Accepting Returns: first two cases in two days

[momcqueen]

I'd like to reach out to a seller with some experience accepting returns. I'd not had a single request since I started selling but got my first two this week, two in two days. One was on ebay.ca and the reason given was Ordered by Mistake and the other on ebay.com and the reason given was Found a Better Price.

Here is my question: the Return Request on ebay.com with the Found a Better Price has frozen the associated funds on my paypal account.

Why would the former not freeze funds but the latter does? It implies I did something wrong to have the funds frozen. I don't control the price other sellers might set for their items. Besides that, price is not everything, and this item was dispatched within two hours with a free gift included. 

I fear that neither of the buyers will actually return their items once they realize the cost of postage they'll have to pay. What happens if they don't? Or if they leave me feedback that is poor as a result? Again, all that I did was send them the item that they ordered, quickly, and with free stuff on the side.

I certainly hope these two Returns Requests don't reflect poorly on me as a seller. I didn't do anything wrong here, trust me.

How does this whole Returns process work? Where does it fail? I've no actual experience with it, either as a seller or buyer.

Thank you in advance.

[sylviebee]

You're very lucky that your buyers didn't fabricate a reason for the return such a INADed.   Right now, you shouldn't be worried.  You should be relieved as it sounds like you're dealing with honest buyers.

I have no idea why the funds for one were frozen and not the other:  Likely just a glitch.

You've had good sales and should be able to afford two returns if it ever comes to that.

I think you already know what to do:  Just accept the returns and follow the process through to the end.  I think you're right and the returns will never materialize, especially where the buyer found a better price.

The most important thing:  Don't worry so much!  Your buyers have already admitted the mistake was theirs and if you don't give them a fight there's very little chance they'll trash your ratings, and even if they do:  Trust Me ........... it's not the kiss of death.

I recently posted about a retaliatory NFB I got on another id.  My FB score is horrid on that id but sales there have never been better.

[momcqueen]

I certainly agree. I wouldn't fight a return for the reasons stated and I can certainly afford to accept both items back so these buyers' request were formally accepted within ten minutes of notification from ebay. Neither toy was a particularly high-value item. In the range each of $40 Cad total for the purchases so I'm not necessarily worried about getting an empty envelope back for either of them. (Although, I wouldn't take that kind of chicanery laying down if it ever came to it. You bet I'd be trotting off to file my police report for mail fraud.)

Having never been down this road before, I am unsure as to how the Returns process works. The frozen funds do bother me, though, as a matter of some principle. If it was a case of an Item not Received or Not as Described it would only make sense to hold the monies. The buyer legitimately has the item but I don't have the funds to use from its sale. Or could the dozen funds be due to the fact it was the second return for any reason opened on the second day in a row? I know it's not supposed to matter but it makes me feel like it looks somehow shady. 

If neither item materializes, does the case merely expire? Or do I have to close it myself? 

[jyerxa10]

mjwl2006,,,only 2 return requests so far,,good deal,,your doing something right. With the "found a better price" case,,,maybe try to price match,,if the buyer is honest enough to tell you what they can pay  for the same item elsewhere you may be able to refund the difference and not lose 2 much on the deal. As for the "ordered by mistake" well we all know and have heard that line,,,same as my cat, dog or 3 month old hit the button by mistake,,,as a buyer and seller I know it takes at least 3 click of the accept button to purchase on e-bay,,,just my 2 cents worth,,,and with the $Can where it is,,,my 2 cents isn't worth to much,,,,:)

[snoopwiz]

I wouldn't take that kind of chicanery laying down if it ever came to it.

Word o' the day......chicanery.  (well played)  🙂

[Anonymous]

If neither item materializes, does the case merely expire? Or do I have to close it myself? 

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First of all, I am sending you a big empathetic ((HUG)) - I have some crazy cases open lately myself ,-- something is in the air I tell you!!

Anyhow, YES the case does simply close on it's own after 30 days if the buyer does not respond and upload a return tracking number.

What most likely may happen (as it did happen with a buyer of mine who's reason for return was ~I don't need it anymore~) is that they will not bother to return it as due to the return reason selected, eBay tells them they are responsible for return shipping.

You can call eBay up after a bit to have them close it faster, but I just waited until the case expired and they closed it in my favour.  

OH and also my feelings on why one of your cases had ~frozen funds~ and the other did not, is just a reflection of the sloppy, inconsistency of eBay policies, most likely both were dealt with by different CSR's who handled them differently - JMO.   I would maybe call up to ask about the frozen funds thing - that is an odd one.

Hang in there - sending cheers 

[rose-dee]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:

Here is my question: the Return Request on ebay.com with the Found a Better Price has frozen the associated funds on my paypal account. 

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If you have the time and if it is a problem to have your Paypal funds frozen (which I assume it must be), I'd call Paypal immediately.  This sounds to me like a bot's doing. By the way, are both these buyers in the U.S.?  

EBay's return policy stipulates that if the return is buyer remorse or buyer error, you are not obligated to pay the return shipping, which means you should not, under these circumstances, be directed by the automated return system to either purchase a label or reimburse the buyers.  

You should not receive defects for a return due to buyer error.  If you've already accepted the return requests, then eBay will (should) be directing the buyers to return their respective items (at their own expense) for a refund.  If they never follow through, the open request should close without consequences to you.  

If they return the items, you will of course be obliged to refund and you can send a very friendly message along with your Paypal refund saying that you are sorry the item was not to their satisfaction and hope they will visit your store again (then block them both, once the FB window has closed ).  

I imagine the real issue for you is whether, regardless of which outcome occurs, you will be open to negative/neutral FB & DSRs.  Remember though that after February 20th any defect associated with such FB is -- so we're told -- going to be removed if it wouldn't generate a defect under the new rules.  I would definitely follow up with eBay if either does create a defect that remains after Feb. 20th. 

So I think I'd leave both matters in the hands of the buyers at this point.  If they never return the item(s), you'll have lost nothing and chances are they won't bother coming back to leave FB.  If they do, you can leave a FB response indicating you were happy to accept the return request but the item was never returned.  Actually, I'm not certain about this, but I believe that if the return request closes without buyer resolution, they may not be permitted to leave FB.  

Try to take a deep breath in the meantime. 

[rose-dee]

Here's the link to the eBay Money Back Guarantee policy, although your particular buyers' issues will not fall under the MBG because they are not INAD/INR:  http://pages.ebay.ca/ebay-money-back-guarantee/questions.html

The one thing that isn't clear to me from the "regular returns" (buyer's remorse) -- stated at top -- is whether tracking would be obligatory such situations.  Obviously the buyer wants some assurance the item will arrive so they get their refund, so tracking is to their benefit.  However, the cost may in some cases outweigh the value of the item! 

Note that the first FAQ: "Can I return items that I've decided I don't want or need?", and the following relevant FAQs all have drop-down details below them.  It's fairly straightforward.  The buyer has 5 days from the initiation of the request to send the item back: 

"Send the item back to the seller within five business days of starting the return in My eBay".  

You can also click on the link to the full returns policy. 

By the way, 'mj',  I forgot to ask: what is your stated returns policy on your listings?  Do you stipulate that buyers pay return shipping costs?  Do you have a restocking fee stated? These things will factor into what happens from the buyer's end, and eBay will look at your policy should the buyer ask them to "step in".  

For now, I'd leave it up to the buyers to take the next step. 

[rose-dee]

I've realized I've been beating around the bush a bit.  It's actually quite simple: 

• Buyer's remorse/buyer error -- your own returns policy applies, as stated in your listing (which stipulations you can waive if you wish)

• INAD/INR - The Money Back Guarantee provisions apply

Defects will not result from the first type of return under the new rules after Feb.20th, and will only result from the second type if the matter is not resolved by the seller (i.e. usually by a full refund), the buyer asks eBay to step in and eBay finds the seller responsible. 

As I said, we'll no longer have to worry about the effect of FB/DSRs on our seller status after Feb. 20th, including retroactive defects for the last few months that would no longer apply under the new system.

[pjcdn2005]

As alycat said, the return request will time out after about 30 days if there is no tracking uploaded to show that the item has been returned.   It's a bit annoying as the buyer usually doesn't let you know what is going on but it eventually gets straightened out.

A little while ago I had a buyer from the UK ask to return an item as they didn't like the color. They didn't do it through the ebay system so there was no tracking number uploaded but I think that they did send the item back and that it is waiting for me and a signature at the post office. I really don't feel like going to the outlet and waiting in line for up to 1/2 hour to pick up any parcel, let alone a parcel that I already sold once! Oh well.

[momcqueen]

Thanks everyone. For some reason, I stopped getting notifications that members had replied to my posts, I'm not sure if I changed a setting or if it's just a *bug* but anyway, both buyers have until Dec. 22 and 23 to initiate their returns and I do hope the items come back in their unopened, original boxes with the freebies intact but I don't suppose I have any way of enforcing that. 

The buyer who purchased via ebay.ca and Ordered the Wrong One was Canadian. I do think it was a mix-up between different variations on a particular character she picked. I carry both which are well-described and pictured, and would be more than happy to sell her the other that she thought she was getting but didn't want to complicate the Return with an offer of some kind of replacement because they are not items of equal value. 

The buyer who Found a Better Price is an American on ebay.com who... well, I don't know. It occurred to me that he might be angling for a price match but I don't really want to get into race to the bottom because I honestly do believe I provide a better overall service than the person who might be selling it for less. I'd rather have the item in question back and lose the postage, it's a good product that I won't have too much trouble selling again. In fact, I upgraded this buyer to Tracked Packet from my own pocket beyond the Small Packets Air he paid for just because I care, and as a very new yet very, very busy buyer, he must appreciate that fact to some extent. I mean, it took me seven years of steady buying on ebay to reach the number of Feedbacks he's received as a buyer within the last three months alone.

My Returns policy on both items states Buyer Pays Return Postage and Returns Accepted within 14 days (met) and I reserve the right to charge a 20 per cent restocking fee. I don't know if I'll actually charge that Restock Fee in these cases, I would say probably not at this point but I won't rule it out if things get right weird later on.

The funds frozen is not going to break the bank, I'm just irritated about it. Like I said earlier, frozen funds imply I screwed something up and cannot be further trusted to do the right thing. If I catch a break in outgoing orders, I'll call paypal. Things have been a bit hectic and I do expect this sort of thing to arise because I'm selling to people now who came to ebay to find what they need because it was nowhere else. they might not all be savvy ebayers although these two aren't total newbies like many of the customers I've had as of late. Those I treat with kid gloves. I don't want to mess up their first experience here! 

Defects do worry me. I know I shouldn't be held accountable here for either Return but I don't have complete faith in the system. 

[momcqueen]

The plot thickens.

I called ebay to close one of the two open Returns cases because I was weary of the funds in paypal being frozen. Neither buyer has returned their item but I'm okay with the second request timing out on its own since I wasn't being penalized for it.

So here is what I see when I go to view the Closed Case in the Returns view from Selling Manager:

But here is the way it is categorized in the Resolution Centre:

At no point was it ever suggested this item 'doesn't match the description in the listing' as the 'reason' for the return. Also, it doesn't recognize the other 'returns' case which is definitely still open when I look at it in my Selling Manager.

I will mention again that the Returns case for 'found a better price' that froze my associated paypal funds was opened on ebay.com. There have been anomalies between the cases for Cancelling transactions etc in the past. Perhaps it is one of them. 

[recped]

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@mjwl2006 wrote:

I'd like to reach out to a seller with some experience accepting returns. I'd not had a single request since I started selling but got my first two this week, two in two days. One was on ebay.ca and the reason given was Ordered by Mistake and the other on ebay.com and the reason given was Found a Better Price.

Here is my question: the Return Request on ebay.com with the Found a Better Price has frozen the associated funds on my paypal account.

Why would the former not freeze funds but the latter does? It implies I did something wrong to have the funds frozen. I don't control the price other sellers might set for their items. Besides that, price is not everything, and this item was dispatched within two hours with a free gift included. 

I fear that neither of the buyers will actually return their items once they realize the cost of postage they'll have to pay. What happens if they don't? Or if they leave me feedback that is poor as a result? Again, all that I did was send them the item that they ordered, quickly, and with free stuff on the side.

I certainly hope these two Returns Requests don't reflect poorly on me as a seller. I didn't do anything wrong here, trust me.

How does this whole Returns process work? Where does it fail? I've no actual experience with it, either as a seller or buyer.

Thank you in advance.

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Your .ca return request probably didn't result in a hold on funds because on .ca you are TRS and on .com you are Above Standard.

Why would you "fear" that they won't be returned? Don't you want to keep the money?

Once you have approved the return the buyer has a time limit (10 days?) to get the package in the mail, even if nothing happens at all after 30 days the return request will time out.

If they don't return the item and they leave you bad feedback you have a decent shot at having it removed if you clearly approved the return request in a timely manner.