Top Rated Seller Help

Distant selling has a 14 day return for any reason.

Correct. No returns after 14 days.

I'm not sure if this applies to discovering the coin is a counterfeit or an altered coin, though. Others would have to weigh in on that.

I know that after 45 days you can't file a complaint with ebay.

I've sold well over 1000 coins and believe I have had seven coins returned.

I don't know if I'm average or not.

I try to take the best photos I can (the ultimate KEY in selling) and try to accurately describe my coins, including any bigger bag marks or problems. If I think a coin has been cleaned I mention it. I don't want any potential buyers to be surprised when they get one of my coins.

I have always been curious about this too. I sold for a little while on ebay and had a return on something once. The buyer lied to me and returned it saying it didnt work. Which it did and I promptly sold again without problems. I would have never accepted the return if it werent for the fact that I read in a few places that the buyer could still come after me via paypal for up to 45 days. My understanding was that even though I indicated no returns in my ebay listing I was still held under paypal rules which meant I had to accept returns for 45 days (maybe it was 21 days).

I sell a decent number of items on ebay and I pretty much always offer the 14-day return policy (only exception is used items that are sold As-Is). I have been a Top Rated Seller on and off over the last couple years (I don't really post enough volume to keep up all the stats) and I think I've had maybe two returns in the last two years.

A couple things to consider: Be sure to clarify when filling out your return policy that the BUYER is responsible for return postage if they are returning an item. Also, if you offer free shipping on your items, some sellers will deduct their shipping costs when refunding a return. Some sellers do not. Personally, I choose to refund their full purchase price (all my auctions are free shipping), just to keep the consumers happy and hopefully atleast get a 5-star positive feedback out of the transaction. Also, don't forget to file the return through ebay so that you can get your Final Value Fee credit back to you.

Hope these pointers help!

Note: I have not started selling coins on ebay, so I don't know if there are subtle differences with the average coin buyers on ebay. I mainly sell collectibles, toys, movies, etc.

I don't think it is required to issue a refund on shipping, just the selling price if it is returned.

Depends, if you offer free shipping, then it is up to you if you want to deduct your shipping costs from the original purchase price prior to refunding. If you are charging the buyer for shipping, then the buyer already paid to cover the shipping, and you won't be out a dime =)