Sold a phone - buyer wants a refund now!

lazymoezy

I sold a phone and the buyer says he/she didnt expect scratches when I clearly stated there were minor scratches. He has good feedback and out of good will I said I wouldnt mind refunding your money.

But should I keep the postage costs and refund the phone, or do I have to refund the money in full? Also, should the buyer pay for the retur postage?

I've never done a refund on eBay before. Let me know.

Thanks,

-MoE-

jobbingmusician

If the buyer was entitled to their money back (goods not as described, etc) then you should refund postage both ways.

As you are refunding out of goodwill, I think the buyer should pay the postage. This also protects you to some extent against buyers returning things they are simply sorry they bought (buyer remorse).

HTH

lazymoezy

I'll refund in full inc. postage then. But the buyer will have to pay postage for the return, I cannot afford to pay again.

Thanks jobbingmusician.

-MoE-

hjb123

I would get them to return the phone then refund them - but I would make them stand the cost of returning it to me - only refunding the amount they paid in the beginning. After all you did state that there were scratches

Sugar_Coated_Owl

If the seller is returning the item because it was not as described then you should actually refund the seller the cost of the item plus two lots of postage and packaging.

lazymoezy

I stated in my auction that there were scratches (I sold a phone, the one I mentioned on another thread last week, I think!). He now says he didnt expect so many but I know I stated in the auction there were MINOR scratches, also he says he expected the cover to be mint. At no point did I say the cover was mint, it has ONE little mark......I did'nt want a neg or go through a dispute so I said I would happily refund.

I told him that he has to pay the postage cost for the return. It's all fair in my mind. I don't mind having this phone back as it is my sister's and she just wanted to get rid of it for cash, she would'nt mind keeping it and if she still wants cash for it I can sell it for her as they do go for quite a bit on eBay.

EDIT: btw I heard that you can do refund via Paypal meaning you'll get your paypal fees back. Is there any truth in that? Because I would lose another £2-£3 on paypal fees.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

-MoE-

Sugar_Coated_Owl

lazymoezy wrote:

EDIT: btw I heard that you can do refund via Paypal meaning you'll get your paypal fees back. Is there any truth in that? Because I would lose another £2-£3 on paypal fees.

Yes as long as you ensure that you refund correctly via PayPal. You will need to find the transaction by looking through your account activity on PayPal. Click on the transaction, scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see it says refund or something similar. Click this and follow the steps provided. Don't just simply send the buyer money as this will create a new transaction and not show on PayPal that the buyer was ever refunded.

Gorgeous_George

If you got a good price (better than expected), offer to send him/her a new cover for a nominal fee. Most covers can be bought quite cheaply on eBay. If you buy one, have it sent directly to your phone buyer.

I would only refund the cost of the phone but maybe a sound lesson for the future. Make it clear in the returns policy that ANY refund excludes p&p.




GG

speedyjoe

I know it's obvious but don't refund till the phone is back in your hands. It's not unknown for buyers to break their new purchase and then demand a refund.

It even happens that buyers will do the even nastier act of returning a broken item which is not the one you sold! On that point it's a good idea when selling tech stuff on Ebay to record serial numbers and maybe even mark items with a UV security pen.

Ebay can sometimes sadly be a bit of a jungle.

HugoSP

It may be a bit late but did you take a note of the IMEI number on the phone?

if you have a record of this check the phone carefully upon its return. If it is not the same phone then politely inform the buyer and then whatch him go either all quiet or all outraged.

H

lazymoezy

Yeah I've got the IMEI, no way can the seller try pull off a dodgy move!

I'll refund once the item is in my hands, hopefully it's in the same order as I sent it off in.

Thanks for the helpful advice, much appreciated!

-MoE-