Refund for item not as described

[smr20032010]

I am wondering if someone can clarify something for me. I recently sold an item that I mistakenly described as complete but had a couple of pieces missing. I have offered the buyer the following options:

(1) post back to me and I will give full refund

(2) keep item and i will refund 50% of purchase price

What are my obligations to avoid negative feedback etc? I don't want to give a full refund AND let the buyer keep the item. At this stage the buyer is being very communicative and understanding but want to make sure I deal with it appropriately.

Thanks.

[i-love-my-sheep]

---

@smr20032010 wrote:

I am wondering if someone can clarify something for me. I recently sold an item that I mistakenly described as complete but had a couple of pieces missing. I have offered the buyer the following options:

(1) post back to me and I will give full refund

(2) keep item and i will refund 50% of purchase price

What are my obligations to avoid negative feedback etc? I don't want to give a full refund AND let the buyer keep the item. At this stage the buyer is being very communicative and understanding but want to make sure I deal with it appropriately.

Thanks.

---

I would offer both those options to the buyer and let them choose. If they offer to return, assure them that you will pay the return postage costs (which eBay wil make you do if they open a case). Reassure the buyer that you are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure a satisfactory outcome for them.

If they haven't opened a case, you could ask them not to and explain that it's not necessary if the seller is willing to fix the problem. Disputes are only necessary if the seller isn't obliging for whatever reason. I told a buyer that a few weeks ago and he was grateful for the advice (he was pretty low feedback). I told him when he should open a dispute and whether to open PayPal or eBay. His issue was sorted (I hadn't noticed that the item I sent was damaged, so sent a replacement) and I got a glowing positive and 5 stars for everything.

I don't know of any sure fire ways to avoid a negative, but I've found if I deal with the issue professionally and give the buyer options, they either don't leave feedback or leave positive. If your buyer is being reasonable and understanding at this point, then you might be lucky as far as feedback goes. It tends to be the ones that don't contact first, or contact with a firey message that leave the back feedback. At the very worst you may get a neutral.

Good luck with it! It sounds like you are doing everything right so far.

[cq_tech]

i-love-my-sheep said: At the very worst you may get a neutral.

Sheep, a neutral is every bit as bad as a neg these days and triggers the same defect that negative feedback would. 😞

[i-love-my-sheep]

---

@cq_tech wrote:

i-love-my-sheep said: At the very worst you may get a neutral.

Sheep, a neutral is every bit as bad as a neg these days and triggers the same defect that negative feedback would. 😞

---

Yeah, I know :D. The only difference is, it doesn't affect the % rating, which is what diligent buyers look at when scrolling through search pages. Yes, the seller still get the wretched defect. I know, I have one 😞

[lizzy6107]

was it a jigsaw puzzle ? 😉

[cherry*135]

If bought something that had several pieces to make it complete, it was advertised as complete but it wasn't delivered complete, I would want my money back including postage costs.

I have seen other sellers say they offer a discount for broken item (from a set) or missing parts, but really people have purchased a complete set, why shouldn't they get what they purchased or a  full refund so they aren't out of pocket by any amount?

Sellers mistake if parts are missing. 

Buyer here might not be inclined to leave any feedback if they get all their money back.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I do believe that was one of the options the OP was offering to his buyer......

[cherry*135]

yes... and the alternative offer was to give a discount and keep the item with missing parts.... the buyer might be insulted by that, depending on what the item is.. for example. someone mentioned a jigsaw.. not much use with bits missing, when you bought a complete one,which was listed as complete.

Where as offering the buyer full refund immediately & processing it quickly.. would go a long way to hopefully avoid less than positive feedback.

I don't want to give a full refund AND let the buyer keep the item. Seller wants the item sent back first, so will take a few days or more before buyer can get a refund. They have to wait, because the seller made a mistake.

Basically seller made the mistake, seller doesn't want less than positive feedback, seller should quickly refund buyer their money.