Long story short I sold an item for a decent amount and I like to include freebies with several of my items I sell. In this case I sent a free fossil booster pack and about $20 worth of cards. The buyer was confused on what he was buying and now demands a refund. Is it right if I ask for the freebies to be sent back as well? Just not sure if since technically he didn’t ask for them nor did I state in the description they were included.
Yes it’s right to ask for everything back, but at this point all you can rely on is their goodwill. As long as they return what they actually paid for, you have to refund them regardless if they send the freebies back. Good luck.
They have to return everything to you including the bonuses!
Yes I plan on offering a full refund as long as he returns the item in the same condition I sent it. Just was wondering if I I’m even entitled to ask for the freebies back as well. In a normal situation I would probably just let the buyer keep them. But in this situation he misread the title and description, and accused me of scamming and has not been polite.
You actually are entitled to ask for the freebies back! If they are returning the item for a full refund they must give everything they received back!
You have every right to ask for it back.
You have no case for eBay to step in though if he doesn’t oblige.
This is why I don’t offer returns anymore on any listings and explicitly explain my return terms. I know it can hurt sale prices, but I’m just tired of dealing with incompetent buyers who waste my time by not reading what they’re buying.
Yes, you absolutely have the right to ask for it back. If you sent a free Fossil booster pack and $20 worth of cards, that’s about $40-45 of value right there (assuming the Fossil pack is Unlimited). So, if he was “confused” with what he was buying, wants a refund and decides to keep the freebies, he is essentially stealing, as you would not have just sent him a bunch of free stuff without his purchase.
Hopefully, the consumer has some decency and agrees to send everything back. If not, as teraz said, you’re out of luck, as eBay isn’t going to touch anything that has no record of purchase.
I do not offer returns on the item but he opened a case stating item not as described or pictured. It was a sealed fossil 6 count j-hook case for $300. It contains 6 j-hook theme decks. He thought it contained 6 fossil preconstructed theme deck cases, containing 8 theme decks in each preconstructed case. His argument is I should have never called it a case I should have called it a package. He now states he opened the box, and thinks I put the WOTC tamper tape on and printed my own sticker and put it on the case or box, whatever you want to call it. Now it is only worth what 6 fossil theme decks are worth and not the price of them being sealed in the case, which are almost impossible to find. It’s a very niche item as it doesn’t have any designs on the case it is just a cardboard box. Similar to 72 count long pack cases. But there are sealed case collectors who do put a little premium on hard to find items like this. I tried explaining this to him but he does not understand and said what I sent him is only worth $125 and I need to refund $175.
The key focus here:
Did he admit that he misread the description? Did he explicitly admit that?
Because if you don’t offer returns, and if he admits he did not read the description properly, that would likely be ruled as “buyer’s remorse” and the case would be ruled in your favor.
Source: I had a similar situation happen. Took 3 weeks of fighting it, but both eBay and PayPal ruled in my favor.
He has not admitted to reading it wrong, he just says I described it wrong. I should have called it a package rather than case. A case can only be a preconstructed case that contains 8 decks. But now he opened the physical case, that would be similar to a buyer opening a preconstructed theme deck case, it will only be worth what the decks are worth loose. You don’t get that sealed case premium.
I would fight this tooth and nail,
They have opened or devalued the product, and they need to return in original condition to be obligated for a refund,
State to eBay that the item was described properly and it’s down to the buyers poor reading of the title and description,
I think you have a good chance of winning,
2 Likes
To those stating that he should fight it and to OP if he decides to fight it: He will not win. *edited* My own bias probably took over there. I think he will have a hard time but given that the item has been substantially devalued he may have more luck eBay will at least look for some kind of a compromise or dip into their fund to leave both buyer and seller reimbursed as they do from time to time.
I am have never won fighting buyers for INAD. I lose cases on people returning graded cards whereby I upload photos and defer all condition to PSA. I lose cases where the buyer misreads and accidentally buys foreign items clearly labeled with their language multiple times in the listing as well as clear in the photo for INAD. This is just something you cannot and will not win. The whole freebie situation sucks because if he keeps it and if enough other dirtbags do the same thing it will get you to quit doing something that likely is a highlight of the customer experience to your buyers. One or a few rotten eggs spoil the bunch and the same goes for the eBay return experience. I call and curse eBay for what they do and they just say it is a cost of doing business.
1 Like
That’s BS.
Ebay would likely not take that argument from the buyer as they would likely see it as an argument of semantics as they can’t verify that case explicitly = _____
I didn’t even realize before from your posts that you said the buyer OPENED the item. I don’t think he has a case now, if he did before…
as @cljdavis said, I would fight this thing.
1 Like
This is verifiably wrong that you can say with absolute certainty that OP will not win.
I have had an almost identical situation occur where both ebay and paypal ruled in my favor as the seller and called it buyer’s remorse.
The key part that Ebay considers is what the buyer admitted in their messages when initially submitting a request for return, how your return policy is written in your description, and how thorough your description is.
My advice is to call ebay today and explain to them the situation. I did that and on the very first phone call, the ebay rep put notes in the case to confirm that this would be closed in my favor once the case is closed.
You people are delusional if you think he’s going to win the case. There’s maybe a 1% chance he’s going to win. @gottaketchumall knows what he’s talking about.
OP, maybe you can try making some kind of deal with him? If I’m reading the situation right, he says he received a $125 item and paid $175 for it. Perhaps you can do a $50 partial refund and make your buyer happy or you accept the return, but you might still lose the $40 freebies anyway. Up to you. Let us know how things turn out.
1 Like
@teraz I guess my past poor luck has me negative about it and admittedly I hadn’t read all the details. Luckily in my cases it was usually with single graded cards that at least weren’t returned to me in a less valuable state. Perhaps if he was to call and explain further in detail about how since it has been opened now it is less valuable and question why the buyer would do that as it should have been fairly clear it wasn’t what they thought they were getting. Still I don’t think he has an easy battle in it but I guess it is worth trying given the dollar value.
It just really sucks how much power they give to buyers. I always make sure to call and complain and I hope at least it puts some kind of a note on their account in the event that down the line they try to pull this crap on others perhaps eBay will be less likely to side with them but I don’t know if that is the case either.
1 Like
The situation that I won I’ll admit I had one of the most thorough descriptions and most pictures I’ve ever had for a listing. It was a large ungraded lot where I literally spent 5 hours creating the listing in order to ensure that buyers knew what they were getting.
The buyer opened a case and told me he thought my grade descriptions were a grade off and that he felt the NM - M cards were NM.
The reason Ebay ruled in my favor was:
-
my descriptions were as thorough as they could be, even the ebay rep told me he’s never seen a more descriptive listing before lol.
-
my return policy is explicitly stated in the descriptions as follows: “Returns Not accepted, please see pictures and ask if you need specific details or more pictures, before buying."
-
Buyer never asked questions before buying.
-
His initial message in the return case was: “these are definitely nice cards but I don t agree with the condition most of the holos are a grade lower than what was listed. I can attach pictures. The best Ben”
Number 4 was the key. He admitted to receiving the cards advertised, he just didn’t think they were exactly the condition I described (I disagree of course, I did the best I could)
Ebay ruled in my favor and then he opened the case with paypal. I presented the same evidence there, they ruled in my favor.
Sorry some of my posts might be confusing, I’m just frustrated. I will summarize the situation up.
This morning buyer opened a case stating item was not as pictured or described.
I messaged back saying sorry for the confusion, I wish he would have messaged me before buying. I can send a full refund for the return of the item in its same condition I sent it and sealed.
He then argued for awhile saying he wasn’t confused I just simply described it wrong
Then he told me he actually opened the sealed theme deck case up
Also admitted that the decks loose are worth about $15-$20 but being in a sealed case it should only bring a $50 premium. In his words “I should have sold it for $175 and not $300.” Which price does not matter, if $300 is what I wanted to sell it for that is my price.
He also said in 1 message he was starting to think I bought the decks put them in a box, got do not tamper with tape, created a sticker label and put it on the box myself and was just out to hustle people.
So with him admitting he opened it, admitting sealed it should bring a premium you don’t think I can win?
As I’ve stated, I think you have a chance to win. Just be nice to ebay and call them TODAY. As others have stated, the chance is slim, but based on what you’ve presented, it’s worth a shot.
I’d like to see the listing. Got a link?
My sense is the buyer will win. You may not lose though (besides the freebies).
Could tell better from the listing.
Edit* the above means you may both win.
1 Like