The Ethicist: EBay Return

[triathlete]

I bought an item from an overseas ebay seller in July of this year. The item didn't show for a few months, and he wasn't willing to issue a refund, so I disputed the sale and won. Refund was granted, but the seller wasn't happy with the outcome.

So now, 6 months later, the item shows up, and the postmarks indicate that it had been sent when he claimed, but didn't leave his country until last week. In other words, completely out of his control.

In normal circumstances, I would probably shoot him a note and a payment for the item, and we'd be done. However, the item is a different size than claimed in the original sale, and therefore useless to me.

What's the right thing to do here? Send the item back? Send a note that says "I would refund your refund, except the item is different from claimed, so I'm going to keep your refund on that basis?"

 

[srivats]

Send him a partial refund and sell the item (here or ebay) and recoup your costs ... hopefully you won't lose any money.

 

[Pawz]

Send the item back + half refund. The sale was ill-starred from the get-go methinks.

 

[dv3]

"THROW IT BACK! THROW IT BACK!"

It seems the "ethical" decision would be to send it back. The tricky question is: who pays for shipping?

 

[Crane's]

Originally Posted by srivats

Send him a partial refund and sell the item (here or ebay) and recoup your costs ... hopefully you won't lose any money.

Wrong answer. OP received a refund. The right thing to do is contact the seller and see what they want to do about it.

 

[MaxJones]

I'm going to take a wild guess that the overseas seller in question is in Italy, based on it taking 6 months for the package to make it out of the country.

I'd do what Crane's said. From an ethical perspective, letting the seller know what happened is the decent thing to do. Up until now you've done nothing wrong.

 

[tweedydon]

Originally Posted by Crane's

Wrong answer. OP received a refund. The right thing to do is contact the seller and see what they want to do about it.

+1. I agree. I think that the OP should get in touch with the seller and work things out with him. I suspect that the seller would appreciate this since this would mitigate his loss, and would be willing to work out a reasonable compromise.

PS: Not that it matter here, but I actually am a professional ethicist!

 

[dv3]

Originally Posted by tweedydon

PS: Not that it matter here, but I actually am a professional ethicist!

I bet tweedydon is lying

 

[Pawz]

*shrugs*

I'd rather lose than to take from another. The seller sent the item, and, later a refund. OP lost nothing save shipping (I'm guessing). I would send the item back so the seller can try again with someone else, along with enough of the refund to cover his mailing charges. SOMEone is going to lose out... I'd rather it be me,

 

[Wu Dynasty]

Originally Posted by Pawz

*shrugs* I'd rather lose than to take from another. The seller sent the item, and, later a refund. OP lost nothing save shipping (I'm guessing). I would send the item back so the seller can try again with someone else, along with enough of the refund to cover his mailing charges. SOMEone is going to lose out... I'd rather it be me,
Except the seller is still at fault for sending the wrong size. Buyer has done nothing wrong thus far, why should he take the hit?

 

[Pawz]

Wu - You're probably right. Something in the way my brain is wired won't allow me to respond that way, though. -_-

 

[somatoform]

Originally Posted by triathlete

So now, 6 months later, the item shows up, and the postmarks indicate that it had been sent when he claimed, but didn't leave his country until last week. In other words, completely out of his control.


Was it? Part of being a seller, I'd like to think, is that you are aware of your country's postal issues and inform the buyer accordingly, unless it was a complete one-off fluke.

I'd tell him that if he wants the product back to paypal him the cost of shipping back to him and send it so that he can re-list it and try to recoup whatever he can.

 

[winston]

The long delay is really a secondary matter here. You got sent the wrong size, the seller gave a refund (although not for that reason) and so the issue is a common one of who pays for the shipping back to the seller. I never know what to do in circumstances like that. Did you get refunded the cost of shipping the item to you? In the few cases where I've had to return something to an ebay seller I have had to cover postage for both directions, and although I just let it go, it never seems right that way. The seller should not be the one who comes out of it with no loss if he was in the wrong. Tricky.

 

[the shah]

Originally Posted by winston

The long delay is really a secondary matter here. You got sent the wrong size, the seller gave a refund (although not for that reason) and so the issue is a common one of who pays for the shipping back to the seller. I never know what to do in circumstances like that. Did you get refunded the cost of shipping the item to you? In the few cases where I've had to return something to an ebay seller I have had to cover postage for both directions, and although I just let it go, it never seems right that way. The seller should not be the one who comes out of it with no loss if he was in the wrong. Tricky.

it happens with Yoox anyway

 

[Pawz]

Maybe there was a miscommunication? European sizing differs from Western (assuming for the sake of argument the buyer is a Westerner - I really don't know). And maybe the seller can't afford the loss? If I knew I could afford to not come out on top, then I'd rather absorb it; not everything in life will go my way.