Buyer on BST returns item, is he entitled to refund?

Never had this happen before(been here for 11 years) and have bought and sold hundreds of items. Sold an older putter and buyer received it and was very nice but said basically it wasnt represented well and is sending it back to me and wants a refund. I will admit the pictures in my listing were plenty but not the highest quality from my phone. But i always put in my listings the condition, price reflects that, and most importantly TEXT/PM me for more pictures. Either way the putter is on its way back to me, I do not want it(it was sold), is the buyer being unreasonable or is he entitled to a refund? Ive never had anyone send a club back and just expect a refund like its a sweater. Im not in the business of renting clubs to people just so they can look at it then return it.

The listing is as follows, and it was the Scotty Circa 62, sold for around $190. That price alone should tell the condition, and when i received the putter back I will post more pictures. It is in very good condition for the age.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Not worth fighting it. Just issue the refund when you get it back and re-sell.

Invite the buyer to this thread.

Pics look exactly like what I’d expect for a gamer that was well taken care of for it’s age. It’s not described as “like new”. What did the buyer say wasn’t as described? Pics show the details.

I have never heard of this in my 200+ experiences buying and selling on this site. Granted, your pictures were well below par, but it is his responsibility to request you send him better ones before purchasing unless something your fault occurred like made a significant mistake (or lied) in your listing, sold a counterfeit or broken club, etc....which we know was not the case here.

Invite the seller to explain his side. If I were you, assuming the putter is in the condition it left your possession in when you get it back, just send him the refund and move on with your life. It absolutely sucks, but you’re going to waste far more energy fighting this that you will just re-listing.

ill take some better pics when I get it back, but I’m just annoyed honestly. If you are buying a 10 year old putter... it won’t be brand new, but honestly this thing is in very good shape. Takes some stones to send it back and expect me to refund you the money.

Tell him thank you for renting your putter for $190 and move on ?

Refund the buyer as long as the putter is still in the same shape you sold it and move on. You will be able to sell it again. Most important of all is to provide the WRX user name of the buyer so that others can avoid the buyer at all costs.

Welcome to 2020....where all the entitled buyers expect you to be just like amazon and do their bidding.

Don’t let him bully you into paying his return shipping costs if it was as described. Buyers remorse is a scummy move.

Wow. So as sellers on the BST we're retailers with a playability guarantee now?

Charge him a “restocking” fee minus 15% and I guarantee you he used it at least once and didn’t like the feel. So lame, he’s da kine.

Honestly, this thread is worthless without input from the buyer. There are some blurry pictures in the BST listing, but if the buyer had concerns about the condition he should have asked for more/ better pictures. He did agree to the price paid, so he must have felt comfortable when he was purchasing. Buyers really have to start accepting some responsibility when making their decisions to purchase, and stop thinking of the BST as an online retail establishment and themselves as “customers”. Have regrets over your decision? Be a grown up and deal with the consequences. No one held a gun to your back when you were hitting send on PayPal.

(I’d be more than happy to adjust my opinion of this deal if the buyer jumped in with a different take, and he feels like the seller purposely hid/obscured flaws on the putter.)

*edit - also, it’s a bold move (Cotton), to drop the putter in the mail THEN request a refund. All aspects reek of an inexperienced BST user.

Completely agree I don’t know if buyer would want to comment or not.

buyer is also a long standing member who according to him has purchased and sold many items and did let me know a deal is not complete till the seller(me) either checks in after delivered or gets confirmation from buyer that a buyer is happy with purchase and it is exactly as described. If it isn’t the buyer can return the item. The buyer was nice enough to even gift money since the offer was about $60-70 off market value when asked. I have done business with him before which is why he felt comfortable doing so.

I will gladly post pictures when putter comes back to me. Honestly I was so taken back we got into a pissing match via PM. I just feel I did nothing wrong, I admitted I’m not best with the uploading of pictures but my post clearly states I will gladly take more upon request. I priced it well below market value, and the description doesn’t state “mint”, “like new”, etc

with this virus going around I don’t even want to touch the damn thing honestly, I cleaned it before sending out, did buyer do the same?

The buyer did state that he felt he had to get it refinished and that would cost more then the actual price he paid which is why he returned it. I can 100% guarantee you this putter which is 10 years old can be gamed today and doesn’t have to be refinished. Doing some research on the circa line and they are supposed to develop a small patina on them, that’s the finish they come with.

id love for him to chime in if possible and I can post pictures when received.

Just @ his name and he’ll have the opportunity to respond or not. Sounds like this “long standing member” is using the anonymity of no feedback to bully you.

Thanks! Another name to add to the block list.

Make sure and leave proper... oh wait....

And this is why feedback in the BST forum should be a priority.

I've sold a few things on here. Sometimes people reply they got it, looks great. Others just ghost.

My favorite part is when he said " a deal is not complete till the seller(me) either checks in after delivered or gets confirmation from buyer that a buyer is happy with purchase and it is exactly as described. If it isn’t the buyer can return the item."

Gold Jerry. Gold.

I went to Dicks and bought a sun mountain bag, I bet they are waiting for my email or call to let them know I'm happy with the purchase so they can close my file ?

I'd tell the buyer to pound sand.

Careful with the mean words, or your avatar might end up like mine.

Fixed. Just a moment of weakness. I get weary of these stories. Many of which could be avoided with good feedback system.

I would hold the putter and make the guy send me more money to ship it back to him. Maybe if we stop giving into these types of people they will eventually leave.

Guys, my post isn’t to make the buyer look bad by any means. In fact I am now questioning my product so I am interested to inspect it closer when I get it. Perhaps my definition of good isn’t the same as others, I do know my price age of product is spot on. I will definitely post pictures when I get it back and let the community decide if it was largely misrepresented(which I still have trouble with the integrity of that since I knowingly said the pictures aren’t the best please text me for better pictures, 100% of the time people have) and I respond within an a few hours max.

would it be fair of me to contact the seller I purchased a $200 shaft from with that money and say I am returning it because no businesses are open to change the adapter and my previous sale fell through?

where does this end?

i reread pms buyer didn’t say exactly, but “if the customer is pleased with the condition it was delivered in” which can be taken the same way. I do not want to throw buyer under the bus here, seems like s decent guy

Careful with these comments comparing brick and mortar retail or e-commerce with the BST. Dick’s isn’t the BST. I don’t mean to single you out with this comment, but these types of comparisons need to stop. The BST is not retail, it’s golfers moving their old and unused stuff along to someone who can use it. It’s supposed to be an extension of a community. There should be no retail expectations, no playability guarantees, no escape clauses for purchases we regret after the fact, no warranties.

Buy something you regret or find out you didn’t do your homework on an item? Take out your phone and list it yourself. Don’t turn your mistake into someone else’s problem. Have a little accountability, deal with the consequences of your poor decision. Do your diligence before agreeing to a price and sending PayPal. Ask for more photos if you are sensitive to condition. Ask for the item’s origin if it concerns you. Ask who did custom work and for details on the work. If you don’t feel comfortable at any point in the negotiations, don’t be afraid to politely walk away.

(I make these comments in general, and not specifically about this situation)

Honestly, I don't really care if buyer says the putter was in bad condition. You don't just assume a refund and send something back. If he is a longstanding member with the experience he claims, he should know that. You work with the seller, agree upon a process, and move on from there accordingly. Or, you disagree, file a PP claim, submit your evidence, and wait for the results. You can also post your complaint here and seek community guidance.

The question is (to me) what does the seller do when the putter shows up? Refuse delivery (if possible)? Pay to ship it back (I wouldn't)? Hold it until buyer pays him more money to ship it back (unlikely)? I just don't know how to proceed from here. It seems unethical to just keep it and resell it. Seller obviously doesn't want/need it... To me, this is the real issue here.

I would insist that any return be done via the PP dispute process rather than just shipping something back on a whim. That way everyone is playing but eh same rules

Buyer gifted the money. Not sure you can dispute when that happens.

I would never gift money to start with. Nor would I ask anyone to do so. I really don't understand when buyers give up the only real protection they have in these types of online transactions and would be suspicious (and likely not purchase from) of any seller who asked me to give up this protection for the sake of a couple of dollars.

Buyer paid friends and family? I know what I would do if it was being returned to me.

Not for nothing, but I’ll never understand why sellers can’t take clear photos in decent light, and take enough to at least represent the item well. For me when posting a BST listing, the pictures are easily the biggest process. Finding good light, taking multiple photos, making sure they’re all clear and focused, making sure all of the angles are covered.

I generally just move along when I see a listing that clearly had little effort put into it, and the photos look like they were taken from the space station or under water, and with obvious angles left out. I just assume there’s something to hide.