Buyer want to return item after giving me positive feedback

[lincoln8echo]

Hi. 
I sold very valuable item few weeks ago. It is amber necklace. Buyer received it and was satisfied and posted positive feedback for me. Now he consulted with some "experts" and they told him that item is "second generation amber" and he will not sell it.
And he asks if he to return item back. Ebay listings state that i do not accept returns. This is because i am not full time trader and do not want headache with sending valuable items back and forward.
I'm not big expert in amber but i also consulted with experts before buying this necklace and they proved the price and i paid almost the same price for it.
So what should i  do with this buyer ? I do not want to refund, i need money. Can Paypal refund my money without my consent and against ebays "refund policy" ?

[DPCreations]

Partial refunds can be a great business tool for negotiating resolutions.  Just focus on the least cost to your business when resolving the dispute.  The partial refund is often the least costly option.

[lincoln8echo]

Ok. I undesstand partial refund strategy.
What is my strategy to keep all money ? May be i can take a day or two to wait and see what buyer will do ?
I saw PayPal transaction details i'm eligible for seller protection. And this transaction was paid was  paid by payment : instant.
Does it meen that it was not paid by credit card and therefore chargeback cannot be filed ?

[DPCreations]

Here's how it works in the real life of a buyer.

The longer the seller postpones a resolution, the more angry the buyer becomes.  As the buyer stews about what to do a negotiated settlement becomes less likely as the buyer becomes more demanding.  Finally, the buyer files a dispute and fights for a full refund, no matter what it takes. At this point the seller is no longer in a position to negotate and the fight begins until the buyer resorts to credit card chargeback and gets a full refund while keeping the item and the seller gets a $20 chargeback after losing to the forced refund.

That's the reality.

You develop your own business philosophy to handle the situations.

As for seller protection, it does not work for bad seller judgement.

It is protection for a claim of non-delivery when the item was delivered.

You're on your own for this one.

[sharpiemarker]

There is no strategy to keeping the money and I'm not trying to be funny.  Buyer has too much leverage to get their full refund.  You have to get that "keep all the money" out of your mind.  PayPal policies are against you: Return for refund, buyer pays return shipping. Most certainly, eBay policy is against you with their Money Back Guarantee: Paying return shipping plus full refund, plus a possible demerit for a unresolved refund where eBay has to step in to assist if you want to fight the return with your no return policy. Credit cards, forgetaboutit: Full refund, possibly no return of goods, plus $20 chargeback fee to boot

You can ask to negotiate a partial refund but the buyer is asking for return for full refund, yes?  Do what they want so they don't send you back a brick or something if you make them mad. Tell them, "Sorry that the item did not work out for you. To my knowledge, the stones are blah, blah, etc, etc, but I would be happy to resolve this matter with you. If you would like to return for refund, please open a PayPal dispute and escalate to claim and so PayPal can help facilitate a return/refund.  Thank you."  Be pleasant in tone in your reply so the buyer doesn't think "this seller is going to be a problem to work with" and go over your head.

Get your item back, quick, no hassle, no haggling, no drawing the matter out longer than it needs to be so you can relist the item someplace else. If you get it back in one piece.

I am a casual seller too but I run my ship as if I were big box.  I have my payment set up in such a way that I have no seller protection at all but I don't have the issues I would see on these boards. I outline my terms of sale, keep my customers updated. All my sales are final but if a buyer contacts me with a problem, I quickly work with them so they do not file a dispute because then you'll lose complete control of the situation.  I've had the very rare defective item message too, it sucks and swear the heck out of the computer screen but you just respond nice and be pleasant to work with and the buyer will be happy to send you pictures of the damage or whatever you need to resolve the matter.  Strangely enough to by the time the whole ordeal is through, I actually feel good about it because the customer would be happy and I resolved the issue.

[sharpiemarker]

PayPal dispute/claim method gives you the least loss.

[lincoln8echo]

Hi gain !
I received interesting reply from Ebay team. It looks like a little hope for me and other sellers.  They advice to make decision on myself to accept or refuse return. Here is original messages:

Hi. I sold an item on the eBay and received positive feedback already.
But now buyer changed his mind and ask if he can return an item.
Because someone tell him that item overpriced and he will not sell this item again.
The item description states that i do not provide returns.
What should i do in this situation ? I do not want to take the item back and return money. Who is right in this situation ?

Hello Taras,

Thank you for contacting eBay regarding an item that you sold on our site. I understand that your buyer wants to return the item to you and you don't know what to do next. Let me assist you on this.

We appreciate your efforts in trying to work things out with your trading partner, especially on this particular transaction. Though I am aware that the reason for returning the item is because he doesn't want to resell it, and since you don't offer returns, you have the option to accept or refuse the item. If ever you have come to a decision to accept his return, kindly advise your buyer that the return postage cost will be his responsibility and cannot be included in the refund.

I trust this information is helpful and wish you all the best for your future trading on eBay.

Have a great day!

 Sincerely,

Virlynn A.

eBay Customer Support

Should i ask them about SNAD and chargebacks and other things ?

[sharpiemarker]

Feel free to ask. Good luck.

[lincoln8echo]

The buyer asked only about return. He did not opened return request.
Should i wait and let him to rethink or step forward and contact him.
If he will open shipping return request it will be too late to offer partial refund ?

[Whac-A-Mole]

makeup your mind whether to accept return or keep a worthless dialogue going,