Buyer wants a refund for an item that reached them later than usual

[drj35a9]

Hi Everybody,

I recently sold an iMac this June and I shipped it (Expedited) from Ontario, Canada to California, USA. For some very strange reason, it reached my buyer later than usual because it only reached them a month later. According to the tracking number, it got delayed in Chicago for weeks and weeks. I understand the ongoing pandemic however, I don't think it should take this long for packages to go across the border.

Although a case was opened against me, the buyer has since closed it. Now they are asking me to refund them, simply because of this unexpected delay. I am also worried about getting negative feedback on my store. What do you think I should do from here?

Many thanks in advance!

[femmefan1946]

Although the buyer has closed the case you should be aware that he can still open a Dispute with Paypal.

However, PP will insist that he pays for tracked international return shipping before you are required to refund.

He can also start a chargeback from his credit card, but that would be processed through PP.

So.

He wants to keep the machine.

He wants you to give him an early Christmas present.

Not gonna happen.

"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase, which you received on July 15,2020. Please return it for a full refund."

He wants a partial refund.

"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase, which you received on July 15,2020. Please return it for a full refund."

He says he will leave negative feedback.

"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase, which you received on July 15,2020. Please return it for a full refund."

And hold onto that demanding Message or email, because eBay may not use feedback to measure selling accounts, but they are not pleased about Feedback Extortion.

"I regret you are unhappy with your purchase, which you received on July 15,2020. Please return it for a full refund."

Rinse and repeat.

It's a mindgame. Be mindful.

[mcrlmn]

Unfortunately, there's a lot of rocks out there, and those that dwell beneath come in many flavours.

This scumbag can't comprehend the difference between a '5 minutes or it's free' drive-thru and the fact that the iMac fell into the Coronavirus black hole that is the U.S.A.

But I refuse to believe in an IQ below that of a sack of onions, so I'm calling it out.

This person has no dignity and doesn't qualify an ounce of respect.

Follow femmefan's direction.

She's got this creep pegged.

[sylviebee]

If you're feeling "nice", you could offer to refund half the cost of shipping.  The buyer should appreciate the gesture and IMO it would be worth it if it keeps the peace.

[mcrlmn]

"If you're feeling nice"

"refund half the cost of shipping"

"The buyer should appreciate the gesture"

"IMO it would be worth it"

I ate my granola this morning, but to no avail, I still have to ask if you're kidding?

[snoopwiz]

Show a level of empathy without accepting blame.  As far as a refund.....No nothing. No way. No how. Bupkis on a stick. I wouldn't worry about a negative but, should it happen, be sure you have kept all your communications and a half decent c/s rep should easily make it go poof.  

[travis7s]

I would just ignore them or write a brief message like 'Sorry that your package arrived late but it was beyond my control and I cannot offer a refund". Negative feedback isn't that bad and you have a good chance of having it removed anyways.

[ricarmic]

How one responds to these situations depends on your business model and clientele.

My model has a high percentage of repeat customers (normally 50% or more of sales each month are to repeat buyers), so my response would be catered to trying to do what makes sense to make the situation more positive from the buyers perspective whilst minimizing the cost to me do to this.

If one's business model doesn't have a high percentage of repeat buyers, there is not nearly so much if any benefit to doing this.

In my situation, I'd be with @sylviebee and I would probably work through the partial refund solution process.

I've told this story before, but I had a buyer who purchased something fairly large ($400 size) and had largely unjustified (in my eyes) complaints about it. I leave the partial refund amount decision up to the buyer (which has risk but more than 90% of the time it works out great) and they decided upon a fairly significant refund amount, right on the borderline of me blocking them from future purchases (this is what I do for folks that I think unfairly inflate the refund amount they request beyond what I think would be reasonable).  The buyer reacted very favourably to the resolution of the problem and they purchased 1000s of $$ more from me over the next few months (with no further problems)! If I hadn't reacted the way I did I would have been out a lot of future good sales!

I suspect the imac customer base is a different likely non-repeat customers kind of world, but I did want to put out there that sometimes it is worthwhile both from "niceness" and financially as well, to go a bit above and beyond....

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@drj35a9 

You could even add one of the blurbs from Canadapost/USPS guaranteed delivery was no longer binding until further notice.

-Lotz

This is one I was using previously:

Mail and parcels destined to all regions of the United States of America continue to be delivered. However, Canada Post and our partner, the United States Postal Service (USPS) are experiencing unprecedented volume across our networks. The increased volume combined with modified processes to protect employees and the public from the spread of COVID-19 are resulting in significant delays. The cumulative delays during processing in Canada and the U.S.A. are adding 5-7 days to normal delivery times for all services. Consumers and business shippers should consider the additional delivery time when making commitments to recipients in the U.S.A.

[akabbdoll]

FEEDBACK is now used by buyers, as a hammer, over the sellers. They cannot receive negatives, so use the threat of same, to advantage. Leaving negatives over issues he creates. not paying for a $1 item. EBay should be BANNING these people, as well as bad sellers!

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Decide what the value of a possible negative feedback is worth to you. Because you are not a high volume seller, I think that's the only approach you need to take to decide what to do. If a customer has an issue with an order I send out, my concern is that they are happy, not just for my feedback - but that's because I am doing multiple sales a day and running a small business. I think the dynamic is (and should be) completely different for someone who is just trying to unload a few items every few months.

If it the value of your feedback is worth more than a return label, offer to provide them with a return shipping label and refund the purchase when the item is returned in the same condition it was sent. You could also offer them the option to keep the item, and be issued a partial refund for an equivalent cost of the return shipping label. Meaning, if it is going to cost you $50 to cover the return, offer them a $50 discount. From your perspective, this is better anyways, because it doesn't cost you more than the return in money, but it costs you less in terms of time/hassle. It might even be worth it to offer a bit more than the return label, because it saves you the trouble of re-listing.

Depending on the context of the situation, you might be able to get a negative removed. If the buyer gives you a negative for not accepting a return on an item that was final sale, and was not damaged, you might have a decent case for feedback removal since they would be negging you for not delivering something that wasn't part of the terms of sale.

If they want to keep the item for free, that is extremely unreasonable. At that point, there's not much you can do other than appeal the feedback and hope for the best.

[femmefan1946]

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM AUGUST 2020

 Newer than most zombie threads but the original problem transaction is probably completed by now.

@ilikehockeyjerseys 

Your advice is good, as usual.

Context is all.  I don't like partial refunds too much scope for taking advantage, but from a strictly economic point of view, it should be considered.