topic Re: Refunding Ediquette question in Selling

Refunding Ediquette question

lady_and_the_tramp — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 22:35:24 GMT

I had several items (BNWT maternity clothing) that were identical but varried in sizes. One was Size L and 2 were XL. My buyer asked a question re sizing as she wanted to know what the L & XL equaled in Sizes such as Size 14, or Size 16 etc. Unsure myself I provided the Buyer with a link to the manafacures website that had very detailed info about sizing and I also measured both sizes I had with a tape measure myself to give exact sizes of the actual items. These details were all provided clearly so the buyer could make a informed decission. A week and half later, she eventually hit the Buy It Now button and pourchased the XL, note the Size L had sold to another Buyer days before. Parcel was sent using Medium size satchel $13.10, and a few days later Buyer contacted me and asked if she returned could she swap the item for the Size L as she didn't relaise the Size XL would be so big. I replied that I was happy to swap the item for another Size, but unfortuantly I don't have an alternative in the Brand or condition BNWT in the Size she wanted. I offered cheaper items that were in EUC, but another brand & style, but she declined and then asked "where do we go from here"....My policiy states I am happy to refund if products are faulty etc, but I also offered a full refund of the actual product if she would return to me in the same manner I had sent eg: still with tags and in New condition so I could relist them. I reminded her that Pay Pal had a promotion that she could claim the return shipping. She agreed and the item was returned to me. I have now just gone to my Ebay sellers account to refund the item price, but it is only allowing me to refund the WHOLE amount including the postage which is NOT what I want to do, I am only wanting to refund the item price.......Do I just refund direct through Pay Pal to do this and will my sellers fees etc be credit back to me? any suggestions welcomed please

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

joethenuts — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 22:55:09 GMT

who did you think was going to pay for the return postage at the end. did the buyer pay for postage at the start ,why arnt you sending the whole amount back .

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

ausbargainbasement — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 22:59:18 GMT

this is a case of buyer changed thier mind, as you did everything posssible to provide her with the sizing information, so you donot really want to do the refund under the Paypal refund as this could be seen as a defect on your part, and as you only want to refund the cost of the item and not the postage, would copy her Paypal email address from her payment details and then via the Pay or Send button at the top of your Paypal account, send her the item cost only via her email address.

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

joethenuts — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:11:45 GMT

hi aus ,the problem is the seller has told the buyer somebody will else would be paying for return shipping

to relove who is going to pay for 2 lots of shipping

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

bakeandfry — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:15:09 GMT

Joe, paypal did have a promo for return post would be paid by paypal, from memory it was for a certain time (cant remember exactly what time frame it ran for) and the sellers return policy was in line with paypals t&c's.

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

ausbargainbasement — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:18:22 GMT

Hi Joe,

yes thats a point, but really the buyer was given so much information regarding sizing in the first place ie link to manufacturers site ect, should have been able to work out if it would fit in the first place, but as the seller is trying to accomadate the buyer maybe she will need to refund the total amount on this one, but still do it the way i said, so as to avoid a defect.

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

pennyforum14 — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:35:54 GMT

The problem is, in order to use the Paypal free returns offer, the buyer would have had to register wih Paypal prior to purchasing and request the return through Paypal so that hey have records of the return. Firstly, I don't see any indication that the buyer registered for this service, given that you had to point it out to her. Secondly, if you refund using Send Money, there is every chance Paypal won't recognise the refund as such and will refund her a second time.

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

harley_babes_hoard — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 23:35:53 GMT

change of mind buyer pays. depending on what your TOS are.

Things to consider: if you refund you will cop a defect unless you do a cancelation and choose buyer changed mind however I think you are only able to refund in full. you will get your fees back.
If you refund straight from paypal in full you will receive a defect also. If you do a part refund from paypal you will not receive a defect but then i think you will have to wear the fees etc.from ebay. I am not sure you can then cancel without getting a defect.

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

springyzone — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 00:25:00 GMT

If things don't work out, if you find she isn't eligible for free post back, why not just tell her the truth, and set it out as clearly as possible.

* You do exchange for faulty goods but not for change of mind.

* Ebay does not offer money back for buyer change of mind.

* All sizings were clearly stated to her before she bought.

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

ausbargainbasement — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 00:25:40 GMT

What happened to the good old days when a refund was just a refund, not a damn defect, its like trying to dodge bullets with the current system, wonder if the big boys cope defects, dont most large stores have no questions asked return policy ?

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

joethenuts — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 00:39:35 GMT

springy she has got her goods back,she told the buyer that paypal will pay her back for sending the item back , that might not be true, what does she do know ,

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

bakeandfry — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 00:50:25 GMT

If the buyer did accept paypals promo, the buyer will have to provide paypal of proof of postage, as far as a refund Ausbargain advice is spot on, plus seller can add a mesage or note with the refund, it should be on record with buyers inboxed emails, im almost positive it shows on buyers brought items that they recived a refund as well. Maybe someone who is more in the know will comment....

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

pennyforum14 — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 03:22:46 GMT

I'm just going by what I read about the free returns policy, but I think it states that to claim your free return the return process must be handled through the Paypal or eBay returns system. Sending a refund as Send Money, even with a covering note, may not cut the mustard. What's more, since it may be construed as an attempt to avoid the approved eBay/Paypal processes (which in fact it is, albeit for very good reason) would you really want your buyer to bring it to Paypal's attention?

If it were me, I would simply explain to the customer that she would not be eligible for the paypal free returns thing after all, as she did not register before buying. Tell her that under the circumstances, you would be happy to refund the pruchase price, less fees and excluding the original postage (which you did after all pay out), but that she would need to cover the cost of return postage herself.

Re: Refunding Ediquette question

phorum_junkie* — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 10:14:41 GMT

I think the mistake was even mentioning that Paypal would have paid the return postage. The OP should just have said that they would refund for item price only once they receive the item back with the tags still attached. If they had then done a partial refund of the item price only through Paypal they would not have got a defect.

If it were me and I had said Paypal would cover the return without explaining all the details and jumping through hoops required I would just take the loss and refund in full for the original postage but not the return costs.