EBay selling nightmare

[xxxPandora]

Hello,

I have been buying and selling items from eBay for over 11 years. Not as a business, just as a person selling a few bits no longer required or to make extra space in my wardrobe etc.

I recently sold a brand new with tags Ted Baker coat for £130. The buyer received it and contacted me to ask why the postage was £3 more than what I actually paid and asked for a refund. I explained that the added charge was added on to cover my packaging and fuel costs and that it was clearly stated on the listing. There was no message from the buyer advising that there was something wrong with the coat or the coat was not as described. The buyer then submitted an 'item is not as described' refund request which I accepted. I was advised to do this by eBay after ringing them directly. I explained that they have used the 'item not as described' return policy falsely and eBay advised that they could see from our message correspondence that the buyer had never mentioned there was a problem with the coat itself.
I paid for a return label through eBay and received the coat back from the seller damaged/marked, smelling of cigarettes and had clearly been worn.
I've again been in touch with eBay who advise that I can offer the buyer a partial refund but the buyer can refuse this and then the buyer will be refunded fully and I'm out of pocket left with a coat that I can no longer sell as brand new and sell it at a significant loss.
I'm so annoyed about this. I've got 100% feedback and I'm a very genuine seller.
Has anyone else experienced this or have any advice?

They sent back a brick?! Honestly, there are some scum out there. How upsetting and I'm so sorry you've experienced this too. Thank you for sharing.

Honestly I think trying to get another £3 was stingy especially when it was such an expensive item.

The buyer received it and contacted me to ask why the postage was £3 more than what I actually paid and asked for a refund. I explained that the added charge was added on to cover my packaging and fuel costs and that it was clearly stated on the listing

I would have replied that in this case I would return the £3 and not tried to justify it for FUEL COSTS??? There is mean and there is scabby and this is scabby. It backfired on you.

sTate the scamming ebayers name here, OP. Or anywhere online.

You could still sell on ebay but insist on cash on collection

The cost of postage is clearly visible on eBay listing, if it's too much then you don't buy it. What you don't do is quibble after and then return a used coat, now that is scabby.

If you use ebay again use free postage and just add the postage cost on to the price. It saves time and stupid postage queries. I don't understand the attitude of some ebay users that they think they have the right to set the price of postage and packaging. If you are not happy with the postage cost then don't buy it. There are plenty of online stores with a fixed postage price regardless of size or cost to send the item.

Honestly I think it is really stingy. Had you refunded it as a goodwill gesture you would not be in this situation.

Honestly I think it is really stingy. Had you refunded it as a goodwill gesture you would not be in this situation.
So it's justfied that the buyer returned the coat in poor condition, because she didn't refund something that was clearly listed ?

@Theydoyaknow Turns out there’s a lot of scabby people on Mumsnet too! Quibbling over £3 and excusing the behaviour as though OP got what she deserved is as trampy as it gets.

I lost out on ebay as a buyer. I bought something through their Global Shipping Program fro the USA. The item made it all the way here, only for Yodel to deliver it to the wrong house. Yodel denied doing that, said it was correctly delivered. eBay backed them, refused to refund, and left me out of pocket. The original seller had done their part (arranging for the item to be delivered to the GSP centre). The contract to use Yodel in the UK side was all down to ebay directly.

So it seems that as a buyer or a seller, ebay will screw you over. I suppose the moral of the story is don’t use ebay.

God no, I am not excusing that.

When you sold the coat and advertised it as new. And the photos showed this. Cabt you now tell eBay that the coat you got has been ruined. And this buyer sent it to you in this state? Abd send pictures of the coat before and after

Part of the reason to set postage a bit higher on eBay is because eBay take a percentage of postal charges too. They started doing this after people were selling items for e.g. £10 with £20 postal charges in order to get around ebay charges.

As a seller, Can you still select ‘returns not accepted’ ?
Or does eBay resolution centre override this option?

I would advise anybody selling on eBay to sell items as "collection only"

There's so many scammers and changers out there now

I saw a post recently where somebody sold an iPhone advertised as having a faulty speaker. The buyer sent the phone back with the screen missing!

That's exactly what you are doing. You are blaming the op saying it's her own fault for it escalating.
The buyer returned a used coat, because they are a thief, not because the op didn't offer them a £3.00 refund.

OP has said repeatedly the buyer didn't even wait for a response to the £3 before raising a false claim.

It's upto you how much you put on for postal charges even if it's higher than the actual cost because you're charged eBay fees on it so wtf. Tell her to use her legs and go to a shop next time. I'm sorry this happened to you.

It's easy to see which posters do this very same trick to other ebay sellers.

Thank you everyone for your advice and support. It's very much appreciated.

No I am not. I am saying that it is really mean NOT to refund €3 and blame it on fuel costs. The buyer obviously feels the same and objects to paying more for postage that what it actually costs. She asked for a refund of what the OP did NOT spend in postage costs after spending £120 on a coat, the OP refused.
The buyer then did the dirty. I am a seller on Ebay and have sold thousands of items, I put postage at exactly what is costs me because it irks me when others try to make money on people with postage costs.

Tghey were refused a refund and given justification as to why.

The buyer received it and contacted me to ask why the postage was £3 more than what I actually paid and asked for a refund. I explained that the added charge was added on to cover my packaging and fuel costs and that it was clearly stated on the listing

Are your funds on hold or did they go into your bank account yet? If the latter, then just close your account and take eBay off your direct debits so they can't take any money off you

If the former then kick up a stink with ebay- threaten small claims court and going to the media until they release your funds.

She wasn't making money on it, she was covering her fuel costs, which is part of the posting cost.

I used to sell on eBay and had great feedback. Then had a run in with a massively unreasonable buyer; eBay didn't care so I cancelled my account and now sell on Vinted.

Vinted will probably go the same way at some point though. Unfortunately a significant % of the populace are dishonest by nature and internet shopping has only enabled them.

I would also keep their address though. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Ridiculous.