Sold Item Turned Out Faulty - My Dilemma

DrFluffy

But equally they do not have to refund P&P. That's why it helps to have a policy before trading! A lot of ebayers state they will refund if certain conditions are met, but do not cover P&P refunds...

shelly

DazedByTheLight wrote: »

Because after giving the money to Royal Mail which my buyer gave me I am having to give the money back to the buyer! Therefore the money that went to Royal Mail is coming from me!

Oops....I get it now....big ol' brain fart this morning.

I apologise most humbly

I still think you should refund p+p if the item if faulty. If it isn't then you shouldn't.

shelly

DrFluffy wrote: »

But equally they do not have to refund P&P. That's why it helps to have a policy before trading! A lot of ebayers state they will refund if certain conditions are met, but do not cover P&P refunds...

Thats ok having a "no refund of p+p charges" policy if the buyers pay by anything other than paypal. If paypal get involved they refund all the money paid by the buyer, p+p included.

Personally I wouldn't buy from a seller that had terms such as this.

Millionaire

DrFluffy wrote: »

But equally they do not have to refund P&P. That's why it helps to have a policy before trading! A lot of ebayers state they will refund if certain conditions are met, but do not cover P&P refunds...

Yep, In future the OP needs to outline a refunding policy so that if anything like this happens again they are covered. However in this case they haven't and i think it only fair to refund the full amount if faulty or send a replacement

Millionaire

shelly wrote: »

Thats ok having a "no refund of p+p charges" policy if the buyers pay by anything other than paypal. If paypal get involved they refund all the money paid by the buyer, p+p included.

Personally I wouldn't buy from a seller that had terms such as this.

And this is true as well, neither do I:D

ollyk

DazedByTheLight wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I will contact the buyer and ask her to send it back. I will check and if the item is faulty as described then I will give her a refund.

Should I refund the postage costs she paid me as well? If I do then I will have lost money on this item because obviously postage is unrecoverable.

I like the suggestion of opening up an unpaid item report but am not sure if this is still possible as the transaction has been completed on eBay and paid for through Paypal with feedback completed from both sides.

Would it not be an idea if you started thinking how your customers might feel from shopping with you? You have offered a service and let them down (although not your fault) now don't you think it fair that the customer recieves a working mp3 player for the price they originally clicked for, regardless of your losses?
I think you need to understand and treat your customers with a little more respect it might take longer to build up a business and profits but will be worth it in the end...

I do however agree that if it is their fault then they should incur charges but otherwise they really shouldn't have to pay another penny.

Hintza

I have a basic rule; if item is found to faulty within the first month (or so) then its either replace or refund in full covering buyers return costs as well (in most instances I won't bother going to my supplier or manufacturer first). After about a month then item will be sent back for repair by me if necessary or straight to manufacturer if possible I will return it to customer at my expense.

You do get the odd occaion when you get a funny feeling in your water that something does not quite add up, in those cases the item will be returned to manufacturer before I decide on a refund or not. Sand/water in the works or pilot error.

You are trading here and as others have said you will get a % of returns these you have to factor into your trading strategy. I reckon mine are about 2% but for a spell last year were running at 10% on one of my lines and hurt a lot sorting them out.

Hintza

DrFluffy wrote: »

But equally they do not have to refund P&P. That's why it helps to have a policy before trading! A lot of ebayers state they will refund if certain conditions are met, but do not cover P&P refunds...

Afraid that is nonsense. OP is trading and when you get right down to sale of goods act etc the buyer is entitled to a full refund.

DazedByTheLight

ollyk wrote: »

I think you need to understand and treat your customers with a little more respect

How do you know how I treat my customers? Whilst I have had some very useful advice and helpful comments, I find this sort of comment totally unproductive.

Perhaps my asking for advice on here and the fact that I have offered the buyer a refund weighs more highly than your preconceptions (don't know where you have got them from) that I disrespect the people who buy from me.