Return Policy Discussion

Not to stick my nose in, but I'll stick my nose in.

My experience buying/selling on ebay is rather limited, having purchased maybe 150 coins and sold 100 or so. I share HABIB's return policy, although, like him, I've never had a return. Here's my answers to your questions:

1) If I don't hear from a buyer within 7 days of delivery (I have delivery confirmation on ALL sales, paid out of my own pocket if necessary), I will not accept a return. That's final, and ebay will back me up since it's both reasonable and clearly defined in my auctions.

2) Restock fees are unacceptable.

3) Final Value Fees are recoverable in the instance of a return/refund, if I'm to believe ebay's Help section.

4) I know with certainty because I have images of all my coins like this one (dialup users beware):

http://www.compucoin.com/gallery/ma...rialNumber=2
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Thanks for the info. My only question is why you say restock fees are unacceptable? The reason I ask is that you would have already incurred the cost of gas to take the item to the post office, plus your time. Once the item is returned you will have to relist it and incur another listing fee. As far as I know, ebay does not refund listing fees, even for a non-paying bidder situation or a mutual return. I know they will cover the final value fees, so you are covered there.

I'm just trying to cover all the bases in case I get serious with selling coins on ebay, so I am very open to discussion and ideas.

I think that is true, but don't you get a free listing when something like a non paying buyer takes place? I think that has happened to me before actually, and while I lost the initial listing fee, the relist was free.....I could be wrong or thinking of another circumstance though.
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I think they only refund the final value fee with a non-payer. I havent had one in awhile (knock on wood) but I seem to remember gettign stuck with the cost of having to relist the item. The only time I think they make the relist fee is if you have a reserve on an item and it doesn't sell the first time, but sells the next time.

I dont think they refund listing fees on returned items that are relisted though. Maybe someone out there knows for sure?

To those of you who won't purchase from a seller who doesn't have a return policy, it's absolutely your perogative. As a seller, I may be losing sales for not allowing it; however, it's my peragative to have such a policy. It isn't intended to rip people off. I'm a good seller who fairly represents the items I'm selling. Unfortunately, buyers are frequently fickle about their purchases or outright scammers. As a buyer, I'm not interested in losing my intital shipping cost to send the buyer a product, simply because the buyer changes his/her mind or just doesn't like the product. Moreover, I'm even less interested in selling somebody a NEW item, then having to accept a return of an item in less-than-new condition.

With coins in particular, a return policy will always open the seller up to fraudulent returns...buy one item, but return a different one. The coins that I sell are not expensive coins and they are normally sold in lots. It would be very easy for a customer to cherry pick what he wants, then try to get a return. I make it very clear in my listings that I'm not accepting returns. I post decent photos and normally offer to email additional photos upon request. If not having a return policy means I'm losing sales or taking a lower ending price, then it's VERY worth it to me.
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Those are the very reasons I have had a no return policy. Not just for coins, but for other items I sell as well. Two of my biggest concerns is someone doing an impulse buy or someone who is shotgunning coins to find the perfect one for his collection. What's to stop someone from buying 10, 20, or even 50 coins from 50 different sellers and then deciding on what is the best one to fill that last slot in his book? The other 49 sellers now have to handle a return and who is to say that the buyer will get the right coin back to each respective seller? I know this is an extreme example but this is a potential problem or can be exploited by a buyer.

Same thing with an impulse buy. Let's say someone goes on ebay and buys a bunch of coins from a bunch of different sellers because they get carried away one night on a shopping spree. After all is said and done, they realized they went overboard and cant make their next house payment. Is that the seller's fault? Having an open ended return policy would allow this buyer to return the coin(s) with no questions asked. How fair is it to the seller to have to accept the return when the buyer made a mistake and the seller did everything right on his end?

These are the kinds of situations I want to avoid. I mentioned earlier charging a restock fee but someone mentioned it was unacceptable. I think if I put in a return policy where I started allowing returns, I would have no choice but to charge a restock fee to cover having to list the coin a 2nd time, to cover my cost of gas for taking it to the post office, and for the expense I incurred for the mailing materials.