eBay

ajspasha · ‎07-26-2012

I recently sold an item, packaged well, shipped it, and the buyer received it. The buyer is now claiming the item is a fake. I have no idea who to believe - I purchased the item in a storage locker and the expert I took it to said it was authentic, but the buyer seems to think otherwise.

Anyways, it stated right in my ad that I was NOT an expert on the item, that I could not guarantee authenticity in any way, and posted 4-5 very detailed, close up photos of the item to show buyers the detail of the item. I also generally do NOT accept returns, but when I do, I ask that the buyer pays return shipping, and the item MUST be returned to me.

The buyer asked for a refund. I gave a refund for the full cost of the item, $13, within hours of receiving the message (I am not allowed to use eBay at work, so had to wait until I got home that evening). I did NOT refund the shipping cost ($3) but sent the buyer an email stating that I would be happy to refund it once I received the item back to have it authenticated...again.

The buyer is refusing to return the item to me, and is threatening a case and negative feedback unless I return the shipping cost as well. I am a small seller - no store - and I buy and sell on eBay when I have small items that I get in storage lockers that I don't want to sell locally on kijiji or Craig's List - so I pay all of my shipping fees out of pocket if I have to refund item cost plus shipping.

I think I have been more than fair, refunding the total cost of item without receiving it back, but what do you think? Should I just give up and refund the shipping costs as well to avoid a case? Or do I have a chance at all of winning an eBay case if it ends up there? I am just confused, PLEASE HELP!!

mccormickshobby · ‎07-26-2012

stick to your guns here! If they dont return the item then there is no refund! plain and simple. if you get neg feedback then so be it. you can follow up on the FB. i have a buyer tring to get a discount on an item I sold in perfect condition and when they took it out of the box something broke off. I would ask your buyer to have a third party in the know to appraize the item for authetisity.

scifan57 · ‎07-26-2012

Your buyer is in violation of the feedback extortion policy by demanding a full refund without returning the item and threatening negative feedback if you don't give the refund. Here is eBay's feedback extortion policy,it contains a link to report the problem. BTW,when issuing refunds,you refund the entire original payment,including the cost of the original shipping.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-27-2012

You really shouldn't refund until an item has been returned back to you.

If the buyer opens a claim through Paypal, they will require that the item be sent back.

How sure are you that the item is authentic? Is it the Pandora bead? You state in your post here that an "expert" said it was authentic but in your listing you state that you can't guarantee that it is. You've gotten comments from another buyer too that the beads she bought were fake.

It is actually against the law to sell counterfeit items and as a seller, it is up to you to know if what you are selling is authentic. If you don't know, you can't sell it, even if you have a disclaimer in the listing. You cannot sell anything with a brand name on it unless you KNOW it is authentic and even if you don't mention the brand name in the listing.

You have a number of other Pandora beads listed. Are you certain that they are authentic?

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-27-2012

Sorry....my mistake..you don't have more Pandora listed..although you do have some similar beads for sale.

scifan57 · ‎07-27-2012

It's also against eBay policy to state in a listing that you cannot guarantee the authenticity of the item you are selling. Maybe you should read this,It's the authenticity disclaimer policy.

scifan57 · ‎07-27-2012

It's also against eBay policy to state in a listing that you cannot guarantee the authenticity of the item you are selling. Maybe you should read this,It's the authenticity disclaimer policy.

reallynicestamps · ‎07-27-2012

Your primary error was refunding before you had the item back. The standard practice , based on Paypal's refund policies, is that the unhappy buyer returns the item, with Proof of Delivery, the seller refunds the entire original payment and the matter is ended.

By refunding immediately, you set yourself up as a patsy who could be blackmailed.

At this point you are out the bead and the payment. Let's try to keep it to that. If the buyer will not return the item, there is no reason for you to pay out more for it.

If the buyer leaves negative feedback and DSRs, you have those extorting emails to show to eBay and have them removed.

Cut your losses, call this a learning experience and move on.

I would suggest that you add a 14 day return period to your listings. If you take PP you take returns and being stubborn about it turns off honest buyers and doesn't stop sketchey ones.