Novice seller question - request for part refund, how to avoid a neg FB

[heartovermind]

A buyer claims an item (it is electrical)
wasn't working fully 100%, proposes to
get a partial refund (he specifies the amount).

We were sure the thing was working before it we sent it,

but the amount is relatively small, so I would
like to do this in a way to avoid a negative FB.

How does one go about this?
What is the best way to avoid neg FB?

1) just issue a partial refund through Paypal
in response to his email request

2) wait for him to initiate a dispute?
does it make a difference if it is through ebay or Paypal?

3) should I as the seller initiate the process?

do any of these really 100% guarantee that ebay
would not allow a neg FB to stay if he tried to leave
one after the refund?

Objective is to not to avoid the refund, but avoid a neg FB.

I've never had an issue but we've only sold a few things
here or there. 

[reallynicestamps]

Because you are a new seller, and because many of these partial refund demands are scams, I'd go with #2.

first send a message:

"I regret your purchase was not satisfactory. Please return it for a full refund."

Because if it's good enough to keep it's good enough to pay for.

Why would he want to keep a non-working Thing if he can get a full refund?

If he opens a Dispute reply in the Dispute.

"I regret your purchase was not satisfactory. Please return it for a full refund."

Now you may have to pay for return shipping.

If he is in Canada*, no problem, you can do that through the same service you used to buy your original shipping label (SnapShip/Canada Post, Paypal or Shippo).

If he doesn't use the label to return the Thing, you don't have to refund him and eventually you will be refunded the cost of the Label.

He also loses the Dispute and cannot leave feedback.

If you refund him and he leaves negative feedback, you can ask eBay to remove it. Sometimes this is successful.

But there is nothing that will prevent him from leaving it, except the goodness of his heart. Like that can be trusted.

*If he is in the USA, you can buy a USPS shipping label through Shippo. You will need your Small Business card number from Canada Post for this.

[reallynicestamps]

BTW- members are allowed to have multiple accounts.

Since you have no FB yet as a seller, if you got a neg, you could simply start a new account for selling.

Don't panic.

[ricarmic]

Depending on the situation, my approach is different than reallynice on this stuff as my goal is normally the same as yours to avoid the additional process work and potential for negative feedback.

You can check their feedback received and given to see if there are patterns. If this is a common event then femmes way is probably the best way to go. However if it is not:

I would keep the conversation in ebay messaging assuming it was an ebay message they sent you?

I've just refunded via PAYPAL in situations like this.

(Directing them to the "process" sometimes causes difficulty because we assume they know the process for disputes etc....and I know in my world that is not always the case)

If you think the partial refund request and/or amount is unrealistic, I would block them from future purchases.