Can't reply to buyer message on selling overview

[jsmith6377]

Hi there.

Buyer messaged me to say some shoes I sold on 9/4/24 needed reheeling after 1st wear, they were disappointed & it would cost a lot more than they had paid to reheel.  The shoes are vintage & the heels looked OK when I sold them but these things happen so I apologised & asked them to open a return case through Ebay so I can refund.

No case has been opened yet but the buyer seems to have sent another message that doesn't show in my inbox - I can see the first part of their message on selling overview: "Thanks for your understanding.  First I would like to see how", but when I try to view the rest of the message or to reply my screen displays this message outlined in red: "The question you are trying to answer is either invalid or older than 90 days. You can't respond to questions older than 90 days.". 

I'm worried that the buyer will think I'm ignoring them but am wondering what I can do.  Should I just refund them directly through the order without a case being opened?

Thanks in advance.

[tressygirl]

No, firstly you do not  refund outside a case,  and secondly selling vintage shoes,  surely the buyer must appreciate the shoes / heels,   cannot be guaranteed to last for any period of time.

If the message is not clear / complete, switch devices or browsers.  use a PC / laptop and use Chrome or Firefox to send the message,  but do not be pressurised to refund here,  when there is no need to.

[jckl1957 · Accepted solution]

I have had similar messages - they appear next to the sold item but you can't open and read the message or respond to it.

As you have a message from the buyer in your inbox, you could respond to that again.

Just say something neutral like 'I will wait to hear from you.  Just let me know if you want to return the shoes.  Please contact me by replying to this message or opening a return through Ebay.'

[jsmith6377]

Thanks for replying tressygirl. I'm using a laptop & have tried 2 browsers but no luck. I'll wait & see if they open a case & jckl1957 has suggested a workaround for the message problem (see accepted solution below).