Is the defect unavoidable for me?

[morepleaseshop]

I sold a pair of shoes with the light colored fabric tops and descovered that while they were waiting for their new owner the fabric has darkened in places. I sent a message to the buyer describing the problem and asking what they would like me to do.

The deadline for the shipping is tonight and I haven't heard from the buyer yet (it's been more than a day and 2 messages by now). If I don't ship on time, it's a late shipping defect. If I ship as is, it's very likely an INAD - the defect and loosing the shipping money. Cancel the order  - with the reasons they have there - defect for sure.

I asked ebay and they said if I don't hear from the buyer by the shipping deadline, do a refund. But I looked now and the reasons for the refund are pretty much the same as for cancel. Besides, the closest reason that somewhat fits here is "item not as described", but the buyer didn't even say it, I'd have to call it that myself...

Did anyone had any positive outcome in a similar situation?

[recped]

One defect for "out of stock" (anytime you can't ship) will have zero effect on your account. Getting a handful of them could.

A late shipment does not result in a "defect" but can results in a "minor ding" to your on time shipping metrics but again, 1 or 2 will not affect your account in any way.

eBay gives wiggle room on both because they understand that these types of situation can come up and there is no reason to punish anyone for a one-off.

[morepleaseshop]

Thank you for your reply!

I know it's not the end of the world, but If I can avoid accumulating any, I'd like to know how to do it, especially since it's not something I had a control over.

So, do you feel or know that choosing "out of stock" would be less harmful than "not as described"?

There is also an "other adjustment" line. I wonder if I use that (since non of the other reasons fits well anyway), do a full refund, describe the reason to the buyer again. The worst is still getting a defect anyway, right?

[femmefan1946]

I asked ebay and they said...

I hope you got that advice from an eBay employee on a social media Chat and have a transcript from the Chat.

The phone reps will say anything to get you off the phone.

...if I don't hear from the buyer by the shipping deadline, do a refund.

The rep is right-- but did not go over the results of the cancellation/refund with you.

Which is more important to you as a seller.

Do you have the telephone number of the buyer? You should have it if the shipment is International for the customs label.

If you are using eBay Message to communicate, I hope you have attached a clear picture of the problem.

If the customer agrees, then it is Cancelled at Buyer Request and you are scot free.

hmmmm- If an International address does NOT have the telephone number, is the address considered Undeliverable by eBay? 

I should post that to the next Community Chat.

[pjcdn2005]

Out of stock/item damaged is harmful if you receive more than 2 in a year.  Using item not as described isn't an option when you are cancelling.  The 3 options are buyer requested, problems with address or out of stock/item damaged. The third one is the one that ebay would want you to use although not all sellers would use it.

If you use the 'send refund' option, I don't know if ebay will look at what you use as a reason there but if you refund in full without shipping and the buyer has not requested a cancellation, there is a  chance ebay will give you an out of stock defect anyway.

Did you send a picture to the buyer showing the damage so that they could make a decision?  That would be a good thing to do so that they know there is a reason for the cancellation.   As femmefan mentioned, you can always phone the buyer and ask what they want to do. Their phone number is in the order details.

[pjcdn2005]

hmmmm- If an International address does NOT have the telephone number, is the address considered Undeliverable by eBay?

I should post that to the next Community Chat.

____

I would say whether or not there is a phone number has nothing to do with an address being undeliverable. Plus, I have not seen any  buyer's order without a phone number for a very long time.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Contact eBay using the AskeBay page on Twitter/Facebook.

Explain that you noticed a possible issue with the item. The issue was not a major one and some buyers would be okay with it, but in order to be honest, you didn't want to ship without consulting the buyer first.

You reached out to the buyer to see if they would still want the item, or if they would want a partial refund, and they never got back to you, leaving you in limbo.

Ask them if they would allow you to cancel the order due to problem with address because the buyer is completely unreachable through eBay. You cannot resolve any issues with the transaction because they don't respond to their messages. 

They might give you the go ahead to cancel without a defect because while it was your fault initially that the item had an issue that wasn't noted in the listing, you went out of your way to try and provide good customer service, and the buyer was completely unreachable. 

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

hmmmm- If an International address does NOT have the telephone number, is the address considered Undeliverable by eBay?

I should post that to the next Community Chat.

____

I would say whether or not there is a phone number has nothing to do with an address being undeliverable. Plus, I have not seen any  buyer's order without a phone number for a very long time.

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@pjcdn2005 

@femmefan1946 

IF the phone number is included with the account and IS correct it is dropped into international ebay labels automatically. Shippo ported the phone/email addy automatically. With couriers those fields are mandatory. Have been forever. Yes, you can put in a whimsical number but that defeats the intended purpose.  To assist with delivery when there are problems and decrease chance of item being returned. For Canadian shipments prepared with eBay labels the phone number fields is MIA. If you fill in using Snapship etc or on a manual bill there is a field for it.

It just makes it easier for a delivery to be completed if it is there. As posted months ago if you look on international postal custom websites phone and email are highly suggested fields. Only concern ported from eBay, there is no verification they are correct or up to date. (As a side, those pieces of info are mandatory for making a claim.)

-Lotz

USPS example below with phone number:

[morepleaseshop]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

If you use the 'send refund' option, I don't know if ebay will look at what you use as a reason there but if you refund in full without shipping and the buyer has not requested a cancellation, there is a  chance ebay will give you an out of stock defect anyway.

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That's what I thought, but then, if I'm risking the same result anyway, at least I could try something different to hopefully dodge the bullet, especially if it was done at ebay's rep advice.

And no I did not use social media, I don't use any on principal ever since Facebook requested that I provide them with my gov. issued ID with photo to confirm my identity. I can see how it could be helpful though.

Contacting the customer on the phone and trying to explain who I am and what I want from them sounds mortifying to me. If those are my only choices, I'd rather get a strike.

I did send a picture right in my first message to the buyer. Having listened to a lot of resellers on youtube I knew what the best course of action would be at that point - to see if the buyer would ask me to cancel or maybe they still would want them for the price of shipping or maybe as some miracle they would still want me to just ship them. What I didn't know is what to do if they didn't reply.

Anyway, I ended up taking a refund route with the reason "other adjustment", we will see what happens... I'll report here if ebay didn't like it.

Thank you, everybody, for the insights.