It's an eBay selling one...

[thebutterflydied]

I listed my sons Moncler coat (I failed at the first hurdle and should have taken it to a shop, anyway) with 10 pictures and then a starting bid at £80.

I then inspected it for sweets/crumbs etc and packed it up ready for when it sold.

The listing went and it sold for 112. The lady then messaged me for extra pics of the cuffs.
I replied thinking here we go, bet it's a time waster. I replied saying I've provided 10 and it's now packaged, if you don't want it let me know.

She said that's fine and she did and that she'd pay in the morning.

She did pay so I shipped with a courier tracked, signed for and insured because I know how careful you have to be.

2 days later she's just messaged saying she's just gotten round to inspecting it and the thread is coming away from the cuff and there are tiny holes on the cuff.

How do I handle this? Shall I just ask her to return it the way I sent it and then I'll refund her?

I checked the coat there were no holes.

Thanks if you managed to read it all :)

I can't just ignore it because then she'll just open a case against me? And she'll keep the coat and get a refund.

I agree with pps' negative opinions of eBay, they always side with buyers. I sold a breadmaking machine which was perfect when packed, mysteriously a key plastic component required to hold the bucket in place was 'broken on arrival'. The buyer asked me to let her 'keep it and have a refund'. I refused to refund until it was returned, and then threw it away myself. I now stick to FB Marketplace, I think ppl are less likely to try it on if you know their identity and they are from your area. Sorry for your bad experience.

This is why I don't sell on eBay anymore.

@thebutterflydied Just offer a £10 refund?

I've told her to report as item not as described and I'll refund one returned. She's not replied.

Quietly hoping she can't arsed

Refurn, refund when received, I had a buyer like this, she asked for a refund and I sold it for lots more.

I once sold a white company jumper in immaculate condition.

It did sell for a really great price which I thought was unusual.

Buyer then said it was bobbled, I was mystified and said send back and I’ll refund.

Got it back, honestly it was filthy and pretty much unsellable - clearly Not what I had sent but a manky duplicate.

Seller didn’t send it recorded so asked if I’d received and I said no and guess what ... I never heard from them again. Total chancers

@Star81 oh my goodness, I'd like to think I had that much time on my hands to give it the headspace! Crazy!!!

Better off selling on FB marketplace, sold as seen cash in collection, never had a bother.

The second she asked for photos after already winning would of set my spidey senses off. Deliberately picking part you hadn’t already shown pictures of knowing you would of more than likely packed it up ready to post.

@OneForMeToo I know! I should have sensed it, so bloody annoying! Lesson learnt - fuck off ebay.

stopped selling on Ebay after a few of these. Sold a leather coat that the buyer claimed wasn't leather , they even uploaded a photo of a label from a completely different coat as "proof"
anything now goes on local pages or straight to charity

If she's a chancer, I'd either ask for photos before making a decision or ask for her to return it (make sure she does it with some sort of proof - signed for or whatever). It's very likely she'll be expecting you to refund her postage as well as the cost of the item. If she's genuine (which you appear to think would not be the case), you could perhaps agree a partial refund so that she keeps the item and it's less hassle for you.

I've had this occasionally over the years and it does leave a bad taste, I know that. I had a lovely Tula handbag which I'd only used twice and was therefore in excellent condition. I had a message from the buyer saying it was bashed around and in poor condition. It clearly wasn't but I think when she received it, she just didn't like it and tried to pull a fast one. I waited until she had returned it before issuing a refund.

Good luck!

Sorry, forgot to say, but you must block her afterwards. If she gives negative feedback, you can at least respond to that comment so anyone reading your feedback scores will be aware what has happened.

'Happy to refund upon safe return but please send recorded and signed for with insurance up to £100 and send proof - I will happily cover this upon safe return'

That sounds like you're also offering to cover return postage and also like you know you sent a faulty item.

But anyway, it's good you told her to go via 'item not as described'.

@DianaT1969

This is why I can't sell on Ebay. Awful for genuine sellers.

It used to be great, never had an issue, but it's getting worse with chancers and fraudsters.

OP I'd just be nice and say you'll refund when she returns it, provide a prepaid label so its insured. Hopefully the next buyer will be happy!

It's very annoyoying but I agree it's easier to refund. She's either a chancer after a discount or wishes she hadn't paid so much.

I'm a business seller on eBay. I don't get many returns, but I've had ones where they have chosen not as described to get a free return as my items are new. Don't ask her to send photos of the cuff but do take photos when it arrives, if okay and she just changed her mind then you can report her for misusing the returns policy. They will charge her the postage and refund you back.

Some more great advise thanks. She's not responded yet but I'll update when she does. Kind of hoping to just not hear from her now.

I read a story a few weeks ago where someone returned the item but what turned up was toilet roll or something, can see that happening to me! Ha!

Ebay is all about buyers buyers buyers. Regardless of what you say or do, they'll just give her a refund.

You may not even have your original coat (or a completely false/different item) returned to you. As long as buyer can provide proof of postage and receipt for an appropriate size/weight parcel thats all they need to do to get their refund.

In future, stomach the CFery and sell on FB/Gumtree for cash on collection (somewhere that is not your home ideally) and block them afterwards.

I’ve been in this situation before a few years ago. I sold some reusable nappies I’d barely used and knew were in perfect condition. The buyer had them for about three weeks before complaining, they opened a case saying they were ineffective and leaked . I’m not a shop, just a Mum selling things for a bit of extra cash. So essentially the nappies weren’t a good fit for her baby and she wanted to send them back. I totally refused and argued against it because she’d already had them for almost a month at this point before suddenly deciding they were no good. Of course eBay saw in her favour, they always do and I had to refund once they’d been returned. They were returned totally fucked, definitely not how I’d sent them and I lost about £50 as a result. Totally gutting.

Ask her to return and you’ll refund on receipt. Hopefully she doesn’t purposely damage it. Weird how she asked for photos of the cuffs before you sent it and is now claiming they’re damaged .

@SBTLove

Better off selling on FB marketplace, sold as seen cash in collection, never had a bother.

I agree it's much easier. However I have a system where I leave the item in a safe place on a certain day and people can collect at their leisure. I only sell stuff via no contact.

I STILL have buyer feedback that downrates me on

punctuality (literally no way of not being punctual. I put it in there on the agreed date. THEY must be the ones who are late)

reliability (I have never not put it in there on the correct day. How much more reliable do you want?)

description of item (which they can view, touch, examine to their hearts content, away from me as I'm not in view and I don't always know when they've collected and decide if it's what they're looking for. If it's not there's no sale and they can leave it in the safe place. But it's always collected)

Absolutely bonkers! I honestly don't know what Marketplace buyers expect from me?!

Some buyers on eBay are just complete scammers. I also had someone scan me through PayPal - said they hadn’t bought anything from me on eBay, their PayPal had been hacked. They were refunded.

Never mind the fact that my item had been sent to them.....

I emailed them a few times saying “sorry I accidentally posted an item to you that you hadn’t ordered, when can I come and pick it up from you”. Never got a response funnily enough

My last ebay thing was infuriating

I bought a box set of books, won them and paid.

She kept saying they were sent blah blah, never turned up. Eventually I was refunded by eBay.

I think she was pissed they didn’t sell for more tbh

My last ebay thing was infuriating
I bought a box set of books, won them and paid.
She kept saying they were sent blah blah, never turned up. Eventually I was refunded by eBay.
I think she was pissed they didn’t sell for more tbh

I had the same thing when I bought a table lamp (tiny) and was the only bidder, so it cost me £2.50. It seemed pretty obvious that the seller had not even bothered to post it to me. However, I then went back on and found a really nice (eccentric) one, so nice that my sister wants to be left it in my will, so all worked out well.

This is why I no longer sell on eBay and in the past when I did I always stated Buyer Collects

It's just not worth the hassle