Posted 24 hours ago

Sold an item on eBay but the item is now damaged.. what to do?

I sold an item on eBay but sadly it fell on the floor and cracked. I know I can cancel the order and the buyer should get a refund, However will there be any implications on me? I have read a few eBay articles but not finding the info I'm looking for/conflicting words.

Anyone got any experience with this?

Thanks

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23 h, 22 m ago
I would suggest a picture of the broken item with your message to the buyer.
18 h, 46 m ago
If it was an auction and sold for less than average prices, then the buyer will probably not believe you and likely give you negative feedback. So as others have mentioned, take a photo and send to the buyer and explain. Ultimately cancelling and refunding is the only outcome here, the communication is what may prevent you getting negative feedback.
23 h, 17 m ago
if I was the buyer, I’d thank you for letting me know
6 h, 14 m ago
So much talk about a negative feedback. If you cancel as the item is damaged. The buyer gets his refund, you gets your refund of fees and the sale didn't happen and on this scenario the buyer CAN'T leave any feedback at all. They may get the option on some pages, but when they try they will get "invalid item" message.

However what would be a poor move if your item sold for a lot less than you wanted, so you pull the damaged whilst packaging move which will haunt you for the rest of your life and if Karma is a thing, you will be reborn as a frog. (edited)
4 h, 49 m ago

In the past when I've tried to leave feedback for a cancelled sale, I have been unable to
21 h, 28 m ago
?

What choice have you got other than to cancel? Just get on with it
21 h, 20 m ago
I suppose he could just post it, then wait for a claim saying it's cracked, then refund and then raise a claim against the courier for damaging it in transit!
18 h, 40 m ago
Negative feedback can be a pain especially if its your first one and you don't sell a lot to offset the percentage rating.
If the item is light (considering postage cost) then consider explaining the situation, send the item and immediately give a full refund.
This also takes the wind out of any awkward buyer, some of which can really take it beyond reason and leave terrible feedback.
When selling overseas I just bite my tongue and let them keep it. This after sometimes spending a lot of time giving support that often is not genuinely needed.
There are more decent honest buyers out there than bad. Also not all sellers are saints so buyers scepticism is not always unfounded.
23 h, 9 m ago
The only likely repercussion is that you might receive negative feedback.
Send them a photo and explain what happened and cancel the order.
23 h, 36 m ago
Just refund the buyer
23 h, 33 m ago
Well what else are you gonna do? Send it as it is? Just cancel and refund. There's an option to select item is damaged I think. If your feedback is good it shouldn't go against you.
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23 h, 15 m ago
I am asking if there are any seller implications i.e fines/sanctions (which is in my original post). Sending it is clearly not an option.
23 h, 26 m ago
Message the buyer explaining and refund them. That's all there is to it.
22 h, 42 m ago
I sold an item and then lost a part of it. I messaged the buyer asking what he wanted to do and he said still to send it, but otherwise I'd have just cancelled and refunded.

Unless you were doing this regularly, the worst that could happen is bad feedback, but you could probably get that removed if you'd been honest and fair in your communication with the buyer.
22 h, 15 m ago
Yes, you will get a mark on your profile. I've had to cancel a couple of eBay sales after the buyer had bought. It does go towards your seller rating, but obviously there isn't much you can do at this point.
Author
22 h, 7 m ago
No fee to pay?