posted on December 16, 2009 04:58:19 PM new
29 days ago (Nov 17), I sold a stoneware item. Buyer was slow paying and item was shipped on Nov 27th, day after pmnt was received. She received it on Nov 30th.
Today she emailed me asking for a refund, as "item had 2 marks that didn't match the rest of the item".
Stoneware is not a perfect glaze, and has many different hues. She didn't say it was damaged, just not matching in 2 spots. Item was pictured well, and to be honest, I didn't notice any flaws or color problems.
She did WAY overpay for the item, and I think she's having buyers remorse after seeing similar items sell for half of what she paid.
What's the right thing to do?
posted on December 16, 2009 05:34:55 PM new
It is up to you,
I would first offer her a partial refund since you said she way overpaid.
If she said no,then ask her to return the item and you will refund her without shipping fee.
Or just argue and said there is nothing wrong with the item.
Paypal has made some changes on filing for item not as decribed,someone may give you some insight what happens.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on December 16, 2009 06:21:57 PM new
Max - Not sure if your piece is hand made but I have a whole set of stoneware dishes, handmade that I bought in the Florida Keys. No piece is alike but similar in pattern and color. I have 8 dinners, soups, desserts and salad plates ans also serving pieces. They are different in sizes, and color tones.
Some have flaws but this is part of having stoneware that is hand made. The potter said that he makes about 6 pieces to get one that is good enough to sell in the set.
posted on December 16, 2009 08:07:26 PM new
My return policy is cash back if not as described and pictured if contacted within 3 days of reciept and returned in same condition within 7 days. She took over 2 weeks to decide she didn't want the piece.
As to condition, hand made salt glazed stoneware is almost always one of a kind, with individual markings. I checked her purchases, and she is buying mass produced stoneware dinnerware. All of it for far less that what she purchased mine for.
[ edited by max40 on Dec 16, 2009 08:11 PM ]
posted on December 16, 2009 08:57:51 PM new
I have responded with something like this in the past:
I am very sorry that you are disappointed in your purchase.
While I do my best to give accurate descriptions, occasionally oversights do happen.
Our return policy is listed on all auction pages.
While this does not fall into the time frame outlined in our return policy, your satisfaction is our priority. Please feel free to return your purchase via the US Postal Service, within 3 days, and we will credit your paypal account for the purchase price when the package is received.
Alternately, if you prefer to avoid the return shipping process and keep the item,
we will be happy to refund a discount to your Paypal account.
Do you feel that a $--. discount would be a fair resolution?
Again, I apologize for your disappointment and await your reply on what you would like us to do to make up for your disappointment.
Thank you for the chance to resolve this to your satisfaction.
The rebate has nearly always been the resolution of choice for the customer and neither of us has the inconvenience of dealing with the return process.
posted on December 17, 2009 06:30:34 AM new
IMHO, I NEVER do partial refunds due to "buyers remorse," etc. If they don't want the item, let them go through the trouble of returning it,etc.
Even if she overpaid, there is always the possibility it will sell for the same amount or more the next time.
She bid, she paid, if the item is as you described, then she needs to return it or keep it with no discount.
posted on December 17, 2009 07:32:14 AM new
For those who may not have seen this before, we present Fluffy's Guide to Handling Buyer's Remorse:
"Send it back."
Do not write a novella apologizing profusely, do not submit flowery prose about how you just want to make sure she's happy and most of all, do not spell out every possible resolution to the problem.
"Send it back." That's all. Oh, include your address.
posted on December 17, 2009 11:52:08 AM new
Guess it just depends on what your goal is with disatisfied customers.
In our case, we really want to avoid the return and nearly always prefer a partial refund to a return. Maybe because the situation, thankfully, rarely happens.
posted on December 17, 2009 12:33:11 PM new
I agree with Fluffy. Will Sears, Walmart, Best Buy, etc give you a partial refund? No away and neither would I.
posted on December 17, 2009 02:56:44 PM new
I agree with Fluff, she said it before and I have followed her advice. SEND IT BACK!!
You know what, they usually don't send it back and they usually don't follow up with a lot of drama. They just wanted to see what they could squeeze out of you.
posted on December 17, 2009 05:58:04 PM new
Just like No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service... No Return No Refund.
This also applies to damage claims. Either they can send some photos detailing the damage or they can return it. Photos need to tell the story too.
My typewriter bidder keeps nagging me even though eBay told him no refund. He sent me photos of random parts. This week we received a heavy package via UPS. I wasn't expecting any packages so I refused it. Come to find out the guy tried to return the item. He emailed me about that too. I tried working with him on the whole thing from the beginning. I was friendly, stepped up to help him save money on shipping, communicated with him each time he emailed me a new demand. Now that eBay said no refund, I have him on ignore.
I am tired of bidders that want to bend every other rule stated in the listings. I can't afford their buyers remorse, and I do not issue partial refunds any longer. I got burned by a woman that bought 10 Fiesta coffee mugs from me last year for $20. She claimed two broke, so I gave her a partial refund of $4.00. No photos, no questions asked. She left me negative feedback. I started going through her feedbacks and discovered she left negs for several other sellers too. I started contacting them and it was very similar stories. I reported her to ebay as did two other sellers. They did nothing. So, I simply refuse to give into bidders that give off red flags.
posted on December 17, 2009 06:01:08 PM new
oh, and returns must be at their expense with no refund for shipping.
since it is out of the time you gave for returns i would simply offer an exchange. it meets the customer half way. if they can't wrap their brains about meeting half way, then they can keep it.
posted on December 17, 2009 07:45:54 PM new
Once I sold some shoes,and the lady said he heel broke and she had the shoe shop repaired it and she wanted me to pay for it.
She showed me the invoice and it was too much money so I refused.
It turns out she does that with other sellers,showing the same repair bill over and over again.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on December 18, 2009 10:39:59 AM newAnd we do want our customers to be satisfied.
Really? Why?
I'm serious.
If you're confident that you're selling a quality product, packaged competently and shipped expeditiously, who cares if a customer is dissatisfied?
You can't control what goes on in their brains. You can't flip-flop and twist in the wind every time Miss Persnickety decides an earring is 1/16th of an inch too long or that handbag isn't *quite* a mushroom color.
Shopping, especially for women, has a huge emotional and social component. I think many sellers, large and small, forget about this.
Miss P. receives her handbag, which is exactly as described but not quite what she dreamed of and instantly she's on the phone with a girlfriend about it. The girlfriend does what girlfriends always do: "Absolutely you should ask for your money back. My mom complained about a scarf she bought online and not only did they return her money they let her keep the scarf. So do it. What have you got to lose?"
posted on December 18, 2009 07:12:59 PM new
OTOH, I had a buyer who contacted me that she was unhappy with the quality of a postcard. The card was in very good condition for being 100+ years old and the picture was of a very sweet girl holding a kitten. But she was right, it was made to be given away free to newspaper subscribers and was of crappy quality from the day it was published. I thought my scans showed that quite well, but I followed my return policy and offered a full refund upon receipt of the returned card. She didn't want the refund, asked if she could pick a replacement from my store. She loved the first suggestion I made and we swapped the cards out. Not all remorseful buyers are scammers, but it looks like Shag's certainly is.
