eBay buyers with overly high expectations

General
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I’ve only had one item returned that had a restocking fee attached and that was a NES Classic I had sold and was returned right after Christmas. So I charged the restocking fee of 15% which the buyer was OK with given the circumstances.

I haven’t had anyone that had purchased a card return it since I added my little disclaimer. I also haven’t had any SNAD cases opened so far. Granted that only covers about 100 auctions so it’s a pretty small sample.

For restocking they give you the option to choose 10, 15 or 20%. Just make sure you activate it on all listings that you will accept returns on.

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I assume you mean seller each time you said ‘buyer’?

Regarding keeping the item if you don’t get money for shipping…rubs me the wrong way. If you keep the item send her back the refunded money. Better yet, don’t hassle it. Simply list the item and hope you get close to what you paid. After all, this isn’t Amazon where you’re dealing with large company’s. This is assuming you didn’t receive the wrong item like a base Blastoise instead of the Charizard. Now if the seller "intentionally deceived you then that would be a whole new ballgame.
Maybe I’m too chill about all this but life is short and time is precious for both the buyers and sellers.

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Oh yea, seller XD and well let me clarify it a little. In cases such as when I get creased up cards when they’re listed as “new” and when I send a message to the seller about it, I get a rude response back and be accused as a liar…hell No I ain’t taking the time and spending my own money to send it back. Majority of the time when the seller is polite and professional, I do try and work out some way to return it given that they didn’t pay the return shipping already. Lol I do try and see it from the sellers perspective since I too am a seller.

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Oh yes, if they act like that I sic Pokesyn on them :wink:

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That’s so unrealistic. The only way I would expect that is to buy a sealed Japanese card and even then that’s not guaranteed. I feel like people do that to take advantage of sellers and that’s a Poke-No-No (see what I did there :wink: ).

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@garyis2000 There are enough eBay/PayPal “horror” stories out there if you look, where people claim this. I tend to be like you, in the sense that I usally will just try to resell the card instead of returning it if it isn’t on par with what the listing described (except in extreme cases). So, I don’t have a lot of personal experience with returns and refunds. However, I do know from my last return that eBay does in fact do this. I was mainly looking for a partial refund, but the seller insisted on a return, so I went ahead with that. I then got a message from eBay saying that I had received a full refund, and that I could go ahead and keep the card instead of returning it. Now, I’m not exactly sure what happened there, maybe the seller accidentally ussued a full refund before receiving the card, or maybe eBay made that decision if he asked them to step in. Idk, but it happens sometimes.

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I’ve had similar experiences. I usually just move on and don’t contact the seller anymore if the card is only slightly worse than expected (ie NM instead of Mint like the listing stated). But the few times I have felt it was necessary to contact the seller for a refund or return, it seems like almost every time they get defensive… like wtf man, I wouldn’t bring up any issues if the card was at least close to the condition you said it would be -.-

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Oh yes that reminds me about a time when I got to keep an item after getting a refund. I bought a SNES game and it was clearly not the one pictured, it had scratches, was dirty and was a little damaged, but still worked. I opened an item not as described case, and the seller did not respond to it, ebay refunded and and I got to keep the item. But it felt like stealing, so I messaged the seller and said if you send me the return postage to my paypal I’ll send the game back to you. The seller responded that they didn’t want the game and that I could keep it

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Yay I think I had around 48 ebay cases last year. Mostly unpaid buyers, but alot of lost mail, and people questioning opened cards condition… Even though I’ve stated it’s damaged…

And then the assholes who whinge about a scratch or mark on a psa case… And want a return just because of how psa has encased the cards with small wear or it didn’t fit the buyers thought of a psa 10…

If it’s graded a 10, it’s graded a 10, and sold as a 10, just because it doesn’t fit your stupid opinion of a 10 doesn’t mean it’s not a 10 by psas standard…

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My PSA 10 case has a scratch on it. you told me it was mint

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Buyers aren’t the only ones that are delusional. I bought a bulk order of about 40 foreign cards. They were described as near mint. My overly high expectations don’t think near mint cards should be dirty and scuffed.

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32

I had this happen to me as well, I had a hard time getting the seller to accept the return based on my claim, but was able to get him to do the refund. Once I got the refund from eBay, I got the same message saying I could keep the item. But since i had told the seller I would return the Item if I got the refund, I went ahead and shipped the Item off. The thought did cross my mind to keep the item because of how much an asshole the seller was to get to accept my return.

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I dont refund.

CBF being in aus and all.

Usually its a good deal, so ide find a place in one of the nm binder sets im building.

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Well put my disclaimer and listing practices to the test and failed yet again. I honestly don’t get ebay’s Resolution Center in respects to protecting seller’s rights.

Long story: Buyer opened a claim citing “Does not match description or photos”. He claimed “Photos arent the same as the card i got. I would like a full refund.” I asked him to follow the regular return process and apologized if it didn’t meet his standards. Based on his listings he’s one of those guys looking for PSA 10 cards to grade and this one didn’t make the cut. He said “The corners have more nicks than the pics.” and that was his reason for return.

I don’t want to be on the hook for shipping to and from him and will not tolerate people trying to abuse the buyer protection system for fraudulent reasons. Is it worth my time? Probably not. But I also want to test the limits and see at what point if ever eBay will side with the seller.

Needless to say I let the case go until it could be escalated and I escalated it myself with the message: “Buyer is claiming Photos aren’t the same as the card he received but this is 100% untrue. They are trying to circumvent the return process by claiming there is a problem with the item. It was accurately described and photographed and they’ve provided no evidence otherwise. The buyer continues to change their story to suit their needs and abuse the buyer protection program. I’ve asked them to complete the return through the normal return process I offer and they’ve ignored my requests.”

The buyer eventually sent over photos that included issues that could be seen in the original listing photos. There were a couple hairline scratches on the holofoil that I didn’t appear in my photographs but others that were. The “nicks” were all able to be seen in the original photos. And my disclaimer is there to cover myself if there are any minor issues that can’t be seen such as these. "Disclaimer: I am not a card grader and do not state the exact condition of each card. Small defects may be undetectable in the photos but I try my best to photograph and note any major flaws I can see. The photos are of the exact card you will receive. Condition issues can include dirt, scratches, front and back wear, bends or dents. If you’d like any additional details or photos please contact me.
"

eBay decided in the buyers favor and will provide them a shipping label paid by me. Not citing a reason why:
*Details:

Decision:

This case has been decided in the buyer’s favor.

Comments:

The buyer has been asked to return the item to you. Once tracking shows the item has been delivered to you, the buyer will be issued a refund. If the buyer uses an eBay provided shipping label to return the item, you will be required to pay the shipping and will see this charge on your invoice.*

Final Result: I made a call this morning to escalations and after talking to a couple people they connected me with someone in the US and, without saying it directly, they admitted fault and said they’d refund all the shipping charges once the item was delivered back to me. I asked if they’d also be reimbursing me for the 15% restocking fee and they declined. While it’s nice that they sided with me I shouldn’t have to call them anytime this happens and certainly isn’t worth the headaches for $6 in shipping costs.

I didn’t see any reason this case shouldn’t have been decided in my favor from the onset and just another bump in the road in my eBay dealings as a seller. Wanted to share the story here for anyone actually expecting to win a resolution case as a seller. I’m still batting 1000.

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Not trying to be rude, but you do know your disclaimer means absolutely nothing on an ebay listing right? Legally it means nothing. The best thing you can hope for with it is to deter possible returns from people who may not be versed in ebay policies.

Everyone thinks they are writing some binding contract customers must abide by. Unfortunately, its just writing. With the buyer protection you can literally return anything for any reason without repercussion. Is the system broken? Of course it is. I now make sure to list EVERY problem and grade-down all my cards to prevent problems. (not saying you didn’t).

I assume the buyer was doing the same thing you said. But with listings now-adays where EVERYTHING is NM-MINT or listed as LP-Mint (what does that even mean?) its a joke.

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@joetehman - Actually I have to disagree with you there. It means something as if I didn’t have it ebay can tell me that I make no mention of issues that can’t be seen in the photos and thus my fault. That covers me and was added based on their recommendation due to previous cases I’ve had to deal with.

I do agree with you that they basically will let any buyer return any item for any reason with cost to the seller. But that disclaimer and clear photos at least got my money back for the shipping costs. Still broken but it’s something.

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Psa10?:thinking:? Possible psa 11 regrade?:thinking:??

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39

I had a case for a Mewtwo Japanese FanBook Magazine Promo. Cutting to the chase, this card was sent to Canada. For some odd reason, the buyer claimed the card I sold was a fake :/. Now, these Japanese Promos are glossy and had HORRIBLE centering issues, the card was off center and this was clearly noted on the pictures. Mind you, the claim was escalated so that the buyer can return the card, NO WAY was I going to put my funds towards a return like that. Long story short, the buyer won the case…

eBay NEVER asked for proof to the buyer whether or not the card was fake, heck, I doubt the buyer even bothered to do any research on the card. It is horrible sometimes the way buyers abuse the eBay system, whether it be cases for lost in mail (In these cases, if its under $10 and no tracking, I will just avoid the headache and refund.) or “they didn’t like it”. It’s just not fair for the seller to “pay up” so to speak over things like this.

I too try to actually down grade all my cards, because there’s always going to be that one problem who has OCD and will open a case for a nick lol.

40

Well quick update on my case and appeal. I called in this morning due to it being 4 days and the refund for shipping not being credited to my account. I contacted the eBay appeals team again to try to get the shipping charges reimbursed. Before they sent me to the next level (where I speak to someone in the US) the guy reviewed the case and decided in my favor and instead of reimbursing the shipping costs they reimbursed the entire auction price with shipping (around $75).

And just a FYI: @joetehman He noted specifically in my listing where I stated the defects in my disclaimer is what caused the case to decide in my favor. Same as before though, the whole returns process is still broken but at least I covered myself and wound up ahead on this one.

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