Ebay dispute - found in buyers favour

Notmyrealname

If its working perfectly, relist it. If its damaged either take it on the chin or go through county court.

hermum

GamerInfo wrote: »

100% true - it's not an item you need to see before you buy, however it is one that you need to do your homework on before purchase. The item i sold was by an unknown manufacturer, required other high spec hardware for it to run with, and was only recently released - so compatibility was a very real possibility - but then the buyer knew they would never get a refund based on his lack of research so had to 'gloirify' the situation to fit in with ebay.

What happens when i get the item back and:

- the item works perfectly and is as i described it?
- the item is severely damaged?

Why should i be penalized by ebay through a buyer that simply didn't do his homework? What are the chances of winning an appeal based on either of the 2 options above?

Hopefully when you get it back it will be working fine & you had a numpty buyer.
If it's damaged then you would need to pursue the buyer yourself.
You could try an appeal but it will no doubt be found in the buyers favour still, unless there's some way of proving the buyer has damaged it. That I would have thought would be nigh on impossible.
One reason it's always best to just accept a return, so that the buyer doesn't damage something so they can claim SNAD.
Hopefully you will get it back in the same state it was sent out in & then you can relist.

QuackQuackOops

GamerInfo wrote: »

Looking for some advice.

I am a private seller and sold an item (PC component) - the buyer received the item and within 24hrs emailed me and said he's received the item but was having some issues/errors. After asking some basic questions i was pretty sure that the issues he was having with the item were down to compatibility with the other hardware he was using. After an agreement from the buyer that this could be the case, he continued running tests. A further 24hrs down the line the buyer still agreed that the issues were probably down to compatibility - he said he'd contact me if anything changed. A few hours later he emailed me and concluded the the item is at fault and that he wanted to return the ite. Not convinced by this (and because all info he's given me lead to compatibility as opposed to fault) i told him i couldn't accept the item back due to incompatibility.

This kicked off and the buyer opened a case. To cut a long story short, the 8 days of the open case turned in to nothing more than a documented argument - with nothing i said/offered to do offering an acceptance of help from the buyer. As a private seller that clearly stated no returns in the listing, i said i would contact the manufacturer direct and try and get a replacement sent out - this was rejected repeatedly.

The case was escalated by the buyer and within 3 days i received an email that ebay had found in the buyers favour and that the buyer will need to return the item for a refund. I was told i cannot appeal this decision until ive received the item back and until the buyer has already been refunded. When i asked on what grounds was the decision found in the buyers favour i was merely told that the item description did not match what the buyer received (the item was listed as brand new and un-opened).

When i contacted ebay's resolution department the first time i was told the case hadn't yet been escalated, the second time i was told that when a case is opened the seller's return policy is classed as null & void - i was also told that the only reason ebay have instructed the buyer to retuyrn the item is so that i can inspect the item and to verify whether it is in the same condition that i sent it out in (although the buyer admitted to opening/testing the item - so im confused now as to how it can be in the same condition) - their words on the phone were that only i know the condition of the item when it was sent, therefore they have asked the buyer to return it so i can inspect it's condition, if the item is not in the same condition that i sent it, i can appeal the case - bizzarre since it's been opened and is now classed as opened and used.

What are my options now as a seller - obviously once i receive the item, how will i know if it's been damaged? things got pretty heated in the dispute and the buyer accussed me of doing all sorts (such as re-packaging the item and purposely damaging it) - what do i do about reimbursement to ebay? what happens with the £18 ebay fee's i paid through the sale of this + paypal fees?

Im a little lost on my rights as seller and where i go from here - 8yrs on ebay and never once had a case opened against me

You should have just told him straight off to return it for a full refund becasue now that Ebay have forced that outcome, you get a lovely black mark against your account. Plus, the buyer can leave you nasty negs and DSR's.

Having a no refund policy does you no good because all buyers are entitled to a refund if the item is not as described. Sellers really dont get much of a say in it because its subjective to the buyers point of view, not yours.

All you can do is put it down to experience and not argue if it happens another time. Arguing is unprofessional and unproductive.

GamerInfo

QuackQuackOops wrote: »

Ebay have forced that outcome, you get a lovely black mark against your account. Plus, the buyer can leave you nasty negs and DSR's.

Having a no refund policy does you no good because all buyers are entitled to a refund if the item is not as described. Sellers really dont get much of a say in it because its subjective to the buyers point of view, not yours.

All you can do is put it down to experience and not argue if it happens another time. Arguing is unprofessional and unproductive.

The buyer already left his negative feedback before the case was escalated - interestingly the buyers feedback left for others clearly shows his problems with past purchases and although the majority are positives he does state in quite a few that the sellers were quick to sort out and refund - sellers held to ransom much? Fair? I dont think sol!!!! I'll not be held to ransom over feedback, it was clear from day 1 the type of feedback i was going to be getting from him!!!

If returns are 'forced' - why do ebay allow this to be included and selected within listings? I pay for the auction/listing and the buyer agrees to all the terms when they buy - so what gives ebay the right to 'pick and choose' what parts of my listing they agree with/not? Business law is very different from private - why am i forced in a dispute situation to act upon business law?

As far as im concerned ebay mis-sold that auction to me - it's clearly not as described - can i put a dispute in against them? of course not as they think they are above the law clearly!!!

So with everything taken in to consideration there would be nothing stopping my partner from purchasing a brand new £300 designer pair of boots - wearing them for a few days/weeks and then going back to the seller and file an item not a described and will get a full £300 refund? She could have a different pair of shoes each week/month if it were that easy - same goes for clothes, she'd never have to pay for anything ever again - totally ridiculous if you ask me and certainly fair on the seller who ends up with a used return that is worth only a fraction of the cost (or potentially unsaleable afterwards).

hermum

The no returns bit that you tick is for change of mind. If you're a business seller, you have to accept returns & cancellations for no reason.
However if a buyer opens a dispute stating that the item's SNAD ebay can't get the seller to prove they listed it correctly.

GamerInfo

hermum wrote: »

The no returns bit that you tick is for change of mind. If you're a business seller, you have to accept returns & cancellations for no reason.
However if a buyer opens a dispute stating that the item's SNAD ebay can't get the seller to prove they listed it correctly.

Not exactly made clear when listing or within their help pages - doesn't say anything about the No Returns option being for change of mind only in private seller situations..... Ive been through their help pages, i'd like to see the paragrah of text that states No Returns is for change of mind only? Whatever way you look at it - ebay provided all the options when listing with no clear definitions/explanations as to what each means in a dispute situation.

I always assumed the contract between buyer/seller on ebay was, to a certain extent, legally binding - i didn't realize certain aspects could be changed without notice.

In my eyes No Returns means just that - just like my buyer labelled my listing as not as described i think ebays auction options as significantly not as described :rotfl:

soolin

GamerInfo wrote: »

Not exactly made clear when listing or within their help pages - doesn't say anything about the No Returns option being for change of mind only in private seller situations..... Ive been through their help pages, i'd like to see the paragrah of text that states No Returns is for change of mind only? Whatever way you look at it - ebay provided all the options when listing with no clear definitions/explanations as to what each means in a dispute situation.

I always assumed the contract between buyer/seller on ebay was, to a certain extent, legally binding - i didn't realize certain aspects could be changed without notice.

In my eyes No Returns means just that - just like my buyer labelled my listing as not as described i think ebays auction options as significantly not as described :rotfl:

I am surprised that any ebay user would be happy with a situation where a private seller could sent them goods that were not as described/damaged/broken etc and not be legally entitled to get a refund. Wouldn't that be illegal?

Imagine the scenario. Business seller A sells a widget with full rights to a refund for any reason. private seller B sells same widget and you have to accept that however badly it is damaged, not as described etc you have no choice but to lose your money on it. Hmm, wouldn't that mean that the private sellers market on ebay dies completely ?

hermum

I found this on the help pages,
Where the seller is a private individual, the goods must be “as described”. The goods are not legally required to be of “satisfactory quality” or “fit for purpose”.
All a buyer has to do is say it isn't as described, ebay can't come round & check, or get everything sent to them, so it has to be buyers word against the seller.
They'll always come down on the buyers side, if they didn't then buyers would completely lose faith & shop elsewhere.

Obviously_the_best

GamerInfo wrote: »

- If i go in to Argos tomorrow (or any other shop) and purchase an item and am told before handing over my cash that it is exempt from returns - but i agree to this and still proceed with the transaction, can i just take the item home open it up use it for a few days and still demand to return it for a full refund?

If it is faulty, then yes you can return it for a refund, however if it isn't you can't. But unfortunately the Distance Selling Regulations are designed so the seller has to allow time to inspect the item to basically check its what they want as you can't properly inspect something from a picture.