I sold goods on ebay - final sale, now after 1 month buyer wants money back...

[browncow2]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Georgia

I live in Georgia, buyer lives in California. I sold a designer wedding dress on ebay, I represented it accurately and honestly. Answered all questions quickly and provided pictures. As a first time seller I did not think (stupid I know) to put the return policy in the actual ebay item description, it is an auction after all so I assumed all sales were final. The auction closed, payment was received and I shipped the dress. One month later the buyer has asked for a refund. I explained that the dress was final sale and that I was not accepting returns. The buyer ignored this, did not respond, and instead sent the gown back to me. My husband accepted delivery so now I have the buyer's money and the goods (gown) back in my possession. At this point, I have passed on other buyers, spent $ on ebay and paypal fees, shipping, etc. She has tried the gown on so I would also have to pay for it to be cleaned again...I do not want to refund the money, what is my legal obligation? Should I return HER dress to her and hope that she accepts delivery? It is her property after all...

 

[panzertanker]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Georgia

I live in Georgia, buyer lives in California. I sold a designer wedding dress on ebay, I represented it accurately and honestly. Answered all questions quickly and provided pictures. As a first time seller I did not think (stupid I know) to put the return policy in the actual ebay item description, it is an auction after all so I assumed all sales were final. The auction closed, payment was received and I shipped the dress. One month later the buyer has asked for a refund. I explained that the dress was final sale and that I was not accepting returns. The buyer ignored this, did not respond, and instead sent the gown back to me. My husband accepted delivery so now I have the buyer's money and the goods (gown) back in my possession. At this point, I have passed on other buyers, spent $ on ebay and paypal fees, shipping, etc. She has tried the gown on so I would also have to pay for it to be cleaned again...I do not want to refund the money, what is my legal obligation? Should I return HER dress to her and hope that she accepts delivery? It is her property after all...

As a seller of things on Ebay also, I suggest you send it back to her CRRR. If she refuses, wait and see what happens. All replies need to be Certified.

She paid, she sent back without approval. She owns a dress now.
IMHO

Also, did she leave positive feedback for you?

 

[browncow2]

Thanks panzertanker that is my feeling as well...I just don't like having her property so I guess I will attempt sending it back, I am sure she will not accept delivery though.

She has not left any feedback for me at all, I have two other positive ratings. I have not heard from her in two weeks after informing her that the sale was final and that I was not accepting returns...I forgot to tell my husband to refuse delivery if the gown was shipped back, I naively thought the issue was closed when I did not hear back from her.

 

[panzertanker]

Thanks panzertanker that is my feeling as well...I just don't like having her property so I guess I will attempt sending it back, I am sure she will not accept delivery though.

She has not left any feedback for me at all, I have two other positive ratings. I have not heard from her in two weeks after informing her that the sale was final and that I was not accepting returns...I forgot to tell my husband to refuse delivery if the gown was shipped back, I naively thought the issue was closed when I did not hear back from her.

Did you leave her feedback?
What was her reason for sending the gown back?
How did she pay you?

 

[browncow2]

I have not left feedback for her yet either, I want to see the resolution to this issue. She paid with a credit card via Pay Pal. She claims that a portion of the lace on the dress was stiff, compared to another part of it? And that she thought it was slightly discolored. I inspected the dress before I shipped it and it was in excellent condition and had no stains, especially for a used dress (which was explained in the item description). I sold my veil as well and that was a smooth and easy process, the buyer is very happy with it...but this transaction has been so frustrating!!

 

[dahvaio]

Believe it not there really isn't too much the buyer can do. Unless your description of the item was completely inaccurate, the only recourse that the buyer has is to call her Credit Card Company to fight the charges. Other than that not too much else. Paypal is a joke plus it is owned by Ebay. When she purchased the item, I'm pretty sure you were a brand new seller with 0 or 1 positive feedback, if so, the buyer is taking the auction into their own hands.

Even Ebay warns people about purchasing items from sellers with little or no feedback.

Personally, I would keep the money and the dress... She returned it without authorization... If PayPal or the CC contact you, let them know that you sent the dress (Have a Carrier Tracking # would be helpful). You fulfilled your end of the bargain and because the buyer was stupid enough to send it back to you... then, oh well she is out of a dress. BTW, the buyers has only 10-60 days to file a dispute... the off to the circular file it goes...

 

[janedoe23]

I would send her an email and state that if she wants the dress back she can deposit another $20.00 into your Paypal account so that you can ship it back to her. Your auction clearly stated no refunds so leave it at that.

I would not refund her at all and now she is going to regret sending it back without notice. She probably already had her wedding and now the bills are stacking up and she needs money.

If she wants her money back she now has to file a chargeback with her credit company which she has a few months to do. Paypal will take that money until the evidence is shown which takes a minimum of 30 days. If you have no money in your Paypal account then you will be in the negative balance. Paypal will hound you and tell you that you owe them that money because according to the terms you cannot have a negative balance. All money recieved when you have a negative balance will go towards that negative balance. Eventually, after Paypal investigates and if it is found in your favor then the money will be returned to your account. Paypal has this thing about take money now and ask questions later.

 

[ablessin]

As a seller on e-bay, let me tell you this.

First of all, if you plan to sell more, state in the payment section NO refunds (this way you don't have to type it each time -it populates in for you).

Second, since your auction didn't state a return policy, it's safe to assume there isn't one. Typically there isn't one unless the seller says there is.
But by specifically stating there is no return/refund policy, there is NO room what-so-ever for "assumption".

I would not refund her the money. Write her back and say that you will mail the dress back to her, that you have once again examined the dress and find it to be flawless. Don't charge her for the return shipping.
If she refuses the return of the dress, she is out of luck.
If she leaves you a neg feedback, you can reply to her comment with a short statement