Pay Pal Shipping reimbursement, does it cover ?

[the_walsh*s]

On my selling account I sold a 2nd Hand Jacket that was tagged Size 14. Buyer purchases & pays I send the item. Buyer contacts me on recivieng the item and says it is a small make and more suited to a size 10-12 and indicated it was my fault for not mentioning it was a "small fit"...it is not my size so I didn't realsise it was a "small fit" and explained this but still offered a full refund if she returned the jacket. No dispute was in place, but I knew from past experiences if I tried to argue the fact, Ebay/Pay Pal would side in her favour anyway and I would risk bad feedback.  She has asked I pay for at least half of return postage (medium tracked satchel) to which I have agreed, but I am still waiting for it to arrive and haven't issued refund just yet and won't till I reivece the Jacket back and check condition of it first.  My question is, Pay Pal offer a refund of Postage costs.....who is entiled to this? the Buyer or the Seller? I would assume the Buyer as she is the one with receipt of the postage for the return or can I lodge for the initial postage ? What is there to stop her claiming via Pay Pal her return postage as well as me giving her the refund of half the postage back? Nothing I guess but that would mean she gets the full refund + 1/2 return postage and the opportunity to claim back the full postage = she is ahead. Have I done theing s the "right way" or should I have handled it differntly with regards to the refund? Just curious incase there is a "next" time. TIA

[lyndal1838]

The buyer can claim the return postage to send the item back to the seller up to a limit of $45.....but only if the item is being returned through a paypal dispute.

As there is no dispute she cannot claim it anyway.

[phorum_junkie*]

As long as you had a message sent through ebay that the return was because it diid not fit you would not have to accept a return unless that is your return policy. Something not fitting counts as a change of mind return.

I have mine set to accept change of mind returns with the buyer paying for return postage and refund of item price only. I have never had a problem but if I get a return request I call ebay and ask them to check the messages and note that it is a change of mind return.

[digital*ghost]

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@the_walsh*s wrote:

 Buyer contacts me on recivieng the item and says it is a small make and more suited to a size 10-12 and indicated it was my fault for not mentioning it was a "small fit"...

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Mentioning "small fit" would be a little subjective, more importantly it would be completely irrelevant if you had measurements in the listing. If you did, and they were accurate, the buyer could have gauged fit for themselves, and it is in no way your fault that the buyer didn't take them into account. 

I know you've already agreed to pay for some of the return postage costs, but don't be afraid to stand your ground with someone in cases like this. The best thing to do is develop a return policy that includes what you're prepared to offer and accept, that way you know exactly how to respond and what to offer if something similar ever happens again. You can be flexible with your terms if you feel the situation warrants it, but having a plan in mind when these things occur will help enormously. 

[springyzone]

'Small fit' is just her opinion & normally I would say it is a change of mind return and she should pay for return postage.

But.. I could be wrong here as I didn't take full notice... but I think I saw something on ebay a few days back. It said something along the lines of 'Don't love it? Doesn't fit or just changed your mind? Return it for any reason, free of charge during June.' It was talking about clothes. Not any particular store-anything in the clothing category.

I presume it was talking about things bought in June. I remember wondering how it worked. I presume ebay would pick up the return postage tab?

[black*poppy]

It doesn't have to be a dispute to use the paypal free returns promo.  Paypal will cover the postage back for anything you've bought using paypal, no reason given, you just have to have proof of the return postage paid that links to the seller's address.  I've even used it to return items bought on facebook.

Some online sellers like Country Road heavily encourage the use of paypal because of the free returns promo, so you can take advantage and return items that you don't want at no expense.

It's only the buyer that can claim the return post, and the OP is right in that they could claim it and postage from you as well. I don't know if you did a transfer of funds through paypal with a note saying "postage costs for return of item id xxxxx" - I've never tested it. Have no idea how closely paypal check this stuff.

In regards to ebay and 'doesn't fit' my experience has been that if the seller has measurements in the listing then the buyer will lose the dispute as they had ample information to make an assessment about the fit.  A seller can even call ebay and get a Not as Described case changed to a Change of Mind return (so then the buyer doesn't get any postage refunded - but they could still use the paypal free returns promo if they want when returning).  But if there isn't any measurements I think it's much more in favour of the buyer if they claim Not As Described.