Item Not As Described (Dispute)

[velocitum]

Hello,

Sorry for posting this again but I can find my original post.

I have a buyer that says I shipped him the wrong colour phone, however when I checked all my communications and the order details, he didn't specify the colour. He has now opened an eBay dispute. Should I let him escalate the case to eBay or should I just swallow it up and send him a refund?

I know for a fact he didn't specify colour. What is the best course of action?

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

I would offer to send the colour they ordered on return of the original and after checking everything is still in the same condition. You could also ask them how they confirmed their colour choice, as your records do not indicate a specific choice was made (thus you would need to check where and how the oversight occurred to prevent it from happening again).

Is it an eBay dispute, or PayPal dispute? If an eBay dispute, it's up to you and the buyer to communicate and resolve the issue. If it's a PayPal dispute, they will decide on the outcome If the dispute is escalated to a claim, and chances are (if the colour is completely different to what the buyer says they requested) they will be required to send the phone back and a refund issued once you confirm it's back in your possession - do not refund without return, though. 

If it turns out they did specify a colour choice and it was overlooked or missed somehow, I would reimburse the return postage costs, but not if the error was the buyer's - due to the way the variant listing format works, some buyers think clicking on different images in the gallery make a specific choice in other listings that show a variety of choices in the gallery but aren't actually variant listings.

[velocitum]

Hello and thanks. I checked the communications and no colour was specified. However, in my listing it says the colour was silver so I may be at fault. The title of the listing said Silver/Grey.

I think I may have to refund the buyer, since they may have thought they were getting silver due to the description saying silver. Can I link to the listing without rendering my post in violation of eBay policies?

[digital*ghost]

Ah, ok - if the title and description stated silver/grey and a different colour was sent, then I would personally either offer refund on return (including return postage costs), or exchange if I had the silver/grey (again, covering all postage costs).

If they were prepared to keep the phone, I would offer a reasonable partial refund (as it would save at least one lot of postage). 

You can put the title of the listing here for members to search and check for further advice. AFAIK, a direct link is not technically against board posting rules in these circumstances, but they are sometimes edited out anyway. 

[velocitum]

Thanks for your reply -

The title says - "Genuine Brand New Nokia C3-01 Mobile Phone (Unlocked) - Silver/Grey"

He did not specify colour so I sent him the grey one. However, in the description it says "Colour - Silver". I think I might have to chalk this up to a loss. Its amazing how small oversights result in negative buyer satisfaction. Maybe I can offer him a partial refund if he keeps the phone? Otherwise I will have him send the phone back.

The issue is that I don't think I will be able to resell the phone since it's such an obscure model. Thanks again...

[digital*ghost]

Ok, I can see the listing - the only picture is of a silver phone, plus the title says silver and there's not anything to indicate the buyer needed to make a colour choice, so anyone would have been expecting to get a silver phone. Do you know what colour they did get? I ask as the listing states the item location is China, and I'm presuming it was sent to the buyer directly (i.e. dropshipped). 

A partial refund might be the quickest way to resolve, but definitely give the buyer the choice between that or returning for a full refund.

[velocitum]

Hello again...

Yes I drop-shipped it from China to the buyer. I acknowledge that it is a bit confusing but I didn't realise that I made a mistake. That was one of my first sales on eBay and I was still getting the hang of it. They said they got a grey phone and were expecting a silver.

I would be happy to give him a partial refund if he wants it, or leave the option of a full refund on the table. I am waiting for his response.

[digital*ghost]

It sounds like you've done what you can to help resolve the issue with the buyer, so I hope it works out ok. 

Just as a side-note, and some friendly advice in general, I'd be very wary of dropshipping brand name items from China, as quite often the items aren't genuine and it can be more trouble than it's worth.

[velocitum]

It depends on the temperament of the buyer. I've already acknowledged that I was in the wrong so I'm waiting to see if he would like a partial refund.

Regarding drop-shipping from China - I have samples sent to me to confirm that they are shipping a genuine product.

If the buyer escalates this case to eBay, I think eBay would find me at fault. Partial refund while letting him keep the phone seems the best solution. Thanks again.

[phorum_junkie*]

Regarding drop-shipping from China - I have samples sent to me to confirm that they are shipping a genuine product.

Do you not think that if they are selling counterfeit items and you asked for a sample they may just send you a genuine one and then send out fakes to your buyers? You wouldn't be the first one to be caught out by that trick. if I were you I would get a friend or relative to blind purchase one just to check it is the real deal.

If they did turn out to be fakes then it is you who will be left out of pocket, you will probably have to refund without return and you will have no chance of getting your money back from the supplier.

In this instance if the buyer wants a full refund I would ask them to send the phone back and you will pay the postage.