Refunding for an item damaged in the post, is this a fair solution?

AlTeREgO

an item i sold has arrived damaged. its been damaged during transit. The buyer wants a full refund & return P&P
The item sold for £82 and £21 P&P.

The Damage is a crack to a cover, its more cosmetic than totally !!!!!!ed. the item is still working perfectly well and fit for its purpose ect.

My question is, do you think i should offer to refund the £82 and offer to let the buyer keep the item if they so wish or tell them they can return the item for a full refund and original P&P but not the return postage.

Would you consider that a fair response? :think:

theonlywayisup

A fair response is you refunding the FULL amount.

If you decide you want the item back, then YOU pay the returns post.

Or, if the buyer wants to keep the item a reduction may be in order.

But, a refund and a reduction are not the same thing. And if the buyer wants a refund, then they should not lose out at all.

marmitepotato

I would ask for a picture of the damage first, then I would consider what to do next.

Meadows

For them to claim via eBAy/PayPal dispute they would tell them to return (at their cost) and provide tracking to prove it has been returned. Then they would find in their favour, if you did not refund the full amount they paid (not including return cost).

As a seller you can decide if you are willing to refund the return postage as a good will gesture.
Have they provided pictures of the damage?
Did you protect by wrapping securely to avoid damage?
Was the packaging damaged on delivery?

If the packaging was damaged on delivery get the buyer to send you pictures and retain the packaging then claim for the damage via the Courier/Royal Mail who delivered the item to recoup your costs (tell buyer you will be claiming and they will most likely be contacted by the Courier/Royal Mail to state the condition of the goods)

You could also find out if they would be willing to keep the item with a partial refund, if not you will have to decide if you are willing to refund and let them keep the item or they have to return the item paying the cost (or up to you if you are prepared to pay for return).

Your buyer is in as much of a catch 22 as you are here, they have paid £21 postage to receive an item that may not have been protected during transit or badly handled and therefore became damaged. Understandably they are not happy and now have an item not fit for use (you say cosmetic, they say not as expected) and to get their money back they need to pay out another £21 to return the item, leaving them out of pocket. Either way someone loses out. You as the seller should claim for damage from whoever you used to deliver the item.
Communication is the key, talk to your buyer and see if you both can not come to an acceptable solution if not they have to return at their cost to get back the initial amount paid.

AlTeREgO

Hi, i woke up to find the messege from the buyer this morning, they had included a picture of the crack.

Theonlywayisup : although i don't particularly want this item back, it does still have a value even if sold as spare or repair or even sold with the crack discribed. if you can see what i mean, if i was to refund the their costs, i'd be out of pocket myself for postage £21 and then also the return postage of £21

2x£21 = £42
the value of spares and repairs wouldn't cover these postage costs.

But

If the buyer does still want the item with a refund of the purchase price, then they have the item for just the cost of postage @ £21, which is a very good price even though it has a crack.

Ebay rules on returned items states the BUYER pays return postage.

soolin

AlTeREgO wrote: »

Hi, i woke up to find the messege from the buyer this morning, they had included a picture of the crack.

Theonlywayisup : although i don't particularly want this item back, it does still have a value even if sold as spare or repair or even sold with the crack discribed. if you can see what i mean, if i was to refund the their costs, i'd be out of pocket myself for postage £21 and then also the return postage of £21

2x£21 = £42
the value of spares and repairs wouldn't cover these postage costs.

But

If the buyer does still want the item with a refund of the purchase price, then they have the item for just the cost of postage @ £21, which is a very good price even though it has a crack.

Ebay rules on returned items states the BUYER pays return postage.

The law though states a seller is responsible and of course regardless of the ebay position buyer can leave you a neg and damage your stars, he could also (although ti is unlikely) go to small claims.

As a buyer if you got a damaged item from any shop or individual would you as the buyer expect to have to either put up with it or pay extra to return it?

theonlywayisup

AlTeREgO wrote: »

Hi, i woke up to find the messege from the buyer this morning, they had included a picture of the crack.

Theonlywayisup : although i don't particularly want this item back, it does still have a value even if sold as spare or repair or even sold with the crack discribed. if you can see what i mean, if i was to refund the their costs, i'd be out of pocket myself for postage £21 and then also the return postage of £21

2x£21 = £42
the value of spares and repairs wouldn't cover these postage costs.

But

If the buyer does still want the item with a refund of the purchase price, then they have the item for just the cost of postage @ £21, which is a very good price even though it has a crack.

Ebay rules on returned items states the BUYER pays return postage.

Yes you may be out of pocket, but if you are a business seller you are legally responsible to pay the return postage too.

What your morals tell you versus what eBay can enforce is something for you to settle on. But EBay will always force you to pay back the FULL original amount, so you will always be £21 out of pocket. If you don't pay the returns postage willingly and the buyer feels (rightly) aggrieved, you risk your feedback account and DSRs too.

I hope the buyer can do a deal with you. But you must not assume they can still use this item, it may have been for a gift?

£21 is a lot of postage, did you use a specialist?

AlTeREgO

Thanks for all your replies, although we have strayed a little from the original question, or maybe i wasn't clear.

What i was asking is do you think its resasonable to get back to the buyer with an offer of the partial refund? maybe they haven't thought of that option, but its now also granted i hadn't considered it could well be a gift

Also although not relivant now, the item was originally listed as a pick up only item, the buyer contacted me and suggested it could be delivered via parcel force for around the £25 mark and asked if i was willing to post it to them.

This is also why im :mad: about the return postage costs they have requested.

I think i'll contact them with the offer of a parial refund, and if they dont want that i'll just refund in full and tell them to do what they wish with the item.

No im not a business seller.

aeb_2

Could you get a spare part sent straight to the buyer?

I'm also wondering why the postage was so high. It must have been a very heavy, large parcel. Could you investigate a cheaper service eg parcel2go?

If you paid for insurance from the courier then upload the picture of the damage and the packaging and they will refund for the item and the postage. When I needed to do this I was given the choice of a cheque which they said would take 2 weeks or a refund to my account which would take 2 days, in fact it was there in my account within an hour.

AlTeREgO

aeb wrote: »

Could you get a spare part sent straight to the buyer?

I'm also wondering why the postage was so high. It must have been a very heavy, large parcel. Could you investigate a cheaper service eg parcel2go?

If you paid for insurance from the courier then upload the picture of the damage and the packaging and they will refund for the item and the postage. When I needed to do this I was given the choice of a cheque which they said would take 2 weeks or a refund to my account which would take 2 days, in fact it was there in my account within an hour.

The parts are quite rare and sought after, which is why i was saying that it still has a value.

It did have £100 worth on compansation cover provided with the postage, i've never had to claim before, so have no idea how easy or hard this would be to do? do they pay compensation for damaged EBAY items? also it was a recycled box ( a perfectly decent box ) i think i read royal mail can kick up a fuss if its not new packaging. it was all clearly taped up with "FRAGILE" tape, infact overly so.

soolin

I think the advice about just sending pics of item to get compensation is a little inaccurate. RM will require the goods for inspection together with all the packaging- so you would need it back from th ebuyer.

They also have packing requirements which state items boxed with a certain depth of room , although I do not believe they discriminate between new and used boxes.