Return request

moonpenny

Just had a return request (first one ever) for a soft toy sold on ebay.
I am a private seller and not on managed payments yet.
Buyer says item is" too big and doesn't like" though the size was clearly described in description.
What is best course of action?  Just accept return or refuse (can they then claim through paypal?

MR1988

Did the buyer open a NAD case?

I would say best course of action is to accept return and refund buyer upon retun of item. And if buyer is not genuine in his complaint just add him to your blocked buyer list and move on. eBay finds most of the times the buyers to be right so no point going through a complicated and frustrating process by refusing. This is from personal experience, others might have a different opinion.

moonpenny

Just looked again at ebays return request and it doesn't  mention NAD OR anything , just that buyer has requested as return for item but I don't have to.  Buyer reason was they just didn't  like item as bigger than they thought.
Does ebay always mention NAD etc in their messages or is this the normal way they send a return request?

soolin

It does like they are trying a change of mind return which means they pay return costs. I assume you have ‘no returns’ enabled on your account.

If you don’t refund you run the risk of poor feedback , but ultimately you don’t have to accept a change of mind return. If you go ahead and accept it’s worth reminding buyer that they need to return at their own risk using a suitable postage method, or by them buying a return label from ebay. Sometimes the cost of the return immediately changes their mind! 

pbartlett

If they have opened a return request, simply 'accept' it. Wait for them to post it back and once received, refund them

moonpenny

soolin said:

It does like they are trying a change of mind return which means they pay return costs. I assume you have ‘no returns’ enabled on your account.

If you don’t refund you run the risk of poor feedback , but ultimately you don’t have to accept a change of mind return. If you go ahead and accept it’s worth reminding buyer that they need to return at their own risk using a suitable postage method, or by them buying a return label from ebay. Sometimes the cost of the return immediately changes their mind! 

Yes as above ,change of mind! 
I have 100% feedback so am a bit bothered about that but am annoyed that they said it was bigger when it was there in the description.
Am dithering at moment but thanks for everyone's help.

jon81uk

As a private seller I wouldn't accept it. Yes there is the risk of negative feedback, but you don't have to accept the return if it is just change of mind.

tempus_fugit

I would just accept it. If it's a change of mind then they'll have to pay to return it to you, so you would be getting off more lightly than if they opened a SNAD. And if you refuse they might just open a SNAD anyway so as to be able to return it. I just think return requests should, in most cases, be accepted to cut your (potential) losses in the long run as well as avoiding possible unpleasantness later on. It's not great for the sellers but it's just the way eBay works.

moonpenny

I declined the request to refund (clicked the box on ebay message to not refund and close case). Now, I have had nasty messages from buyer saying they have returned anyway and if I don't pay ebay have advised them to open PayPal case.
If I now pay on receiving back item will ebay automatically see to that and will I also have paid for postage (buyer should pay for change of mind return) 
Unsure how to proceed with this.

MR1988

If the buyer paid already for return than you don't have to worry about paying the return postage, I believe.

When item comes back and you wish to issue a refund then it will refund back the buyer the price he originally paid for the item + first postage.

Just message the buyer and say you will issue refund when the item gets back to you.

I'm not too sure where you stand feedback wise, you will have to take it up with eBay Customer Service as I believe the buyer will be able to leave feedback since you refused the return.

It's a bit of an odd situation and maybe others have more experience with it but my first suggest would be not to issue any refunds until you actually get the item back.

theonlywayisup

moonpenny said:

I declined the request to refund (clicked the box on ebay message to not refund and close case). Now, I have had nasty messages from buyer saying they have returned anyway and if I don't pay ebay have advised them to open PayPal case.
If I now pay on receiving back item will ebay automatically see to that and will I also have paid for postage (buyer should pay for change of mind return) 
Unsure how to proceed with this.

Ignore the messages. 

I am unclear on your meaning in your second paragraph.   Has the buyer opened a Paypal case?  What do you mean about ebay seeing to that?  Have you sent a payment/label for returns postage?

You will not have to pay returns postage if the buyer has opened a paypal case (you wouldn't have had to pay returns postage on an ebay change of mind return anyhow).  If they do return, you will have to refund the original payment (which includes the outward postage). 

Personally, I would wait to see what if anything comes back.