said in the listing) and offered her £30 to help towards resizing. It's only one size, after all. There is an identical ring on buy it now for £500, so I think she's getting an excellent deal.

I'm wondering if that seems fair? Does anyone have any advice on this for me?

jayok

Ask for it to be sent back so that you can verify it as a size 5. Did they pay by cheque or paypal?

Tiger_greeneyes

Thank you for your reply, Jayok. She paid by direct bank transfer as she doesn't have paypal.

I didn't get the ring size checked but she told me she went to a jeweller and had it checked because it was too small for her when she tried it on. I don't think there's any reason to mistrust her tbh, she's been looking for this exact ring for a long time.

Also, I really don't want the ring returned - I sold it so I could buy my wedding ring with the proceeds. As it's a Tiffany ring, I wouldn't be able to list the ring again for 31 days (something Ebay insists on as it helps combat fakes). I'm getting married in next month and if I have to return the money, I won't have a wedding ring in time for my wedding. I thought that £30 would be a good compromise...

jayok

You hold all the aces here, the worst that can happen is a negative feedback. Your offer is fair

Tiger_greeneyes

Thanks again Jayok, I'm more confident I've done the right thing now

notlongnow_2

Why didnt you ask to send it back to the seller you bought it from?

Tiger_greeneyes

Good question, Notlongnow!

Basically, I bought it a couple of months ago. I knew it was going to be too small for me (I checked into my ring size which is a 7), and as it was listed as a size smaller, I bought it with a view to resizing it. When I got it, it didn't look a particularly great match with my engagement ring so that's why I ebayed it. I hadn't taken it to the jewellers to have it resized because I wasn't sure whether to keep it or not at the time, therefore it hadn't been checked for size (so not knowing anything about sizes, I assumed the lady who sold it to me knew what size ring she'd bought). I thought about it for a few weeks before I decided to part with it because it's a lovely ring

Tiger_greeneyes

Update: I've offered £30 refund to the lady who bought the ring from me - which is exactly half of the cost of having the ring resized. She said she'd be "happy to accept a partial refund". I was just going to do the transaction but felt a bit uneasy about it, I checked her account and noticed that she's relisted the ring for sale.

It looks as though she was taking me for a ride from the outset - buying the ring and reselling it immediately, while trying to obtain money from me by making a complaint, knowing full well I've got a 100% feedback rating.

I didn't check my emails over the weekend as I've been in bed with 'flu for most of it - yet I received at least three "why haven't you replied to me yet" emails. I've had nothing but pressure from this woman - my inbox is full of emails from her. She doesn't check her own emails btw, I've got three emails from her, hours after she sent me emails asking questions, saying "how disappointed" she is that I've not replied to her questions - despite the fact I replied within minutes. Thankfully I keep all emails I send in my sent items folder.

I thought I was being more than fair - I couldn't have said more clearly in the description that I "didn't know what size the ring was, but when I bought it, it was advertised as a size 6".

I've put in a complaint to ebay, not that I suppose it'll do any good.

It's not 'buyer beware' these days, it's 'seller beware'...

Bromley86

Frankly I wouldn't give her a thing, although having offered I suppose you should stick to that. Still, I wouldn't try very hard to get her to read the emails you've sent .

What's she asking for for the ring?

Tiger_greeneyes

I've told her that as she's listed the ring for sale then any refund is now academic as she's not planning on having it resized.

She's listed the ring for £300 - £350 BIN. It's the same as I listed it for. If she really intended to keep the ring then she'd still have been quids in - the exact same ring sells on the Tiffany website for £715. There's only one identical Tiffany ring on ebay but it's listed for £500 BIN. If I refunded £30 and she'd paid the other £30 to have my one resized, then she'd have spent a total of £365 and had the ring she said she always wanted.

That's what tells me she never intended to keep it in the first place, if she really wants this exact ring as she assured me she did, why is she going to spend £17 to sell it and then buy another at £500... which is a size 7 - one size too big. There's something not right there.

Tiger_greeneyes

Update no.2 The buyer has edited her listing to include the following:

Unfortunately the seller wasn't prepared to take responsibility for stating the wrong size nor was she prepared to refund towards re-sizing of the ring.

Considering the first mention of any sort of refund towards getting the ring altered came from me - and I have her email of acceptance (I offered £30 without asking for proof - despite her giving me contradictory quotes from her jeweller - one email she told me it would cost £40, another email stated £60) I feel really aggrieved. I've kept all the emails which 100% prove her accusation is blatantly untrue - but what can I actually do about it?

I'd really like some advice on this matter, do I have any comeback or options available to me?