Refunding Ediquette question

[lady_and_the_tramp]

I had several items (BNWT maternity clothing) that were identical but varried in sizes. One was Size L and 2 were XL.  My buyer asked a question re sizing as she wanted to know what the L & XL equaled in Sizes such as Size 14, or Size 16 etc.  Unsure myself I provided the Buyer with a link to the manafacures website that had very detailed info about sizing and I also measured both sizes I had  with a tape measure myself to give exact sizes of the actual items.  These details were all provided clearly so the buyer could make a informed decission.  A week and half later, she eventually hit the Buy It Now button and pourchased the XL, note the Size L had sold to another Buyer days before.  Parcel was sent using Medium size satchel $13.10, and a few days later Buyer contacted me and asked if she returned could she swap the item for the Size L as she didn't relaise the Size XL would be so big.  I replied that I was happy to swap the item for another Size, but unfortuantly I don't have an alternative in the Brand or condition BNWT in the Size she wanted. I offered cheaper items that were in EUC, but another brand & style, but she declined and then asked "where do we go from here"....My policiy states I am happy to refund if products are faulty etc, but I also offered a full refund of the actual product if she would return to me in the same manner I had sent eg: still with tags and in New condition so I could relist them. I reminded her that Pay Pal had a promotion that she could claim the return shipping.   She agreed and the item was returned to me.  I have now just gone to my Ebay sellers account to refund the item price, but it is only allowing me to refund the WHOLE amount including the postage which is NOT what I want to do, I am only wanting to refund the item price.......Do I just refund direct through Pay Pal to do this and will my sellers fees etc be credit back to me?  any suggestions welcomed please

[joethenuts]

who did you think was going to pay for the return postage at the end. did the buyer pay for postage at the start ,why arnt you sending the whole amount back .

[ausbargainbasement]

this is a case of buyer changed thier mind, as you did everything posssible to provide her with the sizing information, so you donot really want to do the refund under the Paypal refund as this could be seen as a defect on your part, and as you only want to refund the cost of the item and not the postage, would copy her Paypal email address from her payment details and then via the Pay or Send button at the top of your Paypal account, send her the item cost only via her email address. 

[joethenuts]

hi aus ,the problem is the seller has told the buyer somebody will else would be paying for return shipping  

to relove   who is going to pay for 2 lots of shipping 

[bakeandfry]

Joe, paypal did have a promo for return post would be paid by paypal, from memory it was for a certain time (cant remember exactly what time frame it ran for) and the sellers return policy was in line with paypals t&c's.

[ausbargainbasement]

Hi Joe,

yes thats a point, but really the buyer was given so much information regarding sizing in the first place ie link to manufacturers site ect, should have been able to work out if it would fit in the first place, but as the seller is trying to accomadate the buyer maybe she will need to refund the total amount on this one, but still do it the way i said, so as to avoid a defect.

[pennyforum14]

The problem is, in order to use the Paypal free returns offer, the buyer would have had to register wih Paypal prior to purchasing and request the return through Paypal so that hey have records of the return.  Firstly, I don't see any indication that the buyer registered for this service, given that you had to point it out to her.  Secondly, if you refund using Send Money, there is every chance Paypal won't recognise the refund as such and will refund her a second time.

[harley_babes_hoard]

change of mind buyer pays. depending on what your TOS are.

Things to consider: if you refund you will cop a defect unless you do a cancelation and choose buyer changed mind however I think you are only able to refund in full. you will get your fees back.
If you refund straight from paypal in full you will receive a defect also. If you do a part refund from paypal you will not receive a defect but then i think you will have to wear the fees etc.from ebay. I am not sure you can then cancel without getting a defect.

[springyzone]

If things don't work out, if you find she isn't eligible for free post back, why not just tell her the truth, and set it out as clearly as possible.

* You do exchange for faulty goods but not for change of mind.

* Ebay does not offer money back for buyer change of mind.

* All sizings were clearly stated to her before she bought.

[ausbargainbasement]

What happened to the good old days when a refund was just a refund, not a damn defect, its like trying to dodge bullets with the current system, wonder if the big boys cope defects, dont most large stores have no questions asked return policy ?