eBay buyer wants to return goods, said no, what happens now?

soolin

pinkteapot wrote: »

How much risk are we currently at of hubby's account being suspended?

He's responded to the buyer and hasn't ignored them (though not with the answer the buyer wanted). If eBay insist he refund, he'll do so of course. Would they suspend him for any of this?

You won't be suspended due to a single open case- many of us expect at least one a month of varying sorts. You would only be at risk if you refused to clear the paypal negative balance once the case is decided.

Selling your own things can sometimes be difficult as you will see the memory attached to them- rather than occasionally the real condition. It might just be that the sentimental value the clubs have have perhaps slightly clouded your description of the condition- and addto that a picky buyer and it can equal a problem

O'm currently selling a large collection of widgets that my husband has amassed over many years- and what he sees and what I need to put in the item condition are entirely different.

pinkteapot

soolin wrote: »

Selling your own things can sometimes be difficult as you will see the memory attached to them- rather than occasionally the real condition. It might just be that the sentimental value the clubs have have perhaps slightly clouded your description of the condition- and addto that a picky buyer and it can equal a problem

It's not that, honestly. I know you only have my word for it.

Hubby only had these clubs a month - he bought them second-hand but they weren't quite right for him (shaft stiffness - *snigger*), so there was absolutely no attachment to him.

I go very, very cautious and under-describe when selling and I honestly believe his listing was fair, even erring on the side of safety.

As I said above, he sold one club separately and that buyer gave him feedback saying "better than described".

The wear was clearly described and shown in the many photos with the listing.

We genuinely think the buyer has just changed their mind or found them cheaper in another auction. Hubby's going to offer a partial refund though, just to see if a reduction will satisfy them.

If they've changed their mind they'll say no, but if they're just feeling like they over-paid then maybe it'll work. It's to the amount we'd be out by taking them back anyway.

Brooker_Dave

pinkteapot wrote: »

Yeah, we won't be selling on eBay again!

In that case you have no reason to accept a return of the item you have sold.

Ebay will put your paypal account into the red, and you'll get a load of emails and phone calls demading repayment, but that is all that will happen.

So if you're sick of ebay, you may as well refuse the return.

soolin

pinkteapot wrote: »

It's not that, honestly. I know you only have my word for it.

Hubby only had these clubs a month - he bought them second-hand but they weren't quite right for him (shaft stiffness - *snigger*), so there was absolutely no attachment to him.

I go very, very cautious and under-describe when selling and I honestly believe his listing was fair, even erring on the side of safety.

As I said above, he sold one club separately and that buyer gave him feedback saying "better than described".

The wear was clearly described and shown in the many photos with the listing.

We genuinely think the buyer has just changed their mind or found them cheaper in another auction. Hubby's going to offer a partial refund though, just to see if a reduction will satisfy them.

If they've changed their mind they'll say no, but if they're just feeling like they over-paid then maybe it'll work. It's to the amount we'd be out by taking them back anyway.

My usual advice even for private sellers is not to put anything like 'no returns' in the listing- it forces buyers to go straight to a case. If you had a good tight returns policy - say for instance change of mind and returned at own cost, then buyer has the opportunity to make their mind up whether to keep or return, without having to resort to a case.

Anecdotally, private sellers without a returns policy seem to have a much higher than usual amount of SNAD claims as buyers see it as the only way to return goods.

pinkteapot

Thanks for the tip! If we do sell again we'll write proper return policies.

I've always sold without specifying anything. I have commented to hubby before about his choice of 'no returns' because as a buyer I think I'd actually be a bit put off by that, but I can see that my option of not saying anything isn't really any better!

pinkteapot

Just an update for future reference....

You guys were all spot-on, of course.

Offer of a partial refund was refused. Buyer escalated to eBay. In his notes to eBay he actually lied about the listing:

1. He said the clubs were described as "excellent condition". They weren't! They were described as "lightly worn condition".

2. He said there were no photos of the faces of the clubs. There were, and clear, well-lit ones at that.

eBay ruled in his favour without hubby having a chance to refute what had been said. Clubs received back and refund issued and the whole thing has cost us a fair amount.

Hubby can appeal now but we don't see that there's any point.

Buyer was a dealer - his feedback is all buying and selling golf clubs. I suspect he thought he'd happened upon a badly listed set, which were in better condition than the listing suggested, and therefore thought there was profit in them. He has left negative feedback for several other sellers claiming "misleading description". :mad:

Whole thing has been an eye-opener about eBay! We must have been lucky in the past to never encounter this situation before. In the meantime, hubby has had yet another positive feedback for an item he sold around the same time, again saying "just as described".

theonlywayisup

pinkteapot wrote: »

Just an update for future reference....

You guys were all spot-on, of course.

Offer of a partial refund was refused. Buyer escalated to eBay. In his notes to eBay he actually lied about the listing:

1. He said the clubs were described as "excellent condition". They weren't! They were described as "lightly worn condition".

2. He said there were no photos of the faces of the clubs. There were, and clear, well-lit ones at that.

eBay ruled in his favour without hubby having a chance to refute what had been said. Clubs received back and refund issued and the whole thing has cost us a fair amount.

Hubby can appeal now but we don't see that there's any point.

Buyer was a dealer - his feedback is all buying and selling golf clubs. I suspect he thought he'd happened upon a badly listed set, which were in better condition than the listing suggested, and therefore thought there was profit in them. He has left negative feedback for several other sellers claiming "misleading description". :mad:

Whole thing has been an eye-opener about eBay! We must have been lucky in the past to never encounter this situation before. In the meantime, hubby has had yet another positive feedback for an item he sold around the same time, again saying "just as described".

I would appeal. This is twofold.

Firstly, the defect will be removed if you win, which if you evidence yourself strictly keeping to the points the buyer raised, you are likely to.

Secondly, if you win the appeal, but buyer is unable to leave feedback, if he has left it, it is removed.

Avoriaz

pinkteapot wrote: »

...He sold one club from the same set separately (for golf reasons I don't understand!) and the buyer of that left feedback saying "better than described"!!

Could that be what has caused the problem?

Did your listing accurately describe the number of clubs and the fact that one club was not included/missing?

Perhaps the buyer thought he was buying a full set of clubs, received a set with one club short, checked your listing and realised the error was his, and used SNAD as a means of getting his money back.

I realise that this is an academic question at this stage.

pinkteapot

theonlywayisup wrote: »

I would appeal. This is twofold.

Firstly, the defect will be removed if you win, which if you evidence yourself strictly keeping to the points the buyer raised, you are likely to.

Secondly, if you win the appeal, but buyer is unable to leave feedback, if he has left it, it is removed.

Really? We just figured there was zero point as eBay haven't listened to us at any point. We assumed the appeal would just be turned down without really being looked into, so figured it was a waste of energy.... Might see if hubby can be bothered.

If he can I will edit what he says first so it's a very rational refuting of the things the buyer said that were untrue! I can imagine what he'd write left unchecked.

Avoriaz wrote:

Could that be what has caused the problem?

No - the listing clearly listed the number of clubs and which ones they were, and the pictures showed them all together with the numbers showing.

The other club was different in some way. Again, not being the golfer I may be getting this part of the story entirely wrong, but I think it had a different type of shaft, though they'd all been bought together by the first owner and used equally. Something like that anyway!

Buyer made no comment on the particular clubs included - his case was all about the condition.

theonlywayisup

pinkteapot wrote: »

Really? We just figured there was zero point as eBay haven't listened to us at any point. We assumed the appeal would just be turned down without really being looked into, so figured it was a waste of energy.... Might see if hubby can be bothered.

If he can I will edit what he says first so it's a very rational refuting of the things the buyer said that were untrue! I can imagine what he'd write left unchecked.



No - the listing clearly listed the number of clubs and which ones they were, and the pictures showed them all together with the numbers showing.

The other club was different in some way. Again, not being the golfer I may be getting this part of the story entirely wrong, but I think it had a different type of shaft, though they'd all been bought together by the first owner and used equally. Something like that anyway!

Buyer made no comment on the particular clubs included - his case was all about the condition.

Not suggesting you wouldn't be, but be clear, concise and factual. Use third party nouns rather than pronouns (buyer, seller rather than me he she it) as the people who adjudicate are based in Manila and don't have a clear grasp of English language.

It may be pertinent to add the buyer is a competitor, in that he buys and sells in the same category as the disputed item.

There is no guarantee, but if your evidence is clearly stated I see no reason why you would fail.