A Bit Cheeky... ?

[digital*ghost]

I want to preface this by saying I've already decided how to handle this, but also.... I'm procrastinating (unwisely) before getting stuck into a couple of hours work before bed, and was just a little curious to see how others would react to it.

So, the situation is, I sold an item earlier this year, 8 months ago in fact, and around 2 months after the sale, I received a message saying that it had broken and a replacement was requested. I was happy to oblige, and posted off a postage-paid bag so that they could return it to me at no expense.

I then never heard from them again.

Until today, when I received the item in the mail, postmarked 7th December. No note, letter, eBay message or email, just the item (which was, effectively, broken). 

I don't have an express warranty on my products (this was one of my handmade items), but they are intended to withstand a good bit of use, plus I want to know if/when they don't so I can improve them wherever possible, but the 6-month delay in contact to receiving the item back, with the apparent expectation the replacement offer is still good has struck a bit of a nerve, particularly as there was absolutely no contact from the buyer once I replied and let them know the pre-paid bag was on the way. 

I'm going to replace it, because in actual fact I expect these particular items to last longer than 8 months myself, but I'm still (irrationally?) miffed. 

What say you....if anything at all? 

[cmcoins2000]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

I want to preface this by saying I've already decided how to handle this, but also.... I'm procrastinating (unwisely) before getting stuck into a couple of hours work before bed, and was just a little curious to see how others would react to it.

So, the situation is, I sold an item earlier this year, 8 months ago in fact, and around 2 months after the sale, I received a message saying that it had broken and a replacement was requested. I was happy to oblige, and posted off a postage-paid bag so that they could return it to me at no expense.

I then never heard from them again.

Until today, when I received the item in the mail, postmarked 7th December. No note, letter, eBay message or email, just the item (which was, effectively, broken). 

I don't have an express warranty on my products (this was one of my handmade items), but they are intended to withstand a good bit of use, plus I want to know if/when they don't so I can improve them wherever possible, but the 6-month delay in contact to receiving the item back, with the apparent expectation the replacement offer is still good has struck a bit of a nerve, particularly as there was absolutely no contact from the buyer once I replied and let them know the pre-paid bag was on the way. 

I'm going to replace it, because in actual fact I expect these particular items to last longer than 8 months myself, but I'm still (irrationally?) miffed. 

What say you....if anything at all? 

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Hi DG.

Why wouldn't you be 'miffed'.

8 months - not a word - just a returned 'broken' something in a bag.

More curious than miffed.

Sure it ain't from a well meaning rel for Xmas.

Kidding - still curious.

Will await further.

Sleep good.

[harley_babes_hoard]

well I certainly would not refund or replace after that time sorry. they had their time when you sent the bag. Also it teaches the buyer that they can get away with this caper and will continue to do so.

[horizon1907]

Agree h b h I think the same. Let's em think this is the norm.

[digital*ghost]

They actually returned it in the original padded bag I sent, though it was looking a bit worse for wear I recognised it immediately because I handwrote my N&D on the front, and it's the only one I put out there that hadn't come back to me as yet. 😄 

I would presume if they had posted back 6 months ago, I would have heard from them at least once since then, so feel relatively confident that (and the post mark) can rule out a long holiday in the AP ether. I'm actually just as suprised they didn't contact to confirm the address was still valid. o_O

Harley, if it was anything other than one of my handmade items, which is from a product line that needs to be relatively hardy, I would agree, but I take a great deal of care and time to ensure as much as possible that I'm putting out a quality, long-lasting product, and have actually been contemplating introducing an express product replacement warranty - undecided if for 6 or 12 months, though. I dislike how they've gone about it, but I don't want to let that influence or deny what I would offer to any one of my customers whose item broke, so that's why I'm still replacing. 

[bigbrickshop]

More than a bit cheeky to leave it this long.

Maybe the envelope has been rolling around in their car all this time and they've just found it and taken the chance to post it back and see what happens. May be too embarassed to add a note in the envelope.

[harley_babes_hoard]

worse still they hung on to the original packing for 8 months ....really who does that unless you are a scammer.

[amber-eyed-girl]

Most peculiar.

It is what it is, and all I would do if it were me would be to thank them politely for their return, and confirm their address for the replacement as some time has elapsed since the original sale. 

(Making a point but one that would go straight over their head in all likelihood)

[digital*ghost]

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@harley_babes_hoard wrote:
worse still they hung on to the original packing for 8 months ....really who does that unless you are a scammer.

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The only way this could be a scam would be if they lied about the item being broken in the first place, and decided to try their luck now that it actually is, but then it's the lie that would have been an attempt at a scam that didn't quite pan out at the time. 

But the thing is, it will cost me virtually nothing to replace - the item in question is about 90% salvageable, and the components aren't really something that devalue or wear out after use, there's just a couple of little bits that didn't stand the test of time like they should. And like I said, if it's something I would do for any one of my customers after this amount of time, then that includes someone who didn't go about it quite the right way. I'm not trying to teach them what they can expect from all eBay sellers, just show them what they can expect from me - hmm, how about some ideas for a note I can include in with the return?

"You got lucky.....this time".

😄

[digital*ghost]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:

(Making a point but one that would go straight over their head in all likelihood)

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Yup, so I'm thinking aim (innocently and inoffensively) low.