Return request for item send through Global Shipping Programme

Mr_Countdown

Hi. I sold an item to a buyer from the US and they have opened a return request saying it wasn’t as described. I described the item as excellent condition but they have pointed out some damage to it that I wasn’t aware of. Im not disputing this as they could well be right. 

I apologised and offered a partial refund. I had sold it for £35 plus postage and offered a £20 partial refund which I thought was more than fair. 

They have come back saying they want a £35 refund or want to return it for a full refund. 

I think this is taking the mickey but also have concerns that if I accept the return I’ll be stung for high postage costs from the USA. 

Any advice please?
Thank you. 

tightauldgit

I'm afraid you aren't going to have many options if the item is being returned 'not as described' - you will have to pay for the return and refund the buyer. Unless you think the damage occurred in transit and then Ebay may be liable? 

Have they shown you evidence of the damage? Have you compared it with your own photos to see if it's new? 

Mr_Countdown

tightauldgit said:

I'm afraid you aren't going to have many options if the item is being returned 'not as described' - you will have to pay for the return and refund the buyer. Unless you think the damage occurred in transit and then Ebay may be liable? 

Have they shown you evidence of the damage? Have you compared it with your own photos to see if it's new? 

Yes they have sent a picture of the damage. It’s small but clear. Somehow I must have missed it. 

Costs from the USA are probably extreme so are you saying they have me over a barrel?

FFHillbilly

Mr_Countdown said:

tightauldgit said:

I'm afraid you aren't going to have many options if the item is being returned 'not as described' - you will have to pay for the return and refund the buyer. Unless you think the damage occurred in transit and then Ebay may be liable? 

Have they shown you evidence of the damage? Have you compared it with your own photos to see if it's new? 

Yes they have sent a picture of the damage. It’s small but clear. Somehow I must have missed it. 

Costs from the USA are probably extreme so are you saying they have me over a barrel?

exactly
every time I get a GSP sale I check the item matches the description thoroughly before sending, sometimes send a message to the buyer asking them to confirm they are happy with the description, and If I think theres a chance the buy might complain about something just cancel the sale

tightauldgit

Mr_Countdown said:

tightauldgit said:

I'm afraid you aren't going to have many options if the item is being returned 'not as described' - you will have to pay for the return and refund the buyer. Unless you think the damage occurred in transit and then Ebay may be liable? 

Have they shown you evidence of the damage? Have you compared it with your own photos to see if it's new? 

Yes they have sent a picture of the damage. It’s small but clear. Somehow I must have missed it. 

Costs from the USA are probably extreme so are you saying they have me over a barrel?

Pretty much, I believe. Someone else might have a different view but I'm reasonably sure GSP doesn't offer any help with returns as standard. 

Only option you have is to try your luck with Ebay and see if they will help - you could try challenging the claim and say that the damage must have occurred during transit but I expect you'd have to provide some evidence of the damage not being there prior to sending it out. 

Unfortunately when an item is not as described the onus is on the seller to pay for return shipping - it does seem like your buyer is aware of this and is trying it on to some extent in asking for a full refund. In this case you're tied by Ebay's policies though. 

If you're reasonably sure that the damage was there when you sold it then I think the only solution you have is a polite request to Ebay and see if they will offer you anything. Tell them it's your first time using GSP and how disappointed you are that you think the buyer is taking advantage of Ebay's terms and that this has put you off using GSP in future, I don't know how common it is for Ebay to throw people a bone in goodwill payments but it can't hurt to ask. 

By the letter of the terms though I think you're snookered.  

How much is the postage back from the US? In this case even if it's £35-£40 I'd probably insist on it just to spite the buyer. 

GadgetGuru

This is why I do not use the GSP programme, or sell abroad at all. Returns are too much hassle. 

tightauldgit

IftiBashir said:

This is why I do not use the GSP programme, or sell abroad at all. Returns are too much hassle. 

To be honest it's not something I had really considered until now, as I hadn't appreciated that Ebay wouldn't assist in the return. I've been lucky so far (touch wood) but it's certainly something I would think twice about now. 

km1500

yes I don't use the global shipping program because although of course it is easy to ship stuff out if it comes to a return then basically you have to pay for it yourself

soolin

km1500 said:

yes I don't use the global shipping program because although of course it is easy to ship stuff out if it comes to a return then basically you have to pay for it yourself

In fairness you only pay for returns where you send something SNAD so if you often misrepresent goods then the GSP is definitely not a good idea and even UK items will start costing you money. 

Everyone can make a mistake with something , it happens to all of us but hopefully only once and I suspect that this is what has caught the OP in this instance, but to say not to use it as it means you have to describe your goods accurately is a sad reflection on what some sellers think they can get away with. 

I sell a lot via GSP , I’ve had a couple of claims for damage where eBay have just paid them out themselves (one lot of crystal candlesticks double boxed apparently arrived open, unpacked and broken into dozens of pieces) . I’ve had more than a few items fail to arrive, again all covered by eBay. I also had a SNAD claim for a vintage figurine where buyer claimed item had some damage, I won that as well as the damage was both described and photographed on my listing. That last one did take nearly 2 weeks to resolve as buyer was really angry as they admitted they neither read the description in full due to a poor translation nor looked at the photos and insisted I should have emailed them properly before dispatch to ensure they had noted the damage, but eBay disagreed . 

tightauldgit

soolin said:

km1500 said:

yes I don't use the global shipping program because although of course it is easy to ship stuff out if it comes to a return then basically you have to pay for it yourself

In fairness you only pay for returns where you send something SNAD so if you often misrepresent goods then the GSP is definitely not a good idea and even UK items will start costing you money. 

Everyone can make a mistake with something , it happens to all of us but hopefully only once and I suspect that this is what has caught the OP in this instance, but to say not to use it as it means you have to describe your goods accurately is a sad reflection on what some sellers think they can get away with. 

I sell a lot via GSP , I’ve had a couple of claims for damage where eBay have just paid them out themselves (one lot of crystal candlesticks double boxed apparently arrived open, unpacked and broken into dozens of pieces) . I’ve had more than a few items fail to arrive, again all covered by eBay. I also had a SNAD claim for a vintage figurine where buyer claimed item had some damage, I won that as well as the damage was both described and photographed on my listing. That last one did take nearly 2 weeks to resolve as buyer was really angry as they admitted they neither read the description in full due to a poor translation nor looked at the photos and insisted I should have emailed them properly before dispatch to ensure they had noted the damage, but eBay disagreed . 

my concern with SNAD is not that I haven't described the things properly but that a) sometimes you do make a mistake b) sometimes these things can be subjective c) i have no idea how Ebay will see any dispute so you are effectively turning over the decision to a black box. There are unscrupulous buyers out there who will just abuse the system too.

So far I've only have two SNAD claim that I remember and one was a simple I wrote it was Black and it was actually Dark Blue one which is my mistake but the second was a few marks on a CD that I sold which is way more subjective in my opinion as I hadn't even noticed them on listing but the buyer did. 

I do try to describe anything I can see or am aware of but I still feel like anything I sell on Ebay is a bit of a risk (maybe I'm just paranoid) and if I knew that by selling it overseas I was basically giving up my ability to have it returned to me (as it would be uneconomical) then I'd definitely think twice about that.  

soolin

tightauldgit said:

soolin said:

km1500 said:

yes I don't use the global shipping program because although of course it is easy to ship stuff out if it comes to a return then basically you have to pay for it yourself

In fairness you only pay for returns where you send something SNAD so if you often misrepresent goods then the GSP is definitely not a good idea and even UK items will start costing you money. 

Everyone can make a mistake with something , it happens to all of us but hopefully only once and I suspect that this is what has caught the OP in this instance, but to say not to use it as it means you have to describe your goods accurately is a sad reflection on what some sellers think they can get away with. 

I sell a lot via GSP , I’ve had a couple of claims for damage where eBay have just paid them out themselves (one lot of crystal candlesticks double boxed apparently arrived open, unpacked and broken into dozens of pieces) . I’ve had more than a few items fail to arrive, again all covered by eBay. I also had a SNAD claim for a vintage figurine where buyer claimed item had some damage, I won that as well as the damage was both described and photographed on my listing. That last one did take nearly 2 weeks to resolve as buyer was really angry as they admitted they neither read the description in full due to a poor translation nor looked at the photos and insisted I should have emailed them properly before dispatch to ensure they had noted the damage, but eBay disagreed . 

my concern with SNAD is not that I haven't described the things properly but that a) sometimes you do make a mistake b) sometimes these things can be subjective c) i have no idea how Ebay will see any dispute so you are effectively turning over the decision to a black box. There are unscrupulous buyers out there who will just abuse the system too.

So far I've only have two SNAD claim that I remember and one was a simple I wrote it was Black and it was actually Dark Blue one which is my mistake but the second was a few marks on a CD that I sold which is way more subjective in my opinion as I hadn't even noticed them on listing but the buyer did. 

I do try to describe anything I can see or am aware of but I still feel like anything I sell on Ebay is a bit of a risk (maybe I'm just paranoid) and if I knew that by selling it overseas I was basically giving up my ability to have it returned to me (as it would be uneconomical) then I'd definitely think twice about that.  

It is obviously a personal choice, but the amount I sell via GSP more than makes up for any errors or accidents I might make when listing. Most of my items are low cost so even making a mistake for a UK buyer could cost me a fair bit compared to money made on the initial sale.