HELP: Buyer wants to return item for very odd reasons
Summary: phoenixhobbies is navigating a complex return situation with a buyer on eBay. The buyer claimed a display collectible had defects not mentioned in the listing, but phoenixhobbies disagrees, noting the piece's age and its condition being clear in photos. Despite initial confusion and concern about potential scamming, phoenixhobbies sent a return label using Shippo and awaits the item's return. The community advised on handling such returns, emphasizing prompt refunds and interactions with buyers to avoid negative outcomes. There was also discussion about the pros and cons of offering returns, and phoenixhobbies acknowledged accidentally marking the item as delivered, expressing frustration but deciding to issue a refund to resolve the issue.
This is what they said:
“ Weapon holding nub along one of the model swords was damaged prior to being shipped to me, as the piece could not be found in the packaging. The weapon does not fasten into the hands as a result. Left arm articulation joints are stiff to the point of immobility, other joints are also varyingly stiff to lesser degrees. Nothing was said or displayed about any of these issues in the listing description.”
Sounds red flaggy to me. To many words and very oddly specific. It’s not supposed to move… it’s a display collectable and 15 years old…
did not think their was any issues with it. And he states the “nub” is no their that goes in hand hole to stay in place, is clearly visible and their in the photo he showed.
So I’m confused. Also all about the articulation. It’s an old collectable that’s been in the same position in my glass display case for 12 years I mentioned in the used section…
Upon inspection and packing it up I felt their was no issues with the item.
I have 17 photos of many angles of it. Not much I could show or say about it. 🤷🏻♀️
They are a buyer with 0 feedback and from March 5 2023. Do you think they are trying to scam me?
What should I do or say?
Thank you for your time and help.
reallynicestamps
·2 years agothe reality of eBay is that most sellers who aren't selling in a very popular and narrow category don't have the possibility of repeat buyers. So this isn't quite the same as a scenario where you own a local hobby store, and a regular customer complains about a product.
This is true for the individual seller, but eBay does have repeat buyers.
EBay is pushing the responsibility for returns and problems off on their sellers who don't really have much reason to cooperate.
BTW there is an interesting discussion of returns on CBC Radio One today.
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16032012-reverse-logistics-business-making-money-things-return-astra
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoSo, I did a stupid...
I just wanted to check the return tracking number status on the eBay app and when I went to scroll down I acedently hit the "Delivered" button... 🤦🏻💩
Now, I have to refund the buyer before the 27, no matter what... I dont even have the item back to inspect yet, even though it is in transit, it still awknowlaged it as delivered, even though the tracking does not say delivered yet... 💩🤷🏻
I give up at this point... I don't even mind anymore... I'm just gunna refund at this point, so I can stop thinking about this, once I read your responces before tommorrow... 😑
reallynicestamps
·2 years agoWas debating taking returns off my lisitings so people dont try this again?
Counter-intuititive but No Returns actually means more refunds.
Because that policy makes you sound difficult to work with, the buyer goes immediately to the MBG and a Not As Described claim.
And.
The No Returns seller has said they don't ever want to see the item again. Because that's what NO returns means.
While the seller can still demand the return (and pay for return shipping) many we see here can't understand that and put off demanding and paying for the label.
Which means they lose both the payment and the item.
One of the things the buyer relies on is that the seller does not know how to send shipping costs internationally.
But now you do. Yay!
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoFair enough. Makes sense. More pros than cons. Thank you.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoI honestly never noticed it as an issue. But that broken peice is clearly shown in 3 of my photos. What do I do? Do I message the buyer and say what? Thank you.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoreallynicestamps
·2 years agoIf they say no, ask them to open a Not As Described dispute with eBay.
Now, they're probably being picky, but that is also why they did such a thorough job of describing the fault to you.
(My SIL says she's" CDO -- because OCD is not in alphabetical order". )
IF they do,and scammers won't, you will be required to send a return shipping label.
If they are in the USA,you may have to do this through Shippo. Some US scammers think Canadians can't do this. They are wrong.
Do this promptly.
Then when you get the model back,refund promptly.
If it is not returned, do not send anything not even a partial.
And of course relist .
FWIW.
Many collectors put their 'collecting allowance' into buying gifts at this time of year.
But they go back to collecting, often spending more than usual, after the holidays.
So while your relist would miss Christmas, that is not necessarily a Bad Thing.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agofemmefan1946
·2 years agoHuh?
Shippo is online.
https://apps.goshippo.com/login?next=https://app.goshippo.com/orders/manual/
You can buy USPS labels through their website.
Then you send the buyer a pdf of the label, and they drop off at their nearest post office.
I was unaware thatShippo did any physical shipping at all.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agopjcdn2005
·2 years agoIf the buyer will not accept a partial refund and opens a return (regardless of the reason) you have to accept as you do offer returns on your listings. If the buyer opens a return using one of the 'not as described' reason you have to either refund right away or accept the return and refund when you get the item back even if you don't accept returns.
If an item you are selling has any defects, you should mention that on the description. Don't depend on buyers seeing the problem in pictures.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agopjcdn2005
·2 years agoShippo is just a provider who prints label. If you are printing a Canada Post label at Shippo you would mail the package at any CP outlet, post office or post box. In this case you would simply be buying a usps through them that you would save as a pdf and then send it to your customer through the return system or via email. You cam also buy a usps label through Pirateship.com.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoIt’s very confusing. How do we make a label when we don’t have the dimensions of the item we no longer have!? Help!!!!! 😭😩
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoIm in Canada and the buyer is in the US. Cant figure out how to create a label through shippo. I see creating a new label but cant get buyers address as the shipper and my PO Box as the return address. Also, how do i do the customs decluration for the buyer in the US and how do i get the shipping dimensions when i no longer have the item? So confused?
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agophoenixhobbies
OP2 years agophoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoMy husband and I can't figure out how to create a return sipping label for the US buyer in shippo. I'm in Canada. This order is not listed with my other ebay orders in my shippo account. All I see and get is to create a new shipping label. How do I put the buyrs address as the sender and my PO Box as the return?
Aslo how do I declare customs form for the buyer in the US to me in canada? And the dimensions when I no longer have the item or box? Everything I find on google is if you have the ebay order listed in your shippo account.
Thank you.
ypdc_dennis
·2 years agoPirateship is another shipping alternative for USPS to Canada labels.
As for dimensions ask the buyer.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoWe tried making a label through pirateship, but it would not work and in their FAQ's they stated Canadians in Canada can not make a USPS label.
The buyer is not responding to my messages and it's also a guest account with no feedback. All seems very red flaggy to me. Apparetnly people are in groups and share and google how to get free stuff on ebay, trying to play with the rules, hoping to win...
My husband ended up figuring out how to make a USPS label on Shippo, with the buyers address as the sender and my PO Box as the reciver and on the customs decloration selected for return. The way they have it set up looks convoluted, took us a bit to figure out...
I was panicing about loosing $90.00 CAD and my figurine to the possible scammer buyer. Becasue it was at the last moment to make the decision to make a return label. I was hoping the buyer would message me back to work something out...
Now the ball is in the buyers court... The buyer has until January 25 to ship back the item... Heres hoping everything works out in our favour...
Thank you.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years ago*My funds are on hold, until what ever needs to be done.
Until the buyer ships it and I inspect it. Should I video record me opening it, incase the seller ships something else or damaged the item? I'm so paranoid about that happening...
Can the buyer retract the return and just keep it without refund? If so, as long as the shipping label does not get scanned, can I get a refund on the shipping label?
Thank you.
flipistics
·2 years agoAlso get them to add simple export rate to the Pirateship account.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·2 years agoWhen you login to Shippo on a Desktop computer, there should be a green button at the top right corner called "Create Label".
You should be able to manually fill out the info there.
If you don't have the exact dimensions, it isn't a big deal. If you underpay, Shippo will charge the adjustment to your account later.
In a situation like this one, it is usually better to ask the buyer directly what kind of partial refund they think would be fair to keep the item. I understand you offered one. It's going to likely cost you $30 to have it returned. You also have the unrecoverable costs of the original label, and the cost of your time. Then you need to re-list it and sell it again. Even if a partial-refund costs more than a return label, it might be worth it to resolve the situation without any additional wasted time.
In terms of your original post and how returns work on eBay. In an event where you felt a buyer didn't read the listing or made a false claim in a return, eBay doesn't arbitrate on individual issues. They don't say we will keep the return open because we can verify that the item had an issue. How it works is that if you sell something, and a buyer opens a return for an item not being as described, you have to resolve the return to the satisfaction of the buyer, either with a partial refund or by providing a label and a refund. There are avenues to report buyers or possibly recover some costs after the fact. But the take away is that it is always important to resolve a return before the deadline, otherwise eBay will step in and refund the buyer, and they will keep the item.
I understand in this case, you seem to agree with the buyer.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoFair enough, makes sense.
My husband ended up figuring out at the last moment how to make a USPS label through Shippo before we went to bed. With the buyers address as the snder and our PO Box as the reciver. Put on customs decloration as a return. I remeberd later I always write down my items dimensions in my notebook!
My husbad is a buisness man. He explained to me the loss in cost in this situation. Pay the $20.00 to ship and get it back, or pay $20.00 particial refund and not get it back. Throw money at the problem to make it go away as he always says, to not get a negative review or flag on my account. Not worth it, just do it, something you have to accept doing as an online seller...
Sellers I've talked to mentioned, the 1 rare time you get a dificult buyer/unsmooth transaction, is to just suck it up and deal with it...
Was debating taking returns off my lisitings so people dont try this again? My husband says don't just becasue of this one buyer. It wont be as atrcive and wont sell as much, same as eBay states about it...
I am greatful for the seller community for help in sharing experianced advice.
Thank you everyone.
ilikehockeyjerseys
·2 years agoThe way that eBay works with returns is that you still have to accept a return if an item is not as described, even if your item was final sale. So removing returns won't prevent this from happening in the future. It will only prevent buyers from being able to return items that they change their mind on. It is up to you to decide whether offering returns adds enough value to your listing to justify keeping them on.
Transactions sometimes not going smoothly is the cost of doing business online. You have to account for the value of your time. Negative feedback is not that big of a deal. While you should always strive to provide great customer service because it is the right thing to do, the reality of eBay is that most sellers who aren't selling in a very popular and narrow category don't have the possibility of repeat buyers. So this isn't quite the same as a scenario where you own a local hobby store, and a regular customer complains about a product. Of course in that scenario, refunding the product and taking the loss makes more sense. In the scenario you are in, it's not really a consideration because the customer is never going to shop with you again, even if you do a great job, it's just not how eBay works for the type of store you have with varied items. So when I suggest a partial refund, it's not so much to retain the customer, it's more that you could pay them x amount to be satisfied and save yourself multiple hours of time spent facilitating the return.
There are cases where it's an obvious scam with the buyer fishing for a partial refund, and you can provide the label knowing they won't use it, but that's an entire different can of worms that doesn't seem relevant to this transaction. With your average return where you can verify the problem, if the customer is fine with it, it's usually faster and easier just to go the partial-refund route than the return route.
Either way, sounds like you have figured it out. Best of luck with it. Hopefully it goes smoothly.
byto253
·2 years agoGood move. Hope you can work something out.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agobyto253
·2 years agoIf they have not opened an INAD case, just wait. Until they respond or open an INAD you have no obligation to reach out further or prod them.
You have a record in eBay messaging that you responded with an offer to work it out, so nothing more to do until you hear back or they open an INAD.
Sometimes folks just let it go when they get back a reasonable response - rare but I have had it happen.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoThe dispute has until tomorrow for me to act.
If they don’t respond to my message by then, am I forced to give them a return label or does eBay step in and review the buyers message and my message response and makes the final decision?
Thank you.
byto253
·2 years agoDid they open an INAD case (official return request), or did they send you a message request? I would call eBay or contact them through social to get a clarification that you are following the eBay process ok, and if you can do it this evening before the bots kick in tomorrow.
From the original post I didn't think that there was an INAD claim. If it is an INAD I would send a return label, as if you don't the bots could just rule against you and issue the refund. Even if you send a return label you can try to work something out with the buyer, and have an unused label refunded.
phoenixhobbies
OP2 years agoListing.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/325775304459
The item looks how it did in my photos when listed.