ebay... it’s happened again :(

[pumaz]

I’ve not sold anything for a while on eBay and the last time I did the buyer wanted to return an item before he even received it! Long story short I was left around £30 out of pocket as eBay never refunded fees

Fast forward to the present, I’ve just upgraded my computer and looking what people were paying for for stuff on MM I decided to take advantage of the “Max £2 seller fees” and put my i7 4970K CPU on a BIN for £160 inc P&P with no returns (hoping for £150 after fees and postage). It sold within a day and I posted it earlier today via 1st Class signed for pickup at Argos collection point (address given through eBay/PayPal)

a couple of hours ago I get the following message

“Hi, sorry to say but we just figured out that we do not have the correct motherboard for this cpu. We would like to get a refund please. Sorry about the inconvenience.
Thank you.”

Can someone tell me the best way to proceed with this and not lose money or CPU, I’ve not contacted buyer or eBay yet and its already cost me £10 in PayPal fees and postage

Thanks

 

[pumaz]

Thanks guys, but I was under the impression that buyers can do a chargeback for whatever reason and saying I don’t except returns makes no difference

 

[pumaz]

Thanks Scania, don’t know why I put except instead of accept doh!

So how does this sound as a response.

“Sorry but as clearly stated in my advert I don’t accept returns and have already posted your CPU, it might be best to either sell it on or buy a suitable motherboard”

 

[pumaz]

Make sure you have transferred the money out of PayPal and unlink any cards/accounts after it has hit your account. Worst case scenario your PayPal account goes negative, which you can just ignore (and never use PayPal again).

I have withdrawn the money out of my PayPal but not removed my cards, i actually find PayPal useful, surely they can't just withdraw out of my bank account without my permission?

 

[pumaz]

Received another message from buyer saying He wants refunding and messaged me 30 mins before I marked as dispatched around 5pm. I posted the cpu at 2:35pm and included a photo of the receipt in my reply below.

“Sorry but as clearly stated in my advert I don’t accept returns and have already posted your CPU at 14:35. it might be best to either sell it on or buy a suitable motherboard. I've already been charged paypal fees and paid postage. I described the cpu clearly and can't understand why you didn't realise till now that your motherboard isn't suitable. Honestly the quickest way to get your money would be to put it back on ebay as a bought in error”

 

[pumaz]

Well this is a fine pickle I’ve got myself into!

Not heard back from buyer since my reply, I sent the CPU to a Argos/Sainsbury’s collection point which I guess further confuses the issue of buyer rejecting and cpu being returned to me? It was sent via Royal Mail 1st class signed for, and yeah I know it’s only insured for up to £50 but I figured I just need proof of it being received.

So assuming I get a message back saying “I want a refund” what will be my best move as in least costly and stressful?

 

[pumaz]

Ok just got this message

"Hi, as I said to you I brought this item for my son and I didn't realise that was a wrong one until I spoke to him. So I'm going to wait for the item and then open a case on ebay and return it. I'm sure I'll have the money back guaranteed. Sorry about this."

Just to give a little background to buyers "son" comment. Buyer sent me a message the day before asking if there was any thermal paste as he was buying it for his son.

I've come to terms with the fact I'm going to have to refund, am i best to tell buyer to just reject it and how long will it take to come back to me?

 

[pumaz]

No because chances are your just get a delivery guy that gives it to a neighbor as proof of delivery.

Just ask him to return it. You have to eat postage costs but ebay and paypal will refund any fees.

And dont BIN on items like this. As youv seen you get idiots just clicking without research. Also I never post ebay items next day, click that youv posted it in ebay but actually always wait 24 hours before then posting.

Thank you, sounds like wise words I use BIN to cut out none paying bidders of which I used to get a lot of.

This might be a dumb question, so I say to the buyer “please return via 1st class signed for and I’ll refund you when it arrives” so does the refund happen automatically through eBay?

been ages since I’ve used and had to deal with this sort of issue

 

[pumaz]

I figure I’m going to be at leat the postage (£4.50) down and perhaps PayPal fees as well, not sure about the £2 max selling fee.

I’ve read through the eBay help section and what MassiveJim says is right, but then I’d be trusting the buyer to not say it doesn’t work or similar so it would be a bit of a gamble. At this stage I want the to be done with it and messaged the buyer with the following.

“Hi, I am sorry you bought the wrong item for your son, but please understand this is not my fault either, I’m a private seller trying to cut down on how much time and money I’m going to lose. If you send me the CPU back via 1st Class Signed for without opening the box I’ll issue you a refund as soon as I receive it.”

 

[pumaz]

Trouble is I can’t ask him to send it back special deliver when I’ve sent it 1st Class would seem a bit odd!

I can see this whole sending it 1st class instead of special deliver as stirred a bit of a hornets nest! But I’ve sent and received many high value goods from here, eBay and online sellers using the same without issue. Thought it was the norm.

 

[pumaz]

Just got the following message through

"Good morning, the CPU has just arrived at argos. I would like to help pay the costs for delivery and Ebay costs by only taking a refund of £140. I will send it back via post office as you requested using first class.
Thank you"

I think the buyer is being pretty good here so regarding refund, do i have the option in ebay to refund him £140 or will it just refund him automatically the amount he paid £160? I would only take what I'd lose btw.

 

[pumaz]

That sounds a pretty genuine mistake and they sound genuine. Get him to send the CPU back. Check serial numbers (you did save these didn't you with photos?).

Absolutely, took close up photos

 

[pumaz]

Well unless it cost you a fortune to post why are you only refunding £140? You should only subtract your postage costs.

Did you not read before responding? He offered to refund £140 and I said “I would only take what I’d lose btw”

 

[pumaz]

Update

Buyer as messaged me to say he will be returning it Monday via 1st Class Signed for as requested and as also started a returns request with eBay stating reason for return as “doesn’t fit”

should I accept return now or wait till I get cpu back, I think the buyer is being genuine but also aware there are scammers out there!

 

[pumaz]

Wait till you get the CPU back. Don't do anything until you receive it. You have proof that it was delivered so leave it at that until you know 100% it's the CPU you sent.

Thanks

 

[pumaz]

I can’t believe it, just had the following message from eBay about the motherboard I sold which was working perfectly fine. The buyer of this has not contacted me at all.

“
Hello Mark,

mart1_1 let us know that something is wrong with MSI Z97 Gaming AC Min ITX - LGA 1150 i3 i5 i7 Motherboard. As a result, they requested to return the item for a refund.”

“Hi, this motherboard seems to be faulty. It starts only once, then won t boot again when PC restarted.”

I honestly can’t believe my luck, I’m tempted to not post the graphics card and memory that have also been bought and due for posting tomorrow. Could really do with some good advice now. CPU will be back with me tomorrow, don’t what or if I can do anything about the motherboard and I’m worried about send the other stuff

 

[pumaz]

No more selling on eBay from now on, I take it I’m going to have to accept the return on the motherboard? God know what I’m gonna get back, the buyer has a high feedback rating but as made his actual feedback private.

Shall I just refund the Video card and memory, rather than risk posting it out?

 

[pumaz]

Is the CPU they are trying to use supported by the bios on the motherboard?

If you delay posting the other parts could you use them to test the cpu and mobo when they come back?

I have no idea, the buyer of the motherboard hasn't communicated with me at all he went straight through ebay returns!

I've made my mind up to cancel and refund the GPU and memory, once i get the CPU and motherboard back i will test it all.

 

[pumaz]

Trouble is i have a seriously large amount of stuff I've been meaning to sell for quite some time (mostly retro consoles and computers) but now ebay is a no go i can't see a viable alternative. Was a lot easier back in the old days when you just placed an add in the local paper or admag!

 

[pumaz]

I've used MM quite a lot in the past and never had a problem, trouble is it's a relatively small market and as already highlighted nobody wants to pay anything. One of the common things i see happen is somebody will sell something at an almost giveaway price and then everyone quotes that as the new going price.