Item damaged with eBay simple delivery to buyer but no compensation from eBay offered

[ushai-4705]

Hello everyone, I need help with this weird situation. I sold a camera recently which was shipped in near perfect condition. When the buyer received it, there was a horizontal line going across its screen which is a sign of damage. The buyer started a return with the reason 'item not as described' and eBay immediately accepted the return on my behalf. 

Now I believe the buyer made a mistake while selecting the reason for returning but now I'm losing here. My item is on its way back broken and the buyer will get the full refund. I don't attribute any malice to the buyer and understand that this is a simple mistake. 

I emailed eBay customer support and they told me that I'm only eligible to the return label amount and that I should report the buyer but refund them. 

I understand that there are compensation measures in the eBay simple delivery terms but I'm not getting them for some reason. What are my options here? Do I just quit selling on eBay because it won't protect me as a buyer?

[john1297576]

I think buyer should have selected as reason for return something like “damaged in transit” which in theory ebay then takes over and refunds.

The whole system is badly thought out with no clear instructions for buyers or sellers which ends up with buyer paying a fee for protection, which means nothing if seller has to refund. 

What is the buyer paying for? No different from what already existed, but cost buyer nothing.

[jckl1957]

I think you were simply unlucky here.

The buyer would not know if the item was faulty in this way when you sent it - that is certainly possible.

They assumed the fault was there but not described at the time of purchase.

If the item had clearly been damaged in transit, then Ebay would have refunded the buyer however, the buyer did not see this as a damaged in transit case so it will be up to you to refund.

Just to add, please don't 'report the buyer' even though you have been advised to do so.  They have not done anything wrong.

[red_magpie]

I believe the buyer made a mistake while selecting the reason for returning

The reason for returning is "not as described".

It isn't for the buyer to decide whether the fault was pre-existing fault, or caused in transit. Unfortunately for sellers, which it is determines whether the seller or eBay is responsible.

The appearance of horizontal or vertical lines in a LED screen can have several causes. Cameras are pretty robust (they get knocked and dropped all the time!). Good luck, but you may have difficulty in persuading eBay that it was caused in transit. Hopefully the line is only in the viewfinder, not the sensor, which would render the camera worthless.

You get used to lines on screens. There's one in the middle of mine while writing, and I only notice it now that we're talking about it!

[ushai-4705]

Yeah I could ignore the line if it was my own camera but it was a friend's who wanted me to sell it. It's still not back with me yet so I don't know the true extent of damage that it's suffered. It could be scrap for all I know. 

It just sucks. The buyer made an honest mistake and now I'm stuck here with a broken camera and no money. I'm a new seller on eBay and I'm considering quitting and selling on gumtree instead. I've had better experience there. 

[ushai-4705]

I agree that the buyer was a bit hasty in assessing the damage and returning but they're clearly not at fault. I'm not either as I always record an uncut video testing and then packaging the item right before posting it. It's definitely been damaged in transit. I seriously hate this situation but I won't report the buyer. I might as well just quit eBay.