Seller restocking fees - fair or scam?

[4 Deuces]

Are seller restocking fees fair?

Okay, let's say the battery on your car is starting to go bad.
You buy a new battery online, put it in your car and it's doesn't work.
So, you return the battery and here is how it works ...

You paid for battery
You paid for shipping
You paid for handling
You paid to ship the battery back

Seller says, battery tests fine, it must be you.  Therefore, you can either ...

Pay shipping a third time to have a new battery sent back to you

or

You get back cost of battery - 15% restocking fee
You don't get back shipping
You don't get back handling
You don't get back your return shipping

So, your options are ...
Pay shipping twice (to and from) plus handling and only get back 85% of the part cost, or
Pay shipping 3 times plus handling for the same part

Is that right?

What's the seller say?  
They say the 15% cost is to cover buyers who buy the wrong product and then return it.[
There's cost to process, ship, sell on Ebay, etc.
Remember though, the seller gets their Ebay costs back by opening a "cancel" case.
It's not the seller's fault that people buy the wrong product and return them, right?
Or is this how the seller really makes money ... "handling" and 15% restock?

What do you think?


[ADD] By the way, after failed negotiations, I stated that my only option was to open a case with Ebay, at which point I was told I was extorting them and they gave me ALL my money back, including the 15% restocking and original shipping (I still had to pay return shipping, which I would expect).  I was also told to NEVER buy from them again.  I'm pleased with the outcome, but disappointed in the dialog.  It does have me thinking though ... who was right?  Or are we both right?

[stormrider]

Not to be rude
But I would never buy a car battery online let alone Ebay.
You can buy a car battery anywhere these days...
Unless you live on a desert Island.

[poppo]

I won't buy from any seller (ebay or other) that charges a restocking fee (especially for unopened items).

I'm hoping the car battery was just an analogy and not what was actually purchased.

[PLUNGER BOY]

Not to be rude
But I would never buy a car battery online let alone Ebay.
You can buy a car battery anywhere these days...
Unless you live on a desert Island.

I agree . If your diagnostics are not right and you are using some ones new product as a i don't know whats wrong .  Then want to swap every part until you get it right .Then want to return every thing that did not fix the problem  to the merchant  with all your monies returned  is WRONG . The merchant is left with nothing but used parts that can not be sold as new BECAUSE there not . If the part sent to you is checked and found  to be defective then a exchange or return of your monies is the next step in the process . as a business owner i have seen it all . Some time the purchaser is RIGHT and some times  as a merchant you have to EAT IT  but not every time . 4 Deuces i am not saying that is what happened but if the battery checked out good what was the merchant to do as it was not his or her fault . next time buy locally if possible they would have checked your old battery for FREE  P.B.

[4 Deuces]

It was just an analogy.  The part I bought was used.  It was a slot part.  I wouldn't use someone's new product to troubleshoot my own.  I bought it as a replacement and returned it for one that works.  It proved to be defective in my machine, but the seller said it wasn't.  Someone was wrong.

I'm just listening for both sides of the story.  From my perspective, it was broke.  I didn't want my original shipping or return shipping.  I just wanted the 15% waived.  I thought it was excessive for a $170 used item that was defective (according to me, not according to the seller).

If I buy one set of game chips for $200 and one set of reset chips for $20, do they both deserve different restocking fees?  The items are the same in terms of weight, packaging, etc.  So, why $30 to return one set and $3 to return the other?  A percentage-based restocking fee doesn't make sense to me.  But I'm listening ...

[knagl]

Was it a company in my home state of Minnesota by chance? If so, you were right. If not, there's some merit to the seller's point of view, as they're out money on the deal right now.

[4 Deuces]

LOL!  How did you know? 

[rhetorical question of course ... no need to answer]

[knagl]

LOL!  How did you know? 

[rhetorical question of course ... no need to answer]

 

Consider it a blessing in disguise to be told to not buy from them. 

[PLUNGER BOY]

LOL!  How did you know? 

[rhetorical question of course ... no need to answer]

 

Consider it a blessing in disguise to be told to not buy from them. 

OK  let the cat out of the bag . At least pm  me so i dont run into the same problem thanks P.B.

[subsailor]

I work for a large pinball parts supplier, and we advertise a 20 per cent restock on returned parts, and no returns on electronic parts. We do however understand that if a part is defective it gets replaced at no additional charge to the customer. We even pay the return freight.
We do get a lot of inexperienced owners who try and shotgun their machines using our parts to do so. That is something we cannot allow. If a customer buys a set of legs, and then when he gets them he decides the color is not quite what I wanted, or he has buyers remorse, then we do charge a restock fee, which I believe is fair. We have labor involved in checking the item back in, checking to make sure it is re-sell able, and physically putting it back on the shelf. That takes time, and time is money.
We also don't question customers when they call and say "I ordered 4 widgets, and we only got 3 widgets" We immediately send out another. I feel a restock fee is justified in some cases, but if the part didn't work, it should have been replaced at no additional cost to you.

My Nickles worth.   2 cents adjusted for inflation!!   

[slotsteve]

I think 20% is a bit high,