How would you proceed with this refund

[yodablu]

Hi All, I am after a little bit of advice or a shoulder to cry on.

Received a dress back in the mail today that the buyer wants a refund for, Buyer states the care label on the dress is curled up which to her is an indication dress has been worn. I politly explained that I washed the dress before sending as it has been in my wardrobe for a little while.

The dress is new, never been worn, is in perfect condition with no signs of wear at all....only a curled up tag.  Im thinking maybe it didnt fit her. I find it very unfair I have to refund the dress & both way postage amount.

I cant afford another red dot as have already received 2 undue negs in last few days....guess I have no choice except to bow down to another buyer & refund her full amount. GGGGRRRRR

What would you do ?

[foxette-in-sox]

Geez-whats wrong with the quotes & emoticons today???

[a_beautiful_room]

I would get on to ebay and have both of those negs removed. You can't see any sign of splatter stain, and in the other one, there's no belt in the pic. Particularly the belt one ebay would remove the neg I am sure.

Be careful about your follow ups, maybe wait till you calm down and/or ring ebay first before responding. You need to be calm and respond in a way that people reading it don't think you are at fault.

And I am with kazbar. Washed is NOT BNWOT. Brand new without tags is exactly that - unworn, unwashed. You might have ironed it rather than washing it if it were a bit crumpled, but washing in my mind makes it "used".

[***super_nova***]

Sorry, I am also with ABR and kazbar, once it is washed it not new.  Once it was in your wardrobe for so long that it needs washing it is not new.

[phorum_junkie*]

Sorry but if it has been washed then it should be sold as second hand even if it has never been worn.

It doesn't matter what you say to the contrary in the listing if it says brand new in the item condition then it has to be exactly as it was when purchased.

You should have listed it as used then said in the description that it had never actually been worn.

I am afraid you should refund the buyer and apologise profusely and explain you now know that you shouldn't have listed it as new, that may just prevent them leaving you a neg.

[yodablu]

I have refunded the buyer for the dress & both postage amounts, now the wait to see if I get another red dot.

I do disagree with a few of you though...washed once does not mean the item is used. It was a $90 dress unworn & in perfect condition with no signs of wear at all. I still think it didnt fit the buyer & she went over the dress with a fine tooth comb to find a fault. I certainly would send an item back jusy because the care tag was curled. But yes I should have mentioned the dress had been washed....If I hadnt of washed it & she found a speck of dust on it I would be in the same boat.

[yodablu]

I certainly would NOT send an item back

[a_beautiful_room]

Sadly we can't base our selling on ebay on what we would do ourselves. No person in their right mind would send a dress back with a curled tag would they. 

If you didn't want to list the dress as used, then you could list it as BNWOT but make sure it's clearly noted that the dress has been washed. Selling on ebay is all about covering your butt ! We don't always deal with people like us - we deal with some very strange buyers as you have found. But it is all about being transparent. Washed is not brand spanking new. 

[yodablu]

Thank you to everyone for your advice.

[phorum_junkie*]

I stand by what I said before, if it has been washed it should not be listed as new.

Ebay's definition of BNWOT:

New without tags: A brand-new, unused, and unworn item that is not in original retail packaging or may be missing original retail packaging materials (such as the original box or bag). The original tags may not be attached

In other words it is exactly the same as it was when purchased except the tags may have been removed or it has been repackaged.

It can be called new even if it has been hanging in the wardrobe for ages as long as it has the original tags, if you want to freshen them up spray with Fabreeze and hang outside,  mustiness removed without having to wash.

[peternt2001]

I dont know what ebays definitions are, but as a buyer , i would expect something described as new without tags not to have been washed either. To me brand new means exactly that.

I dont buy dresses, but if had brought a shirt or jacket or something that said bnwt i would expect it to look like it just came off of the rack in a shop, except without the tags.

I dont think of myself as fussy, but i do purchase on what i am told by a seller and if i think the seller has mislead me, i do get frustrated at something not being as described.

However saying that, i havent sent one thing back on ebay yet, in the few cases something wasnt as described it was either a very low value item, or the discrepancy in the description versus the price that i paid, still made the item a good value purchase and i havent worried about it.