Buyer wants a refund for shoes she’s worn and broken

[deathb4decaf]

I sold a brand new pair of shoes, got positive feedback from the buyer. Had a message last night saying she was fuming and wanted a refund because the heel snapped after getting out of a taxi. I don’t offer refunds but the buyer has requested one through eBay. I’m not sure where I stand and searching on eBay I’m still confused can anyone help?

What - you are accusing Lottie and I of being the same person? How utterly bizarre!

Thanks all for your advice, I phoned eBay. They said they can’t step in until 8 calendar days have passed. I’ve messaged the buyer and said it will be decided by them in eight days.

Hi OP - Just be aware that if you go down that road rather than accepting the return off your own back, you will get a defect on your eBay account. If you’re reasonably established as a seller though it prob won’t make much of a difference to you. If you aren’t thought they may reduce your selling abilities.

Contact eBay. They were really helpful when I had some awful women demanding a refund from me. In the end, they refunded her with no cost to me.

I asked the lady on the phone if I’d have a defect on my account if I did that and she said no. I’m tempted to ring them back tomorrow to check or maybe ask to speak to a supervisor though as I was distracted by my screaming toddler at the time!

Ebay is very big on sellers working with buyers and trying to resolve and problems between them so If the buyer asks ebay to step in and help and eBay decides in their favour this is known as a “case closed without resolution” and will lead to a defect on your account.

Ebay don’t always give the best advice so don’t always rely on what they say as gospel, especially if you have been speaking to an overseas customer service agent, they are beyond useless.

Please see attached screenshot from eBay’s official advice pages.

Good luck OP; hope eBay vote in your favour. If it makes you feel alittle better I had a very similar situation and it went in my favour. Also don't worry about the defects on your account as if eBay were to vote in the buyer's favour they would only place one defect on your account and this would not affect your seller status: it takes 5 defects before this would be affected. Similarly to Lozmatoz they were helpful with me too. I think unscrupulous buyers are becoming more common so they're not as quick to vote in the sellers favour as they used to be. That's what one member of staff told me anyway at the time. You'll have to update and let us know the result

Lottie is very much right and knows her stuff . Op will end up refunding on return unless eBay decide to step in and offer one of their rare, occasional no fault refunds which pacify both buyer and seller.

If a claim is lost then Paypal balance goes negative, if this isn't restored the letters start to arrive from the debt collectors. Add to this you being blacklisted, and that's not just you, if any family members at that address have accounts they will be closed too.

EBay chat operators tell a hundred versions of the regulations, most don't seem to know them themselves, they are notoriously bad for telling you what you want to hear.

I’ve accepted the return as it seems like I’d be fighting a losing battle, thanks everyone who has replied!

You did the right think OP, I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow but it makes sense if you want to keep a clean sheet in regards to your eBay account.

Lottie has spoken - All hail Queen of Ebay! 😁🤑 She knows her stuff and can be trusted in what she is saying. She has actually helped me by me just reading a lot of her posts and responses!
Op you did the right thing, ebay would have stepped in and you would have lost which would count as a defect on your account.

I’ve used eBay occasionally for many years and have built up lots of good feedback so I don’t want to risk ruining that. I’m looking at using eBay more now I’m a SAHM so no doubt will be back on these boards soon! Thanks all

Goulish I don’t know if I’d go that far but thank you very much!

It does get my back up when I see posters talking absolute nonsense and throwing out completely wrong advice on this board though.

I think the problem is that the way ebay works for sellers is that is can be fundamentally unfair, but unfortunately if you want to use eBay you just need to accept how it works and work on a bit of damage control in certain situations rather than than shouting variations of “you don’t need to refund” and “if you have proof of postage you’re fine” ect

If anyone else wants an excellent source of guidance for eBay issues then the money saving expert forum is fantastic, I’ve gained a lot of my knowledge there. It contains lots of great stickies and there is a poster / mod called Soolin, who is a actually, an eBay genius.

I’m just relieved nobody took the advice to take the shoes to a blacksmith. Unless they were horseshoes, in which case that would be totally fine.