Returns - international buyer did not read item description properly

[brian_saw]

Buyer, based in Spain, purchased item from the UK platform, clearly described as "not working" - "for spares or repair". Buyer subsequently initiated return process because "item not working" and incorrectly claimed that the description stated that the item was working.

Buyer refuses to pay return postage and ebay is no help whatsoever - currently requesting that I send a (very expensive) prepaid return label to the buyer.

This makes a shambles of the listing process and transfers all financial responsibility to the seller even when the buyer is clearly at fault.

Any suggestions?

[dch2112011]

This is ebay's take on it

'If your item sells, you will be bound by the User Agreement and policies, including any buyer protection policies, of the site on which the item is sold. If you do not want your item to be sold to buyers internationally, you can exclude countries or regions by updating your postage settings.'

international selling policy 

[brian_saw]

Ok thats a pragmatic solution - telecon with Ebay - uk very unhelpful. Apparently case raised by buyer on ebay.es. All comms in Spanish - so no assistance except from Spain - who are now emailing me the ebay rules for returns  in Spanish.

I give up, hopefully a competitor to ebay will appear.

[4_bathrooms]

There won't be anything you or the UK eBay customer support reps can do - the buyer has escalated the case so it's in the hands of eBay's Spanish customer support now.

My gut feeling is the case was open for longer than three days before the buyer escalated. Although the buyer purchased under eBay Spain's version of the Money Back Guarantee I believe the MBG is pretty consistent across all of eBay's EU websites. In other words if a seller doesn't issue a return label or a refund within three days of the case being opened the buyer is able to click a link to ask eBay to "step in". 

[pillarboxred]

Let the buyer keep the broken junk and block them and don't sell low value items Internationally or at all.

[fassiphone]

That's why I stopped selling overseas over a decade ago. Yes, your potential audience shrinks significantly but it's not worth the hassle, especially with the ever-increasing postage costs.