Buyer Dispute: Requesting Refund (do they have a case?)

[glitterfairy64]

Hi, I sold a dress on Feburary 13 and 29 days later (after she took delivery) I received a message from eBay saying that the buyer wanted a full refund plus postage because there was something wrong with the sleeves. I have had zero communication from the buyer. There is nothing wrong with the dress and I was selling it because I need a size 10 and not an 8. eBay stated in their message that they were putting a hold on the funds for the dress until it was resolved. I wrote to eBay and they have closed the case saying the item is defective according to the buyer and I need to refund her. I then sent her a message stating I would refund her including postage and for her to the send the dress back to me with tracking and also asked for the tags to still be attached. It seemed I had no absolutely no choice. I still have not heard from her 5 days later. At what point can I say no? I have had over 1000 transactions through eBay over the years and have never had a problem. It seems I may have struck one now. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[lyndal1838]

If ebay has closed the case and refunded the buyer you have little chance of getting the item back unless you agree to pay the return postage....even then she may decide not to send it.  Why should she when she has the dress and the money per courtesy of ebay's flawed returns system.

[jellybirddesigns]

When the case was opened against you, you would have had an opportunity to accept the item back for a refund. The buyer would have then had to send it back with tracking.

How did Ebay manage to close the case so quickly without you getting the item back?

Did you not respond to the case for 4 days after it was first opened?

Normally the process is fairly straightwaforward and does not need the intervention of Ebay. I think that possibly because you wrote to Ebay instead of responding on the case, it was escalated and closed in the buyers favour.

[bakeandfry]

Your post is a little confusing, you ask if buyer has a case in your post title, then ebay closed a case but you need to refund buyer, and you asked buyer to return item and you would cover post costs.
To me that sounds like your buyer opened a mbg case on ebay and it is still open (at a guess)
My suggestion would be for you to get ebay to ring you and for you to ask that ebay close the case with no penalty towards you as the buyer has exceeded the five (5) days that buyer had to supply return post info.
Only a suggestion and someone else may provide a more accurate soultion

[*tippy*toes*]

Welcome to the world of eBay wardrobing and shoplifting, which they promote and encourage. I can tell you now, the buyer bought the garment for an event. Why else would she take a month to contact you about a supposed fault? The event has happened and they no longer have use for it, or they damaged it, so no good any more. If you are on facebook, do a search of her name and see if you can find her.

If she's younger, there's a better than even chance you'll find a photo of her wearing it, if her page is public. Another seller did that, found a photo of the so called ripped dress being worn and they got their money back. Do what you can to prove whatever you can that she's doing the wrong thing. It may not get your dress back or your money back, but it might flag her account. Check her feedback left for others and see if she's in the habit of mentioning returns or refunds. That can often be used when fighting against eBay too.

[glitterfairy64]

I wrote to her asking why she had taken so much time to contact me and that I usually dealt with these issues through messages and not through eBay and didn't get a reply so phoned eBay. They told me to wait the required days then ask eBay to step in on my behalf which I did. eBay got back to me and said they had found in her favor because the dress was "said to be flawe"d. They asked me to message her with how she should return the dress which I did giving her my address. I've heard nothing from her. Does she have a certain amount of time to get back to me telling me she has sent the dress back?

[*tippy*toes*]

There's the mistake you made. As soon as you ask eBay to step in and help, the dispute closes in the buyers favour, regardless of whether you are in the right or not. NEVER EVER ask eBay to step in and help because as mentioned, it will always close in the buyers favour. They then get an instant refund and told they don't need to return the item. You also get a defect on your account.

The buyer would have already been refunded if the dispute has closed. You've got very little chance of getting the item back now. The best you could hope for is threatening legal action due to their theft of the item. If they return it, it will be over and done with, no action taken. As they have been refunded, they no longer own the dress. Therefore, it's now considered stolen. A stern message may scare her into either repaying for the dress or sending it back.

EBay is all lip service. They will do nothing to force her to return the dress. The case is closed, they have no further interest. They don't care whether you get it back or not.

[padi*0409]

I know we all know that this is what happens Tippy, but when the seller is specifically told by eBay to ask them to step in it's SO WRONG, they should hang their heads in shame for doing that......................

"They told me to wait the required days then ask eBay to step in on my behalf which I did."

[designers*n*more]

The case has probably not been "closed" but more like funds have been put on hold. I queried this once with ebay and they agreed that it was misleading in that once a claim has been escalated, the funds are put on hold until the issue is resolved, but the buyer has does not get refunded until a final decision is made. 

[bakeandfry]

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@glitterfairy64 wrote:
 Does she have a certain amount of time to get back to me telling me she has sent the dress back?

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The law states that a buyer must return within a reasonable period of time.

What is considered a reasonable period of time? Ebay ssys the buyer must return within five (5) days, hence my previous advice