Should I do a partial refund?

[r.w988]

I have just sold a purse to someone which I described as being brown. The buyer is claiming that it is oxblood (which I think it technically could be) but I don't think my description is wrong from looking at the original website. They have requested a partial refund but I think it is clear from the photos that it was the darker colour. What should I do?

[rusticrye]

You can either work out a partial refund that's acceptable to both of you, or you can tell her to open a return request and to return for a full refund. If she opens one for not as described, the return cost will be yours, of course.

I personally would offer return for refund only, as I don't see how a partial refund could make the colour any more acceptable. She's clearly happy to use it, isn't she, or she'd have requested a return.  But the choice is yours. No-one can make that decision for you.

@r.w988 

[m25jet]

Although an item can be described by any seller as being a certain colour, what you see on the computer screen does not necessarily result in an exact match for the actual colour of the item when seen in the flesh, as the variations in the contrast and colour settings of any individual's computer can make colours appear different to how they would appear in real life.  Therefore, even though the advert was not listed with any intention to mislead potential buyers, if the buyer did indeed have the settings on his computer set up in such a way that the image didn't show a spot-on colour match then I suppose it would increase the possibility that the buyer may be disappointed with the actual outcome.  I can remember ordering a shirt on eBay quite a few years ago now - the photos looked good, but when I received the shirt it didn't look to be the same shade as shown in the photos.  However, in my case I thought that the item I received looked better than it had in the photos so I decided to keep it, regardless of the fact that the images in the advert had made it look a slightly different shade.

With regards to the sale of the purse I'd suggest sending the buyer one of two responses.  If you think that the buyer is just trying it on in order to get a further discount on the price paid for the item then send a reply along the lines of "I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the item.  Please return the item in exactly the same condition that it was in when you received it and I will issue you with a full refund, inclusive of the postage costs."  You then issue a pre-paid returns label for the buyer to use and await the return of the item.  If the buyer returns the item then refund the money via eBay, citing "The Buyer And I Have Agreed To Cancel This Transaction" as the reason why.  If you refund the money via eBay then you will not receive a refund-related defect on your selling account, whereas if you were to issue a refund via PayPal then your account would end up being hit with a refund-related defect.  If, however, the buyer refuses to return the item then just treat it as a case of "No return, no refund."  eBay will be able to tell whether or not the returns label has been used, so if the buyer doesn't use it then it will eventually expire, in which case you will not be charged for issuing the returns label.

In the event that you feel that this buyer is being honest with you and is not trying to screw you over for an undeserved discount then you could offer to partially refund a certain amount of the purchase price.  Should you decide to do this offer the buyer a discount of an amount that you feel is acceptable to you.  If the buyer agrees to this then issue the buyer with a partial refund, again via eBay, for the amount that you and the buyer have agreed upon.

At the end of the day the final decision as to what to do is yours, so ask yourself whether you feel that the buyer is being honest with you or is just trying to pull a fast one in order to get a further discount on the purchase price, and trust your instincts.  If you feel that the buyer is likely to become troublesome then add the buyer's  User ID to your Blocked Bidders List.  That way it will not be possible for the buyer to purchase anything else from you in the future and cause you any further problems.