Need to refund buyer...

surfboard2

Hello,

I was wondering if someone can help?

I sold an item at the weekend and the buyer made payment yesterday.

Whilst packing the item yesterday, i have since noticed that it is slightly damaged and therefore i need to refund the buyer.

I've never had to do this before (still fairly new-sih to ebay.)
Could someone please tell me the best way to deal with this to avoid any neg feedback e.t.c?
Is it best to just follow the "Refunding your buyer" guidelines?

Many Thanks.

purple321

It's going to depend what the item was, how much and whether they got a bargain as to how to deal with it really. I wouldn't refund straight away I would contact them very politely and apologize that the item is damaged, include a photo if possible so they know you are telling the truth, then either ask if they would still like it at a reduced price or offer a refund, if it was something cheap i'd refund them and send it at my expense.

QuackQuackOops

simply_tash wrote: »

Hello,

I was wondering if someone can help?

I sold an item at the weekend and the buyer made payment yesterday.

Whilst packing the item yesterday, i have since noticed that it is slightly damaged and therefore i need to refund the buyer.

I've never had to do this before (still fairly new-sih to ebay.)
Could someone please tell me the best way to deal with this to avoid any neg feedback e.t.c?
Is it best to just follow the "Refunding your buyer" guidelines?

Many Thanks.

The problem you have is that so many other sellers tell buyers "Item broke" or "My son has spoilt is" etc when in fact the item just didnt sell for enough money and buyers are fed up of it.

You would be surprised how often this happens, so you might find yourself with a buyer who does not completely believe you, especially if the item was cheap. so keep this in mind and try not to get defensive if your buyer seems annoyed with you.

First thing though is to determin whether or not the buyer still wants the item. Some damages are perfectly ok to buyers.

If they dont, then you have to refund them and if you want fees returning you will have to send them a cancellation requests. Dont be surprised either if the buyer rejests this.

Stay calm, stay professional and dont be defensive in any way and you might very well avoid any negative outcome completely.

theoretica

If it is not something you could now sell how about offering it to them for P&P + any fees only?

ulsterbeef

It is down to the buyer. No amount of begging can stop a nasty buyer leaving bad feedback. I rarely leave bad feedback. However, do talk to them indeed. Could you not sell the item with discount, if possible?

Angie74

I've had this happen a couple of times. It's annoying that you only seem to find a problem with the item when you're just about to pack it up.

Both buyers in my case have been very understanding. I have messaged them, explaining the problem, and that they can either have a full refund, or I will post photos of the marks and they can decide whether they want the item and just pay postage. Admittedly, the items were only cheap anyway, so I don't know how much yours sold for. You might be better off just offering a full refund, or a discount depending on what it sold for? One buyer opted for a full refund and didn't leave any feedback, and the other one opted to pay the postage and refund the cost of the Jacket. She said she was going to roll the sleeves up anyway so it didn't matter to her that there was a mark on the sleeve. She didn't leave any feedback either. I might have just been lucky, but I think if you're apologetic and say you will send them photos of the damage, then they are usually understanding. Obviously you will get the odd one that goes all out to make your life difficult because they didn't get what they wanted, but hopefully you wont have a problem. Good luck

enya_ntfc

Think we all have a story like this!

I sold a clothes bundle and accidentally cut off a tie on the back of a top when packaging it. I sent my buyer a message saying I will send it anyway, but let me know if you aren't happy and I will offer a partial refund - they thanked for being so honest. But were happy with the clothes anyway and left me glowing feedback anyway and didn't ask for a refund. :j

Just depends what it is and how badly damaged it is.

Contains_Mild_Peril

I would send an e-mail explaining, apologising and including photos, and definitely offer a choice between a full refund or the item plus a partial refund. As a customer, I would be happy to be offered the choice, and if I decided to buy the item at the reduced price and everything else was satisfactory I'd leave good feedback: if I opted for a refund, I probably wouldn't leave any feedback. However, if I bought an auction item and the seller refunded without even asking if I still wanted the item, I would be annoyed and suspect them of lying: I'd most likely leave neutral feedback and consider that to be generous.

missladyannie

I had the same thing last week, sold a t'shirt of my son's for £1.55 and when I was packing it up noticed a small hole in the seam. I emailed the buyer to say I had only just noticed it and that I was very sorry that I hadnt noticed it before etc and would they be happy if I refunded them £1 for the mistake, or I could cancel the auction if they preferred. They responded that the same thing had happened to them recently and that they would be happy with the £1 refund. Phew, happy ebayers all round!

Crowqueen

ulsterbeef wrote: »

It is down to the buyer. No amount of begging can stop a nasty buyer leaving bad feedback. I rarely leave bad feedback. However, do talk to them indeed. Could you not sell the item with discount, if possible?

That's what I've done in the past - though I would increase the size of the discount depending on what's happened.

I sold a pack of cards that was listed as having instructions but didn't (copied and pasted an old template); I advised the buyer they could find those online if they needed them but I'd give them a considerable discount (£3 off a £10 item). They accepted and I escaped without negative or neutral feedback.

However, what really annoyed me was I moved a box and found the instructions just before I went to post the item. I opened the envelope, put them in, and dispatched it. I didn't really expect the buyer to respond - I'd still caused her a bit of inconvenience - but if I had moved that box a day earlier I would have been quids in!