Ebay Partial Refund Option

revenuecollector: If you wanted to purchase stamp sheets to collect and not for postage, would you purchase from a high volume seller that lists multiple quantities of sheets, but refuses to photograph each one of them for you, assuming the order was going to be around $75?

If I were to return the sheets, would it be up to the seller to determine condition received in (which could be scammy and retaliatory on their end) and then decide on refund amount or does ebay automatically refund full amount as soon as it shows delivered to seller?

I would not be purchasing from a bulk postage dealer, nor expecting the same level of service or discount from face value. If I want boutique-level service and accommodation, I need to purchase from the appropriate dealer. Bulk-volume postage is NOT treated with the same level of individualized service as individual-item retail sales.

For example, you can buy bulk kiloware or off-paper stamps at so many cents per stamp or by weight. As such, you would see one image of the lot and possibly a stock photo at that. Is it reasonable then to ask the seller of bulk kiloware to make scans of individual stamps in the bulk lot or ask them condition/cancel questions at the same cents-per-stamp cost? No. There's no money in it for the seller and time is money. If you want that level of service, you should seek out listings for individual stamps with the granular information you desire and pay accordingly.




Typically it is a full refund, however there are mechanisms whereby the seller can impose a stocking fee or withhold the original shipping, but the scenarios are so numerous, I'm not sure how best to navigate them.

The easiest solution for all is usually keep it all or return it all.

Just be prepared to be blocked from future purchases, as sellers will rightfully do their best to ward off percived "low-value, high-annoyance" buyers. I don't mean that as a criticism of you personally, just a reality: there's only so many hours in the day.

revenuecollector: Thank you for your thoughtful, well written post. I genuinely appreciate your comments. Seems like there is always a new scenario for someone on ebay and it's a continual learning experience.