Customer closed a return.

[angcai-17]

What does this mean for me. ? I’m new. And eBay is very complicated not to mention a rip off. They make more then I do off my sales so far. Anyhow. Had a customer issue a request for refund. Then she cancelled request but says I still owe money for shipping return label. Who gets funds of the sale.

[john_koenig99]

If the customer cancelled the refund request, that's on them and they have to ask eBay for a refund on the return label (no idea if they would refund them or not). 

[byto253]

Was it a straight return at the seller's request, and not  due to "item not as described"?  In that case the buyer is responsible for the shipping label.  I am going to assume that this was the case and my guess is that the buyer realized after they opened the case that they had to pay for shipping it back so they closed it.  Now they are trying to hit you up for a shipping label instead.  If  that is the situation you are under no obligation to provide a return shipping label and the buyer has no recourse as they closed the return.  Since they closed the return you will retain the funds.   

Even if a return is opened for "item not as described" and you pay for the return shipping, never refund any funds until the item is back to you.  Never, ever 🙂   And if someone closes an "item not as described" case without sending the item back, that is the end of it and you keep the funds. 

Someone else may know, but I am not sure if the buyer can still open an INR ("item not as described") return after closing another return.  They may be able to, and in that case you will be on the hook for the return shipping.  But I am not sure about that one.   

But regardless, without an open return case the buyer has no recourse to get a refund - opening a case is the mechanism for the buyer.  Unfortunately, Amazon has trained the masses to order whatever then make up any lame excuse to get free return shipping.  

As far as eBay being a rip-off, not everything is for eBay.   I assume 20% of the sales price is a for costs to take into account fees and packaging and other costs.  What I list has to be worth it, and I stay away from or ditch the stuff that is not.   Low priced but bulky and expensive to ship items are brutal as you pay fees on the shipping costs.  

[femmefan1946]

@byto253  said
And if someone closes an "item not as described" case without sending the item back, that is the end of it and you keep the funds.

Plus they cannot reopen the Claim with eBay.

Note that they may make a claim through Paypal if they used that.

And they still can make a chargeback through their credit card company.

Even if you have a No Returns policy, you are allowed to demand the return (and usually pay for the return shipping) before refunding.

The transaction is now complete.

You owe them nothing.

Any money eBay transferred to your checking account is yours .

Any money eBay had on Hold should be transferred on Tuesday.

[femmefan1946]

@angcai-17 

They make more then I do off my sales so far.

This is a different problem.

EBay does not charge fees for listing, but does for selling.

Those fees are usually 13.5% of the customer's Entire payment, including sellling price, shipping, and any sales tax. Plus a service fee of 30c.

Other fees may be Store subscriptions, and some sellers use the OPTIONAL Promoted Listings.

Some items are too cheap to sell.

A $10 item with $5 shipping sent to Alberta (5% sales tax) makes for a Total Payment of $15.75.

Your fees on that would be $2.42.

If you paid $1.00 for the item, your profit would be $7.58

If you paid $5,00 for the item (thinking  that at $10 you are doubling your money) Your profit would be $2.58.

But

How much did you actually pay for shipping $5? or $5.89?

How much did you actually pay for packaging? If you use recycled packaging, how much gas and labour goes into procuring it?

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

If the customer closed the return then it's over with as far as eBay goes. They cannot re-open the return.

If they closed the return, there is no reason for you to provide funds for a label. If they already purchased a label but chose not to return the item, that is on them. They might be able to get a refund on the platform they used to purchase the label.

Make sure the return is actually closed:

Be sure that the return is actually closed. Consider contacting eBay's customer service to verify. Most people prefer the customer service that is accessible on Twitter or Facebook. The account name is AskEbay. You can direct message them with the item number and the request number to see if it is closed.

What could happen if the return is not actually closed:

The reason that it is important to make sure that the return is closed is because if you do not provide a label, funds for a label, or a full refund by the deadline in the return - the buyer can ask eBay to step in. If eBay steps in and you have not resolved the return, they will automatically issue a full refund. The buyer will be allowed to keep the item.

Check that the buyer hasn't already been refunded:

If this has already happened and the buyer has both the refund and the item, it sounds like the buyer wants you to provide them with a label so that they can give you back your item since they have already been refunded. At that point, they don't have to return it and they are going out of their way. I would caution against sending funds in this scenario because if the buyer already received the refund, they have no obligation to return the item. I would consider purchasing a USPS label on a platform like Shippo and sending it to the buyer, because if they never return the item you can get a refund.

Review eBay's Buyer/Seller Protection program:

I would highly recommend reading eBay's tutorials and help pages about buyer and seller protection. Unless you're selling cheap items where the unrecoverable costs are low, it's a very bad idea to sell on eBay without understanding your obligations under the Money Back Guarantee program, as well as your obligations to receive full protection under the Seller Protection Program (sending to the address on the invoice, signature confirmation above 750 CAD, etc).

You may find after reading about the program that it isn't worth selling on eBay for your situation. I would always advise people who aren't high volume sellers to consider local classified sites first before eBay or other online platforms because even one bad sale can lead to a lot of lost time and money for a casual seller. 

[byto253]

If a buyer opens a normal return but then closes it, can they open an INR?  Basically say they made on error and had wanted to open an INR? 

[reallynicestamps]

The opposite is possible, opening an INR then changing it to an NAD, since there is logic to that.

But opening a Not As Described then claiming the NAD item never arrived at all?
Too sketchey.

It could happen or at least be tried, but unlikely.

And in this case the original Claim was closed.

It's over and done.

The buyer would have to move on to a Paypal or credit card Claim.

[byto253]

I messed up my acronym - I meant to put INAD.  So open a regular return, but then close it and open an Item Not As Described instead and if questioned indicate they were mixed up and chose the wrong option.