How to deal with return?

[dandandandan]

I recently sold a mobile phone (unlocked and refurbished, with a slight blemish) on eBay, making sure to describe the item properly.

Anyway, the buyer has (very politely) asked if she can return it for a refund since she can't get a signal on her network and she's been trying for almost a week to get one.

She has 135 feedbacks, all positive (but all as a buyer, so it doesn't really mean anything).

So is there anything I should do to protect myself here? I think she's probably genuine, and I don't mind refunding her if that's the case, but I recently had a run-in with a partial refund scammer and discovered that PayPal always side with the buyer, regardless of the facts.

So what should I do?

[whatnow]

did your advert except returns?

[pod]

Originally Posted by dandandandan

discovered that PayPal always side with the buyer, regardless of the facts.

So what should I do?

You answered your own question. Its eBay and PayPal so may as well get it returned. You cant stop a buyer who wants a return. Get it back and resell.

Originally Posted by whatnow

did your advert except returns?

Thats meaningless. I never understand how people think they can sell on eBay and not take returns. No such thing. If a buyer wants a return and a refund they get one. Saying they cant doesn't stop them....

[rsot]

A polite buyer with 135 feedbacks - some trust on eBay. When in doubt, pull the registration info and call. I do this - people do this to me too. I like live convo - as long as seller isn't scamming you also build trust and encourage him/her/it/they to return for other potential business.

I had someone buy a collectible from 3 months ago for 500 or so - she e-mailed me saying that it was not what she had wanted and asked for refund. I politely accepted and said that I would like to speak with her first - accepted, spoke for 30 min. Long story short, she kept the item, bought some other things from me and e-mails me regularly looking for things. Very pleasant and polite.

[forummember]

You have to accept the return. You can resell it? Always make the buyer feel like they are in control. Don't jepodise your account for a refund.

[dandandandan]

Thanks for the replies everyone. She seems trustworthy enough, but I suppose I'm just a bit on edge because of my run-in with the scammer, and I was certain that it worked when I sent it out.

I suppose we'll see when it gets here...