Trying to understand the logic...

[jellybirddesigns]

I had a buyer who purchased 2 of my cushion covers a few weeks back. The buyer is in the USA and the item total was $50.00 and it cost her about $18.00 in shipping.

I got an email from her that they don't suit her decor and would like to return them. 

No problem - I suggested she send them back with tracking for her own peace of mind.

I got them back today and see that it cost her almost $50.00 in shipping/insurance costs.

I'm trying to understand why she would even bother sending them back as the return shipping cost as much as the original purchase price? She would have been better off keeping them and giving them as a gift.

Mind boggles.

[digital*ghost]

Depends on whether the stamp price is actual cost to her, I suppose. She may have paid a reduced amount, or can claim it as a business expense. Some buyers use their work mail so that it costs someone else (shady, but they'll have to deal with the consequences if caught).

[springyzone]

It is odd but as DG said, maybe she isn't paying for it somehow.

I just hope she isn't expecting you to refund the return postage cost.

[gumleaf_goodies]

Cos she's an idiot? Or as previous posters have suggested - she isn' t actually paying for the return postage out of her own pocket.

[jellybirddesigns]

Thanks for the input - perhaps she isn't paying for the postage somehow, I guess anything is possible.

I did tell her that she would only be getting back the purchase price and not shipping as the items were not faulty or damaged.

[enigmabear]

Maybe more greenbacks than gray matter 

[digital*ghost]

Some people just don't even consider the logic, or even do the math. I've seen / heard of people paying more for items simply because postage was free, which somehow represented better value? I dunno, lol, but that's what they responded with when asked why they didn't purchase the cheapest overall option. (The only way I can see better value in that is if someone frequently returns things and gets full refunds of the item price). 

Were your items $50 AUD? If so, and postage back was $50+ USD, she'll actually be quite out of pocket, and would have been even if receiving a full refund of item plus postage. 

[jellybirddesigns]

Digi - it's crazy, but she's out of pocket by AUD$68.00 (postage there and back - her postage back was USD$35 via conversion).

She's just getting back her $50 bucks purchase price.

[chameleon54]

I sold around $400 worth of engine hot up / racing components to a guy once. He paid for the items and the $50 postage no worries.  Several months later I get a message asking about the purchase from some-one else. I was a bit careful about giving too much away, as the transaction wasnt with this person. Anyway, turns out the guy was using his employers work account to purchase items for himself. My guess is he doesnt work there anymore. 

[*tippy*toes*]

I don't have a work email address, because I don't want one. However, most of my colleagues do. Most of what they get is group spam from the corporates. If they so much as send anything not work related, they are jumped on and threatened with disciplinary action. If they even send something to one person, like one of those inspirational pictures, they are pounced on within 24 hours. If they send a work related picture, nothing happens.

Moral of the story is, big brother is always watching in the work environment. I have no sympathy for people who get caught rorting their workplace.