I have a case & I would be grateful for any advice. I sold a kona bike on Ebay (collection in person

[sahara2608]

I would be grateful for any advice. I sold kona bike 2 days ago for £180( collection only). I tried to choose cash only but it said ( I need to add pay pal option to sell the item) may be because I don't sell often?. A woman contacted me after winning the bike & asked to meet somewhere about the Corona virus situation.  She lives too far away so I offered her to meet in the middle way. The bic was clearly listed as broken chain & attached a clear pictures . As she came she told me clearly that she has no knowledge at all to replace the chain I told her it is not a difficult job but she needs tools&.....etc & advised her to get help from friends.  She inspected the bic a long time & confirmed that she is very happy with it. After I went back home I received a message on WhatsApp saying thank you for the bic & asked if I know how many links the chain needs I told her I don't know I can send you  a you tube video which I did & advised her again to get some help. Next day she sent me a message saying she went to the shop to replace the chain & which I didn't list it she wants to return the bic & it is fraud because the brakes are not good &she has been told that the bike ist not.  worst what she paid. I told her the break are fine . Then I received a message from her mother on WhatsApp saying they want a full refund & the bic will go to the bin & if I wouldn't refund NOW she will report me to ebay. I found it very rude& didn't answer. Today I received a " return request " from ebay & she is writing:

the seller said everything works and that it is only the chain that is broken - which is an easy fix. she also said that she had replaced the wheels for me - acting as if she had done something nice for me. the back wheel was buckled so was good for the bin - the brakes were done for - and obviously there was no chain - in addition to this the bit that the chain connects to was completely broken - i went to a bike shop to be sure and they said it was ready for the bin and unusable since as this is a bike this could be incredibly dangerous..

I had a look about the options Ebay gave me & I have noticed that if I will accept a refund option I will have to send her a printed return cost.  She lives tooooo far from me ( 30 miles away) ?.  Even if I lose the case I don't see any reason to pay a lot of money for return cost

I am asking kindly for any advice.  Thank you all 

[bulk_distribution · Accepted solution]

She has admitted to altering the bike. All bets are off. Tell eBay that she has changed the item.

For your own safety don't meet someone in a strange place to sell a bike. I did that on a railway bridge and l'm sure the bike l bought was haunted.

And certainly don't allow a test ride of the bike!

Best way to do this is sell it via Gumtree, cash on collection. If they don't have cash or they can't collect, then the deal is off!

Alternatively, you may possibly offer it for sale via eBay but you'd be forced to offer PayPal but you might perhaps get away with stating in the advert no PayPal if you are collecting in person - cash only. That's because they might just pay electronically, collect in person, then deny collecting and get a refund / do a chargeback and you'd have no comeback unless you have CCTV l guess 😞

[sahara2608 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the answer. The item has been paid (pay pal). My problem is she opened a case " return request " today about " item not as described " & expect me to refund her + return post.
I expect the same you written that all pets are off. It is an experience bike ( kona). What you advice me to do please. I have another 6 days to answer the case she opened by ebay. Shall I refuse return? Many thanks I appreciate your answer

[bulk_distribution · Accepted solution]

Please contact eBay and let them know your arguments in a short list for example:

- The advert described the condition and the problems of the bike - so if the Buyer wants to return it, they must do so with their own money, and it has to be in the same condition in which you sold it.
- The Buyer has made alterations to the bike therefore you cannot accept it back
- The bike was collected and cannot be posted, it is very bulky

Also keep the PayPal transaction bookmarked and monitor your PayPal eMail address, in case the Buyer instead tries to do a chargeback via PayPal, if eBay don't give them their money back.

Keep all your notes ready from your eBay case, so that you can use the same arguments with any PayPal case that arises.

Yes l know what the problem is, l was just trying to explain how "Pay with PayPal + Collect in Person" is a very very bad idea to begin with. I'm surprised the Buyer didn't just pretend the bike was never delivered, because they asked to meet you somewhere far from your home, far from any CCTV you might have, so no proof of the collection.

I wish you well!

[ruby*tuesday · Accepted solution]

Sorry this has happened to you but you should have written CASH ON COLLECTION PREFERRED....... in Bold on your Listing so any potential Buyer doesn't go running off to Pay through PayPal. Ebay will Rule in favour of the Buyer with an Item Not As Described Case when the Buyer Pays through PayPal on a Collection Item.

Best to just Refund without Paying to get the Bike back. Your Final Value Fees will be Credited back to your Seller Account. You have 8 days to issue the Refund if you don't you will lose any Fee Credit and will Receive a Damaging Defect on your Account.

You can try Contacting EBay and Report that the Buyer has made Alterations to the Bike. But you have also Breached Ebay Policy by Adding your Mobile Number to the Listing. That is Not Allowed. You cannot Exchange any Contact Details until a Buyer has actually made a Bid.

[john1297576]

While you may have a good case for not accepting a return, remember this is ebay and their decisions are not always the obvious ones. Mostly because no human is involved and robots have no sense of what is fair.

If you do not deal with the case, and buyer escalates to ebay, they may well refund without the need for the return of the bike. That leaves you with nothing plus a selling fee still to pay and a defect on your account.

With hindsight you woud have done better to have cancelled the sale using the reason "problem with buyer's address".

@sahara2608 

[sahara2608]

Thank you john my understanding if I will ignore the open case & don't answer I will lose both ( the money & the bike) so I have to answer it anyway. Ebay gave me 4 options to choose ( accept the return- give a full refund- offer a partical refund- send the buyer a message) what you advice me to choose please?
The problem is if I choose accept the return I will agree automatically to pay the return cost I checked it again now. I promise you guys the bic is in a very good condition & the pictures on listing a blind person can see that it is not " ready for bin" . I am sure from that in her complaint to ebay that what she is written is definitely NOT the bic I sold. Cheating is not my world because I know what goes round comes around. They must swaped parts & the they broke the piece by swapping things. Another question where she went with the bike to replace the chain? Everything in London is close.
Which option from the 4 shall I press. If I press" send the buyer a message what is going to happen after ?. Thank you again

[sahara2608]

Forgot to tell you that I had on the listing " no return accepted " but we all know now if you choose this option will make no difference anyway

[sahara2608]

Thank you all for the answer but do I have the option if I press accept the return that the buyer pays for return ? Or is i have one choice from ebay that I have to pay the return cost myself ?I don't want to do anything before I get your advice & I appreciate it.