Refunds

[lucygreenshoes]

Hi all, just a question or two on refunds, hoping someone can help. I dont offer a refund on items I list, for change of mind. A buyer who placed 4 bids on one of my listings and won the item now is claiming the item doesn't match the decsription all because I didn't list the region code of the DVDs in my listing and she feels I should have. She never asked about the region code and I didnt think to mention it. I find that it is a bogus claim really, she's even stated that its not about it not suiting her DVD player, its just that I didn't state the region on the listing and she feels I should have! I contacted eBay chat to ask about the rights of sellers in this instance and was simply told to refund it. Seriously? How is that fair? She also stated in a message she was hoping to resolve it without it affecting my eBay rating, I took that comment with a "what the?" When I looked at feedback she has left for others over the time, she's a bit of a nit-picker to be honest...lots of neutrals and negs for others. Has anyone else had to deal with someone like this before? Doesnt make you feel good when all you're trying to do is sell your second hand stuff to get a bit of cash. Thanks everyone

[jellybirddesigns]

Unfortunately, there's no point trying to send it or get the buyer to pay - the buyer will find a fault in order to neg you with.

Just cancel it, but be sure to choose the reason "problem with buyers address", or you will end up with a defect.

And then put them on your block list.

[imastawka]

Region is the most important bit of info IMO

It should have been stated in the listing.

That's not 'nit picking'

Having said that, the buyer should have asked the question before bidding.

Put the region in the listing next time.

[davewil1964]

I'm assuming you have sent them -

Item not as described negates change of mind returns, which is what the buyer, according to you, is claiming. eBay will back the buyer 100% if the item isn't as described. If you feel that the lack of a region code is not relevant, by all means fight it. Understanding that eBay will probably refund the buyer at your expense, let the buyer keep the DVDs and give you an unresolved defect.

If you want the DVDs back, you will have to provide the buyer with return postage, so you will be out 2 lots of postage.

Ps: Put ALL relevant information on your listings, whether you consider them relevant or not.

Pps. eBay don't care whether you are a professional seller or a claimed house clearer. The only way you would get any special dispensation would be to be a big box retailer.

Ppps. You must have a big house.

[chameleon54]

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@lucygreenshoes wrote:

Hi all, just a question or two on refunds, hoping someone can help. I dont offer a refund on items I list, for change of mind. A buyer who placed 4 bids on one of my listings and won the item now is claiming the item doesn't match the decsription all because I didn't list the region code of the DVDs in my listing and she feels I should have. She never asked about the region code and I didnt think to mention it. I find that it is a bogus claim really, she's even stated that its not about it not suiting her DVD player, its just that I didn't state the region on the listing and she feels I should have! I contacted eBay chat to ask about the rights of sellers in this instance and was simply told to refund it. Seriously? How is that fair? She also stated in a message she was hoping to resolve it without it affecting my eBay rating, I took that comment with a "what the?" When I looked at feedback she has left for others over the time, she's a bit of a nit-picker to be honest...lots of neutrals and negs for others. Has anyone else had to deal with someone like this before? Doesnt make you feel good when all you're trying to do is sell your second hand stuff to get a bit of cash. Thanks everyone

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UUUMMMM !!! That is actually feedback extortion and is a big NO NO as far as ebay goes. While it may or may not have a bearing on whether the INAD claim is succesful it would definately be grounds to have any Neg. feedback removed.

While not commenting on whether you are right or wrong on this one, if you choose to fight the case I would be making a song and dance about the feedback extortion attempt and the Neuts and Negs left for others. It may just be enough to swing things your way.

[chameleon54]

Ebays feedback extortion policy. If fighting the case I would remind the CS rep of this policy and perhaps provide them with the link. Make special note of the section where it says ( paraphrasing ) " a buyer can not use a threat of neg or promise of pos feedback to force a seller to accept a return if not required to under ebay rules "

Was the PAL for our region ? If not I would refund. ( should have been mentioned ) If it was I would fight the case.

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/feedback-policies/feedback-extortion-policy?id=4230&st=3&pos=1... extortion policy&intent=feedback extortion&context=DEFAULT_BUYER&lucenceai=lucenceai

[shoppingbag*]

Given the buyers history of nitpicking in the past, it could be a bit of a scam. Chances are they may have noticed the missing Region Code, and thought they would get a freebie.  For all you know they may own a region free DVD player, so can play any region.

My DVD player came region free, and for others the unlock codes are readily available on the internet.

[springyzone]

You still haven't told us the region code for the DVDs.

I think it is relevant here. If you sold it in Australia & the buyer was in Australia, they may have assumed that it was suitable for our region. Was it?

If the problem for the buyer was that it was formatted for a different region & they could not play it, then I can see how they might feel they had been misled.

Similar to if I bought an electrical appliance & discovered I could not use it in Australia without buying special plugs etc

It is something you would expect to be mentioned in the ad.Sure, perhaps they should have asked but many buyers would assume a local item would work here.

On the other hand, if your DVD was for the Australian region & the buyer is complaining, then I think that puts a different light on it & I'd be suspicious of the buyer's motivations then. It is still something you should have mentioned in the ad though, DG is right, it is one of the most important things that should have been there.

I'd say the odds are that ebay may find in the buyer's favour on this one, though you could certainly bring up the question of feedback extortion.

[countessalmirena]

Like imastawka, chameleon and springyzone, I would consider the DVD region to be pivotal information in the listing.

By default, if you didn't include the region on a DVD listed on eBay.com.au, the average buyer would assume that it was region-coded for Australia. If the DVD was not either Region 4 or Region 0/Region All, the buyer would have every right to feel that the DVD was implicitly misrepresented. It may not be a problem for the buyer, if he/she has a region-free / multi-region DVD player; we're surprisingly blessed in Australia with having that sort of range readily available.

However, quite a few people in Australia will have a DVD player that can only play Region 4 or region-free/region all DVDs.

Some don't even have a DVD player as such, and will play DVDs on their computer courtesy of their disc drive, or on a Playstation, etc. In some cases, the disc drives will be multi-region, but it's definitely not true of all disc drives. When it comes to Playstations, I think it's definitely the case that playable DVDs are limited to the same region (i.e., Region 4 for Australian Playstations).

Presumably the DVDs in question are the Sex and the City DVD set...? You didn't give any item specifics other than "very good" as the condition, and barely had anything in the description field (four sentences in total). You repeat the listing title in the description; that's one of the sentences. Then you spend time saying that it's from a smoke-free and pet-free home, but don't think to mention the region...? None of the photos that you incllude in the listing show the region information either; there is no way for a buyer to be aware that this is not a Region 4 set (if it isn't).

Just to clarify... if this isn't a Region 4 set, you should have included that information in the listing. The buyer would have had every right to assume that it was Region 4 (or region-free/multi-region) in the absence of any information to the contrary.

Your best course of action would be to accept a return, and pay for return postage. Relist once you receive the set back, and this time include the required information.

e.g. (for Australian edition),

Actors - Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis

Film Genre - TV Drama

Label - HBO

Audio - English (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Running Time - 2635

Aspect ratio - 1.33:1

Region Coding - 4

TV Standard - PAL

Rating - MA15+

Consumer Advice - Strong sex scenes, sexual references and coarse language

Year of Release - 2012

Catalogue No - R-124274-9

[gec2002]

If you used the DVD's UPC (Barcode) to list the DVD the region info is usually listed in the eBay Item Specifics.