Buyer tried to haggle the price after sending return request

[reefer-rick-6]

Hi, a buyer won the auction and requested a return stating "item not as described". He wasn't happy with the size of the coral I sold even though I confirmed the size before sending it.

I accepted the return coz I've heard ebay refund the buyers no matter what and I was scared to lose my corals.

Then buyer insisted on me calling him which I thought was weird but did anyway. Then he told me via the phone he'd keep the corals if I'm willing to reduce the price. I don't want to do that as I was already selling pretty cheap and can easily resell if I get my them back.

He said he's phoned ebay and they'd cancel the orders for him. Does that mean they're going to give him refund without returning?

How should I go about this?

[*vyolla*]

If you've accepted the return and issued a returns label the buyer has to return it for a refund. 

However, I've a feeling that the eBay return labels aren't next day delivery, which you need for a live coral.

[reefer-rick-6]

Hi, thanks. Does that mean buyer have to post to get a refund then? I uploaded a next day postage label I purchased.

[four_mid_able]

"As soon as the coral enters your system, the DOA is void, and no refund will be made.".

No returns for ALL sellers means nothing.

If the item listed shows that it's covered by the MBG then any buyer can open a not as described claim and return for a full refund at sellers cost.

"WYSIWYG" ???

Erm NO !.

Bit like saying "sold as seen" which doesn't apply to anything online.

[technthread · Accepted solution]

As soon as a buyer wants you to communicate outside eBay it is often that they don't want eBay to be able to see what demands they are making to the seller.

In future where there is a dispute you should always keep it to eBay messaging. 

Buyers will sometimes fish for full or partial refunds on the off chance that a seller will fall for it. Sometimes they don't intend to return the item even after opening an item not as described case. Where you believe you are not at fault and their issue doesn't make sense you should call their bluff and insist they follow the eBay returns procedure. 

It is always a good idea in these situations to check their eBay profile and get a handle on what they are like. The feedback have they left for others in the past is useful to know, you can see it if you check their feedback on the desktop site. 

[technthread]

Does that mean buyer have to post to get a refund then? I uploaded a next day postage label I purchased.

Yes they have to return the item.

Are you sure the buyer formally opened an eBay return case on this?

If they did as an item not as described, eBay auto generate a return label so you didn't have to buy another one and upload that. By doing so you are creating a dilemma as a buyer has an eBay return label created for the return case and you are telling them not to use it.

[4_bathrooms]

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@technthread wrote:

Are you sure the buyer formally opened an eBay return case on this?

If they did as an item not as described, eBay auto generate a return label so you didn't have to buy another one and upload that. 

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eBay don't automatically send a return label if the RMA box is ticked at the bottom of the seller's return preferences. The seller is still required to send a return label but enabling this option means the seller can send their own label rather than eBay automatically issuing their own (often unsuitable) one.

[technthread]

That's interesting. I might tick it and next time I get a return from the Outer Hebrides I'll upload a DPD or Evri label and see how the buyers gets on with that 🤣.

[technthread]

Ah Post Offices accept those now don't they. My cunning plan is instantly foiled. 

[reefer-rick-6]

Yeah he just phoned me again and tried to get a 50% discount on the corals, even though initially he insisted on them "not looking healthy" when opening request on ebay. I refused and sent him the postage label. Now he's complaining this has been wasting his time, threatening to leave a negative feedback and that he doesn't have time waiting for royal mail pick-up. The whole thing is just very frustrating.

[papso22]

Type all that out in a message in the case so that there is a record for ebay to see if necessary.  Also look at the policy for 'feedback extortion'. 

[reefer-rick-6]

Thank you I will look into it. He was clever enough to not say any of that on ebay but I had the phone calls recorded just in case.

[*vyolla*]

What's the value of the corals? 

My concern here is that you may have a bad buyer on your hands and it's not impossible that they'll damage the corals out of spite  if they have to return anything.

A partial refund may be better than getting damaged corals back. 

As an aside, you have neglected to register correctly as a business seller. 

Business sellers need to be registered correctly to meet the requirements of UK law. They need to declare income to HMRC once they reach £1,000 worth of sales (eBay will be providing HMRC with your details anyway so it's vital to keep correct accounts for your tax return). You can obviously offset more expenses as a business seller, but can't offset any at all as a private one.  

To correctly register as a business seller simply go to your Personal Information in your account and to the right of Account Type, which will be showing as 'Individual'  you'll see an Edit option.

https://accountsettings.ebay.co.uk/profile

This doesn't affect your feedback profile or any current listings, it merely upgrades your account so that you're legally compliant. 

If you're also selling your own items, just open another eBay account (you can have more than one).

eBay will pass on data to HMRC automatically if you're selling 30 or more items a year OR have total earnings over the equivalent of £1,740. eBay will automatically share this information with HMRC by 31 January 2025 – the first lot of data-sharing will cover the 2023/24 tax year.

This eBay guidance page explains what's being reported and when:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/account/regulatory/uk-digital-sales-reporting?id=5454&st=3&pos=1&query=U...

[reefer-rick-6]

Hi mate thanks for letting me know. Does the busniess seller thing still apply when I'm not a UK tax resident? 

[*vyolla*]

You're showing as being registered in the UK, what country do you live in?

[4_bathrooms]

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@reefer-rick-6 wrote:

Does the busniess seller thing still apply when I'm not a UK tax resident? 

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You have already surpassed at least one reporting threshold. If eBay requested a National Insurance number from you during or before January 2025 would you have one to give them? What is your current status? For example, are you here on a student visa?

I apologise for all the questions but there are possible tax implications - whether you're a business or not - depending upon what the answers are. Also, is the coral you're selling UK grown?

[reefer-rick-6]

Hi yeah, I'm on a short term study visa rn. Started this account before ebay wouldn't let my old home account sell here. And an agent suggested me to open a new.

Don't have a NI number but think I can apply for one if needed? The fragged corals I sold are purchased from the local fish stores and other ebay sellers here. I sell stuff pretty cheap to support me buying more corals for the hobby, so most of the time I don't make a profit.😂 Should I start keeping transactions of my purchases for future tax implications?

[*vyolla*]

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@reefer-rick-6 wrote:

The fragged corals I sold are purchased from the local fish stores and other ebay sellers here. I sell stuff pretty cheap to support me buying more corals for the hobby, so most of the time I don't make a profit.😂 Should I start keeping transactions of my purchases for future tax implications?

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You do need to change this account to a business one, that's for sure, even if you're not making much profit.

As for tax, I'd just keep a record of what you've bought and sold and profit/loss then you're covered for all eventualities if HMRC were to get in touch with you.

[4_bathrooms]

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@reefer-rick-6 wrote:

Hi yeah, I'm on a short term study visa rn. Started this account before ebay wouldn't let my old home account sell here. And an agent suggested me to open a new.

Your eBay.com account would not be able to list items located in the UK due to VAT regulations. Non-UK established sellers with items located in the UK at the point of sale are required to register and account for UK VAT on all their UK sales; there is no registration threshold.

Similarly, if you had created an account on eBay.co.uk using your domiciled (overseas) address eBay would still have required you to use a business account with a UK VAT number supplied before they allowed you to sell anything. This is because if a non-UK domiciled seller - what HMRC refer to as a non-established tax person (NETP) -  has items that are located in the UK at the point of sale the seller (or their agent) is required to register for UK VAT. There is no threshold for a non-UK domiciled seller to register similar to the above.

I would strongly advise you apply for a National Insurance number, keep records of your sales and purchases (including your previous ones) and contact HMRC about whether you need to (or can) register for self-assessment. If you are required to register for self-assessment you will need to sell through an eBay business account to keep everything legal but you likely wouldn't be liable to pay income tax until your total UK income surpassed the tax-free personal allowance (currently £12,570).