Overly Fussy Buyers

[macbooksurfer]

Been taking advantage of eBay's zero sellers fees this year, as I like to try different gadgets, different colours to see which I prefer.

I digress, recently purchased a new mobile phone from a business seller on ebay, but after using it for a few days, decided I didn't like the colour so re-listed it. 

The buyer received the phone swiftly and got a great deal of almost £100 less than what I paid for it.

All of my listings are No Return, unless there is a fault.  However this guy pointed out that the phone I had sent him, wasn't a UK specific phone and wasn't covered by the manufacturers 2 year guarantee, and that it only had a x1 year guarantee from the company who sold it to me.

Incredulously I responded politely, stating that he had got a great deal on a pretty much new phone and that there was nothing wrong with what he had received.

He then doubled down by saying that he wanted a uk issued phone and that he had essentially received an expensive paperweight.

Not wanting to risk my 100% seller feedback score, I approved the return and issued the refund when I received it back.

I hadn't appreciated or even realised, that when I purchased the phone, that Samsung had a weird warranty policy for phones not intended for the uk market when it came to warranty.

If  I had stuck to my guns, I would have refused the return / refund request and stated that he got what he paid for, without issue or fault or blemish!

But again, there was a high risk of him leaving negative feedback which I wasn't prepared to take the risk on.

However and the reason for this post, is to discuss this kind of situation... what do you guys do when there are overly fussy buyers who will use any excuse to demand a return, when technically they have no grounds to do so.

[suelel1968]

@macbooksurfer Low value stuff I refund and just let them keep it as tracked postage is too expensive for the return.... and then block them!

In your situation just consider yourself lucky they didn't claim the package was empty or that the phone didn't work or worse still broke the phone so it didn't work. Sounds like a pretty decent buyer to me.

[4_bathrooms]

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@macbooksurfer wrote:

I digress, recently purchased a new mobile phone from a business seller on ebay, but after using it for a few days, decided I didn't like the colour so re-listed it. 

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I don't understand why you didn't just return it to the seller? A (UK or EU established) business seller is obliged to accept remorse returns.

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@macbooksurfer wrote:

However this guy pointed out that the phone I had sent him, wasn't a UK specific phone and wasn't covered by the manufacturers 2 year guarantee, and that it only had a x1 year guarantee from the company who sold it to me.

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Was the seller's warranty transferable? All retail guarantees I offer are limited to the original retail purchaser. Many mobile device manufacturer's warranties are tied to the product rather than the owner but in your case there was apparently no such manufacturer warranty.

Did the listing state there was a manufacturer warranty?

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@macbooksurfer wrote:

However and the reason for this post, is to discuss this kind of situation... what do you guys do when there are overly fussy buyers who will use any excuse to demand a return, when technically they have no grounds to do so.

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As a business seller I cannot refuse any return requests. I've had my share of abusive INAD returns - these are usually remorse returns with an INAD reason chosen so the buyer avoids paying return shipping costs. I just report the buyer, block them and move on - there's not much else I can do.

[macbooksurfer]

So the original seller mentioned in their listing that these were non uk devices and would come with a years warranty from themselves.  They also mentioned that if on return, the phone had been physically opened, that they would be unable to re-sell as new and would levy a 20% restocking fee, which in my instance was about £150 and hence my resale.

Have as of a moment ago come off a long phone call with ebay customer services, who agreed with me that there was no mention of a non official samsung warranty on these phones and recommended I discuss a full refund from the original seller.  They also mentioned that if they were still insisting on the levy of 20% restocking fee, that they would wave their big stick at them and make sure I got a 100% refund.

[4_bathrooms]

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@macbooksurfer wrote:

They also mentioned that if on return, the phone had been physically opened, that they would be unable to re-sell as new and would levy a 20% restocking fee, which in my instance was about £150 and hence my resale.

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eBay does not permit such restocking fees:

"Additionally, business sellers can't:

• Charge restocking fees"

A business seller who isn't rated below standard can deduct an amount from a refund if the item is returned used or damaged. However, the guidelines for making such a deduction are set by eBay - the seller can deduct a maximum of 10% if the only issue is the factory seal being opened:

 

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@macbooksurfer wrote:

So the original seller mentioned in their listing that these were non uk devices and would come with a years warranty from themselves.

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My gut feeling is that warranty would be virtually unenforceable outside of eBay's Money Back Guarantee window - were any warranty terms provided? Even if the warranty exists I doubt the seller would intend for it to be transferable beyond the original purchaser.

[style_wise · Accepted solution]

I let them return as a courtesy, but I insist that they open an IND case to do it. eBay bans Buyers who open too many cases. Often overly fussy buyers don't want to do this because they know eBay tracks their returns.

[macbooksurfer]

Perfect!  Have sent the company I purchased from a link to this policy

[akemp1]

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@macbooksurfer wrote:

However and the reason for this post, is to discuss this kind of situation... what do you guys do when there are overly fussy buyers who will use any excuse to demand a return, when technically they have no grounds to do so.

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I would be friendly and if I didn't feel it was my fault then encourage them to raise a case with a change of mind return reason (I think it only offers them this option if you have 'accepts returns' on the listing, which is why I have that turned on even though I don't want returns) as otherwise they might do an INAD reason and make me pay the return postage. Buyers have ways of forcing refunds so it's easier to accept that and keep things nice.

Hope they actually return it - you have been selling what I would consider high risk items for ebay so please be careful as there are bad actors operating on this platform and it's presumably more money than you would be happy to lose.