I've refused to refund a buyer for the first time ever

[bazunitec]

I joined eBay in 2003. Since then, I have bought and sold items and sent stuff all over the world.

A while back, I bought a full centre console from a W222 Mercedes S Class, as I wanted to try something with my car. It didn't work out so as the console was surplus, I decided to sell the parts from it. I listed an item (127236661952) and set the price at about half what they are selling for as I just wanted to clear some stuff from the garage. As you can see from the listing, the photos are good quality, the manufacturer part number is shown and also shown in the text I wrote. the listing text is simple enough to understand and after a few days, I got an offer of £50.00 for it. 

Oh well, I thought, It's only gathering dust, so I accepted. The buyer didn't pay straight away, but when he did, I packed it well (bubble wrap and all that) and posted it.

Yesterday, I got a message saying the buyer wanted to return it. I asked why and got the response, "I need to return this item"

I asked why. Was it damaged?

"The colour of the wooden panel doesn’t match my car" was the response.

I replied, explaining that the complete unit is a universal fit across every W222 S Class and that the wooden panel clips off so he could replace it with his own.

(At this point, I was assuming that the assembly in his car was faulty, they have a habit of failing as I know from experience when the one in my car failed after 2 years, so I bought a new one from Mercedes for £200, so I thought he'd be happy, knowing he got a bargain, and an easy swap of the wooden panel)

I got a response "The cover of my one is broken"

I replied saying the photos clearly show what he was buying and what colour the wooden panel was

Buyer message
I only ordered this part just because on details it was clearly mentioned if dose fit or not right I can return the item but i have to pay for postage which is absolutely fine, I am happy for pay postage but you have to accept return. If you can’t help then unfortunately I have to ask eBay for help. Looking forward for reply. Thank you

So basically, he had a broken wooden cover. Saw mine on eBay, saw the colour of the wooden cover in the hi-res photos, made an offer, had the offer accepted, paid for it, received it and then realised it was a different colour to his. It stated in my terms at the bottom that I don't accept returns if the item is perfectly fit for the purpose it was sold for (which it was) which I told him. I asked why he'd bought it if it was the wrong colour and he never responded, so I rejected the return request, and now I'm the bad guy 

Thoughts?

[jckl1957]

Who is suggesting you are 'the bad guy'?

As a private seller, you are allowed to refuse 'change of mind' returns.

What happens next will depend entirely on whether or not the buyer is using the Ebay Money Back Guarantee and has opened a return and what specific reason they choose for starting a return.

[missdollydaydream]

I would put money on you getting his old broken item when you receive the return. I am also willing to bet that eBay will support him and NOT you.

[department28]

If they open a return case, they can't really claim the item was 'not as described' - surely they can only select something like 'change of mind', or 'purchased in error'? Of course, they were just hoping you would take the line of least resistance, and kindly accept the return, even though they were a dimwit to purchase the item before making sure it was the right colour.

It is a pain, but it usually turns out to be less hassle in the long run to accept returns - getting an item back safely, and being able to resell it, is better than a disgruntled buyer claiming an item is 'damaged' and ending up with a full refund and maybe getting to keep the item as well.

[susapric-68]

Risky thing to do, at the moment they're offering to pay return postage but if they contact eBay and eBay points them at not as described you will have to pay return postage. eBay will never take photos you have up as proof of colour or condition and will side with the buyer. 

[phoenix204]

Can buyers open an item not as described case after seller refused a change of mind return?

[susapric-68]

No claim has been opened yet, only messages. So the buyer can open a not as described case for not matching photos.

[papso22]

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@phoenix204 wrote:

Can buyers open an item not as described case after seller refused a change of mind return?

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Not if the change of mind was through a case.  That's because they are the same case just with a different reason.

[pauuk.35za36]

best to just ask him to open a change of mind return case and provide a refund upon receipt, then relist it and hopefully sell it for more.

[bazunitec]

Well all turned out good. eBay paid out...

[department28]

Do you mean eBay has covered the refund and the buyer doesn't have to return the item? So the buyer gets a full refund and a perfectly good item to use, or resell - even though it was their mistake..? 

[bazunitec]

No idea... 

All I know is I got the money... he could probably sell it for double what he paid... that's his issue now. I just wanted to clear some space in the garage and thought I was helping someone out by accepting quite a low offer for what they bought...

I'm happy at the end of the day

[missdollydaydream]

Make sure you add him to your blocked bidder list.