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Original poster

Buyer wants to return item but I can decline

66 replies

MikeUniformMike · 06/01/2017 12:07

I posted this on another thread but was advised to start a new one, so apologies if you've read it before.

I've had a return request. Buyer says Item doesn't fit and is not genuine.
Ebay suggest various options: Accept the return... Decline the return.
AFAIK the item was genuine but I did think the sizing ran a little small which is why I listed it.
The buyer was a PITA sending lots of barely literate messages along the lines of 'can you send it first thing tomorrow'.
I don't mind running the risk of bad feedback.

I haven't declined (but probably will) or accepted. The item is great and I believe it to be genuine, but was just a bit too snug on me.
The buyer has messaged me that she will be sending it back today or tomorrow.

Do I decline now, or let her send it back and then decline?

OP posts:
Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 06/01/2017 14:14

The item hasn't been washed so won't have shrunk. What fits me tends to depend on the brand so I go by fit rather than what it says on the label.

The reason for return is "Does not fit" so I am not obliged to refund the buyer or accept the return.

I have had 2 emails today, the second accusing me of not being a very good ebayer, so I think I will decline the refund. The first said she was posting it today, which is probably bollox as she won't have my address.

OP posts:
Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 06/01/2017 14:25

What bugs me the most that even before the auction ended I had bad vibes about the buyer. As the auction ended on NYE I offered to cancel the order in case it was a mistake. Then I started getting emails - about 4 a day so I just read them and stopped replying.

OP posts:
19lottie82 · 06/01/2017 14:37

If the official reason for return is "does not fit", then no you are under to obligation to accept the return or refund.

As explained, it's entirely up to you if you accept the return, but obv you are risking a negative if you refuse.

Just to let you know if she does neg you and mentions anything about the item being fake, then contact ebay and they will remove the comment (but not the actual negative).

If you're going to refuse it, just just do so and accompany the response with a polite message telling the buyer as a private seller you don't accept returns for items that don't fit, but she is welcome to re use your original pics / description if she wants to sell it on.

This may reduce the risk of a neg.

Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 06/01/2017 14:55

Thanks 19lottie that's a good suggestion. I have Declined the refund. I will almost certainly get a negative feedback.

OP posts:
QueenMortifauxcado · 06/01/2017 15:20

You might be able to report the negative and have it removed if it's inaccurate and considered defamatory, afaik those reports are a bit tricky to pull off but if the buyer is saying something that didn't happen, it might pan out. It's more likely to be successful if it contains abusive language, so if it does report for that. You can also report the messages if she keeps bothering you. It might be worth blocking her from bidding on your other items too.

expatinscotland · 06/01/2017 15:30

I would decline. Hate Ebay for this reason. Bet she wore it. I don't think it's shitty for personal sellers not to offer returns.

KimmySchmidtsFakeXmasSmile · 06/01/2017 22:44

But OP you said you bought it used Confused
Or did you mean used but with tags?
How do you know it hadn't previously been washed?
I assume from the fact you have not said otherwise that you never declared it to be snug in your description (so essentially passed on the problem you yourself had so this buyer now has to resell it on ebay). If that is the case, legally you might be right but morally nope. Negative feedback is karma biting you in the butt.

KimmySchmidtsFakeXmasSmile · 06/01/2017 22:47

Plus I would neg any seller who ignored e-mails, it's just bad manners.

Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 07/01/2017 10:48

She has escalated it to Paypal. What a load of hassle.
The item has never been washed (it isn't something that would be washed). The item isn't particularly snug but was snug on me because I was a bit optimistic with the size but a bit of research and I found that you should size up rather than down.

AFAIK the item is genuine. This buyer has been a PITA since bidding. I get several emails a day from her, all full of typos and no please, thank you etc.

It is strange but I have only had problems when selling well known brand items cheaply. Just cos it is cheap doesn't mean it is fake.

Regarding returning clothes on eBay - I've never done it. I 'won' a pair of shoes once. I wanted them and had been looking for a while, the price was quite a lot but they were hardly worn, my size and gorgeous. When they turned up they were as described but way too long. I relisted them and with the commission lost a few quid but that's life. The person who got them loved them.

Anyway PITA got something that was expensive new at a brilliant price but is now accusing me of selling fake stuff.

OP posts:
mya83 · 07/01/2017 11:00

There's no point declining because eBay and PayPal always side with the buyer anyway. The buyer will just open a dispute as you haven't come to an agreement, ebay or PayPal will look in to it and then just refund them on your behalf leaving you with a negative PayPal balance if there is nothing in there, or if there is a balance they will just take that. It's happened to me loads of times and the problem with this route is you end up forced to refund anyway plus the buyer usually gets to keep the item too. eBay is awful these days, I'm surprised people still bother trying to sell and make money with it because so many buyers end up out of pocket because of their siding with the buyer policies. You're better off agreeing to refund on the condition they return the item. If they return it PayPal will refund them once the tracking proves you have received it back, if they don't bother to return it then they've not kept their side of the deal and therefore after a certain length of time eBay will close the dispute without making you refund.

OrangeSquashTallGlass · 07/01/2017 11:05

Did you explain in your listing that the size comes up as quite small?

You knew it was snug on you and also knew that the advice was to size up and not down. Did you put that info on your listing? Otherwise you were just setting someone else up for the same disappointment you had.

Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 07/01/2017 11:12

I think that's unfair Orange because it was snug on me because it was not quite my size. When I listed the item, I didn't know that you needed to size up rather than down, I found out when looking to buy it in the right size.

Regarding allowing returns for clothes - if I sold a pair of jeans for 99p and paid £2.85 to post them and the buyer said they were too small and sent them back, I would make a loss.

OP posts:
mya83 · 07/01/2017 11:34

Exactly, that's why i quit selling on eBay!

HeavenlyEyes · 07/01/2017 12:26

which is why you always put measurements on a listing and not just state the size.

Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 07/01/2017 12:37

I do put measurements normally - if it's jeans I put inside leg, hem width etc., if it's a dress I'd put length and fit, but this was something that is so well known that it didn't cross my mind.

OP posts:
MissWimpyDimple · 07/01/2017 12:37

Technically you are not in the wrong.

Practically, I can guarantee that eBay / PayPal will find in her favour and freeze your PayPal funds while doing it.

It's disgusting but they are massively biased towards the buyer.

Can you tell I speak from bitter experience? You can effectively claim pretty much anything and go through the whole dispute process and the buyer will still win.

Pointless to argue. I am now very very conscious of this when I sell.

Mine were a pair of shoes that the buyer claimed (a month after receipt!) were wide fitting when I had listed them as wide fitting and the brand is we'll known for being wider fit!

What that means is that even if you had said "comes up small- would fit 12 blah" it would make NO difference.

Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 07/01/2017 12:37

If you saw the e-mails that the buyer sent me you'd think she was on glue.

OP posts:
MissWimpyDimple · 07/01/2017 12:41

eBay is a joke. PayPal are worse.

It used to be a great site but since they got massive you have to expect to loose money and any money made is a bonus.

I just charity stuff now.

Kids things tend to be ok to sell as people are more realistic. Adult clothes are the worst.

Note3 · 07/01/2017 12:46

I learnt from another site that the way to get around this is to change your listing so it accepts returns and then there's an option to select 'buyer pays return postage'. I have done this on my listings so if anyone wants a return that's fine but they must pay instead of eBay forcing me to pay. I only sell low value items so if they want to get their £1.50 back but have to pay all the postage costs to do it then that's their call

dudsville · 07/01/2017 12:54

As someone who once tried buying clothes on etsy (it was a one off, I bought 3 jackets from 3 separate sellers - I've never bought from ebay). I did find what I'd ordered I wanted to send back. All but one accepted the first request to return and refund the item. I politely asked the person who declined me to reconsider and she did. I've never gone back to shopping that way. it's impossible to be 100% certain that the thing you're eyeing up will be great until you see it and I need the easier option of returning hassle free. Shame - I like vintage stuff.

Original poster
MikeUniformMike · 07/01/2017 13:02

I like your suggestion Note3. Thanks.

OP posts:
Aeroflotgirl · 07/01/2017 13:11

I am afraid you do, distance selling laws. The buyer might go through e bay for a refund, you will have to give it. I had the same problem as your buyer, I bought some Used True religion Jeans, I had exactly the same pair bought from True Religion website, but wanted another pair as I loved them. When they arrived a few things were off, when I tried them on, they did not fit. Now they shoukd have fitted if they were genuine, as I had another same air of sane size and they fitted fine, were in fact a little roomy, so expected these to be the same.

The sizing of fakes can be off that is an indicator. I emailed the seller, they got a bit huffy, so I went through e bay and got a refund. Sometimes you need to see an item and feel it and try it on.

Ellapaella · 07/01/2017 13:11

If it's ugg boots you are referring to OP you are absolutely not to blame for not mentioning snug fit - there is a shed load of information and reviews and advice online about sizing for ugg boots, anyone with an ounce of common sense would have down a bit of research before bidding. It may not be that at all but it just reads to me like it possibly is.

Aeroflotgirl · 07/01/2017 13:21

I am always polite and never rude. I am a seller myself as well, so can see both sides, you can get rubbish buyers and sellers.

Trills · 07/01/2017 13:22

The buyer is being unreasonable here.

Clothes vary in size. I have items from the same shop bought in the same year, that I had to buy in different sizes (not even always adjacent sizes) because of the variability.

If I go on ebay and buy a size 12 top from a shop I am usually a size 12 in, and it' doesn't fit, I'll chalk it up to experience.