Where so I stand with this return?

[triber]

I have a buyer who has requested a return. Her reason is that she changed her mind. I live in ON and it went to BC so the postage was over $14, (I charged less). If I agree to refund on return of the item, do I have to refund her postage? If that is the case it seems that anyone could purchase something to see if they liked it, and it not, could just ask for a return.

I am not sure how returns work in this kind of situation, I have refunded when there is a problem of course, but not just for a change of mind.

[treasure.hunter.d]

According to Ebay "Buyer Remorse" IS NOT a valid reason for a return or request for refund. If you have it in writing that this is why she wants to return the item then call Ebay right away and draw their attention to this so they can make a note on your account that in the event the buyer tries to pull a fast one and open a case for  INAD you can refer back to this and have the case squashed.

I can't stress how important it is to call them pronto before this goes any further.

IMHO if you can't make up your mind before I go through the effort/cost of packaging and shipping then I am sorry there is nothing I can do for you.

Cheers,

thd

[vintagenorth · Accepted solution]

Hi triber, I believe that in this case of buyers remorse you can offer her a refund less what she paid for shipping. Do not refund until you have received the item back though. Has she actually opened a case with eBay? If so, I agree with calling eBay and advising them that the return is due to buyers remorse and get them to close the case while you are on the phone.

[mr.elmwood]

I simply reply "return for refund", or, if the return was initiated thru eBay, I click the return button. Buyer is responsible to pay the return cost with tracking.

This is eBay's way of stifling returns as they know it costs the buyer a lot to return in this manner.

Many buyers get to the PO and add up, envelope cost, postage with tracking cost, time, effort, and say "Forget it".

[triber]

Thank you for the helpful suggestions. It is not the postage that the buyer would pay to return it to me that I was concerned about, but the shipping she already paid that I would lose if I had to refund it.

I just called eBay and they said that I don't have to refund the postage for "buyers remorse", so I have contacted the buyer, she probably won't want to pay 2 lots of postage for nothing. I just hope she will close the case.

[pjcdn2005]

In buyer remorse situations:

If your return details states that the buyer pays return shipping then they have to pay for the return shipping.

I'm not 100% certain but I think that unless your return details state that original shipping will not be refunded, you can't hold back that amount.  If your return details do mention that amount will be withheld, then ebay should back you on that unless the original shipping was free. In that situation, you can't hold anything back because they didn't pay a separate amount.

[pjcdn2005]

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@triber wrote:

Thank you for the helpful suggestions. It is not the postage that the buyer would pay to return it to me that I was concerned about, but the shipping she already paid that I would lose if I had to refund it.

I just called eBay and they said that I don't have to refund the postage for "buyers remorse", so I have contacted the buyer, she probably won't want to pay 2 lots of postage for nothing. I just hope she will close the case.

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I agree that's the way that it should be because I don't remember ever getting back postage when I've returned something to other retailers so that does seem to be the norm. But I've always been under the impression that on ebay, any details like that have to be in your return policy so that the buyer knows the terms at the time of purchase.

[mr.elmwood]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

In buyer remorse situations:

If your return details states that the buyer pays return shipping then they have to pay for the return shipping.

I'm not 100% certain but I think that unless your return details state that original shipping will not be refunded, you can't hold back that amount.  If your return details do mention that amount will be withheld, then ebay should back you on that unless the original shipping was free. In that situation, you can't hold anything back because they didn't pay a separate amount.

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My understanding as well.

[triber]

I should have checked under the "returns" on my eBay page, this is the first time someone has claimed a return through eBay. It states

"refund due $14.99", that is just the cost of the yarn.

When I went to the return claim from her, there was a list of boxes to fill in, the first one was "changed mind", that is what she clicked on.

[vintagenorth]

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@triber wrote:

Thank you for the helpful suggestions. It is not the postage that the buyer would pay to return it to me that I was concerned about, but the shipping she already paid that I would lose if I had to refund it.

I just called eBay and they said that I don't have to refund the postage for "buyers remorse", so I have contacted the buyer, she probably won't want to pay 2 lots of postage for nothing. I just hope she will close the case.

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I've not had to process a return myself for buyers remorse but from what I have read on the boards you don't want to wait for your buyer to close the case, you need to call eBay and have them close the case in your favour while you are on the phone. If anyone can confirm this please post here and let us know.

[pjcdn2005]

triber wrote:

I should have checked under the "returns" on my eBay page, this is the first time someone has claimed a return through eBay. It states

"refund due $14.99", that is just the cost of the yarn.

When I went to the return claim from her, there was a list of boxes to fill in, the first one was "changed mind", that is what she clicked on.

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That's interesting.  There is no choice to choose to refund the item cost plus shipping?

[pjcdn2005]

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@vintagenorth wrote:

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I've not had to process a return myself for buyers remorse but from what I have read on the boards you don't want to wait for your buyer to close the case, you need to call eBay and have them close the case in your favour while you are on the phone. If anyone can confirm this please post here and let us know.

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There is no reason to phone ebay as this is a buyer's remorse return request and not a case and it can't be closed at this point as the seller does have a return policy.  The buyer will be asked to enter the tracking number when they send the item back. Once the tracking shows the item has been delivered, the seller has 6 days to refund. Once they refund their fees will be credited and the request will close.

If the buyer does not enter a tracking number, the request will close shortly after 30 days.

[triber]

She has decided to keep it, I hope now she will close the request. Thanks for all the comments.