Ebay Advice Please!

toby_puppy

I sold a pair of boots on Ebay last week.
Now I bought them from Next and paid £70 for them and as far as I am concerned they are leather boots.
I just had an email from the buyer saying that they are imitation leather and she wants to send them back for a refund.
They weren't boxed when I bought them from Next - I think they may have had one of those stickers on the sole with the leather symbol but can't remember now - plus she is going to have taken it off if it was on there.
Where do I stand? What can I suggest?
If she can prove they are imitation leather I will of course refund her and be very shocked too. To be honest, I think she has probably bought them and they don't fit or something and she wants a refund. She has good feedback score but so do I.
I really don't think they are imitation leather, any ideas anyone?

jenniewb

do you have a reciept of line number/product number or even a description? if they were quite recent you could try contacting Next and asking them to verify if they were leather or not. This could satisfy the arguement.

If you are sure they are/were leather, maybe try standing your ground, its up to you if you refund but be aware she can leave bad feedback as a buyer.

She could also issue a missold item with paypal who would ask her to send back the item recorded, she would lose out on the delivery fee to do this though but get a full refund otherwise so its in her interest not to lose anything and keep the boots.

If you find they are real (verified by Next customer services if possibe) then she could take them into a store and get the store assistants to verify that for her. Its more proof I think she will need then just your word against hers here which would help you.

toby_puppy

thanks Jennie - if anyone on here has got an old Next Directory - Autumn Winter 2007 (may have even been Autumn Winter 2006, not sure now, as they were my mums boots) could they check if the riding boot style boots in brown and black are listed as leather.

I bought them from a Next store but if someone could let me know the catalogue number in the directory as I don't have the receipts anymore. The black pair have silver buckles and the brown pair have bronze buckles on. They are zip up with a low heel - like a classic riding boot style.

I listed them as costing £65 when new but thinking on, I'm sure they were £70.

Please pm me if anyone can find them in an old Next Directory and let me have item description.

Would be very grateful indeed.

Poppy9

can you post a picture of the boots from the finished listing as I have some Next boots.

toby_puppy

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff226/JOSTENNING/2378_1.jpg

thanks Poppy.

Poppy9

I don't have those but they certainly look like leather. In fact I would be very surprised if they weren't leather as I've never seen non-leather boots in Next.

notlongnow_2

Hi, personally Id ask her to send them back to you and you refund her before she opens a paypal dispute as she could send you any old pair of boots back by trackable means and give paypal the tracking number and then paypal refund her. Thus you losing your boots plus whatever she paid for them.

jenniewb

Have you tried calling customer services? you could describe them over the phone- just say you are not sure if they are real leather or not and see how you go- I don't know if you can send in attachments but its worth a try. Its also worth trying the stores: taking in a photo and asking if they can find out the original pair? know its a long shot but am guessing the best ppl to verify these as real leather or not are the stores.

Do look real though, and would seem like the buyer is trying to get one over on you and get some kind of a discount.

Personally I would stand my ground, see how far she will go before backing down. If you know you are right, you have nothing to lose. If she is so unsure, she can always take them to a boot maker/resoler who will easily be able to verify if they are real or not. But it would seem this is not something she is prepared to do. Think if she really wanted to boots she would have done this already- just my suspicion.

toby_puppy

Thanks for your help everyone - I rang Next Head Office - basically because I don't have the item number they can't help - and because they are not in the current book, they say they can't trace them.
So for the time being I have told her that I am pretty sure they are leather (considering they cost £70) and the leather boots in Next at the moment are £80 in a similar style. I have said if she wants to take them into her local Next - if they say they are synthetic then I will refund her.
Good idea with the shoemakers/resolers - wish I'd thought of that before I wrote to her!

Fag_ash_lil

Hi ,

You have probably thought of this ... but just in case ... Have you tried looking on Ebay to see if there is a similar pair for sale ? ...

If so , perhaps the seller could give you model number or name ?

terri x

funkyfunkymonkey

Well, they certainly look like leather and I've just looked through this year's Next catalogue and every pair of boots (except the obviously suede boots) are described as having leather uppers.

She probably has changed her mind and wants a refund. If you can confirm with Next that the boots were most probably leather, you could then contact her and explain this, but also say that if she posts them back you will refund the cost of the boots but not the postage as you have not misdescribed them.

FFM