posted on June 9, 2002 04:45:28 AM
Hello. I sold a collectible item on ebay on March 31. BUyer paid right away via PAYPAL and I sent the item right out. ON APril 8, I received an email from him stating he was not happy with the item. I wrote to him immediately and told me "we aim to please. please return item right away for a complete refund.". Never heard back from him. Actually, he bid on several more of our items and won two of them. We sent our standard email congratulating him on his winnings but didn't hear back on those either (this is a customer that bought a lot from us in the past and sometimes waits until a few items are won so they can all be shipped together... so I assumed that is what was happening here).
Yesterday, JUNE 8, I received an email from him stating that he would like the two items sent and he is returning the item from March 31. He would like the proceeds of his refund to go toward the two items he won and he wants the postage refunded and to send the balance back to him via PAYPAL!
posted on June 9, 2002 08:25:28 AM
if he has been buying from you and will buy more in the future.you could be candid with him and ask if he is reselling your items.
that could explain his wish to return after 2 months,cant sell it so why not recoup the investment and deploy it in new items.
after 2 months,condition of the item can change,you know what i mean??
posted on June 9, 2002 08:36:43 AM
Be careful with what you do here! He may have been a good customer in the past, but that doesn't mean he will be in the future.
If you just accomodate him without asking why he waited so long, he may decide that he can buy your stuff keep it a month or two and then bid on something else and "exchange" his previous wins. Kinda like giving a lifetime return policy. Buy it, use it and then exchange it for something else!
Personally, I would post a timeframe for return in my TOS and then again in my EOA.
I don't give them but 14days to return an item for a refund and I do not refund postage. I would if I had made a mistake or misrepresented the item, but I don't advertise that. I let the customer explain to me why they aren't pleased, then I ask them if I could have worded my ad any better and ask them what I should have said. Depending on their answer, I decide whether to refund the postage or not. I don't make enough profit off each item to just go throwing $$$$ around at the PO!
posted on June 9, 2002 10:03:58 AM
I would do the exchange to keep him as a customer. However, make sure you get the return BEFORE sending the other items. You do not want to get a broken item back or not at all. When you get the item back and it is OK, then send the other items out and send the refund with the items, not through PayPal. Postage is not your responsibility unless he is returning it because of misrepresentation. If he just didn't like the item, refund the purchase price less the items he bought and no refund on shipping.
Good luck.
posted on June 9, 2002 10:13:11 AM
If he is a good customer, then I would give a one time benefit of returning it late. I think that you should put in your TOS that returns must be made in a certain length of time. 2 months is far too long in my opinion.
posted on June 9, 2002 05:32:29 PM
I had a customer who won/received a glass basket from us 2-1/2 months prior ... they emailed us recently saying they just noticed, when holding the glass in a certain light, a defect in the glass they didn't notice till then, and wanted to know if we would let them return it for a full refund of their ending bid amount [70some bucks] ... i really was ticked off [because of the amount of time lapsed] BUT i refunded anyway because i'm always concerned that if we tick THEM off, they might 'mess with' our auctions somehow, now or in the future .... I often feel like we're held hostage by buyers requests ........ have any of you ever heard of disgruntled buyers who can totally ruin one's ebay business?
