Refunds and Disputes: What to Do When It Goes Wrong

Parcels get lost. Items arrive late. Occasionally a buyer says the item was not what they expected. This happens to every seller who trades for long enough, and it is not a crisis. It is a process, and having the process ready is the difference between a bad afternoon and a lost buyer.

Keep the proof before you need it

Photograph every item before it goes in the bag. Photograph the sealed parcel. Keep the postage receipt and the tracking number. Keep your messages in the marketplace rather than moving to another app, because a conversation you cannot show is a conversation that did not happen when a dispute is being reviewed. This is one of the quiet reasons a seller first marketplace protects you: the record exists.

Late and lost parcels

Late is not lost. Give it the posting service's stated window before you do anything. Tell the buyer that clearly and early, with the tracking number, so they are not chasing you. If it is genuinely lost, you refund or resend. That is the deal. Arguing with a buyer about a parcel you cannot produce costs more than the item and takes the review with it.

When the buyer says it is not as described

Read the complaint before you defend anything. If they are right, refund without a fight and learn from it. If the listing was accurate and the photographs match, say so calmly and show them. Most of these disputes trace back to a vague listing, which is why specific descriptions are self protection as much as marketing.

What you do not refund

Worn items are personal and cannot be resold, so change of mind after fulfilment is not a refund. Say that in your listings before the sale, not after the complaint. A policy stated up front is a policy. A policy invented during an argument is an excuse and reads as one.

Escalating properly

If you cannot resolve it between you, raise it through the marketplace rather than letting it run. Bring the facts: dates, tracking, photographs, the listing text. Do not bring the argument. Calm sellers with records win disputes. Angry sellers without records do not.

Set up one folder on your phone for order photographs and receipts, and start using it on your next order. The proof you gather today is the dispute you win in a month.