As a seller what happens if the buyer wants to the return the item for no good reason?

[yali1857]

As a seller what happens if the buyer wants to the return the item for no good reason? 

Are we obliged to just give them a full refund even though their reasons are weak. 

My recent experience has really disappointed me. 

I don't run a shop, i'm just an individual selling things to declutter and help with the cost of living. 

I sold a skirt which was new with tags, it has simply been sitting folded in my clothing drawer. 

The buyer claims that the zipper at first was 'stiff and gets stuck' , and it had a smell of ' some kind of detergent' which she claims ' it's not a bad smell but concerns' that the skirt has been worn and washed. The she claims the stitching is not right and the fabric appeared odd and claims was possibly due to the ironing.

My reply was that the skirt is brand new hence the zipper being a little right. I could not have possibly washed a piece of clothing with the paper tag intact, and it definitely has not been ironed as the photos on my ad would reflect. The satin material has ceases once folder which I have captured in the photos and she would have seen in the photos. I didn't try to hide or cover anything. 

The item is not damaged or broken, it's sold as it was pictured, and she purchased with full understanding.

I can understand that people may changed their mind and I'm ok with that but I feel that on eBay a buyer can make any excuse to return an item and sellers can not do anything about it. In circumstances where they don't have a strong valid reason they should cover the postage cost otherwise the seller is at a loss. 

Its a skirt which retailed at $225, I listed the item at $99 and sold it to her at $70 taking in to consideration her concerns. 

I have contacted Ebay and to no surprise there is not much I can do, I feel that there is nothing in place to protect sellers from buys who are just unreasonable. 

I wonder if anyone else have had similar experiences. 

[*sons_n_daughters*]

What you're experiencing is known as "wardrobing". A buyer will buy a garment to wear to an event. They no longer have use for the garment, because god forbid, you can't wear the same garment twice. So, they find a reason to return it. You have no returns listed on that item, that means you don't accept change of mind returns, which is what this buyer is trying to do. Tell them to go shove it.

That said, there are buyers who will actually go and damage an item, so they can then claim the item isn't as described. It happens all the time. If it were me, I'd accept the return, but the buyer pays the postage to return it. 

As for contacting ebay, forget it. They will side with the buyer 100% of the time.

[sandypebbles]

Absolutely 

Contacting eBay is they last thing you should do

They will always side with the buyer, no matter how dodgy and scammy they are

[sugar249]

If I would the buyer I would open an Item not as described.  If it has a smell,  then yep its dodgy.  

To me thats a reasonable reason to return an item,  you say it's being sitting in your clothing drawer,  yep thats where smells can come from.

It's sad that others are saying it's ''wardrobing'' without any facts.

[*sons_n_daughters*]

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@sugar249 wrote:

If I would the buyer I would open an Item not as described.  If it has a smell,  then yep its dodgy.  

To me thats a reasonable reason to return an item,  you say it's being sitting in your clothing drawer,  yep thats where smells can come from.

It's sad that others are saying it's ''wardrobing'' without any facts.

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It's sad that you think a smell from storage is SNAD, without any facts.

Every time I've bought a new piece of clothing (or linen, or any other fabric item), regardless of where it comes from, it has a smell. That's why they tell you to wash things before wearing. 

[sugar249]

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@*sons_n_daughters* wrote:

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@sugar249 wrote:

If I would the buyer I would open an Item not as described.  If it has a smell,  then yep its dodgy.  

To me thats a reasonable reason to return an item,  you say it's being sitting in your clothing drawer,  yep thats where smells can come from.

It's sad that others are saying it's ''wardrobing'' without any facts.

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Every time I've bought a new piece of clothing (or linen, or any other fabric item), regardless of where it comes from, it has a smell. That's why they tell you to wash things before wearing. 

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Ah,  I've never had one with a detergent smell,  where do you shop, I'll avoid those places.

[sandypebbles]

Ah, I've never had anything with a paper tag attached that has a detergent smell

Blind Freddy could see the buyer is full of it, they can't even make up 'believable' stories 

[springyzone]

First off, I will just say that I don't know if the buyer is 'wardrobing' on purpose or not.

I can't tell because I haven't seen the item in person.

Ebay is in exactly the same position.

In this sort of situation, ebay will usually give the buyer the benefit of the doubt and yes, you, the seller, will then need to provide return postage costs and you'll be out of pocket if the buyer opens an ebay claim.

There are a few reasons the buyer may be finding fault with the item.

-they may be wardrobing, angling to get the skirt cheaper. 

-the skirt may not have been a proper fit but in that case, I would imagine they would hold out for a return & full refund, not a discount.

-they may be buyers who expected a pristine, shop like condition of the item but maybe after storage, it lost a bit of that 'new' look & they are genuinely disappointed about the condition or smell. Maybe the zipper really is a bit stiff or not working easily.

-they may have had a bit of a change of mind and don't like it as much as when they bought it. Once the skirt arrived, they may have felt they 'paid too much' because it is not 'brand new' then actively looked for every little thing.

Years ago, as a seller, we had an overseas buyer who expected the advertised aussie rate of postage & when she didn't get it, then found fault with the item but wanted to keep it-said she would settle for half her postage amount back! Like you, we felt the item was in exactly the condition we had advertised but it was cheaper to just do a partial refund. Sometimes you have to be practical.

When you are selling second hand items on ebay, this is a risk you take. I think the category of clothing might be especially risky. It won't happen all the time, but occasionally you'll run into a buyer like this.

I don't know the brand of your skirt,  but if you are thinking of selling other good brand items, look up facebook with the name of the brand and see if there is a buy & sell page for that brand.

On FB general marketplace, you may not get your price, but in the specialised facebook groups, you'll get fans of the brand who are aware of the RRP and will.

[springyzone]

By way of a PS.

I just looked up your sold items and I think I can see the skirt you mentioned, and you said you sold it for $70, because of her concerns.

If an item has 'or best offer' on it, a buyer will often make an offer even if they have no concerns but just because they may be able to get it a bit cheaper. I do that myself sometimes. $70 I would call a fairly low ball offer on a $99 item though. If I really wanted something of that price, I might offer $85-$90.

If the buyer mentioned concerns at that stage, with her offer, I am not sure I would have felt confident about selling to her as she had doubts before she even got it.

Maybe just accept a return, pay return postage, get it back, list it at $99 again or on one of the facebook sites and see how you go. Hopefully she will return the skirt in the same condition she received it.

[imastawka]

You have no measurements on any of your clothing listings.

Sizes mean nothing.

When selling clothing, measurements are a must.

She's nitpicking because it doesn't fit.

Not being a fit is classed as change of mind - for which you have no returns.

Refund her after she returns it, but it must be in the same condition as she received it.

A pain, I know, but put measurements on your remaining listings.