Buyer claims zipper broke when she tried it on!

[flaish2]

Hi everyone - I have sold heaps of things over the years on ebay but never really had major problems so am looking for some advice.

I sold a dress that was brand new with tags with no defects. It was in perfect condition. 

First of all, the item sold and 8 days later the buyer still had not paid so I contacted her asking when she would be making pyament. She said she had a family emergency and needed more time which i happily allowed her. She then paid 2 weeks later but requested I post the item immediately and via express post (which she had not paid for and was not in the listing) as she had to leave urgently for overseas. I agreed and did not ask her for the additional cost of postage.

The buyer contacted me on the day she received the item saying that when she pulled the zip down "it just broke". She attached a photo of it which shows the zip split and on the wrong side of the dress (I have attached the photo to this post). In my experience, this is something that only happens when force is placed on the zip such as trying to squeeze into a dress that is too small for you. I know the zip was working as I had tested it a few times before I listed it on ebay. 

I contacted ebay for advice and they told me to get the buyer to send the dress back, and refund her the cost of the dress and her postage she paid. She also wants me to pay her return postage. I do not believe this is fair in the slightest as I know the dress was fine when I sent it and with the proposed solution by ebay I lose a heap of money and end up with an item that is broken and not able to be sold. 

Do I have any other options???

[phorum_junkie*]

First off I wouldn't automatically think the buyer was lying, it looks like one of those small, plastic teeth styled zips that do fail quite often.

All you can do is comply with the request to provide a return label and then deal with it when you get it back I don't think there is any way you can prove the buyer broke it but if you can do so and tell ebay about it.

I would not have had the problem because by day eight I would already have opened and closed a dispute.

Make sure you add them to your blocked bidder list.

If you have never had this happen before then you are talking a very small amount of money if you compare this cost to all the trouble free sales you have made.

Sensible sellers build a few cents into their sell price to cover the cost of an occasional refund or lost untracked parcel.

[lane-ends]

It happens when selling clothes, you win some you loose some could be true , maybe not , you wil never know. If the zip is busted cut your losses and dont pay to get it back, Its no use to you. Refund and move on. Many buyers will "try it on" with no fault at all and hence no photo, they need prove nothing to get a faulty item refunded.

[designers*n*more]

Was it an expensive dress? It may be worth getting the dress back and having the zip repaired, (do you know anyone who sews) but depends on whether you see it as worth or not.

Another point in regards to the dispute, pictures of the dress showing the zip closed may help in your favour, send them to eBay, may not help but worth a try.

im not sure where you stand on this, if the buyer returns the dress with the broken zip, then it is not in the condition that it was sent, (the buyer broke the zip and I would assume removed the tags) which is eBay's policy that the item be returned in the condition it was sent. If you were a business then you would have to accept a return and provide a refund just like going into a retail store but as a private seller I'm not sure.

i would for future listings, maybe add a note in the returns section asking buyers who purchase clothes to leave the tags on whilst trying on to make sure everything is ok and if tags are removed you can't accept returns. It may help prevent those who try and return something after they've worn it.

I don't know, it's becoming too much like, buyers remorse wins regardless of a seller's returns policy. I'm not saying that this particular buyer did this, but, what if, as an example, she receives dress, wears it out, decides I don't like, deliberately breaks the zip by using force - seller is basically stuffed! Bang - buyer wins!

the same goes for buyers who purchase an item, and return another item (faulty) but the same and claim its faulty. Have read a few of those stories and the sellers have lost out because eBay state they don't physically see the item that was sent so take the word of the buyer.  Might have to start using an invisible security marker, at least if anyone tries this scam you have proof the wrong item was returned.

[lane-ends]

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@designers*n*more wrote:

if the buyer returns the dress with the broken zip, then it is not in the condition that it was sent, (the buyer broke the zip and I would assume removed the tags) which is eBay's policy that the item be returned in the condition it was sent. 

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Might be in their policy, they even advised to check condition of returned items. Yet there i sno option to dispute it, only to fully refund. Even for change of mind.

If buyer says a zip is faulty a seller cannot prove otherwise. I have had many items were a zip looks fine then use it a couple of times and it fails under the slightest pressure. It is one of the reasons many seconds are cleared out, even new with tags.

[designers*n*more]

I know what you mean. They contradict their own policies.

looks like the zip is one of the invisible zips and they are a buggar to do up if  there is a seam going across, you have to be really careful. I've had a couple break at the horizontal seam myself. It happened on a beautiful long evening dress I had grrrr.

It's a bit of a dicey one because the dress was fine when sent and received, and it's the buyer who broke the zip through I suppose carelessness, If it's not an expensive dress I probably would just refund rather than have to pay return postage as well.

the seller could try an come to an agreement with the buyer and mention that you have to be careful with invisible zips and not force them across the seams which is not a fault it's just the way they are (I say that as its I have experienced with all invisible zips). Maybe try an offer a refund on the purchase price since it was the buyer who broke the zip. It's not faulty but you have to be careful with them.

[springyzone]

I'm with PJ. I don't think you should have waited 8 days, you should have opened a non payment dispute by day 5 or 6.

You might still have ended up in this situation though as she may have paid then.

Nor would I have been impressed to be asked to send express without her making some offer to pay the extra.

This is a woman with a great sense of entitlement. She expects people to make allowances for her but she makes none in return, you notice.

I don't know how much the dress cost but on principle I think I would be inclined to get the dress back, as I think you are going to have to refund her postage & dress cost anyway. Don't let her have the money and the dress. For the return postage cost, get it back. You may be able to have it repaired and resell, although maybe not at as good a price.

[debonnairefashions]

Hi

I am also in the same position as you at the moment. Buyer has purchased a clothing item and asked for a return as skirt does not fit.

Skirt arrived back this morning and I opened the bag to discover that now the skirt is faulty. Not as described in my listing. Buyer ripped the seams below the zipper when trying the skirt on and had not mentioned in her message about a return.

I have since contacted ebay about receiving a faulty item from buyer. As I do not accept returns, I am not abliged to refund the buyer. This is called 'buyer remorse' receiving an item from buyer that was not as decribed when I originally posted it. Ebay has said that if buyer opens a return, this can be in sellers favour as buyer returned an item not as described or damaged goods.

With the damaged dress, zippers break all the time before being worn or sounds like the buyer tried it on and did not fit and zipper broke when trying to zip up. Ebay most likely thought that your dress was defective, meaning when tried to use the item it did not work. For you to win, you need to prove that the buyer damaged the dress when trying it on as it did not fit.

[designers*n*more]

Has the buyer actually raised a dispute via eBay yet? If not, ask her to raise a dispute via PayPal (if she paid via PayPal), she can claim the cost of return postage back from PayPal. You need to ask her to keep the postage receipt and take a photo of the parcel with your address on it prior to posting as PayPal will ask for these two bits of info when requesting the postage refund. It will at least save you having to pay return postage as well.

[black*poppy]

She doesn't have to raise a claim with paypal to get the postage back, she just has to have paid with paypal.  You can claim the return postage with paypal for any reason even without raising a dispute.  For instance on the Country Road website, they encourage you to pay with paypal so you that you can return an item for free if you change your mind, doesn't fit or whatever.  I've even done the same with a facebook purchase.  You are entitled to 4 returns per year (not sure if that's a rolling or calender year).  You just have to link the return with the original paypal payment.

In regards to raising a dispute with paypal... interesting idea as the dress was as described at the point of delivery apparently, that is the buyer has admitted that the zip broke when she pulled it.  Paypal aren't a warranty service, and only provide cover for how the item was described when delivered. I'd even be interested as to how ebay would rule if the seller really chose to fight it given the buyer broke it.  

Customer service is a different thing and I'm not commenting on this.  It also makes a difference if the seller is a business or private seller. Just food for thought.