eBay dilemma

[JamesEagle]

I've got a bit of a dilemma with an eBay sale from a couple of months ago. If you sell on eBay and don't mind spending a few minutes reading and thinking about this, I'd be grateful.

 

I sold a CD to a buyer in Asia, who questioned whether it was genuine. I said I thought it was a genuine CD, I bought it as such, but as I'm not an expert I could do no more than provide the serial number or photographs. On receiving the CD, he sent me a message saying that any idiot could see the CD was a fake and hastily opened a dispute. I did not log in until the following day, by which time the dispute was already open. I asked a couple of questions, to which his replies were aggressive and quite rude. Despite this, knowing eBay will usually find for the buyer, I agreed to a full refund on receipt of the CD. In the meantime, he closed the dispute, marked it as 'refund received' and left me positive feedback as he said he trusted me. The CD eventually arrived, but I could not issue a refund through eBay (as far as they are concerned he has already received the refund). I can't issue a refund through PayPal either, so my only option is to send him the money as a separate PayPal transaction. However, this means I won't get my PayPal fee refunded. I explained this and asked for his suggestions, expecting him to request a refund of slightly less than the full amount to account for the fees.

 

He has replied again in a very aggressive tone, accusing me of making excuses, insisting on the full amount and using capitals sporadically throughout his message. I've told him I won't be refunding the full amount as the transaction has already cost me enough (in PayPal fees and shipping costs) and I await his reply. I'm not sure what I'll do when I get his next, inevitably rude, message. I am tempted to tell him to take a running jump due to his manner.

 

Does anyone have an opinion on this? I've tried to be reasonable and maintain communication with this guy, but really don't appreciate rudeness and accusations. Any suggestions?

[DaHun72]

Unfortunately the buyer has all the power when it comes to ebay, especially with all of the power they have through paypal now eg. freezing your paypal until a dispute is settled. All you can really do is give him the full refund (not sure why you can't do this through paypal - is the transaction too old?).

Then again if the transaction is complete and you've already received your feedback as far as ebay/paypal is concerned the transaction is complete. Hmmm, not sure if you can open a dispute on a auction that's already had a dispute settled.

 

Not very helpful, sorry. Losing out on fees whilst probably small sounds like a real hit when dealing with an asshole. To avoid the hassle might just be better getting this over with and moving on.

[heavyharmonies]

Why can't you give a refund through PayPal? The ability to refund through PayPal is not dependent upon the status of the transaction at eBay. You just go to the original transaction page in PayPal and issue the refund from there. Fees are reversed, no problem.

 

The only time you cannot issue a refund through PayPal is if the 45-day (60 day?) window has expired.

 

-Dan

[JamesEagle]

Unfortunately the buyer has all the power when it comes to ebay, especially with all of the power they have through paypal now eg. freezing your paypal until a dispute is settled. All you can really do is give him the full refund (not sure why you can't do this through paypal - is the transaction too old?).

Then again if the transaction is complete and you've already received your feedback as far as ebay/paypal is concerned the transaction is complete. Hmmm, not sure if you can open a dispute on a auction that's already had a dispute settled.

 

Not very helpful, sorry. Losing out on fees whilst probably small sounds like a real hit when dealing with an asshole. To avoid the hassle might just be better getting this over with and moving on.

 

Yes, the 60 days has passed now.

 

eBay sees the transaction as complete as he has informed them that the refund was received. Hence we are now operating on "trust". So it's even more surprising that this guy is so rude!

[Swazi]

I would paypal him the amount minus whatever fees and then get on with life. On his side the dispute is settled as well, so he can't freeze your PayPal account anymore.

 

Just my 2 cents ...

[zacharyamelie]

First I would block him as a buyer, secondly I would give him a full refund and take the hit with the fees. Sometimes it's just easier that way.

[heavyharmonies]

First I would block him as a buyer, secondly I would give him a full refund and take the hit with the fees. Sometimes it's just easier that way.

 

This.

[Delbert]

First I would block him as a buyer, secondly I would give him a full refund and take the hit with the fees. Sometimes it's just easier that way.

 

This.

 

James

 

I concur with Dan and Dave......and of course, block the guy from any further transactions. No matter how hard you try to do the right thing and work with people, the certain element is out there and will cause you grief, so just take the hit with the fees and move on.

 

Del

[edwithmj]

First I would block him as a buyer, secondly I would give him a full refund and take the hit with the fees. Sometimes it's just easier that way.

 

This is the best option.

[Swazi]

Ok, so it's either you take the fee hit or you don't. Up to you ..., your choice. I'd say you don't, but I'm not really a seller. Your decision .......

[whiplash1972]

Despite this, knowing eBay will usually find for the buyer, I agreed to a full refund on receipt of the CD.

 

If you agreed to give him a full refund upon his return of the CD, then that's what you should do.

 

*Who paid the shipping for him to return the CD to you? If he did, then he has incurred extra expenses as well. Just refund the money and be done with it.

[blindjester]

Despite this, knowing eBay will usually find for the buyer, I agreed to a full refund on receipt of the CD.

 

If you agreed to give him a full refund upon his return of the CD, then that's what you should do.

 

*Who paid the shipping for him to return the CD to you? If he did, then he has incurred extra expenses as well. Just refund the money and be done with it.

I concur.

[JamesEagle]

Thanks folks, I appreciate your advice. I will issue the refund today and block the buyer as suggested. My main issue with this is how rude the guy is, but once I've sent him the money I won't have to deal with him again.

 

I was a bit tempted not to issue the refund due to the guy's attitude, but that would be evil.

[HighNDryRulz]

I am with all the others. Take the hit and pay him, then block him.

 

Great advice, everyone!