Would you block this buyer?

se2020

Item listed on ebay for £75

Buyer has sent an offer for £50 (which I think is fair enough) but they have included a message with the offer saying 
"Can you do this for 50. I do not know if it will fit, will you take a return if not"

No mention of who is paying for either the outward or return postage!

The item is a used car part and the part number has been provided (plus can be seen in the photos)
You do need to disassemble the car quite a bit to get to the part so it's probably not that easy for the buyer to check the number on their part.

There are probably 3 or 4 part numbers it could be (maybe more)

Firstly,  I'm annoyed that they sent the message as a note with the offer (rather than message me directly) as it would have been quite easy to miss that. (Although maybe the buyer doesn't know how ebay shows those notes to the seller)

Secondly,  I get the feeling they are hoping to order the 3-4 potential parts from different sellers and have them all to hand when they try and change theirs.  Then send back all the incorrect ones.

Third, it's not that hard to find out which exact part number your car would have. A bit of research on the Internet or a call to the dealer would tell you. 
My concern is, if the buyer does not have the skills to do this then there is a good chance they might not have even correctly identified this part as faulty resulting as a return even if I went to the effort of checking the part number for them.

Finally,  there is the concern that this is just the setup for a scam as they know this is the correct part and just plan to return the faulty one they removed. 

I am going to decline the offer as I don't think it's reasonable to expect a private seller to go to the trouble of packing and posting an item just so a buyer can 'try it and see' especially with such a discount on the listed price.
Would you block them as well or is that a bit harsh?

KxMx

Absolutely, block and move on. 

TimeLord1

Ok just check, their previous feedback and feedback left for others, then if you're still unsure block contact.

GrubbyGirl_2

Tell him he can return if he pays the full price - that way the return postage is covered if you were prepared to take £25 less 

soolin

GrubbyGirl_2 said:

Tell him he can return if he pays the full price - that way the return postage is covered if you were prepared to take £25 less 

This was be my plan B if I was desperate to sell, although I think I would still be inclined to block.

The buyer obviously doesn't know what he's buying if he thinks there's a chance it may have to be returned, and there is an outside chance they return an item they already have that is damaged, or damage this by trying to force it to fit. Whatever happens the seller will be out of pocket for the outward postage, that can't be reclaimed, which is why plan B would be to charge nearer the asking price to cover those potential costs. A change of mind return would require buyer to pay the return costs- but if they feel it's too expensive they might invent a spurious SNAD reason which ties the seller up with appeals and time wasting with ebay. 

sonearandyetsofa

Had an interesting chat once with a guy who sold car parts on eBay, his biggest problem was people returning their old faulty parts to him while claiming SNAD/ arrived damaged. Bear in mind no matter how he does the return, if he returns it you will still be stuck having paid for the outgoing postage. Personally I wouldn't sell to him as he's already anticipating a problem.

red_boots2

I'd block.

se2020

I've blocked!
(and declined the offer)