Need insight.

[2ndchancetreasuresca]

Hello all, needing some insight.
So I sold and item recently and as I was packing it up to ship I noticed some small, but noticeable, damage. It is clearly visible in the photo, however I missed this in the listing stage therefore I did not mark such damage. Now, the item has been paid for already, I reached out to the buyer to make him aware of my mistake. I requested he respond so he can validate that it is okay, or not, or how to proceed further.
Now, my question is... can I issue a refund if he does not respond? I feel perhaps, maybe this could effect my feedback if the seller is dissatisfied due to the small bit of damage. Or do I ship the item within my timeframe and hope for the best?

[msau4301]

I would try to wait to hear if he responds, if the damage is visible in picture he may already be aware. You reached out to let them know so I would wait (there is proof in your message to them you were waiting for an answer). He may be more upset that you cancel and refund before he responds than with the damage itself (especially if quite small). I wouldn't hurry to ship it, the days eBay counts are business days so you are okay for today. Reach out with one more message to him today saying you are holding off shipping until you hear back to confirm he still wants it.

[byto253]

Agree with @msau4301   to wait until as long as possible to send it out.  I would also send a follow-up message after a day indicating that you want to be sure they are ok with it, and you will ship on X date if you do not hear back.

[brettjet38]

You have a few options as mentioned by @byto253 @msau4301 so I will add my 2 cents...

"I reached out to the buyer to make him aware of my mistake. I requested he respond so he can validate that it is okay, or not, or how to proceed further."

Firstly, what was the value & are you willing to lose it?

What is the FB left by the Buyer in general for their purchases?  (You can glean things from FB).

If the Buyer does open an "Item not as described" request, are you willing to print a prepaid return shipping label or have to refund the item plus the original shipping, which the Buyer gets to keep?

You can refund the whole thing if the Buyer does not reply, explaining that as the item was incorrectly listed and they have not replied you have decided to refund the entire amount as you feel the listing was not as described, and to avoid issues refunding is the best option.

You can re-list the item with the corrections, adjust your price, and let the Buyer know so that can purchase or bid again, if they do not you dodged a bullet.

As for any Negative FB it really has no impact on your account and you could probably get it removed, especially if they see the Buyer never responded to your excellent CS.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

How significant is the damage? How expensive is this item? What are the stakes?

Looking at your listings, it seems like you sold a few $10 or so movies. Unless we're talking about a major issue, like a crack or major flaw to the disc, I would just send it. You didn't list them in 'like new' condition. It's good that you care and want to deliver the exact product you offered, but odds are you're making it into a bigger issue than it would be to the buyer.

A buyer who grabs a $10 movie off of eBay almost certainly values getting the movie quickly and without issue because they want to watch it. A slight cosmetic flaw to the case or cover that they didn't originally notice is going to be less of an issue than a seller randomly messaging them in a panic over that flaw and delaying the shipment, let alone cancelling it. 

I am not advocating pulling a fast one on a buyer and sending them an item that you know is flawed or damaged, but I think this is a situation where you are panicking about a flaw that isn't really significant and in turn you're causing the buyer more of a hassle. 

If this was a heavy and expensive item where a return shipping label or a full refund (without a return) would present a major liability, I would understand playing it safe and contacting the buyer. It avoids a major cost and hassle for bothb sides. This doesn't seem to be that situation.

If you are concerned about negative feedback, in the future with each order you can use a stock message for when an item ships to open the line of communication with a buyer. When you open the line of communication, a buyer is less likely to go right to a case or feedback if there is an issue. That is better for both of you because it makes it easier and quicker to solve problems. 

[byto253]

The only thing with that is if you cancel because of a problem with the item, it becomes a seller strike.   

[brettjet38]

As I said it depends on a whole bunch of factors, sometimes taking a "hit" is far better than just going through with a transaction...

...and only this Seller can decide that.

It all depends on what the item was, its value, and the costs of their time to resolve the issue if one arises.

They have already told the Buyer they made a mistake so that hand is now in play...

...ship anyway without a response, is an open invitation to a "claim" if the Buyer so chooses, and they would most likely win.

[intimewithmusic]

I once noticed at the time of shipping a vintage NOS Judds shirt I sold had acid rot. I followed @brettjet38 

advice in his post;

"You can refund the whole thing if the Buyer does not reply, explaining that as the item was incorrectly listed and they have not replied you have decided to refund the entire amount as you feel the listing was not as described, and to avoid issues refunding is the best option."

I sent them a message of explanation. In my case the buyer responded quickly. I refunded all of their money except their shipping.

The shirt wasn't a total write off but it had little value. It didn't cost me anything. I sent it to them anyway at no charge.  I wasn't out of pocket as they agreed to let me keep what they had paid for shipping. They were thrilled and they left great feedback. There was no eBay ding. 

If it was an expensive item with a flaw acceptable to them I would have offered them a partial refund. 

[needsmorerobots]

Not going to add what's already been said. but in future add something like "Please see photos to further assess condition of product" at the end of your Condition description.  It could help you avoid these problems in the future.

And don't refund. It's the buyer who must ask for a refund. Refunding on your own will get you a defect added to your account, even if you already shipped off the item. It happened to me and it'll happen to you.

[flipistics]

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@needsmorerobots wrote:

Not going to add what's already been said. but in future add something like "Please see photos to further assess condition of product" at the end of your Condition description.  It could help you avoid these problems in the future.

And don't refund. It's the buyer who must ask for a refund. Refunding on your own will get you a defect added to your account, even if you already shipped off the item. It happened to me and it'll happen to you.

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Yeah, I refunded something a few months ago (buyer sent the item back without opening a claim), and I got an out of stock defect for my troubles 😡

[pjcdn2005]

If you used problem with address to cancel or used the send refund button to refund less shipping cost you should have been able to appeal that.  If you shipped the item it's obviously not an oos situation so that would be frustrating!