Return and Refund Advice From Canada to USA

[mleaf67]

Hi all, I have my first return to buyer request after the item I purchased was SNAD. I have intitiated contact through the resolution centre and the seller has authorized the return. The next step outined in the resolution centre is requesting a return label. Because the item is SNAD, I do not want to be out the cost of return shipping. Is the return label postage paid including tracking from Canada back to the USA? Do I need to specifically request pre-paid return shipping? Is it possible for a US seller to provide pre-paid shipping from Canada to the USA? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

[mleaf67]

edit ***my first return to "seller" request after the item***

[reallynicestamps]

No he can't send you a shipping label from USPS that would be valid in Canada.

He might, if he knows where there is a stamp dealer, be able to send you mint Canadian stamps. But that is complicated and unlikely.

It has been the norm that, when an item is being returned for refund, the buyer paid the return postage. With Confirmation of Delivery. Which can get pricey.

Within the USA there seems to be a new program where the seller sends a shipping label. But that doesn't work and I believe does not hold cross-border.

So.

What are you out if the seller accepts the return but does not refund the return postage?

Is the cost of return greater or a very large part of the original payment?

How much do you trust the seller? While Standard Practice has been that the buyer pays for the return*, Best Business Practice has been that if the problem was caused by the seller, the return shipping should be paid by the seller.

For example, if you order a red sweater, and the one that arrives is cherry instead of the scarlet you wanted, you would pay return shipping. But if the sweater sent was blue, the seller would pay the return postage, usually on return.

Occasionally a seller will accept a photo, especially of a damaged item, in lieu of a return. Is that a possiblility here?

*Because among other problems not all buyers are honest, although the great majority are, and some will claim damage or other problems to get a perfectly fine item free leaving the seller without the money or the item.

[pjcdn2005]

It has been the norm that, when an item is being returned for refund, the buyer paid the return postage. With Confirmation of Delivery. Which can get pricey.

Within the USA there seems to be a new program where the seller sends a shipping label. But that doesn't work and I believe does not hold cross-border.

Both Canada and the U.S. Money Back Guarantee states that the seller will pay for return shipping. It does NOT say that the rule is only for domestic transactions however it doesn't seem  possible for someone in Canada to purchase a USPS label (unless they have their own U.S. address)  so I am guessing that it isn't possible for a U.S. seller to purchase a CP label to send to a buyer.

The OP will have to ask the seller how they want to handle the return shipping and see what they say. I think (but am not positive) that if they won't agree to paying for return shipping that you can ask ebay to step in and perhaps they can charge the seller for a return label. But...I would be careful doing that as quite often those type of cases are decided on by a bot and could go against you so I would probably phone ebay before I did that.

To be honest, I don't know if customer service would know how best to handle this as it seems to be a gray area.  eBay really needs to set up definitive rules about this or else exclude international cases.