Item not as described (from sellers perspective)

leoren

Hi

I've been having a clear out at home. Sold quite a lot of stuff. There were some homebrew barrels in the shed. So put these on. I know nothing about homebrew, so couldn't say much on the listing but took some photos.

Some of them had lids, some did not. Photos taken of each individual one and each listed individually. The ones that had lids, show the lid in photo. the ones that did not have a lid, are shown without a lid.

So sold and posted. Received an email saying item is not as described as it doesn't have a lid.....I didnt say it did have one, so I'm a little confused.

Oh ebay experts what do I need to know/do? He's asking for a refund including his postage or for me to send the missing lid (which I dont have, as there wasnt one).

It was paid for on paypal. I think the dispute has been opened in ebay but i'm not sure. How can I tell?

Thanks in advance

Crowqueen

Ask him to return it if he is not satisfied - the dispute will not refund him his return postage, but without more information or knowing whether he thought he bought the wrong one (which is possible) you must judge for yourself whether to do so yourself. I say I'd do it on my listings - I find it helps improve confidence just to give a blanket return policy for change of mind - but I've never had to make good on it, so I've never been in this situation and if you are solid in your case I think you gently email him and point out what you wrote in your listing - don't whatever you do make him feel childish for not reading the listing properly; I've done it myself recently with a book I thought was more substantial than it was when it arrived, and a copy of the Angela's Ashes soundtrack that I bought from Amazon instead of the book, so I wouldn't dream of whining about buyers who make similar mistakes - but since he has gone to a dispute he will probably be sending the item back.

scheming_gypsy

if there are no lids you should have said there are no lids. Just because the picture doesn't show a lid, it doesn't mean it doesn't come with a lid.

Crowqueen

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

if there are no lids you should have said there are no lids. Just because the picture doesn't show a lid, it doesn't mean it doesn't come with a lid.

I think she did - the problem is that some of the items she was selling had lids and the others didn't. The buyer has probably read one listing, thought they were all for the same item - and bid on another. It happens from time to time - like I said, I don't criticise buyers for not reading the listing close enough because I do it myself.

scheming_gypsy

Crowqueen wrote: »

I think she did - the problem is that some of the items she was selling had lids and the others didn't. The buyer has probably read one listing, thought they were all for the same item - and bid on another. It happens from time to time - like I said, I don't criticise buyers for not reading the listing close enough because I do it myself.

dunno, it's a bit confusing,.

leoren wrote: »

Some of them had lids, some did not. Photos taken of each individual one and each listed individually. The ones that had lids, show the lid in photo. the ones that did not have a lid, are shown without a lid.

So sold and posted. Received an email saying item is not as described as it doesn't have a lid.....I didnt say it did have one, so I'm a little confused.

so it reads like they're just expecting people to know that because there aren't any lids in the picture, then there's no lids in with the barrels.

Crowqueen

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

dunno, it's a bit confusing,.




so it reads like they're just expecting people to know that because there aren't any lids in the picture, then there's no lids in with the barrels.

If that's the case, then it is there in the picture, which counts as a description. If the OP thinks that she made a boob with the listing and it wasn't clear to her buyer, though, then she should refund them their return postage.

No_Eye_Deer

I read it that the Op has just relied on the photos for the buyer to see that the lid wasn't there.

If so and its a pressure barrel then its a vital piece and should be of been put in the main listing.

From others on eBay, £6 to £8 postage. Its resale value without a lid £5 to £10. I would just cut my losses and refund.

FelinePrincess

As a seller and buyer on ebay, here is my opinion...

As a seller.. I would have mentioned the lack of lid in the listing, you have to be really careful about accuracy I find to save problems like this later on.

As a buyer.. I would have looked at the picture and presumed there was no lid, if I wanted one with a lid I would have sent you a message before bidding and asked you to confirm if the lid was with it and then bid accordingly.

As said by previous posters, I'd offer a return and refund, or just refund if not worthwhile returning. In my opinion, it's not really your fault but in future it's best to make things very clear in your listings

sequence

Unless it said it the listing that there was no lid, I would assume it came with one. I would not think there was no lid, even if the photo didn't show one, as it's the main part of the product.

Lids are often removed to show the inside of the barrel.

pinkshoes

If the lid is essential to the process, then the buyer probably assumed it came with one.

I'd send them a polite reply saying something along the lines of:

"Apologies for the mis-understanding. I listed several barrels, some with lids, and some without. The item you bought does not have a lid, as per the photograph in the listing. I have already sold the other barrels (some with lids, and some without), so do not have a spare lid to send you. If you would like a refund, please return the barrel to me"

How much would it be for a new lid? Could you refund them this amount?

leoren

Thank you all.

Lesson learned No 1.....Don't list so many things on ebay at once.

Lesson Learned No 2....What I find obvious, not everyone else does....so state the obvious. Be prepared when obvious has been stated that someone may still miss it so be prepared to communicate.

Lesson Learned No 3.....Communication is the way to a solution.

Thanks especially to Crowqueen for advice on not making buyer feel stupid. Your right, I've bough stuff before and when its arrived I've thought "thats not right" only to realise when I check it was there in the listing.

So I offered a refund, as there were pleanty of other buyers interested. Buyer suggested compramise (which they would not have done if I had made them feel silly), which was to refund cost of new lid. I'm happy with this, so have refunded them cost of lid through paypay.

Thanks once again for your comments.