- This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
I sold a watch AS IS no Refund on June 29. The buyer received the item on a Thursday and sent me this message
“Thank you for sending the watch I bought so quickly and well packed. i am very happy with everything about the watch except the crystal seems to be fogged and needs to be replaced. i am not an expert on watches but i do have many years of experience with them. the watch is in excellent condition seems to be only worn a very few times and that makes me very happy. i am going to take it to my favorite watch smith and have batteries put in it and get an quote for the crystal replacement and will contact you at that time – this weekend)”
I did not respond because the buyer never asked me a question.
Fast forward to yesterday. I received a return request with this message “i would like a partial refund – its very hard to tell the watch was fogged up in the photos . seller claimed excellent condition. cost $30 to have a jeweler dry it out and replace battery. requesting $20 refund”
Reason: Doesn’t match description or photos
Of course, I disagree with the reason, but it is neither here nor there. The buyer has essentially altered the item and the buyer initiated a return request. I feel like my hands are tied. I don’t think it would be wise at this point to attempt to negotiate on a partial refund (and let the buyer keep the watch) if indeed that is what the buyer really wants.
I’m a bit confused but I understand that I just need to accept the return. That is not a big deal for me even though the listing states no returns. It is a bit of a vicious circle when it comes to the INAD I think.
I talked to eBay and they said just send him the return label and call back if the item is returned and not in the original state and they would intervene.
I was reading the thread about the boombox and it almost sounds very similar to my case except the shipping is only about $12.
Sooooooooo, I know that was seriously a long story. How would you all handle this? Would you have accepted the return or attempted to negotiate? Keep in mind the buyer has fixed the watch……
-
-
I agree with you Jay on the $20, but I’m thinking that I could be opening up a molehill by even starting up a discussion with the buyer. I could be a bit paranoid about that. I haven’t done anything yet.
I’m really thinking that the buyer’s intention was to get me to pay for the repairs from the beginning even though the item says AS IS, because of the content from the first message.
Since I’m very new to selling on eBay and this is the first case I’ve had to handle, I’m attempting to think things through thoroughly before I act. If that makes sense. I realize I have to act within a certain time frame which I will do.
-
What would be the net loss if you just accept the return and then sell the watch again? If the customer actually has done repairs, as claimed, s/he’ll be out $30 and you’ll have a repaired watch to sell. Perhaps I’m missing something here, but a return is definitely not what the customer wants, IMHO. But they’ve opened a return, not a negotiation. Accept the return, no argument, no discussion. If the customer returns, sell it again. If the buyer doesn’t return it, as I suspect they won’t, close the case.
To me, this one is a case of “Don’t sweat the petty stuff and don’t pet the sweaty stuff!”
-
Do you believe that the watch did not have a foggy crystal as the customer claims? (I assume he means the glass case over the timepiece). Or was the issue described in the listing, either in the condition statement or the description?
If it is possible that the crystal was foggy and not completely disclosed, then I’d give him the $20.
If you meticulously inspected the watch and don’t believe that it had an issue, or if the issue was fully disclosed, then I’d go with Jay’s and Amatino’s suggestion unless you are concerned about getting negative feedback. You probably won’t be able to get feedback removed in this case because its the buyer’s opinion that the watch had an issue. You can respond to the feedback with an explanation as to why you don’t agree with it, but it will affect your feedback for a year.
-
Another factor to consider is how badly do you want to be rid of this watch (or not)? Will it sell again quickly for big money (especially now that it’s repaired)? If so, accept the return as Amatino suggests. Or has it been sitting around for a while with little interest and isn’t going to make you much money anyway? In that case, I would do the partial return just to be rid of it. BUT, if you do decide to do the partial return, I would call ebay first re: how to go about doing it, since the ebay website no longer provides the option of doing a partial return in response to a return request. Yes, you can do the partial return via paypal, but the ebay website may still continue to wait for you to accept the return, or, as it did to me yesterday, return the rest of the amount automatically “for you.”
-
Tough situation, especially if there are no photos that were provided by the buyer showing the problem that they had fixed.
I don’t think I would have ghosted on the first message, since they were planning to take action (and then did take action). That would have been the time to ask for photos to understand where the situation was.
Going forward, your call. Either refund the $20 and be done and move forward (my advice at this point), or contact them and say that you will honor the return and pay for return shipping. Downside here is that then they may ask to be reimbursed for the repair, then you have to argue more…slippery slope and you continue to have time and stress that $20 may fix.
-
I did know that the crystal was foggy. I attempted to put all flaws in the description, however, I did not state the crystal was foggy. I was not initially being deceptive I just left it out by mistake. However, the pictures are very, very, very clear and you can see that the crystal is foggy.
I did have a lot of interest and believe I can resale it. I decided to accept the return so we will see what the buyer will do.
I know that the situation seems cut and dry, but as a new seller sometimes I think too deeply into what is going on. I try not to sweat the small stuff, but sometimes I can’t help it. I just want the buyer to be happy and that doesn’t always happen.
I appreciate all your feedback. I also try to make sure that I put everything in the description, for my protection and this one slip through the cracks. It is definitely a learning experience.
I will update you all on the final outcome.
THANKS!
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.