eBay

electron318 · ‎01-27-2016

I ship two belts to USA with Canada Post. Now my two buyers want to return it as the size is not suposed OK. How can I do a return shipping label ??? I am a particular.

sylviebee · ‎01-27-2016

I think that the best way is to send your buyer money via paypal for shipping.

There has been a recent increase in USPS costs. I used to know the rates but now it's a little tricky because there's just been a 22% increase.

The USPS website has always overestimated cost, but you may have to go by that and ask that your buyer refund the overpayment which is usually substantial...........

or not if you want to keep things simple.

Use First Class International with delivery confirmation.

pierrelebel · ‎01-27-2016

Is it your mistake or the buyer changing his mind?

I see one of them has already left negative feedback

I suggest you tell them to return the belts - cheapest way possible - and you will refund through PayPal upon receipt.

Do NOT refund until you have received the belts.

electron318 · ‎01-27-2016

Ok thank you very much.. Well it's my fault.. but one buyer is very nice with me and give me the time but the one who gives me a bad feedback is very hard with me. I said that I am working to resolve the problem faster as I can and he wants the refund without getting me the belt back.

Plus, that's what he says :

Dear electron318,

Well I don't have the money to do the return.. So idk how that's gonna work.

I really don't know what to do at this point.

sylviebee · ‎01-27-2016

Money for return shipping is not the same as refunding the initial payment.

It's fairly standard to send money for return shipping prior to the return.

Refunding the original payment is not done before you receive the item back but that's understood.

These are two separate payments.

dutchman48 · ‎01-27-2016

Until he gets your return shipping money and does not return your item.

Then what?

sylviebee · ‎01-27-2016

@dutchman48 wrote:
Until he gets your return shipping money and does not return your item.

Then what?

Then one could view it as a partial refund I suppose.

I know I 'd prefer to issue a partial refund than do a return.

In any case, if one doesn't send the money for return shipping and the buyer escalates the case (which is likely), then eBay will issue a courier label for return shipping, and trust me: No one wants the problems associated with that.

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-28-2016

@sylviebee wrote:
@dutchman48 wrote:
Until he gets your return shipping money and does not return your item.

Then what?
Then one could view it as a partial refund I suppose.

I know I 'd prefer to issue a partial refund than do a return.

In any case, if one doesn't send the money for return shipping and the buyer escalates the case (which is likely), then eBay will issue a courier label for return shipping, and trust me: No one wants the problems associated with that.

I realize that a courier label was issued in your situation but I've never heard of it happening ever before so I wouldn't assume that is the norm.

I just had a U.S. buyer who wanted to return an item because I had goofed up and I gave him the option of printing the label and then telling me how much it would be so that I could send the money to him or I could refund him for that label once I received the item back. He didn't have a problem with waiting. I think that in most cases if you act professionally, the buyer is going to trust the seller to do the right thing.

Obviously that isn't always the case but if I did have to send the money ahead of time and they didn't return the item, I would be out the return shipping but I would have been out that money even if they had sent the item back so I really wouldn't be any further behind.

electron318 · ‎01-28-2016

So, I have to send him money for shipping before he sends it to me to avoid any problems with ebay at this point? Is that really the only solutions that I have?

gilliankehler · ‎01-28-2016

Yes unfortunately you are stuck doing that, unless you think you can convince the buyer to let you give him a partial refund and he can keep the belt. I usually try to do a partial refund first because an international return on my dime can prove to be quite expensive when all's said and done.

sylviebee · ‎01-28-2016

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
@sylviebee wrote:
I realize that a courier label was issued in your situation but I've never heard of it happening ever before so I wouldn't assume that is the norm.

I just had a U.S. buyer who wanted to return an item because I had goofed up and I gave him the option of printing the label and then telling me how much it would be so that I could send the money to him or I could refund him for that label once I received the item back. He didn't have a problem with waiting. I think that in most cases if you act professionally, the buyer is going to trust the seller to do the right thing.

Obviously that isn't always the case but if I did have to send the money ahead of time and they didn't return the item, I would be out the return shipping but I would have been out that money even if they had sent the item back so I really wouldn't be any further behind

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I'm not talking about the type of situation you describe. As I said above: If electron opts not to send the funds then eBay will step in and do something about it.

That is, if a seller refuses to somehow provide return shipping costs, and the buyer decides to escalate the case forcing eBay to step in, theI policy is to somehow provide the buyer with either the funds or a label.

In the past they simply went into the seller's account and sent the buyer the funds but I was told that they had changed this policy because they couldn't go into a seller's account and spend his/her money.

That's why they sent me a courier label (you can't buy PO labels from another country (yet)). What was never clear to me was who paid for the label. If they couldn't go into the seller's account then that also means that they couldn't go in for the funds for the label.

It almost seemed as if eBay funded return shipping but I don't know for sure.

pjcdn2005 · ‎01-28-2016

I'm not disagreeing that ebay will step in and do something. But I don't think that them stepping in and providing a courier label is the norm. They seem to handle it in a few different ways.

sylviebee · ‎01-28-2016

I don't know.

I think Raphael mentioned something about issuing courier labels for return shipping, but I wasn't there.

electron318 · ‎01-28-2016

I got a last question.. He finally ships me the belt back and send me the invoice. It is normal that it costs him 45$ US to ship it to me for a 7-10 days service when it costs me 16$ CAD to ship the same package to him for a 6-8 days service. Does he really takes the less expansive service??? It is so much money.. it's more than 60$ CAD.

sylviebee · ‎01-28-2016

@electron318 wrote:
I got a last question.. He finally ships me the belt back and send me the invoice. It is normal that it costs him 45$ US to ship it to me for a 7-10 days service when it costs me 16$ CAD to ship the same package to him for a 6-8 days service. Does he really takes the less expansive service??? It is so much money.. it's more than 60$ CAD.

No, he could have shipped for much less.

If this happens again instruct your buyer to ship via First Class International mail with delivery confirmation.

The cost for two belts would have been about $9 US before the price increase. Now they'll probably bill you $16 US but I'm pretty sure that's inflated.

This time you might not have any choice but to pay the $45.

Your buyer used an upgraded method to ship.

electron318 · ‎01-28-2016

I instruct him to take the less expansive service but it's sure that he wouldn't take it. That's what I thought. Anyway, when you start having problems with a buyer of this kind.. this become only worst and worst. Another ebay experience to forget.

maximus7001 · ‎01-28-2016

Now you shot yourself in the foot. Did you give specific instructions to not use a huge box and to not use some super express type of shipping and to use usps first class and no other method?

electron318 · ‎01-28-2016

I instruct him to take USPS less expansive service and to ship me back the belt in the exact condition I ship it to him. That's already in a box.

But when a buyer first want a refund before getting back your belt. Then, second says he doesn't have money for shipping back the belt and asking again to get a refund ASAP. Finally, ships the belt because I said it's ebay policy that I need to get back my belt before refunding him.

I don't know if I shoot myself in the foot, but it smells problems all around.

sylviebee · ‎01-29-2016

Many of these situations require good negotiating/communication skills. You don't have to actually care in the real world. Your buyer just has to feel that you do.

I can see that your first language is not English. It's possible that you just weren't able to communicate with your buyers in a way that took the pressure off.

ricarmic has posted some truly excellent messages for anyone to use in sticky situations.

You'll have to search for them a little but it's well worth the effort. His messages are right on.

Next time one of these situations arises you could see if one of those applies (perhaps with a little editing) and use it.

The outcome might be very different.