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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

CF eBay buyer

38 replies

cfebaybuyer · 03/04/2019 17:21

Name changed as this might be outing if the buyer is on MN...

AIBU? Might need some perspective.

Sold something on eBay. Thought the buyer got rather a good deal but happy for it to go to use rather than throwing the item out.

Several days after she gets it she she it's broken and she wants a refund. Part of its fine so I offered a partial refund. She refuses.

So it's going to cost me to have it sent back to me. I'll be out of pocket. As far as i know she broke them or changed her mind and knew if they were broken she gets a refund . I even have to refund her postage. I'm massively of pocket.

Maybe just need a rant that trying not to be so wasteful is proving so expensive.

OP posts:
GreatDuckCookery · 03/04/2019 17:22

What is it?

MrsElizabethShelby · 03/04/2019 17:26

Same here op, so many CF on eBay these days. My buyer is adamant parcel not received despite tracking confirmation to the contrary.

Luckily in this scenario we are also protected but it's not really worthwhile selling something these days when you factor in the hassle.

Original poster
cfebaybuyer · 03/04/2019 17:29

Lanterns.

It's right put me off selling on eBay .

OP posts:
ThatssomebadhatHarry · 03/04/2019 17:36

I think it’s pretty well known that eBay is rubbish for sellers. I only sell on Facebook marketplace or similar now now and buyer to collect so they can inspect it. People will be cheeky though. I was asked to half the price of a dolls house I sold (from £30 to £15). I said no as had a lot of offers. Then they said well can you at LEAST deliver it (a two hour round trip for me).

Hamandcrispsandwich · 03/04/2019 17:41

OP, I had this too last year. I sold something that has a best before date on it. The date said '6/12/2021'
I took pictures of the date etc. Sold item and buyer sends me a message saying
'Hi, I know you took pictures, but you didn't state in the description that it is out of date. Please refund' Buyer also included my pictures saying '6/12/2021'
I explained that it wasn't out of date.
All I kept getting back was 'Refund immediately'
I told the buyer to return the item to me and I would refund.
So buyer replies
'No, I will not return, I am not walking to the post office and as this is your error, you need to sort it. Refund me immediately'

She didn't get her refund! It does put you off when you get buyers like this though! I didn't want to sell afterwards as i'd had more than one of these buyers in a short space of time (near xmas)

DontCallMeShitley · 03/04/2019 17:43

Have you asked for photos to show the breakage? They need to be sent via Ebay messages.

I would actually ask for the item back, even if it meant being out of pocket, to ensure it is the one you sent because she might just be after a full refund.

Unless, of course, you are one of those sellers who thinks a sheet of brown paper or a jiffy bag is enough to send a china bowl. Not saying you are , but I have had some appalling packaging arrive in the 16 years I have been on Ebay. If it can't survive being dropped down stairs it won't survive being posted is my motto as a seller.

DontCallMeShitley · 03/04/2019 17:44

I meant be after a full refund and keep the item.

Original poster
cfebaybuyer · 03/04/2019 17:47

I'm going to pay to get it back as apparently some isn't broken and then will take it (not broken one) and all my other decluttering stuff to the charity shop.

Given she was asking all sorts of questions sitting the bidding I think she's just changed her mind. She openly told me she knows the policies inside out and will get her way so why not change her mind and damage it to guarantee a refund.

OP posts:
Peghi · 03/04/2019 17:48

If it can't survive being dropped down stairs it won't survive being posted is my motto as a seller.

Often the seller cant win. I posted a coffee machine in a box with lots of (recycled) packaging and got "carelessly packed with wasteful packaging" left as a review Hmm

Pumperthepumper · 03/04/2019 17:55

Don’t refund it! Let her leave negative feedback, who cares - I’m absolutely pig sick of CF buyers Angry

ballsdeep · 03/04/2019 17:57

I don't understand why you would give a refund if she broke it?

lololove · 03/04/2019 18:02

You don't get a choice really, balls. If she goes to ebay/paypal and they rule in her favour (as they do 90% of the time) they'll just take it from your account. If you don't have it in your paypal account, they'l make it a minus figure and then chase you for it.

Peterpiperpickedwrong · 03/04/2019 18:12

If your original listing had pictures showing it was unbroken why would you just refund? Let it go to Dispute.

Original poster
cfebaybuyer · 03/04/2019 18:34

Apparently I have to refund her because I can't prove it wasn't damaged in transit.

I don't get a choice.

OP posts:
Peterpiperpickedwrong · 03/04/2019 19:19

But you can claim through Royal Mail for damage in transit.

HarrysOwl · 03/04/2019 19:27

I feel for you, OP.

eBay used to be a fantastic place and I'd only have 1 issue out of 100 transactions, but now - well it's more like 80/100 will try and fuck you by saying it hasn't arrived (it has) or it's broken (it's not) or it's not as described (it is, but the stupid fuck didn't read it properly).

They try for refunds while keeping the item, OR they get free returns by saying it's broken when it isn't. If it's a 'change of mind' return, they would be liable for P&P, so they pretend it's faulty and you can't prove it isn't.

I used to sell camera lenses and it turned into a free eBay rental service. I'd send a lens, then 2 -4 weeks later I'd get a message saying it suddenly stopped working. I'd accept a return (at my cost) and they'd always be absolutely fucking fine!

I've turned to Facebook selling pages now. Cash in hand, buyer checks out item before accepting & no eBay fees, perfect!

DontCallMeShitley · 03/04/2019 19:39

Not sure about 'Ebay used to be a fantastic place' HarrysOwl.

I remember being sent some absolute crap and there was no recourse as a buyer. You could complain to the seller and leave negative feedback and the seller could ignore you and leave retaliatory neg. which meant that most people just let it go. As a buyer it is much better now, as a seller you really have to be careful and pray a lot. I usually have a problem packing my sold items because my fingers are crossed.

And then there are the ones that can't read.... even though the measurements are in the title, in the first line of the description and there is a tape measure in the photos, they didn't realise how big/small it is.

Mummabear12345567889 · 03/04/2019 19:56

Ebay is a pain in the arse. I had a buyer that questioned me incessantly about an item and literally destroyed it to get a refund. I'll never ever sell on there again.

HarrysOwl · 03/04/2019 19:59

@DontCallMeShitley

Not sure about 'Ebay used to be a fantastic place' HarrysOwl

It was great in my experience, as a buyer and seller, back in the day when you waited for your cheque to clear before you were sent your item Grin

DontCallMeShitley · 03/04/2019 21:22

One of my first sales was to someone who complained about the amount of postage which was clearly detailed before she bought. I will never forget that.

Neither will I forget the filthy, manky pet bed I was sent, or the stinking skirt covered in dog hair that was sold as new with tags, the tags were from something completely different. No recourse available. A rancid butter dish that went in the bin, bathrobe with no belt. I am pleased that it is now possible to get a refund for such items when something is genuinely not as described, however as a seller with principles and integrity I have the fear every time I make a sale in case a get a nightmare buyer.

If someone asks too many questions I check them out and block if I think it will be a problem, I look at feedback left for others on profiles, if they are a serial complainer, I block them. If I get a 'feeling' I use recorded delivery even for a low value item, I photograph parcels before posting them in case of a claim, and this has been useful in the past with a weird claim for not received which had been signed for, and then turned into another kind of situation, possibly account theft, although why someone would want to steal a used bath sheet is beyond me. The photo showed who the item had been sent to and the tracking label was in the photo.

I no longer enjoy Ebay, but I have to sell stuff.

M4J4 · 03/04/2019 21:35

Why are you just going by what she says, OP? She's not the law.

Why do you have to pay return postage?

How long has she had the item?

Read the ebay terms and conditions, don't be so passive!

Driftingthoughlife · 03/04/2019 21:59

I once got a buyer leaving me bad feedback because the item a sent was not from Marks and Spencer’s as stated but the label said it was from somewhere she had never heard of. It was Per Una!!!!!!!

Ells0204 · 03/04/2019 23:23

I sacked off trying to make a bit of extra cash on eBay a couple of years ago because it ended up being more hassle than the few quid it was worth.

Buyers these days expect brand new shop-quality for second hand items and complained at the tiniest things. eBay always backs the buyer as well the the money will be taken back out of your account quicker than you can say CF.

DontCallMeShitley · 04/04/2019 01:25

M4J4 Ebay control returns if a dispute is opened, you have either to refund and not get the item back, give a partial refund and not get it back or accept it back and give a refund, it also includes postage.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 04/04/2019 01:55

'Hi, I know you took pictures, but you didn't state in the description that it is out of date. Please refund' Buyer also included my pictures saying '6/12/2021'
I explained that it wasn't out of date.
All I kept getting back was 'Refund immediately'

I don't think I would have been able to resist just replying with 'Specsavers immediately' Grin

She didn't live in Gallifrey, did she....?!

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