Question about item subjective condition

[jasonncohen]

Hello, I sold a $350+tax cashmere sweater for $44 on eBay.

I listed the item as pre-owned, and in the description I wrote good overall condition, 6.5/10 with some minor defects. I inspected the sweater closely and saw no holes, tears, stains. There was some piling.

Before listing, I asked for a second opinion in-person, and they said the sweater looked fine overall and agreed with my item description.

I listed the item with the option "Returns accepted in 14 days. Buyer pays return shipping". I had a buyer who purchased it. Before shipping the sweater, I reached out to the buyer and asked if they had any questions or concerns about the sweater before I shipped out. They said no.

The buyer received the sweater, messaged me saying the sweater is ragged and garbage and has piling everywhere. Although I did not necessarily agree, I just told him he can return the sweater and I'll refund him the money. He refused to ship back the item because it is expensive and told me if I do not pay return shipping he will just throw it in the garbage. He opened a case with eBay saying that "The item arrived damaged".

I would like any thoughts or opinions how to fairly deal with this and if I did anything wrong.

[flipistics]

You have two choices. Refund the buyer without requiring them to return the item, or send them a return label.  Handling it any other way, especially with a difficult customer, will likely result in you losing the case, the money, the item, and taking a hit on both your account and your feedback.

If you send them the label and they don't return the item, then they were probably trying to scam you, nothing further happens and you keep the money. If they send the same item back, then report them to eBay for lying about the return reason. If they send a different item back, report them to both eBay and the applicable postal authorities for postal fraud.

Unfortunately this kind of thing happens on occasion.  Deal with it calmly and professionally. Try to keep it in perspective. It could be a lot worse. Try hanging out near the return line at a store like Walmart for awhile. It will make you really thankful that it happens as infrequently as it does on eBay.

Also, I'd suggest not grading items. Take really good pictures and describe it clearly. Let people make up their own minds about exact condition because grading is subjective.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

You should read eBay's help pages about buyer and seller protection, and the money back guarantee policy They go over everything very clearly. Selling an expensive item without fully understanding your rights and obligations as a seller opens you to high liability. 

https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...

The way that eBay works is that there are two separate types of returns. There are standard returns, as in someone buys something but changes their mind. The return policy of the seller can dictate the terms of a standard return. So if you don't allow returns, you can reject a standard return. 

Then there are item not as described (INAD) returns. These are returns buyers can make if they feel a seller did not describe the item. All sellers must accept these returns. The standard return policy is irrelevant. 

eBay does not arbitrate individual cases for INAD returns. Buyers who qualify for Buyer Protection can open them for any reason. An eBay employee is not going to look at the pictures and treat it like a court of law where they decide who is right. eBay does remove buyers from the Buyer Protection program if multiple sellers report that the buyer abused eBay's return program. 

How this relates to your situation is that if a buyer has opened a return, you have to provide them a label by the deadline. If you do not do this, the buyer can ask eBay to step in. If eBay steps in, they will get a refund and get to keep the item. This is because you did not fulfill the obligations (To the Buyer/Seller protection program) you agreed to when you chose to sell on eBay. That obligation is that you have to resolve any request by the deadline given. If you cannot provide a label, eBay does allow Canada sellers to request that the buyer purchase a label and provide the seller with a receipt so that they can reimburse them.

If I take the story at face value as you have told it, the buyer is being unreasonable or is fishing for a full or partial refund. In which case, you should either provide a label before deadline - or you should contact eBay (ideally using the AskeBay account on Twitter or Facebook) and ask them for clarification about what you need to say to or provide the buyer with so that they can buy a label on their own and seek reimbursement from you.

Odds are, the buyer won't buy the label, the case will time out, and the worst issue you will have is negative feedback (which doesn't matter, and can possibly be removed if a buyer refused to follow through with the return). 

Additionally, if the buyer made a false claim, you can report the buyer. This is important for sellers to do because it helps eventually get bad actors removed.

One thing to consider, have you thought to ask the buyer if they are dealing with the correct seller? I have had situations in the past where a buyer has contacted me complaining about a damaged item and it didn't sound right. I politely reminded them what they bought from me and asked them if that was the item they were asking about, and they realized they contacted the wrong seller.

The above advice is assuming that the buyer is making a false claim, but in a scenario where you dropped the ball or made a mistake as a seller and you know it, then maybe you would want to negotiate with the buyer and see if there is something you could do to make them happy with the transaction like a partial refund. 

[brettjet38]

Accept the return & Isuue a prepaid return shipping label and take back the item.

Otherwise you will lose the item, and your $

[femmefan1946]

Tell them to open a Claim.

EBay will tell you to send a return label.

Send the return label.

Refund on return.

If they don't return the sweater, don't refund.

We can have a No Returns policy but we can't have a No Refunds policy.

However that also means we can insist on the return before the refund, even with a No Returns policy.