The Dilemma of Return Shipping

I spend a lot of time reading buyer/seller disputes, and one issue that keeps coming up as a point of conflict is who pays return shipping.

For example, say a buyer wins an auction for a video tape, but when it arrives it's the wrong format, so it won't play in their VCR. The buyer checks the listing and sees that the format wasn't clearly specified. The listing says that the seller will provide a full refund with no questions asked within two weeks of the transaction, so the buyer decides to send the tape back.

It seems like the solution to this situation should be relatively simple – the buyer returns the item, the seller gets the item back, the buyer gets their money back.  However, this obvious resolution can easily get caught up on the issue of return shipping.

The buyer feels wronged in that they had to pay the seller to ship them an item that is useless to them. They're already out the shipping and handling cost for the original shipment. From their perspective, they did nothing wrong – they paid for the item in a timely fashion. The reason for their dissatisfaction was the lack of clarity in the seller’s original listing, so they don't feel they should be obliged to pay for return shipping in order to get their money back.

The seller feels that it was an honest mistake, that the buyer should have asked about the format of the tape if there was any chance of an incompatibility, and that they did nothing wrong by not providing more clarity in the listing. They're out the time and the eBay fees to list and ship the item, so even if they get the item back they’re still taking a loss.

Now PayPal's policy, and the expectation of most sellers, is that the buyer pays return shipping.  Most mail order companies work this way, though there are some notable exceptions (such as LL Bean, I think). However, it seems that most buyers don't think of eBay sellers in the same way as they think of the big mail order chains. Because their relationship with eBay sellers is more personal, closer to one-on-one, it's easier for misunderstandings to erupt.

To address this potential issue, my advice is for sellers to speak directly to return shipping in their listings. Consider covering return shipping by providing a slightly higher refund for items when S&H isn't that much, or where the fault for the problem is clearly yours. If you're a buyer, you should probably presume that you'll have to pay return shipping unless the seller makes clear otherwise, even if the problem that arises with the transaction is no fault of your own.

Also, I think eBay and PayPal should speak more clearly on this issue to ensure buyers know that return shipping is usually their responsibility. I'll talk to some of my cohorts here in Trust and Safety (TnS) about how we can get that message out more effectively.