Re: new ebay agreement, seller pays return postage...
My returns policy already reflects this. Basically, if the return is my fault, I will pay the return shipping at no more than the first class mail rate (otherwise some idiots will try to use Express Mail, Registered, Certified, Return Receipt Requested and expect to be reimbursed for it). If the return is the buyers fault (buyer remorse, ordered the wrong one, etc.) then THEY have to pay for the return.
I have had this in place for 3 years. I have very few returns and most of the ones that I have are honest returns. I can either see where I made a mistake, or the buyer asks to return it because they decided they didn't want it after all.
Only once in three years have I had a bad experience. One lady thought she would return the item as I laid out above - Express Mail, Certified, Return receipt requested. She was extremely upset when I told her I would only reimburse her at the first class postage rate and she complained to eBay. I told the eBay rep that using such an expensive method for a return was unreasonable and held my ground. eBay sided with me and I won the case. I blocked her, of course. A few months later, I noticed that she was no longer a registered user when eBay removed her negative feedback.
The bottom line is, while these cases CAN be annoying, most buyers are not looking to scam people. In some cases, when the item value was low, I told the buyer not to bother to send the item (they were claiming it was damaged in transit and they had HUGE feedback, so I'm sure it probably was) and have had no problems there, either.
My return rate is well under one half of one percent. If you sell items that are prone to returns, like clothing, counterfeits, refurbished stuff, etc. then I would be worried about the new policy. Otherwise, I wouldn't sweat it.
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