posted on September 21, 2001 09:10:53 PM new
I need some advice on my auction that sold, and was delivered.
The items were a 1998, tootsie toy cap guns, sealed in the package.
When received the buyer said, 1 gun does not close when you go to shoot
and the other gun does not load, the 3rd gun is all right, but for how long?
She wants to send them back to me and have a refund.
So now if she sends them back they are not sealed and unused as when
I sold them, Am I responsible for returning her money on items that
were new in the package, plus now when I get them back what am I going to do
except to dump them.
I am asking for some advice on what is the right thing for me to do in this
situation. Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give me.
posted on September 21, 2001 09:17:49 PM new
Sealed in package is not your responsibility. Tell the buyer to ask the manufacturer for a refund. You cannot possibly be responsible for factory fresh defective merchandise.
posted on September 21, 2001 10:32:14 PM new
Any serious businessperson who cares about customer service would give a refund.
If you don't care about maintaining a reputation for customer service, then by all means tell the buyer to complain to the manufacturer. The manufacturer would simply tell the buyer to take it back where she bought it for a refund.
posted on September 22, 2001 12:54:38 AM new
Is she paying return shipping? Will your refund include her original shipping cost?
You can always take shelter behind the manufacturer or your own terms (you did say all sales final, right?).
But when you've figured out what it'll actually cost you to take these things back, ask yourself: Is that dollar amount worth the nasty negative comments this buyer will surely give me, and can I make a good defense for myself when I reply to these negatives in my feedback?
Minor edits...
[ edited by icyu on Sep 22, 2001 12:57 AM ]
posted on September 22, 2001 01:58:09 AM new
First of all, think of the whole business of selling as a chain. I buy goods from my supplier to sell on ebay. I sell these goods
to an individual and something goes wrong when the item is delivered--it turns out to be defective. The buyer on ebay writes me a letter and says they were defective. I refund the money. I take the item back and contact my distributor/supplier and tell them of the situation. If they are a reputable business and care about the customer (me), they will
exchange the item or refund my money.
Think about this, if you buy a Sony Playstation from amazon.com and the item is defective, would you expect Amazon to refund your money or
give you the address and phone # of Sony and say "Work it out with them. It's not our problem." Imagine if K-Mart and Wal-Mart
B&M stores started this policy.
Honest Customer comes in: "Hi, I bought this item for my girlfriend for her birthday. It was new but when she opened it, it was defective. Can I have an exchange?
Wal-Mart Employee: "Unfortunately,
you bought this item NEW and will have to contact the Manufacturer regarding this issue. I can't help you."
I had a real-life situation which was identical to the situation you described.
I sold an item as brand new, still sealed.
Buyer wrote me and said the item was defective. I was dumb and refunded the bid price AND Shipping and RETURN Shipping
before he sent the item. I did trust him.
But, now, I would wait until I had received the merchandise. Anyway, I got the item back
and immediately sent the item back to my original supplier. The supplier sent me
a new item in return....I put it back on ebay and got around twice as much money as I had for the original sale. However, the best part of the experience was the feedback the original buyer left me:
Look, I know that many of us are not as big as retail stores. But, this is definately a
time to refund. There are always costs to doing business. The odds are higher for a used item to be defective then for a NEW item. But, sometimes NEW items are defective. That will always be a possibility.
My buyer was nice because hew knew as did I that I didn't do this on purpose. It was still sealed. However, it was still my responsibility.
Your buyer simply tried to use an item as it was intended to be used, and it didn't work.
REFUND.
Exceptions to this rule would be if you were
selling a Collector's item and stated that it was not intended for use, like LAWN DARTS
or vintage coke bottles from 1954 or candy
jars from 1968. If someone chips a tooth
while eating this candy which, after 30 years is rock hard, I would not feel obligated to refund or pay for dental expenses. If someone else complains that
their 40+ year old bottle of COKE is flat and
tastes like s**t, I wouldn't refund.
You can do what yu choose, however I wouldn't think about this very long before I would refund. Remember: Good Customer Service can go a long way.
posted on September 22, 2001 06:08:16 AM new
Thank You everyone for helping me.
After reading the comments I have decided to offer her a full refund
on the Guns, but I don't feel I should refund her shipping costs, that
is part of her doing business,
Just like Walmart will refund your purchase price, but will they pay your
gas for driving to there store?
I feel also that I will let her keep the guns and do as she wants with them
I am not interested in trying to resell them so why take them back.
Many Thanks for those that took the time to respond.
posted on September 22, 2001 06:13:48 AM new
Excellent solution. If she is an honest customer, you'll get valuable feedback and a good chance of repeat business and new business from here friends.
I hope you written something in your terms about shipping not being refundable....
posted on September 22, 2001 06:37:18 AM new
Goodmorning,
I write a letter saying I am refunding bid price, and in less then 1 min.
I receive an email saying to me.
My son taped one of them up to get it working. If you are a Christian I ask that you please say a prayer for our country and donate the money to a good cause !
Peace be with you and God bless your family !
posted on September 22, 2001 12:23:04 PM new
I have to agree that I think you made the right
choice. Refunding shipping in my mind is
optional so again I think you made the right
choice. I have returned items to mail order/online companies on occasion in the past.
Some pay for shipping. Some don't. Most buyers are probably happy to get money back at all because there are always those sellers who
take the money and run. You should feel very happy about her response.
Good Seller + Good Bidder=if everything was like this, we wouldn't have nearly as many
issues (FRAUD in particular) to discuss.
posted on September 22, 2001 01:21:27 PM new
If I were in your shoes I would give a full refund. It is unfournate and not your fault but this eliminates the chance a NEG feedback. You will make up for it with an unexpected treasure at your next garge sale venture!
