Who pays return postage

[luciejt12]

Hi - wondered if you can help me - I am private seller been here 15 years plus .... someone has bought a throw - on the listing there wasn't any measurement she emailed me privately and I gave the approx measurements they are out by a couple of inches she wants to return as I think she has changed her mind - why do I have to pay the postage ? 

[pixiesen2012]

you misdescribed the item

a couple of inches can make a lot of difference to whether an item can be used for the purpose intended or not

if they open a not as described case you will have to pay the return postage costs

[tsmgmd]

The item is not as described by you and it's simply a case of the buyer using the eBay Money Back Guarantee.

You issue the label, the buyer returns the purchase, you refund in full.

[m25jet]

If the buyer has opened a case in the eBay Resolution Centre then if she's asking to return the item for a refund purely because of a change of mind then you don't have to pay the return postage - she does.  If, on the other hand, the seller opened an Item Not As Described case then you will have to issue her with an eBay Returns Label if you want the item back again, and if the buyer downloads the label and uses it to return the item to you then you'll have to pay for the label.  However, don't refund the money unless you get the item back again - if the buyer doesn't download the label fourteen days from the date that you issued it then the label will expire and eBay will more than likely conclude that the buyer changed her mind and decided to keep the item, especially given that she didn't return the item to you first in order to secure a refund if that is what you asked her to do via the case opened in the eBay Resolution Centre.  You will only have to pay for the label if the buyer actually downloads it - if she lets it expire then you will not be charged for the label.  If an eBay Returns Label is issued for any reason then eBay always charge the seller for the label if it is used by the buyer - it's just one of their many policies that puts sellers at a disadvantage from a financial perspective, as in the vast majority of cases the seller has to reimburse the full purchase price and pay for the return postage to get the item back again if they want it to be sent back prior to issuing a refund.  The only exception to this is in cases whereby the item either doesn't qualify for an eBay Returns Label, or if the buyer takes it upon herself to post the item back to the seller without using an eBay Returns Label.

Should the buyer return the item to you then issue the refund via the eBay case, as that way the case will automatically close as soon as the refund has been issued and the customer has her money back.  If you issue the refund that way then your eBay account will not be hit with a defect; however, in the event that you refund the money outside the case via PayPal you'll be hit with a refund-related defect.

If you decide that you don't want to have to do business with this buyer in the future then add her 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 add the buyer's User ID to the big white box that appears on the screen.  Once you have done that click on the Submit button beneath the white box and the buyer in question will not be able to purchase anything else that you advertise for sale on eBay in the future.