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Abuse of buyer protection - how can you defend yourself as a private seller?
Summary: bellelisa03 reports problems with a return on a sales platform, even though the seller terms exclude this. The buyer demanded the return on the grounds that the item was not as described because she had overlooked the color specification. Participants such as petersmodellbahnstuebchen and perfect-sally explain that if decisions go against the seller, all costs, including return shipping, must be refunded. They discuss that buyer protection often comes at the sellers’ expense and that appeals are often submitted too late. bellelisa03 is frustrated by what is perceived as unfair treatment.
Misuse of buyer protection. As a private seller, I sold an item with the exclusion of any warranty or returns. The buyer demanded a return on the grounds that the item was not as described/pictured. She complained about the lack of a color specification. I had clearly and explicitly noted the color of the item in the item details. The buyer admitted that she had only read the item description and not the item details. I was now, despite being in the right, forced to accept the return. I have received the item back and have now been instructed by eBay to issue the refund. I wanted to deduct the shipping costs from the refund amount, but that is not possible as a private seller. Does anyone have an idea or can help from experience? How do I at least get the shipping costs back? I would really appreciate feedback, because eBay itself mainly helps the buyers, and sellers have very bad odds when buyers abuse the system.
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Mentor3 weeks agoHi @bellelisa03
so who paid for the return shipping then?
If the case "item not as described" was decided in favor of the buyer, the seller has to refund the purchase price and the original shipping costs.
Best wishes from the Baltic Sea
Peter
bellelisa03
OP3 weeks agoHello Peter, thank you so much for your reply. The buyer paid the shipping costs and I bought the shipping label through eBay, i.e.: I am now supposed to release the total amount, so the item price + shipping costs, for a refund. But eBay is charging me for the shipping label I bought. So I would end up being stuck with the costs, even though I did everything right and the buyer abused buyer protection and violated eBay's policies. I’m not willing to accept that.
perfect-sally
Mentor3 weeks agoVery simple: if a decision was made against you, then it’s already too late anyway, and if you didn’t refund voluntarily, you’ll get a defect added to your account on top of that.
With complaints, you can’t deduct anything and have to refund everything in full, plus of course pay for the return shipping as well.
bellelisa03
OP3 weeks agoThank you very much for the answer. However, I’m wondering: where exactly is the seller protection described by eBay in the case of unjustified return requests?
perfect-sally
Mentor3 weeks agoUnfortunately, when it comes to buyer protection, you usually get the short end of the stick.
A complaint or objection can also unfortunately only ever be filed afterward, when it's already too late and the matter on eBay has already been settled.
bellelisa03
OP3 weeks agoYes, that's probably how it is. But you can't always just accept everything. In any case, I'll keep at it and will also point out to eBay that eBay itself is violating its own principles by disregarding seller protection! Thanks a lot for the replies!
voli-maus
Mentor3 weeks agoHello @bellelisa03 ,
if the buyer complains, then you also pay the return shipping, @bellelisa03
bellelisa03
OP3 weeks agoBuyer protection above all? Even when the buyer violates eBay policies?
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Mentor3 weeks agoHi @bellelisa03
without knowing the item, none of us users can really judge whether you even have a chance of challenging eBay's decision.
By the way, my question wasn't about the original shipping label, but about the return shipping label. Did you provide the label to the buyer, or did she buy it herself?
Best wishes from the Baltic Sea
Peter
bellelisa03
OP3 weeks agoHonestly, I don't know whether the return label she bought for me will also be charged to me by eBay. I wouldn't be surprised.
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Mentor3 weeks agoHi @bellelisa03
if the return label used by the buyer was purchased by her herself, it certainly won’t be charged to you anymore.
Kind regards from the Baltic Sea
Peter
bellelisa03
OP3 weeks agoGreat! Best regards to the Baltic Sea