eBay advice for returned item

ICDP · 31 Oct 2021 at 11:11

I sold anitem on eBay and the seller asked for a refund which I accpeted. Frankly the buyer is being unreasonable and I am happy to issue a refund and take the hit on the returns postage.

I am intending to check the parcel contents before accepting delivery and taking a video of me opening the parcel. If it is not what I sent should I reject, or simply accept and open an eBay dispute?

I believe eBay simply do a refund when delivery is attempted, rather than accepted (for obvious reasons). I also know eBay tend to side with the buyer but if I have a video of me opening the parcel with the postman there, surely it should be enough evidence for me to win a dispute?

Hoping it doesn't come to this and to be fair any time I did a return I did get my item back. Just wondering if rejecting delivery under the above circumstances would be a bad idea under eBay rules.

Diddums · 31 Oct 2021 at 11:12

Get the parcel back first and go from there. If it's iffy, ask ebay.

Kanpai · 31 Oct 2021 at 11:23

How does one get to check contents before accepting?

I would just record from receipt of parcel of postman/courier and record the whole unboxing and inspection.

darael · 31 Oct 2021 at 11:30

I would imagine that you would need to accept the parcel before your postie allows you to open it.

200sols · 31 Oct 2021 at 11:32

Ebay will refund him whatever and you wont be able to do a thing about it. Videos of you opening etc are useless, you could be opening anything.

ICDP · 31 Oct 2021 at 11:50

Hence why I said I would do it with the postman there. I think accepting the parcel and asking the postman to be a witness is possible as the postman is a friendly sort who we have known for years. I sort of already thought rejecting was a bad idea as the tracking would show delivery attempted.

So accept the parcel
Open the parcel with the postman there as a witness
If it is not what it is meant to be I will take the parcel and open a dispute, using the video evidence if required.

I know eBay almost always side with the buyer but there are exceptions as long as you have documented evidence.

dlockers · 31 Oct 2021 at 11:58

What item is it? If it's a rare trading card you are s.o.o.l anyway.

Minstadave · 31 Oct 2021 at 12:00

200sols said:
Ebay will refund him whatever and you wont be able to do a thing about it. Videos of you opening etc are useless, you could be opening anything.

This tbh.

ANDARIAL · 31 Oct 2021 at 12:17

If he does scam you name and shame him on here so others are aware of his name

nine_tails · 31 Oct 2021 at 12:52

Good luck OP , ebay is nightmare.

Baldbloke · 31 Oct 2021 at 15:43

Hope it works out ok for you.
Ebay does tend to favour buyers.

Just today I cancelled a transaction for a buyer who paid for an item. In excess of £500.
The buyer had zero feedback and had just joined Ebay 24 hours prior to making this, their first ever purchase.
Ok, my ebay account confirmed payment but the buyer sent me messages via ebay urging me to commit to deliver quickly.
Fair enough. We all want delivery quickly but in my experience potential scammers tend to urge rapid delivery and short timescales.
I was suspicious that the buyer might instigate a return with a box full of dubious contents.

pastymuncher · 31 Oct 2021 at 20:32

Good luck getting the postie to hang around while you open it. Our postie drops it on the step, rings the bell and is nowhere to be seen by the time we open the door.

Uther · 31 Oct 2021 at 21:06

Your postie's not going to stand there while you open it.

The_Arbiter · 31 Oct 2021 at 21:15

I've given up selling on there now for items that i care about. I don't think you'll have any recourse once it's been received. I'm not sure how it works now it's all ebay and not paypal now however, but i doubt if he's out to scam you you'll be able to do anything about it sadly.

Zefan · 31 Oct 2021 at 22:23

200sols said:
Ebay will refund him whatever and you wont be able to do a thing about it. Videos of you opening etc are useless, you could be opening anything.

After having quite a bit of good experience with ebay (selling) unfortunately this is reflective of my recent experience. I sold an older xbox controller, great condition, no issues. On receipt the buyer asks me where the headset jack is... This version didn't have it (too early a model). Then the "well LB is stiff anyway, think I wouldn't notice joker" comes out. I accepted the return thinking maybe it is a bit stiff... I'm sure I tested it... It arrives fully working but scratched/knocked up, and there's no way of pursuing any sort of case on eBay. The only actions available were to refund the buyer even though I'd selected that there were issues and detailed them well. I've been quite adamant that ebay tend to refund both parties if this sort of thing happens (it's what happened to me in the past) but not this time. I think their policy has changed a lot.

GIBURROWS · 1 Nov 2021 at 00:03

Put the whole thing on YouTube and other social media to give eBay a bit of bad publicity.

What's the item?

Haze · 1 Nov 2021 at 04:16

200sols said:
Ebay will refund him whatever and you wont be able to do a thing about it. Videos of you opening etc are useless, you could be opening anything.

This.... OP does not understand how Ebay works

Scort · 1 Nov 2021 at 16:40

200sols said:
Ebay will refund him whatever and you wont be able to do a thing about it. Videos of you opening etc are useless, you could be opening anything.

Pretty much this OP - having had an experience with a buyer in the past, who damaged an item, then sent it back claiming it arrived broken (impossible due to the monumental packing it had); I literally had no counter-claim via eBay and had to just take the hit.

Think there's a channel on YT where a larger seller of different things, decided to 'test' the customer services of eBay - they sold a [new] car headlight, which they got great feedback on, only to get a claim through some weeks later - after the buyer had it fitted by a garage who managed to damage it leading to water getting into the light. The sellers had loads of photos of the item before it shipped, and you would have assumed that good feedback = a done deal sale, but alas, they were told they would either have to give 50% of the sale back, or allow a return and full refund!

It’s a shame that eBay is so slanted against the seller, or so it seems – and that they have such a dominance on the market, but I guess the flip-side is that you’re not always going to hit these snags. We’ve sold quite a few antiques and collectors items on eBay over the last 3-4 years, and there’s only been maybe 2 or 3 sales that went south.

GIBURROWS · 1 Nov 2021 at 16:49

If it does go **** up you still have their address so having fun with that in my experience is worth more than any money I've been scammed out of.

DeliciousStorage · 1 Nov 2021 at 17:06

GIBURROWS said:
If it does go **** up you still have their address so having fun with that in my experience is worth more than any money I've been scammed out of.

Any examples of "having fun with that"?