Damaged Return Question

[mdf_jersey]

Anyone have to deal with Ebay on a return that was damaged? I have a return that is just that, Damaged. I dont know if its worth trying to fight it with Ebay, They are so sided with the buyer these days, it probably a waste of time. Anyone have had any experience , I would like to hear it.

[femmefan1946]

If you take Paypal you give refunds.

Try not to have the customer annoyed enough to go to a case. You will end up with Defects and no one likes those.

Some sellers will accept photos of the damaged item, rather than asking the buyer to ship it back. Is this possible in your transaction?

The buyer can then toss or donate the item.

Some sellers will demand returns, but should the problem turn out to be the fault of the seller, will refund return shipping cost.

If the damage occurred in transit, the seller may need the damaged item to pursue an insurance claim with Canada Post.

While it is in the best interests of the buyer to use a tracked shipping service, the seller does not need this. This is a question of trust of course, and you are selling in a testosterone -charged category.

You could offer to pay the difference between tracked and untracked return shipping. Might work as a friendly gesture.

But, in my opinion, it is always better to have a friendly discussion of options with the unhappy buyer. Could you phone him, if email is not going well? Voices are more personal and it is harder to e-bully someone you have a personal connection with.

Not every transaction will end in a profit, but it's not personal, it's just business.

[recped]

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@jerseywithstats wrote:

Anyone have to deal with Ebay on a return that was damaged? I have a return that is just that, Damaged. I dont know if its worth trying to fight it with Ebay, They are so sided with the buyer these days, it probably a waste of time. Anyone have had any experience , I would like to hear it.

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You're not very clear, is this an item received by the buyer damaged or a buyer return that was damaged when YOU received it back?

They are so sided with the buyer these days

Self-fulfilling prophesy!

[mr.elmwood]

I write off damaged as shrinkage. I move on.

[momcqueen]

Did the item arrive damaged to the buyer and is therefore being returned to the seller?

Or was it returned to the seller (for whatever reason) and damaged in transit by the postal system?

I think the fine points of the process are different in terms of which party is responsible for what. You're the seller, right? Is the buyer sending it back because it was wrecked? Can you recoup your losses with a claim to the post office? 

[pjcdn2005]

If the buyer didn't mention any shipping damage but it was damaged when you received the return I think that it is likely that ebay will rule against you if you fight it unless the buyer admits that they damaged it. Otherwise, it is a he said/she said situation and I've heard that ebay will tell you that the loss is the cost of doing business. I've never been in that situation but I've read about a few on the .com selling board so perhaps someone there will know more about it.

[widgetc]

...or did the buyer return undamaged because of your return policy and it was damaged during the return shipping?

[mdf_jersey]

Im sorry , Ive read my post and it was confusing. The item was sent back damaged.

When I wrote this post I was basing it on the buyers threats of ruining the item and then returning it to me.

UPDATE

Well I did receive the item and there was good and bad about the return. The good is it was not ruined, the bad is instead of returning my item , I got a rag and newspaper. So basically he stoled my item and ebay refunded his $267 usd .

I called Ebay, and of course they wont do anything, but they did give me back my FVF , YEPEE!

This is the first time this is happened to me. Anyone with some experience in something like this? Im thinking of calling the authorities. I dont know what good it will do. I dont know if you even can, because it is in the US. SUCKS!!!

[recped]

eBay has made some promises to address this type of situation. I'm not clear on the exact procedures but I can tell you what has worked in the past.

First step, to have any hope of a successful appeal you must file an official police report with your local authorities. While they won't actually do anything the fact that you filed an official report (under penalty of perjury) is the only way for you to gain any credibility in a "he said / she said" situation.

Once you have filed the police report and have a file number you can proceed to file an appeal with eBay providing all the relevant information in a bullet point time frame.

Keep it as brief as possible and reference any potentially incriminating communications you have had with the buyer.

Once the appeal has been filed you should follow up via telephone (allowing maybe 48 hours for eBay to digest your submission). This is your only chance of getting your money back.

[mdf_jersey]

File in locally and not in their state?

[momcqueen]

Absolutely, you must do as recped has suggested. If it was $20, I'd suggest it might not be worth the aggravation to do so but given the amount of money that you are now out-of-pocket, I would strongly advise you to follow-up with it and go to your local police detachment with all your papers in tow. Make a complaint, get a report (incident) number, and call eBay back to ask to speak to a supervisor.

No one should be allowed to pull this kind of trick and get away with it. You know for certain that you or I would NOT be allowed to return a rag and newspaper to Sears for a full refund so you are dealing with a person who is aware of the manner in which ebay can be exploited and is doing so to the fullest extent. Make a big stink. I know that I would. 

Good luck as you carry forward.

[momcqueen]

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@jerseywithstats wrote:

File in locally and not in their state?

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Locally, yes. You go to your police, tell them what has happened and it is up to them to follow-up internationally if need be. 

You might have to explain this to the officer taking the complaint. They're not all well-versed in this type of thing. 

[momcqueen]

And take hard copies of all your sales records and messages from the buyer. Sales record, the box, the rag and newspaper, pictures of your original item, the return and print out from paypal. The works. 

[mdf_jersey]

It was a $267.00  sale in US Dollars

[mdf_jersey]

And if that wasnt enough, I got charged 47.38 for duty and taxes so I can get a rag and newspapers back

[pierrelebel]

" I got charged 47.38 for duty and taxes"

Since the value of the parcel was "goods returned to you", you can apply for a refund of the amount.  Check the back of the Canada Customs form for information how to proceed.

[mdf_jersey]

Thanks for that. I do know that I can apply to get that money back, it was just the point of it all

[mdf_jersey]

so Ebay sends me this message.

Thanks for your message. The case you contacted us about was closed after we made a final decision on it. We'll review your question or concern and get back to you within 48 hours.

In other words, we are not going to do nothing. I was surprised that they are willing to stand by and do nothing. This is not something Im sure Ebay would want to be associated with. Where is our protection. Just seems the new return policies has a lot of loop holes that buyers can scam sellers if they want to.

[mr.elmwood]

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@jerseywithstats wrote:

so Ebay sends me this message.

Thanks for your message. The case you contacted us about was closed after we made a final decision on it. We'll review your question or concern and get back to you within 48 hours.

In other words, we are not going to do nothing. I was surprised that they are willing to stand by and do nothing. This is not something Im sure Ebay would want to be associated with. Where is our protection. Just seems the new return policies has a lot of loop holes that buyers can scam sellers if they want to.

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Well, eBay can not prove anything as they are taking your word VS the other person's word. Theft like this, they know it happens, but, not much they can say or do. Theft is not much. Yeah it is unpleasant that it is you.

I get them every now and then, always from countries with "suspect" postal systems.

Not much I can do since I want to stay in business, so, I just write it off as shrinkage.

[pjcdn2005]

I would contact them and ask them not to make a decision on the appeal yet as you first need to file a police report. Tell the police that you understand that they won't be able to follow up on it as it is an international transaction but you need to file the report and get a report number. As recped mentioned, ebay does take the appeal more seriously if you show that you are serious and file a police report.