refund of eBay charges on returns

[ceebee]

I sent out a small electrical item for £15.00 a few days ago and it has gone wrong. The customer is very understanding about it and elected to contact me through email rather than the returns process. Of course I have refunded her in full and asked her to dispose of the item. My question is-
a) Can I get a refund of eBay charges without getting a strike on my dashboard, and if so, how?
b) If it is too risky what would you advise I do about the item which now appears as "unpaid"?
Thank you for any response.

[aniseed]

After a refund, click to cancel the transaction selecting the option that buyer changed their mind. Nowadays it seems to cancel it straight away as you already gave them a refund. If you select any other reason such as out of stock you'll get a strike.

It still stays in unpaid so then just archive it. I'm not sure if they can still leave neg feedback after this.

[wired]

1 - Refund purchase in PayPal

2 - Unmark as Payment received in eBay (sometimes this is done automatically, but sometimes not)

3 - Cancel Item - Problem with buyers address or they want to cancel.

Automatically goes through with no defect.

[jjscruff]

you have to refund them the original postage too :/

[richie2065]

Good thread guys.. until now I have just been taking the hit with the ebay fees on returns!

[blueuk]

Originally Posted by jjscruff

you have to refund them the original postage too :/

And why shouldn't you if there is a problem with an item??

[wired]

Originally Posted by jjscruff

you have to refund them the original postage too :/

Yes thats the law if the item is returned.

Not neccessary if not returned, however you cannot cancel a transaction without a full refund inc postage, so ends up being ebay fees or postage hit. Take the postage hit and get a good feedback.

[oompaloompa]

havent had many of these but last time I did it ,it used to say when you press that cancellation button, that they would tell buyer you wish to cancel and they would be automatically refunded via paypal. But it does not mention the refund anymore, so unsure if you need to do it manually. I would always refund after, as opposed to before cancellation request anyway....

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by jjscruff

you have to refund them the original postage too :/

100% refunds must be give. Cost of items and cost of postage and packaging.

That is UK law.

[ceebee]

I agree, full refund including postage if there is a fault. However, I got a message from a buyer over the weekend saying " I have just received the package but I have been bought one as a present, the package hasn't been opened so can I return it for a refund". In this case I replied that they can, but I will not refund my postage costs and will deduct a percentage for handling. I also suggested that they may prefer to sell it on eBay themselves! Not heard anything more from them.

[rsot]

Agree with post #3 by wired - simple and keeps ppl happy.

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by ceebee

I agree, full refund including postage if there is a fault. However, I got a message from a buyer over the weekend saying " I have just received the package but I have been bought one as a present, the package hasn't been opened so can I return it for a refund". In this case I replied that they can, but I will not refund my postage costs and will deduct a percentage for handling. I also suggested that they may prefer to sell it on eBay themselves! Not heard anything more from them.

That is not how distant selling laws work in the UK.

You will need to give them a full refund including postage costs.

[Efftech]

Refund them and cancel the transaction saying they have changed their mind.
Make sure you select the reason or above or a reason that's not your fault or you will get a defect on your seller dashboard (i.e. running out of stock is YOUR fault, according to eBay you're disappointing POTENTIAL buyers by taking items off the site)

[wired]

Originally Posted by ceebee

I agree, full refund including postage if there is a fault. However, I got a message from a buyer over the weekend saying " I have just received the package but I have been bought one as a present, the package hasn't been opened so can I return it for a refund". In this case I replied that they can, but I will not refund my postage costs and will deduct a percentage for handling. I also suggested that they may prefer to sell it on eBay themselves! Not heard anything more from them.

You can get in to trouble for doing that if you are business seller.

UK law denotes you have to receive ALL the money they paid back. Its a real stickler, I hate it, but it is what it is, just have to swallow it.

If they report that to eBay, you will get in trouble. Is it worth it?

[ceebee]

Originally Posted by wired

1 - Refund purchase in PayPal

2 - Unmark as Payment received in eBay (sometimes this is done automatically, but sometimes not)

3 - Cancel Item - Problem with buyers address or they want to cancel.

Automatically goes through with no defect.

Just done exactly how you suggested- couldn't believe how simple it was

[wired]

Originally Posted by ceebee

Just done exactly how you suggested- couldn't believe how simple it was

I'm good like that