So how do I handle a return?

[voodoochild16]

Hey all,

So I sent a smartphone to someone and they are saying it's defective. I am just wondering if I send the refund first then they ship it back to me with a tracking number?. Or do I just send the partial refund for shipping, then when I receive the item I give the refund?. 

Please let me know, someone!, thanks :).

[pjcdn2005]

You never send the refund first.

If they are in Canada you should be able to send them a return label but I can't tell you exactly how to do that. If they are in another country then the two of you have to come to some sort of agreement as to whether you will pay them return shipping and refund once the item is returned or if you will send them money now for the return shipping.

If they are in the U.S. the least expensive way for them to purchase a label would be through ebay or paypal. If they purchase the label online then they have delivery confirmation for first class international.

[voodoochild16]

Alright, thanks!. He wants me to pay shipping, but for any returns I request from a retail company, they make me pay the shipping. But the item is only a phone, so I will just get him to take a screenshot of the receipt with the tracking number as a requirement for me to pay shipping back to me or something. 

[pjcdn2005]

The ebay money back guarantee requires that the seller pay for return shipping if the item is not as described in the listing. If you describe the phone as working and it doesn't work, then ebay says that you have to pay for return shipping.

However, if a buyer files a claim through paypal rather than ebay, paypal requires the seller to pay return shipping. But if I honestly made a mistake or an item was damaged in shipping and I wanted it back, I would still pay for shipping as the buyer shouldn't be out money for my mistake.

[pjcdn2005]

He wants me to pay shipping, but for any returns I request from a retail company, they make me pay the shipping.

I have seen many online retail sites that pay for return shipping for any reason IF you  are in the same country.  But few companies cover international returns unless a mistake was made by the company.

[pertzzz]

And yet, you decided to scam me out of the shipping, even though I met your requirement of showing you a picture of the receipt.  The sad thing is that the way you did the return (incorrectly), I didn't even have to send it back, but I returned it anyway because I'm not a filthy cheat.

[sylviebee]

That's interesting.

Both sides of the story.

[ladybug2785]

Where is the buyer? Did you sell a carrier locked phone to someone who lives outside the region of the carrier?

Be more specific.

If the buyer is outside of Canada and decides to use a courier (ups, fedex, ect.) instead of the post office to send it back to you then it is going to cost lots of $ to get it from the courier. The sender will not know that is what happens. Also if they do use the post office they can easily be tricked into the most expensive service which is also going to cost you too much.

[sylviebee]

The buyer is pertzzz (above) and based in Canada.

[ladybug2785]

Missed that.

Never seen both the seller and buyer post in the same thread so definitely was never expecting that.

Still the question of what was wrong with the phone still exists. The most common reason for returning "defective cell phones" is still because it is locked to a carrier that is not the carrier the buyer has.

Was it the correct carrier?

[maximus7001]

Would be nice to get to the bottom of this one since we have both the seller and buyer here.

The OP got a neg over this. But what was the problem with the phone? Was it the S4 that this buyer bought? If so the reference to it being a telus phone is vague at best and nowhere in the listing is it described as being locked to telus or as not unlocked.

A prospective buyer asked you this and you replied:

"Q: Hi, Contradictory info in listing...is this phone still locked?
A: It was used with Telus and purchased on a contract so yes it is locked to Telus or Koodo it will work with as well.

Probably nobody else ever read this since it goes to the bottom of a listing where nobody looks. Also not visible on a mobile device.

Also the catalog entry you selected is wrong and describes a non LTE version of the S4 which is not what telus sold. Telus locked galaxy S4 phones are all the LTE models.

[sylviebee]

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@voodoochild16 wrote:

Or do I just send the partial refund for shipping, then when I receive the item I give the refund?. 

Please let me know, someone!, thanks :).

---

Sending a partial refund is not the way to do it.

Sending a partial refund would mean that it's taken out of the original payment.

The eventual refund upon return would be the balance of the original payment but eBay requires that the initial payment be refunded in full.

Return shipping cost is an independent payment.

[rose-dee]

You may want to read through this thread -- a very similar situation.  You should be paying the buyer for his return shipping costs if there was any issue about the item being not precisely as described. 

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Buyer-wants-a-refund-on-phone-he-can-t-unlock/m-p/323614#...