Return

[jamleigh]

I recently sold a gearbox to a buyer (£300) and personally delivered it to his chosen repair centre (50 miles away) at the agreed additional cost of £40. The buyer contacted me shortly afterwards claiming that after installation the gearbox was showing a slight fault (gear selection stiff in first and second) but agreed to run the car for a while to see if the problem persisted. (The gearbox had been in storage for some time).

Buyer has now contacted me again, this time requesting a full refund (£340) but does not want to return the item? 
I am happy to give him the benefit of the doubt and refund him for the gearbox, but am I obliged to also refund the £40 delivery charge?

Also, am I right to require that he returns the item? - and if so, should it be at his expense and not mine?

[**peaseblossom**]

You are entitled to get the item back before you issue a refund.   eBay normally require a full refund but maybe you and the buyer can both a agree to deduct the delivery cost.   If an item is not as described the seller pays the return postage.

[red_magpie]

Buyer ,...... requesting a full refund (£340) but does not want to return the item?

If they use eBay's money back guarantee you will have to refund the price they paid through eBay checkout. If the £40 self-delivery charge was not paid through eBay it won't be included.

Whether they have to return the item will depend upon what case they open. As you don't have tracking proof of delivery eBay may treat it as not received.

If the buyer has to return the item, eBay will probably make you responsible for sending them a prepaid postal label. (eBay will probably send the buyer a standard 2kg label, so the buyer will have to contact eBay to arrange for you to send them one appropriate to the weight.) Or you can arrange and apy for a courier to colect it yourself.

[plum993]

The listing states "It has been well-maintained to ensure smooth operation and reliable performance".

Hopefully any return is in the same condition as sent ie: not a different gearbox to the one sent,so you may want to collect it yourself to identify it,and make sure it's not being swapped.

I'm also surprised the mechanic who fitted it couldn't fix the issue as sometimes its just a case of applying good lubrication,and would be cheaper for the buyer to,due to the costs of fitting it then having to take it back out......not cheap.