frustrated - buyer asking for partial refund.

[hoynnij]

Hi all,

Very occasional seller (basically I just sell stuff that I no longer use at home).

Sold some used cloth nappies. Buyer complained that some of them seemed thinner than the others.

I explained to them that all nappies were used part-time for 6months, and were washed appropriately and rarely dried in the tumble drier. i.e. I have treated them well, and havent used them for long. The thinness she is noticing in some of the nappies is a nature of the product - there were two batches I purchased and the second batch definitely were thicker than the first. However, the thickness has not reduced over time - they are exactly the same thickness as when I first purchased them.

Now she is asking for a partial refund.

I am incredibly frustrated!!!! I dont want to give a partial refund. It seems totally unfair that I have to lose money when the products are EXACTLY as they were manufactured.

Advice please?

My instinct is to tell her a firm NO, however, I also get the general feeling that ebay is buyer-centric and if she opens a dispute they would side with her (regardless of the truth!!) and I would have to refund and pay for return shipping. Thus I'm thinking of simply saying that shes welcome to return the nappies and i will pay for the return shipping.

Leaves an incredibly bad taste in my mouth, and I will probably never sell on ebay again after this experience. Have never dealt with this situation before - I've never had such a demanding buyer before! I should have known this would happen as she was demanding even before she purchased...

Thank you for listening and for any advice.

[lm-entertainment]

great points. 

which is why i think the seller didn't list these items in the "nappies (cloth)" sub-category - because there is no option apart from "brand new" in the "condition" drop-down menu. your listing can't progress without selecting "brand new." 

[enigmabear]

I know, but I can't see the difference between that and underpants. They go the same places 

[countessalmirena]

That does put another complexion on things.

hoynnij, it may well be best for you to opt for the partial refund, as the risk of an eBay demerit point (if the buyer goes through the official eBay complaint process, and eBay has the items waved, so they speak, in their face) is something you will probably want to avoid.

 The listing option (only "brand new" condition) must have given you pause, although I suppose you might have thought it was another eBay glitch.

[imastawka]

Other sellers are listing similar nappies as 'brand new'

But further down the listing it says 'only worn a couple of times - like new'

How is that brand new?

[enigmabear]

No 💩 ? 

[padi*0409]

............................errr, used inside out??????...................

[countessalmirena]

If these are nappies which have been doing their job, they've come into contact with baby Chardonnay, to say the least of it.

Anyone listing used nappies as brand new is heading for a wee bit of trouble...

[lyndal1838]

The OP listed her nappies as used.....but not under "Nappies".

[countessalmirena]

Mm-hmm. I was agreeing with imastawka's comment (about other sellers) and the follow-up comments by enigmabear and padi*0409. The OP, as you say, didn't list them as brand new, and used Other Baby Items as the category.

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@imastawkaimastawka wrote:

Other sellers are listing similar nappies as 'brand new'

But further down the listing it says 'only worn a couple of times - like new'

How is that brand new?

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[springyzone]

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@padi*0409wrote:

Springy, one thing nobody else has brought up is that if selling used underwear/swimsuits etc is a no no on eBay, then if a dispute is opened eBay will almost certainly close in the buyers favour immediately.

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I didn't realise that. I've never looked for anything like that, I suppose, although i have seen a lot of used underwear in op shops.

Must say I did give a gulp when i saw how much half a dozen of the second hand nappies sell for these days but as i said, have no idea what price they are new.

There is no way anyone should ever risk listing anything as new if they aren't. I didn't check the category these ones were in but recall someone saying they were ina  different category so were able to list as used.

All the same, if they are not supposed to be sold on ebay then a buyer is almost sure to win a case so a partial refund might be the most economical way to go.