Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Paypal Automatic Defect

Ahhh the D WORD!

So, I was checking my seller dashboard and saw that I had a defect for a cancelled transaction. This was weird because I didn't have any cancelled transactions for any reason that would cause a defect (cancelled by seller for being out of stock).

So I checked the item ID and saw the situation. A few weeks ago a seller paid $11 shipping to California for a small bag I was able to actually send first class. I messaged her that I was sending it cheaper and sending a partial refund via Paypal. I did this because I was afraid she would give me low ratings for shipping (resulting in a defect) because they actual cost was so much less than $11.

Anyway, I accidently hit "refund" on Paypal instead of typing in the $6 and doing a partial refund! Oops. A couple back and forths with her and a new invoice was sent and she was VERY nice about it.

 
A little eBay shipping humor to get you through this hard core eBay post

So why the defect? eBay automatically gives you a "cancelled transaction" defect if you refund the whole amount on Paypal! (Not for the normal return process - only in abnormal cases like this one).

So, for example, a buyer says a $5 item arrived broken, and instead of doing a lengthy return process on a cheap item, you just refund them: DEFECT!

The rep I spoke to was clear that they are still working out the kinks in the defect system, and she thinks this will drop off. But for now, beware when fully refunding a buyer!

If you have recently fully refunded someone (for a reason other than being out of stock or a return) I would love to know if that is showing up in your Defect Report. Thanks!

8 comments:

  1. I have fully refunded buyers several times in Paypal and never received a defect for it. I also have requested mutual cancellations always choosing the "other" for reason. I usually just add "buyer returned it and was refunded in full" or "buyer fully refunded. I always ask the buyer first if they will agree to the cancellation so they understand the request is to get my FVF's back.

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    1. I think the difference is this was not a refund or cancellation. It was an accident that I fully refunded her when I tried to give her a partial refund for shipping. Neither of us wanted to cancel the transaction. She received the bag and paid for it through another Paypal invoice.

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    2. I currently have a this transaction going on right now. Buyer from Brazil bought an item from me and provided a hotel address in Colorado (he's participating in a triathlon). He doesn't want it to arrive until July 30th (not good because I have a 1 day shipping policy), and the address he provided was too many characters so the label wouldn't print. I refunded his Paypal payment, and explained how to fix the address so it would print. We have a language barrier and he didn't understand how to pay for it again, so I sent him a "request money" invoice indicating it was for an ebay purchase. He paid it and now the label is printable. The status on my account is just showing "payment refunded" (been this way since last Friday). On Saturday when I ship it, I will just go in, mark it paid and enter the tracking number. I don't have any defect for this on my dashboard. I'm really puzzled as to why you have a defect for this.

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    3. I also removed his ebay ID from my auto non-paying bidder so he won't receive a warning notice.

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    4. I am really puzzled too! Even the rep was puzzled because she couldn't see the cancellation within the eBay system (because it wasn't there) that's how she figured out it was Paypal...

      She said she was forwarding my situation on, and that I was not the first one with this issue.

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  2. I had a return / gave a full refund at the beginning of July and no defect. She contacted me through 'other' that a skirt didn't fit. Once she returned it, I refunded total original $ (but not return shipping) through Paypal. She agreed to cancel the transaction (I chose buyer returned/refunded in full) and she left positive feedback. No defect. What you wrote above concerns me and it will kill clothing sellers if defects are given for every return.

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    Replies
    1. Mutual returns and cancellations will not count as a defect. But if there is a full refund without going through the proper avenue on eBay Paypal will assume that you cancelled the transaction at the sellers fault.

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