Buyer requested Used electronic item return after 40 days

[mymyh17]

Here is a situation.

I sold 240$ worth electronic item under "Used" condition.After 40 days buyer opened a return request stating "worked for a month and randomly completely stopped working".Like I said this is used electronics and buyer clearly confirmed it was in working condition upon receiving and been working for a month and suddenly stopped working.

I just need advice on how I should handle this return request.Of course I can simply decline it but then the buyer will definitely leave me a negative retaliation feedback.

I do feel sorry for a buyer but please understand me too,it is a "used" electronic device and it is normally it might stop working eventually. I.e. I cannot provide lifetime warranty for all used electronics,this is just ridiculous.Please advise what I should do in this case. 

Thank you very much.

[femmefan1946]

The eBay Money Back Guarantee starts on delivery (not purchase) and runs for 30 days.

If less than 30 days have passed since Delivery, tell the buyer to return for a refund.

If he is able to open a Dispute, you may be told to pay for return shipping.

When you have it back, refund.

Relist, resell.

The Paypal Buyer Protection starts on Payment (not delivery or even shipping) and runs for 180 days.

If less than 180 days have passed since Payment,  tell the buyer to return for a refund.

If he  opens a Dispute with PP, HE will be told to pay for return shipping.

When you have it back, refund.

Relist, resell.

Not all transactions will go perfectly.

No Returns does not mean No Refunds.

No Refunds does not mean you cannot demand the return of the Disputed item.

Feedback is not used by eBay to assess member accounts.

Some buyers look at FB ratings, most of those think 95% is just hunky dory.

You can Respond to feedback.

Don't.

[mymyh17]

Thank you for your reply and help.

Buyer opened this request 40 days after delivery date and like I said there is an option for me  to decline the return.

I am just afraid of negative feedback which I won't be able to remove obviously. 

Thank you.

[femmefan1946]

Never fear a neg.

Most buyers look no further than the rating.

And for most 95% is just fine.

Decline the return.

You can if you wish add a Response to any feedback.

Never do this in anger.

But "Reported problem after warranty ran out."  might do. If you can honestly add" Would not return for refund" all the better.

But if he wants to return it, he pays to return it.

[mymyh17]

Thank you again,you gave me hope 😉

One last question.May be it will be better to let the return request expire rather than decline it ?

Could the buyer escalate it to eBay and would eBay rule it to my favour because it ran out of 30 days warranty ?

[femmefan1946]

Where did the buyer open the return request?

If it was on eBay, I think too much time has passed. He only had 30 days from Delivery.

So this is a request not a formal Dispute.

You owe him nothing under the Money Back Guarantee.

A polite notice reminding him of that is all you need to send.

If it were through Paypal, and a formal Dispute, he has 180 days from Payment.

But HE has to pay for return shipping, and most buyers won't "throw good money after bad".

[pjcdn2005]

 I would reply to the request. I don't know if they can escalate it if you don't reply but even if they can't, there is more of a chance of annoying them if you just ignore them.  If you refuse the dispute, I would send a polite note explaining that you can't warranty used equipment after the 30 days..or something like that.

Just a head's up...since you are in Managed Payments, if the buyer opens a payment dispute with their credit card or Paypal, there is a chance that you will have to refund without getting a return. 

@femmefan1946 

Managed Payment sellers are not covered by Paypal seller protection, they are considered payments disputes, just like with a credit card so an item not described case may not require a return.

[pjcdn2005]

Does anyone know.....

Since this item is past the mbg,  if the seller decided to accept the return, could they  require the buyer to pay for the shipping or would it still be treated as an item not described and require the seller to pay for shipping?

[byto253 · Accepted solution]

After that amount of time I would decline a return. 

Electronic items are tricky as well, since the buyer had it for 40 days and there is a very good chance that it got fried on their end from abuse, misuse or accidental circumstances.  Maybe they had a storm and an electrical surge that messed it up - lots of possibilities.     Offering a return on what they are saying is defective is very risky at is not likely in a resellabe condition, and by allowing it you are agreeing to the return of a defective unsellable item.

Buying used electronics is always a risk you take to save money.  If it did legitimately stop working, that is part of the risk taken by the buyer to save money.   Chances are higher something happened at the user's end to mess it up, and they may not even realize it.

At the best after this much time, but not recommended, I may decline the refund request but tell the buyer they can send it back for you to check out and see what you can do about a refund.  Then if it is in resellable condition you can refund all or part of the price.  Myself, I think that is trying to finesse it to much on eBay.  

Feedback can also only be left 60 days after the end of the listing, so that window is closing as well.   But you can't let yourself be held hostage to feedback extortion.  

[mymyh17]

Thank you everyone for great advice and help. I ended up sending the buyer a polite note  explaining the situation and used cool wording of byto253. Basically I told him I can't provide a formal refund because it is against  30 days eBay return policy but I might provide full or partial refund if the buyer mail the item back and the item is still in resalable condition. Buyer agreed so I believe this story will have a happy end without negative feedback left 😉
 
 

[sonicconcept]

That's the detail responses and addressed all concern. If payment by eBay managed payment, no PayPal rule would apply.

[clemowbooks]

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM MAY 2021

The problem with zombie threads is that the advice may be out of date and incorrect.

But in this case, while MP has become the only choice for sellers to accept payment, buyers can still pay with Paypal, credit card, as well as GooglePay and ApplePay.

So PP and chargebacks are still in play for buyers.