Selling a High Value Item on Ebay

[ArtDeco]

Hello all

Up till now my Ebay selling has generally been at the £5 for old clothing, with my highest sale being around £80 I think (Lola Rose!) But I've recently listed two high value items, diamond rings for around £2000-3000. I recall there are people on here who have sold high value items and wondered if they have any advice, particularly with regard to refunds. If I agree to take an item back, do I get my Ebay/PayPal fees back? And how risky would you say this level of selling is? I'd follow all the rules for Ebay Seller Protection (and have made that clear in the listings) but if anyone can help with pointers on how not to go wrong I'd very much appreciate it!

MTIA :up:

 

[Akimbo]

Hi I haven't sold anything that expensive but if the buyer returns for a refund ebay will contact the buyer to confirm that both parties agree to cancel the sale, once the buyer responds to ebay your fees will be deducted from your ebay account. There's always the risk the buyer doesn't do this so I've seen sellers state in their T&C that a "% restocking fee" will be retained in the event of a refund. When you log into paypal to make the refund it's straight forward to alter the amount of the refund to deduct say the postage or any other deduction. Anything you state in your T&C should be in large print (because buyers don't read them) and you must insist they use royal mail special delivery (fully tracked and insured). Insist on paypal payment even if they offer cash on collection because you only have seller protection if you use paypal. I'll add more as I think of them (in about 8 cups of tea's time!)

I'd definitely state the buyer is liable for the Special delivery postage in both directions if they simply change their minds. It's the "not as described" excuse that a buyer will most likely use to open a case as a way of getting all their money back, because ebay will always find in favour of the buyer, so take lots of photos with a camera that has a good macro function.

Jude xx

 

[dollydiva]

Having bought and sold quite a few high value items, you do need to be a bit careful; this said, most people are okay in my experience. You can opt 'Returns not accepted' - this said, the buyer always has the right to return, should the item be 'not as described'.

As a buyer I have had the sticky end of the lollipop on this one - Rings that were not the diamond weight, rings that were the incorrect size ( I always take a pic of any ring I sell showing the ring size on a ring wand). I also once bought a platinum diamond eternity ring from a major seller on ebay - only to have them send me a 9ct white gold substandard ring. They were full of apologies, but after many, many emails, they still failed to supply the ring, or refund me and my CC did a chargeback. I was VERY lucky not to lose £2000.

Some buyers will damage stuff deliberately just so they can say it was received like that, complain to ebay and get a full refund. Remember, if the buyer says its' 'not as described' ebay will give them a FULL refund - and that includes the postage. Ebay will supply a postage label for the buyer to return for expensive items (SDel) but again, in my experience, the email advising as such rarely turns up.

I have read horror stories on the Sellers Forums at ebay. A common scam is to return a different ring to the one you sent out. Then you have a case of your word against the buyer who will insist they sent the correct ring - this is a variation on the scam pulled on me where my ring was NOT the one bought. If that happens to you, call the Police and report it as a crime - if you are lucky, they will investigate as it's high value - if not, then check your Insurance!

You could say 'local pick up only' - limited audience though and as a buyer I've been frustrated by sellers not offering to post, but I can see the logic of cash in hand (you checked it was real money, right?!). Better still, get them to pay via PayPal once they've seen it via their phone.

Ive been on ebay since it started (was just USA then) and in all that time I think I've only had a handful of issues, but I have to admit there are more scammers on now than ever. Golden rule - never post to any other address no matter what, no matter how much they plead as you'll invalidate the Cover offered to sellers by Paypal.