What Would You Do?

Someone expressed interest in buying a larger quantity of an item that I had in stock so that I told them that I would have to get more from others in order to fully fill their order. I told them the total price and they paid for it since I wouldn't buy from others unless I got paid first. Then after I had paid for the extra items by buying them from someone else, I told the customer that I was ready to ship. They then decided to change their mind and cancel the order on me wanting all of their money back. What should I do? Should I just fully refund them with no questions asked or should I have them open a dispute with pp so that my side of the story gets taken into account and they sweat a bit before getting their money back? It seems that I was played like a fool at my expense. What would you do?

Can you return what you had to purchase to make up their order? You're probably going to loose the dispute if you open it.....the customer's always right...even if an idiot. But nothing ventured, nothing gained either.

If the terms and conditions (i.e. no refunds) were not spelled out up front, I am afraid that you might be on the hook for giving them the money back (at least under US law). If I were a dealer, or someone who had a business, then I would consider this the cost of doing business (and drive me to always define the full terms and condition upfront). It is usually a problem when the T&Cs are defined after the fact.
If you specified that there are no refunds on 'special orders', then you can settle more in your favor. I have been in US court on both sides of retailer 'special order' cases and am pretty familiar with the laws on this but am not a lawyer. Perhaps CJ (our resident attorney)can weigh in on this topic.
Don

My suppliers do not seem to want them returned so that it may make me pp file against them if I am pp filed against by the customer. It feels like passing the buck on different levels which can get messy.

jogil
Did you define the T&Cs up front? Did the suppliers you got the other material from have T&CS? And was any of this through ebay or just PP?
Don

I didn't define any T&C's and I didn't get any T&C's defined from others. It was all done through pp only.

If you have all the communication exchanged with the 'customer,' then I'd take it to pp first. (Is that possible?) You might lose the battle, but some things are worth fighting for

After doing all of the work of looking which involved time and making purchases which involved money to get the requested quantity, it feels like a let down and slap in the face.

Refund the customer. Add the extra items to your stock. Someone else will buy them. Paypal will not care one whit about your side of the story and instruct you to refund in any case. Choose your battles wisely

I agree with Jenny and would add it is not simply PP, it is the law (in the US). The transaction must be defined and agreed to by both parties so that their is a 'meeting of the minds'. Having owned and run a retail shop for several decades, I understand the pain. I once had a customer demand a cash refund on a large ticket special order item. This sucked since it was first thing Monday morning and I had just opened the cash drawer and it was not an item I would have normally stocked.

I was told in no uncertain terms by a judge that the return policy HAD to be spelled out up front either on the receipt, on signage, or less ideally verbally. I had neither at the time. Without the policy defined up front, you should return the money and stock the items. You will not lose if you don't lose the lesson, next time specify the policy before taking any money. Sorry.
Don

51studebaker: Looks like I have had a similar experience like you had. I will see how I will have to dig up the funds to make a refund. I hope that I don't go bankrupt though.

51, sorry to hear about this situation. However, jogil has all the communications in writing, doesn't he? Don't you, jogil?

KGB: Yes I do have them.

I'd fight. But I'm just that way. With pp, you'll probably lose, but it's worth a chance. And I imagine you could take quite a long time to 'refund' the money if you do lose the dispute. The 'customer' in this case is wrong and is being unfair to you. 51's lesson is a good one, though. I wouldn't go out of my way as you did for anyone but a well-established customer.

If the return/refund policy was in writing or communicated, then they can be followed. Note typically in a US retail situation, the retailer defines the policy. It may be 'no refunds at all', 'no cash refunds', 'store credit refunds only' or whatever is desired. But trying to enforce something like this after money has changed hands gets dicey.

In this case, some PP policies might also be in effect.
Don

I am thinking of dragging it out on pp just to get my 2 cents worth into it even if I eventually lose but I may get to buy some time to raise the money unless pp freezes any funds first which would paralyse my account.