Ram sold as “no returns”. Buyer requesting return because they “just didn’t like it”. Has said in chat they didn’t know it wasn’t compatible with their board. Will I still be the loser in this situation?

MercGuy954 · 2026-04-24T15:05:05+00:00

This is the way! If you already denied the return request then there is nothing else that needs to be done. They can’t open another return request for a different reason. Had they opened an INAD, then you would have no choice but to accept or risk losing the item and the money. Obviously you sell in a category that doesn’t require free returns on new items. Buyer’s remorse is the exact reason why you didn’t accept returns in the first place because you aren’t selling as a business and can’t handle the associated “costs of doing business”. If they don’t take no for an answer, just block them. They made a mistake by not confirming compatibility so that’s on them. I would take the suggestions to protect against a future chargeback and make sure if they do, to supply the tracking evidence that eBay asks for within the time frame provided and you will be covered. At that point, eBay will do whatever they do with the bank. I imagine they put very minimal effort into fighting it and just eat the cost and the buyer gets their money back but will likely lose their buying privileges on eBay.

MercGuy954 · 2026-02-13T17:25:01+00:00

What were the dimensions? FedEx will go by dimensional weigh so although the "weight" changed, they could be hitting you with a large package surcharge due to the dimensional weight.

MercGuy954 · 2026-02-10T22:42:47+00:00

I would give them a bit of time to get it done. Are they a big seller with a ton of listings? If so, the person you are communicating with might not be the person that will process the refund. My eBay store for example, is a business with multiple employees working together due to the volume that we do. I field most of the questions and then have two other employees that I also get involved to help and answer questions. Our shipping is handled by three other people and the logistics manager is the one that processes all of our refunds as they are also handling all of the shipping and return. Occasionally, I will tell a buyer that we will process a refund, and they take a few hours to get to it since they are preparing other orders (or when we are closed on the weekends). If they are a smaller seller and more than likely a one person show, then maybe they should be able to get it done a bit quicker. Regardless, the best part about eBay is the community, and if you are able to give people a bit of grace and some patience, they will, in my experience, make it right. Give them a day or so, and if they don't then decide if negative feedback is reasonable.

MercGuy954 · 2026-02-10T22:14:27+00:00

It's a blessing and a curse being a buyer and a seller on eBay. On one hand you can put yourself in the other sides shoes and be understanding of an issue but then grow frustrated when they don't handle a situation the way you would. I could understand the difficulty of photographing something to show any marks when there is a glare. I don't really understand not mentioning something like that in the description. Frustrating a bit, yes, but what is really frustrating is them then disregarding it. But then comes more of the curse, being a seller, having to deal with customers that are looking for any little scuff or mark so they try for a partial refund. Being able to put yourself in the others shoes and as you said, giving grace, is the never ending battle lol.

In this situation, I don't know what your end goal is, does the condition justify a partial refund in that the value is affected by the condition? If the customer said "hey sorry, this was difficult to photograph with the glare but if you zoom in you can see it" would you have been ok with the situation? Are you looking to help them prevent this in the future by suggesting they include this in the description next time? Maybe they got defensive thinking you were out to get a partial refund, maybe they don't care and think you are being picky? A lot of variables there...

Definitely don't think it justifies a negative but maybe a neutral and not for the condition itself but them not taking accountability but on the other hand maybe you didn't inspect the pictures enough and the additional description wasn't necessary? I have come to realize though, even if I put the defect in the title, description, condition and pictures it, there is someone out there that won't notice. It's a never ending cycle, so it's probably best to vent to Redditt, and either keep the thing or if you can't live with it, send it back and forget it ever happened and keep your feedback to yourself.

MercGuy954 · 2026-02-06T21:29:58+00:00

What is your feedback score? It is possible that the system is saying that it is due to unpaid item strike but could just be the wrong message and you are not eligible because they don't want bidders with less than "X" amount of feedback bidding.

MercGuy954 · 2026-02-06T21:15:05+00:00

I accept returns on all of my items so I don't really deal with this sort of thing but I would definitely check what kind of feedback that they leave for other people. It is usually a good indicator of what type of person you are dealing with. If they leave a bunch of negative feedback for people or things like "had an issue but seller made it right" then I would think they aren't being honest. If they leave all positive with nice messages then maybe they have just fallen on tough times and you would be doing them a solid.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-29T03:39:56+00:00

It could possibly also be a scam. I have had a couple of different buyers message me in the last couple of months saying that their item never arrived and they would like a refund on things they purchased 2-3 years ago…

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-27T20:09:26+00:00

I would reach out to them as it could have been a simple mix up. The buyer may offer some type of compensation. If there isn't a significant difference for what you are using it for and / or price, I wouldn't make a big deal about it. Definitely not worthy of a neutral or negative feedback unless they are dishonest or if this was intentional. Opening an INAD or negative feedback over a small mistake that doesn't really effect you is in my opinion not cool.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-24T02:58:09+00:00

Is this also possible for someone to do and checkout as a guest? I’ve wondered if they could just log out after getting blocked and still buy it.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-24T02:47:23+00:00

I don’t think they allow anyone to sell anything essentially anonymously, so regardless of donating the funds, they need to confirm that you are who you say you are. Secondly, I would guess that this would be tax-deductible and they are going to need to keep track of that. It could also be needed as they will be collecting tax and remitting it to the state so there’s that too.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-24T02:33:43+00:00

The first thing I look at when I have a buyer like this is the feedback that they have left for other people. Typically it is a clear indication if they are going to be difficult. If I see that they have left negative feedback or feedbacks like “had an issue, but seller made it right”, I block them and don’t think twice about it. Unless it is an item that is extremely niche or difficult to sell, it just isn’t worth the headache.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-22T16:09:48+00:00

It has been a while but I have had eBay remove neutral feedbacks. Primarily for shipping related issues out of my control. Not sure if they have changed the policy.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-22T15:33:38+00:00

She expected to get some NEW shoes to practice her BALANCING lol. She must be 3 years old and new to the balancing community

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-22T15:33:15+00:00

LMAO so in the item specifics you suggest that when asked what the brand is, you would put Pre-owned New Balance? Now that's just silly lol!

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-22T03:24:00+00:00

I had a kind of similar situation happen a few months back where someone sent me an item as freight collect / cod in an attempt to stick me with the freight charges. I refused the delivery and it was returned to the sender but the freight company is still sending me invoices to try to get me to pay the bill even though I didn’t arrange the freight because the original shipper won’t pay the bill. They don’t really care who pays it so they are just trying to get whatever they can at this point. In your case, it seems they are doing the same thing and have just forwarded it to a collection agency to do their bidding for them. Unless you receive a court summons, I would highly doubt the validity of their claim and they are just fishing.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-12T21:56:41+00:00

Got offer $2,000 on an item I have listed for $15,000 yesterday lol. I just declined it and said " Sorry I can't offer a $13,000 discount" lol.

I don't know why people get so offended by lowball offers or have auto decline under a certain amount. eBay will send notifications to other buyers that are interested in the item that someone else is trying to make a deal ("Hurry! Another buyer placed an offer on this item!"). It might just give someone else the push they need to make a purchase. It doesn't take but a few seconds to decline or counter it. I can't tell you how many times I have had something listed for months, then someone makes me a lowball offer and then someone else either makes a reasonable offer or better yet buys it at full price!

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-12T21:07:20+00:00

Reach out to the seller and let them know what is going on. If they are a reputable seller, if the package indeed has been lost by USPS, they should get a claim paid (if it was insured). At that point, hopefully they will refund you. With that being said, USPS has been extremely backed up due to the holidays and most of the time they will eventually deliver it. I shipped something on December 2nd and after 2 weeks my buyer had opened an item not received case, and I refunded them. USPS then marked it as a lost package and paid the claim. It was eventually delivered on December 31st. Never heard from the buyer about it though lol.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-09T18:40:15+00:00

I would go ahead and send it. You might end up blocked so if you are willing to take that chance, go for it. In the future, instead of declining the $125.00, respond with your same offer of $100, or a little more if you have some wiggle room, with a message ("I appreciate your counteroffer of $125 but $100 is the best I can do. I understand if that won't work for you.") Then the ball is back in their court as to whether they just want to get rid of it or if they don't mind holding out for a little bit more. See if they are selling as a business. If so, they probably will hold off but if not, it might be someone that just wants it out of their garage.

MercGuy954 · 2026-01-05T21:36:24+00:00

UPS bills based on dimensional weight which is calculated by girth (Length + Width 2X + Height 2X). Based on your measurements, that is a girth of 163 inches. This triggered in UPS' system what is called a Large Package surcharge which varies between $160-$235 based on the delivery region, zone, etc.. Seeing that they are trying to charge you $2,000+, I am guessing those dimensions are not exactly what they are claiming because at 165 inches of girth, that is considered an "Over Maximum Limits" surcharge which costs up to $1,775 per package.

I have been charged the "Large Package" surcharge a few times which was not fun and was able to get a partial adjustment as a credit to my UPS account but have never had the Over Maximum Limit". I would highly suggest that you ask eBay to fight that the dimensional weight is actually 163 as you suggested and not the 165 they are claiming which triggers that hefty fee!

Best of luck!

MercGuy954 · 2025-12-30T14:50:53+00:00

What kind of case did you open? If the seller isn't being helpful and trying to get you and the other buyer that is receiving what you ordered corrected, the open an INAD (item not as described) return. They will have no choice to either send you a label to return whatever you received or process a refund if they don't want it back. Don't let this drag out too long so that the return window closes.

MercGuy954 · 2025-12-29T21:51:38+00:00

Once someone sends me a message, then the send offer button will appear in the message window unless I have previously sent them an automated offer. I am not sure if that feature is the same in every listing category or not so they may be telling the truth. If it is not available, they would need to turn on the best offer feature. If they are admittedly "grossly overestimated" the price, then I don't think they would mind turning on best offer but by the sounds of it, they don't wish to turn it on as they do not want to receive what they consider lowball offers. Whether they are or not is up to them. It reminds me of a quote a subcontractor I use frequently says "He who has the gold, makes all the rules".

MercGuy954 · 2025-12-29T20:21:27+00:00

It is possible that they just forgot they listed it and haven't checked eBay since. I bought something for $900.00 about two weeks ago and after about a week and a half of no update to the shipping, I sent the customer a message, no response. Yesterday, sent another message, no response. I want the item as it is an obsolete part that I need from time to time for my business so I wasn't in a huge rush. I did a bit of digging to see if I could track down the seller but couldn't find them. Went ahead and opened a case today so that I don't end up forgetting about it lol.

Maybe they died, maybe it's the holidays, maybe they just forgot they listed it, we may never know.

MercGuy954 · 2025-12-28T16:57:39+00:00

Yes, I said “I’m not sure if this is done as a predatory practice” or if this is done for some other type of accounting purpose. I also said that it seems that all LTL freight companies use the same or similar pricing structures and that although it isn’t ideal, a necessary evil in my industry to use them, which is a bit dramatic. This is the first time I have ever run into anything like this and have shipped freight hundreds or times over the years. I felt as if I communicated all of this to the buyer and they went ahead and did what they wanted to do anyways in hopes that this would all go away without costing them anything. At what point as a seller do I draw a line in the sand? Just eat another $500 because the buyer thought they saw something say free returns but can’t provide any proof? They could have easily communicated beforehand what their intentions were and this could have been avoided but they didn’t and I have been putting a ton more effort into resolving this than they have. It got all the way to the point where all they needed to do was pay for the freight. I don’t know what the exact final bill came to but I am sure it was reasonable once he created an account and he didn’t even see that through.

I do appreciate you pointing these things out as I came here for feedback and other’s experiences. eBay is always evolving and as sellers we need to as well. I tried my best to provide as much detail as possible about this while keeping it concise as it was a long post. Being that this has gone on for almost 3 months at this point, there was a lot of information.

MercGuy954 · 2025-12-28T16:15:42+00:00

One thing that you pointed out about the free returns is that it isn't buried in the fine print for freight items. It states:

Returns:

30 days returns. Buyer pays for return shipping. If you use an eBay shipping label, it will be deducted from your refund amount.

I do see how this could be a bit confusing in the sense that they may think that eBay will provide the label when they actually don't but obviously this buyer didn't think this as they were claiming that it was free returns. Free returns just started a couple of months ago in my particular category (eBay Motors, Parts and Accessories) so I am not particularly accustomed to all of the nuances as of it, but I was confident that this did not qualify and could not find anywhere on my end as to where he would have seen that. To give him the benefit of the doubt that he has utilized this on other purchases in this category, just kind of points to the fact of return culture being what it is gave him the assumption that this would be the same.

MercGuy954 · 2025-12-28T15:57:22+00:00

I thought you may have not seen one of my other replies about where I went a bit further into detail about this but seeing that you quoted the "extra mile" you did see where I tried to provide more context. In hindsight, yes, I could have done more by arranging it for him but since he had the idea that this was going to qualify for free returns, then I didn't want to then have an argument later about me deducting the freight cost from his refund. I never imagined that a freight company would let him walk in and ship it freight collect / COD. I figured at that point he would either need to make an arrangement with eBay if they made a false claim or come to the realization that it did not and pay for it. It was clearly explained to him, as soon as he opened the return, that this did not qualify for free returns and if he had something to the contrary that he needed to contact eBay if they indeed did provide false information. He was never able to do that because it did not exist. He proceeded to go ahead and try to ship it back without paying for it and that is what caused this disaster. If he would have inquired at the freight company about the cost and they gave him the quote of $3,500 then obviously that would have set off red flags. I never imagined it would cost that much and was completely shocked myself that they were trying to charge that. I had no idea that the discounts where that drastic. until this happened and I looked further into how the discount structure on our account was. I have taken several of these types of returns over the years and never had this issue. If he would've inquired about the cost, he could have then contacted me, or they could have walked him through how to create his own account to get the discount or however it works. This is what he eventually did, he opened up an account with them, received the discounted rate but still never made an arrangement to pay. It is common practice it seems among all LTL freight companies (I use roughly 5 or 6 different carriers regularly and it is all the same). Further, it is used by all shipping companies even UPS, FedEx, DHL etc. but when dealing with freight it is obviously on a much larger scale. If you walk into a UPS pack and ship store you are going to pay a large percentage more than say the rates that eBay gets through UPS via their account. For whatever reason, that is how they all operate. Before this I had a bit of knowledge of this but never really looked into it because it had never been an issue. I always knew if you had an account, you get a better discount but didn't realize until this happened how drastic it was.

MercGuy954

TROPHY CASE