Advice on paypal dispute

bel1981

I recently sold an item on e-bay for £150 and the buyer has since made a Paypal claim against me stating the item was not as described.

The item was listed as pick up only but it was only after the auction had ended that the buyer mentioned that he was arranging a courier to collect it. The buyer also mentioned at this stage that they did not have the space to receive the item at that time and could we keep it for a month when it would be suitable for them. I was quite annoyed about this but was willing to keep the buyer happy as I was glad the item had sold for that price.

Since receiving the item the buyer claims the dimensions of the item are incorrect and that if they had known this they would have never bought it. They also mentioned that they paid £140 for the courier to collect the item - they live 200 miles away. We have stated that we believed the dimensions were correct at time of listing and were shocked to hear that they think otherwise.

We have offered them a full refund but understandably they feel the cost of courier is too much to send the item back to us and have declined that offer.

As a good will gesture we offered a partial refund so that they could re-list the item. They have also refused this offer as well saying they don't want to risk being out of pocket as they don't feel the item, if re-sold, would achieve £290 (£150 plus £140 delivery).

They want us to let them re-list the item but in the process want us to pay for all fees and pay the difference. So if item was resold at £150 they would expect us to pay £140 for the difference plus fees.

We're obviously not happy with above situation so again suggested that we would pay fees and for them to put reserve price on listing but they have refused this option as well.

They have since made a Paypal claim against us and I'm not sure what to do next. I've heard that Paypal favours buyers and I'm afraid that I will lose the £150 and the item itself.

Any advice?

Kayalana99

They shouldn't refund without them sending the item back, unless he has opened an INR I believe you will win as paypal will simply say send the item back for a refund.

Hopefully someone will confirm this, do you actually believe you could of got the measurements wrong or that he is just trying it on?

bel1981

The buyer says there is a difference of 10cm in measurements. They seem to be telling the truth but we were convinced we'd stated the correct measurements at the time of listing- we wouldn't have any reason to falsify the measurements.
It's only because we feel that the buyers are being truthful that we have offered a good will gesture to pay for re-listing fees. I can't see what other options we could offer them.

Kayalana99

It's a hard one. If you refund without the item then they are back to square one after reselling the item.

So the ONLY way to make this right is to refund without return.

Obviously this leaves you way out of pocket.... As far as the buyer is concerned they aren't going to meet you half way here - they want their money back.

So you have three options;

Refund without return
Partial refund (the buyer wont agree this is right but it might help you sleep at night if you catch my drift that they are not completely out of pocket)
Insist on refund on return...which buyer wont do..and keep the money

I might be wrong, but where paypal is concerned you have the upper hand as they will have to return for a refund.

bel1981

At the moment we're thinking of insisting on refund on return as our best option. We just hope that Paypal will see things from our point if view.

onetwothree123

Ebay usually state say a buyer is not allowed to keep an item AND also obtain a refund and would have to return it for a full refund and provide tracking...and you are NOT liable for their "courier" fee that was nothing whatsoever to do with YOU . That is like my dad offering to collect it and me billing the ebay seller for £20 for my dads petrol ! Rubbish.

Items listed as collection only are exempt from some BUYER protection policies am sure, so check this am sure someone else will fill you in on this as there are folk in the know about how it works on items sold under COLLECT IN PERSON that will play to YOUR advantage , how the person picks up the item is nothing to do with you, you have been taken for a right mug being asked to hold onto it and being mucked around by these people.

11.10 What are examples of items/transactions/cases that are not eligible for PayPal seller protection?

1. Intangible items, licenses for digital content, and services.
2. Items that you deliver (or are picked up) in person.
3. Transactions made through Zong, Website Payment Pro (PayPal Direct Payment and Virtual Terminal).
4. Claims, Chargebacks and Reversals for Significantly Not as Described; and/ or claims filed directly with eBay.
5. PayPal Business Payments.

I would be contacting ebay via the tel helpline or the chat and explaining everything as am sure you have just as many rights and ebay arent all ogres and they will see your trading partner is being extremely unfair . GL

bel1981

Thanks for your advice. Will take a closer look at the Paypal website tomorrow and read up on the Paypal seller protection.

Irn-Bru-Kid

The fact that they arranged a courier is of no concern to you. You listed the item as collection only, they chose to pay a courier to collect.

The fact that the given measurements may or may not have been incorrect is unfortunate, but again if they had been local to you and collected, a return would be simple.

Stick to your guns. Insist the item is returned (tracked) for a full refund.

It is highly likely that you will be trashed feedback wise anyway.

JACKHANDYMAN

Your'e on a sticky situation here, because paypal tend to help the buyer rather than the seller. You do not mention the item sold which leaves us wondering why the dimentions would make a difference in the sale?

yazzine

I had some one like that . . . sold something for £150 also, was collection only - buyer contacted to say they would send courier. said no, then said they woud first send me tracking details then have item picked up.
Item picked up - not liked - case opened via paypal as ebay would not have been his favour. Wanted postage back and keep item!!
Called up paypal who looked at messages and original (which had listed every detail down to a hidden scratch underneath) listing in ebay. They told him to return for refund. Heard nothing since, he was advertising it exactly minus a few details at higher price when he put his claim in.

Cheek!!

Don't give in, you say you are in the wrong, fine you offered partial refund. You have done your bit now. Get your item back and then give money.

mandragora_2

We had a similar situation a couple of years ago.

I had a buyer from Australia bid on and win an item without checking with us beforehand what the postage fees would be. He won the item (cost around £20) and we posted it out to him - the cost of that was also about £20. Fast forward a couple of weeks and the item had arrived - he didn't like one small detail on it (which was clearly visible on the photo). He was a collector of these things; I wasn't, so hadn't realised that the small detail was significant at the time of listing.

There was a lot of to and fro argument via mails over a couple of weeks, basically with him wanting me to refund him for the item but without me getting the item back. He would, he 'promised', put it in a charity shop and 'wouldn't profit from the deal in any way'. We'd never had any issues with complaints from buyers before, and at first I felt very guilty and tried hard to sort the problem out for him. But, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that I hadn't been the one who made the situation happen. I'd described and shown the item honestly - if he, as an 'expert' had seen something on the photo he wasn't sure about, he should have asked before bidding; I wasn't the one who suggested he buy something from the other side of the globe without asking any further questions about it.

In the end, and having offered a couple of compromises which he rudely turned down I realised that I was within my rights to stick to the terms of the system - yes, I will refund, as soon as you send me my item back. The choices you made about buying unseen and having it sent halfway round the world are your responsibility, not mine.

I let it run its course, and let ebay deal with it, once I'd offered the full refund on return. I didn't hear from him again. I think this is what you will need to do, too.