Buyer wants a refund

Crowqueen

Crikey, why do some people bother buying on eBay, why don't they buy brand new from a shop then they can have a good sniff!

Because sometimes it's cheaper, there are OOAK or out-of-print items there that you can't find in a shop, and some people can't necessarily get into places to buy goods. You're assuming that this is some kind of commodity good, but frex when a Star Trek DVD set is £40 in the shops and £10-15 on eBay, then I will usually buy on eBay.

Sellers have a responsibility to keep their items in good saleable condition. It's not the buyer's fault the item ponged of smoke and if someone in a household does smoke, it's as well to mention that to make sure people know to avoid buying from someone.

terra_ferma

Let's not forget that if this kind of buyers protection was not in place, we would not be selling on ebay, or selling for far less money....

No point in complaining, as this is what makes people come and buy on ebay.
Some take advantage of it.
But some people steal from charity shops too... Or return perfectly good, half used candles that they bought new from them....
and charity shops have shrinkage built in their pricing structure.

Ebay is no different, there is 'shrinkage' too.... no point in taking it too personally,