posted on April 11, 2001 07:44:56 PM
Help! About a month ago, I had a new bidder (feedback 0 at the time, now at 19) win some of my auctions of similar coins – 17 auctions, for a total of about $300.00 He paid rapidly with a check from his business, and I sent him the items. I left (+) feedback on one auction, and nothing for the other 16, so as not to clog up his feedback.
I never heard back from him that the coins arrived nor received feedback. Today, I received a UPS box with the coins returned, and a note stating that there was “defective angling on the scans….” My scanner is
a HP 3400C and is was less than 2 months old at the time I scanned the coins, I scanned the coins and listed obverse+reverse images of the coins with every auction at about twice actual size so as to show details. The extent of the text accompanying EVERY one of these auctions of mine, in its entirety is:
“I am not an expert at grading coins, so please grade it yourself. Coin is exactly as in the scan above. Winning bidder please include $1.00 for shipping (uninsured, at buyer’s risk), or 2.00 for insured shipping. Win multiple auctions and save on shipping 1-4 coins: $1.00, 5-8 coins: $2.00, over 8 coins: free shipping. Be sure to check out the many other Morgan Dollars and other coins that I have up for auction this week.”
Other people that won similar coins at similar prices from me have all been satisfied to my knowledge, and many have already left me (+) feedbacks. As you can see, I listed these items with no return policy. I believe my bidder is upset because he believed the coins were in uncirculated condition, but I made no claims of their condition, and displayed very clear images of them.
I have an ebay feedback rating of 632 with zero negative bids. I am not a full-time seller, so it wouldn’t be a huge impact for me to have [an unfair] neg on these auctions (even 17 of them from him) by refusing to refund his money. My feeling is that he is an inexperienced ebay who doesn’t realize that purchasing an item on ebay is entering into a legally-binding contract and that he doesn’t have a right to “pass” on items already won that were properly represented during the aucton. Also, it would be a hassle for me to request refunds on these coins and then relist them all, send out EOAs, wait for payment, repackage them, etc.
I submit this to all of you to gather opinions on what course of action I should take. Thanks for reading this.
posted on April 11, 2001 08:43:11 PM
I would email your buyer and tell him that you have a policy of no returns. He did not email you and ask if he could return them so it is up to you if you want to pay the shipping back to him (but i would insure them just in case he says he never gets them back), otherwise he can pay to get them back too. Most companies wont take back merchandise without prior approval so this is what I would do.
$300 is a lot of money for you to eat up-- in my opinion based on what you have said I think you have the right to refuse to take them back.
posted on April 11, 2001 08:58:08 PM
Coins and stamps and other collectibles where condition matters but it is impossible to show that switches where made do not normally allow for returns unless the item was sealed and is still sealed in my experience with other sellers. I wouldn't doubt that at least one coin is different than what you sent. People do this quite a lot and as a result one of my customers decided that they would use a shrink wrap machine to seal the items and then use a sticker the cover the seams. Or they would put them in coin holders and have a sticker seal them also. I never saw how they did it, I just gave them the idea to put their items in holders or sealed pouches and have a mark to show if it was tampered with. I think one of my customers used a "Tilia" food saver system to seal items because they also resulted in protecting the item from the weather can it was sealed airtight.
Of course when I first read this I thought "I bet they changed their mind and even with the UPS fee they might still recover at least $250.
For Morgan dollars, you would have to deal in higher end items for a person to expect unc condition because they would cost much more. Shipping would HAVE to be with insurance because they are more expensive...
posted on April 11, 2001 09:27:13 PM
mikeselis-
Thanks for your input. I compared the
coins he returned with the pictures I
used in the auctions, and they all
appear to be the same, so I don't believe
he switched any of them. I sent them in
cardboard flips, and they were returned
in cardboard flips, but I have no way of
knowing whether they were opened and then
repackaged into new flips, since I didn't
write anything on the outsides of the flips
when I shipped them (I shall do that in the
future!)
posted on April 11, 2001 09:37:14 PM
If you don't have a "No Returns" policy of some kind stated in your auction listing (whether "no returns at all" or "no returns unless misrepresented" or "no returns in opened sleeves", etc.), then you should accept returns. If it's not mentioned, the buyer can assume returns are accepted.
Examine the coins to make sure they haven't been damaged or switched, file for NPB to get FVFs refunded, refund his money, and be sure you state (in future listings) that all sales are "as is" and you don't accept refunds for any reason (except proof that the coin is counterfeit).
I don't know WHY eBay refuses to put "clickable" options for refund policies on the seller's listing submission page. They have an elaborate section on where the seller will ship, what forms of payment are accepted, and what options the seller wants to pay more for, but they CONTINUE to ignore refund policies.
posted on April 11, 2001 09:38:16 PM
The buyer should not have sent the coins back to you without your approval. I don't know what the best course of action to take would be at this point, but I'd offer the following suggestion for any further coin auctions you may run:
You stated
"I am not an expert at grading coins, so please grade it yourself."
in the auction description, yet you noted in your above post that they were not uncirculated. If you are aware enough of coin grading to understand that the coins you are selling are not uncirculated, it would be best to state this fact in your description, even if you do not offer any more detailed explanation of their grade. That might help you avoid some future problems.
I hope you can come to some sort of arrangement with your buyer that is mutually agreeable to the both of you- good luck.
posted on April 11, 2001 09:49:17 PM
You will have to do what you think is best. Why did you not refuse the parcel when it came? I would not accept anything if they did not ask first.
Could be a case of buyers remorse.They should ask before bidding.
[ edited by gs4 on Apr 11, 2001 09:58 PM ]
