New to ebay - received first complaint, help!

lexilex

I've been doing my boyf and his mum a favour for the last few weeks and putting a load of their old stuff on ebay.

Just received a message from someone who bought a rose quartz ring, they're saying there's a crack in the stone that could crack at anytime and they want a refund.

As I say, it's not my ring but I'm pretty sure there was nothing wrong with it. Can't say for def til I talk to boyfs mum in the morning.

Anyway, refund not a problem, but what do I do about the cost of returning the item. Do I pay for this too? Do I wait til I receive the item to see how much it cost for postage then pay for it?

Bit worried I'm going to get negative feedback over this.

jamescmac88

Howdy

If someone is returning something to you, they do so at their own cost. Also, when refunding you don't refund the postage, just the actual cost of the item.

If they want a refund though, make sure to get them to open a dispute in PayPal, and refund them through the 'refund' link in the dispute, just to keep everything above board. I also think doing it that way, eBay will refund your listing fee, and the fee they charged when your item sold, though I'm not 100% on that one...

soolin

jamescmac88 wrote: »

Howdy

If someone is returning something to you, they do so at their own cost. Also, when refunding you don't refund the postage, just the actual cost of the item.

If they want a refund though, make sure to get them to open a dispute in PayPal, and refund them through the 'refund' link in the dispute, just to keep everything above board. I also think doing it that way, eBay will refund your listing fee, and the fee they charged when your item sold, though I'm not 100% on that one...

Not quite accurate, sorry.

If an item is faulty, and as you are not sure it is probably best to assume it is, get the buyer to return it to you fully tracked and when you get it back issue a full refund including the original postage paid. For faulty goods you should also make a new payment to refund for the costs of the return postage as the buyer should not be out of pocket for a faulty item.

Ebay will not return either your listing or your FVFs. However it is worth asking the buyer to agree to a mutual canceallation as if they do this you do at least get your FVFs back.

The buyer is still able to leave feedback regardless of what you do, which is why you want to be seen to be understanding and deal with this quickly and effectively.

No1Joker

I've had different types of disputes like this and i would recommend the dispute console setup by paypal and ebay regarding this issue. You should find it in "MY eBay" in the drop down list in "items sold". Its one of the options under "Print postage label" or "Mark as dispatched" etc.

If it was me i would only refund both of the postage charges (yours and theirs) once you have seen the item is faulty. If you are unsure ask an expert opinion i.e jeweller etc, then you could always re-list explaining the fault in the description (if there is one).

You are aiming for: safe return of goods, buyer gets refund, you get ebay FVF refunded and +ve feedback all round for successful resolution.

Hintza

I'm sure it will be OK, but I decided years ago never for friends or family!!!

Ask them to send it back and say you will refund in full. Once you have rec eived it back check it over and if there is a fault refund in full. You will then have to make another payment to cover their return P+P costs. If no fault then explain whty you can't do that (but remember you might still get a neg).

lexilex

Talked to boyfs mum who the ring belonged to this morning, she said its a semi precious stone and will have inclusions in it. So now what to do?

I'm thinking of saying they can have a refund as a gesture of goodwill. I was going to refund the full cost of item and postage but they have to cover postage for return as the item isn't actually damaged. If on return I find the item is damaged (perhaps could have happened whilst getting delivered though v. unlikely) I'll refund there p&p too. How does this sound?

lexilex

Infact I changed my mind. I said I'd refund the cost of the ring then seek the opinion of a jeweller, and if they say the ring is damaged I'll refund the cost of my delivery and they're costs for sending it back. If it's not, i'll get written proof and won't be refunding anything but the cost of the ring. I can't actually believe someone would bother doing all this. The ring cost less than two pound!