Buyer wants to return an item that doesn't fit

[piplup666]

Hi, I have a buyer who wants to return an item that doesn't fit them. They are paying the return postage but my question is do I have to refund their original postage or just the cost of the item?

[rusticrye]

Having read your other post on this thread, I'll just add the following, to help you get things into perspective:

Yes, as a private seller, you don't have to accept 'does not fit' returns unless the reason for not fitting was your fault, ie. you had the wrong size and/or measurements on the listing. In which case, the buyer would or should have opened a Not As Described return request. Those you cannot refuse.

Yes, you have to refund the original postage the buyer paid, and yes, you lose the PayPal payment processing fee. But if you choose not to accept returns that you aren't legally responsible for, you'll find that some buyers will invent faults, or even damage items, to force you to accept the return. That is infinitely worse.

So my advice is to continue accepting change of mind and does not fit returns, but 'self insure' for the odd occasion when such a return is requested. You do that by adding a few pennies onto your item and/or postage charges, or by chucking a few pennies into a jar every time you make a sale.

I hope that helps. 🙂

@piplup666 

[red_magpie]

You're not a business seller so the law on returns doesn't apply to you. Legally, you don't have to accept buyer remorse returns at all, let alone refund their postage.

However, you need to refund for eBay purchases through the resolution centre, as a mutually agreed cancellation. Otherwise, eBay may treat it as a seller-initated cancelaltion; this would mean a defect on your selling account, and you would forfeit the return of your selling fee.

The only way to accept a return through eBay is to make a full refund, including the original postage.

[rusticrye]

You have to refund the whole of a buyer's original payment because it's the law.  And a very good one too, as it's encouraged millions of people to shop online, you included, no doubt.  Without this law, you'd sell very little if anything. In fact, without it Ebay would likely no longer exist.

@piplup666 

[gindygoo]

You have to refund their payment in full, including original postage!

[john1297576]

If they have opened a return case, you refund in full through the case, there is no other option, you then get the selling fee refunded, but not the paypal fee.

[piplup666]

So, because someone buys something and it didn't fit I'm now out of pocket. I should have refused the return clearly.

[geosacha007]

Yes, you should have refused it. Private sellers are not required to refund the buyer's original postage costs by law as the law does not apply to them. But ebay will force you to do so anyway. The only way to avoid it is to refuse the return. An honest buyer will accept that but you do risk unscrupulous buyers lying and forcing you to refund and pay the return or leaving bad feedback.