AuctionCut

I recently listed a pair of NIB Ugg boots that my mother had bought and they were too small for her. I started the item out at 69.99 and ended up making 130.00 for the boots. My mother smokes in her house but only in one room. When the buyer got the boots he insisted his daughter had asthma and said the boots smelled like smoke and he wanted a refund. I had clearly listed the item with no returns accepted. I DID NOT list that the boots came from a non-smoking home. The boots had been kept in the original shipping plastic and box in a closet in a room at the opposite end of the house of the room where she smokes. I read somewhere that you didn't have to list that the boots came from a smoking home but the buyer insists that you do. The buyer put the boots back in the mail to me before I had even responded to his request to return them. Most items listed on ebay do not include that they are from a non-smoking home and I have only ever seen one that listed the item from a smoking home. I wasn't trying to be shady I just knew that they had not been in contact with smoke in her house but I still did not list they were from a non-smoking home because they were not. I received the boots back today and they do not even have the slightest hint of a smoke smell to them at all. My husband and I do not smoke and he hates the smell of smoke and even he said they didn't smell anything like smoke. I also asked a couple of friends who were over if they thought the smelled like smoke and they said not at all. I think the buyer is trying to take advantage of the fact that I have only sold 15 items before and I think the boots just did not fit or something and he is trying to make me think he has a right to return them. Similar boots are selling on there for over $200.00 and I know I could get more out of them but I am wondering what kind of feedback he is going to leave even if I refund him his money. I have 100% feedback as a seller and buyer. I feel like if his daughter had asthma that bad it would be his responsibilty to ask if it was a smoking home. I just don't want to give him a refund and him feel like he is getting away with something. And if the boots smelled even a little like smoke I would be more willing to refund him his money but they smell nothing like smoke. They do have the smell of brand new leather that comes on UGG boots. Just wanting some advice on what to do. thanks

Personally all seem ridiculous - I mean what does his daughter do in every day life if she is this sensitive - means she could not leave house - sounds a like a try on from buyer. I'd contact ebay and just take the risk of negative feedback (I think you can respond in any case), maybe refund some but not all of money and list and sell again.

I had a similar problem; a buyer left a comment that an item which he said the item was great but smelt like cigars; it was the natural smell of new plastic. Later on another buyer complained in a very exaggerated way that the item I had sold him stank of cigarettes; in fact the one item that was supposedly to stink the most had been kept in a cupboard all the time I owned it. I believe that this was a case of " I do not want this item"; when it was returned to me there was no smell at all. There was not much I could do; I decided to refund his money on return of the item; it is not easy to prove that it was not smelly.

I also had the comment that I should have mentioned in the listing that it came from a smoking and a pet household; I do not believe that ebay have policy on this; if they did it could be considered to be discriminatory; in the end it is not where the item comes from it is more does the listing details describe the item accurately.

Ebay do now have a policy that a seller or buyer can ask for a feedback to be reviewed if it is unfair. It is upto the seller or buyer to prove it is unfair. I have had a feedback comment removed as it was defamatory; although the feedback value still remains in my total. The buyer left a positive feedback but with a very negative statement.

Go to ebay's resolution center and initiate a "Cancel Transaction" procedure with your buyer.
Apologize in the note to your buyer and explain that they must agree to this "Ebay Initiated Cancel Transaction Process" before you can issue them a refund. Explain that once they have agreed to the cancellation you will issue a "full refund of the purchase price" DO NOT MENTION THE ORIGINAL SHIPPING. Also request that they please leave you a fair feedback since the item is being accepted for return. You should not and are not responsible for this. This is what your buyer is trying to scam out of you with their complaint, a NAD Not As Described item. One of the two main reasons ebay will steal money from sellers over. Ebay will also be complicit with criminal sellers that claim INR Item Not Received, this is why you MUST use a shipping method with Delivery Confirmation. If you are lucky enough that the buyer agrees with the cancel transaction before they leave feedback, they will not be able to leave a feedback once the transaction is cancelled. This is one of the "new" seller protections ebay has enlisted. Return their purchase price and re-list your item. You might just for safety sake, keep the boots in your non-smoking home and even put a automobile solid card air freshener in the box until you ship it out.
You will also not be permitted to leave feedback once the transaction is canceled.