Unhappy buyer- who pays postage for returns?

[LilllyLovesLife]

Right sold a bundle of 82 items of boys clothes, for £23 which I thought was a total bargain. Buyer not happy, claims 21 items are unusable - which is not true. There may be the odd item that I missed a tiny mark on but certainly not 21 items and certainly not making them unusable. I asked her to send pics, she sent me a pic of a vest which I admit, did seem to have a stain on (although could be any vest as was plain white!) and also a t-shirt, which isn't stained, it has a slight dent in it where the peg was when I hung it up - certainly nothing that wouldn't come out when it was washed or ironed.

Anyway, I have offered to refund her if she returns the items. She has said yes but only if I pay for postage both ways, leaving me very much out of pocket as it was a big bundle so heavy!

Who is responsable for paying post? I wouldn't mind except it's well worth what she paid! If it were me being the buyer, I would just accept that even if I didn't keep 100% of the items, it was still a very good deal! Some were new or nearly new!

[LilllyLovesLife]

Can I just add that I also stated in the description that some items are a little worn!

[ThedementedPenguin]

You don't have to refund return postage.

Say you will consider it when clothes are returned and you check them over.

Otherwise just say no you won't pay return postage. You will refund the original amount when clothes are returned.

[LilllyLovesLife]

Thanks. I assume I am still going to end up loosing the amount it cost me to send it to her?
I am new to ebay selling and this isn't giving me a very good impression!

She has now opened a dispute, asking for me to give her a partial refund and her to keep the items! So they clearly arn't that bad!

[NandH]

I would offer a refund for the original payment but not the return cost, offer that in the dispute also. Sounds like she's trying it on a bit now that she wants to keep the items :-/

[ThedementedPenguin]

NandH is right.

She is trying it on. I'd say no to partial refund and explain you will refund original cost (p&p it cost you to send) included but not until it is returned.

She may decide to keep it, may return it but then you can sell it on.

[nickstmoritz]

It's a tough one. I don't think you should pay for returns, it will cost too much. So your choice is to negotiate a partial refund to try and prevent neg feedback from your buyer or stick to your guns but maybe get a neg for which you can leave a reply stating that buyer wanted more money off a bargain bundle. Don't be tempted to say anything angry, it doesn't look good to buyers.

It does sound like she got a bargain (must be something like 25p per item?) but you have to be so careful with descriptions and condition to avoid this type of problem. Did you say some of the items were "play wear" / well worn? This might cover the odd mark etc

tbh It probably isn't worth the hassle to sell anything even a bit worn looking or if you do then make it absolutely clear what any faults are to cover yourself.

I would send a message something like.."sorry you were unhappy with some items, perhaps we can agree a partial refund but please bear in mind that £23 for 82 items is less than 30p per item so I really have not made much from this sale" I would not refund more than £3-£5 max
Good luck.

[LilllyLovesLife]

She has now left me negative feedback, and has mega exaggerated!! Looks awful to other buyers!!

[LilllyLovesLife]

There is no option to comment either!

[NandH]

Really, that's harsh! Do not refund at all. In fact go no contact. Let eBay deal with it.

[nickstmoritz]

oh, bad luck. It did sound like you might have got a difficult buyer. Harsh not to let you sort it out. It is possible to get feedback removed if the buyer agrees to it I think. Try asking ebay cs what you can do.

Unfortunately it seems the buyer usually has the upper hand. If you can't get it removed and you only have one neg most other buyers can look beyond that. Just leave a reply explaining buyer wanted money off and did not give you time to sort out the problem.

[Bearleigh]

I popped in because I have the opposite problem: the seller totally misrepresented something as being antique when it was clearly made of 1980s plastic, and hasn't paid my postage to return it. It's not a huge amount of money, but it rankles a touch. Good luck OP.

[holidaysarenice]

I would state that you don't agree that the plain white vest is even urs if you don't.

Also ebay is a basterd these days, its crap compared to what it was!!

Two items, work out the average item cost and refund that.

Guarantee if you agree to a return it will get "lost" in the post.

[TeacupDrama]

if she returns untracked you do not have to refund until you receive it

there is a button for replying to feedback i suggest

" won 82 items for £23 refused to return for full refund which I offered immediately"

[DebussyHead]

This happened to me too. I offered full refund on return from the outset (even though I didn't agree with the claim) and buyer left me negative feedback, totally exaggerated comment and opened a case against me. I suspected they were looking to get item for free as they wanted partial refund ( full item price) and i told them to escalate to eBay. They have now dropped it but I still have neg feedback.

Some buyers are just trying to get something for nothing. It's a bad experience and totally put me off eBay but then I got a series of really nice buyers who gave lovely feedback and it restored my faith in eBay. If I were you only offer full refund on return at buyer's expense for return p&p. They have left neg FB now anyway so can't do any more harm.

Probably the same idiot buyer I had, sounds very familiar!!

[TheBakeryQueen]

In future carefully check each item for marks etc & either don't sell or describe them accurately.

Describing an item as worn does not equate to stains or marks.

I might buy something worn but in good condition (just looks washed) but I would never bid for something with stains on.

I buy & sell on eBay. No idea whether this buyer is trying to pull a fast one or not but you've admitted you might've missed some marks & I don't think that is acceptable. The item description is there for a reason & you should describe things accurately.