Mumsnet Talk

ebay will normally give a no fault refund without the need for a return if you tick the box marked other and write in next to it refund. But not for pricier items, they do sometimes give a free postage label to use in cases like this.

In my experience, if you file an 'item not as described' claim with eBay and have a bit of a rant about not being out of pocket because the seller broke their regulations about listing items correctly, it is common for a full refund to be given without the item having to be returned. This is admittedly with much smaller items such as clothing, but it has worked for me on a number of occasions.

a good seller will pay return postage costs too - but you can't enforce it.

FWIW, as a seller, I usually refund return postage costs to protect my f/back. And then block the buyer if I think their return is at all unjustified (embittered).

Broken chassis is awful, though. Couriers are usually much more careful than Royal Mail. Probably chassis was weak before with a hairline crack & just took one good blow to go.

It is normal for buyers to pay for return courier/postage. You wouldn't ask for your travel costs to be paid if you went to a shop to return an item for refund.

You may have a case for item not as described, but even then return postage is usually on you. I don't know how "looks a bit squiffy" compares to item description, but squiffy doesn't sound like something courier would usually cause.

Even after return & refund you could still leave feedback that you thought was reasonable.