Wrong item sent - buyer refuses to return it . Ebay

shahpur

A few weeks back, I accidentally sent two sets of guitar tuners to the same person due to printing out the same shipping label twice a couple of days apart . I've reached out to the recipient to retrieve the wrongly sent package  but they refuse unless I offer a discount on another set I'm selling. I have offered to send them a postage label or arrange royalmail to collect but they just keep demanding a discount before they send anything back. I'm uncertain about my options since they're unwilling to compromise, especially considering the distance between us (they're in Scotland, and I'm in Birmingham) means I cannot collect them myself. Any advice on how to proceed?

soolin

Your only option is small claims , and I suppose that depends on the sort of money you are talking about. 

challengedavid

not that i know what to do to resolve it, but what exactly did they say?
have they said theyare keeping it unless you give a discount?  or just hinted at it
what would the likes of currys do if they sent a duplicate? 

you could offer a discount upon return then cancel the new sale,and block them but thats not really right and would get you a negative feedback and an ebay strike?

GrubbyGirl_2

I'd be tempted to tell them that you intend to report to the police as a theft, see if that encourages them to send it back

Spoonie_Turtle

challengedavid said:

what would the likes of currys do if they sent a duplicate? 

A retailer like Currys would most likely send a return label (perhaps for it to be collected), which is what the OP has offered. 

With Currys of course they could then charge the buyer's card for the duplicate if it's not returned within X number of days, whereas the OP is unable to do that.

GDB2222

shahpur said:

A few weeks back, I accidentally sent two sets of guitar tuners to the same person due to printing out the same shipping label twice a couple of days apart . I've reached out to the recipient to retrieve the wrongly sent package  but they refuse unless I offer a discount on another set I'm selling. I have offered to send them a postage label or arrange royalmail to collect but they just keep demanding a discount before they send anything back. I'm uncertain about my options since they're unwilling to compromise, especially considering the distance between us (they're in Scotland, and I'm in Birmingham) means I cannot collect them myself. Any advice on how to proceed?

The buyer isn't behaving very well, but it's best to compromise. If you give the buyer the discount that they want, will you still at least break even on the new sale?  If so, there's not much lost. 

Better still, if you offer the buyer a discount on the item you sent in error, would it be any use to them as a spare? That would save you the cost of return postage, and if you do get it returned there's no guarantee the item will still be in pristine condition.

shahpur

challengedavid said:

not that i know what to do to resolve it, but what exactly did they say?
have they said theyare keeping it unless you give a discount?  or just hinted at it
what would the likes of currys do if they sent a duplicate? 

you could offer a discount upon return then cancel the new sale,and block them but thats not really right and would get you a negative feedback and an ebay strike?

they have just said unless I give them a discount on a couple of my items they refuse to post it back.  I think because it took me a week to track the parcel to their address they claimed it as their own and was shocked that I was able to track it .


 It is more the principle in that I have offered to arrange royalmail to collect the item ( and bring a label) and would have paid something towards their time  but it does not sit too well with me being blackmailed into offering a discount .

I 

Spoonie_Turtle

I honestly wouldn't even consider rewarding such bad behaviour like that.  Definitely report them to eBay if you haven't already, maybe even phone them up to explain and see what they say?  I don't know if it's possible they might be able to charge the buyer for the second item if they won't return it … I would think that's unlikely, but still worth seeing what they say anyway.

GDB2222

shahpur said:

challengedavid said:

not that i know what to do to resolve it, but what exactly did they say?
have they said theyare keeping it unless you give a discount?  or just hinted at it
what would the likes of currys do if they sent a duplicate? 

you could offer a discount upon return then cancel the new sale,and block them but thats not really right and would get you a negative feedback and an ebay strike?

they have just said unless I give them a discount on a couple of my items they refuse to post it back.  I think because it took me a week to track the parcel to their address they claimed it as their own and was shocked that I was able to track it .


 It is more the principle in that I have offered to arrange royalmail to collect the item ( and bring a label) and would have paid something towards their time  but it does not sit too well with me being blackmailed into offering a discount .

I 

Ah, a point of principle. 

Your buyers are clearly unprincipled, but I don’t think that you have any obligation to go out of your way to teach them morality.  You are in business. So, be pragmatic. 

GadgetGuru

I see a potential issue - so what if you promise the discount and he sends the duplicate item back. 
You then refuse the discount.
Buyer then contacts eBay to say he has returned the item to you for full refund, but you are not responding etc - eBay will assume the buyer has returned the item and will provide a full refund, no?

Are eBay aware of the situation as it stands? If not, may be an idea to speak to them and get them on board before you proceed......

Personally I would threaten to report as theft to begin with to see if he caves. 
Failing that, try the above......

GrubbyGirl_2

IftiBashir said:

I see a potential issue - so what if you promise the discount and he sends the duplicate item back. 
You then refuse the discount.
Buyer then contacts eBay to say he has returned the item to you for full refund, but you are not responding etc - eBay will assume the buyer has returned the item and will provide a full refund, no?

Are eBay aware of the situation as it stands? If not, may be an idea to speak to them and get them on board before you proceed......

Personally I would threaten to report as theft to begin with to see if he caves. 
Failing that, try the above......

As long as all the communication has been done through ebay messaging then ebay can see the truth