Buyer want a refund but didn't open the parcel for a month

[3843denise]

I sold an item last month and today the buyer messaged me to say she'd opened it this morning and it had been damaged in transit - I asked why they'd only just opened the parcel now when they've had it a month and they said it was because it was a gift for their partner and they didn't want them to see it until today - their birthday.

Are they still eligible for a refund if they didn't check the parcel for this length of time? All I can find is that the buyer should check the parcel as soon as it arrives which they admit they haven't done.

It wouldn't bother me so much if they'd told me straight away, but it's too late for me to make a claim with evri/packlink because of the buyer's delay so I'm just going to be out of pocket.

[tressygirl]

The buyer has to be within 30 days of the item's last estimated date for delivery to claim for item not as described with eBay.

If that time has lapsed,  they could turn to their payment provider,  depending what the item is, Companies do not offer refunds too readily , when seeing the item has been in ' use' for over a month.

@3843denise 

[arkwebus]

If it is more than 30 days [to the minute] you do not "have" to issue a label and refund through eBay. 

However it may be prudent to do so as - if the buyer knows of the option - they might involve their payment provider and they add a surcharge of £18 if I recall.  

EvRi are seen as a problematic courier with many exceptions ...

@3843denise 

[3843denise]

Thank you. I thought it was within 30 days of the dispatch/drop off date not delivery.

If that's the case it is 'just' within the 30 days

[tressygirl]

Then,  they are in time to open that case.

Just hold fire , see if they do, you will have to then accept the case within 3 days.  Cases are all automated no point challenging it at that point.

If you want the item back pay for a fully tracked return postage,  and only refund through those case details,  when the item is back with you.  You will have 48 hours to do so.

Stick within those timelines and your seller performance will not be affected.

If you think the refund was unjustly granted,  and the buyer has abused eBay's 30 day MBG,  Money Back Guarantee policy you can appeal the decision.  I won't lie, it's not always easy,  and does favour the buyer in most cases. 

This explains the appeal process:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/appeal-outcome-case-seller?id=4369

@3843denise 

[insidethe93]

Asking "why...?" is human nature and perfectly understandable. But once eBay's MBG's 30 days expires, if a seller asks a buyer "why...?" a seller can become entangled, unnecessarily.

The seller could end up doing something they aren't required to do by eBay (or sometimes even the law), and it might be something that, importantly, the seller does not want to do. The latter could be making a refund, small or worse large, that they aren't required to make.

[3843denise]

Thank you - this is useful information, and something to bear in mind.

I don't have a lot of postage options where I live unfortunately, and to be fair, I've used Evri a lot and this is the first issue I've had with them.

[3843denise]

Thank you again, this is really useful information.