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AIBU?

Not to give an eBay refund

62 replies

deliakate · 03/05/2011 09:00

I just sold a vintage wedding dress on eBay that I bought for my wedding, but did not wear. Before selling, I measured the dress with a tape measure around the bust, waist and hips and put these down in the listing. I also put down in the title that the dress was a size 14, as that's what the measurements I took roughly equated to in modern terms (and that I intended to have the dress altered to fit my size 12 figure).
Winning bidder turned up excited to collect her purchase on Saturday, and even when she came to the door, I thought "I hope this is not for you", because if she was a size 14, it was a large one - pushing a 16 really. Anyway, got an email last night saying the hips fitted, but the zip wouldn't go past her waist, can she have a refund.
Firstly, the listing stated no refunds, and secondly, the actual measurements in the text of the listing were accurate. She is hung up on the number 14 from the title, but I have tried to point out that with high street and vanity sizing, 14 can mean many things, and so she needed to use the accurate measurements as her guide to buying.
I don't have to give a refund do I? Can really do without the hassle, as my baby is nearly here, and I was so pleased to have finally sold the dress (for 10% of the purchase price, she has a bargain!). ????

OP posts:
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AmyLouise86 · 03/05/2011 09:07

Not at all! If its clearly written down and obvious then you have the right to not pay a penny!
If she has been on eBay a long time then she should know to look at ALL the deatils before buying and if not then she has something to learn from next time,

It could be altered know so maybe suggested a dress maker and leave it at that. I know i probably sound harsh but i sell loads on eBay and there are ALWAYS people asking for money off or extra bits. Its just cheeky! Thats not what eBay was meant for. If your looking for a hagglers shop... Go to a Jumble sale. :)

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gkys · 03/05/2011 09:09

personally i wouldn't its her problem you were honest, at worse she can give negative feedback or open a case against you, you stated no refunds you are iun the right here, but if you don't want any hassel tell her to return the dress give her the cash back and relist it, it maybe that you get more for it, silly sod she isxx good luck with this and impending arrival

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FabbyChic · 03/05/2011 09:09

If she collected she has no right to a refund.

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SoupDragon · 03/05/2011 09:11

Was she the only bidder?

TBH, you shouldn't have stated it was a size 14 without using the word "approximately".

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D0G · 03/05/2011 09:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

QuintessentialPains · 03/05/2011 09:13

Fabby is right. She could have bowed out of the sale there and then, but she saw the item, accepted it, paid and left.

You dont have to refund her, but she can lose weight.....

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FabbyChic · 03/05/2011 09:13

Even if she opens a case against you, eBay do not cover non PayPal transactions and transactions whereby something was collected.

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HerHissyness · 03/05/2011 09:14

Interesting info here which auction sites and the Sales of Goods Act

Looks like she indeed has no automatic right to return goods she has bought that were described accurately and honestly, she had a chance to inspect the goods and still accepted them.

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NinkyNonker · 03/05/2011 09:14

I wouldn't. Stay polite, find some sites demonstrating that the measurements equate to a 14 and leave it at that.

Or you could do it for goodwill, part of me feels a little sorry for her, but then I am a sap.

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chicletteeth · 03/05/2011 09:15

You put the measurements in, you've done as much as you can! Furthermore, in some shops, it would probably be a size 14. Anyway, who on earth is dime enough to think that every size 14 (or 16 or 10 or 12) will fit them perfectly!

Don't refund it, I wouldn't!

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chicletteeth · 03/05/2011 09:15

dim

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diddl · 03/05/2011 09:16

I would if the 2nd bidder was still interested in it.

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FabbyChic · 03/05/2011 09:18

HerHissyness

The Sale of Goods Act only applies to business sellers not private sellers.

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Bogeyface · 03/05/2011 09:18

Nope, no refunds.

She needs to get real about her size not blame you for the fact that she cant accept that she is a 16! And I say this as someone who has been anything up to a 20 over the years and I dread to think what size I will turn out to be after this pg, atleast a 16 I think, so I am not being "fattist"!

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FabbyChic · 03/05/2011 09:18

Oh and not auction items only Buy It Nows.

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SoupDragon · 03/05/2011 09:21

Imagine you went to a shop. A dress is labelled as a 14, you are a 14 so you buy it. You get home, try it on, and discover it doesn't fit. What do you do? I imagine that you take it back to the shop for a refund.

Now, the shop doesn't have to refund you but I bet you would be thoroughly pissed off if they didn't. Of course, you could have tried it on (similar to reding the measurements and measuring yourself) and therefore it is your own fault but you would try to get a refund and be pissed off if you couldn't get one, wouldn't you?

And yes, I know selling on Ebay isn't Monsoon.

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SoupDragon · 03/05/2011 09:22

Why didn't you ask her if it was for her and say that you didn't think it would fit? You knew it wouldn't fit her.

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Bottleofbeer · 03/05/2011 09:25

Wedding dresses are notoriously small sizes, never did understand why because it just makes brides feel like crap about themselves when as standard they're having to buy sizes larger than they normally are but that's the way it is.

No refunds.

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Bogeyface · 03/05/2011 09:26

But SoupDragon, as soon as the buyer bid on the auction she was commiting to buy, that is how ebay works.

If you are not sure then you contact the buyer and ask to try the dress on, or you buy from a shop with a returns policy. You are not bidding to try but to buy.

When I have bought things from ebay I always consider the fact that I may have to resell if it doesnt fit. It is a risk I take when I buy from there and if it is a risk that I may end up severely out of pocket then I dont buy it. Ebay make it very clear in their T&Cs, and she needs to accept that this time it didnt work out for her and that next time she should read the information properly and check that they item will fit her before she bids.

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chicletteeth · 03/05/2011 09:27

The onus is on the buyer!
Why should the seller have to ask all these questions as if the buyer is a child and has never bought anything before.

Presumably the buyer would also have been able to look at it and know it wouldn't fit her!

Or maybe she might have been planning to diet into it (clearly not!).

I imagine the buyer would have been offended if the seller opened that line of questioning.

I bought a leather jacket on ebay once, french connections (size 10) so very small (more like an average size 8 really). It wasn't a great fit, but it also wasn't the sellers fault!

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Bogeyface · 03/05/2011 09:28

Again to Soupdragon!

Why should the OP check? The buyer has committed to buy the dress, it could be for her, her sister or a scarecrow and its none of the OPs business what she does once the dress is paid for and taken.

Also, alot of brides lose weight before their big day and order dresses a size or 2 smaller, she wouldnt be the first to buy a dress that didnt fit in order to slim into it!

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GooGooMuck · 03/05/2011 09:44

A shop doesn't have to refund you either, legally.

If it doesn't fit her, she'll need to resell it.

tough luck, OP it is not your problem, legally nor morally.

No refund.

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SoupDragon · 03/05/2011 10:48

Yes, I am well aware how Ebay works. I asked whether you would just accept that a shop bought dress didn't fit or try to get a refund even though legally the shop doesn't need to refund.

As for asking if the dress was for her, I would probably have asked if she wanted to try it on given it was obvious it didn't fit. IMO that would have been polite, just as offering a refund would be the nice thing to do.

It's not always about what is legally binding but about good will.

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SoupDragon · 03/05/2011 10:50

That's why shops will nearly always offer a refund/credit if you return something that doesn't fit. I would be seriously pissed off if they refused.

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Bogeyface · 03/05/2011 11:10

But thats why you buy from a shop with a returns policy thats suits your needs.

If you want guarantees then you check that you can return an unwanted item if it doesnt fit and buy accordingly. On eBay you dont get those guarantees and that is reflected in the prices you pay.

Its a risk you take when buying on there and as the OP gave all the required information and made it clear in her listing that there are no refunds then the buyer has to suck that up.

Goodwill really is only relevant if you are a shop that wants repeat business, its not an issue for a private seller.

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