Seller

[llav22]

I have sold a pair of expensive trainers brand new with tags. The buyer has contacted me to say the tags are detached but I know 100% they was sent with tags attached and have pictures to prove this. They are asking for some money back. Does anyone know where do I stand with this?

[red_magpie]

It sounds as though this buyer is just trying to get a discount. Some buyers will try it on all the time.

You can call their bluff, ask them to open a money back guarantee case and return the trainers for a full refund. That may be the last you hear from them.

It's a gamble, because if they do eBay will take their word for any faults, and the trainers will probably be returned with the tags cut off. That's if they even return the expensive trainers, and don't just substitute a pair of smelly old ones. It makes no difference to eBay. If the buyer has tracking evidence of returning them, eBay will enforce a refund. Your pictures are unlikely to count for anything. EBay would tell you that as they never even see the item, they can't tell who's telling the truth, so they will support the buyer. They've taken to telling sellers that they should allow in their selling plans for items not being returned as sent, "as supermarkets do".

Good luck, but this has become a horrendously unsafe place to sell things. EBay deals the buyer all the trump cards.

[m25jet]

Unfortunately eBay will not take your side if the buyer decides to take matters further, as eBay are severely biased in favour of the buyer, even when there is clear evidence that the buyer is being less than truthful.    Therefore, if the buyer has only contacted you via eBay Messages reply to his message saying that you will refund his money in full so long as he opens an Item Not As Described case via the eBay Resolution Centre and he returns the item to you for a refund.  If, on the other hand, the buyer has already opened an Item Not As Described case then relay this information to the buyer via the case details and issue a pre-paid eBay Returns Label so that the buyer can return the item to you for a total refund.  Do not refund the buyer's money unless you get the item back first.

If you get the item back again then refund the buyer's money in full via the case in the eBay Resolution Centre.  The buyer's money will then be refunded to his account and the case will close automatically.  Once it does that will be an end to the matter, as he will not be able to open another eBay case in relation to the same transaction.

If the buyer is just trying to screw you over for a partial refund - or, worse still, if he is hoping you'll refund him in full just to get him to shut up and go away and then he'll get the item for nothing - then if you stick to your guns resolutely and tell the buyer very firmly "No return, no refund" then hopefully the buyer will either give up and allow the case to time out or he will return the item to you so that he can get a refund for the item.  If he allows the case to time out then you will not be obliged to refund the buyer's money, and if he still hasn't downloaded the eBay Returns Label fourteen days from the date of issue then eBay will not charge you for it, as the buyer did not use it to return the item in order to secure a refund.

Should the worst happen and the buyer escalates the case to eBay, despite failing to return the item to you, then eBay will more than likely decide the matter in the buyer's favour and refund the money in full, the end result being that your account would end up being hit with a defect and possibly even some negative feedback from the buyer.  If this does indeed happen then contact eBay Customer Services straightaway and appeal the defect, pointing out to the eBay representative that you stated quite clearly in the case details that you would refund the buyer in full if he returned the item to you using the eBay Returns Label provided.  If you can get through to an eBay representative with an ounce of sense then when they review the case details and see that you told the buyer that you would refund his money in full upon successful receipt of the item and they then spot that the buyer never downloaded the eBay Returns Label you should stand a very strong chance of being able to get the original decision overturned.  If this does indeed happen then the defect will be removed from your account, as well as any negative feedback that the buyer may have left for you.  The feedback-related defect would also be removed from your acocunt as well, not just the defect you picked up when eBay forced a refund when they shouldn't have done so.

Finally, whatever the final outcome of this case, if you have not already done so add the buyer's User ID to your Blocked Bidders List.  To access your Blocked Bidders List click on this link https://offer.ebay.co.uk/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?bidderblocklogin and a big white box will appear on the screen.  Add the buyer's User ID to that white box, click on the Submit button beneath it and once you have done that this buyer will never be able to purchase anything else that you decide to list for sale on eBay at any point in the future.

[fargvs]

Don't fall for their partial refund request ... attached labels are seen in the listing/s and unless they were planning on selling the trainers on again, the labels would have removed anyway ! ... Keep it simple and ask the buyer to return the trainers through an eBay case for a refund in full ... you will probably never hear from them again !.