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"How to Prevent eBay Buyers Sending

Your Goods Back Damaged"

Here’s a common scenario.  You make a sale, you pack the product and send it to your buyer.  It goes out with layers of wrapping materials and smothered in packaging tape and there’s no way it’s going to be damaged on route.

Then the buyer requests a refund and returns your package - without its original packaging and badly damaged in transit.

What do you do?

Well you can refuse a refund, you can argue the case that items must be returned in good condition, but that won’t always work in your favour.  As an example, I’ve several times had eBay and PayPal refund on my behalf when a valuable item has been returned to me without its original packaging and damaged beyond recognition.

So you may have to refund regardless of what the item looks like when you see it second time round.  I’m sorry, but from personal experience I know that’s a fact.

As an example, I sold an 18th century print for £400 and sent it out packed between huge thick art boards that couldn’t possibly bend or get damaged in transit.  The buyer emailed saying he was returning the print for a refund but he’d disposed of the earlier packaging and was returning the print rolled in a tube instead.  Responding at the speed of light I begged him not to roll the print, not to place it in a tube, the print had a delicate surface and would crack and curl unless posted flat between very stiff boards.  Too late, he’d sent it already, and when it arrived next day it was cracked and torn and worth very little.  I refunded him just to save eBay and PayPal the trouble.

But immediately afterwards I added this to my eBay listings:

‘We take great care to ensure our products arrive with buyers in very good condition.  Please take the same care should you need to return an item for refund.  Do so by returning our goods using the same packaging used in outgoing deliveries.  We are unable to refund items returned in damaged condition.’

That last bit, about not refunding for items returned damaged, is purely for effect, because sometimes you just have to give buyers their money back.  But using that message we now find products are returned using our own packaging.

Use my wording, or edit it to suit your business, and help avoid similar problems happening to you.