I recently sold a cot on ebay.  I bought this very cot 2 years ago off ebay for £10 and bought a new mattress so when I sold the cot for £80, I was delighted.  The lady that bought it contacted me and asked me to post the mattress too(bit weird considering all the health warnings but heyho).  I posted both items, the mattress postage coming out of my pocket as I hadn't vouched for this being included.  Anyway, I posted the very next day after sale and then the courier had bother delivering.  So it was 5 days later she recieved the items even though I'd stated 3 days but I did send her the delivery numbers so she could check for herself why it was'nt delivered.  Anyway, she has now decided that the item isn't as described and has stopped the payment wanting a refund!! 
Here is her issues and my reasons for declining the refund
1.  The box was damaged. - I said she shouldn't have accepted delivery of a damaged item without writing it on the delivery note.
2. No instructions - I said it was a used item and I never had instructions to build it myself(and I managed!!)
3. No model number - I never had nor advertised a model number
4. A plastic part is broken- Nonsense. I checked all parts before selling.
I am so mad.  I think this lady has now broken pieces of the cot which makes it impossible for me to re-sell.  I wouldn't have minded if she'd changed her mind and sent it back but it's the fact she's broken bits and I've to pay.  Any ideas?  I have sent a report to Paypal stating the above facts so hopefully they will see sense but I am so mad!!

i wouldn't hold your breath with paypal, they seem to do everything they can fr the buyer but nothing for the seller. I sold a nintendo wii with loads of games and a wii fit board last year and the lady that bought it claimed she never received it. I didn't send it recorded delivery (and advised this on my listing) as ebay would only let me put £14 postage on it but still had proof of posting with her postcode on etc. She put a claim in through paypal and they gave her a full refund leaving me £280 down and without my nintendo wii. What made me really mad was the fact that i had proof of postage but paypal were not interested in any proof i had.

I really hope you get it sorted. My experience has left me with no trust in the paypal/ebay sellers protection so i just wont sell my stuff on there anymore.

Difficult one as it is her word against yours. She does however sound like a professional whinger so maybe now you have complained others may have also complained as well and eBay will see sense as they will see she has done this sort if thing before :-)

i tried doing that as this woman had nearly 20 feedback comments saying that the item hadn't been received and a full refund was given by the seller. I had refused to give her a full refund as she had no proof that she hadn't received it and i had proof that I had sent it which it is why she went through paypal.

Just a thought, does the photo you put on your listing show the plastic piece that is meant to be broken? If so, send that to paypal as proof that it was in working order when you sent it.

This woman has OK feedback with no evidence of doing this before.  I knew she was going to be bother from the start as she had e-mailed me twice before even buying the blinkin thing!!  You know when you just get that feeling?

The woman has put on her complain that the damage is to the outside but then e-mailed me to say the damage was the small plastic parts which I had checked and then counted and then double bagged and parcel taped to make sure then didn't get lost.  I then taped the bag to the cot so there is no way they could've been damaged in transit.  I think she has damaged them 'trying' to put up the cot and then is blaming me. But I can't re-sell.  I wouldn't care about re-listing but now it's damaged!!PAH!

Ally, I think if you sell something at this value and the postage price is set then it's up to you to take the hit of paying the recorded or special delivery charge to keep yourself right.  When I sell on eBay I will only send recorded or special delivery, as there are some very dishonest people out there.  :(

>I had refused to give her a full refund as she had no proof that she hadn't received it and i had proof that I had sent it which it is why she went through paypal.

If you're going to sell on ebay, it's prudent to know their rules before you do.  The onus is on the seller to use the appropriate means of postage to ensure delivery to the buyer.  The buyer does not have to prove receipt - you, as the seller, have to prove delivery therefore you should have used recorded (to obtain a signature - only costs about 75p more than standard postage) or, in the case of high value items, special delivery which is the only method that guarantees delivery and insures the item for it's full value so you can claim in the event that it is lost/damaged. Your buyer may have been a chancer but I'm afraid the loss is your own fault as you didn't read Ebay's rules and didn't take adequate steps to protect yourself.  An expensive lesson to learn.

Cracar - do not refund a penny until you have the buyer has returned the item to you in its entirety.  You are under no obligation to refund until the goods are back with you and the buyer will have to return it at her own expense.  That is most likely what Paypal will instruct anyway - buyer to return item for refund. Buyers often claim 'not as described' to try to recoup some of their money by asking the seller to refund a portion of the purchase price.  Unless you are happy to go down this road (since you made a large profit, you might be happy to refund her an amount?), hold firm and offer a full refund only on return of the item to you.  The expense of that is often enough to put off a buyer who chancing their arm for a refund.

Oh, that was a great post, Shaynlola.  I thought I had to pay to have it posted back to me!  I said that to OH that I wouldn't mind maybe going half as I never expected the cot to go so high.  You can buy brand new for that! But I have put my case to paypal and they are awaiting her responce to my reply(she started the dispute).  She's digging her heels in cos I answered straight away.  Never again!!
I sold a load of things at the same time and it was only her delivery and items that had a problem!!

therefore you should have used recorded (to obtain a signature - only costs about 75p more than standard postage) or, in the case of high value items, special delivery

not entirely true. Recorded delivery for this item was going to be £24.94, £10.95 more than the postage limit allowed on the ebay listing. I offered this service to the buyer at her expense but she declined.

you didn't read Ebay's rules

I cant find any where on ebay that says an item must be sent recorded delivery. I chose the delivery option that came up when i listed the item.

I'm afraid the loss is your own fault

I think the only place i'm at fault is where i thought that people were as trustworthy as i am

Recorded Signed For(TM)
Want proof that your item was delivered but without paying for full tracking or extra compensation? Then opt for this service for items that are not especially urgent or of high value.
To calculate the price, simply add a 77p Recorded fee to either your First or Second Class postage cost.

copied from the Royal mail leaftet on post prices

eBay make it quite clear that the onus for proving delivery is on the Seller.  It is also the sellers responsibility to file a claim if the item is lost or damaged in the post, although Royal Mail might want extra information about the damage which the buyer must provide to the seller.

As a seller you must make every effort to cover yourself in these cases (which include dodgy buyers) and that means accurately pricing full delivery costs.  Sellers should take the time to research the best options for safely posting their item but sometimes it is more economical to buy a standard delivery service with enhanced compensation than to use a Special Delivery service.  Extra insurance on Standard Parcel post is only a £1 or so

Electronics, mobile phones etc have a history of dodgy buyers so never post items like this without full insurance OR track and trace options.  Also it is wise to tell buyers that they should notify you upon safe receipt as you keep all your paperwork until then.  This puts off some of the chancers as they know you will keep track!

eBay can be a great tool for selling unwanted stuff but never expose yourself to unnecessary risk.  If for some reason you cannot find a way to add the full postage price (I'd be interested to see these limits as they've never come up on any item I've sold) then do not list the item unless you are prepared to cover the difference yourself.  Sometimes it makes sense to absorb postage within your start price and actually offer a reduced or free postage rate.  You'll often get a better end price as buyers think they might be getting a bargain :)

>If for some reason you cannot find a way to add the full postage price (I'd be interested to see these limits as they've never come up on any item I've sold) then do not list the item unless you are prepared to cover the difference yourself.

I think they are fairly new.  In clothing I am sure the limit for postage is either £6 or £8 and you have to build any extras like recorded delivery or tracked into that.  I was having a clear out recently and put a pair of winter boots on that weighed more than the postal allowance.  I ended up just hoping they sold for enough that I wouldn't notice the hit too much.  They ended up costing around £10 as they weighed so much and were in a large shoe box.

> (I'd be interested to see these limits as they've never come up on any item I've sold)

They appear in various categories and have recently changed  in clothing/accessories.  I sometimes list hats/fascinators for sale, last year P&P was free, no option to charge at all soy ou had to build price into item price, this year can charge up to £4. I have found it in one or 2 other categories too - come to think of it I don't know if it only  applies to new items in these categories?

> I think they are fairly new.  In clothing I am sure the limit for postage is either £6 or £8 and you have to build any extras like recorded delivery or tracked into that.

It's £6 I think - my sister does a lot of Ebaying and we were talking about this yesterday, she bought a pair of boots from the USA and the wrong size was sent so she's going to sell them but they weigh a lot more than £6-worth.

I've been diddled on Ebay this week, I'm about to open a dispute. I ordered an all-metal Mikki dog comb as described and pictured, but was sent a cheap & nasty pound-store comb instead! the seller hasn't answered me and it's been 4 days now - but has the cheek to say on his page all returns must be within 48 hrs!

we bought a blu-ray player off ebay and was supposdly brand new when we got it the drawer would not open so we could not play anything on it at all, the final outcome was the seller won her case so we are out of pocket and have a blu-ray that we can't use as the drawer will not open wish we had gone through ebay to open the case and not paypal might of got a better result

> i wouldn't hold your breath with paypal, they seem to do everything they can fr the buyer but nothing for the seller.

Not always true, I sold a mobile phone last year that was blocked and I clearly put it was blocked in the advert, the buyer then tried to get her money back and stopped the funds with paypal as it 'didn't work because it was blocked'! Paypal said I had done nothing wrong as the advert was clear and I got my money in full.

The only thing she has put in the dispute is the packaging was damaged!!  I don't get this?!  I have said that if the packaging were damaged then she should have refused to sign for the pkg or written on the couriers notes.  I'm not loosing all that money for a broken box!!  It's not even damaged the cot, just the box!
And for the record, I paid the extra to get her to sign for the package.  Might be my saving grace that 75p!!

Sounds like she's trying it on.  I don't see what damaged packaging has to do with it, she won't put the baby on the packaging (or would she lol).  Tell her to send it back or pay you, there is no refund on offer.

It is possible that due to the fact the cot went into storage and was not delivered for 5 days that it was damaged during transit (though that is not your fault) your quite correct that it should have been noted on delivery as now there is no proof that it was damaged at all, she can say it was until the cows come home, but where is the proof? She can't say it was damaged afterwards even if it was it redeems the delivery service, meaning you could not make a claim even against them, they will say the parcel was fine on delivery, it's a none starter, she can not say it was damaged there is no proof of that.

For that reason alone, never mind the fact that you did check all parts, paypal should refuse the refund, there is no case here, you can not take the word of a buyer without some sort of proof, there is none at all...............