Automatic refund for a seller

[wehavenevermet]

I have just had a buyer say that am item has arrived damaged.

Reasonable, it happens. They requested a return an hour ago, ebay have already closed the case and soded with the buyer.

They havent stated the buyer needs or will send the item back.

They also said that it will come out of my ebay balance but the amount is still showing as avalible 🤔

Its all a bit confusing, I am only suspicious as the buyer is literally selling items (comics) simmilar to the ones I have sold them, om ebay.

Cheers.

[pinemarten56]

They seem to be doing whatever they want to nowadays, no consistency whatsoever...Rudderless ship.

[tommystrezures]

We need to know whether the item was sent simple deliver or not.

[department28]

Did the buyer attach a photo of the damage? And surely it is still up to the seller to decide if they want the item returned, damaged or not? 

The returns procedure does not seem to work as you would expect these days...

[xyz307xyz]

I opened a couple of your sold items and they look like Simple Delivery which would/should mean ebay refunds them - unless they decide e.g. the packaging wasn't sufficient.

[sml192]

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@wehavenevermet wrote:

I have just had a buyer say that am item has arrived damaged.

Reasonable, it happens. They requested a return an hour ago, ebay have already closed the case and soded with the buyer.

They havent stated the buyer needs or will send the item back.

They also said that it will come out of my ebay balance but the amount is still showing as avalible 🤔

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Check the wording of the message.  The items were listed with Simple Delivery so, provided you used the label supplied, if the buyer opened a return request citing the reason as 'Arrived damaged' then eBay should have refunded the buyer at no cost to you and there would be no need for the buyer to return the item.   

[department28]

'The items were listed with Simple Delivery so, provided you used the label supplied, if the buyer opened a return request citing the reason as 'Arrived damaged' then eBay should have refunded the buyer at no cost to you and there would be no need for the buyer to return the item.'

What happens if the seller wants the item sent back, even if it is damaged? Is that not going to be possible with Simple Delivery?

[vinylscot]

In that situation, no, the seller can't have the item back. They've been paid for it, so why should they get it back? The refund came from eBay, not the seller.

[department28]

Personally, I would prefer to be in control of the refund, and have the item returned, if it was something I would like to have back, either to mend/repurpose/resell for parts, or dispose of responsibly. Far too much stuff ends up being binned as it is, without eBay adding to the problem.

[dch2112011]

So you would like to pay from your funds the cost of returning the goods, with the responsibility that comes with it - ie if it gets lost on it's journey back to you, you would lose the item forever and still have to refund the buyer  the full amount they paid for it including the delivery postage.

A strange concept for any sane seller to consider !

ebay's new system is simple - item gets damaged or lost in transit - the sale remains completed - any refund is the responsibility of ebay 

Of course you could offer to buy the damaged item back from the buyer direct and pay for the cost of the return -  then lose more money, time and effort trying to recover the costs you have just lost - no brainer !

[fotherbale]

I think some people are not reading the OPs first post properly.

He does say "They also said that it will come out of my ebay balance ", so as I understand it, he is being expected to pay for the refund that ebay have set, but the buyer appears to be being allowed to keep the comics too.  If that had happened to any of us, I think we would all feel rightly aggrieved about it.

I notice that the OP has his listings set for 'does not accept returns', and whilst this should only apply to buyer remorse returns, I wonder if there has been confusion at the ebay end and a return has not been required because of this, despite no returns clearly not applying to damaged or not as described items. 

I know most of the ebay claim procedures are mainly automated nowadays, but with the utter shambles that so much of ebay has degenerated into in recent months, anything is probably possible.

[jckl1957]

This is a case where we really need the original poster to come back and tell us the outcome.

I agree that there is a possibility they may have mis-read the message from Ebay and that Ebay are refunding the buyer, having told them they don't need to return the item to the seller.

With Simple Delivery, Ebay promise to refund the buyer if an item arrives damaged, at no cost to the seller and with no impact on their account.  The buyer gets to keep the item, albeit that it is damaged, and the seller keeps the payment, or the funds are made available shortly after Ebay settle the buyer's claim.

I worry that this may lead to fraudulent claims - I can see lots of scenarios where buyers and sellers could take advantage of being able to claim an item was damaged in transit and keeping the item while getting a full refund.

Only time will tell if this is a costly mistake.

[wyntersemporium]

I’d rather have my item back than have the buyer keep it and the cash 

[jckl1957]

It isn't your item though.

You have sold it and sent it so it belongs to the buyer.

If Ebay refund them, you are not even involved in that equation.

[sml192]

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

I’d rather have my item back than have the buyer keep it and the cash 

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It is no longer your item though as you sold it.  As eBay has refunded the buyer it now technically belongs to eBay but they are happy for the buyer to keep it. 

If the buyer doesn't want to keep it then they may be happy to return it to you if you provide a prepaid return label. 

[the-nutwood-collection]

There is a reason why a seller would want to pay from their funds to have the item returned - and that reason is to thwart scammers.

If eBay refunds simple delivery buyers just on their say-so that the item arrived damaged, no return necessary then, once the word gets around, the number of damage claims is going to rocket.

This will cost eBay serious money.  eBay will recover this from sellers by raising fees, or maybe by quoting the 'inadequate packaging' get-out clause.

This is why sellers should always demand that the item is returned.  

[jckl1957]

Sellers won't be able to do that.

The steps are:

Buyer receives an item which has been damaged in transit.

They open a case stating that reason.

Almost immediately Ebay contact the seller and the buyer.

The buyer is refunded and told by Ebay to keep the item.

The seller is informed that the buyer has been refunded by Ebay, there will be no impact on the seller's account and the seller needs to do nothing further.

With their money back and the item in hand, no buyer will agree to a request to send the item back to the seller.

I think fraudulent claims may be an issue but I think buyers who opened more than one or two such claims would be very closely looked at and Ebay can also ask for supporting evidence from the carrier regarding damage in transit.

[dch2112011]

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@the-nutwood-collection wrote:

There is a reason why a seller would want to pay from their funds to have the item returned - and that reason is to thwart scammers.

If eBay refunds simple delivery buyers just on their say-so that the item arrived damaged, no return necessary then, once the word gets around, the number of damage claims is going to rocket.

This will cost eBay serious money.  eBay will recover this from sellers by raising fees, or maybe by quoting the 'inadequate packaging' get-out clause.

This is why sellers should always demand that the item is returned.  

Whilst I commend you in 'having ebay's back' and supporting  them by refunding a buyer yourself including the delivery postage and the return postage to thwart could be scammers  of ebay (not you as a seller) you may want to consider the following.

As private selling accounts have zero fees - it is hardly likely that the cost of such simple and exemplary seller protection will come from seller fees - it has in all probability already been calculated in the postage, BPF and buyer percentage - which for some bizzare reason some private sellers seem to object to ( except when they reap the benefit  such as when an item gets lost or damaged in transit ! )

As the goods are no longer yours - a seller cannot demand they are returned - so that can't happen - well it can but the consequences of demanding someone else's property as your own could be far reaching !

Mind you I am sure ebay would be very grateful if you sent them the money paid to you for the sale as a contribution to the protection they give you.

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[dch2112011]

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

I’d rather have my item back than have the buyer keep it and the cash 

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So you would rather refund the buyer  from your funds and receive the item back ? or are you suggesting ebay refund the buyer from their funds and you keep the sale funds and get the goods back ?

If you are suggesting ebay refund and you keep both the money and the goods - that's rather dishonest in reality !