Buyer claiming a defect, am i being unreasonable?

abowron

O.G.
Jul 2, 2006
751
0
I sold a brand new unworn with tags Topshop trench coat. It looks like the Burberry trench with leather sleeves. Anyway it was brand new with tags never worn. The buyer bought it through Buy It Now and i must admit because it was new and unworn i didn't closely inspect it before i sent it with tracked mail to France.

The buyer received it yesterday and today she has contacted me to say there is 3cm scratch on one of the leather sleeves.

I apologised and told her to send it back to me for a full refund and i would refund her when the item was returned to me safely.

She wrote back saying she wants to keep the trench as it is sold out on Topshop and there aren't anymore on ebay. And she says French postal service is expensive and she doesn't want to pay 31 euros to return it.

First of all am i being unreasonable if i don't want to discount the trench over a 3cm scratch. And afterall i am offering to give her a full refund.

I also did a check on the French Post site and it seems it would only cost 15 euros, unless i'm missing something.

Is this a scam? Are buyers buying things from ebay claiming there is a defect to get a discount?
 
Sorry this is happening to you.

It is entirely possible the coat has damage, since you didn't inspect it before sending it out. If you feel strongly that you don't want to give a partial discount, then you should let the buyer know that returning is the only option...and even if she files a claim, she'd have to return it on her own dime anyway.

Perhaps you could offer her a small partial refund? After all, if she returns it, you will have to list it all over again, and you would need to disclose this flaw in the new listing, and this may impact the selling price.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
 
I would ask for a photo of the scratch. After seeing it you might be able to come to an agreement about a partial refund. That seems so much easier than having to get it back, re-list it and etc. And the buyer could do more damage to it out of spite when they return it.
 
that's the way to go.. a pic is worth 1000 words...
Agree, but what's to say they didn't scratch it themselves? These people looking for refunds and doing frivolous chargebacks, I am SO sick of. Buyer can always just file a SNAD and get her money back anyway. No pictures even have to be shown.
 
I agree to ask the buyer to send a picture of the scratch. Then you can go from there on a possible partial refund. If they're just trying to get some $ back then maybe that wll call their bluff.
 
Agree, but what's to say they didn't scratch it themselves? These people looking for refunds and doing frivolous chargebacks, I am SO sick of. Buyer can always just file a SNAD and get her money back anyway. No pictures even have to be shown.

I totally agree, what's to say she didn't scratch it herself to get some money knocked off.

I really appreciate everyone's suggestions and for taking the time to respond and i guess i will just have to refund her some money as a token gesture but if i can just have a rant to let off some steam!

It's my fault for not inspecting it closely before i sent it but I've offered her a full refund and it seems so clear cut to me either you can live with a 3cm scratch or you can't and if the answer is you can't live with the scratch and you're not 100% satisfied then please just take the 100% refund offered. What's to stop buyers thinking it's on sale for $150, i only want to pay $100 so i'll just win the auction, claim there's a fault and ask the seller to refund me $50. grrr!

okay rant over ;)
 
I agree with what everyone is saying, and you should ask for pictures and then maybe negotiate a partial refund.
Many are saying "what's to say she didn't scratch it herself".... honestly, if it were me, I wouldn't want to scratch a perfectly good item just got a few bucks back, because they I have to live with that scratch. But I guess some people are ruthless to get money back.